Blue Dragon Sims Blog: Mary, Just Mary Chapter One

On my wedding day…

Bells will ring

And choirs will sing

I’ll be dressed in white

And walk to the candlelight

My love will smile at me

I’ll be just as beautiful as can be—

“Mary! Mary Ellen! Come along, now! We’re here!”

Mrs. Fickley's shrill voice startled me from my day dream, and I grabbed my purse and opened the car door. The long car drive had brought us to a beautiful white house in the countryside. The scenery was almost overwhelming. I heard the leaves rustling in the wind, birds singing, and there were gorgeous flowers everywhere. My fiancé, Albert, took my arm and smiled at me.

“Well, what do you think?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s lovely! This is your summer home?”

“Yes, it’s wonderful to get away from the noise and crowds of the city, isn’t it? Too bad all those coloreds are moving in so close. I wish there was something we could do to keep them out. I guess I’ll have to have a talk with the mayor sometime. But not now, my dear.” He kissed my hand and led me inside. Mrs. Fickley also came in, and immediately grumbled and threw her hands in the air.

“Oh, these housekeepers get more and more incompetent!” Mrs. Fickley pulled a little bell from her pocket and started ringing it. “Margaret! Margaret, where are you?” She hollered. A young colored woman came running down the stairs with her head down, apologizing profusely.

“I’m sorry, Ma’am, I didn’t hear you come in,” she said in a small voice.

“When I get home, I expect someone to be here to take my coat!” Mrs. Fickley snapped, shoving her fox-fur jacket into the poor girl’s arms. “Don’t let it happen again!” I didn’t even know why Mrs. Fickley was even wearing that jacket. It was late May in the small southern town of Sharon, and a very hot day indeed. Margaret took Mrs. Fickley's jacket, glancing up at me shyly. I smiled at her, and she turned away, rushing to hang up the coat.

“Good help is so hard to find these days. Mary, dear, I apologize for her rudeness. I found her on the streets begging for work because her bum of a husband won’t support his family like a real man and this is the thanks I get.” Mrs. Fickley shook her head.

“Mary, my little flower, you must be exhausted. Would you care to take a rest in the guest room?” Albert asked me.

“That would be fine," I replied.

Albert escorted me to my room, which was up the stairs and down the hallway. I walked in and saw a beautiful room with rosy pink wallpaper, and a lovely bed, dresser, and vanity. It was a quaint room with colonial style decorations, almost exactly like my room at home. I smiled at how well Albert knew me, and how nice it was to make me feel so welcome here.

“Well, how do you like it?” Albert asked.

“Oh, it’s so gorgeous,” I said. He chuckled and patted my hand.

“Why don’t you get settled in, dear?” He kissed my hand again and went back downstairs, and I walked further into my room. The wallpaper was soft and beautiful, and the entire room was spotlessly clean. Even though she was a bit flaky, the housekeeper did do a good job. I glanced over and saw her hanging up our coats in the hallway closet. I walked to her and gave a bright smile.

“Hello. The house looks so clean. You do a fabulous job here.” The housekeeper stared at me blankly for a minute.

Hmm, maybe she’s deaf. I thought. That would certainly explain her not hearing Mrs. Fickley right away. I cleared my throat and smiled at her again.

“Hello. The house looks so clean. You do a fabulous job here. And I really—”

The girl frowned. “Please excuse me, I have work to do.” I stood as dumb as she did earlier as she walked past me. How rude! She can’t even accept a compliment! I thought, wondering if everyone down south was like that. I brushed my hair from my face, and my hand stopped just short of halfway through my thick blonde locks. I tugged, and tugged again, and realized with horror that my ring was stuck, again!

“Oh, no!” I wailed. I pulled harder, but the stone only wound tighter around my hair. The sting of my hair being pulled brought tears to my eyes, and I ran into the den, crying.

“What’s wrong, love?” Albert asked.

“My ring is caught!” I sobbed.

“Again? Oh, Mary, you’re such a silly little girl!” Mrs. Fickley said. She came over to me and tried to unwind my hair from the ring. As beautiful as it was, sometimes I hated it. That ring would constantly get caught on my clothes and hair. But I couldn’t take it off. One time I tried, just for a while, but Mrs. Fickley got so angry. I didn’t like the idea of the ring getting tangled up in everything all the time. Mrs. FIckley called the housekeeper in to help untangle the ring. I kept crying.

“This is hopeless. Albert, get some scissors, we’ll cut it out,” Mrs. Fickley said.

“No!” I cried. “Not my hair!” I cried harder.

“Come now, don’t be such a child. It’s just hair.”

