Vegas rich

by Michaels, Fern

  packed while she slept. The door to one of the closets was slightly ajar. The garish saloon dresses looked out of place. The feathered hair ornaments she wore with her colored boas rested on the top shelf. They, too, looked out of place. A warm flush crept up to her neck and cheeks. She checked the dresser and wasn't surprised to see that her worn underwear and stockings filled only half of one of the drawers. She wished she had been the one to unpack her belongings. The flush of shame and embarrassment that someone else had seen her threadbare underwear deepened. Her shoulders stiffened. Every-thii^ was clean and mended. There was no need for shame.

  In the huge, galvanized tub full of bubbles, Sallie leaned back, one long soapy leg extended. She eyed the red polish on the tip of her toes. Decadent! "Who cares!" She scrubbed and rubbed with a cloth that was softer than feathers until her skin was red. The length of toweling was just as soft, and long and wide enough to wrap completely around herself She loved the way it made her feel. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her blond hair curled in ringlets around her ears and neck. She smoothed it back until it was sUck against her head. When she wore her hair pulled back like this she looked older, more experienced. When her curls tumbled about her face she looked fifteen.

  She thought about her mother again as she dressed. Her mother's hair was like her own, but dull and usually greasy. She wore it pulled back fi-om her sweet face with a string. SaUie was going to buy her a pearl necklace and some earrings. She'd take some of the soap that smelled like roses and wash her mother's hair and fix it the way the ladies in town wore their hair. She knew how to do these things now. Her mother was going to be a queen, and her htde sisters would be princesses. She could make it happen now that she had all the money in the worid.

  Tomorrow she was going back to town. Tonight, when she got ready to sleep in the high bed, she was going to make a list of things to do when she got there. She wasn't going to wait one minute longer than necessary before she returned to Texas to see her fam-fly.

  Sallie felt every inch the grand lady when Anna served her supper in the dining room at the long table with the huge centerpiece of fresh flowers. The meal was hearty and heavy—^thick steak, fried potatoes, gravy, sliced tomatoes, and bread spread with real butter.

  She thought about the thin gruel and the hard bread spread with lard that she'd eaten when she lived in Texas. Well, that was never going to happen again. Never, ever. She dug into her rhubarb pie with a vengeance and asked for a second helping. When she was finished with her meal she asked for Joseph.

  "Ma'am, how can I help you?" he asked respectfully.

  "I want to go back to town tomorrow, early, before the sun comes up. I plan on . . . going to Texas. I'm not sure when I'll be back."

  "Would you like me to take you in the automobile, ma'am?"

  "Why, yes, I would purely love that Where did Mr. Easter get an automobile?"

  "Won it fair and square in a poker game. I learned to drive it all by myself. Mr. Easter didn't want no part of something on four wheels with an engine. He said it was the devil's own machine. I'll be ready at sunup."

  "So will I," Sallie responded smartly. "How hard was it to learn, Joseph?"

  "Not hard at all, ma'am. I could teach you when you get back. You need to practice so's you don't run into no trees and scrub along the way."

  "You need to wear a hat, miss," Anna said. "Your hair will look like the end of a broom if you don't. Dust and sand get in your eyes. Joseph wears special spectacles when he drives that machine."

  "Will you be wanting to see the secret room now?" The old man held out a key ring with a large brass key dangling from the end.

  "Yes, I would, Joseph. Thank you for supper, Anna. It was real good, specially that pie. Who pays you your wages, Anna?"

  "Mr. Waring. He comes up here on the first of every month. In the winter he pays us for three or four months at a time. Will you be thinking of changing that, ma'am?"

  "No. But, maybe he should be paying you more now that I'm going to live here and you will have more duries. I'll speak to him. If you want someone else to help you, I can ask in town."

  "I would have no objection to someone helping out. Joseph and me, we ain't young'uns anymore. Our bones creak a bit. Whatever you think best, ma'am." Sallie nodded, and followed Joseph out of the dining room.

