Sadie cleared her throat. “Mr. Tate, we may just be able to help you,” she said as she glanced at Tripp across the grass.
Mr. Tate frowned and pulled at his collar again. “Help me? How?”
Sadie and Suzanne exchanged glances and shared a nod. “Have you ever heard of mail order brides, Mr. Tate?”
He crossed his arms and tapped his chin. “I believe so. I think I’ve seen a publication regarding that topic. But I can’t imagine it really works. I’ve never met any such union s and can’t imagine they could be successful.”
Meg’s eyes twinkled as she looked from Mr. Tate to her husband. Sam smiled and reached for her hand.
“Mr. Tate, why don’t you poll this group as to the success of such matches?”
Mr. Tate’s eyes grew wide. “All right. Have any of you personally known a mail order bride?”
Sadie laughed and said, “You’re looking at one, Mr. Tate. I was a mail order bride.” She nodded at Tripp as he joined the group and reached for his wife’s hand.
“I was one, too,” Clara chimed in as she sat down next to Lily and Lucy.
“So was I,” Meg added as Sam wrapped his arm around her shoulder.”
“I…I had no idea.” Mr. Tate removed his spectacles and pinched his nose.
“Don’t you worry, Mr. Tate. We can help you find a bride, too,” Suzanne said.
Sadie and Suzanne laughed and each took one of Mr. Tate’s arms. His ears turned red as they walked away, filling him in about their mail order history. Meg turned to Sam and rested her head on his shoulder.
“Do you think that might be an option for Mr. Tate? He seems like a very nice man and likely an excellent teacher.”
Sam lifted Meg’s chin toward him, his eyes twinkling as they searched hers. “Why not? If it worked for us with everything we went through, it can work for anybody.”
Meg sighed and rested her head on Sam’s shoulder. As she looked out at her friends and family and thought of her new life, she marveled at how her daydreams had actually come true. All of them.
The End