“Wait, I got it,” the housekeeper girl said. She pulled the last bit of my hair from it, and it was free. I sighed in relief.

“Well, how about that. Looks like you’ll keep your long hair, Mary,” Mrs. Fickley said. Albert came back in with the scissors, and laughed as I put the ring back on my finger.

“Mother, don’t tease her so much. You know how much she cares about how she looks. It’s her right.” He held my hand and wiped away my tears. “Calm down, dear. It’s all right.”

I wiped my tears and nodded at Albert, and he gave me a smile. I went back up to my room and sat at the vanity to brush my hair, which had become a little messy. I heard a faint knock on the door. “Come in,” I called, and the young housekeeper came into my room. I was a little annoyed to see her again but I remained polite. She did get my hair untangled, after all.

“Mrs. Fickley wanted to know if you needed anything else, Miss Baker,” she said.

“No, thank you, and, please, call me Mary. Just Mary.”

“Oh…all right, Mary.”

“What’s your name?”

“I’m…Marjorie. Marjorie Ruby. But, you can call me Margie.”

“Margie? Then, why was Mrs. Fickley calling you ‘Margaret?’”

“I’m not sure,” Margie said in a tone that sounded a bit resentful, as if she really was sure but didn’t want to say. Hoping that I could patch things over with her, I decided to try another friendly conversation.

“Are you married?” I asked her.

“Yes, my husband’s name is Ronald. He’s a good man, a hard worker. But, he hasn’t been able to find a job yet around here. He wanted to buy me a nice house and a wedding ring, but…”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”

Margie seemed surprised by my question, but looked past me and shook her head. “Please excuse me, I have to get to the kitchen and get dinner ready.” I turned around and saw who she was looking at. Albert walked into my room, laughing.

“My dear, you don’t need to be so kind to the help. This is why they’re here. You don’t want to make them lazy and unappreciative now, do you?” Albert patted my head and put his arm around me. “Come, your parents called.”

“Oh!” I exclaimed in excitement. My parents had been traveling in Italy on an extended vacation. I was unable to come because I had to prepare for the wedding, but Albert promised to take me all over Europe for our honeymoon, so I wasn’t terribly disappointed. I ran into the living room, where the phone was resting and I picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Mary, dear? Is that you?” my mother asked.

“Yes, it’s me.”

“How are you doing, darling?”

“Fine. Albert and I just made it to their summer house.”

“How lovely. It was good of him to take you on a vacation since you couldn’t come with us.”

“I’m still going to Europe, on our honeymoon.”

“How wonderful, dear! You must be so excited. Where will you be going?”

“Oh, he told me France, Spain, Italy, all the interesting places.”

“You’ll love it here. The weather is so nice! It’s been sunny ever since we got here.”

“Really? It’s been very nice here too. Not a cloud in the sky. The only thing is that it’s really hot! I didn’t know it got so hot down here so early.”

“Yes, it is quite different from Vermont. But Mrs. Fickley has quite the flower garden at their summer home. We talked about it all day last week. Did you see it yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“Maybe you can use some of her flowers for your bouquet. Have you gone to your dress fitting yet?”

“We’ll be going tomorrow.”

“That’s great. Well, your father wants to sleep, so, good night, dear."

“Mary! Dinner’s ready!” Mrs. Fickley said.

“Goodbye,” I said before hanging up.

Albert joined me by the phone and I followed him into the beautiful dining room. Mrs. Fickley was already seated, along with two other men I hadn’t seen before. They stood up when we entered, and Albert extended his hand and shook both theirs.

“Mr. Moore, Mr. Ellis, thank you for stopping by. This is my fiancée, Mary Baker. Mary, this is Mr. Moore and Mr. Ellis, my new partners at the bank.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Mary.” Mr. Moore said. “Ah, Albert, she is a vision of loveliness. You did well for yourself.”

“Please, sirs, have a seat. I’ll have our housekeeper bring you some coffee. Or tea, if you’d like,” Mrs. Fickley said. She pulled out a little bell from his jacket pocket and rang it, and Margie came out with a tray of drinks. Mrs. Fickley frowned at her, and her footsteps faltered.

“Where is the cream?” she asked.

“Oh, I’m sorry…” Margie said.

“I can get it!” I offered.

“You will not!” she said to me. “Go back in the kitchen and get it right now!” she snapped at Margie. Margie’s eyes welled up with tears and she darted back into the kitchen. It was a very difficult task to please Mrs. Fickley. Even I didn’t like spending long periods of time with my future mother-in-law. Mrs. Fickley shook her head.

