Mail Order Misfortune

by Kirsten Osbourne

  *****

  "You have a guest," Mrs. Roper said, moving aside so that Anna could leave her room.

  It had been six weeks since Anna had talked to Elizabeth Miller, and she'd been sewing diligently ever since. Her things were almost ready for her to leave, taking the train to Texas. She'd heard a lot about how wild Texas was, and she was more than a little frightened, but she was getting everything in order so she could leave as soon as she received his letter.

  She stepped into the small parlor and found Elizabeth waiting for her. Anna smiled. "Hello." She clenched her fists nervously, wondering what news the other woman had brought her.

  Elizabeth looked at her, beaming. "You received a letter today, so I brought it by."

  Anna took the letter and sat down beside Elizabeth on the sofa. She carefully opened it and read it. "Dear Anna, You sound like just the bride for me. I'll be waiting for you at the stagecoach here in Wiggieville. I've included train tickets to depart on August seventeenth, and then there will be a stagecoach to catch once you get to Weatherford, Texas. I know your journey will be long, so I've included some money for food along the way. I look forward to seeing you. We'll marry as soon as you step off the stagecoach. Once you get here, I'm not letting you get away from me."

  She took the cash and tickets from the letter and gave the bank draft that was included to Elizabeth. "He wants me to leave tomorrow. I don't think I can do that! I'm not ready!" She could barely breathe just thinking about leaving the following day. She just couldn't do it.

  Elizabeth frowned. "Well, we may be able to get the train station to switch your ticket for you, and then we can send a telegram to Tom letting him know that you'll be a little late. When do you think you can go?"

  Anna thought about it for a moment. It really wasn't about being physically ready to go. She'd done more than enough sewing, and it would only take her an hour to pack up everything she owned. She just needed time to prepare mentally for the journey. "Two weeks?"

  Elizabeth nodded. "I don't think that's excessive." She stood. "I brought my horse and buggy. Why don't we drive into town, and I'll help you switch your ticket and send a telegram to Tom. It shouldn't be a problem."

  The ticket was exchanged, and they went to the telegraph office. Because she was frugal, and had to pay by the letter, Anna carefully crafted her message. "TH I will be arriving two weeks later than scheduled stop I hope you will forgive me for making everyone wait stop Miss Simmons stop"

  Elizabeth nodded in agreement. "That should work beautifully." She tucked her arm through Anna's as they walked back to the buggy. "I'll pick you up the morning of the thirty-first, and drive you to the train station myself. I like to have a talk with everyone before they depart."

  Anna nodded, relieved. She hadn't looked forward to carrying her trunk into town by herself, and she certainly didn't feel like she could ask Mr. Roper to take her into town. She hated to ask anyone for anything after growing up an orphan. "I'd like that a lot."

  Elizabeth smiled. "Your train leaves at noon, so I'll be by around half past ten to make sure we get everything loaded on time, and we make it to the station."

  "That sounds good. I'll be ready and waiting for you." Anna was thrilled to have the extra two weeks to ready herself mentally. She would need every minute of each day.

  *****

  The morning of the thirty-first was beautiful and sunny. Anna was glad her last day in her hometown of twenty years would be pretty for her. Elizabeth arrived exactly on time and helped Anna load her trunk into the back of the buggy. Anna also carried a small carpet bag with everything she'd need while on the journey.

  She climbed into the buggy beside Elizabeth, and they talked the entire way into town. "I don't know if I told you the story of how I came to be the owner of the bride agency," Elizabeth began. Anna shook her head. "I told you my sister was a bride who had left Beckham. Harriett Long was the owner back then, and she placed Susan with her husband. A few years later, I came into town one day and happened to overhear that Harriett was leaving town and would be closing the agency."

  Anna looked at her in surprise. "Closing it? But it's open!"

