by Kate Sheperd
He stumbled back to the house, settled into his favorite chair, and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. Cigarettes in packs were still something of a novelty to him. He picked up his matches from the table beside his chair, struck one, and held it to the end of his cigarette.
He continued to drink from the bottle of whiskey, listlessly watching the curls of smoke that drifted up from his cigarette to hang in the air, accentuated by a beam of sunlight that had braved its way through the curtains. He blew a few smoke rings and then picked up the stack of mail that he had picked up earlier that day. He no longer cared very much about what came in the mail. He used to look forward to it, always hoping that there might be a letter from Catherine.
There was, of course, the usual letter from Nell. She had taken to writing him fairly often. She worried about him he knew. She was always trying to cheer him up in her letters, a wasted effort as far as he was concerned. But still, it was nice, he supposed, that she tried.
Her latest conviction was that if he could just find a new wife, he would snap right out of his depression. And so she had taken to sending him personal ads snipped out of the newspaper back home with every letter that she sent. This one was no different. He sighed and rolled his eyes, setting them aside before pulling the letter itself from the envelope.
It was the usual. Two and a half pages of relentless optimism peppered sparingly with news of the family. He almost set the letter aside without reading the post script. Nell always included a post script in her letters and they were, almost without fail, some sort of inspirational tidbit or a Bible verse or some such nonsense. He had actually stopped reading them completely some time ago.
But the first couple of words caught his eye and he realized that maybe she actually had something to say this time. He took another drag of his cigarette and continued reading.
P.S. – I’ve decided that I am going to come to California and look after you until you are properly on your feet again. I worry about you, you know. Sitting around by yourself and not working the way that you do would drive any man mad, and I worry about you more so since Catherine did what she did. And judging from the rambling nature of your few letters home I can only assume that you have taken to drinking. I cannot sit idly by as you destroy your mind and your health. And, dear brother, do not try to convince me not to come. I am making my preparations at once and leaving within a few days, and I will already be with you by the time any letter you may send reaches home. I will see you soon.
With love,
Nell
“Oh, Jesus,” Daniel muttered, rubbing at the stubble on his jaw as Nell’s words sank in. He glanced around the house. It was an absolute disaster. The floor was littered with whiskey bottles, empty cigarette packages, and partially smoked cigarettes, along with several items that he actually couldn’t quite identify.
He didn’t know exactly when Nell would arrive, but he knew his sister well enough to know that she would not have wasted any time in making her travel arrangements. Once Nell had made her mind up to do something, it got done, and with a quickness at that. Only God himself could have stood in her way. She could be here at any time and there was no way that he could let her see the place – or himself, for that matter – in such a sorry state.
He stood quickly, with the intention of beginning the seemingly insurmountable task of cleaning the place up. But he had drunk far too much whiskey by that time. He promptly fell to the floor and passed out. He remained there as darkness fell, through the night, and well into the next day.
*****
Daniel was violently wrenched awake by the sensation of cold water soaking him. He woke up bellowing.
“Oh, son of a –“
He stopped short of what he had been about to say when he saw Nell standing over him with a bucket. He winced, partly because of the situation that he now found himself in and partly because it felt like someone was trying to drive a railroad spike through his skull.
“Glad you’re awake,” Nell said drily.
“I –“
He had been about to make some feeble excuse about how he hadn’t been expecting her, but a gut wrenching wave of nausea hit him. He scrambled to his feet and stumbled out the front door. He barely made it outside before he started vomiting. Dry heaves continued to wrack him mercilessly long after his stomach had been emptied of its contents.
Nell rubbed her hand across his back comfortingly and said nothing until the dry heaves left him. He rolled over on his back in the sand, his head swimming, and groaned miserably.
“Here, drink this,” Nell said, offering him a glass of water. She helped him to sit up, wrinkling her nose as she caught a whiff of him. His hand trembled slightly as he took the glass from her. He drank it down thirstily. His stomach twisted in protest, but he managed not to throw up again.
“Nell –“
“Not now,” she interrupted him. “We’ll talk later. For now, go wash up. I don’t know if you smell more like a dead man or a brewery.”
He almost protested. He didn’t want to so much as stand up, much less go and get cleaned up. But he decided that arguing with Nell would probably take more energy than cleaning up ever could.
He groaned again as he stood. His head continued to pound and every inch of his body ached. He took a cold bath which, to his surprise, went a long way toward making him feel human again. Once he was clean he put on fresh clothes and went to talk to Nell. He found her in the kitchen preparing coffee.
He was surprised that she had even been willing to set foot in the kitchen. It was no better than the rest of the house. He tried not to draw her attention too much as he moved three empty whiskey bottles off of the table.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, would you stop?” she said. “Moving those bottles isn’t gonna make a bit of difference. May as well leave them for now.”
“Fair enough,” he said, setting them down and pulling a chair up to the table.
