by Emily Woods
“Shhhh, there you go, nena! That’s a good girl!” Irina said quietly as Queralt calmed down. Irina looked at her daughter’s small, red face and shuddered. The mother and daughter had been traveling for over a month, and they were both filthy and tired. Despite Irina’s best efforts to make herself and her daughter look presentable, their faces were streaked with grime, and their clothes were tattered from the journey from New York to Pinecone, California.
“He will be here for us any moment, nena,” Irina whispered. “We must be sweet and lovely when he comes for us!”
Irina was referring to Billy, her husband-to-be. She had never met the man, but they had sent several letters back and forth after first “meeting” through a marriage advertisement posted in the same newspaper that had reported the death of Irina’s husband and father.
“A marriage advertisement?” Irina had wondered aloud to herself as she turned to the back of the newspaper. “What is this?”
Irina had been rereading the story about the ship’s sinking, and out of nowhere, a gust of wind had knocked open the small window of her midtown flat. The breeze had pulled the newspaper from her hands and scattered the pages on the floor, and as Irina dropped to her knees to collect the pages, she noticed the dozens of marriage advertisements listed in the back.
Kind, Christian inventor seeking wife from the east
Educated, gentle, good-hearted
Family lives nearby
Join me in Pinecone, California
Irina had gasped. It had only been a few months since the death of her father and husband, and with seemingly no prospects for work or marriage in New York, Irina felt as though God was sending her a sign. She was a devout Christian. She attended church three times each week, and she had always trusted in the Lord to take care of her. Even after receiving news of her husband and father’s deaths, Irina believed that God would provide for her and her daughter.
“Oh, God,” Irina had said as she clutched the loose page of the newspaper to her chest. “It is a sign!”
Irina and the inventor had begun a whirlwind courtship through letter-writing. The inventor was called Billy, and he was gentle and good-hearted, just as he had described in his advertisement. His letters were filled with sweet words and darling stories about his parents and younger brother, and while Irina’s heart still ached for her father and husband, as she prayed over each of Billy’s letters, she felt a sense of understanding and peace.
“Lord, there is no other way to explain this! You must have sent this man’s advertisement to me for a reason!” Irina had exclaimed to herself after another nice letter from Billy arrived.
After nearly two months of writing letters to each other, Billy revealed a secret he had been keeping from Irina.
Irina, I know I have told you about my schooling in San Francisco, and I am sure you have wondered why someone from Pinecone, a small, country town, has such an education. Well, Irina, I am blind. I have not had my vision since I was small, and I cannot see. I live a good life though; I work as an inventor, and I spend my days in my workshop, applying the science and lessons I learned from my private education and building tools for other folks with vision impairments! I sent off my creations to the east and west coast; my brother helps me correspond with special shops that sell things for the blind, and I am told that my designs for canes and other contraptions are very well received!
Irina, I hope this does not scare you away. I have prayed about sharing this news, and I would not want to keep anything from you if you were to become my wife….
Irina had cried over the letter. Billy was so earnest, and she appreciated his kind heart and his candor as they wrote to each other. In her response, she revealed her own truth to Billy.
I cannot thank you enough for your honesty. I must tell you my own piece of important information, Billy. I have a small daughter. As I wrote before, her father, my husband, died in a terrible accident, and we are alone in the world. I am a good Christian woman, and my husband and I were a faithful, honest couple. We wanted to raise our daughter to love the Lord, and I hope that the news of her existence does not deter you from pursuing this match. Her name is Queralt; it is a common Catalan name, and my parents, both Catalan immigrants, had grandparents named Queralt. Oh, Billy, I hope you will not be cross with me.
Billy had responded to Irina’s letter faster than he had ever responded to any of her letters.
Irina, children are blessings, and I am pleased to hear that you have a little daughter! It pains me to think of the pair of you alone and helpless in New York, and I want to offer my service and affection to you for life. Irina, please consider this letter an official marriage proposal. I am dictating these words to John, my brother, who helps write all of my letters, and I can tell you that he knows the enormity of the smile on my face as I make this offer to you. Irina, I am enclosing enough money for you to purchase train tickets for you and your daughter. I believe the Lord has brought us together, and I want to take care of you and the little girl forever, if the Lord is willing, and if you are willing!
Within an hour of receipt of Billy’s letter proposing marriage, Irina had packed her meager things and purchased a train ticket to Pinecone, California. She had nothing left for her in New York, and as she carried her daughter to Grand Central Station, Irina thanked the Lord for bringing such a wonderful man into her life when she was most desperate for His intervention.
Now, as the train began to slow to a stop, Irina felt her stomach sink. She was nervous. Her letters to Billy had been pleasant and chatty, and she hoped that their correspondences would translate into compatibility. She offered a quick prayer as the train began to jerk, praying that the Lord would bless her and her new husband.