“I just don’t get these people. I’m nothing but nice to them, yet they don’t appreciate anything I do! They’re all so brutish and impolite,” Mrs. Fickley said.

“Oh, I agree. I don’t understand why the government wants me to hire them in my offices. Would any of you trust them with that much money?” Mr. Ellis said.

“Absolutely not,” Albert said.

“And asking them to do all that paperwork, it’s just too much for them.” Mr. Moore added. “A few months ago I had an attempted murder trial on my hands! Can you imagine if my opening statement was written by a colored man?” I looked at Margie, who remained silent as she poured the coffee and served us our meals. Her expression was blank, like a statue. I felt sorry for her, and could understand why her mood was so sour towards me earlier.

“I remember a colored man worked at our corner store, he was very polite and always gave exact change—” I started, but Albert started laughing and patted my hand. Margie looked at me for a second, a glint of surprise were in her eyes for barely a second.

“Ah, yes, I know men’s talk is boring to you, my little flower. Shall we discuss something else then, like our wedding?” He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a little box. I opened it, and inside was a gorgeous gold ring, one that matched my engagement ring perfectly. I gasped and smiled at Albert, and he took the ring and put it on my hand. I held out my right hand, admiring the new ring.

“But, Albert, you already gave me an engagement ring.”

“I know, darling. But this is a promise ring. I promise that I will make all your wishes come true,” Albert said. I blushed as he kissed my hand, feeling so flattered that he would give me such a beautiful gift. I admired my ring just as Margie walked by, heading back towards the kitchen. I watched her go back into the kitchen, and I felt like I had to do something. I had to help Margie somehow. I looked into Albert’s warm eyes, and I knew he would understand.

“Albert, darling, I need to ask you something,” I whispered. No sooner had I said that, Mr. Moore and Mr. Ellis stood up from their chairs, and Albert stood up and walked towards them. He let go of my hand.

“Thank you for coming today. I promise you we’ll have a most profitable year,” Albert said.

“Thank you for inviting us. Good day, Madam Finney. Miss Baker.” Mr. Ellis said. The two men walked out towards the door, grabbing their coats and hats from the coat rack. Mrs. Finney stood up, yelled for Margie to clean up, then walked over towards us.

“What fine gentlemen they were, don’t you agree, Mary?” she asked me. I didn’t think they were fine at all for what they had said, but I nodded slowly.

“Yes,” I murmured.

“Good. I’m going to have the rest of my tea in the den. She walked to the den, and I turned to Albert. It was the perfect time to ask him my question.

“Albert, dear, I have something I need to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything, Mary. I know how bored you get at my formal dinners. You’re so skittish, like a kitten. We’ll work on that together,” he smiled at me, taking both my hands. “You’re so much like a child, it’s one of the things I love about you.”

“What? No, Albert, I—”

“Good night, my dear.” He let go of my hands and walked upstairs, I watched silently as he left. I heard Margie's soft footsteps as she came back into the dining room and collected the dishes carefully. I followed her to the kitchen.

“Need some help?” I asked.

“Why are you acting like this? You don’t have to pretend to be nice to me,” she said crossly.

“But…I’m not pretending.”

“I don’t know what’s worse. Those white men talking like that or you acting like Merry Miss Sunshine.”

“I’m very sorry about what they were saying. I wish I could get them to stop. I wish…they would listen…” My words trailed off as I thought of my parents. I loved them dearly, but they never listened to me. Everything had to be done their way, and I had to do everything I could to be the perfect daughter. I suddenly felt very empty. Margie turned around and looked at me.

“Well, the good book says ‘blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.’” she said as she started to smile.

“The book also says ‘love thy neighbor as yourself.’” I said.

“You would…call me your neighbor?” she asked.

“Of course. I hope we can be friends as well.”

“Hm. Maybe I was wrong.”

“Wrong about what?”

“About you.”

I stood still as she turned toward the door and walked away, wondering what she meant. For some reason, I didn’t feel insulted or angry. She stopped for a second, then turned back to me.

“Well, tomorrow is Sunday, and I don’t have to work. Would you like to come to church with me and Ronald, neighbor?”

“I’d love to!”

“Great! The church is just down the road from here, it’s the Riverview County Methodist Church. We’ll be looking for you.”

So, on Sunday morning, I wore my favorite blue dress and tied my hair back. I knew that neither Albert nor Mrs. Fickley would approve of me going to a colored church, so I snuck out the back door and briskly walked down the street, glancing behind me to see if I was being followed. Albert and Mrs. Fickley hated getting up early on Sunday mornings, since the medicine Mrs. Finney took every day made it difficult for her to get up in the morning, so I was quite safe from being discovered. It felt strangely good to be so sneaky. I was filled with confidence.