Nell handed him a cup of black coffee and another glass of water. He accepted them gratefully and immediately drained the water dry. Nell raised her eyebrows and refilled the glass for him. Then she poured herself a cup of coffee and joined him at the table. They sat in silence for several minutes, sipping their coffee, each of them waiting for the other to speak first. It was Nell who finally broke the silence.
“Good grief, Danny. What would Ma think if she could see you like this?” Daniel shifted in his chair uncomfortably.
“You didn’t tell her, did you?” he asked. Nell snorted.
“Tell her? Danny, I didn’t even know it was this bad. But no. I didn’t tell her anything.”
“She didn’t wonder why you suddenly had to up and run off to California?” he asked with a humorless laugh.
“Told her I fancied a holiday,” Nell said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “That I thought the ocean air might do me some good.”
“Ah,” Daniel replied.
“Fat lot of good it’s done you,” Nell said pointedly, looking him over.
“Guess I deserved that,” he said with a wince. Nell sighed and rubbed her face.
“No,” she said. “You don’t. I shouldn’t be so harsh. It’s just hard to see you like this, that’s all.”
Silence fell over the room again. Daniel stared down at his coffee, unsure of what he should say to his sister. They had always been close, but now everything was different. Catherine’s betrayal had all but destroyed him. He felt like he was alone, adrift in an unforgiving sea. It felt as though there was an impassable gulf between himself and everyone else. Even his own sister.
“I know it’s been hard,” Nell finally said. “Since Catherine…left.” The contempt in her voice left no question as to what she thought of that. “I just wish that I knew how to help,” she continued, her voice softening.
Daniel still made no reply. He wasn’t sure that there was any help, but he wasn’t about to say that to Nell.
“It just feels like we’re losing you. And I, for one,
will not stand for it. Now come on and help me clean this place up,” she said, pulling him up by the hand. “It looks like a saloon died in here.”
Daniel couldn’t help the faint smile that crept across his face. Leave it to Nell to decide that she could drag him from the pits of despair by sheer willpower. He realized that it was the first genuine smile that had crossed his face in months. Hell, he thought, maybe she could.
*****
It took them several days to completely clean the mess that he had made of the place. Daniel found that he felt somewhat better just having something to keep him busy. He supposed Nell had had a point when she had said in her letter that it wasn’t good for him doing nothing all the time. He also found that he felt physically better after not drinking for a few days. Not that he hadn’t been tempted, but Nell had hardly given him the time to.
When the last of the work was finally done they settled into chairs in the sitting room and admired their handiwork.
“Thank you,” Daniel said. “For everything.” And he meant it. But Nell only laughed.
“Everything?” she asked with amusement. “Danny, I’m not half done with you yet. We’ve still got to find you a wife.”
“You’ve got to be joking,” he said.
“Hardly,” Nell replied, half-jokingly. “I know you, Daniel Jameson, and without a woman here to look after you, you’ll fall apart the minute I’m gone.”
“Very funny,” Daniel said with a half-smile, rolling his eyes.
“In all seriousness, though,” Nell continued, her tone more sober. “It isn’t good for you to be out here all alone the way you are.”
“I know,” he conceded.
“What about all those ads I sent you? From the personals back home?”
“You mean these?” he asked, lifting the stack of them from the table by his chair.
“At least write one girl. Just one letter to one girl, and I promise I’ll let it be,” she told him.
“That’s a hard bargain to pass up,” he said with a laugh.
He spread the ads out as though they were a deck of cards.
“Pick a card, any card,” he said grandiosely, pulling out one of the ads with a flourish. “Here we are.” He skimmed over the ad. “Naomi Thompson. Seems like a nice girl. I’ll write her a letter right now.”
“You do that,” Nell said with a laugh. She shook her head and rolled her eyes as her brother went to search for pen and paper.
Daniel jotted down a quick letter. Little did he know that it would change his life forever.
Chapter 3
Naomi sat staring into the fire. Faith snored lightly, her head resting in Naomi’s lap. Naomi stroked her hair absentmindedly as she tried to collect her thoughts. Faith’s condition had continued to worsen. Naomi now regretted turning down the potential suitors that had responded to her ad.
With a sigh she carefully moved Faith’s head out of her lap and made her way to the kitchen. She brewed a pot of tea, prepared herself a cup, and went to sit at the writing desk.
She had no correspondence to tend to, but at least she could keep her hands busy by organizing. She began to sort through the piles of paper and letters that cluttered the surface of the desk.
She sat at the desk and finished her tea when she was done. She sat staring into the empty cup, lost in thought. She might as well go to bed, she finally decided. She wasn’t accomplishing anything by staring into an empty tea cup. She heaved a sigh and started to stand up.
But something under the writing desk caught her eye. It was an envelope. Well, it was no wonder things had started falling in the floor, given the state that the desk had been in. Mildly annoyed, she crawled under the desk to retrieve it. She sat back down at the desk to inspect it.
It had not been opened yet. She was surprised to see that it was from California. They didn’t know anyone from California. Burning with curiosity, she slit the top of the envelope and emptied its contents onto the desk. It contained a single sheet of paper and a tintype photograph of a young man.
