SEALing The Victory

by B. Angelica Ellmoor

  “I hope so, I make it with him in mind.” Mrs. Baker replied, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. She had been a widow for several years, and she had been getting quite close to the sheriff in the past months. Josephine laughed at her, but they were interrupted by the sound of a drunken fight outside.

  Josephine hurried over to the door and pulled it closed, but she looked out the window.

  “I just wish they would leave,” she said to Mrs. Baker, who had come up behind her to see what was happening.

  “Oh I know, Dear… I do too. But one thing is for sure… They are going to stay until there is no more gold in that mountain.”

  Mrs. Baker shook her head and went back over to the stove, but Josephine stayed at the window. All she wanted as life to be easier. To have some money, to be away from this place, to be happy.

  It didn’t seem like much to her, but it didn’t seem like it was ever going to happen.

  “I can tell you one thing, Dearie,” Mrs. Baker said, almost as though she could read Josephine’s thoughts. “Things is gonna to get a lot worse ‘round here before they start to get better.”

  Josephine didn’t say anything. She didn’t like the sound of that at all, but deep down inside, she had a feeling that Mrs. Baker was right.

  *****

  “I’m sorry, I have done everything that I know how, but the money is just gone.” Mrs. Baker closed the door between the kitchen and the dining room, and turned to face Josephine.

  Josephine stood with a dish and a towel in her hand, her eyes wide with disbelief as she processed what Mrs. Baker had just said.

  “But, with just us, it isn’t as though you are spending a lot in wages and things, and you know I don’t eat much when I am on shift… I just don’t know how you can go and close up shop on me like that.” Josephine fought the tears that she felt filling her eyes, and the knot that was forming in the back of her throat.

  What was she going to do now?

  It wasn’t as though she made a lot of money as it was, but she did make enough to get by. Now, there was no source of income, and she had little hope of finding a new job. Mrs. Baker had told her that she had until the end of the month before she was going to be let go, but that wasn’t a lot of time.

  It was late spring, and all of the teaching jobs were wrapping up for the year. All of the motels and restaurants were filled, and without an education, there was little hope for her to get another job.

  Josephine had no money in the bank, she was literally living from week to week on the small amount she made from the restaurant, and now that was going to be gone.

  “I wish I knew what to tell you, but I don’t. I have done all that I can, but with the prices of goods rising, and with all of the men moving further north, it isn’t as though I have a lot of choice. I would keep you on if I could, but I can’t, and I ain’t gonna tell you that you have a job or a future here when you don’t.

  It ain’t fair to you, and it ain’t fair to me. Now, you can sit here and ball about it, or you can go out there and figure out what you are going to do next. My choice is made, and that is all I have to say.”

  With that, Mrs. Baker walked through the door and out into the dining room. Josephine knew that it was futile to argue the point further, but she was feeling defeated, and desperate.

  She needed money, there was no arguing that. She was used to being poor, she had grown up with just her mother and younger brother. Her brother had passed away from illness when he was really little. He had fallen ill but they didn’t have the money to take him to the doctor.

  Her mother never fully recovered from that incident, and she, too, had passed away before Josephine was an adult. Since then, Josephine had fended for herself, finding jobs here and there, and making the most of what she got.

  This job at the restaurant had been the best thing that had ever happened to Josephine, and it was crushing her that it was being taken away from her. Thomas Black wasn’t going to let her stay at the hotel for free, and that was the cheapest place she could find in town.

  Josephine was so upset, she didn’t know what to do. She had suddenly lost everything in a matter of minutes, and she was left standing there to pick up the pieces. She wrapped her shawl around her shoulders and headed outside to go for a walk.

  It was all that she could think to do to calm down. If she was going to get through this, she needed to calm her thoughts and figure something out. It was a cruel world that she lived in, and there wasn’t anyone out there that would help her.

  If she was going to get through this, she was going to need to do it herself.

  Josephine walked down the boardwalk. It was safer to stay off the streets with all of the horses and wagons. It seemed as though someone got run over at least once a week, and with how busy the doctor was, it was lucky for that person if they weren’t killed there in the streets.

  Josephine ignored the stares of the men in the wagons and on the streets. She would love to meet the right man and raise a family, but the prying eyes of these men told her that she needed to be looking elsewhere.

  Suddenly, an article printed on a paper in the general store window caught her eye. It read:

  Welcome, Mail Order Brides:

  Are you looking to find a husband? Why not skip the long hours of hunting and have him come to you? Run an ad in the paper today, and see what happens!

  Inquire inside.

  Josephine shook her head and started walking, but she only made it a couple of steps before she stopped. She didn’t know what it was, but something was telling her that she should give it a shot.

  You have to figure out something, and it is the best shot that you have.

  She hesitated on the boardwalk for a few seconds longer, then she shrugged.

  “Oh, what the heck.”

  She pulled her shoulders back and strode into the store.

  *****

  Josephine didn’t know what to put down in her letter, and the man in the general store wasn’t too helpful, either. He had told her that she should say something about herself, what she likes, and a brief summary of what she wanted in life.

