Page 51 of Because I Could Not Stop for Death

“Aren’t you going to eat your ice cream?” Miss Lavinia asked as she licked at her cone.

“Oh yes. I guess I was trying to savor it.”

Emily looked at her own chocolate cone. “Savoring is one of the best things you can do. Taking a moment and realizing how special something is makes it that much more special.”

I smiled and licked my cone.

Miss Lavinia sighed. “Where should we go now? I would like to walk by the White House. You never know who you might see strolling down Pennsylvania Avenue. You might find a suitor in this city, Sister. You might find yourself living here.”

Emily wrinkled her nose. “I think not. I don’t ever want to leave the comfort of Amherst. It is pleasant to be here in February, but the long summer months would be torture. Summer is the very best time for wandering the woods and thinking. I could not do that here in the heat.”

“But what if your husband wanted to leave Amherst?” Miss Lavinia asked.

Emily lifted her chin. “I would not marry such a man.”

Whether they were looking for suitors or just out for a stroll, Miss Lavinia and Emily agreed to go for a walk by the White House. I told Buford their intentions, and he promised to pick us up near the Washington Monument.

“That’s fine by me,” he said. “It gives me time to enjoy my ice cream.” He winked at me. “It’s a fine gift from you, miss.”

“How did you know?”

He winked again but didn’t answer the question.

Emily and Miss Lavinia were already making their way down the sidewalk, and I hurried to catch up with them. I fell into step behind the two sisters and rapidly finished eating my ice cream before it could melt.

We passed so many smartly dressed ladies on the way to the White House. They wore large hats with feathers, had impossibly small waists, and held parasols over their heads to protect them from the sun.

“We should have brought our parasols,” Miss Lavinia said. “We will both have freckles by the time this trip has ended if we are not careful.”

“I wear my freckles as a badge of pride,” Emily said.

The sisters continued to debate the merit of freckles when they were interrupted by a man walking from the opposite direction. “My, this is something I never expected to find. The two Dickinson girls in the big city eating ice cream.”

I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. It was Mr.Arthur Milner, the Amherst postmaster.

“Mr.Milner,” Miss Lavinia said. “What a shock to see you here in Washington!”

“I tell you that the shock is all mine.” He raised his brow. “And is that Willa Noble with you? I didn’t see you there. How nice for me to see so many friends from home.”

I didn’t think he missed me. I might be quiet, but I was a tall woman, taller than most men, including Mr.Milner.

“We are here visiting our father,” Miss Lavinia said.

He placed a palm to his cheek. “Yes, of course, I should have realized that the moment I saw you.”

“What are you doing here?” Emily asked.

“Official postman business, I can assure you. There is a postmen’s convention this week, and I was lucky enough to be invited. That is no small feat for a postmaster from such a small town.” He smiled. “I am hoping to take back much of what I have learned from my time in Washington. The U.S. Postal Service is trying its best to make practices uniform across all of the offices. It’s something that has needed to be done for a long time. We cannot guarantee that a piece of mail will travel from one part of the country to another without everyone following the same procedures and protocols. They’re important. I run everything as it should be, but I am hoping to learn what other places are up to that might lead to delays.”

“We know that no one could possibly have a better handle on the mail going in and out of Amherst than you,” Emily said soothingly.

“Thank you kindly.” He smiled. “Now, I best be on my way to the next meeting.”

“Before you go,” Emily said, “my father is having a dinner party at our hotel, the Willard, at the end of the week. If he knew you were in the city, I know that he would love for you to attend.”

“I should love to, thank you.” His cheeks colored with pleasure. “It would be an honor.”

“I’ll ask for an invitation with all the details to be sent to where you’re staying,” Emily said. “My father cares about Amherst first and foremost, and he would want anyone from back home to come to his event. Do you know of any other people from back home who might be here?”

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