Forced into Marriage

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  He rang the bell, and a few seconds later, a middle-aged man came out from the room in the back. He pushed his glasses up his nose. “Are you looking for a room?”

  “Yes. My wife and I,” Brandon gestured to her, “will be needing one for two or three weeks, if that’s alright.”

  “Two or three?” the man asked.

  “We’re on our way to California, and we’ll be needing some more supplies. I was hoping to take a job here for a couple of weeks in order to buy what we’ll need.”

  “Ah, I see. I’ll put you down for three weeks. If you only need two, you can check out early. The room will be six dollars for each week. That’s a dollar off the regular rate. Each day is one dollar, but I like to offer a discount to those staying a full week. If you want meals, that will be twenty-five cents for all meals.” He glanced over at Lokni and the baby. With a smile, he said, “But for your family, I’ll make it ten cents.”

  “That’s very generous of you.”

  “I was a young married man with a little one once. I remember how it was.” With a glance at Lokni and her baby, he added, “All my kids are grown. Seems like a lifetime passed in the blink of an eye.” He turned his gaze back to Brandon and winked. “Enjoy it now while you can.”

  Brandon looked over at her and her son then. Lokni wasn’t sure what he was thinking. She also wasn’t sure of how to respond. She hadn’t expected anyone to notice her or her baby, much less care.

  Finally, Brandon smiled at her in a way that made her feel…warm. What an odd sensation. That had never happened before. Not with Brandon. And not with anyone else. She wasn’t sure what to make of it.

  “I’ll need you to sign this,” the man said, bringing Brandon’s attention back to him. He opened the registry. “I just need your name. You don’t need to bother writing theirs in. I’ll mark down there’s three of you, and my wife will bring you a bassinet.”

  “Thank you,” Brandon replied and wrote his name on the line.

  The man grabbed a key from a hook on the wall and gave it to Brandon. “You’ll be in room four. It’s just down that way and to the right. It’s facing the park. It’s better than a room that faces the street. Also, when you open the window, the breeze comes in from that direction. Let me know if you need anything else.”

  Brandon gave the man a nod and led Lokni to the room. Now, numbers, she did know. They were easier than letters.

  In silence, Brandon unlocked the door, and she followed him into the small room. She didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to her before, but there was only one bed—and it was small. She didn’t see how they would be able to avoid touching each other if they both slept in it.

  “I’m going to bring our things in,” Brandon told her. “Then we’ll get something to eat. After that, I need to find a job.” He paused. “I suppose during the day, you can take the baby to the park if you get restless in here. I’ll leave you with the key, so you can come in and out of the room whenever you want. I don’t want you getting too bored while we’re in town.”

  “The baby keeps me entertained. I won’t get bored.”

  He set the key on the small table and smiled. “I’ll bring our things in here.”

  After he left the room, she opened the window and sat in the rocking chair beside it so she could breastfeed her child. Just as the man said, a nice breeze came into the room. So this would be her home for the next two or three weeks. She wondered if something like this might be for rent in this town. While it would be cramped for three people, something this size would fit nicely for her and her son.

  That was, of course, if she decided to stay in this town. She rocked in the chair and looked down at her child. She wasn’t sure what the right decision was. What would be best for her son? It wasn’t just her she needed to be concerned about. She had a responsibility to him, too.

  A knock came from the door, and once Lokni adjusted her shirtwaist, she went to answer it.

  A middle-aged woman came in with a bassinet. “How are you doing?”

  “Good,” Lokni replied.

  “I’m glad.” The woman clasped her hands and smiled at her. “I was so excited when my husband said there was a baby staying at our hotel. Do you mind if I hold the child? I promise that I won’t do it for more than a few seconds.”

  Lokni almost said no. The protective instinct came up on her so suddenly that it surprised her. But the man at the desk had been kind, and this woman—his wife—seemed equally nice. So she let the woman hold her son.

  The woman cooed at him and then turned her gaze to Lokni. “My oldest daughter is expecting a child this winter. I can hardly wait.” She stroked the boy’s cheek. “Is this a boy or a girl?”

  “A boy.”

  “What an angel. All babies are precious, aren’t they?” She placed the baby back in Lokni’s arms. “I’ll bring you some fresh cloths for diapering, and if you want to give me the soiled ones, I’ll send them to the laundress to wash. And don’t worry about cost. This is on me.”

  Lokni could hardly speak a reply. She hadn’t come across anyone as generous as the couple who owned this hotel. Well, the preacher had been generous, too, she supposed. It was just that at the time, she’d been so scared that she hadn’t noticed it.

  Brandon came into the room, saving Lokni from having to say something. He dumped their things in the corner of the room.

  “You two are a nice looking couple,” the woman told them. “In some ways, you remind me of me and my husband when we were young. What a wonderful future you have ahead of you!” She gave them both an excited grin. “Are you two hungry? I made soup and biscuits earlier, but they can be warmed up in a moment.”

  “We would appreciate it,” Brandon said.

