The Hansen Girls Chapter 9

Chapter 9 

            After dinner, Paul carried Danielle upstairs so Danielle could go to bed early and rest up.

             “Thanks,” Danielle said as Paul laid her on her bed.

             “Lillian said you can read for a while if you’d like,” Paul said. He handed her a few books. The first one was a Bible. The others included a school book and a novel. Danielle chose the Bible and turned to the book of Proverbs and began reading in chapter one. “The proverbs of Solomon the son of Davy, king of Israel; to know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;” Danielle thought on that verse for a moment, “Dear Lord, please give me wisdom for me to understand why I have left my sisters. I love my sisters and I miss them but…I’m really enjoying my life here. Please direct my future.” Danielle frowned and swallowed back a wave of emotions.

 ~~~      

            Lillian went upstairs to check on Danielle an hour later. “How are you feeling?”

            “Much better; it doesn’t hurt as much,” Danielle responded.

            Lillian sat down on the bed and gave her a fresh rag. “You’ve only been here three days and you’re already injured.” Lillian gave Danielle an apologetic smile.

            Danielle didn’t reply to Lillian’s statement. She glanced down at the book in her hands. She fingered the pages nervously.

            “Danielle?” Lillian eyed Danielle suspiciously. “Are you okay?”

            “I don’t know…”

            Lillian didn’t answer; she waited for Danielle to continue.

            Danielle debated whether or not to talk to Lillian. Something inside her hesitated, but something else urged her to trust Lillian. Danielle sighed and relented. “I love it here. These past three days have been wonderful and enjoyable…I feel wrong that I am having such a great time here…I feel selfish that I can’t share it with my sisters…I mean I hope they are having such a great time too…”

            “I’m glad you like it here and I realize you must miss your sisters,” Lillian said in a quiet tone.

            “It’s not just my sisters I miss. I miss my old life…I miss Mama and Papa…ever since they died, life has been different. I had to step up and help Belle and Cassandra and be an example for the little ones. We all had to work real hard to make ends meet. I just wanted a regular life…one I could live with my sisters and brothers and a mom and dad who love each other…and me.” Danielle sat up and blinked back tears. All her doubts, fears, worries, and insecurities came sputtering out. “I hated waking up every day and thinking about all the chores I had to complete and how I would be stuck babysitting my sisters. I hated how I had to always be serious and act like a grown up. When Mama died, I was thrown the responsibility of running the house with Belle, Cassandra, and Albert. I was forced to help keep my siblings alive. It wasn’t fun to live in fear that we wouldn’t make it. We spent many hard winters praying our way through storms and trials…”

            Lillian watched Danielle with overflowing sympathy growing inside of her. She couldn’t imagine what Danielle went through.

            “I just wished somebody would come and fix everything for me,” Danielle continued. “And I think you and Paul are what I wished for…I’m just afraid that it won’t last forever…I don’t know if this will work out.”

            “Why would you think this wouldn’t work out?” Lillian asked in surprise. “Paul and I are thrilled to welcome you into our home. I always loved children and enjoy spending time with them and when I had a hard time having my own and saw there were girls who needed a home, I jumped at the chance. Danielle, I love having you here. We adopted you because we want you to be with us and share our life.”

            Danielle shrugged her shoulders and sniffed back her tears. “I’m just being stupid I guess.”

            “No, you’re not stupid; you’re a brave young woman. You did a lot for your family when they needed you. You’ve had it tough but you’ve overcome that. Now that you’re here, you don’t have to worry about everyone else. You can just worry about maturing into a young lady and leave the rest to us. Paul and I want to be your new family if you allow us to be.”

            Danielle looked up at Lillian, “I’d like that very much.”

            Lillian smiled at Danielle, “I’m glad you do.” She reached into her dress pocket and found a handkerchief for Danielle to dry her eyes. “Feel any better?”

            “A lot,” Danielle nodded.

            “You better get some rest now,” Lillian said. She stood up and walked to the edge of the loft. “Goodnight.”

            “Night,” Danielle called back.

~~~

            Lillian sat down in her room and began tugging the strands of strawberry blonde hair out of the neat bun. “She just broke down and told me everything,” Lillian told Paul.

            Paul pulled his boots off, “Well, she has had a hard time. She had to help care of her family, her brothers left them, and on top of that, they were all separated!”

              “I felt so bad.”         