Confidence, that vanished entirely when I walked into the church. Every eye was fixed on me. Some looked confused, others glared harshly at me, but most stared blankly as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. My steps became slower and slower and my heart beat faster and faster. I was just about to turn around and head back out the door when I heard a familiar voice.

“Mary! Oh, Mary, there you are. We didn’t know if you were coming!” Margie walked over to me and gave me a hug. The tall man beside her gave me the same blank stare as the majority of the other worshipers in this church.

“Hello, Margie,” I said.

"Oh, Ronald, this is Mary Ellen. Mary, this is my husband Ronald,” Margie said.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said to Ronald.

Ronald was still for a moment.

“Margie, honey, you didn’t tell me she was…”

“Such a lovely lady?” Margie finished in a slightly warning tone. Ronald smiled nervously.

“Very lovely, yes, dear.”

“Well, let’s sit down,” Margie said. I heard hushed whispers as Margie, Ronald, and I took our seats. The preacher watched us, looking very thoughtful. He cleared his throat and raised his hands.

“Good morning. Let us start this day by thanking the Lord for this glorious morning, when we can all come together as brothers and sisters, for we are all children of God. Would you please rise and open your hymnals to page 133, as we celebrate the love of Jesus Christ.”

This church was different from any other I had ever seen. There was so much joy as the worshipers clapped and danced to the music. Nobody sang louder or danced quite like Margie, and I could see how much she loved God, despite everything she had to go through. The pastor’s sermon was about the verses John 16:19 and Matthew 25:34.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

I looked down at my two gold rings and felt ashamed. I had all these wonderful things and Ronald…poor Ronald couldn’t even buy his wife a wedding ring. The pastor concluded his sermon with a prayer. As he prayed for the good people in his church, I prayed that someone could help my new friends…somehow.

The service concluded, and people started to get up to leave. I went outside with the Rubys and light conversation filled the air as people talked about their families, jobs, and the good Lord. I enjoyed the somewhat melodious hum, coupled with the birds singing in the trees nearby, but it suddenly fell silent. I looked out the open doors of the church and saw a dirty red Ford truck pulling into the lot, and a white man got out of it. The conversation completely halted as he neared. Just like with me, every eye was on him. I couldn’t help but stare myself, but for a completely different reason.

He wore a blue checkered shirt and jeans with cowboy boots. His hair was the color of dust when it gets kicked up and floats in the sun. I suddenly felt faint, and my heart was racing. I knew it was wrong for me to feel that way, but at the time I couldn’t care less.

Our eyes met, just for a few seconds, but it was all the time I needed.

Coming back to my senses, I looked down and scolded myself for being attracted to another man. I wrapped my fingers around my engagement ring, remembering my other commitment.

“Good morning, officer,” Pastor Parrish said.

“Good morning. I wanted to stop by and see how everyone was doing,” the man said.

“There ain’t been no trouble lately. And everyone is just as eager as ever to be in the house of the Lord.”

“That’s good. I’m very sorry the investigation didn’t go anywhere.”

“Hey, it’s gonna take more than bricks to get people too scared to come worship."

“What happened?” I asked.

“Last week, someone threw a brick through the window during a service, but no one was hurt. We think it’s some neighbors around here that weren’t too pleased when this church was built.” Pastor Parrish explained.

“That’s horrible.”

“I think what’s horrible is that nobody at the squad wanted to do anything about it,” the man grumbled.

“Well, thanks for stopping by, Officer Harper. It…really means a lot to us.” Pastor Parrish cleared his throat. “Ahem. I have to thank Mr. Jameson for those wonderful hymnals that he donated to our church. Please excuse me,” Pastor Parrish walked back toward the church.

“Oh, where are my manners,” the man said in a frustrated tone. “Jake Harper, ma’am. If I had a hat, I’d tip it to you.”

His smile made my heart skip a beat. I couldn’t even say my own name as an introduction to him. All I could do was giggle like a silly schoolgirl. I saw another police car had pulled up behind Jake Harper, and a very mean looking officer in uniform was walking toward us. Jake’s face turned to a look of concern for Ronald and Margie. Ronald put her arms around Margie and they looked nervously at the police officer, then at me. The officer’s eyes were fixed on Ronald.

“Harper, you better have a good reason for being here,” the officer said coldly.

“I was just…checking up on—”

“I already told you, the case is closed.”

“Yes, lieutenant,” Jake Harper’s voice tightened, as did his fists.

“So, is there a problem here?” the officer asked Ronald, still glaring at him like a mean grizzly.

“N-no sir.” Ronald said.

