A Cook for Christmas

by Teresa Ives Lilly

Barkley escorted her to the Eating House and offered to buy breakfast, but Liliana was anxious to start her new job so declined. Barkley left her at the front of the building, promising to return later in the day to walk her back to the Boarding House.

  Now that they’d had a talk, she felt better. He still wanted to marry her, so for now she could continue to live in the Boarding House and just focus on cooking at the Eating House.

  Liliana slipped in the front door and made her way to the kitchen. From the doorway she could see nothing but chaos. The counters and Six Plate Step Top Stove were splattered with grease and broken egg shells along with a variety of other trash laying on the floor. The grumpy cook was throwing a fit, yelling at Ginger in a foreign tongue. Ginger stood with clenched fists and Liliana was afraid the young woman would strike the older Chinese man.

  Liliana stepped into the kitchen and cleared her throat. “Excuse me.”

  The cook and Ginger turned at the sudden sound of her voice.

  “I’ve come to begin my job.”

  The Chinese man grinned, ripped off the small grease-stained apron he had tied around his waist and abruptly walked out the back door.

  Ginger turned with a huge smile. “Thank the Lord, you’re here. That man doesn’t know a thing about cooking bacon and eggs.”

  Liliana’s teeth nibbled at her bottom lip. “I didn’t mean to chase him out of the kitchen.”

  “Don’t worry about that. He’s been waiting for you to come and take over. He actually does the laundry for the miners, but somehow, he was talked into cooking until you got here. The job’s all yours.”

  Liliana’s eyes scanned the room. She noted a clean apron hanging on a wall hook. She moved across the room, took it down and tied it around her waist. Meandering around the kitchen, she took stock of the supplies on the counter, picked up two skillets and began cooking a pan of scrambled eggs and one of bacon.

  “I’d like to make biscuits, but those can wait until tomorrow. For now, let’s just see how many people I can serve with what we have here.”

  Ginger nodded. Liliana could see the relief pass over the younger woman’s face.

  “I’m so glad you’re here. I’ll go hang out the open sign and start taking orders.”

  Several hours passed. Liliana kept busy cooking, putting food on plates, and calling out to Ginger to pick them up. She was glad she’d thought to braid her long hair and wrap it up around her head to keep it out of the way, or else it would have been a long stringy mess by now.

  Hmm, we obviously need more help here.

  During a lull, Liliana sat down on a small stool and took a deep breath. Her feet hurt from standing so long, but she was happy with the progress she’d made. Not only had she cooked for so many, she’d taken time to wipe all the counters and stove. The floor would need someone with more strength than she had.

  “Ginger, when will Mr. Peterson be in? I’d like to discuss hiring some more help.”

  Ginger wiped her greasy hands on her apron. “Jordan only buys the supplies. He’s not in charge. We were told you would be in charge.”

  Liliana’s lips formed an O. She pointed at her chest. “Me?”

  “Yep. No one knows who the owner is, and Jordan doesn’t want to be in charge. He has his own business to run. He only agreed to buy the supplies we need here because the owner made him a very nice offer to get the Eating House up and running. That leaves you in charge.”

  “Who pays our wages?”

  “Jordan gets an envelope of money every week with the exact amount to pay us.”

  Liliana wasn’t sure what to think. Why would the owner want to remain a mystery?

  “I don’t see how I can hire someone without getting permission from the owner.”

  “Jordan was told that anything you wanted or needed was to be provided. So, I think that means you can hire whoever you want.”

  Liliana glanced around the kitchen. Cooking was a big job. She needed help with the cleaning and serving. One waitress would not be enough.

  She was so tired; she couldn’t think straight. “Do you have any suggestions? We need someone to wash pots, pans and dishes. We need someone to help serve the food and we need at least one more waitress.”

  Ginger scrunched her forehead in thought. “What about you? Will you quit once you and Barkley tie the knot?”

