The idea of being able to live her whole lifetime in the home that she had always loved began to intrigue her. Moreover, she had always loved her father, and, since her mother's death, they had worked well together in keeping the household running.
She gradually came to agree with her father's plan for her future. It didn’t require her to marry, but it allowed for the possibility, and for both to be secure in the knowledge that they were cared for.
Jesse wrote a will that deeded her the ownership of the family home, most of its contents, and the real estate, upon his death. It also gave his other five children fair shares of his estate in the form of other properties, investment securities and money. Around six months after her mother's death, she was established as the inheritor of the family home, with an obligation to care for her father, and to run the household. In all other regards, including which men she walked out with, she was free to do as she pleased.
In time, Tommy became her most frequent escort, and the other two dropped out of the running.
‘I think we’d better cool it, Molly. Not worth upsetting the boss,’ said John abruptly one evening as he said goodbye.
‘My father? You’re not upsetting him.’
‘Let’s just … leave it, okay, Molly?’
He didn’t look particularly like a man who wanted to leave it, and as Arlen had said something similar, she wondered for a moment whether Jesse had warned them off for some reason. Then she saw a car’s headlights turning out of the end of the drive after she’d waved a sorry farewell to John, and the small suspicion occurred to her that they might have been referring to the more senior deputy, rather than the sheriff.
The next night, her suspicions were confirmed when the older deputy reached for her fingers across the table, after a private dinner on the back porch.
‘Tommy,’ she said with a smile. ‘Did you frighten the other two off?’
He held her hand tightly, gazing at her with his customary intensity. ‘They weren’t serious about you, and I am. I couldn’t have you wasting your time with those boys when you and I are meant to be together,’ he said, squeezing her fingers. ‘Molly, I’d be extremely pleased if you would do me the honor of becoming my wife.’
Molly thought about it. It worked. They would have a marriage like her mom and dad’s, and live in the family home, and she would be part of the town and family organism, just as she’d always known she would be.
And she most definitely wasn’t related to him.
‘Yes,’ she said gently. ‘Yes, I accept.’
She wasn't entirely sure that she had made the right decision, but her father was extremely pleased about it, and meanwhile the town delighted in drawing its extended family in, ever closer.
Chapter 4
* * *
The Bells are Ringing
* * *
They’re congregatin’ for me and my gal
While the parson’s waitin’ for me and my gal
And sometime I’m gonna build a little home for two, three or four or more
In love land for me and my gal
Me and My Girl, Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose
It was the town wedding to end all town weddings, organised by Tommy’s sister, Carol, who turned out to be a dab hand at planning events, as well as an ideal sister-in-law for Molly. She was only a year younger than Molly, and full of great ideas and genuine warmth.
‘We’ll keep it simple,’ she’d suggested. ‘A real country wedding at your home, Molly, where nobody feels left out.’
The Depression was beginning to make its presence known even out in the country, where its impact hadn’t been so direct, so a straightforward wedding where everyone could attend sounded perfect.
No wedding invitations were sent out. Instead, invitations were made by word-of-mouth, either directly, or by asking people to pass the word around the community. Everyone in the community was invited, along with family members and friends who lived in other nearby towns and communities.
Over two hundred people attended, with every single one of the adults bringing something to contribute to the pot-luck dinner reception following the wedding ceremony. Altogether, it would be a great feast: a huge array of meats, such as hams, fried chicken, roast beef, and rabbit; a variety of casseroles; many kinds of vegetable dishes; a veritable harvest of baked breads, fruit pies, cakes, and many other kinds of fruit and delicious desserts. Moreover, the attendees brought enough tables, benches and chairs to accommodate everyone for the feast, as well as for the ceremony.