Claire Lewisville was distressed that night as she paced back and forth in her one room apartment in town. She could barely afford the place and was forced to eat bean soup again. She was at her wits‟ end. She hated to tell her parents that her efforts had been in vain. Nothing she told the bank employees made any difference.

They were all a cold hearted lot. Her father wasn‟t able to come in to make his case because he threw out his back and couldn‟t

afford the wagon ride into town. Her mother was an emotional wreck over the stress of losing her home. Her TWENTY-SIX year

old brother and his wife were busy trying to maintain the farm so they could put food on the table. Her sister Kate would have

been twenty-four that year but had died three years ago due to pneumonia. Tristan was seventeen, so he couldn‟t do anything until he was an adult. The ten year old twins, Jamie and Teresa , were still children. The burden rested on her shoulders.

She tried not to cry, but her situation seemed unbearably hopeless. “Lord, what am I going to do? Is there no one who will

show mercy upon my family?”

She spent the past two weeks praying and reading her Bible every night, but the Lord didn‟t appear to hear her. Perhaps He is saying no to my request. She knew that God didn‟t always say yes.

She sat on her small cot that served as a bed and stared at the wobbly kitchen table a foot away from her. Her job at the library barely paid the bills. She couldn‟t afford to help pay her father‟s debts. She was thirty-one . She was hardly of marrying age anymore. Most women by her age had already settled down

and had families of their own. Who would want to marry her?

Austin ‟s words penetrated her thoughts. “Perhaps with your family‟s debt out of the way, you‟ll find a man who‟s willing to overlook your constant nagging.”

She had been accused of coming off as too harsh to members of the opposite sex from other people. It seemed that no man wanted a woman who was strong-willed and outspoken.

She hadn‟t intended to be so abrasive at the bank, and originally, she wasn‟t. But the more her request for mercy was denied, the

angrier she got, and when she got angry enough, she said whatever was on her mind, whether or not it was appropriate.

Oh Lord, I know I need You to tame my wild tongue. It‟s so hard.

Who would want to marry an old maid anyway? She was well past her prime. A man could be Mr. Hansworth‟s age and still

be an attractive catch, but a woman wasn‟t worth much once she reached thirty. She sighed. Her sister-in-law was twenty when she married her brother. Marie was sweet, quiet and soft. She was fragile. Her brothers often joked that Claire was too hardheaded for a man.

But didn‟t You make me this way? You don‟t expect me to be what I‟m not, do You?

She knew what she wanted out of life and pursued it. She didn‟t back out of a challenge. She even rode horses bareback and sought adventure when she could find it. She wasn‟t content to stay in one place for long. She desired to see the world but

couldn‟t due to her financial situation, so she spent a great portion of her days in a good book where she could transport herself to places that she longed to see but never would. A man wanted a woman who was content to stay home all day and take care of the children. And she did want children. She just envisioned taking the children with her on her travels. The thought of being

confined to a home just didn‟t sit well with her.

She picked up the birth announcement that rested on the table next to her. It was from her childhood friend Beatrice.

Beatrice married at eighteen to Paul Sussex, a man twice her age.

Because of Claire‟s single status, she was not allowed to see Beatrice much. They would talk if they happened to run into each other, but there was an unwritten rule that women who were married needed to stick with other married women. And a single woman was to never be alone with a married man since they tended to find the unmarried women a temptation. Sue made it a point to

avoid private encounters with any male since her virtue was important to her. It was all she had that was worth of value. But even her virginity didn‟t attract respectable single men.

“Maybe Hosea is right,” she muttered. “Maybe I need to find anyone who is willing to marry me.” But it wouldn‟t be just

anyone. If she was going to commit her life to a loveless marriage, she would make it worth her while. She would marry a

rich man who could bail her family out of debt. Then at least, her

sacrifice wouldn‟t be in vain. She took a deep breath.

Alright, Lord. I don‟t see what other choice I have but to be a gentle and quiet woman who will sit at home and take care of the children while my husband has all the adventures. Since I can‟t talk anyone at the bank into showing me mercy, this is the only option I can see that will save my family.

She did have one small consolation. Eventually, she would die so her time on Earth in misery would be limited.

Besides, what were a few decades compared to eternity in Heaven? She felt much better now that her decision was made.

She would set her sight on every available and wealthy bachelor.

Perhaps someone would notice her and marry her. What other choice did she have?

***

That Friday evening, she took all of her savings and bought an elegant light blue dress which accentuated her curves

while leaving her modesty intact. She even went to the hairstylist who trimmed her long blond curly hair and set her curls in gentle

waves against her face. She put on make up too. She couldn‟t afford any jewelry so she borrowed Belinda‟s diamond necklace.

She hadn‟t realized her hair reached slightly past her shoulders since she wore it in a bun so much. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. She didn‟t recognize herself. She almost felt like a different woman. Deciding to use that thought, she went to the

upscale dance, determined that she would find her future husband that very night.

Her heart raced with nervous dread. She wasn‟t looking forward to this. She loved to dance but since this wasn‟t a social

function on her part, she had a tough time enjoying herself. She entered the grand ballroom and sighed as she studied the available men in the room. Most of them were around her age or older, but they seemed to have set their eyes on the eighteen to twenty-five year old women. She sighed again. Who would want to marry a

thirty-three year old? A seventy year old man from the corner of the room winked at her.

She involuntarily shuddered. Of course, only an old man would be interested in her. But perhaps that was a good thing.

He didn‟t have many years left to live.

******************

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