Edith and the Mysterious Stranger by Linda Weaver Clarke Read Free Book Online

should never take advantage of a man’s good
heart or good nature.”
    “Advantage?” she snapped impatiently. “Gilbert
helps her because he wants to, not because she demands it.”
    Martha quickly interrupted, as if she were
trying to stop a fight that was ready to begin. “My dear, he
doesn’t mean to insult women. He’s only stating his opinion. That’s
all.”
    “Well,” Edith huffed. “Then I’ll state my
opinion, as well.” She stood on her feet and took a deep breath as
she clenched her fists tightly. “Women need help with the household
chores at times. Do you think we have enough hours in the day to
get it all done, especially with children and other outside
responsibilities? Besides that, what’s wrong with a man taking care
of his own children? With a father’s helping hand, a child can make
the right decisions in life. You underestimate a husband’s role in
marriage. By the end of the day, a woman’s exhausted and needs her
husband’s help.”
    The whole time Edith was talking, Martha was
holding her breath, waiting for what was coming next.
    Edith pointed an accusing
finger at Henry and said, “How many times
has a woman given up the idea of pursuing her talents simply
because her husband could not help with the household chores and
encourage her to work on her own talents so she could better
herself?”
    The whole sentence came out in one long
breath. After she was done, Edith waited for a response.
    Henry was speechless. He
drew in a breath of air and said softly, “I see what you mean. I never thought of it that way before.
I didn’t mean to offend you.” Hoping to change the subject and the
wrath of this woman, he took a deep breath and asked
politely, “ Would you mind singing for
me?”
    At that request, she abruptly excused
herself by saying she had a full-blown headache.
    Later that night, Martha
walked into her bedroom, sat down on the bed beside her, and
apologized. “I’m so very sorry for what I
did. I shouldn’t have invited him over. I can see now that it was a
mistake. I didn’t realize you were so annoyed with him until
tonight. Please forgive me.”
    Edith touched her mother’s
hand. “It’s all right, Mama. I understand
that you’re concerned about me.”
    “Sweetheart, we need to talk.”
    Edith knew that meant a
serious talk, so she took a deep breath and sighed. “All right, Mama. What is it?”
    “Edith, you never gave him a chance. You’re
not looking at the inner person.”
    “The inner person?”
    “You know, his heart or the spiritual side of him.
Henry has a good heart, and that’s why I invited him over. But
Edith, you’re not allowing yourself to see beyond your own
prejudices.”
    “Prejudices?” Edith said impatiently.
    “Just let me finish what I have to say. Please?”
    Edith nodded reluctantly, not sure if she really
wanted to hear this.
    “I know that differences of opinion between couples
are common. Your father and I didn’t always agree on issues at
first, but with time we gradually helped one another to understand
our own point of view. We learned to respect the other’s opinion.
No one couple has everything in common at first. That would be
impossible. What you need is to get to know a man deep inside
first, not his outward appearance but his heart, his spiritual
side.” Martha tapped her chest with her fingers for emphasis.
“Inside here, Edith. Do you understand? Don’t challenge men so
readily.”
    Martha smiled as she affectionately placed her hand
on her daughter’s face and repeated, “Get to know a man’s heart,
Edith. That’s what you have to look for.”
    Then she leaned over, kissed her daughter on the
cheek, and left her with her thoughts.
    Edith snuggled into bed but didn’t go to sleep right
away. She was too wound up. Was her mother right? Was she truly
that hard on men, judging them and passing sentence all in one
evening? She had been told by many a friend that she wasn’t giving
men a chance. Was it