The Piano Teacher

Chapter 9

Samuel tried to return to his cheery self in the coming days for Charlotte's sake, though she could still tell that something was amiss. Though he still left home quite often and for many hours, he did it less so than before. Charlotte decided that whatever must be wrong was very important to her uncle, and she now knew it had nothing to do with her, so her fears lessened, and she let her uncle be.

She tried to focus more on getting ready for dinner at the Oleson residence on Friday. She found herself breathless and clammy. She hadn't been to eat at someone's home in quite a few years. She had either been too busy or too sick.

She was terrified of what the family would think of her once they got to know her. Being in a town full of strangers was already hard enough; she didn't want it to be made more difficult with people who disliked her.

For the first time since she arrived in Walnut Grove, she wore her dark blue dress. It had a few layers of black frills on the skirt to make it more interesting. It was a modest dress but certainly nicer than the others she brought with her, and the most appropriate for the evening.

"You ain't goin' to visit the president, you know," Samuel said from the other room. He was already dressed in a blue button-up shirt that Charlotte ironed for him along with a black string tie.

"I'm sorry for taking so long," she said, emerging from her room once she was dressed. She felt quite plain to be going out for the evening since she had no jewelry. Her father never allowed her to have any, except her mother's old pearl necklace that she always wore to concerts.

She only had her piano broach from her father, which was very simple and could hardly be considered real jewelry, and she avoided it anyway because the bad memory associated with it would only make her more nervous.

"You look mighty fine, Charlie," Samuel said, standing. "Let's hope your beauty'll strike that Mrs. Oleson so hard, she won't have much to say at dinner. Don't care much for her voice, I must say."

She smiled, and they went out to the buckboard that Samuel prepared ahead of time. The sun was beginning to set, the sky turning amber, the prairie becoming more golden than gold itself.

But by the time they made it to town, the sun had mostly set, and the sky had then turned a rich shade of magenta. They parked outside of the Oleson home, which was attached to the mercantile. The light inside shined brightly out the windows.

Once Samuel hitched the horses, they knocked at the door. Mrs. Oleson answered with a smile. She was dressed nicely in a maroon dress with a lace collar and shiny, dangling earrings. "Oh, Mr. and Miss Richmond, welcome! You've arrived just in time, dinner's nearly served. Please, come inside."

She ushered them into the parlor, which boasted a piano, fine blue wallpaper, heavy curtains, and many trinkets and artworks. It reminded Charlotte somewhat of her home in Minneapolis, though her home had almost no knickknacks or art around, as her father disliked clutter and preferred the ascetic life.

A scruffy little boy in a suit tried running past them into another room, but his mother caught him by the collar. "This is my wonderful son, Willie. Willie, what do you say?"

The boy, who had big, distracted eyes, droned, "Hello, Miss Richmond, hello, Mr. Richmond." He then bolted into the other room, which led into the mercantile and up a set of stairs that likely led to the bedrooms. From that same area, Mr. Oleson emerged wearing a gray three-piece suit, the chain of his pocket watch glinting in the lamplight.

He smiled when he saw them and nodded politely. "Miss Richmond. Samuel."

"Nice place you've got here," Samuel commented.