  “Great! I’ll show you the way.” She waved for them to join her as she stepped into the hallway.

  With a glance at Brandon, who seemed amused by the woman’s enthusiasm, Lokni offered him a hesitant smile. Lokni wasn’t sure why she suddenly felt shy. She’d been with him every day since they married. Never once had she felt this way. She reasoned it had to do with being in town. Perhaps being around other people was making her feel shy in general. It probably didn’t even have anything to do with him. Yes, that was it. She’d always been shy around people, and this was no different. Feeling more at ease, she left the room, Brandon following behind her.

  ***

  After they ate, Brandon headed over to the lumberyard since the hotel owner had said Craig was hiring. “He’s got a lot of trees from the mountain, and he doesn’t have enough young men to cut them up. I think you’d be a good fit for the job.”

  And so with a good-bye to Lokni, Brandon went to the lumberyard. The hotel owner had been right. There were piles and piles of cut trees waiting to be worked on.

  Once he found Craig, he explained that he would be in town for two to three weeks and was looking for temporary employment. “I just need some money to pay for room and board and some incidentals,” Brandon finished.

  The man scanned him up and down. “You look strong. Alright, you’re hired.”

  “Thank you.” Brandon shook his hand.

  “I’ll pay you at the end of each week. Start tomorrow at sunrise, and you’ll work until sunset. I’ll let you have an hour for lunch.”

  “That sounds good.”

  Relieved it’d been that easy to get a job, he returned to the hotel. Usually, he had to talk to a few business owners before he secured a job, especially since he only wanted a temporary one.

  He knocked on the door to the room and waited until Lokni opened it to give her the good news. “I start work tomorrow. I’ll be gone all day except for lunch.”

  She smiled. “You’re excited.”

  “I am. This is one of best jobs I’ve had in a long time. With the hours and the kind of work I’ll be doing, we’ll have a lot of money.” Noting the pile of the dirty clothes she’d been sorting through, he added, “We’ll get those to the laundry. We should get some new clothes, too. Tha
t shirtwaist you have is ready to fall apart.”

  His gaze went to the bassinet where her son was sleeping. Not wishing to wake the child, he lowered his voice. “We’ll wait until he’s awake before leaving the room.” Since there was nothing to do at the moment, he sat in the rocking chair and took off his hat. “It always seems that after I’m on the trail for a few weeks, I appreciate chairs so much more.”

  She chuckled. “I didn’t grow up with chairs, so I’m used to sitting on the ground.”

  “I grew up with chairs. I can’t believe I ever took them for granted.”

  He crossed his arms and started rocking as a way to help control his body’s tremors. It wasn’t nearly so bad anymore. Not like it’d been over the past couple of weeks. And he didn’t feel quite so anxious. The urge for alcohol was only a faint memory, which was a welcome relief. Water finally had the ability to satisfy him again.

  He turned his gaze to Lokni. She was separating the clothes, and for once, he took time to watch her. Really watch her. He hadn’t bothered doing so up to now. With all the work they’d had to do to get ready for the day, the long walks through the day, and setting things up for the evening, it never occurred to him to take a good look at her.

  But now he did. She was actually very pretty. Her long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. Despite the fact that the shirtwaist and skirt were loose on her, she had a nice figure.

  Her most compelling feature, however, was her smile. She didn’t smile often. He couldn’t blame her for that. When she did smile, however, her entire face lit up, and for that moment, it seemed as if all the bad things that had ever happened to him didn’t matter. He thought he even might go through all the heartaches and disappointments all over again if he could see her smile one more time.

  “Lokni?” he asked, his voice still quiet in case he woke the child.

  She glanced over at him.

  “You’re pretty,” he said. “Especially when you smile.” Suddenly thinking it was a foolish thing to express such sentiments to a woman who was only his wife because they’d been forced into marriage, he cleared his throat and added, “I just thought you should know that.”

  He’d probably just made an even bigger fool of himself. Clearing his throat again, he stood up from the chair.

  “I’ll see what hours the laundry owner will be working today,” he said.

  Then, without saying anything else to potentially embarrass himself, he left the room.

  Chapter Ten

  Lokni watched Brandon as he left. If she had known what to say, she would have responded. But her mind drew a blank. No man—not her father, not her first husband, and certainly not Orson or his friends—had talked to her in such a tender way. She was used to being a possession, something to be used at a man’s convenience. Her father had bartered her and her sisters to their first husband. Her first husband had seen her as a means to have his children. Orson and his friends saw her as a slave to do whatever they wished.

  But Brandon didn’t treat her like those things. He treated her like her thoughts and feelings mattered. It was such a drastic change that she wasn’t sure what to do about it. She should probably be glad for it. She wanted to enjoy it. The truth was, though, it scared her. She didn’t know what it meant. Not for her. Not for her son. Not for Brandon. Not for any of them.