  Liliana was silent. That was something she’d tried not to give much thought to. Would Barkley want her to stop working at the Eating House? She loved the idea of working as a cook. She could only hope he would allow her to continue but he had made it clear he wanted her to cook and clean for him and his father.

  “I hope not, but that is something I will discuss with him soon. For now, we need to prepare for the next meal. I’m glad the Eating House only offers two meals a day. Three would be too much work.”

  Ginger’s shoulders slumped. “If I could find an easier job, I’d take it. But this town doesn’t offer many jobs for women. I was lucky to be hired.”

  Liliana patted Ginger on the back. “I’m lucky you’re here and once we get some help; it will be easier on you. Now, let’s put our heads together and figure out who we can hire and what we need to serve for the early evening meal.”

  ***

  Ginger knew everyone in town and was able to suggest possible employees. Women whose husbands wouldn’t mind their wife earning a living to help make up for the lack of profit coming from their mines. Within the hour, Ginger had brought in three strong, eager women. They looked older than their ages and weather beaten, but Liliana could tell they were eager to earn some money. She was introduced to Ruby Jones, Janet Riley and Esther Tarpley. All three were willing to clean, serve and wait tables. Liliana sketched out a temporary schedule so they could take turns at the different jobs.

  “Now, do we have clean aprons for these ladies?”

  Ginger nodded and slipped into the large pantry. She carried out a box full of aprons.

  Liliana eyed them. “My, there are at least two dozen aprons.”

  “Well, we’ll only have to wash them once a week. We can each own four and still keep a few here.”

  Liliana agreed and divided them out, giving four to each lady. She would take the one she was wearing and the others that were dirty. “I’ll wash these tonight.”

  Ginger showed the other women how to serve and how to wait tables. Liliana explained how she liked the pots, pans and dishes washed although the woman looked skeptical about the need for such doings. Within an hour, all five of them were busy.

  For the meal, Liliana prepared potatoes and once Ginger showed her the stocked smoke house, behind the Eating House, she decided to serve ham. All in all, Lilianna was pleased with the progress they made during the day.

  CHAPTER 8

  Barkley stepped into the Eating House. He nodded at Ginger and noticed Ruby Jones was also acting as a waitress. He slid into a chair at an empty table. Ginger came over with a small notepad.

  “Are you eating or just waiting for Liliana?” She joked.

  “I’d love to try her cooking. What’s being served?”

  “Baked potatoes and ham.”

  His eyes lit up. “Really? I would love that. It looks like you have some new help.”

  “Yes. Liliana hired three women to help clean, serve and wait.”

  Barkley sat back, pleased.

  “She wasn’t sure what to do since Jordan never showed up today. I told her she was in charge. No one knows who owns the place and Jordan is only in charge of buying supplies, I figured she should go ahead and take charge.”

  “That makes sense.”

  Ginger wrote his order and headed into the kitchen. In a few minutes, Esther Tarply carried his food to the table.

  Barkley thanked Esther then bowed his head and said a quiet prayer, thankful for the decent food. However, when he took his first bite, he lifted his eyes and thanked God for excellent food.

  Liliana is a real fine cook. This food’s wonderful, Lord.

&n
bsp; Barkley ate slowly, savoring each bite. He noted men at other tables doing the same. It was a good thing Liliana had hired help. When word got out about how good her food was, the customers would triple in number. Over the next year, there would be fewer and fewer miners in town as not many had struck it rich, but Colorado was also being settled by big ranchers and Sweet Water would serve plenty of them.

  Perhaps it will be too much work for her. I didn’t bring her to Sweet Water to slave away for the men in town. He frowned at his thoughts. No, I brought her here to slave away for me and I didn’t even offer to pay her. All I did was offer a loveless marriage.

  As the others finished their meal and reluctantly trickled out of the Eating House, Barkley waited.

  ***

  “That was quite a job.” Liliana took off her apron and put it in a pile with several others that were stained and in need of a good washing. She’d considered taking them to wash at the Boarding House, but Ginger assured her they could all be taken to the Chinese laundry along with a dozen tablecloths. She was glad no food or grease had splattered her dress. She owned so few things.