“Please let him love us and let him be a good father to my baby girl,” Irina prayed to herself as passengers around her began to rise from their seats. A small town was visible on the horizon, and while Irina’s stomach danced with nerves, she also felt a tinge of excitement. She missed her husband, but her year-long marriage to Jordi had been arranged by her father. Irina had obediently honored her father’s wishes and married Jordi, and while they had been respectful and kind to each other, they lacked the passion and enthusiasm for each other that Irina’s parents had shared in their own marriage. Irina’s mother had been dead for years, and her father lamented his deceased wife every day. Irina knew what true love looked like, and while Jordi was a faithful husband and a loving father, Irina knew deep in her heart that her husband was not her soulmate.
“Perhaps the Lord is giving me another chance at love,” Irina whispered to herself as the other passengers collected their baggage from below the wooden benches in the second-class train compartment. “Maybe this will be everything I dreamed of as a girl. Billy has been such a dear in his letters, and I cannot wait to gaze upon his face at last.”
“She has a daughter? She is coming here?” Betha exclaimed as Billy shared his news with his parents and brother. The family was gathered around Charles and Betha’s kitchen table, and Betha’s mouth was wide open in shock.
“Ma, you always told us about how you met pa, and I thought it was so lovely!” Billy said, his handsome smile stretching across his face. “I’ll never find a girl here in Pinecone, at least not one that I am interested in. Being away at school changed a lot of things, and I just want to find someone I can take care of and love, and also learn from!”
“Why, Billy! That is just wonderful! We have been praying for your future wife for years, and now, your dreams are coming true! Charles! Ain’t that real lovely?”
Charles placed a hand on his oldest son’s shoulder.
“We are real proud of you, son,” Charles said, his eyes sparkling. “You will make a good, Godly husband, and a good father to her little girl!”
John rolled his eyes.
“John! Watch your manners!” Betha hissed at her twenty-three-year-old son. “Why are you rolling your eyes at your brother? That ain’t polite!” Betha said,
her Irish and western accents blending together.
John sighed.
“I am just real sick of Billy putting on airs. He ain’t talkin’ like us anymore. He’s a real fancy pants now. He went away to school in San Francisco and came back a fancy pants! He doesn’t even work out in the ranch like I do. He sits inside all day, hammerin’ away on his things. It just ain’t fair. Billy goes off to school and comes back, and everyone acts like he is some kinda hero. Here I am, working out in the ranch and breaking my back each day, and no one cares! Now he’s gonna have some girl here and her daughter, and everyone is gonna just forget about me even more than they do now!”
Tears began to stream down Betha’s face. Charles glared at his youngest son.
“John. That is enough. You come outside with me right now!” Charles roared.
Billy shook his head. “No, Pa,” he said quietly. “Let me talk with him. John?”
Billy rose from the table and reached underneath his chair to retrieve his cane. John remained sitting.
“John. Your brother asked to speak with you. Go with him now,” Charles grumbled.
John made a show of standing up and following his older brother outside.
“What do you got to say to me?” John asked.
Billy cleared his throat.
“John,” Billy began. “John, I know it has been hard for you to have me as your brother. I hope you know that I appreciate everything you do for this family. You helped me so much as a boy, and you help pa run the ranch business. You help me write my letters, and you even helped me build my own house. John, you are a good man, and a good brother, and I am thankful for you!”
John grimaced as Billy leaned in to embrace him. John was tense in Billy’s hug, but Billy continued to hold his brother.
“John, I pray for you daily,” Billy said gently. “I pray that your heart softens. I pray that I can be a good brother to you. I pray that He brings someone special for you someday. I pray that we grow closer. John, I know that you have resented me for taking ma and pa’s time and energy and money, and I understand. I just hope you know that as your older brother, I want to do right by you. I love you.”
John fought the tears that gathered at the corners of his bright green eyes. He knew that Billy was being sincere, and he knew that his brother’s heart was good, but John struggled to let go of the tension he had held onto since his childhood.
“And, Johnny, we both know that you are the more handsome of us now that you have grown!” Billy teased. “Ma tells me that all of the girls stare at you as you walk down the street. She says ranching has broadened your shoulders and grown your muscles, just like Pa’s! She says that your blond hair has darkened, and that you even have a beard. Even I can’t grow a beard, little brother! See? You are more of a man than I am! Just take heart in that!”
John couldn’t hold back his laughter. He did love his brother, and as they stood together outside of the modest cabin where they had grown up, John felt his heart soften.
“You are an ugly old thing,” John teased back. “Let’s hope your wife-to-be ain’t got something special for a fellow with a beard!”
Irina clasped Queralt to her bosom and took a long breath. It had been over three hours since they had arrived in Pinecone, and no one had fetched them from the station. It was nearly nighttime now, and Irina felt the heavy, overwhelming exhaustion from her journey descend upon her tired body.
“Where is he?” Irina muttered as she wiped saliva from her daughter’s pink lower lip. “Was this all a cruel joke? Where is Billy?”
Each time the door opened, Irina craned her neck from her seat in the waiting room to see if a tall, curly-haired fellow walked in. She knew that Billy would be wearing dark glasses, but with each man coming in and out of the train station, Irina was disappointed. Her husband-to-be had not yet arrived, and she felt herself growing hopeless as the minutes ticked by.
