“Because I’m your big sister and I love you.” She smiled and turned to face him. “Tell me what happened with Addie.”
“How do you know it’s Addie and not something else? Say, the university?”
She fixed him with a raised-brow expression. “Let’s not waste time. I have guests coming this evening, in case you didn’t remember, so I haven’t time for games.”
“I had forgotten, but even so, it’s not my intention to play games. I just feel at a loss for words. I tried to speak to Addie about my feelings and apologize. We were interrupted by one of her friends, and I didn’t have time to really discuss the matter. But she did agree to meet me after church tomorrow.”
“That’s something. What is your plan?”
“I intend to tell her that I love her and ask her to marry me when she’s ready.”
Elizabeth gave a nod. “And where do you plan to do this?”
“I hadn’t really figured that all out. I thought maybe I’d take a picnic, and we could slip away to the park.”
“Why don’t you bring her here? Stuart and the girls and I will be out, but I can arrange for the cook to fix you a nice lunch.”
“You don’t think it would be inappropriate to invite her here without you present?”
“No, the housekeeper and cook will be here, as well as my maid and the valet. You’ll have plenty of people in the house. They will make it appropriate but not interfere. I’ll arrange a nice lunch for you both, so don’t worry about that. You can take the smaller carriage to church and not have to walk back.”
“That’s kind of you, Lizzy. I appreciate your efforts on my behalf.”
She smiled. “I want things to work out for you, Isaac. I’ve so long heard about Addie that I’d enjoy having her as part of the family.” She gave him a hug. “I’ll keep praying, too. Sometimes the only way to bring these things about is through prayer.”
“I don’t believe God would have brought us back together to forsake us now. I know she’s meant to be my wife.”
“Make sure to count the number of cameras we have in stock every night and record it here,” Addie told Eleanor. “Then move on to the film, the cases, and on down the line.”
Eleanor smiled. “That seems simple enough. I don’t mind being the one to take inventory every night if need be. I used to do that back in Kansas for my father. Besides, I think it’s only right I do something extra since you’ve allowed me to take so many of my own pictures.”
“But you’re already paying for those,” Addie said. “I’ve seen some of them and am quite impressed. If only they could be in color. Those flowers sometimes look like they’re going to burst right off the postcard.” Addie nodded. “All right, I’m going to let you get back to your photographs. Just remember to take care of this tonight, and tomorrow Mary will do the job. You two can trade off.”
Eleanor grabbed up her camera equipment and case. “Thanks for putting your trust in me. You won’t be sorry.”
“I’m sure you’re right.” Addie immediately sobered as thoughts of Isaac and their impending meeting came to mind. She began to go through the addresses for the pictures that still needed to be mailed out. The girls numbered each photograph and added that number and their name to the top of the address. They kept meticulous records of what number roll of film they were on, as well. The precision kept the photos from being mixed up and sent to the wrong family or person. But Addie’s mindset wasn’t good, and she tossed the postcard photos aside and sighed.
“Addie, what’s the matter?” Pearl asked. “You’ve seemed off your feed since coming back from your lecture. Are you all right?”
She nodded. “I’m out of sorts to be sure, but I’m fine. I agreed to meet Isaac tomorrow after church.”
“Well, you have the day off. It might work out well for you two to just sit down and get everything out on thetable. Honestly, Addie, it’s easy to see you have feelings for him.”
“Of course I do. I love him.”
“Then tell him. Give him a chance to work through this with you.”
Just then Esther walked into the shop with her camera. She cast a glance at Addie and Pearl, then moved to where she was supposed to deposit the full camera and take a freshly loaded one.
Addie turned away from the counter to the table behind her. There were several boxes she’d been working to unload, and she focused her attention on that instead of talking to Pearl.
Pearl, however, was not going to leave the matter alone. “You know you’ll both feel better once things are resolved.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
Glancing over her shoulder, Addie changed the subject. “It’s been nice having Bertha and Mary stay with me at the cottage, but they have to go back to their own homes, and I’ll need to make a decision.”
“Maybe you should arrange to rent the place out and stay with us a while longer. I wouldn’t want you to live in fear.”
Addie glanced to where Esther was talking to Otis. She didn’t seem at all interested in Addie and Pearl’s conversation. Addie relaxed a bit. “I have even thought of selling it. It’s never going to be without the memory of what happened. For as much as I love that place, I just don’t know if it will ever be home again.”
