Jewel's Dream by Annie Boone Page A

practical one, Caroline said, “We need to make our own connections.”
    Eva agreed. “We’ve all been praying and I think we need to do something else. We need to find connections somewhere else.”
    Sarah told about a conversation she’d overheard a while ago but had discarded it. Did it make sense to consider it now? Using The Matrimonial Times to find a husband was indeed a bold idea. At least in Jewel’s mind it was. She hadn’t been interested in that sort of scheme for herself. At least not at first.
    “Marry a stranger? Move out west?” Jewel pursed her lips. “I can’t believe you’re suggesting it.”
    “It’s not going to hurt to buy a copy,” Caroline offered.
    “The worst that could happen is that we’d get a letter we wouldn’t want to answer,” Mae said.
    Eva added her thoughts. “No one’s going to make us write back.”
    Jewel remembered that moment of silence. Her best friends together, but thinking separately about how becoming a mail order bride would change her life. Each of them wanted and needed a change. Could this be the right thing to do? Then a harsh reality came to her.
    “If we do this, we might never see each other again,” Jewel said quietly. “We need to pray on it. What if God has another plan for us?”
    “God put the idea in Caroline’s head,” Maddie said.
    “And if it’s not a good idea, God will send us a sign that we should stop,” Sarah added.
    And that was that. The decision was made.
    “Everything worth doing is a risk.” Mae held her hands out to her friends. “A risk and an opportunity. We don’t know what life will be like on the frontier, but it will be a fresh start. And no matter what, we’ll remain friends. We’ll write. We’ll visit. We’ll keep each other in our hearts, no matter what.”
    Jewel, however, still wasn’t certain. She left that day with the promise to do as her friends were doing. Mae’s words were still in her mind along with some she’d added herself. Risk, excitement, even danger. But what about the chance there might be happiness at the end? Could she ignore that part?
    It had to be better than sitting endless hours in the basement of Barnaby’s sewing the same flouncy dresses over and over again. Honestly, it couldn’t possibly be worse and there was no chance that anything would change if she didn’t try something new.
    So that was the winding footpath that had led her to the place she was standing right now. Looking into the window of the Downtown News Stand, trying to hold back her excitement and nervousness. Jewel took a deep breath, and with her heart pounding, she pushed the door open. Stepping inside hadn’t been as difficult as she’d imagined.
    The place was busy at the lunch hour and she didn’t have much time. She had to hurry so she wouldn’t be late back to work. Mrs. Grant watched the workers like a hawk. Facing her ire was an unpleasant event and she shouldn’t do anything to draw negative attention to herself.
    Jewel found a small opening at the rack and squeezed in to get a look at the publications that were displayed. She was dismayed to not find the one she wanted. As Jewel looked around, a man behind her cleared his throat.
    “May I help you, miss?”
    Jewel jumped. The speaker was behind the counter, and had thick round glasses and a curling mustache. Suddenly, Jewel realized that she had to make a decision. Did she tell him what she was looking for or did she just leave and come back another time? Maybe they’d have the magazine in stock next week. That would save her the embarrassment of asking for it. She’d walked four blocks in the rain to get this, it would be foolish to leave without it.
    “Um. Yes. I’d like to, uh, get a copy of the, um, The Matrimonial Times ,” she gulped. The man behind the counter chuckled.
    “Just got the new issue in this mornin’. Haven’t had a chance to put it out yet,” he said, gesturing to the people in the place.
    Jewel nodded and smiled