Michael
Michael paused to wipe the sweat off his brow. Working
construction at the site of the new State Capitol building, even during winter,
was hard going. There was no shelter or shade from the sun or the wind, and the
days were long and harsh. Since the end of the civil war Austin had boomed, and
its growth came on the backs of men like Michael. He stood to his feet, wiping
the last of the mortar from his trowel as the final brick for that line of wall
he was working on stood evenly in its place. He stretched his arms skyward,
working out the kinks in his back that had camped just above his waist after
stooping for so long over the growing wall. He glanced towards the supervisor’s
tent and noticed the foreman glaring at him over a clipboard, his spectacles
hanging low near the pointy tip of his nose, a line of sweat beading across his
balding forehead.
“Hiya buddy.” Tony came up behind him and slapped him on
the back. He exclaimed, “Don’t tell me you’re tired already, you slacker! We’ve
still got eight hours of work ahead of us. You’re going to get on ol’ four-eyes’
bad side if you’re not careful. And you know what happens when you’re on his
bad side? You have to listen to his whiny voice telling you off for at least a
full ten minutes.”
“Don’t I know it,” Michael said. They both chuckled, and
Michael hurried toward the wheelbarrow where he mixed up another batch of
mortar. Tony followed him, and helped by adding water to the mixture as Michael
blended it with a square-nosed shovel. He smiled at Tony. Michael was in high
spirits today, regardless of the workload. “It’s all worth it. I need the
money, because tomorrow…”
“I know, I know,” Tony said. His own smile faded, and he
took on a look of irritation. “Ramona’s arriving. You haven’t stopped talking
about it for days.” Tony shook his head. “I was hoping you’d come to your
senses and have changed your mind by now. Why do you wanna go and get married
anyway? There’s plenty of women around here for a man who wants to be single
and enjoy the finer things in life. We work hard, we play hard. It’s the life
men all over the world can only dream of. Why would you wanna go and change
that on me? I just don’t understand you at all sometimes.”
“You know I want a family. It’s all right for you – your
entire extended family live here in Austin. But I’m on my own here, and it’s
awful lonely when I go home at night. I’ve always wanted someone to come home
to, and the timing is right. I’ve got a good job, I’ve saved and bought a nice
house, and I’m ready. There aren’t a lot of good women around here, Tony, not
of the marrying kind. Every woman I meet is either unsuitable or already
married. I mean, you tell me, when was the last time you met a single woman
you’d take home to meet your mother?”
Tony kicked the ground with the toe of his boot, a light
flush creeping across his tanned cheeks.
“Meet my Mamma? Heck no. I don’t bring any of them home to
meet her. That would be asking for trouble.”
“Exactly my point. Austin’s a real nice place to live. It’s
got potential, it’s gonna be somethin’. I don’t wanna move, but if I’m to have
the family I’ve always wanted, I either have to leave here, or have a wife sent
to me.” He paused and looked around the half-finished building before adding, “I
mean look at this place. This building’s gonna be amazing, you just wait and
see. It feels good to be part of somethin’ big like this, it sure does.”
Tony kept mixing. “I understand you wantin’ a family. But there
ain’t no reason for you to rush into it. You’re young. Only twenty-five. There’s
plenty of time to have a family. We should enjoy our freedom for as long as we
can. Once we’re old and tired we can tie on the ball and chain.” He chuckled at
his own joke and leaned on his shovel, sweat beads glimmering on his dark brow.
“I know one thing for sure, you don’t need to order a bride in the mail.
Especially not one from New York. Who knows what you’ll get? Do you really
think a New York gal is going to fit in down here in Austin? Do you think she’s
gonna take to you? Heaven only knows what she’ll be like.”
Michael turned back to the wheelbarrow to continue mixing.
“That’s right. Heaven knows. I’ve prayed about this, and I
trust God to bring me a wife who will suit me, and will be my partner in life,
whether she comes by mail or some other way.”
Tony sighed with exasperation, “You and your God,” he said.
