by Aria Ford
“I dream of doing more than playing with rocks all day, you know. I told my Mama , bless her heart, that I wanted to go off to school- be a teacher or a lawyer. But Mama didn’t grow up with money. So when she heard that they were finding gold in California- my ass was on the street faster than I can say bye.”
“Well, your Mama isn’t around for miles. I suggest you resume some of those dreams, I don’t want you dragging your sad sacking ass around my new wife and future children.”
Joseph checked his wrist for the time, and told Gerald, “I should get going.”
Gerald waved him off. “Stay for another.”
It was a hot, muggy, miserable day so far. It was only miserable, however, because the only friend that Marilynn had in all of Mississippi had hopped on a train three weeks ago to marry some strange man. Ruby had yet to write.
‘Maybe that damn post man lost her letter.’ Marilynn assured herself, adjusting to afternoons of boiling hot water and gathering the tea bags, to sit down at the table and simply sip the tea. There was no Ruby showing up unannounced and sharing tea. There was no one to tell her woes to, how the boys were nerve wracking, how Madison looked more and more worn down every time she cleaned a house. It was the ugliest she had ever seen her mother’s hands. They were cracked, unpainted, pale, and sometimes they bled in parts. Madison Porter had never been the kind of woman to cut corners on her appearance. Granted, since she was 16 years old, she had Peter Porter to get all dressed up for.
Marilynn sipped the tea, and watched as the boys all sat in a circle on their knees outside.
‘Lord knows what they’re up to.’ Marilynn thought, and in her observing she bumped her white tea cup with lilies dancing on it, and hot tea singed her skin.
“Damn it!” She cried out. ‘Why in the hell did I make hot tea? It’s a perfect day for iced tea, Ruby isn’t here to drink hot tea anymore!’
She grabbed a cloth and dabbed at the part on the round wooden table where she spilled tea.
‘Oh, thank God.’ She thought, as she narrowly missed a whopping splinter. She frowned. Papa built this table when she was a girl, and without him around it was falling apart.
‘Who will make the repairs now? We never sat down as a family to talk about it. Do we send the boys to one of the men in town? Am I expected to? Mama surely doesn’t have the time or the talent.’ Marilynn thought. The boys were still sitting in a circle in the dirt outside, and Marilynn got up off of the chair and walked down the steps of the porch.
Fred glanced at her as she walked to the edge of their property to check the mail, pulling out a newspaper, and few letters from some of Madison’s concerned friends.
On her way back to the house, Marilynn asked the boys, “Now what the hell are you doing? What kind of game is this?”
Thomas replied, “We’re trying to see who can fall over first from not paying any attention.”
Marilynn scoffed. “If you boys are that bored, get yourselves to the corner store to hustle up some grits for dinner, and some extra money.”
Georgie shared a glance with Thomas and Fred, seeking affirmation that this is what they were going to do next.
“I said go.” Marilynn barked, and all three boys got up and started walking down the road. “Be back by sunset!” She hollered after them, then walked back into the house.
She reclaimed her seat, and pushed the two envelopes addressed to Madison off to the side. She opened the newspaper, and there was nothing particularly new. A few cowboys earned a few days of fame in Texas, and a woman birthed her twelfth child in Tennessee.
Her fingers flirted with the left bottom corner of the paper, then she peeled back the edge and fanned out the whole paper in front of her. Her eyes flitted with the classifieds as if job postings were a cute schoolboy. She focused her gaze on the positions; all of the jobs were what Madison would call “men’s work.” Painting houses, riding a bicycle and throwing the morning paper, opening the corner store and taking inventory. No one was seeking a little help around the house, or the baby sitting of a wealthy politician’s kids.
‘I’ve gotta do my share around here, too.’ Marilynn thought. She exhausted the classifieds and read up on politics but her heart wasn’t in it. It was in a very small corner at the bottom of the paper, but she found it whether she was trying to or not. The bold black lettering shouted out:
Single Men Seek Beautiful, Dutiful Wives
There were six men photographed underneath the heading. All of them were from different states, and under each man was a six line blurb about who he was, and what kind of wife he preferred.
Marilynn smiled. ‘This is how that man got my Ruby.’ She read the biographies of each man.
Tedd June
24 years old
I’m a sheriff, and I want someone to prepare me a pot roast the way my Mama used to.
Hugh Goldman
18 years old
I reside in Vermont, and I’m looking for a well read woman that is prepared to have a big family.
Oliver Dent
17 years old
I want a lot of babies to carry on my legacy.
Marilynn snorted. “Way to jump the gun, Olly.” She mumbled as her eyes ran over another man’s column.
Gerald Meyers
22 years old
I live in the beautiful state of California, and my friend Joseph is pressuring me to put one of these things up. I work in the mines, and it’d be nice to see a pretty, clean face every so often.
Marilynn chuckled upon finishing the last man’s bio. “Wouldn’t it be nice?” she asked no one in particular. “How does anyone pick from these damn things?” She got up and strode into the study, which Papa used to write in, but Mama only used it for sending letters now. Marilynn acquired some stationary, and envelope, a pen, and a full bottle of ink.