  "I know. I told her I thought Beckham needed an agency to help women find husbands. I felt like she did a great service. So Harriett invited me to run the business. She taught me everything there was to know about running it, and then she went off to be a mail order bride herself in Seattle. The house is really hers. I don't see her ever coming back for it, but legally, it belongs to her."

  "I had no idea. I don't know what I thought, but that certainly wasn't it." She admired Elizabeth for being willing to stand up for something she believed in. She'd never had the courage to do that herself.

  "No, I understand. As part of taking over the business, I promised that I would always have a very important talk with the brides before they left. Never let a man mistreat you. As women, we're in a bad position if we marry a bad man. Men can beat their wives and no one thinks anything of it. Promise me that if you end up in a bad situation, you will let me know. In return, I promise that I will send you a train ticket, and I will let you stay with me until you're back on your feet."

  Anna thought about it for a moment. She'd never thought about men beating their wives, but she could see that it was a possibility. Finally she nodded. "I won't stay in a bad situation."

  Elizabeth smiled and nodded. "That's what I needed to hear. I packed you enough food for today on the train. You'll want to save every dime you can along the way." She stopped in front of the train station, and together they got the trunk out of the buggy. Elizabeth hugged Anna tightly. "I'll wait with you until they call your train, but I want to hug you now. I don't do the 'crying as I watch people pull out' thing. It makes me too sad. I need you to write me as soon as you're settled in Wiggieville. I hope you have a wonderful time there!"

  Anna nodded, shaking a little now that the time to leave was at hand. She'd spend ten days on a train and then a few hours on a stage coach. It was going to be a long trip, and she'd never been further from home than an hour out into the country.

  They waited, side by side, for the train to be called, chatting about different things in town. Elizabeth told some stories about Texas that her sister had sent, and even told her about how her two older step-sons had gotten into a fight and rolled around in mud on her wedding day.

  The stories helped Anna relax and made her laugh. She hadn't had a lot in her life worth laughing about, but she decided then that she would do her best to laugh more. Everyone needed to smile. She would be a joyful wife for Tom, because he sounded like the kind of man that deserved a joyful wife.

  Chapter Two

  Anna felt a moment of panic as she searched for her stagecoach at the train station in Weatherford, Texas. She was so close to the end of her journey, and she just wanted to be there. Yes, she knew she would be marrying a stranger at the end of the journey, but by that point, she was so tired, she didn't even care as long as he had a bed she could sleep in.

  She found her coach and climbed in, sitting with her hands folded primly in her lap as she stared out the window. She waited for someone else to join her, but there was no one else. She would be alone for the long drive to Wiggieville. She wished that Tom would have arrived to get her at the train station, but she understood that he probably couldn't take the time away from work to meet her there.

  When they pulled into Wiggieville, Anna looked around the small town. There was a mercantile, a church, a school, several houses, and not much more. She climbed down using the step the driver put down and waited as he took the trunk down from atop the stage. He'd pulled away before she let herself look around for Tom. He'd said he'd be there waiting for her, but she was slightly worried he hadn't received her telegram.

  There was no one waiting. No one at all. He wouldn't have just forgotten about her, would he? She could feel her heart beating faster, and her breath was coming too quickly. She was in a state far from home and knew no one. If he did
n't come to meet her, she had no idea what she'd do.

  Anna was starting to panic, tears filling her eyes when a red headed woman stopped her buggy beside her.

  "Are you here to meet someone?" the lady asked, her voice soft and sweet.

  Anna nodded. "I'm here to meet my fiancé, Tom Harding. He was supposed to be waiting for me." She hoped the woman in front of her knew Tom and could take her to him. Maybe he'd been injured while working his ranch. Anything could have happened to him. She found she wasn't as worried about Tom as she was about what she'd do if she couldn't find him.

  "Come with me. We'll talk." Anna put her things into the back of the buggy and climbed up to sit beside her. "My name is Julia."

  "I'm Anna Simmons." She hated talking to a stranger this way, but she didn't feel like she had a choice. She needed to find her fiancé so she wouldn't be alone here in a strange place.