“Well, don’t come cryin’ to me when it all falls apart, and it will, you mark
my words. I just wish you’d take some more time to think it through first.”
“I don’t want to waste any more time. We’ll be working on
this site for at least another two years Tony, and even then I don’t know that
I’ll want to uproot and head north, and I don’t want to wait any longer to be
part of a family. I want someone by my side to share my life with. A good,
sensible wife. I don’t know what Ramona will be like either, but I’m willing to
give her a shot. God will take care of the rest.”
Tony scoffed. “Well, fine. I’ll let it go and I won’t raise
the subject again. But, just one more thing - have you thought about the fact
that you just can’t seem to talk to women at all? How’s that gonna work?”
Tony chortled as he began slipping bricks into place and
slapping mortar underneath and between each one, his hands flying back and
forth along the line.
Michael’s face reddened. “I can talk to them.” He threw the
shovel to the ground, and joined Tony, the two men laying bricks smoothly and
efficiently together in a row.
Tony raised his eyebrows. “Can you? You start quivering as
soon as you get within a foot of a woman!”
Michael reached a hand up to comb it through the brown hair
that had a habit of falling across his tanned face. “Well, this will make
things easy for me, won’t it? She’s already agreed to marry me, that’s the hard
part out of the way. I think this is going to work out just fine. There’s none
of that awkwardness that comes between me and any woman when I like her, but I
can’t seem to find the words to tell her how I feel, or to ask her if she’d
like to take a stroll with me, or sit by me in church. That’s all out of the
way. We’re getting married, so of course she’s going to be sitting by me, and
walking with me. This way will be so much easier.”
Tony’s laughter filled the construction site. He slapped
his thigh as his peals of mirth rang out, echoing off the mounds of dirt and
bricks surrounding them. The foreman spun about to glare at the two of them once
more.
“Ah Michael – you poor sod. That shows how much you know
about marriage,” he said, wiping the tears from his eyes.
Ramona
“Are you sure about this?” Elizabeth asked as she gingerly
stepped onto the thick boards lining the train platform. It shook beneath their
feet. The train was already approaching. “You’ve never even seen a picture of
Mr. Newhill.”
The girls were standing in the middle of an immense
building, its glass ceiling was shaped like a dome that sparkled high above
their heads. In front of them a dozen raised platforms peopled by smartly
dressed passengers lay in bright, clean rows over the ground. The sun shone
down brilliantly through the glass above, sending kaleidoscope colors dancing
across the train carriages as they moved deftly in and out of the station.
“You’re the one who talked me into this Mail Order scheme
in the first place!” Ramona said, astonished that Elizabeth could be having
second thoughts now.
“I know.” Elizabeth stared down at the polished oak beneath
her feet. “But I did mean for you to pick a man based on your compatibility,
not based solely on his location.”
As the two women spoke, the sparkling carriages of an
engine-less steam train glided quietly into the station, braking gently to stop
in front of them at the platform.
“Wow!” said Elizabeth, “would you look at that? I can’t
believe I’ve never caught a train from the Grand Union Depot before. I mean,
I’ve been down here to look around of course, everyone has, but I’ve never
actually caught one of the trains anywhere. It’s sad really, I’ve never been
anywhere at all.”
“Me either,” said Ramona, staring at the silent carriage
standing only feet away from her. She shivered as a rush of nervous energy sent
a jolt through her body.
“Excuse me?” Ramona hailed a porter. “This luggage is to go
onto the train please.”
“Yes ma’am.” The porter tipped his hat, and reached for
Ramona’s bags, deftly swinging them onto the train carriage one by one. He
slipped into the carriage after them and carried the bags out of sight,
returning to the platform a few moments later. He was about to move on when
Ramona stopped him again.
“One last thing if you please, where is the locomotive for
this train?”
He chuckled, and wiped the sweat from his brow with a
handkerchief.