She squinted upon reading the man’s address, and then carefully copied it onto the front of an envelope. She gave her pen some more ink, and began writing at the left edge of her stationary.
“Dear Gerald, I’m only responding to one of these things because you seemed the least frightful out of the group of bachelors for today’s paper. My name is Marilynn Porter, I live in Jackson, Mississippi. I’m not terribly interested in being married, but my family could use some help. My father died last year, and it’s been awful rough on my mother, having to raise three sons. I hope to lift the burden of having an extra mouth to feed around here, and to send money back home. I’d be happy to be your clean face to see at home in exchange for these things.
Love, (but not actually, I suppose) Marilynn
Before she lost the nerve she stuffed her letter into the envelope and marched outside to deposit it in the mail box. She put the flag up, and hurried back inside. Moments later, Madison came shuffling down the walkway. She opened the door, and Marilynn jumped up to ready some iced tea and grits.
“How was your day, Mama?”
Madison collapsed into a seat at the table and grunted. “It was what it was, darling. I cleaned until my fingers bled, and then until they were numb. But I think I made enough for us to eat something other than grits, for once.”
“That’s splendid, Mama. I’ve been working on some stuff to help out around here too.” Marilynn said, as she loaded a pitcher with ice.
Madison’s curious voice floated from behind her, “Oh? What’s that?”
Marilynn returned to the table with the pitcher and two glasses, Madison watched her as she poured the tea and sat across from her. Marilynn swatted a stray piece of black hair from her lips as she asked, “You know how Ruby moved to California for one of those men from the ads in the paper?”
An odd noise came from Madison’s throat as she took a big gulp of tea. She set the glass back down. “How will this relate to helping the family, Marilynn? Will you be running the paper now? Writing those ads for men who can’t string a simple sentence together?”
“No, Mama. I sent a letter to one of those men. Now, I know it’s a long
shot, but I made myself very clear that I would only agree if I could send a good amount of money back home.”
Madison’s eyes threatened to fall out of her head. “Are you serious, Marilynn? That man could be a woman beater, he could chop you into pieces and throw you in the river-“
“Ruby’s done it! These are normal men, there just ain’t a lot of women up there!”
“That’s crap. Since when do you follow what Ruby does?”
“She seemed really sure before she left, all excited. I’m not looking for a husband really, but I can keep him company and hopefully that’s enough.”
“Don’t you sound like a high class whore? Of course, whores have sex with the men that pay for their time, you’re saying that there will be none of that. That’s especially nonsense, because no man wants be kept company by a woman with every intention of keeping her legs closed to him.”
“Mama, you’re being vulgar.”
“This is just a peek at the vulgarity you’ll endure by running off with some strange man.”
“He makes a good living working in the mines. He didn’t even want to post it, but his friend had to push him. He’s 22.”
Madison rolled her eyes and sipped on some more tea. “Alright, you go up there if this man is interested then. I can’t stop you, you were grown long before Peter died. But I need you to write to me each week, and if this man lays a hand on you, I need you to take that money you would send home and hop on the first train back to Jackson. Is that clear?”
Marilynn poured more tea into Madison’s empty glass. “I’ll be fine, Mama.”
“So how many responses did you get?” Joseph asked, as he shut the door to Gerald’s house behind him.
They moved to the kitchen were a small, round table sat in the middle of the room with only two chairs next to it. A single light bulb served as the only light source in the whole room, and it was a poor one at that.
Gerald grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and pulled out one of the chairs. “I wasn’t drowning in young ladies like yourself. I got a response from a girl that wanted to bring her grown uncle with her-“
“Is that in opposition with a younger uncle?” Joseph asked, pilfering a beer from the fridge. He sat down across from Gerald, and gazed around the room. “Do you have any food in here, Gerald? Can you cook?”
“The lady next door does a nice job of supplying casseroles for me. She says I remind her of her son.”
“Well, shit, heat up one of those casseroles I’m starving.”
Gerald got up, taking a long swing of his beer and shuffled to the refrigerator. He searched for the casserole in the refrigerator and pulled out a tupperware container. Joseph grinned as Gerald put it into an oven dish and shoved it in his oven at 350.
“Anyway, so there was that girl. Then, there was the girl who said she’d be happy to marry me, but did I mind ‘odd sexual practices’?”
“Now why in the hell would you have a problem with that?”
“Because those practices involved feet. No thank you, this is for the rest of my life. Then there was Marilynn.”
“Alright, nice enough name.”
“She’s not interested in the whole marriage thing-“
“Then why the hell did she respond to an ad asking for a woman’s hand in marriage?”
“Would you let me finish, Joe? She’s not interested but she’s willing to live with me if she can have some help with her family.”
“How does this benefit you at all?” Joseph lit a cigarette. “Another mouth to feed, and she’s not willing to handle any of your needs?”
“She didn’t say that Joe,” Gerald pulled the casserole out of the oven and the smell of baked cheddar flooded the room.
“She just said she wasn’t interested in marriage. I’m not a bad looking man, in fact, I think that I’m a good looking one. I’m sure I could bring her around.”
“And if you can’t?” Joseph prodded.
