Once in a Blue Moon

by Diane Darcy

  “A seamstress. Do you know of a...er...dress shop in town that might be hiring?”

  Three incredulous gazes dropped to examine her wretched, ill-fitting, hand-me-down, orange dress. Amanda lifted one brow. Heat burned Melissa’s face, but there was no way she was explaining to these three that she didn’t make the dress.

  “How far is it to town? Is it still called Garden City?”

  Sarah crossed her arms and set her mouth stubbornly and didn’t say a word.

  Melissa’s brows drew together. Now what had she done?

  Emma finally spoke up. “It’s Garden City, yes. And it’s two miles away. A long walk,” she said timidly.

  “Two miles? Well it could be worse--” she glanced at the kids. They’d eaten almost every cookie. “Hey, watch yourselves! Do you want to get fat?”

  A growling noise erupted from Sarah’s throat. “Well, I never! Good day.” She turned and stomped away, her back stiff.

  Melissa realized the chubby woman had taken offense to her words, and her mouth parted. “Wait! I wasn’t trying to insult you!”

  After a quick, scared glance, Emma scurried after Sarah.

  Amanda stood for a moment, a mocking smile curving her lips. “Well, your children are delightful anyway.” She bowed her head graciously to Melissa. “Forgive me for rushing off so soon, but I must get back to my menial labor. Good day.”

  Melissa stood in the cabin’s doorway, gaping for a moment, then her lips tightened and she slammed the door. Good day? Good riddance to all of them was more like it!

  She started to pace. She hadn’t been trying to insult anyone. And if she’d wanted to insult them, she could have! Their hair, their clothes, their uneducated hick accents! She hated it here. Hated it! First Richard, and now these women.

  She paused. And what was Richard going to say when he realized she’d alienated the neighbors? Would it matter to him that she hadn’t done it on purpose? Probably not. Not in the mood he was in today.

  Chapter Seven

  Melissa walked to the table, then back to the door again, the lack of pacing space irritating her further.

  “Uh, Mom?” Jeremy stepped forward and held out the last cookie.

  She snatched the offering. “Just who do those country bumpkins think they are anyway?” She waved the cookie in the air.

  Jeremy opened his mouth to answer.

  “Like it matters. What do I care about what they think? When I start my new job, I won’t have time to socialize anyway, even if I wanted to. Which, of course, I don’t!”

  Jeremy shrugged and sat beside Jessica.

  “Like I’d even want to,” Melissa said darkly. She stared at the cookie in her hand, confused about how it came to be there. She set it on the table.

  Jeremy picked it up and split it in half, offering Jessica the second piece.

  Melissa took a deep, calming breath. The best use of her time at this moment would be to forget all about the Pollyanna Brigade, get out of the cabin and find herself a job. It was still early. They’d left Sully’s at first light, and granted, the walk had been slow, but it must only be eight or nine in the morning. That gave her all day to find a job. Not that it would take that long. If she hurried, she might even be employed by lunchtime.

  She glanced around. It certainly beat hanging around the cabin, waiting for Richard to come back. Besides, they needed the money; to buy her a new dress, for starters! Or to buy the material, thread and needles so she could create her own dress. She’d show those women!

  Two miles. She groaned at the thought of walking in tight shoes again. Give her a treadmill and she could walk four miles without breaking a sweat. What she wouldn’t give for her Nikes, spandex shorts and sports bra right about now.

  But at least it wasn’t as far into town as it was to Sully’s. She stopped pacing, sat on a chair and took off her shoes so she could examine her feet. Her nylons were in bad shape, runs shooting up in all directions, a mauve-painted toenail sticking through the end of one. She stripped them off. Her heels, red and irritated, hadn’t quite formed blisters, but it was close. What she wouldn’t do for a pair of exercise shoes and some soft socks.

  She looked at Jessica’s feet.

  Jessica tucked her black punk sneakers under the chair and shook her head. “Uh-uh.”

  “I only want to borrow them.”

  “They’re too small for you anyway.”

  “What size are they.”