  Josephine did the best that she could, but she didn’t really know what to put, so she kept it short and to the point. She wanted to emphasize that she was a good worker, that she liked animals, and that she wanted to marry a man that was nice.

  It sounded lacking to her, but she ran it anyway. It was only a penny to post it to the paper, and while she couldn’t justify spending any money right now, especially on something that wasn’t going to give her anything in return, she told herself that it couldn’t hurt.

  Josephine didn’t mention to Mrs. Baker what she had done. She knew that Mrs. Baker would be concerned for her, but she also knew that Mrs. Baker wasn’t going to do anything that was going to help her.

  The days passed, and nothing happened. Josephine didn’t waste any time in looking for a new job, but nothing was turning up for her. As hard as she tried, she kept running into the same answers.

  Either they had no open positions, they weren’t looking to hire a woman, or they wanted to hire someone who had an education. Josephine tried to convince, tried to sway, and tried everything that she could think of to get hired, but they were firm in their answers, and that left Josephine in trouble.

  She watched the mail every day. It wasn’t that she was expecting anyone to actually answer her letter, but she still hoped.

  Josephine’s last day came at her job, as she knew that it would. She hoped that Mrs. Baker was going to change her mind, but she had no such luck. She started the day as she did any other day, and neither one of them had said anything about her leaving, until the end of the day.

  “I suppose that is it then,” Mrs. Baker said as Josephine was headed for the door. “You have been a good worker… one of the best I’ve seen. I wish you well, Dearie.”

  “I can still stay on here…” Josephine said, but when she turned, the door was already closed.

  �
��Josephine sighed. The world felt so big and empty, cruel and cold. She didn’t know if she should go home, or if she should spend her afternoon wandering the streets looking for more work once again. She started walking in the direction of the hotel.

  At first, Josephine was going to walk right past the post office. She felt that she had spent this amount of time with no answer, so what made this day any different? But, with that same nagging feeling in her heart, she turned and walked in.

  “Ah, Miss Josephine, I have something for you.” Mr. Franklin the clerk said as she walked in. He reached behind his counter and pulled out a small, brown letter.

  Josephine’s heart pounded in her chest, but she remained calm on the outside.

  “Who is it from?” She asked calmly.

  “A gentleman in Texas. A Mr… Stein… yes, Mr. Stein.” He reached across the counter and handed her the letter.

  Josephine thanked him and took the letter. She tucked it into the bosom of her dress and headed back outside. She didn’t know anyone in Texas, especially a Mr. Stein… this had to be a reply to her ad.

  She tried to keep her expectations low. There was no way to tell what this man wanted, and desperate as she was, she didn’t want to end up in a worse situation than she already found herself in.

  When Josephine reached the hotel, Thomas was outside waiting for her.

  “I need your fee for the month, Miss Cantwell.” He said with a sly smile. Josephine hated hearing her last name, so many people in town called her by her first name, she felt that using her last was a distant formality.

  She didn’t like Thomas anyway, and even less as the days passed. She had told him her situation, and he had made it clear that he didn’t care.

  “I’ll have it for you in the morning, Mr. Black.” She pushed past him as she spoke, and didn’t stop to hear what he said in return. He was her landlord, not her boss, and she wasn’t going to explain to him that she had no idea what she was going to do any sooner than she had to. Tomorrow was when her rent was due, and that was when she was going to face the music.

  Josephine locked herself in her room, and laid on her stomach on her bed. She used her letter opener to carefully slit the top of the letter, and pulled out the piece of paper that was inside.

  My Dear Miss Cantwell,

  Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ruben, and I am very interested in the ad that you ran about yourself. I am the owner of a very successful mining business, and I have made more money than any person could ever need.

  I have a huge cattle ranch, with hundreds of long horn steers, and I hold a lot of respect in this town. It seems that I have acquired all the fine things there is to acquire in life, save for a wife.

  I like the way you sound, I can hear you through your words, and I would be thrilled if you were to come down here to Texas to be my bride. You will find enclosed in the envelope a ticket to take the nearest coach down here, and I greatly encourage you to do so.

  Winter is coming, and the trek from California down here can be a dangerous one. Please say yes, and I hope to see you soon.

  Kindest regards,

  Ruben L. Stein

  *****

  Josephine wasted no time in her reply. She fell in love with the letter, and knew that this was her ticket out of here. She found the ticket that was in her envelope, and laughed as she lay on the bed looking at it.

  What a stroke of luck! Just an hour ago you were walking out of your only source of livelihood, with nowhere to go. Now, you are on your way to marrying a rich man with a ranch! Who could have thought of that?

  Josephine was blown away by the thought of it all. It didn’t seem possible that she would be the wife of a rich man. Rich! She had been poor her entire life, and it only seemed to go from bad to worse. Now, in a matter of days, she was going to be better off than she ever had been before!