“What business do you have with a girl like her?” the officer nodded towards me.

“I—I…”

“Um, she’s with me, lieutenant. She’s my…uh…cousin from out of town, sir,” Jake Harper said. My…cousin…”

“Mary,” I finished for him. “Mary Ellen.”

“Cousin, huh? Well,” the officer lowered his voice, “You might not want to have your cousin out and about in this neighborhood, Harper.” The officer turned and started walking away, nodding politely to me and glaring at Ronald as he walked away.

“Thank you for doing that, sir,” Ronald said. “I was sure he was gonna haul me in the can.”

“Not a problem. And, call me Jake.” He smiled at me again. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mary Ellen.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

“Jake, dear, would you mind taking Mary Ellen back home? Nothing safer than a police escort for a young lady, wouldn’t you agree, Ronald?” Margie said, her face breaking into a shrewd smile. Ronald stared at her.

“Oh, I don’t want to impose,” I said.

“It’s no trouble at all, miss,” Jake said.

“You can call me Mary,” I said.

“Just Mary,” Margie finished for me. We giggled together. “Well, we have to get going now. Goodbye, Mary. Goodbye, Jake.”

“Goodbye!” I said. I looked back at Jake, and he led me to his red truck. It was speckled with dirt, not nearly as clean or fancy as Albert’s car, but I still liked it. Jake looked a little embarrassed by it.

“Sorry about the mess. These dirt roads and the rain…”

“Oh, it’s okay.”

“So, ‘Just Mary,’ have you ever driven a truck like this before?” Jake asked me.

“No, my father never allowed me to drive any cars,” I said. “He always thought driving was too complicated for me. He said I daydream too much.”

“Well, let me teach you. It’s not complicated at all. We can drive to my house first, it’s just down the road.” He opened the driver’s side door, and held out his hand. My face flushed when his smile caught the light from the sun. I hesitantly put my hand in his, and he helped me into the car. I was in the driver’s seat, and Jake sat in the passenger side.

“Ok, so in front of you is the steering wheel, that’s pretty simple, right?”

“Mhm,” I turned the wheel back and forth and the tires scraped on the gravel underneath.

“This right here is your gear shifter. Pull it down like this to go into first gear. The pedal to your far right is the gas, and the wider pedal to the left is your brake. Now, just push down on the brake and put it into first gear.”

I pulled the knob and the car made a terrible scratching noise. I jumped and gasped in surprise.

“Don’t forget the brake,” Jake said, chuckling. I held down the brake and pulled the knob again, and the car started to roll slowly. I turned the wheel, and the car was back on the road.

“Hit the gas,” Jake said. I pushed down on the accelerator, and the car made the loud scratching noise again.

“Ok, now put it in second gear, like this. Hold down the brake.” I held down the brake and he pulled the knob downward, and when I hit the accelerator the car began speeding up.

“Am I driving?” I asked.

“Yes, you’re driving, Mary. My house is just down the road from here,” Jake smiled at me, and I could barely contain my excitement. I was driving, something my father or Albert never allowed me to do. My parents worried that I would get hurt, and Albert always wanted to use his chauffer.

“This is so easy,” I said. Jake chuckled, and my heartbeat sped up even more. He had such a friendly laugh. I saw a big, blue house in the distance. As we got closer, I saw how beautiful it was.

“Okay, we’re coming up on my house, now, hit the brake and turn slowly,” Jake said. I pushed down on the pedal, but it wasn’t the right one. We lurched forward instead of slowed down. The car’s gears ground again.

“Mary. Mary! The brake! Hit the brake!”

I slammed on the other pedal, closing my eyes in fear, and the car grinded and groaned, and I heard a “CLUNK!” followed by a “SNAP!” The car slowed to a stop. Jake quickly shifted the gears and got out of the truck and surveyed the damage. I bit my lip nervously and got out of the truck. Underneath it was a broken wooden plank, and Jake was holding a very flat piece of metal with a sad little red flag on it.

“Hm. Gone down in the line of duty,” Jake mused.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I’ll buy you a new mailbox! I promise!” I cried.

“Hey, hey, don’t worry about it. Nobody got hurt, that’s the most important thing. Well, nobody except my mailbox here,” Jake chuckled and tossed the mailbox aside. “You did great for a first try. We’ll just have to try again later.”

“Later?” I asked. My thoughts immediately turned to Albert, who was probably wondering where I was. If he found out I was with another man, especially someone I barely knew, he’d be furious. For the first time in my life, I was sad about having to go back to him. I ran my fingers across my diamond ring, and it felt so strange on my hand.

I didn’t want to go home.

But I had to.