“Ma’am? Y’all doing alright?” Irina heard as she waited. A short, stocky man in a tall hat approached her. “You both have been waiting here an awful long time. Do y’all need a place to stay? The Pinecone Inn is real close to here, and the proprietors are a real good set of people. They ain’t gonna turn a pretty young thing like you away.”
Irina looked down at her dark leather boots. She was ashamed of herself for being so naive. How could she have jumped on a train from New York at the urging of a complete stranger? Now, she was alone, dirty, and penniless, and she felt embarrassed as the short man looked at her in pity.
“We’re fine, thank you,” Irina said briskly. The man tipped his hat at her and walked away.
“What have I done?” Irina wondered aloud as Queralt stirred.
Suddenly, the door burst open. A tall man with dark blonde hair walked in, and when his eyes met Irina’s, his shoulders lowered in relief.
“Miss Irina?”
Irina nodded. It was not Billy. This man had straight hair and a thick, wavy blonde beard that nearly touched his sternum. She wondered if Billy had sent this man to fetch her, and she sighed, thankful to be known by name as she sat in the train station in the middle of California.
“I am Irina,” Irina said boldly. “Who are you? Did Billy send you to get me?”
The man looked at the wooden floor. He removed the hat from his head and held it to his chest.
“Well? Excuse me? Did Billy send you to retrieve me? When will I meet my husband-to-be?”
The man’s eyes bore into the floor, and Irina felt her chest grow heavy.
“Sir?” Irina asked.
The man clutched his hat tightly. Slowly, his chin moved upward, and his green eyes met Irina’s stern gaze.
“Miss Irina,” he began softly. “My name is John.”
“You are Billy’s younger brother! You helped him write the letters to me!” Irina said excitedly, happy to understand the connection. “It is my pleasure to meet you,” she said, sinking low into her best curtsey while still holding her baby girl. “This is my daughter, Queralt! Queralt? This is
John! He will be your uncle soon!”
John’s eyes were red, and Irina sensed something was amiss.
“John? Is something the matter? Why have you come to fetch us? Where is Billy?”
John took a long breath.
“Billy is dead, Miss Irina,” John answered, his deep voice breaking. “He died three days ago of a real bad fever. Ma and Pa sent me to fetch you. My brother ain’t here no more.”
Irina could not bear the shocking news, and she collapsed into a heap on the floor.
“Miss Irina!” John shouted as Irina’s legs fell beneath her. “Miss Irina!”
When Irina regained consciousness, she realized that she was not in the Pinecone Train Station anymore. Her eyes felt heavy, and her thinking was slow, but Irina did not recognize the room where she lay.
“Where am I?” Irina whispered. She reached around her, trying to understand what was happening. Her hands felt the softness of a woolen blanket. She was resting on a bed, and she leaned back against the material, thankful to stretch out her body after a month sleeping in the cramped seat on the train. Suddenly, she remembered her tiny daughter.
“Queralt!”
Irina tried to stand up, but a pair of hands held her shoulders down.
“There, there, sweetheart,” a woman’s voice soothed. Irina heard a soft Irish lilt, and she wondered who was tending to her as she rested in the bed.
“My daughter,” Irina murmured.
The woman patted Irina’s hand.
“She is here, Irina,” the woman said soothingly. “I am Betha, Billy’s mother. Oh, Irina, we are real sorry that this all happened. John told us you fainted in the train station, and he brought you to our house at once!”
Irina slowly propped herself up onto her elbows and looked around. Betha was peering into her face with concerned eyes, and Irina felt overcome with worry as she stared at Billy’s mother.
“What happened to Billy?” Irina asked quietly. Bet
ha broke Irina’s gaze and buried her face in her hands.
“He’s gone, Irina,” Betha cried. “He left us three days ago and went home to be with the Lord. We are so sorry that this happened! We had no idea he would get sick! We knew he was real excited for you to come here. He told us all about you, and we even prayed for you and your little girl. I arrived in Pinecone through a marriage advertisement myself, and we all prayed that you would have a real easy time gettin’ out here and meeting Billy, and now, he is gone!”
Betha sobbed into her hands, and Irina reached out a hand to gently stroke her back.
“I am so sorry,” Irina said, remembering the deep pains of loss when she had learned of her own father and husband’s deaths. “I am so sorry.”
Betha lowered her hands and sat up. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and took Irina’s hands in hers.
“No, forgive me, child,” Betha said, her voice shaky from her crying. “I am sorry for that show. That ain’t proper of me, and I know you are a proper city girl. We are real sorry for this, and we know that you have no one left in New York to look after you and that sweet little baby!”
Irina heard a giggle, and she squeezed Betha’s hands.
“Where is my daughter?” Irina asked. Betha returned the squeeze.
“She is downstairs with Charles, my husband,” Betha replied. “We was real delighted to hear that you have a baby girl, and he is keeping her company. We wanted you to rest. You had a real bad fall in the train station, and we was real worried.”
Irina felt her head throbbing, and she remembered the moment John delivered the terrible news of Billy’s death.
“How long have I been sleeping?” Irina asked. Betha smiled kindly.
“It’s only been an hour. John carried you out of the station and brought you here. We wanted to make sure you were comfortable and healed up real good,” said Betha. Irina rubbed her forehead.