“Mr. Vanderbilt didn’t want any smoke clouding up his glass
ceiling, so the engines have to disengage before they arrive at the depot and
switch over to a line that runs along the side of the depot. The trains glide
in, and the brakeman stops it at the platform. Then, the engine trundles back
around to pull the carriages out from the other end. It’s somethin’ ain’t it?”
“Well I never.” exclaimed Elizabeth.
“Will that be all ma’am?” asked the porter.
“Yes, thank you.”
Ramona pulled her traveling gloves onto her hands, pushing
the fingers securely in place one by one. She rearranged several of the pins
that were securing her hat over her tightly coiled bun, tears filling her eyes
as she avoided Elizabeth’s face.
“I suppose this is it?” she said, finally looking up to
meet Elizabeth’s gaze.
Elizabeth’s cheeks were wet and she dabbed beneath her eyes
with a handkerchief before blowing her nose zealously. She let out a heavy sigh.
“I can’t believe you’re really going Mona. When will I see you again?”
Ramona pushed a smile firmly across her countenance and
reached out to embrace her oldest friend.
“I won’t be gone forever, in fact I plan on returning
within the year so that I can get back to auditioning,” she reassured her. “I
want you to know that I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.” She took Elizabeth’s
hand in hers. “You’ve been a good friend to me when I needed it the most. I
won’t ever forget that.”
***
It took almost two days for the train to make its way to Albany,
Texas. From there Ramona disembarked to catch a stagecoach the rest of the way
to Austin. She was restless for the duration of the journey. The auditions she
was missing in New York weighed heavily on her mind, as she thought about the
girls she knew so well from years of training and auditioning together who
would be winning the roles she so desperately wanted. But most importantly, she
wanted to find her mother and she didn’t know how she could even begin that
search, having no money or transportation in Austin.
What if Mother has already left Austin? What if I can’t
find her – what will I do then?
What if I do find her, but she truly
never wants to see me again and turns me away?
When the train finally pulled into the station at Albany in
the early morning hours of the second day, Ramona was relieved to feel solid
ground beneath her feet again. She stepped from the train onto the dusty, worn
platform and her eyes widened as she took in the half-finished town. People
rushed to and fro along the streets, and everything seemed to be covered in a
sheen of brownish orange that floated through the air, and was whipped about in
flurries by the wind. It was very different from New York City and everything
Ramona had ever known, but it did have a tinge of excitement and newness about
it.
Not much glamor out here.
In that moment she almost wanted
to run after the train, to scream out to the conductor to stop, and take her
back to New York City. Instead, she squared her shoulders and looked for the
coach.
“Stagecoach ma’am?” asked a weathered looking man.
“Yes, to Austin please.”
“Name?”
“Ramona Selmer.”
“Yes ma’am, your passage has been paid for through to
Austin.”
He picked up her bags, one in each hand, “This way please.”
Well, that was easy enough.
Ramona followed him to the stagecoach where the fresh
horses were stamping their feet and snorting steam into the cool morning air,
eager to get going. The driver secured her luggage to the top of the coach, and
then opened the door for her to enter. She stepped up and into the coach, happy
to discover the seat to be quite comfortable and only one other passenger on
board.
Even though the distance between Albany and Austin was much
shorter than from New York to Albany, this part of the journey was by far the
longest and most difficult. They travelled for four days, stopping at a different
boarding house each night for food and rest. In the morning they ate a hearty
breakfast, and the cook packed them a picnic lunch to eat on the road. Then they
were off again. By the time they reached Austin, Ramona felt as though her
teeth had almost been jolted from her head, the sounds of horse hooves
thundering along the ground now a permanent fixture in her brain. Her eyes were
full of dust, her mouth was constantly dry, and her clothing was limp, dirty
and soaked through with her sweat. The fresh winter air had been left behind,
and seemed to be reserved only for nighttime in Texas. The days were hot and
dry, and the air filling the coach was thick with dust.
It was evening when they finally arrived in Austin. Ramona
staggered from the coach. Her legs turned to jelly, and she fell flat on her
face in the dusty street. She sat still on the road with her dress bunched up around
her, tears filling her eyes.
