My Sister's Great Love

Alma's Advice

When they got back to the house Fern had wanted to know more about the whispered conversation, but Nell remained quiet. Fern grew annoyed and by Monday morning the two sisters were barely speaking. As Nell thought about Matthew speaking to her father, she grew more worried throughout the day. The worry made her uncharacteristically absent minded and by mid-day her mother had to ask her to stop helping in the kitchen. "Now Nell do you want to tell me what has gotten into you or do I just have to assume I'm right."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Nell said feeling as though she shouldn't mention her conversation with Matthew to anyone, even though it wasn't in her nature to lie to her mother.

Alma crossed her arms and frowned at her older daughter. "I can see you've already made up your mind about this situation." Alma hadn't expected how jarring it would feel watching her daughter be lovesick over a man. In her mind Nell was still the little baby they watched winter after winter fearing she wouldn't live. Alma couldn't truly accept that Nell had grown up because then she'd have to accept that she had grown into middle age.

At that moment, Fern walked in the backdoor and Nell jumped to her feet in anticipation, knocking over a bowl of potato scraps in the process. "I'm not Matthew or Papa so you can calm down." Fern said bitterly, then she went upstairs to her room stomping all the way.

Alma looked between her two daughters and her frown deepened. "Sit back down, Nell." Nell finished cleaning up the spilled potato scraps then did as she was told. Alma sat across from her and looked into her daughter's face, which bore a striking resemblance to her own. "Now I know you don't intend to tell me anything, so I won't waste my breath asking you to, but I just want to offer you some motherly advice then I'll leave you be."

Nell squirmed, not liking the direction that the conversation was taking. "I know Matthew is the first boy that came into this house and caught your eye, but if you're patient, other boys will come here looking for you too." Nell tensed up, she didn't want any other boy, she wanted Matthew. Even though she had just met him, she loved the way he made her feel light and giddy and nervous. She felt certain no other boy would make her feel that way and she didn't want to give any other boy the chance to.

Alma read the panic on her daughter's face. "I'm not saying you can't pick Matthew, he's certainly a nice enough boy. I am only saying that I don't want you to pick Matthew just because he is the first boy. Don't settle for Matthew."

Nell was torn between her desire to stay quiet on the subject and her desire to defend her feelings for Matthew, but ultimately her natural tendencies won out and her mouth remained firmly shut. She started to get up and move away from her mother's prying gaze when Alma reached out a hand to stop her. "One more thing, Nell." Her eyes were drawn to the stairs, checking to make sure that Fern wasn't eavesdropping. "Don't forget about your sister in all of this, she has feelings too."

Nell couldn't stay quiet any longer, "she doesn't even know Matthew, Mama, not like I do." Nell's voice trailed off at the end. She didn't want her mother to tell her she didn't know Matthew either.

"I didn't say she had feelings about Matthew," Alma said, "but I would hate to see you break your sister's heart. As much as you don't want to lose Matthew, she doesn't want to lose you."

More than any of Alma's previous words these struck Nell. She nodded than slunk away from her mother to sit with her sister until her father or Matthew came back to share their decision. She tried to tell herself that her mother was right and that if her father said no to Matthew there would be other boys who would come asking after her, but her words fell flat. Nell knew she was being dramatic, but didn't feel like she'd be able to live if her father told Matthew no.

Matthew and James came back at supper. Neither said anything to any of the women, instead they ate in their usual tired silence and all three women stared at them for any sign that an important conversation had passed between them. That night Nell and Fern were sent off to bed without any answers to their questions, but when they laid in the dark neither girl could sleep.

"Did he ask, Papa?" Fern asked, assuming Nell somehow had more information than she did.

"I don't know." This was more than Nell had said to Fern all day, so Fern took these words as an olive branch and crossed the room to climb into her sister's bed.

"He was supposed to though, wasn't he?" Fern asked, hoping that the dark would restore their bond.

"Yes," Nell admitted, thinking about her mother's words.

"Do you love him?" Fern asked.

"Not yet," said Nell practically, "but I think I could someday. If Papa would let him court me."

For the first time Fern felt genuine excitement for her sister, not tainted by any jealousy. "I feel like everything we've waited for is finally happening to you." Fern admitted.

"Just think you'll be so much better prepared when it happens to you. I've just made a fool of myself in front of Matthew more times than I can count." Nell was relieved to be talking to Fern again, even a few hours of feuding was hard on the sisters.

"Oh, you never make a fool of yourself," Fern said, brushing her sister's worries to the side kindly. "You'll tell me everything?" Fern asked.

"Of course. We won't fight again."

Fern didn't bother going back to her own bed and the two sisters fell asleep next to each other peacefully while their parents fought down below.