  "I was Julia Simmons until two weeks ago. I'm going to tell you a funny story." Anna nodded, her face skeptical. "When I arrived in Wiggieville two weeks ago, I was expecting someone from the school board to be waiting for me. A man walked up to me, and asked if I was 'Miss Simmons.' I, of course, said I was, and he kissed me. Right there in the middle of the street. I had heard people were friendlier in Texas, but that was a lot friendlier than what I was expecting. I very politely asked him to take me to wherever I was staying. He said that was fine, but he had to make a stop first. His stop was the preacher's house. When I realized he intended to marry me, I tried to explain that I was here to teach school, not to marry him, but every time I protested, he'd just start kissing me again. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of the preacher, and he was pronouncing us husband and wife. And that's how I ended up married to your fiancé."

  Anna felt her heart drop into her stomach. "I can certainly understand how that could have happened. I told him I was certain that once I arrived, I would just try to run back home, so he must have just kept kissing you to keep you from running away." She shrugged. "I'm not upset, because he was a stranger to me, but I don't know what I'm supposed to do now." Was there a boarding house in town where she could stay until she found a job? Were there even jobs for women like her?

  Julia smiled warmly. "Well, I think there's only one answer. You go home with me."

  "So what's Tom like?" Anna asked, her mind franticly wondering if the solution would work. How could she just move in with her former fiancé and his wife? It just wouldn't be right. They were still newlyweds.

  Julia grinned. "He's a wonderful husband to me. I honestly couldn't ask for a better man. I'm still teaching until another teacher can be found, and he's been very supportive of me throughout it all."

  "Will he mind that you're bringing me home with you?" What man would want a stranger living with him and his new wife? No, Tom wouldn't want her there.

  Julia shook her head. "No, of course not. He'll understand that he's the one who stranded you by marrying me, so it's our responsibility to help you. We have a spare room that you can use until you decide what you want to do." Her voice was strong and confident. She seemed determined to take Anna home with her.

  Anna bit her lip. She didn't have a lot of choices, but she didn't want to take advantage of the other woman's generosity. "I guess I really have nowhere to go, do I?"

  "We would buy you a ticket back home if you need us to, or there are plenty of unmarried men around. You could stay with us until you found one you were interested in marrying. Or you don't happen to be a certified teacher do you?" Julia asked the question flippantly, but she seemed to really want an answer.

  Anna looked at her in surprise. "I was a teacher before I left home. Why? Does this town need a teacher now?" She didn't want to go back to teaching, but it was better than being stuck in a town she didn't know having to live with people she didn't know. She couldn't think of anything worse than that. At least she'd have her own income.

  "They don't allow married women to teach here, so I'm just working until they find someone to replace me. If you wanted to teach, you would have a place to stay, because there was a family in town who had agreed to let me board there."

  Anna nodded, reluctant to teach again, but knowing she really didn't have a choice at that point. "Could you introduce me to the school board at church on Sunday? If you don't mind that is."

  "Oh, I don't mind at all. Mr. Hanson will be pleased to have someone interested in the post, because he's very eager to get rid of me." Julia shrugged. "He really has a problem with a married woman teaching, but I'm not certain why. I've never really understood why a married woman can't be as good of a teacher as an unmarried woman. I'd think a married woman would be more focused on the students and not thinking nearly as much about who she's going to marry."

  "I'm not certain I understand the reasoning either, but I do know it's a rule in most places." Anna stared at the brown grass that seemed to go on forever. Didn't it ever rain in Texas? "How far is it to the ranch?"

  "We're almost there. Tom doesn't know you're coming, so be prepared for him to be surprised. He never got your telegram, you know. It went to Mr. Hanson, because you just used initials, and Tom and Mr. Hanson have the same initials." Julia smiled at her.

  "I guess I did everything wrong, didn't I? If I'd gotten on that train the day I was supposed to instead of being too afraid to leave town, none of this ever would have happened." Anna shook her head, disgusted with herself. She should have done as she said she would instead of inventing reasons to wait.

