Disrupted: Day 15

Word Total: 90,002

Year to Date: 300,043

Summary of Events:

Ezra had supper with his children, Mrs. Harder, and Gwendolen. Gwendolen got up early the next morning to make breakfast for Ezra and his children and ended up having a lengthy discussion with Ezra. After their discussion, Ezra contemplated whether he should allow Gwendolen to maintain the role she'd assumed or not, and got into a discussion with his eldest son about it . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

"Jeremiah shifted his jaw and looked up at him. "You always say there's never enough hours in the day to get everything done. If she's doing all the cooking won't that give you more hours to do things?"

Ezra ruffled his son's hair before tipping Jeremiah's head up so he could look him in the eye.

"You aren't stupid," he said. "But you forgot something."

Jeremiah looked uncertain.

"I'm injured," Ezra said. "I can't do all the work that I want to do with more time until I'm better."

"Does she have to go away when you're better?" Jeremiah asked.

"I don't know," Ezra replied.

"Can she stay Pa?" Jeremiah asked. "She's trying to help, and she's nice."

"You already said that," Ezra said.

"It's still true," Jeremiah said.

Ezra gave his son a wry smile before moving out of the doorway and turning toward his bedroom.

"And she sewed you up so you'd be okay," Jeremiah said. "And she wanted Sarah to be happy too."

Ezra nodded, then sighed. The thing was, a lot of what Jeremiah was citing was sort of what had happened with Hannah. He hadn't planned on getting married a second time, and based on the end result, he shouldn't have bothered.

If he allowed this, then goodness knew there was the risk of him becoming so endeared to Miss Devereux that he married again. But she'd already said she was fleeing an apparent murderer, and yet if they were to get married she'd be no more likely to survive, with how marriage had gone for him so far, that was.

"She's kind of like Sarah's Ma," Jeremiah said. "Except she's quieter."

"And that's what I hate," Ezra said.

"But you liked Sarah's Ma," Jeremiah said.

"Yes, I know," Ezra said, turning around. "But now where's Sarah's Ma?"

"Under the tree, out front of the house," Jeremiah said.

"Exactly," Ezra said.

"You think that Miss Gwendolen's going to die if you marry her?" Jeremiah asked.

"Your Ma's dead, Sarah's Ma's dead, for crying out loud, my Ma's dead," Ezra replied.

"But you don't have to marry her," Jeremiah said.

"I don't," Ezra agreed. "But, if she's going to be spending the better part of her day with you three, and interacting with me, that's how I even fell in love with Sarah's Ma, therefore, it stands to reason that if entered into the same sort of arrangement with another woman the same end might well come."

"Do you think she wants to marry you?" Jeremiah asked.

"No, she's told me as much," Ezra replied. "She thinks I'm too old."

"You're not old Pa," Jeremiah said.

"In relation to her, as a husband, I would be," Ezra replied. "Although Sarah's Ma would only be for years older than her right now."

"But if you don't want to marry her, and she doesn't want to marry you, why are you worried?" Jeremiah asked.

"Because things can change," Ezra replied. "I didn't have designs of marriage when I met Sarah's Ma.""

Next post is April 1.