  "This be the room, miss." Joseph held out the key and withdrew discreetly. Sallie waited until the old man was out of sight before she fit the key into the lock. The door swxing open. She stepped into a huge, bare room with no windows. Sallie held the lamp high in order

  to see better. Against the wsill was the largest safe she'd ever seen. It went from floor to ceiling, an iron monster, shiny black with a huge silver eye in the middle and a thick iron handle.

  It took SaUie six tries before she managed to open the safe. When she heard the final cHck on the dial, she yanked at the handle. The heavy door reftised to budge. She dug her heels into the carpeted floor and pulled backward until she thought her head was going to explode right off" her neck. The door creaked open. With her back against the inside of the door, she shoved with her backside until there was enough room to look inside. For the first time in her life she grew faint. Six long shelves, maybe six feet long, were filled with small burlap sacks. Each appeared to be the same size and weight. She opened three of the sacks. Gold. A wooden box fiill of papers sat square in the middle of the third shelf. Direcdy underneath was a second wooden box, this one with a hd. SaUie removed the lid and stared down at thick stacks of money.

  Sallie sat down on the floor and hugged her knees. She stared at the contents of the safe, wondering what she was meant to do with this fortime.

  A long time later, when the lamp started to smoke, SaUie pushed the massive door closed, twirled the knob, and backed out of the room. Her footsteps were slu^ish as she made her way back to her room. Her shoulders slumped as she undressed and pulled on her nightgown. She wished suddenly that she could turn time backwards. She wished she'd never gone to Alvin Waring's office, wished Cotton were still aUve, wished she were back at the bingo palace singing for her customers. In just three short days her life had been turned upside down. "I don't know what to do," she whispered into her pillow. "I understand. Cotton, this was a load on your shoulders, and that's why you didn't want it all. Maybe if I get more learning, it will be different. I don't think so, though. Is this what you meant when you said money was the root of all evil? Will I turn evil? I don't want to be evil. I just want to be me. The Lord, He must want me to be here. He n^st have placed His hand on your shoulder and told you to do this. I don't know why. Maybe I'll never know."

  Sallie wept then, like the child she was. Eventually she slept, her pillow stained with tears.

  The next four days passed like a whirlwind. Sallie shopped for new clothes, then purchased two valises and packed them with gifts for

  her family. She spent hours wdth .ldn Waring signing papers, making arrangements for the church to be built. She carried her plans one step farther and asked to have a town house built for herself so she wouldn't have to go back and forth to the house on the mountain. The last order of business was instructing Alvin Waring to buy the bingo palace and remodel it.

  Sunday found her at the cemetery along with Cotton's friends. The preacher said his few words, she said hers, and Alvin Waring made a small speech that dealt with life and death, the Lord, and anyone else whose name he could remember. The preacher blessed the marker as Sallie placed her bouquet of flowers at its base.

  The bingo palace was opened for the luncheon spread that Sal-lie paid her old landlady to prepare. Sallie sang song after song until her throat was hoarse. WTien it was over, she helped clear away the debris. Then she closed the door and didn't look back. In two hours time she was going to step onto the train that would take her to Texas and the family she'd left behind.

  The last thing she said to Alvin Waring was, "I would appreciate it if you would increase Anna and Joseph's wages. I'd li
ke it very much if you could find someone else to help out. There's a young Chinese girl at the laundry house who might be interested in the job. Her name is Su Li. She has a sister and a brother. If I bring my family back here, I'm going to need lots of help. They work very hard at the laundry. Children shouldn't have to work that hard. If they're interested, tell them I'll pay them good wages and they won't have to work on Sundays."

  "I'll speak with them. Miss Coleman. Have a safe trip. I hope everything turns out the way you want it to. Call on me when you return; I'm at your service."

  "Thank you, Mr. Waring, for everything. I'd like it if you'd call me Sallie. You won't forget to call the Pinkertons and have them start a search for my brothers Seth and Josh. It's mighty important for me to find them so I can share my . . .just share."

  "I'll take care of it. . . Sallie. You take care of yourself."