  Ginger sat at a small table bent over, rubbing her feet. “Even with help, it was more work today than I’ve ever had to do before. Now that everyone knows there’s a good cook at the Eating House, it will be busier every day.”

  Liliana stretched. Her back muscles ached. Cooking for ten boarders was easier than cooking for an endless number of hungry men. She’d been so sure she could handle it. Lord, can I do this every day?

  “Barkley is waiting out front for you.” Ginger nodded toward the door. “I could tell he enjoyed your food. Guess he’ll be even more anxious to marry you now.”

  Liliana’s head snapped up. She’d been so busy she hadn’t thought about Barkley all day, or her pending marriage. There were still so many unanswered questions.

  “Do you have any idea where Barkley lives?” Her voice lowered.

  Ginger shook her head. “He and his Pa have a claim a mile or two outside of town. As long as I’ve known, they’ve lived there, but I’ve never seen it. ‘Course, if its anything like any of the other claims, it’s just a small shanty…” the girl’s words faded at the look of horror on Lilianna’s face.

  “But Barkley keeps himself clean, so that must mean he keeps his shanty clean to. I wouldn’t worry about it none. He ain’t the type of man to make you live like that for long. He’s probably got a better place in mind.”

  “Hmm.” Liliana’s shoulders slumped. She moved toward the door and stepped into the Eating House with her shawl in her hand. She felt worn and greasy, while Barkley looked clean and handsome. Perhaps Ginger was right. Barkley surely had something better in mind for her than a dirty shanty.

  Barkley looked up and smiled. She couldn’t help but take a deep breath. His smile caused her heart to beat a bit faster. She felt herself drawn across the room.

  “Thank you for waiting.”

  “I promised to walk you home.” He held her elbow gently and guided her toward the front door. “Will you work this late every day?”

  “Not if I can help it,” she answered with a smile. “I need to get more organized and make a better menu plan so I can have a larger quantity of food pre-made each day.”

  “By the way, your food was very tasty.” Barkley gave her arm a slight squeeze. Her face warmed with pleasure.

  “Thank you. I love to cook, but I’m not sure I love to cook that much in one day. Being this kind of cook could turn out to be much harder than I imagined.”

  Barkley stopped and turned her toward him. His eyes seemed to be searching her face.

  “If it’s too hard, you don’t have to work. I have enough money to provide you with your basic needs before we get married. I only suggested you for the job because your letter mentioned you wanted to own a restaurant. I should have realized, owning one is quite a bit different than cooking for dozens of unkempt men.”

  “It’s not too hard. It will just take some getting used to. I’m happy to be working and even happier to be in charge. It’s almost like I own the place.” She turned around and took several quick steps, then slowed, waiting for him to catch up. In seconds he jogged up beside her.

  “If you’re sure.” His voice still questioned.

  “I’m very sure. But our relationship is important too. We need time to get to know one another. I’d like to see where you live- where we’ll live. Your letter said something about a shanty and a mine?”

  “Pa lives in the shanty now, but that’s not where you and I will live. I have other plans for us.”

  Liliana eyed him from the corner of her eye. “Is there anything I can do to help with the plans?”

  “Not just yet. Don’t worry though. I’ll leave the decorating up to you. I’ll just choose the place, if that’s all right with you. I do know this town pretty well.”

  Liliana stared at him. Choosing a home was something a couple usually did together, however, she had to remember they weren’t a couple. She was to be more like a house keeper.

  “Please trust me.” Barkley’s voice dropped low, but Liliana could hear the longing in it.

  “I do trust you. I was wrong to question you before and I’ve promised God to let you lead.”

  “Thank you.”

  Just then a gust of winter wind blew down the street and almost pulled the shawl out of Liliana’s hands. She clasped it tighter. Her teeth chattered slightly.

  “You need warmer clothes.” Barkley noted.

  “Yes. I planned to purchase some first thing tomorrow. The Eating House will just have to wait for me to get there.”

