Armored Hearts by Melissa Turner Lee

around her clapped and cheered.
    Jessamine and Tabitha made their way to another display. A young woman with orange hair, wearing tattered, canvas pants stood by what looked like a barrel on wagon wheels.
    “As many of you know, my father is a farmer. Every year I walk behind him, dropping seeds as he plows, and cover the seeds with my foot as I go. All day long, every day, until planting is done. I’ve spent years toiling, and my mind spun around in my head trying to think of a way to make it more efficient. Now, I’ve come up with this planter.”
    She walked around to the side of the barrel. “You take the crank and turn it around over and over until it won’t turn anymore. This winds up the cord. Once you do that, you wheel it to the ground you want planted. The plow up front digs the trench while this belt pushes seeds out about a foot apart. This flap on the back covers the seed with just the right amount of dirt. And there’s even a spout at the rear to water as it goes. Cuts the planting time in half and requires fewer hands.”
    A grey-haired woman stepped out and started the applause. Tabitha leaned in and whispered, “That’s Mrs. Collins.”
    Mrs. Collins waited for the clapping to stop before she spoke. “This is why we are here. We are women with minds for automation. God did not intend us rot in a corner with them. When God created man, He saw that the man needed a helper and created a woman. Now, the God I serve is a smart God with grand ideas. How smart would it be to offer an idiot as a helper? To say, ‘Here you go. She’s not really good for much. She’s kind of entertaining when naked but other than that, put her in a safe place so she doesn’t hurt herself.’ No, that would make no sense at all.”
    The woman’s warm eyes glowed as she addressed them. “We are not trying to take over the work of men. We only wish to be included. We see things from a different perspective than the men and that’s a good thing. It is my hope that, one day, women and men can work side by side and forge new technologies together.”
    When she finished, the crowd applauded and began to separate into groups to discuss projects. Mrs. Collins approached Tabitha. “Miss Fitzgerald, so nice to see you. May I be introduced to your friend?”
    Tabitha bowed in reverence to the woman. Obvious admiration and respect shone from her as she watched the older woman from under long, dark lashes. “This is Miss Jessamine Keller. Her mother is responsible for automating textile factories throughout the southeastern United States.”
    The woman faced Jessamine with a welcoming grin. “Your mother is an automator?”
    “Yes, my father has a great head for business and my mother has one for mechanics. Together they’ve built an empire and improved working conditions. They have their home office in a town called Chesnee in South Carolina. Their automations have freed up children from the factories. She’s developed an innovative fabric blend that will change the world of textiles, as well as the military.”
    Mrs. Williams stepped closer. “I thought you said your inventions were to improve life and not take it.”
    Jessamine nodded her head. “Yes, quite right. But when a woman’s son finds himself at war, would his mother not have him shielded from the danger around him? My mother has designed a fabric as soft as cotton but as tough as armor.”
    “That is amazing dear.” Mrs. Collins grasped her by the forearm and nodded. “I applaud all your mother is doing on both fronts. I wish someone would take up the cause of the children here. Many children have suffered in factories for their cheap labor, casting education aside. It’s a terrible affliction.”
    Jessamine nodded. “My parents have also endowed schools in Chesnee so that the populace will be educated and ready for a future in automation. They don’t want an ignorant workforce.”
    “And are the girls educated along with the boys?”
    A warm smile crossed