After She Said 'I Do'

A Couple Months Down the Road

Some time had passed since that evening between Emily and Sue—nearly two and a half months to be exact, and a busy two and half months it had been. Sue and Emily continued their relations as usual, but Emily had been travelling with Lavinia and Mrs. Dickinson for the past month and a half competing in the cake baking contests across New England—it was a very popular event during the Fall season and Emily had won the previous year in Amherst. Emily hadn't seen her girl in six weeks and she missed her dearly. She wanted so badly for Sue to come on the journey with them but Sue had to stay put as she had other pre-planned events during the time frame. In the meantime, Emily had been writing Sue love letters—but was unable to receive any in return due to moving around from place to place and no proper address for it to be sent to.

The Dickinson ladies had finally arrived home on an early morning in early-to-mid-November. The air was crisp and cool as the girls unloaded their suitcases off of the carriage with the help of the man who drove them around. Emily glanced over to the Evergreens before heading into her home to look for any signs of Sue being awake—the house was still dark and not even a dim light in site. Emily was rather surprised as Sue was typically an early riser and it was already 7:30. The sun had risen nearly an hour prior and Sue was always up with the sun. Emily found it rather odd, but continued on into the house with her suitcase.

As soon as they walked through the door, a male voice spoke, "Let me help you with those!"

Emily looked up and standing in front of her was Austin, grinning ear to ear and Sue and Maggie stood behind him.

"Austin!?" Lavinia said, surprised. "What? Why are you here!?"

"Hello to you, too," He scoffed jokingly, coming in for a hug to all three girls. He embraced them all tightly and Emily was nearly frozen—just completely shocked to see her brother home. She was feeling a rollercoaster of emotions; happy because her brother was home but also confused as he was fighting in the war, and she was also feeling a bit nervous because that's how she always felt when her, Sue and Austin were in one place at the same time.

He broke the embrace and said, "Well, I've actually been on leave for the past week, but I head back to fight in two days. George is also on leave with me. He's been staying with us at the Evergreens, but he's still in a slumber."

"It's so wonderful that we made it home in time to see you before you head back." Mrs. Dickinson said, smiling at her son.

"Yes, mother." He smiled, nodding his head before continuing, "And even better news, I got approved for leave a few days around Thanksgiving and Christmas! So, I will be home to celebrate with the family. It will be a wonderful time and I'll be back in only a couple of short weeks and a few weeks after that. I have missed you all so dearly."

They all smiled at him, expressing their excitement that Austin would be able to be home to celebrate the holidays with them. At this point, Emily was showing excitement but she was also in a bit of a daze, trying to take all of the information in. They had been gone for so long and she couldn't wait to finally get home and spend time with Sue and kiss her and embrace her, but those plans would probably have to be put on hold until Austin leaves. They snuck around before aplenty, but it still was a very nerve-wracking thing for both Sue and Emily. They were addicted to the fact that they could be caught at any moment, but it was also a very scary thing for them.

Mrs. Dickinson, Lavinia and Austin were all in deep conversation while Emily tucked away toward her suitcase once more, rolling it with her as she finally approached Maggie and Sue.

"I missed you two!" Emily said, looking at the women in front of her. "Life with only them for six weeks," Emily gestured toward her sister and mother, "has been interesting, to say the least."