He heart skipped a beat. Perhaps she hadn’t yet turned down all of her suitors after all. Her hands trembled as she unfolded the piece of paper.
Dear Miss Thompson,
I suppose you may be wondering why it is that I am writing to you from California. I received your ad from my sister, who is relentless and has taken it upon herself to find me a wife. But that isn’t important. You will find that I am quite wealthy, and tolerable to look at. If you are agreeable, you may come to California right away and we can be married at once. Please find enclosed a train ticket.
Respectfully,
Daniel Jameson
Naomi’s heart pounded as she inspected the envelope again. Sure enough, there was a train ticket inside. She read over the letter three more times. It seemed odd that he would agree to a marriage without so much as receiving a letter from her.
She was pulled from her thoughts as Faith began to cough. She sat with her and rubbed her back until the coughing had subsided somewhat.
“I’ll be right back,” she told Faith.
She went and retrieved the bottle of cough syrup and returned to Faith’s side. She helped her sit up and gave her a dose of the medicine.
“Better?” she asked.
Faith nodded weakly as she laid back down. She was asleep again within minutes.
Naomi returned to the writing desk and read the letter one more time. Odd or not, she decided, her mind was made up. She was going to get married.
She retrieved her tattered blue suitcase from her room, packed it, and set it next to the front door.
*****
The next morning she pulled Matthew aside.
“I need to speak with you,” she said.
“Alright,” Matthew replied, curiosity in his bright eyes.
“I have to go away for a while,” she told him. Concern furrowed his brow.
“Why?” he asked. “Is something the matter?”
“No,” Naomi replied. “Nothing is the matter.” She considered telling him her plan, but decided against it. “I have to go away for a while to get money. So that Faith can get better.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “How are you going to make money by going away?”
“I know,” Naomi sighed. “Just trust me, alright?”
“Alright,” he said dubiously.
“I need you to take care of Faith while I’m gone. Can you do that?”
“Yes,” he said. “I think so.”
“Thank you,” she said with a tight smile. She kissed him on the cheek, picked up her suitcase, and headed for the train station.
*****
Daniel and Nell were sitting in companionable silence eating their dinner when they heard a knock at the door. They looked up at each other in surprise.
“You expecting company?” she asked.
“No,” he said, perplexed. No one except Nell had ever come up here to see him before. He didn’t even know anyone from town. He had found out about Catherine and shut himself away shortly after moving.
He rose and made his way to the door. Nell followed him. He opened the door to find a slender young woman with chestnut hair standing on his porch. She looked weary and she carried a battered blue suitcase.
“Daniel Jameson, I presume? And this must be the sister you spoke of,” she said, nodding toward Nell. Nell’s eyebrows shot up and she shot Daniel an inquisitive look. “I’m Naomi Thompson,” she said, extending her hand. Daniel’s jaw dropped and his eyes went wide with shock.
“I…I wasn’t expecting you,” he said. “So soon,” he added hurriedly. “Wasn’t expecting you so soon.” Nell stared at him and Naomi shifted uncomfortably, dropping her extended hand. Daniel cleared his throat.
“Please excuse my brother,” Nell said, breaking her stare. “He sometimes forgets what manners are. Do come in, you look exhausted. Here, let me get that for you.” She took Naomi’s suitcase and led her into the house. Daniel followed after the
m, shock still painted across his face.
“We were just having dinner, if you’d like to join us,” Nell said, setting Naomi’s suitcase down.
“Oh, no I…I don’t want to impose,” Naomi said. She was feeling rather timid after the strange greeting she had just received.
“Nonsense,” Nell said. “You must be famished. I insist you join us.” She shot Daniel a look that clearly said we’ll talk later before heading into the kitchen and setting a place for Naomi.
A charged silence hung over the room as the three of them sat down around the table.
“We haven’t been properly introduced,” Nell said after a moment, extending her hand to Naomi. “My name is Nell.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Naomi said quietly, shaking Nell’s hand.
Silence once again fell over the room.
“If you’ll excuse me,” Naomi finally said, “I…I think I could use a breath of fresh air.” She stood up and let herself out the front door.
Nell turned to Daniel.
“What the hell?” she said. It was the only time that he could ever recall her swearing.
“I…I wrote her a letter. Like I told you I would.”
“And told her what exactly? Hi, nice to meet you, here’s a train ticket, why don’t you come out to California and we can get hitched?”
Daniel squirmed uncomfortably.
“Oh,” Nell said. “Oh no. You did didn’t you? What were you thinking?”
“Well,” he said defensively, “You did want me to find a wife.”
“What I wanted was for you to get to know someone and then maybe marry them. I never meant for you to send some strange woman a train ticket!” she hissed.
“I know, I know,” he said, squeezing his eyes shut and pinching the bridge of his nose. “I never thought she’s take me seriously. Who just jumps on a train to go and marry someone they never met?” Nell stared at him.
“Why did you even send her a ticket in the first place?”
