Page 41 of A Joyful Ring
Risa heard his footsteps retrace their way down the hall and out the back door. She returned to the kitchen. Gloria raised both eyebrows and shook her head at Risa, but grinned and motioned for her to take over stirring the pudding she was making.
Risa managed to dodge in and out of the pantry while Gunder carried in wood, then went to clean up for the evening.
“He and Lars both take a bath before I serve dinner,” Gloria explained. They were almost finished with dinner preparations when Gunder returned to the kitchen, and Risa was forced to retreat to her room. From what she could hear, Gunder had brought along his jewelry tools and the pendant he was finishing for Mr. Goodwin’s daughter.
Gloria commended him on the work he’d doneon a friend’s bracelet, then asked him questions about other pieces he was working on. Gunder mentioned something about a ring, but Gloria banged a pot loudly and Risa couldn’t hear the rest of what was said.
Then she realized she was eavesdropping and shouldn’t. Rather than sit in her room twiddling her thumbs, Risa grabbed her coat and scarf and managed to slip out the back door undetected. She didn’t go far, just walked around the block. By the time she returned to the house, she could see through the windows that others had arrived and were gathering for the evening meal.
Risa stood in the snow beneath shadows cast by a maple tree in the yard and watched Gunder help Gloria carry dishes out of the kitchen to the dining room. As soon as Gloria motioned for everyone to be seated, Risa dashed around the house and snuck inside the back door.
She left her coat and scarf in her room, then made her way through the pantry to the kitchen because she was starving.
Gloria, bless her heart, had filled a plate and left it for her on the stove.
Quietly, Risa carried it into the pantry and ate it there, then set the dishes in the sink. She poured a cup of hot coffee from the pot on the stove and took it back to her room.
It seemed hours had passed before there was a light tap on her door.
She opened it to find Gloria standing there, holding a leather-bound book in her hand.
“He’s gone upstairs for the night. If you need anything from the kitchen, or would like to read inthe library, you’re welcome to. Gunder rarely comes back downstairs once he’s in his room.” Gloria held out the book, along with a pen and an inkwell. “I find it helps me gain clarity to write things down. This is an empty journal. I hope you’ll take it and use it, Risa.”
“Thank you, Gloria. I’ve never kept a journal, or considered writing down my thoughts, but I think I’d like to try.”
“Just set your thoughts free. Write whatever you’re feeling and thinking, whatever is weighing on your heart, or filling it with joy. Write it all down. Somehow in the writing it can give us a changed or improved perspective.” Gloria gave her one more hug. “And if you want to write in the kitchen, I left a slice of pie for you on the table.”
“I can’t thank you enough for everything, Gloria. I’m truly so grateful for you, and look forward to strengthening our friendship while I’m here.”
“I will love that, darling girl. Sleep well.” Gloria patted her cheek, then disappeared into her room across the hall. It was a room meant for a head housekeeper, with its own sitting area and spacious bedroom.
Risa hurried to the kitchen and found Gloria had left a lamp burning on the table. She set the journal and ink on the table, poured a glass of milk, and sat down to enjoy the pie. After eating every last crumb and draining the glass of milk, she opened the journal and wrote her name inside along with the date, then let the thoughts of her heart pour through the pen.
Chapter Ten
Deep in his thoughts on a Saturday afternoon, Gunder drove the last mile to Lovely barely aware of his surroundings. Since Risa had left to visit a friend earlier in the week, nothing had seemed right in his world. Her absence had left such a gaping hole in his life, he felt as though part of himself was missing.
In fact, when he’d been at Gloria’s boardinghouse this week, there were moments he could almost catch a whiff of her fragrance that always made him think of sugar cookies and Christmas. Or maybe it had been the vast array of goodies Gloria had been baking recently.
Seemingly overnight, Gloria had transformed the house into a glorious thing to behold, with an assortment of festive decorations. She’d informed him that morning she wasn’t waiting forChristmas Eve for a tree and expected Lars to help her fetch one when he came the following week. Gunder could almost envision how it would look in the sitting room, centered in the big bay window.
Gloria had been in fine spirits recently, and Gunder pondered whether it was the Christmas season or Lars who had made her so joyful. All he knew was the house seemed to ring with her cheerfulness.
Gunder knew he’d never, ever have a house that fine and fancy, but one day he’d have a solid, sturdy home where love filled every corner because he hoped and prayed the one there with him would be Risa. He couldn’t even begin to imagine loving anyone else the way he loved her.
He was anxious to get back to his tent and finish the last bit of delicate scrollwork on the promise ring he’d made for her. Then all that would be left to do was polish it. He was sure it would fit her ring finger because when they’d been holding hands one afternoon as they went on a walk after church, he’d managed to loop a thread around her finger to size it without her noticing what he’d done.
Gunder had concluded before he gave Risa a ring, even if it was only one that held the promise of his intentions, he really needed to speak to Lars and ask his permission. It was the proper thing to do, as his mother had reminded him in her latest letter that had arrived a few days ago. He’d been surprised to receive a box full of gifts from his family. Although he should have waited until Christmas to open it, he’d been too excited to postpone the joy he’d found in receiving it.
His mother had sent a tin packed with Swedish cinnamon cookies she made every year for the holidays that he greatly enjoyed. She’d included a dozen handwritten recipes he could share with Risa if he chose. His sisters had sent him two pairs of socks they had knitted for him, and his mother had made him a new wool shirt in a shade of blue that matched his eyes. His father had sent a pair of lined leather gloves that would keep his hands far warmer than the pair he’d been using.
The gift in the box that meant the most to him, though, had been a tiny bell, no bigger than a thimble. His father’s note had said he’d started working on it the first time Gunder had mentioned Risa and hoped she would like the bell, which he’d sent as a token of friendship and gratitude for her kindness to Gunder. His mother had included a note to Risa, and his father had written one for Lars.
Gunder would wait until Christmas to share the letters with them.
Inspired by the idea of presenting Risa with the miniature bell that had a single rose engraved on it—which he knew she would love—along with her promise ring, Gunder crafted a box that would hold both. He used a piece of oak wood he’d purchased for melting silver to create the small box. Gloria had promised him this morning if he brought the box along on his next trip to Baker City, she had scraps of velvet he could use for lining it and would help him glue them in.
Excited to give gifts he hoped would be well received, combined with the anticipation of the fast-approaching holiday, he should have been beyondjoyful. However, the dark cloud in his otherwise bright sky was Risa’s absence. Despite his efforts to pry her location out of Lars and Mrs. Baldwin, they stuck to the story she was visiting a friend. Even Gloria reiterated that statement when he questioned her in regard to Risa’s whereabouts. He was sure they knew where she was, but refused to tell him for reasons he couldn’t understand.
