City and town life -- Fiction; Short stories, American
As for me, I, too, love a surprise. And that was why I had sent to the
station a bag packed for both Calliope and me; and I meant, when the
wedding guests should have gone, to take no denial, but to hurry
Calliope into her "black grosgrain with the white turnovers," and with
her to catch the six-ten express as we had planned aforetime. For pink
silk might appear and disappear, but "Faust" would still be "Faust."
There were ten guests at Hannah's wedding, friends of hers and of
Henry's, pleasantly excited, pleasantly abashed.
"And not one word do they know about the pink silk," Calliope whispered
me. "Hannah's going to come with it on--I let her take my tan ulster to
wear over her, walking through the streets, so. Do you know," she said
earnestly, "if it wasn't for disappointing you I wouldn't feel anything
but good about that dress?"
"Ah, well, I won't be disappointed," I prophesied confidently.
Grandma Hawley was last to arrive. And the little old woman was in some
stress of excitement, talking incessantly and disconnectedly; but this
we charged to the occasion.
"My head ain't right," she said. "It ain't been right for a while
back--it hums and rings some. When I went in the room I thought it was
my head the matter. I thought I didn't see right. But I did--I did,
Hannah said I did. My head felt some better this mornin', an' that was
there, just the same. I thought I'd be down flat on my back when I got
m' feet wet, but I'd be all right if m' head wa'n't so bad. I must tell
Hannah what I done. Why don't Hannah come?"
Hannah was, as a matter of fact, somewhat late at her wedding. We were
all in some suspense when we saw her at last, hurrying up the street
with Henry, who had gallantly called to escort her; and Calliope and I
went to the door to meet her.
But when Hannah entered in Calliope's tan ulster buttoned closely about
her throat, she was strangely quiet and somewhat pale and her eyes, I
was certain, were red with weeping.
"Is Gramma here?" she asked at once, and, at our answer, merely turned
to hurry upstairs where Calliope and I were to adjust the secret
wedding-gown and fasten a pink rose in her hair. And, as we went, Henry
added still further to our anxiety by calling from the gay little crowd
about him a distinctly soothing:
"Now, then. Now, then, Hannah!"
Up in Calliope's tiny chamber Hannah turned and faced us, still with
that manner of suppressed and escaping excitement. And when we would
have helped with the ulster she caught at its collar and held it about
her throat as if, after all, she were half minded to depart from the
place and let her good-looking giant be married alone.
"Oh, Miss Marsh, ma'am," she said, trembling, "oh, Miss Marsh. I can't
dare tell you what I done."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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