“We will do all we can for her,” Paul said resting his hand on his wife’s shoulder. “We’ll do whatever it takes to help her out.”

  ~~~

            A week later, Danielle woke early to a moaning downstairs. Danielle rushed down the stairs, nearly tripping on her nightgown. She found Lillian holding her forehead and wavering in the kitchen. Danielle screamed for Paul and rushed to steady Lillian.

Paul rushed out of the bedroom in a flash. “What’s wrong?”

            “I don’t know,” Danielle said glancing at Lillian.

            “I just felt dizzy suddenly,” Lillian answered weakly.

            “I’m taking you to the doctor,” Paul said finishing buttoning his shirt. Paul raced outside to hitch up the buckboard. Danielle slowly helped Lillian outside to the buckboard and Paul boosted his wife aboard.

            “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything,” Danielle said as Paul and Lillian departed.

            “I know you will,” Lillian called back faintly.

            Danielle was a nervous wreck all day. What is wrong with Lillian…is she hurt? Is the baby hurt?  She paced in the parlor and strained to hear wagon wheels. Just before noon time, she was rewarded. She rushed outside to see Paul merrily swing Lillian down from the wagon seat as if she were a young girl.

            “Paul,” she chided, “remember what the doctor said?”

            “Oh!” Paul said looking alarmed.

            “What’s wrong?” Danielle said rushing to Lillian and Paul.

            “Nothing’s wrong!” Lillian cried with a smile.

            Danielle knew something was going on. “What happened? The baby is okay?”

            “The baby is fine! I just had a headache but I’m alright now. It won’t be long until we have a new member of the O’Neal family.”

  ~~~

            Elsie, Hannah, Jinger, and Nadia skipped into the schoolhouse and found Faith, Lynn, and Megan.

            “Hi!” the girls eagerly greeted and hugged each other.

            “How was your weekend?” Elsie asked.

            “Good. Mr. Jennings took us on a ride in the country,” Faith replied.

            “We had a picnic,” Megan announced.

            “What did you girls do?” Lynn questioned.

            “We went shopping and Mrs. Young bought us each new shoes,” Jinger exclaimed.

            “They’re beautiful!” Nadia crowed.

            The school bell rang and the six girls found their seats as the teacher began the lesson.

            School was very exciting for the girls. The Hansen sisters didn’t have a chance to learn a whole lot at home. They only knew what Belle and Cassandra knew. It was difficult to catch up to the other students their ages, but the girls were persistent in their work. The teacher was kind and always there to help the girls.

            Elsie, Hannah, Jinger, and Nadia had been living with the Youngs. Dr. Young was the town doctor and he was very busy but Mrs. Young spent her time with the girls. She helped them with their schoolwork and tried to find good families who were willing to adopt the sisters. Life with the Youngs was fun and exciting but the girls missed their other sisters.