  “Do you have enough money to buy clothes?”

  Liliana glanced away. “Some. I’ll pick out the warmest things I can find with what I have.”

  “No, you pick out whatever you need and put it on my account.” Barkley’s voice turned insistent.

  “You already paid to bring me here. I can’t ask you to purchase clothing for me as well.”

  “If we had married that first day like I’ve heard many mail order brides and their grooms do, you would already be my wife and there would be no question about whether I should purchase your clothes or not.”

  “Yes, but we didn’t. The layers of clothing a woman needs can be expensive. I planned to purchase some men’s undergarments to keep me warm.” When she realized she had spoken those words out loud, she slapped a hand over her mouth in embarrassment.

  Barkley laughed. “That will be interesting to see, once we are married of course.”

  Liliana’s cheeks flushed bright red. Up ‘til now, there had been no mention of whether there would be any intimacy between them in their marriage. Perhaps this was some small indication.

  “Until then, I want you to purchase appropriate clothing and put it on my account.” Barkley insisted.

  Liliana swallowed any further argument and nodded. She didn’t want to bring up the concept of money again. It seemed to be the only thing they were at odds over. She would purchase the minimal number of items she needed for now.

  “Even if we aren’t going to live at your claim, I would love to see it and meet your father. You did mention you wanted me to help take care of him too.”

  Barkley hesitated. “Uhm. Sure. Sunday, I can drive you out there. I need to take some supplies in the wagon. You can ride along.” He ignored the obvious questions about his father in her eyes.

  “Won’t we go to church on Sunday?”

  “Most often. But if you want to go to the mine, we won’t have time for church as well. It’s a few miles out and back, takes up a good portion of the day just driving there.”

  “Oh, that’s alright then.”

  “It will be a tight fit in the wagon. Are you sure you want to go this week?”

  Liliana’s eyes brightened and her head nodded up and down. She could hardly wait to snuggle up next to her husband-to-be, even if he wasn’t interested in such things. She would have to take pleasure from what little closen
ess she could have with Barkley.

  CHAPTER 9

  Liliana was overjoyed to sleep in a bit longer on Sunday morning, but she hadn’t missed church since she had the chicken pox as a child, so she made a resolution to spend an extra hour reading her bible later in the day.

  The last few days working at the Sweet Water Eating House had taken a toll on her muscles and feet. When the morning sun tried to peek through the small window in the room at the old Boarding House, she slipped the wool blanket over her head and fell back to sleep.

  An hour later she pulled herself out of bed and decided to dress in one of the new items she’d had a few minutes to buy the previous day at the mercantile. It was a good thing the mercantile provided some pre-made dresses. She slipped a blue and white Calico dress over her head and smoothed it down. The fabric reminded her of the Blue Willow tea set her grandmother had owned. The dress would do for church on other Sundays, but today she wanted to look nice when she accompanied Barkley to his claim.

  The concept of mining was of no interest to her. From what she’d read and heard customers at the Eating House discussing, Liliana thought it sounded like hard, dull work for the small amount of money most of the men who visited the Eating House had to show for all their labor. Many of the men had left prosperous lives in the East and come West to find the glory of hitting gold, but not many earned more than enough to pay for supplies.

  I wonder if Barkley will ever give up mining and get a real job? I could use more help at the Eating House, but it would be too embarrassing to offer my future husband a job. I wonder if he could make more money working here then he does working the mine. She shook her head. There was no way she would mention money again.

  Liliana ran a brush through her long blonde hair and then sat on the bed and read from her Bible until it was time to meet Barkley outside. At the time they agreed upon, she pulled her thin shawl off the back of an old cane chair and slipped it around her shoulders.

  I hope it doesn’t start to snow for another month. Even if I did purchase a few things on Barkley’s account, I can’t see spending his hard-earned money on a winter coat. I’d like to purchase it myself with the money I earn. By December, I know there will be plenty of snow in the mountains, but I’m not sure if this valley will see much.