What a great impression I’m going to make on my
prospective groom. Although, since I have no intention of actually going
through with the wedding, I suppose it doesn’t really matter what he thinks of
me.
The driver set her luggage down on the sidewalk and rushed
to help her to her feet.
“Don’t worry Ma’am, happens all the time. Takes a while to
get used to travelling by coach over those kinds of distances.”
“Thank you. You are very kind.”
In minutes, the driver and his coach were gone. Headed no
doubt for a boarding house where they would spend the night before starting
their journey all over again the next day. Ramona sighed and sat down on top of
her purple satin bag with the green bows. As she sat there, she watched the
townsfolk rushing by, or stopping to chat, the streets almost empty as people
made their way home for supper.
I wonder what Mr. Newhill will look like. How am I to
recognize him? I do hope he has remembered me. Everyone around me looks so
keenly focused. They each have a purpose, something they must do, and they are
intent on doing it. It feels very strange to have nothing at all to do but sit
here, in the dust, waiting for someone who may or may not show up. And if he
doesn’t, what then?
Ramona straightened her back. She had to remember: she had
a purpose as well. To find her mother. That’s what mattered. Once she had
located her mother, everything would be OK. They would be together again, as a
family, and she wouldn’t have to worry about what she might eat or how she
could get back to New York. Mother would take care of everything.
“Ramona?” A quiet, deep voice interrupted her thoughts.
Ramona jumped, startled.
“Yes?” she asked, thinking that the young man before her
with the sandy blonde hair and large green eyes must be from the coach service
and had come to collect her bags to take to the boarding house. Although his
clothes and boots were caked with mud, Ramona couldn’t help but noticed his
chiseled features and the two large dimples in his tanned cheeks beneath
striking green eyes.
“Can I take this for you?” He nodded at her luggage, his
black hat twisting around in his hands.
Ramona nodded. “Thank you. I’m actually waiting for
someone. Do you know a Michael Newhill?” she asked absentmindedly, standing on
tiptoes to search the length of the street. “He was supposed to meet me here.”
The young man fumbled with the suitcase. “I’m, I’m
Michael,” he said quietly, as though he was almost unsure of the fact himself.
Ramona’s eyes widened, “Oh. Of course. I’m sorry – I’m
Ramona Selmer. It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Newhill.”
Michael sat the bag back down and reached for her hand.
Ramona looked at his brown hand as it took her own in a firm grasp. “I figured
as much. Pleased to meet you Ramona.”
She felt a blush creeping up her neck.
Why am I blushing? He’s good looking that’s for certain,
but it doesn’t matter one jot since I’m not marring him.
“Thank you,” she said hurriedly.
She squinted up at the man and considered his appearance.
Yes,
she decided.
He is kind looking. Handsome too, if he were to wash up a
little and polish those boots of his.
She shook her head and her curls
bounced.
But none of that is of concern anyway. It doesn’t matter what he
looks like. It doesn’t matter if he is kind. All that matters is that I find
Mother as soon as possible.
Michael seemed to perk up. “You look as though you could do
with something to eat and a wash after that long journey.”
Ramona’s mouth opened to shoot back a retort, but she
thought better of it and closed it again.
Michael noticed the scowl forming on Ramona’s face.
“I mean, you look real pretty. It’s just that I’ve taken
that stagecoach journey before, and I know how it feels to get to the end of
the ride, that’s all.”
Ramona beamed. “Thank you Michael. That’s awful sweet of
you to say. Of course, I would love some food and a place to wash up.”
Michael grinned shyly and reached for her bags. Picking
them up he made his way over to an open wagon that was sitting behind a beautiful
old chestnut mare.
“Then, maybe tomorrow you could show me around Austin? I’m
keen to see all the sights.” Ramona glanced up and down the street before
following Michael to the wagon. “I’m in quite a hurry to see all the sights,
actually.”