“What do you think? Would that make you happy?”
Emma simply snapped her book shut, her expression unreadable. And then, before Arthur could react, Emma took a few fast steps forward and threw her arms around him.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “I’d love that. Truly.”
Arthur squeezed her back. “I’m sorry I’ve been so stubborn. But I’m trying.”
“I know,” she murmured before finally releasing him.
Emma walked over to one of the many high-backed chairs in the center of the room and sat. Arthur inhaled a slightly shaky breath, the brew of contented emotions still bubbling inside him and bringing tears to his eyes. He was so proud of his little girl.
Over the next few minutes, the three of them lingered in the room. It took Arthur a couple of extra moments to compose himself enough to explore. Jesse, on the other hand, wasted no time plucking a book from a shelf, seemingly at random, and then began leafing through it. Meanwhile, Emma read through the first few pages of the book she had chosen.
Arthur paced around the room, circling it slowly. On his first rotation, he kept his eyes on the bookshelves, which were sometimes embellished with things like porcelain plates and potted plants. On the second, Arthur found himself utterly entranced by the ceiling, which featured a large and interesting painting, with a beautiful woman, a scholarly looking man, and an angel in the center of an oval, encased by a wreath of white lilies. In the corners of the painting, there were medallions of some sort, and though Arthur couldn’t be one hundred percent certain what they were meant to represent, he wondered if perhaps they were emblems symbolic of various types of writing, like plays and poetry and literature. All areas in which so many women had very clearly excelled.
And Emma would soon be one of them.
Unfortunately, on Arthur’s third trip around the room, his blip of excitement was swiftly followed by a pinprick of worry, its sharpness like a knife’s blade piercing his heart. Images of his parents’ scowling faces flitted through his mind, while whispers oftheir inevitable criticism made his ears burn, and he clenched his teeth as he tried to force them away.
He wanted so badly for them not to matter anymore.
But thirty-six years of relentless, vicious scrutiny was hard to shake, as were the expectations that he’d been shouldered with since he was a young boy.
Suddenly, Emma shut her book, breaking Arthur out of his reverie.
“I think I’m ready to leave,” she said. “If you and Mr. O’Connor are.”
Jesse closed his book, too. “I’m ready.”
Ears still ringing with the faraway murmurs of his parents’ inexorable reproach, Arthur shook his head to try to silence them.
He forced a smile. “Ready as well.”
All three of them started toward the exit.
And Arthur pretended not to hear those lingering chastisements echoing in his mind.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jesse
Days later, Arthur and Jesse were visiting the Midway Plaisance—a one-mile-long strip of land that ran from Jackson Park, the official site of the World’s Columbian Exposition, to Washington Park. The Midway’s exhibits ranged from educational to supposedly outlandish, with some of them purported to be utterly bizarre. It was an extension of the fair, but one that had all sorts of interesting exhibits, only they were the kinds that were thought not to be the “right fit” for the central part of the World’s Columbian Exposition. Jesse and Arthur had rushed past most of them so that they could reach one in particular that Arthur was especially excited about. And now, they were there.
Standing in front of the ice railway, Jesse stared up the flags that were perched on top of the structure and watched them flutter in the summer breeze. He read the nearby sign that said “Midsummer Sleighing on Beautiful Snow” and shook his head in bewilderment.
“Sleighing?” Jesse spluttered. “Now?!”
“Won’t it be fun?!” Arthur exclaimed.
“I...” Jesse’s voice faltered. “I have no words.”
Arthur smacked Jesse’s bicep with the back of his hand. “Follow me.”
Just inside, Arthur and Jesse walked up a flight of stairs. At the top, there was a large snow-and-ice-coated track, covered by a long canopy. One by one, sleighs left from the highest point. Fairgoers sailed to the bottom, clutching tight to each other while laughing gleefully. Even other men were sleighing together.
Despite his penchant for skepticism, Jesse could indeed feel how magical it was.
“Let’s get in line,” Arthur said jovially.
