Rosaline and Buena walked side by side as they chatted about the ranch and the progress Robbie had been making, even if it was only a little. Wild sunflowers lined the road that lead into town, mirroring Rosaline’s sunny mood. There was a reason that people called Kansas the sunflower state.
She found the roads much easier to walk on than that of Delaware. They weren’t rocky and riddled with holes, for one.
“How are you feeling about everything?” Buena asked. “It’s been a week since you arrived.”
“I’m getting there,” Rosaline replied cheerfully. “I’ll admit it’s a lot of work, but I’m getting there.”
“I could not be more proud of how you have handled all the chores. You’ve jumped right in.”
Rosaline smiled at the expression that she’d come to associate with Bunea Gideon. Her entire life’s outlook was to jump right in.
“I’ll be leaving this afternoon to let you get on with things.”
Rosaline stopped dead in her tracks and looked at the woman with her mouth hanging slightly open.
“Don’t be so shocked. I can’t stay forever, and I’m worried that Robbie won’t settle completely until I’m gone. He’s gotten into the bad habit of relying on me. He will settle faster without me around.”
“I don’t know if I can handle things without you.” Rosaline began to protest but was silenced by Buena.
“Stuff and nonsense.” She waved the idea away with her hand as if she were shooing a fly and resumed walking towards town.
Rosaline hurried to catch up again as Buena set a brisker pace. “I’m not sure if I can manage Robbie and all the chores.”
“Well, you will just have to jump right in and see, now won’t you?”
Buena’s extreme optimism was a little less welcome now that Rosaline knew she would be handling things on her own.
They walked along with Buena chatting away about her sons as they neared the town. Buena had successfully blocked any further attempts for Rosaline to complain, and she was now reluctantly resigned to her lot.
Just as they drew near they saw a man approaching. He was wearing a navy blue jacket with a mail sack slung over his shoulder.
“That would be Reggie with the post,” Buena observed cheerfully. “Probably come to find me with a letter from my eldest son. Can’t go a minute without asking me for something. Good day, Reggie!” Buena called to the man, waving her hand frantically while he was still a way off.
They drew nearer and waited for the man to finish rummaging in his bag after he had greeted them.
“I have a letter here for a Miss Rosaline Berry,” He said and pulled a cream envelope from the bag that was bulging with mail.
Rosaline and Buena looked at each other in surprise.
“Or should I say Mrs. Rosaline Stratton?” Reggie corrected himself. The news of Thomas taking a new wife had spread through the town like a dry field on fire.
Rosaline shakily took the letter and turned it over as her heart thumped in her chest. Surely it couldn’t be from Donna, they had agreed that Rosaline would be the first to write. Had the Vosses discovered where she was after only one week?
The postmark read Wilmington, Delaware.
***
Rosaline sat on the edge of her bed with the letter in her lap. She had tucked the letter into her cloak after reading the name, wanting to read it in privacy. Buena had gently probed but Rosaline had been firm that it was nothing as they went about their business.
She had waited until after dinner to excuse herself to her room, leaving Bunea and Arthur to play with Robbie, citing that she had a headache and Buena would probably want some time with them as this was her last night.
Holding the letter up to the light of her kerosine lamp, her nerves were frayed as she began to read.
Dear Rosaline,
I hope this letter finds you well and that you have settled into your new life with your new family. Things are much the same as they have ever been here in Delaware. I miss you every day. I know we said that you would be the first to write, but something has come to my attention that I felt you should know about.
My father told me that a few days after your departure, Mr. Voss started sniffing around and asking if anyone knows where you are. My father assured him that I would have told them if I knew anything. As far as my parents are concerned, I know nothing of your whereabouts.