  “Six and a half.”

  Jessica was right, they were too small. Melissa’s gaze switched to Jeremy’s shoes.

  Jeremy sat back and crossed his arms, not bothering to hide his shoes. “It will never happen, Mom.”

  Melissa could see he meant it. She sprang up. “Fine.” She walked across the cold linoleum to the chest, retrieved some stockings and two handkerchiefs. She pulled the stockings on, then used the handkerchiefs to pad her heels. She pulled on the shoes, retied the laces and stood. Not too bad. It was time to make herself more presentable.

  She crossed to the chest again and quickly found the comb. She ratted the ends at the base of her neck, the sides, crown and bangs. She patted her spikes to see if they stood uniform. A mirror would have been nice.

  She brushed at the wrinkles in her skirt, then glanced at the stove. There was an iron, but she didn’t know how to use it and since it must involve heating the stove, wasn’t willing to try. She decided the wrinkles weren’t too bad.

  As ready as she was ever going to be, she turned to the kids. What was she supposed to do with them while she was gone all day? An uneasy feeling, a niggling of something she was very much afraid might be guilt, coiled in her stomach. Was it her responsibility to watch them? Or were they old enough to watch themselves now?

  Once she got a job, she’d be gone long hours every day. She pushed the guilt away. She was doing this for her family after all.

  “I’m going to go and get a job now. Why don’t you kids go outside and play?”

  Jeremy straightened. “Where are you going to get a job?”

  Melissa forced a cheerful smile. “At a dress shop in Garden City.”

  “Why do you need one?” asked Jessica.

  “We need more money than your father can make right now.”

  Jessica gave her a funny look. “You just don’t want to be with us.”

  Melissa was surprised by the comment. “That’s not true. We need some decent food and some clothes. Look. I have to go. You kids be good.”

  The twins exchanged a scared look. “We don’t want you to go. We don’t want to stay here alone,” said Jeremy.

  The twinge of guilt deepened. She wouldn’t want to stay in the cabin all day, either. And, at twelve, maybe they were kind of young to be on their own in a strange place for the entire day. But she didn’t want to stay! Desperation had her bunching her skirt between clenched fingers. Again, she tried for an unconcerned smile. “You’ll have a great time exploring. There’s so much to see. It’ll be fun.”

  “We’re scared to,” said Jeremy.

  “What do you mean?”

  “What if something happens?” asked Jessica.

  “Like what?”

  “Stranger danger,” Jeremy’s voice was quiet and filled with dread.

  A tingle of uneasiness ran up her spine. What if they were right? What if something happened while she was gone? “Well, just stay in the cabin.”

  Jessica glanced at the door. “There’s no lock.”

  Melissa looked. There wasn’t. Her face tightened and she took a calming breath. She just couldn’t stay here. “I don’t think you have to worry about anything bad happening here. They don’t have as much crime in this time. Just watch out for weirdos.”

  Jessica glanced around. “Where do we hide if we see any? What time will you be back?”

  Melissa put a hand to her forehead, trying to push back the image of her children hiding, being stalked. This was ridiculous! They were twelve! This was 1887! They were on a ranch, not in a big city
! They’d be fine. There were cookie-toting, grown-up Pollyannas all over the place. And their father was around somewhere.

  She ignored the first question and focused on the second. “I don’t know. It depends on what happens.”

  Jeremy jumped up. “You’ll be gone all day! You won’t get back ‘til late tonight! We’ll be alone the whole time!”

  That was a real possibility. In fact it was a real possibility that she’d be gone every day. Maybe she could bribe them to be good? She looked around, but couldn’t think of a single thing to bribe them with. A new XBox game in three months probably wouldn’t work. “Why don’t you go and ask the women that were just here if they have any kids your age to play with?”

  Jessica looked dubious. “Will you go with us?”

  Not a chance. Those snooty cows would just love that, wouldn’t they? “You’re big kids. You can do it yourselves.”

  They both shook their heads.

  Melissa found she couldn’t look them in the eye. “What about working in the garden? You could pull weeds.”