            Faith, Megan, and Lynn were living with the Jennings, a middle-aged couple with a son Lynn’s age. Mr. Jennings was the post master and worked early morning until dinner time. Mrs. Jennings took the girls on lots of outings and parties and the girls enjoyed themselves but they still missed their old life.

~~~

Belle groaned as she pulled herself out of the cot she slept on. She quickly laid the blanket nicely on the cot and found a dress to wear.

Belle had been adopted by the Simms, but she knew the Simms didn’t adopt her; they hired her. She worked for Mrs. Simms and her spoiled daughter Elvira. She cooked with the Simms’ cook, Maria, cleaned the house with the maid, Josie, and helped Mrs. Simms and Elvira to get ready for their important engagements.

Belle made her way downstairs to help Maria with breakfast. Maria was an older woman who was short and plump. She took great pride in her cooking and enjoyed Belle’s company.

            “How’d you sleep, Nell?”

             Belle sighed inwardly; Maria’s hearing wasn’t very good and she mistakenly called Belle, “Nell”.

            “Not very well,” Belle grumbled, tying an apron on over her dress.

            “Why not?” Maria grabbed a bowl and began tossing items into it.

            “Because I sleep on a very uncomfortable cot,” Belle answered. 

            “You have to learn to be content, dear. The Simms are rich but that doesn’t mean they are generous,” Maria shook her head.

            “I figured that out.”

            The conversation stopped as a loud clamoring came from the adjoining dining room. Mrs. Simms and Elvira were awake and ready for breakfast.

            “Is breakfast ready?” An annoyed voice shrieked.

            “Yes Mrs.  Simms. I was just about to bring it out,” Maria said.  She balanced a few plated on her hands and arms and began the short walk to the dining room.

Belle peeked into the dining room and stole a glance at the wealthy family. Mr. Edgar Simms, owner of the bank, was a rather refined man. His hair was dark with silver streaks here and there. He wore a mustache that curved downward and he had cold, stern eyes.

Mrs. Victoria Simms was a tall and portly woman. Her hair was rather curly with thick rings all over her head. Being married to the wealthiest man in town has great advantages for Victoria Simms. She could go buy a new gown or new hat whenever she wished. She regularly purchases fine furs and silks from all the way back in New York and once she bought a gown from Paris. Her greedy nature often put her at odds with the other ladies in town but they always come back to her to enjoy Mrs. Simms’ lavish parties.

Avarice parents most likely produce greedy children. The Simms’ daughter, Elvira, had wavy black hair. She was a very beautiful girl but she was spoiled rotten. Elvira always had the latest clothing styles and the finest jewelry but she was never satisfied. She always wanted more. Male visitors were frequent in the Simms household. Elvira was the town heartthrob and every eligible young man was after her hand. Belle sometimes wondered if the young men were after Elvira or after Mr. Simms’ pocketbook but it made no matter to Elvira—she loved the attention!

            “Belle! We need to speak with you!” Mrs. Simms shouted from the other room.

Belle smoothed out her outfit and made her entrance. “Yes, Mrs. Simms?”

            “Elvira is having a big party tonight; we need you and Josie to clean the ballroom, dining room, and the parlor. You will have to help Maria cook and bake. We want two cakes—chocolate and vanilla—and roast beef and corn on the cob as well as tea and lemonade for the guests. I will have the ingredients delivered this afternoon.

            “Is that all?” Belle inquired.

            “Yes, you may go now.”

            And that was what the conversations were like between Belle and her new mother. Belle had decided that life could not be worse. She absolutely hated her life with the Simms. Mrs. Simms and Elvira treated Belle like a slave and Mr. Simms refused to even acknowledge Belle’s existence. Belle had hoped the Simms would allow her to attend church so she could see her sisters but the Simms made Belle work on Sundays. Belle had requested a day off so she could travel by the school and just catch a glimpse of her sisters but Elvira had needed her that day. Belle had worked for the Simms for two months now and all she did was work, work, work.

            Belle retreated to the supply closet and found Josie preparing for work.

            “Miss Simms is having a party tonight and we are to clean the house,” Belle told Josie.

            “You do not need to use titles in front of me. You may use whatever you wish to call ‘Miss Simms,’” Josie said grabbing the mop and broom. “That pig,” Josie said in a distasteful tone.

            Belle laughed; Josie hated her job but always made the best of it.

            The two young women grabbed their cleaning supplies and heading for the large ballroom. The room had a grand piano in one corner, and a table and chairs in the other corner. There was a great chandelier hung over a floor of porcelain. Plants, pictures, and cabinets decorated the walls.       

            “I’ll begin dusting and you can sweep,” Josie directed.

            Belle nodded her head and grabbed the broom. The two hurried through the cleaning, and by lunch time, the girls were done with the cleaning. Josie and Belle joined Maria in the kitchen for a lunch break. Maria made sandwiches for the girls and had a plate of apple slices for them. Mrs. Simms and Elvira were eating in the dining room while talking about the party tonight. Josie sat near the door to hear what was being said.

            “Who all will be able to make it?” Mrs. Simms spoke.

            “Jason and Helen, Jeffery and Georgia, Carlos and Christina, Lawrence and Anna, and Horace and Rachael will be here.” Elvira ticked each person off on her fingers.

            “Will Frank be coming?”

            “Oh, Mother, of course Franklin will be there!”

            “And you didn’t invite Alexander or Oscar?”

            “Of course not! I can’t let them know I have other beaus than them.”

            Josie’s face turned sour. “That girl! She’s just playing all those poor boys. Frank thinks he is her beau, Alexander thinks he’s her beau, and so does Oscar.”

            “That’s just plain unheard of,” Maria said shaking her head. “I wish I could give that girl a good talking to.”

            “What will you be wearing tonight?” Mrs. Simms questioned her daughter.

            “I want to wear my new purple silk gown we ordered from New York.”

            “But it hasn’t arrived yet.”

            “What do you mean it hasn’t arrived yet?” Elvira’s voice rose.

            “We only ordered the gown a short time ago. It will be another two weeks until your dress arrives.”

            “But I wanted that dress specifically for tonight!”

            “I’m sorry but—”

            “Well take me to the seamstress’s house; I’m going to ask her to help me get a new gown for tonight.”

            “Let me get my purse and shawl,” Mrs. Simms said.

            Josie and Maria rolled their eyes while Belle sighed in disgust. Elvira could do whatever she pleased and her mother didn’t care. In fact, Mrs. Simms seemed to condone Elvira’s extravagant lifestyle.

CHAPTER TEN