Forever Friday (19 page)

June 1926

Houston, Texas

An entire week had passed since the trip to Huntsville, and Huck sat at the garage apartment’s little kitchen table, brooding. School was out until September, Gabe had left for work an hour ago, and she’d finished the morning chores.

Standing, Huck stretched her arms. They were sore from carrying boxes home from her classroom, even though Gabe had toted the heaviest ones. Sidney Lanier was getting a summer facelift, so she’d had to remove all her teaching materials.

After pouring herself more coffee, Huck grabbed a pencil and a box
of stationery, then plopped back into her chair. The plan of introducing Gabe as an oil man had not veered Annise away from her uncomfortable “face-to-face.” And now, she must write her mother an apology. It couldn’t be put off any longer.

Huck sipped her coffee and sighed. Procrastination had put her in a frightful mood, which wasn’t fair to Gabe. Honestly though, there hadn’t been time to write. Monday she was still at school. On Tuesday and Wednesday she’d organized, then filed everything she’d brought home. And yesterday she’d washed clothes and shopped for groceries. Her man deserved clean shirts and a hot supper, didn’t he?

She sharpened her pencil, then scolded herself for her listlessness. Gabe had tried to be encouraging, and she’d snapped at him more than once. And today was Friday, which meant another postcard would arrive with the mail. On top of that, after Gabe got off work, they had plans to go house hunting. She should be ecstatic.

“Perhaps I’ll address the envelope first,” Huck said aloud. After picking up an envelope, she wrote the ever familiar address, then licked and applied a stamp.
I’d better sharpen my pencil again
, Huck thought. She started to stand but, instead, lifted the topmost stationery piece and began.

The Market Square clock chimed two o’clock. Just as Gabe was leaving Cecil’s, Charlie drove up in his delivery truck.

“How about a smoke?” Charlie hollered.

“Can’t,” Gabe yelled back. “Got plans.”

“With the missus, I’ll bet.” Charlie shook his head. “It’s always with the missus.”

Gabe grinned and climbed into Blue Norther. He had plans, all right.

Waving at Charlie, he cranked the engine and sped onto Main. It was already a fine Friday. He’d ordered a word rhyming book, which had arrived at his office earlier in the week. It made writing poems so much easier. If he’d known how challenging it would be to compose an original verse each week, he might have come up with an alternate plan. But now that he had his
rhymer
 … why that flung open the poetic door of endless possibilities.

He felt like E. E. Cummings.

The traffic up ahead slowed, so Gabe turned and motored down a side street, then pressed on the gas. He’d planned to take Huck house
hunting, but he’d spied a chic women’s apparel shop not far from the Rice Institute. In the window was a pair of those new duck pants he’d seen advertised in the newspaper. He’d always dreamed of buying his wife stylish outfits, and today seemed as good a day as any, especially after Huck’s talk with Annise. Few men he knew had any interest in their wives’ wardrobes, and no clue about size and style. They just weren’t using their brains. All a man had to do was study the ads. In Gabe’s opinion, it would be another connecting thread to deterring The Long Division. And there was nothing more satisfying than seeing Huck’s pleased expression.

When Gabe arrived at the garage apartment a little after two, Huck was sitting on the steps, humming.

“Well, well,” he said, still seated behind the wheel. “I see a letter clipped to the mailbox for the postman to pick up. Is that why you’re so happy?”

“I feel much better.” She stood and twirled, causing her dress to slightly billow.

“Would you do that again?”

She smiled. “Absolutely not.”

Before he could think about opening her door, she was already seated next to him. “Writing Mother an apology wasn’t hard once I started.”

Gabe backed out of the driveway and grinned.

“Looks like you’ve had a good day too,” she said.

“Yep.” He sped toward the Rice Institute.

“I thought we were going house hunting.”

“Thought we’d start over by Rice. There’s a classy new housing addition out that way called Boulevard Oaks.”

“Fine by me,” Huck replied. “Isn’t that where they’ve planted trees along the roadway?”

“One day the branches will canopy the streets,” Gabe said.

They traveled along a wide boulevard until Gabe slowed and stopped in front of a series of shops. “I think my leg hurts,” he said.

“Which one?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe both.”

Huck looked around, knowing Gabe was up to something. “What have you done, Mr. Alexander?”

“Guess I pulled a muscle at work this morning.”

“Keeping the books? Smells fishy to me,” Huck said.

“Mind if we walk a minute?”

They stepped onto the sidewalk and passed a few storefronts. Suddenly, Huck stopped walking and pointed to a headless female mannequin. “Gabe, look.”

“What happened to her head?”

“Not that, silly. She’s dressed in trousers.”