  "I will." The child in her bubbled over. "I can't wait to see my mother. I bought her all these fine things. I hope she likes them. She will, won't she, Mr. Waring?"

  "Of course she will, child. I think, though, more than anything, she's going to be so happy to see you, she won't be thinking of fme presents. Your love and the fact that you're going back to help will be all she wants. Mark my word."

  '*What does that mean, Mr. Waring, mark my word?"

  "It means what I said is almost certainly true."

  "Oh. Good-bye, Mr. Waring." She reached up on her toes to kiss the dry, withered cheek.

  Alvin Waring stood for a long time watching the train chuff out of sight. If he'd been younger, he would have run after the train. He sighed. He had a long list of things to do for Sallie, and there was no time like the present to get started. It would be a labor of love.

  Tears of happiness dripped down Sallie's cheeks. She didn't care. Pm coming, Mama. Pm going to make everything better for you. Pm coming, Mama.

  She was going home.

  There was nothing pretty about the barren town outside of Abilene, Texas. It was just as hot and dry and miserable as it was the day she left six years ago with the medicine show. The only thing different, as far as Sallie could see, was that people were staring at her. When she'd gone through the town six years ago, no one had looked at her twice. She'd been one of those shiftless Colemans.

  Sallie's shoulders stiffened, her head going up several degrees. She could stare them down today. She would sta.Tc them down. Six years ago she hadn't been able to do that. She paid the driver of the hackney and added a generous tip when he carried her bags into the town's only hotel.

  Sallie walked over to the desk, aware that every eye in the lobby was on her. Not one person recognized her, she could tell. Well, they were going to recognize her in another second. She signed her name carefully and waited for the desk clerk to turn the registration book around to stare at her signature. Sallie smiled sweedy when the man's eyebrows shot upward, almost to his hairline. She fought the urge to laugh.

  "Will you be staying with us long, Miss . . . ah . . . Coleman?"

  "As long as it takes, sir."

  "I see."

  I see... it was something people said when they didn't know what

  else to say. A devil perched itself on Sallie's shoulder. "What exacdy do vou see . . . sir?"

  "VeU . .. I—"

  "I see," Sallie said. This time she. did laugh. Cotton always said if you laughed, the world laughed with you. He also said if you cried, no one cared.

  Sallie turned around to look at the people sitting in the lobby filled with dusty plants. All men, of course, with nothing to do but play checkers and gossip like old women. They were speculating about her. She knew the moment she was out of sight, the desk clerk would tell everyone she was Harry Coleman's daughter. Well, he could shout it from the housetops for all she cared. What she cared about right now was getting a bath and a clean change of clothes. Then, she was going to head toward the Emporium and buy out the store for her mother and sisters. The pretty flowered dress with the lace collar for her mother was already packed in her bag, along with the strand of pearls and the gold and pearl earrings. She'd thought of everything, lacy underwear, something her mother never owned in her life. Hose, soft leather shoes, and a pair of bedroom slippers that were buttery soft. She couldn't wait to see the smile on her mother's tired face when she told her that from this day on, she was going to become a lady and people would wait on her. From this day forward her mother wasn't going to lift even her litde fmger as far as work was concerned. She thought about her father for just a second. Well, he could come with them, or he could stay behind. It would be his decision.

  "Please arrange for hot water. I'd like to take a bath as soon as possible."

  "Bath time is six o'clock."

  "For other people. I want mine now, sir." Sallie placed a bill on the counter and watched it disappear faster than a lightning streak. She smiled. "Is there someone to carry my bags?"

  "Zeke, grab hold of the lady's bags and take them upstairs. The water will be up in twenty minutes."

  It was almost noon when Sallie, clad in a pumpkin-colored dress with matching shoes and handbag, walked down the steps to the lobby. She posed a moment so the occupants could get a good look at her pretty dress.

  Outside in the hot, June sunshine, Sallie paused for a moment to get her bearings. She saw the bakery and remembered how heavenly the smells were. She made a mental note to buy a big sack of

  sweets for her mother. She'd eat some herself. She swore then that the money in her purse was starting to get hot. Time to spend it on her family. Lordy, Lordy, she could hardly wait.