  "Oh, is that why you were late?" Julia parked in front a house and carefully stepped down. "If you want to leave your bags, Tom will happily take them in for you when he unhitches the horse."

  Anna nodded, just taking her small carpet bag inside, but leaving her trunk for Tom to carry. It was the least he could do after marrying someone else, right?

  She followed Julia inside to the kitchen where the other woman hurriedly began cooking. Anna pulled her apron on so she could do whatever she could to help her.

  Julia smiled. "You don't have to help with supper. Your room is at the top of the stairs. Go ahead and get comfortable."

  "Oh, I love to cook," Anna protested. "What are you fixing?" She truly preferred cooking to teaching any day of the week.

  Julia shrugged. "I think I'm just going to make stew with some salt pork, and maybe some biscuits to go with it."

  "I'll make the biscuits," Anna offered. She made light, fluffy biscuits that never failed to receive a compliment. She'd love to share her cooking with her new friend.

  "Did you cook a lot for your family?" Julia asked as she watched her cook.

  "I was an orphan, raised in an orphanage in Beckham, Massachusetts. I helped in the kitchen there a great deal. When I was too old to stay any longer, I became a teacher, but I really didn't enjoy it, so I decided to become a mail order bride." She stared down at her hands for a moment. "I should have fulfilled my obligations and just come instead of deciding to wait longer." She wondered how different her life was going to be because of that one decision.

  "Honestly? I'm glad you waited. I never would have married Tom if you hadn't, and I'm very happy with him."

  Anna smiled, wondering what this perfect man that Julia kept talking about would be like. Would she find him as fascinating as Julia obviously did?

  Tom walked into the room then, giving her an odd look as he walked over to kiss Julia. Watching the two of them together, Anna knew she'd done the best thing for everyone concerned. Tom was a large man, and she wanted to immediately cower away from him. She avoided his gaze and kept cooking, looking for an excuse to run up the stairs away from him as soon as she could.

  After supper she did just that. She took a bath, in a real bathtub for the first time in her life, before disappearing up the stairs. She thanked God that she'd not married Tom, knowing she never could have been happy with him. Julia was meant to be Tom's bride and God must have other plans for her.

  *****

  At church on Sunday morning,
Julia went out of her way to introduce Anna to Mr. Hanson, who seemed like a pompous ninny to Anna.

  "So you've taught before? What's your experience?" Mr. Hanson was as wide as he was tall, and had a tendency to sweat. He had sweat dripping down his ruddy cheeks, and Anna wanted to take a step back to avoid getting rained on.

  "I taught for two years at a small rural school outside of Beckham, Massachusetts. I boarded with a local family while I taught there," Anna replied, watching his face to see his reaction. She'd never imagined she would be interviewed at church. Why couldn't he set up a time to meet with her like a normal person?

  Mr. Hanson nodded importantly. "My wife and I have agreed to board the new teacher, whomever she may be. Our children are out of the house now, but I'm on the school board, and we live just across the street from the schoolhouse."

  "That sounds as if it would work for me." Anna dug into the draw string purse she had attached to her wrist. "I brought my teaching credentials in case you needed to see them." She had packed it thinking it might come in handy, but she'd truly hoped she'd never have to use her teaching certificate again.

  "This seems to be in order. Yes, absolutely. I'll talk to the others, but I believe we'll be offering you a job. Where are you staying?"

  "I'm staying with Julia and Tom Harding. I was supposed to marry Tom," Anna said softly. It felt strange admitting that she was the bride who came too late to marry him, but she held her head up high.

  "Yes, I've heard what happened there. It's why I'm looking for a new teacher." He shook his head. "I hope your morals are stronger than the last teacher we hired. We will offer you forty dollars a month for teaching, minus ten dollars a month for room and board. Would that be acceptable should we offer you the position?"