  I have to pack…

  She jumped up, then sat down again quickly. A dizzy spell had come upon her, and made her feel faint. She didn’t know what it was, but her sick feeling was just getting worse. She hadn’t mentioned anything about it in her letter, it seemed like it would drive away any potential suitor.

  Josephine still didn’t know for sure that she was ill. She knew that she felt strange but she knew that something was wrong. If it was stress like Mrs. Baker told her it was, it was going to go away when she got out of that situation anyway, so why bring it up?

  One thing that Josephine had learned early on in her life was that unimportant information was often best left unsaid when it came to meeting new people. She didn’t want anyone to form an opinion about her that wasn’t true, especially someone that she hoped to marry.

  The next few days were a blur for Josephine. She wanted to leave on the earliest possible coach down to Texas, but she found that the next one left on the 8th of the month. It was getting on into fall, and travel was slowing down for people who were heading back East.

  There were still people pouring into town by the day for the gold. California was the Promised Land for many people, but the truth of the matter was that the gold was running out. These people didn’t know that, and they weren’t about to listen to her if she told them, so Josephine just kept to herself.

  When she did find a coach that was heading back to Texas, she reserved a place as quickly as she could. There were quite a few people that didn’t find their fortune in California, and who were now heading back, so getting transportation was difficult. Josephine felt lucky that she had found something so soon.

  The trip to Texas was one that was uneventful. Josephine hadn’t traveled much in her life, and she didn’t know what to expect, but she was glad that nothing happened. She was eager to get out of that town, and away from the life that she had known.

  The struggle was hard, and she was tired. For a girl that was in her twenties, she felt more like she was in her fifties. She was tired from working so hard, and from worry, and she was sore from all the work that she had to do just to get by. If she just had someone to share in the struggle with her perhaps then it would be better.

  Josephine had never had money, so she didn’t know what to expect when it came to marrying a rich man, but she did know that she wanted to fall in love, and be married. She had always assumed that she would fall in love first, then marry, but she was ok with how it was working out now.

  She had butterflies in her stomach as she boarded the coach. In only a few days, she was going to be in Texas.

  She would no longer be Miss Josephine Cantwell; she was going to be Mrs. Josephine Stein.

  The thought of it sent shivers of excitement down her spine.

  Mr. Stein was everything Josephine hoped he would be and more. He was tall, had a firm handshake, and refined. From the moment that they met face to face, Josephine could see that he had a reserve about him, and an attitude that exuded class.

  She felt like he was a king, and she was a peasant. When she got off of the coach, he was the only one on the platform to meet her. He looked her over from head to toe, and smiled. It was a charming smile, one that made her feel on top of the world.

  He smiled at her like she was the only girl he had ever smiled at before, and it made her feel special. Like she had actual worth. Like someone cared.

  Josephine liked him right away, but she felt exposed when he looked at her that way. It made her feel as though she weren’t good enough, or that she was too poor for someone like him to pay attention to. It was such an odd mix of emotions, and the feeling of it all made her feel weak once again.

  You are going to have to figure out what is going on with you…

  Her thoughts were racing, and she hoped that she could keep her expression steady.

  Later… not now.

  She smiled a weak smile back at him, and he walked over to her.

  “Miss Cantwell. I presume?” He had a charming smile, and he kissed her hand when she offered it to him. Everything about him made her heart pound and flutter, and she felt like she wanted to kno
w everything about him, yet hide from him at the same time.

  “You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen.” Mr. Stein whispered to her.

  *****

  From the moment that they met, Josephine was swept away with the life that Mr. Stein gave her. Although their wedding was short and small by Ruben’s standards, it was far beyond Josephine’s wildest dreams.

  The church was bright and covered in flowers, and she had never seen anyone so well dressed as the preacher and her soon to be husband. He had even purchased a dress for her to put on specifically for the ceremony, which was something she had only heard of women doing.

  The horses that pulled the buggy to take them home were stunning. One was black as night, and the other was white as snow. They were the most beautiful creatures that Josephine had ever seen. It all felt like a dream that she was being swept away in.

  They pulled up in front of a huge house, and Josephine looked at her new husband in surprise.

  “This is home, my Love.” He said, with a kiss to her forehead.

  A man in a red jacket came out from the barn, and took the reins of the horses. Ruben got out of the front of the buggy and walked around the side to offer Josephine his hand. She put her small hand in his, and lifted her skirt to step over the edge of the buggy.

  They walked up a long flight of stairs to the doorway, where two more men opened the doors for them.

  “Servants? I never…” Josephine didn’t know what to say. She had always been the one in the position of serving the rich. Now, here she was, finely dressed with servants everywhere, all addressing her as ‘my lady’ and ‘ma’am’.

  Her initial instinct was to refuse their service, and to tell them that she could handle it all herself, but they were all so insistent, and her husband laughed at her hesitation.

  “Don’t you worry, Love, I pay them all very well for their work. They have nothing to worry about in their own lives, and it is their job to make your life the best that it can possibly be. I want you to feel like a queen, all the time, every day.” Ruben looked down into her eyes, lifting her chin so she would hold his gaze.