  Sallie was a shopkeeper's dream as she walked from one table to the next, picking, choosing, hoping she was getting the right sizes. The pile of merchandise on the counter mounted steadily. Toys, picture books, games, pencils, crayons, shoes, stockings, underwear, dresses, nightwear, sweaters. Bag of licorice, allnday suckers. In a separate pile she added toothbrushes, tooth powder, combs, brushes, sweet-smelling soap, and glycerine for her mother.

  "While you wrap these things, I'm going over to the bakery. I'll need someone to take me to my parents' house. Can you arrange that? It's five miles or so. I'll pay for the trip. I'm not sure if we'll return with the driver or not."

  "These things will be ready when you get back, miss. It's been a pleasure doing business with you. I have a man who will drive you. What'd you say your name was?"

  "I didn't," Sallie said as she sashayed out the door.

  In the bakery SaUie bought three of everything. In the glass case to the far left, she noticed crocks of homemade butter and jaun. She bought two of each.

  Now she was ready to go home. Ready to shower her fsimily with her own good fortune. This, she decided, was the second-best day of her whole life. She was a child again, clapping her hands, pounding her feet on the floor of the wagon she was riding in. She started to sing, her young voice pure and sweet. The driver smiled. Who was this young girl with the voice of an angel?

  Sallie's happiness came to an abrupt stop when she saw the row of mean-looking shanties the tenant farmers lived in. Even from a distance they were a blight to the land. She counted down, one, two, three, four. Her home for thirteen years.

  "It don't look like nobody lives here, miss. Are you sure this is the right place?"

  "This is the right place." SaUie clenched her teeth. He was right; most of the shanties were leaning so far to the side, a good wind would topple them. The doors on most of them were missing, except for number four in the row.

  She saw someone, on the side of the shanty. Her sister Peggy.

  Sallie didn't wait for the driver of the wagon to rein in his horse. She pulled up her skirt and jumped down, not caring that the heels of her new shoes would get dirty, or that they might break. She ran,

  shouting that she was home. She expected squeals of happiness, hugs and kisses. Peggy stared at her. "It's me, SaUie. Come here, give me a kiss and a hug. What's wrong? Look at the wagon, I brought presents. Where's Mama? Peggy, talk
to me, honey. Is Pop in the fields, or drunk-asleep in the house? Mama, I'm home!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. To the driver, she said, "Unload the packages."

  Sallie was almost to the door when Peggy reached for her arm. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Pop died last year, Sallie. We buried him behind the shack. Mama died two months ago. Maggie got herself a man when Mama got sick. She left with him last month and took the litde ones with her. I didn't try to stop her, Sallie. Maggie will take good care of them. I knew you'd keep your promise and come back. You look so pretty, Sallie."

  Sallie's face drained as she fought to take a deep breath. A sick feeling setded in the pit of her stomach. "Was she sick, Peggy?"

  Peggy screwed her freckled face into a grimace so she wouldn't cry. "She wasted away to nothing. Most times there wasn't enough food. This place... it robbed her of everything, Sallie. Me and Maggie, we did our best, but it wasn't good enough. I have a job in town and live in a boardinghouse. It don't pay much. They give me supper and I get a bath twice a week. I come out here once a week with a flower. I put it between both graves. Do you want to see the graves, Sallie?"

  She didn't, but she said she did so Peggy wouldn't cry. "This place, it's all wrong. I'm going to look into seeing if... we can . . . move . . . It's not right, them being buried here in this god-awful place. Peggy, I want you to come back to Nevada with me. I have a beautiful house with lots of rooms. The windows open. There are flowers and a whole garden of green grass. You can take a bath every hour of the day. We can move Mama and Pa and make a . .. private cemetery. A family place."

  "Oh, Sallie, I don't think I can leave. If Maggie or the others come back, they won't know where to find me ... us. Maybe next year. Are you rich, Sallie?"

  "I'm so rich it scares me. I just got all this money, or I would have come sooner. I did send money, Peggy."