Marybeth took her seat once everyone was served. “I know I will definitely need you all now more than ever. Edward is terrified that I’ll die in childbirth as his first wife did.”
Laura knew nothing about Marybeth’s past and so sat quietly stirring her tea as Marybeth continued. “He’s trying to give it over to God, but he can’t help but worry.”
“We’ll keep him in our prayers, to be sure,” Granny replied. “Childbearing is often a hard situation for the men involved. They cannot understand the way a woman feels about the life she carries within. She will give her life for that child.”
Marybeth nodded. “I feel that way for Carrie as well. She’s as much my firstborn as a child could be.” She paused and looked at Laura. “I’m sorry, you don’t know about my family. Carrie is actually my half sister, but her mother died after giving her life and begged me to raise her and care for her as my own. I did so, and in every way that matters, she is my firstborn.”
“How lucky she is that you loved her so much,” Laura replied. “My own mother died when I was young. Nothing has ever filled the void of her absence.”
“How old were you when she passed?” Melody asked.
“Twelve,” Laura replied.
“I was ten and Marybeth thirteen when our mothers died. Sadly, we have that in common.”
“I didn’t even get to grow up with my father around,”Laura admitted. “He was heartbroken after losing Mama and sent me to boarding school.”
“How awful.” Marybeth bit her lower lip as if regretting her outburst.
Laura nodded. “It was hard on both of us. Father was devoted to my mother and felt he had completely failed her. We were quite poor, and the doctors wouldn’t help her because we couldn’t pay. Even our church was limited in their support. It’s the reason my father has difficulty attending church now. He feels that God abandoned him.” She paused and shook her head. “But please say nothing. I know he wouldn’t like that I shared such a personal thing with others.”
“Of course we’ll say nothing,” Granny Taylor assured. “There are a great many people who feel abandoned by God when bad things happen. Our little group here gathers to pray for a long list of people. We’ll simply add him to the list. God can mend his broken heart.”
“I know God has done such a work for me. I loved my mother dearly, and losing her was the hardest thing I ever had to endure. And it didn’t help that Father sent me away during my mourning. But he was lost in grief. Mother was his entire world.”
“How could he afford boarding school?” Mrs. Cooper asked.
“I often wondered that myself,” Laura said. “I’ve never had a chance to ask him, but I assume he borrowed the money at first. As the years went by, he bettered himself, and he moved me to more prestigious schools. I made good friends, but still the loneliness was acute. When the summer breaks came, the other girls went home, and I was left behind to live with the headmistress or travel with one of the teachers.”
“That must have been a very difficult existence for you,” Granny Taylor said after a long sip of her tea.
It felt good that someone understood, and Laura nodded. “Sometimes I feared I’d never survive, but the more I missed my father, the more I turned to God. He was all that I had at times.”
“I’m sure it must have felt that way.” The old woman set her cup and saucer aside. “But that’s often the way we grow closer to our heavenly Father. When all the world seems to have forsaken us, we seek desperately for an answer—for someone or something that will fill that void in our lives.”
The other women nodded in agreement, and Laura couldn’t help but smile. They all understood. They knew about the emptiness she had once felt. The emptiness she thought no one else had experienced.
“Thank you for your words, Granny Taylor.” Laura nodded to each of the women. “I feel so welcomed. Thank you all.”
“That’s why we come together,” Melody said. “We want to serve God faithfully and share His love with one another, but we also know what it is to feel alone, to need a friend. God has given us each other.”
“I agree,” Faith Cooper said. “No matter how old or young you are, a good friend is more valuable than riches.”
“Especially here in Cheyenne,” Granny added. “When we first arrived here, the town was nothing but lawlessness and greed. There were a lot of terrible people doing terrible things.”
“It really was an evil town,” Melody said. “We were among the first here, Laura. My father was helping lay the track for the Union Pacific. They called this an end-of-the-tracks town.”
Faith put her cup down. “They called it a lot worse than that, and it deserved the monikers.”
“We came a few months after everyone else,” Marybeth said, rocking gently in her chair. “It was a horrible place. Edward is a deputy and worked nights then. His dear friend Fred Henderson, who owned this house, was his boss. Fred built this house for his wife and boys. He was killed by ruthless men who cared only for themselves and their greed.” She shook her head. “I worried so much about Edward being the next one to die. I still must pray to keep from living in constant fear and dread. But the town is better. Your father and other men like him have had a lot to do with that.”
“I’m glad Father has made a positive difference.” Laura smiled at the circle of women. “It does my heart good to know he’s so well loved.”
“He’s also very supportive of women and their right to be treated as equals, so it’s made him very popular with the women here,” Marybeth said, getting up to pour more tea. “He has been instrumental in pushing for women to have the right to vote.”
“To vote? I would never have thought Father to be part of such a thing. Not that he isn’t supportive of women.” Laura felt a wave of sadness. It seemed these women knew her father better than she did.
“He’s convinced a lot of men to be open to the idea,” Granny said, accepting more tea from Marybeth. “I heard him speak last summer at the Independence Day celebration. He said that women had been instrumental in every good thing that ever happened to this country, from our fight for liberty to the railroad connecting this country from coast to coast. It was quite the speech, and people cheered him on for at least ten minutes.”