“Why I’ve never …” He bugged out both eyes. “And without a head, she won’t have to worry about a matching hat.”

Huck laughed. “Trousers for women are the daring new rage.”

“Maybe for city gals. Ranch wives have been wearing their husbands’ britches for years. Can you imagine riding horseback and working cattle all day in a dress?”

“True. But these trousers are designed to fit. Some of the teachers at school were whispering about them. They’re called ‘duck pants.’ ”

“Do they make women waddle?”

“Cute. The material is called white duck. Mother would have a conniption.”

“Why don’t you try on a pair?”

Huck smiled, remembering their first date and how he’d so easily convinced her to buy a new dress at Foley Brothers. Then moments later while she was in the dressing room, Gabe selected a pink sailor blouse that fit her perfectly.

“I’ve seen a few husbands come in with their wives,” the young female clerk said as they stood at the cash register, “but they couldn’t wait to leave.”

“I tried to,” Gabe whispered. “But I’m being held against my will under the spell of her beauty. Can you help me?”

The salesclerk laughed and handed Huck her packages. “I don’t think she’d want me to.”

Huck felt herself blush. “If you’re single, be careful. You never know
who
will try to win you over with clothes.”

After leaving the clothing store, they bought double-dip chocolate cones in an adjacent ice-cream shop and climbed back into Blue Norther. They passed many beautiful homes for sale, but none seemed like what they wanted.

“Perhaps we don’t know what we want,” Gabe said while motoring sluggishly through a sleepy neighborhood.

“We’ll know it when it’s right,” Huck replied.

“You think living near a university might make us smarter?” He licked his cone.

“Of course,” Huck answered, wishing she’d been wise enough to have eaten hers more slowly. “Look where I grew up.” She laughed.

“I’d rather just look at you.” Gabe faced Huck, bulging out his eyes again.

“Stop that. We’re supposed to be finding For Sale signs. And anyway, you have a chocolate chin.” She leaned over and kissed his chin clean. “Watch the road, Mister.”

“Oops!” Gabe smeared ice cream on his cheek. “Now I have a chocolate cheek.”

“Too bad because I’m full and my head hurts. You’ll have to kiss yourself.”

“A man can’t be expected to find a house with ice cream smeared on his—”

“Gabe! Look!” Her eyes were focused on a brown Tudor-style brick home. “Stop the car.”

With a screech of tires, Gabe brought Blue Norther to a stop. Huck hopped out and headed toward the house. It was well landscaped, with a steep green-tile roof and a series of slightly rounded arches that framed the front porch and each window, then fanned out to form the entrance to a flower garden on one side. In the center of the garden was an Anacacho orchid bush in glorious bloom.

“Oh, Gabe, look.” Huck ran to the garden. “Anacacho orchids. This must be our home.”

“But … honey …?” Gabe said, catching up. “We’re standing in somebody’s yard. There’s no For Sale sign.”

“That’s because no one else was meant to find it.” Huck scampered to a window as a pang of fear jolted her insides. What if Gabe was right? But he couldn’t be. The orchids were a sign of her destiny. She cupped her hands and peered inside.

“You’re going to get us shot.”

“No I’m not. It’s vacant. Come look.”

They spent the next few minutes peeping into each window on the property. Huck couldn’t see everything, but the fine craftsmanship of rich wood paneling and deep molding was obvious. The garage was enormous, with room for Blue Norther, a workbench, and tools. There was even a sailboat with a small cabin stored on top of some wooden supports.

“Look at that,” Gabe said. “It’s like the boat I sailed as a kid, just larger.”

A car honked, then pulled up the drive.

“It must be the owner.” Huck straightened her dress. “Let’s buy the house today.”

“In all the excitement, I left our car in the middle of the street.” Gabe grinned. “Hope it’s not the
new
owner.”

“Go move Blue Norther,” Huck ordered sweetly. “Then come back and negotiate me a home.”

It wasn’t the owner after all, but a Realtor who’d driven out to plant a sign in the yard. He gladly showed the house, explaining that the middle-aged couple who owned it had moved unexpectedly and were eager to sell at a fair price. They had no more use for the sailboat, so it was part of the deal.

As warm summer dusk settled on the city, they returned to the garage apartment. They’d had nothing to eat since the double-dip cones, now hours earlier; however, neither Huck nor Gabe could stop smiling.

“I’m starved,” he said as they exited Blue Norther. “How about we celebrate with supper at Benny’s?”

“Oh, Gabe, I feel so grimy. I’d need to bathe first.”

“Yeah, I’m a little sweaty.” He wiped his face with a handkerchief. “So how about a sandwich and onion rings at The Pig Stand? That way, we don’t even have to leave our car.”