Gerald cut into the casserole and slapped a huge helping onto a plate. “Then I send her ass back on a train to Mississippi.”
Joseph accepted the casserole piece and fork that Gerald handed him and began to dig in. “Sounds fair,” he mumbled through pieces of egg and cheese.
“Doe she sound good looking?”
“Well, she says she has long black hair, and wide hips. Maybe she thinks that’s all men want.”
“Are you wanting more, Gerald?”
“I’m not all that sure, and I wouldn’t think black hair is impressive to you. How is the red Ruby doing?”
Joseph beamed. “Great. I think she’s pregnant.”
Gerald almost spit out his beer. “What? Already?”
“I wanted a family, Gerald. I hope you have one too, so my kids and your kids can be like cousins.”
“Is that right?” Gerald sawed into his meal and savored every bite, he forgot to eat lunch today.
“That’s right. When are you going to come by and meet Ruby?”
“I’ll tell you what, I’m gonna write back to that sweet Marilynn and tell her that I would be happy to help her Mama and brothers in exchange for her company. And when I have a lady on my arm, I will come visit you and yours so I don’t look like a weird third wheel.”
Joseph had made his meal vanish. “I see. Now, what if your lady isn’t willing to be on your arm? In fact, what if you have to tie her to it to keep her from running away down south?”
“You want some more casserole, Joe? You ask too many damn questions when you’re hungry.”
It was hot and muggy the afternoon the train steamed into the California station. Marilynn’s thighs stuck together with sweat, as she moved for the first time in hours to get off of the train. People shuffled by, a mother and son walked ahead of her and a pregnant woman waddled behind her. She got off of the train, a small, round, suitcase in her hand and tried to make sense of the wild mess of blurs of color and sound.
‘I don’t understand why it’s so noisy here, no one said a peep on the train.’ She thought, as a woman ran up to a man in uniform and wrapped her arms around him. Her luggage went sailing across the platform and Marilynn offered them a stiff nod as she shouldered past a group of tall men. She found a flight of steps that lead to just outside of the train station. The heat was still relentless. Marilynn shielded her eyes and waited for Gerald to appear.
‘Maybe he thought I was coming tomorrow? Or maybe he changed his mind.’ She thought, her surroundings coming into complete view to not reveal Gerald. Women walked back and forth with suitcases, some said goodbye to people that came with them, and a few women were alone.
A man pushed a cart with several suitcases loaded on top of it, and Marilynn sighed and sat down on the station steps. The man struggled and got all of the suitcases up the stairs and Marilynn turned her attention to the crowd again.
Finally, in big, bold, red lettering, a sign stuck out that screamed ‘MARILYNN’. A man of average height, with broad shoulders, and a strong build was holding it, a grin on his face, his eyes darted around the station with such eagerness and Marilynn thought ‘It’s a shame I’m not as excited.’
Marilynn picked up her suitcase and shuffled over to Gerald, he looked around and his eyes grazed over her when she approached him.
“Good afternoon, miss. I’m waiting for a woman.”
“You can keep waiting or we can go,” Marilynn said, offering him a smile. “I’m Marilynn.” She stuck her hand out for him to shake and Gerald laughed, shaking her hand.
“You’re more beautiful than I imagined. I’ve heard so many horror stories about brides not looking like what they describe, but when they get there and it’s too late.”
Marilynn giggled. “I tried to be as honest as I could. Is your house nearby?”
He nodded. “I have the displeasure of living only three blocks away from the station.” He said, he peeled her suitcase out of her hands and they began the walk out of central station.
Gerald opened the door to his place and
Marilynn enjoyed the definite quiet of it. No one was going to come running in, no chorus of three voices, all at different octaves. This place might always be this quiet. The walls were bare and cream colored. He didn’t have hard wood floors like she was used to, but plush white carpet instead. Whereas, back in Mississippi, nothing that lived on the floor would stay white with Papa Porter and his three boys running around.
“This is different than what I’m used to.” Marilynn said, as Gerald carried her suitcase down a hallway. She followed him, and entered a bedroom with a vanity and dresser. The bed was in the middle of the room, and the curtains were open to let just a bit of sunlight in.
“Different? What was your house like?”
“Bigger. In some ways, it just felt bigger because there was always a ton of people running around, there was always noise.”
“This is kind of what my house was like growing up. My mother would teach, and I would do my studies and go outside with the neighborhood boys until I became a man. Then she booted me out.”
“For what?”
“She wanted me to know more money than she did, so when it came out there was going to be gold here…”
“I get it. So do I just put my stuff in the vanity?”
“Yes, I figure we’ll have dinner in a few hours. I have some casserole left over-“
“You cooked?”
No. The older woman next door gives me casseroles because I remind her of her son. Maybe you’ll be making the casseroles from now on.”
Marilynn opened her suitcase and kneeled to pull everything out of it. “She’s going to have to show me then. I don’t know how to make much besides a bowl of hot grits, and eggs.”
Gerald nodded as Marilynn folded blouses and skirts and put them in the drawers. “I have a friend, Joe, that comes over. He works with me in the mines, so you’ll see him every now and again.”