  “Will you do it with us?” asked Jessica.

  Melissa dug at a wrinkle on her dress, trying to straighten it out. Finally she looked up. “Um, no. Well, what do kids do in this time period?”

  They both shook their heads.

  “Milk cows? Maybe you could make butter?”

  Jessica sighed. “Get real, Mother.”

  “Maybe school is in session now?”

  Jeremy shrugged and shook his head.

  “Why don’t you take a nap? Aren’t you tired after the long walk over here?”

  “We’re not babies, Mom,” said Jeremy.

  Melissa pounced on the statement. “Exactly my point! You’re big kids! You can take care of yourselves! I’m leaving now, so be good. After I get my new job, we’ll work out the details, maybe find you a sitter or something. Okay?” She quickly opened the door, stepped into the sunshine and shut the door behind her.

  Freedom!

  The door opened immediately.

  Melissa turned. “What are you doing?”

  “We’re coming too,” said Jeremy.

  Melissa waved both hands in the air. “No. There won’t be anything for you to do while I’m working. Stay here.”

  Both kids shook their heads.

  Melissa stomped a foot in frustration. “You can’t come. I can’t take kids to a job interview!”

  They both acted like they didn’t hear her.

  Melissa simply turned and started to walk. After a moment, she looked back. They were following. She sighed. There wasn’t much she could do about it. They were almost as big as she was, and it wasn’t like she could scoop them up and carry them back to the cabin. Even if she could, they’d simply follow again.

  She’d just ignore them. If she didn’t give them any encouragement, they’d soon get bored and leave her alone.

  Chapter Eight

  The kids were still following about thirty minutes later when she turned onto the main road. She continued to ignore them and concentrated on the distance to town. The way she figured it, she was about halfway there.

  Her feet ached, but the handkerchiefs had kept her heels from chafing too badly, and now that she was on better packed ground, she’d pick up the pace and be there in no time at all.

  She glanced at the sky, tried to figure out what time it was from the sun, and couldn’t. Apparently she didn’t have what it took to be a country girl. Thank goodness. She knew it was still morning, but this day already seemed to have lasted forever. Hopefully, a job would make time pass more quickly.

  A rumbling noise had her glancing back and her spirits lifted when she saw a horse and wagon coming up behind, headed toward town. Maybe she could get a ride? She waited about five minutes for the wagon to reach her, then stepped to the side of the road, smiled and waved. She’d get herself a ride, and then the kids would have to walk back to the cabin.

  She almost got her hand bitten off. The evil horse pulling the wagon snapped its teeth as it passed, startling her. She jumped back, almost falling.

  The kids hurried forward, and Jessica reached her first. “Are you okay, Mom?”

  Melissa nodded. “Fine.”

  The young man pulled the horse to a stop and laughed in an obnoxious manner. “Don’t worry, Hickory won’t hurt you none. He’s just teasing. You folks need a ride into town?”

  What she needed was to give the idiot and his horse the thumping of their lives, but instead she smiled graciously.

  The man was young, seventeen or so. He was rough around the edges, and extremely thin, his scraggly facial hair and unwashed clothing completed a not very nice picture. She wasn’t sure if she was smelling the boy, or the horse, but something reeked.

  And here she’d thought Sully was the worst this place had to offer.

  But she kept her smile firmly on her face. It was, after all, a ride. “Why thank--”

  ”What kind of clothes is those?”

  Melissa followed his gaze.

  He was staring at Jeremy’s long denim shorts. “Only babies wear short pants.”

  Jeremy scowled at him.

  “And what are you wearing?” He stared at Jessica’s shirt. Jessica had her denim jacket tied around her waist, and her yellow tee-shirt was tight, revealing slight curves. Very slight.

  This time Melissa scowled.

  “My name’s Elmer. I work for the biggest outfit around here; the Jenkins spread. It’s back that way about four miles.” He pointed to the west and Melissa realized it must be on the other side of Sully’s place.

  “What’s your name?” He spoke directly to Jessica, ignoring Melissa completely.

