A Bride For The Asking -- (on hold)

Chapter 14 -- A New Start for Aunt Mary

Aunt Mary left the hotel the next morning after her niece’s wedding. She was rested and at peace in her heart.  Woodrow Rice was a good man.  Her niece could not have done better if she had tried.  Shadow had been a perfect gentleman in the hotel, but she knew he had to be uncomfortable.  So, Aunt Mary set out to take care of the dog's problem first, before anything else, including her breakfast.

It wasn’t that hard to find a place to take him for a walk.  Aunt Mary only had to wander down a narrow side street between the hotel and the noisy café where she had eaten supper the night before.  At the end of the street, she found herself facing the sun-warmed prairie; heard it whispering to her and the dog. 

Shadow paused to test the air, then with a playful woof, he set off eagerly, pulling Aunt Mary along behind him.  It was a beautiful morning for a walk.  Aunt Mary felt lighthearted for the first time in a long while, as she let herself be tugged along into that grassy field.  Aunt Mary laughed out loud for the sheer pleasure of it. 

The constant sighing of the wind through the grasses was a soft sound, like the whispering of tiny things; and endless.  Aunt Mary had been out walking Shadow for nearly an hour.  The wind had never ceased in all that time.  As she and the dog walked along, to the quiet peace of the prairie’s song, she found the time to think about her own self and the possibilities in front of her.

Shadow let his leash go slack, as he stopped for a instant to sniff the air.  He lifted his black nose to the cloudless sky.  Aunt Mary found herself doing the same. She inhaled a thousand strange scents. They all combined into one unique scent of growing things, sunlight, and fresh air. 

She turned in a slow circle to take in the panoramic view; sensing a new kinship with this endless meadow that dipped and rolled across the land like a green sea of grass.  She never dreamed she would end up in a place so wide open to the heavens.  She liked it here.  She just needed to find a niche; one independent of her newly-married niece.

Aunt Mary, giving into an impulse, took off her bonnet and sat down in the long grass.  Her skirts billowed up around her like a pink-sprigged flower, and she felt young again.  This is a place for futures, she thought, as she lay back in the grass, her hands tucked under the back of her head to keep the worst of the grass out of her hair.  She gazed up at the sky.  As blue as a robin’s egg, she thought, sighing contentedly.  Shadow came over and licked her on her face, then lay down beside her, his chin on her stomach.

“Now that’s some cheek you rascal,” she said aloud to the dog.  The sound of her voice was swallowed up in the soughing of the grasses all around her.  “Do you like it here, then, Shadow?”  She asked the dog.  Absently, she reached down and patted his head before tucking her hand back under her head.  She smiled when she heard his happy sigh.  “Aye.  I know how you feel.  I like it here, too.” 

Aunt Mary paid no attention to the passing of time until she felt, more than heard, Shadow’s soft growl against her stomach.  Too late to move, a long shadow fell across her and the dog, shattering the peace.  Shadow jumped up, but instead of growling, he began wagging his tail. Aunt Mary opened her eyes and looked up into the twinkling blue eyes of Ike Jorgenson.  She was totally mortified, and for a moment, too embarrassed to move.

“Do you often go wandering off into strange meadows, Mrs. McGregor?” Ike grinned down at her, his blond hair glinting in the bright sunlight like some ancient Norse god come to life.

“Oh my goodness, no.  Of course I don’t,” stammered Aunt Mary, struggling to sit up, only to cringe when she realized several inches of her feet and legs were plainly displayed for Ike’s view—which he shamelessly took full advantage of.