Staff Feature: Jennifer Purcell
July 1851
Bradford, GA
If there was one thing six-year-old Marjorie Willoughby was certain of, it was that adults underestimated her. Maybe it was because she was quiet and shy. But being quiet helped her notice things.
And one thing Marjorie had noticed was that Miss Phoebe was sweet on Mr. Hayes.
Marjorie sat on the back of the wagon next to her brother and watched Miss Phoebe talk to Mrs. Florence under the maple tree. Mrs. Florence had just gotten married to Mr. Charles, and they were both very happy. Ma said love would do that.
Miss Phoebe deserved to be happy too. She was always kind to Marjorie and her brother and sister. Well, almost everyone was kind to Beulah because she was only three. But Miss Phoebe always made a point in being nice to Marjorie and Jed too. And Marjorie liked that. Especially since some people weren’t very friendly to her once they saw her eyes were two different colors.
But Miss Phoebe had once said she was insecure about her red hair. Marjorie wasn’t sure why because Miss Phoebe’s hair was beautiful. Marjorie’s hair was brownish red like the Georgia clay after a rainstorm. She’d much rather have Miss Phoebe’s hair.
Across the churchyard, Mr. Hayes stood talking with Ma and Pa. They laughed at something Mr. Hayes said. He sure did know how to make people smile. He was always so cheery. But Ma had said that even though Mr. Hayes was a good man, a lot of women wouldn’t give him a second glance because he was short. Yet Marjorie had seen Miss Phoebe give him a lot of glances.
“Whatcha starin’ at?”
Marjorie turned to her brother Jed. He was almost a year younger than her and very unobservant. “Did you know Miss Phoebe’s sweet on Mr. Hayes?”
He scrunched up his face. “No.”
Marjorie sighed. “Men.” Then she hopped off the wagon. “Get Miss Phoebe over here.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“I don’t know. Fall down and cry or somethin’. She’s got a soft spot for hurt children.”
Jed crossed his arms. “I ain’t crying.”
Marjorie fought the urge to smack her brother’s dark blond head. He really could be stubborn. “Then get Mr. Hayes over here. Tell him you want to show him the slingshot Pa gave you.”
His green eyes brightened. “I can shoot something!”
She gasped. “That’s it!” She leaned closer and whispered her plan to Jed.
He squinted at her. “Sure Pa and Ma won’t get mad?”
“We’ll tell them it was an accident. And if it gets Miss Phoebe and Mr. Hayes together, it’ll be a fun story they’ll laugh about.”
Jed shrugged and hopped off the wagon, heading toward Mr. Hayes.
Marjorie made sure her little sister was still playing in the back of the wagon and then went to stand next to Miss Phoebe just as Mrs. Florence left with her husband. Marjorie took Miss Phoebe’s hand, and the woman looked down at her and smiled.
“Hello, Marjorie.”
“Hi, Miss Phoebe. I like your dress.”
“Thank you, dear.”
They talked for a few minutes, and Marjorie glanced over her shoulder. Pa had his back to them as he held baby Percy in the crook of his arm and helped Ma climb onto the wagon bench with his free hand. Jed and Mr. Hayes stood closer to Marjorie and Miss Phoebe, and Jed was getting his slingshot ready to fire.
Perfect.
“Miss Phoebe, have you ever—”
Miss Phoebe yelped, dropping her Bible as she put a hand over her left eye.
Marjorie gasped. Jed was supposed to hit her shoulder, not her eye! What if Miss Phoebe was really hurt? Oh, this wasn’t how it was supposed to happen.
“Phoebe!” Mr. Hayes ran up to them and cupped Miss Phoebe’s shoulders. “Are you all right?”
“Something hit me.”
“Let me see.” Mr. Hayes gently took her hand and pulled it away from her face, leaning closer to inspect it.
Miss Phoebe blinked at him when his nose almost hit hers. Maybe she was realizing they were the same height, so him being short wasn’t too bad. If she really cared about that.
“Based on this red spot right here”—he touched the side of her nose—“it looks like it barely missed your eye. Can you see clearly? Do I need to take you to Doc?”
“I . . . I’m fine.”
“Good. It would be a shame to injure such beautiful eyes.”
Miss Phoebe’s cheeks turned pink.
He smiled at her, and they stared at each other for a long time.
Marjorie picked Miss Phoebe’s Bible off the ground and held it up. “Here.”
The adults startled. Then Mr. Hayes smiled and took the Bible from her. “Thank you, Marjorie.” He tucked it under his arm and then held out his other elbow to Miss Phoebe. “May I escort you to your parents’ wagon?”
“Y-yes.” Miss Phoebe sounded like she was out of breath for some reason.
“And tomorrow, may I call on you to make sure you’re all right?”
She ducked her head. “That would be lovely.”
Mr. Hayes grinned as he led her away.
Marjorie turned to look at her brother, who was rooted to the spot with wide eyes. She marched over to him and smacked him upside the head.
“Ow! What was that for?”
“For being such a lousy shot.”
But four months later as Marjorie sat next to Jed at the wedding, she thought maybe they’d hit their mark after all.
If you enjoyed this story, you can catch up with Marjorie and Jed in A Different Kind of War and The Battle Within, available on Amazon!
When Jennifer’s not writing, reading, or blogging, she enjoys watching movies and daydreaming about happily ever afters.
Jennifer serves as the Social Media Manager for Spark Flash Fiction. Connect with her on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
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