  Melissa raised a brow and stepped directly in front of her daughter. She gave Elmer her coldest glare. “I’m Melissa Kendal, and these are my children.”

  “How old is your daughter?”

  Melissa was suddenly very glad she’d taken late night self-defense courses three times a week. Or as often as possible anyway. If he took one step toward them, she’d flatten him dead. “She’s not quite ten,” Melissa lied. “That would make her nine. And no thank you, we don’t need a ride, we’re enjoying the exercise far more than we would enjoy the tedious company.”

  Elmer gave her a strange look. “Exercise? Exercise is for race horses. Hop on.”

  “I said no. Thank you.”

  He shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He lifted his hat. “Good day.” He shot Jessica one last look, or tried to, but Melissa still blocked his vision. He took off.

  “Creep.” She didn’t bother to lower her voice, but if he heard he didn’t stop or even turn around.

  Jeremy put a hand to his stomach. “Mom, I’m getting hungry again. You should have asked Elmer if there were any wabbits around here.”

  She chuckled in spite of herself.

  They watched him go, and a slight breeze picked up a little bit of dirt from the wheels and wafted it back to them. They backed up into the field behind them and let it dissipate.

  She reached out and brushed a hand across Jessica’s cheek.

  “You okay?”

  Jessica nodded. “Fine.” Her eyes flitted to meet Melissa’s gaze. “Thanks, Mom.”

  Melissa nodded, and after a moment, they started walking, this time together.

  Jeremy cleared his throat. “Uh, Mom, we’re twelve. You know that, right?”

  “Of course I know. Don’t be stupid.”

  Jeremy laughed. “Just asking.”

  Melissa sighed. “You kids aren’t going back to the cabin, are you?”

  “No,” said Jeremy.

  Jessica shook her head.

  It was just as well. After meeting Elmer, she wasn’t so keen on her kids wandering off alone anyway. They should have simply stayed at the cabin. Now it was too late.

  They walked in silence. Melissa was so used to noise of some kind: music, news, television, traffic, sewing machines. Always noise. Now all she could hear was the low-key buzzing of insects, the
rattle of the horse wagon in the distance and their own footfalls.

  The silence seemed strange. She breathed in deeply and the fresh air was wonderful. She wasn’t used to that, either. She realized she was feeling very mellow. “At least we know what the local weirdo looks like. Now we can avoid him.”

  Jeremy threw a stick. “Yeah, for a minute I thought Jess was going to have a Friday night date.”

  Jessica shoved him. “You’re sick.”

  “He was sick,” said Jeremy.

  They came to a small river with a bridge, and all three of them stood looking down at the water. It looked inviting. They needed to get to town soon, but still, it was water, and after two days of grunge, Melissa couldn’t pass it up. “Shall we soak our feet?”

  Jeremy eyed her suspiciously. “Only if you promise not to steal my shoes when I’m not looking.”

  Melissa chuckled. “Don’t give me any ideas.”

  They took off their shoes and socks and sat on some boulders, dipping their feet in the cool water.

  Melissa closed her eyes. “This feels so good.”

  Jessica trickled her fingers through the water. “Do you think it’ll be easy to get a job here?” She sounded amused.

  “Yeah, what kind of pay do you think you can get?” asked Jeremy. Apparently he was amused too.

  Suddenly, Melissa saw a little bit of humor in the situation. She could see the headlines now: big city fashion designer gets job in Hickville, USA. She shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe not much to start, but once they see what I can do, probably more.”

  Jeremy cocked his head. “More, as in what? Ten dollars a month instead of seven?”

  Melissa splashed him. “Hopefully it won’t be that bad.”

  “Let’s think about this for a minute,” said Jeremy. “What if you’re only making a few dollars? What could we buy with the money?”

  Jessica wiggled her toes in the water. “I’d want some soap.”

  “I’d want a new dress,” said Melissa, playing the game.

  Jeremy tilted a pretend hat. “I’d want a cowboy hat.”

  Melissa snorted. “What on earth for?”

  “So they’ll take me seriously here.”