Page 12 of Timeless

“Harriet?”

She turned to see Lucas standing there, dressed in his best and, likely, only suit, with his wide red tie being just a little too long.

“Yes?” she asked.

“May I accompany you to the reception?” he asked politely.

Harriet couldn’t focus on his question, though, because the woman she loved more than anything had just married a man whom Harriet was more than jealous of. He’d get to fall asleep next to Deb every night. He’d get to touch her. He’d get to kiss her, see her in the morning when her hair was still a mess, and she’d cook his meals, bear his children, and it was all hitting Harriet at once. Before the ceremony, back in Deb’s room, they’d been able to pretend, but they couldn’t pretend any longer. It was over. They had to be over.

They’d only end up getting caught. John David would arrive home early from working in the fields one day, and he’d find them making love or holding on to each other in bed. If that happened, it didn’t matter how good of a guy he was – he’d report them. Everything would be over then. So, she had to find a way to move on with her life, but Harriet wasn’t sure just how that was possible.

“Of course,” she said to Lucas, putting a smile on her face.

Then, she looped her arm through his and allowed him to escort her, trying not to cry because even a few tears now would only turn into sobs, and she’d have to save those for later tonight, when she was alone.

At the reception, which was held out behind the house, the photographer, whom they’d hired at great expense, had a camera on a stand. Deb and John David were told to stand in the center of the porch. Harriet was off to the side along with John David’s cousin, who had been his best man, waiting for their turn to join them to have their turn in the photo withthe new couple. She glared at John David, who had everything that she’d ever wanted.

“All right, here we go,” the photographer said loudly. “A few more, and we can all join the party.”

He clicked something while Harriet was looking down at Deb’s bracelet, thinking about how she’d put it there years ago, wishing that it was a ring. She touched the bracelet on her own wrist and tried to think about how they’d both gotten there instead of how Deb now had a ring on her finger from her husband.

They’d been twenty years old, walking hand in hand through the woods down by the river, where some of the men fished occasionally, but it hadn’t been fishing season then, which was why they’d chosen that spot for their walk. They’d gotten really good at watching everyone else in town so that they could figure out how not to be seen or found out. When fishing season ended, they could be in the woods by the river. When it was going on, they needed to be in one of the barns on the old Whitfield property. It had fallen into disrepair and wasn’t in use, so they could bring a blanket and tuck it away behind some old farm equipment, pulling it out whenever they needed. Sometimes, the teenage boys went to smoke by that barn, in particular after school and during the summer nights, so for those times, they had another place to hide, and then another and another, but none of that ever mattered to Harriet as long as they could be together.

On that walk, she’d tugged on Deb’s hand, and they’d sat down by the water where it was rushing loudly to block out their voices in case anyone was out hunting deer or duck. She’d looked around, like she always did, just to be extra safe, and she’d pulled two braided twine bracelets out of her dress pocket. Then, she’d cleared her throat.

“Deb?”

“Yes?” Deb had said.

“Um… I love you.”

“I know. I love you, too.” She’d smiled softly at Harriet.

“I want to marry you.”

“What?” Deb had laughed a little. “What are you talking about?”

“I know we can’t, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to be your wife and for you to be mine.”

“Harriet, you know if we could, I–”

“I want to get you a ring.” Harriet had held up the plain twine bracelet. “But I know I can’t. For one, I can’t afford it. I have no money. But two, I can’t put a ring on that finger. I thought…” She’d taken a deep breath. “I thought I could give you a bracelet. It’s not much… I made it from twine I found in my pop’s workshop. He won’t notice it’s gone. I thought you could wear it, and I could wear one, too. We could tell people it’s because we’re best friends. They’ll believe that, but we can know it’s something else, something more.”

She’d taken Deb’s hand and slipped the bracelet onto her wrist.

“I… Your wrist is smaller than I thought. Hold on. I need to tighten it.”

“I haven’t said yes there, Harriet Louise Topper.”

Harriet had met Deb’s eyes then, which had been smiling almost as much as her mouth.

“Okay. Well, I apologize for presuming. Deb Wilson, will you marry me?”

Deb had smiled even wider at her and said, “Yes, I will. I’d marry you every day for the rest of my life, if I could, Harriet Louise.”

“Ah, come on, Deb. I called you how you like to be called, and you had to use the middle name that you know I don’t like?” She’d chuckled as she tightened the bracelet.

“You weren’t named after a cow, Harriet,” Deb had argued through her laughter.

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