  Maybe if she’d grown up with at least one male who was like Brandon, she’d be able to make sense of the conflicting feelings inside of her. Part of her still longed for independence. To be her own person. To control her own destiny. Then there was another part—one unfamiliar to her—that wanted to stay with Brandon and see where things were going.

  Fortunately, her son started crying, and she was relieved from having to mull over her feelings. She hurried over to him and took care of him. One thing she liked most about being in town was the ease with which she could now change his soiled diapers. If she and Brandon hadn’t stayed by the river on their way here, she wouldn’t have been able to wash his cloth diapers every time she needed to change him. This way, she could take them to the laundry and have the people there do it. Not that she minded washing them herself, but she did welcome the reprieve.

  After she nursed him, she returned to the clothing and finished separating out the items that were thicker than the others. She thought it might make things easier for the people who were going to wash their things if she did this in advance.

  Brandon returned just as she finished with the task. To her surprise, he brought in a baby blanket and a wooden toy. He shook the toy and it made a drum sound. “It’s called a willow rattle,” he told her.

  He went over to the boy who was in the bassinet and smiled at him. He shook the rattle, and Lokni thought the sound it made fit the name very well.

  Curious, Lokni went over to him and looked down at her son, who was watching Brandon with interest. Brandon handed the rattle to him, and the boy took the thin handle, shook it a couple of times, and then dropped it.

  She chuckled as Brandon picked it up.

  “I think he’ll appreciate it more when he gets older,” Brandon told her. “The woman who made it said he can use the handle to help soothe the pain in his mouth when his teeth come in.”

  “In my tribe, we had an ointment for that,” she replied. “We would rub it on the baby’s gums.”

  Brandon gave her the rattle. “You can decide when he’s old enough to appreciate this.”

  “Thank you. It’s a nice gift.”

  “Well, he’s my son, too. I mean, I know I didn’t father him in the traditional sense, but I’m his father through marriage.” He turned his gaze back to her son. “This little boy brings so much hope. It’s like a new chance at life. A chance to do things right.”

  He held out his finger to her baby. The child reached out and grabbed his finger.

  He chuckled. “He’s stronger than he looks.”

  She examined her son’s expression and noted that he was focused on Brandon. Her son seemed to like him. He had no reason not to. Brandon was a kind man, and he had been gentle with her son. She trusted Brandon with him. She’d let Brandon take care of him while she had washed their clothes or if she needed to tend to more personal concerns. She just hadn’t expected to realize that her son had already developed an attachment to him. Likewise, Brandon seemed to have developed an attachment to her child.

  And this complicated things. It wasn’t just her who would be impacted by her decisions. She had to think about her son and what was best for him. She turned the rattle over in her hand for a moment before she put it in her sack. Did she have to stay with Brandon because of her son? Was it worth giving up her dream of being independent so the two could stay together?

  Brandon turned to her. “Mrs. Samson, the owner of the laundry, said we can bring our things in whenever we want. She said since we have nothing else to wear and our things are few, she would get to our wash right away. Will you be here so the woman can deliver them tomorrow afternoon?”

  “Yes, I’ll be here.”

  Which meant she would be staying in this room for the night. Not that she had planned to run off tonight. Her first concern had been whether or not she could find employment in this town. But since she was going to stay in this room with him tonight, what did that mean? Up to now, he hadn’t insisted she satisfy his more basic needs. She figured he hadn’t been interested in her because she’d been with child. After that, she’d given birth, so she had to take time to heal from it. She had fully healed by this time, and she wondered if he might take this opportunity to make his move.

  He gathered all the clothes and glanced over at her, as if he felt the weight of her gaze on him. “The bedding will take longer. We might wait a week for your blankets and my bedroll, but we won’t need those things until we’re back on the trail. While we’re here, we’ll share the bed.”

  Share the bed.

  She wished she knew exactly what he meant by that. Her gaze went back to her son.
Would the fact that there was a baby in the room stop him from trying something? She couldn’t refuse him. If a man wanted to use her, she had no power to stop him. She’d never had any power to stop any of them. She’d had no choice but to do whatever they had wanted. It was one of the reasons why she wanted her independence so badly. Then she didn’t have to keep soiling her body.

  Brandon stood up, and with everything in his arms, she could barely even see his face. “Are you ready?”

  For some reason, seeing him hidden behind so many items made her chuckle, and this helped to relax her. Since he had to carry so much, she hurried to pick up her son so they could leave. The last thing she wanted was for him to drop something and try to retrieve it.

  She hadn’t been out in the town since they’d gotten the room, and while they walked down the street, she realized the town wasn’t quite as small as she’d first thought. It was probably twice the size of the one they’d left behind. There was also a good amount of activity through the main street.

  As she followed Brandon, she scanned the faces of the people. About sixty percent of them were white, but the others shared her complexion. Not everyone wore clothes similar to what Brandon and she were wearing, either. Quite a few wore the kinds of clothing she’d been used to seeing in her tribe or other tribes.

  Upon further inspection, she realized there were a few couples who were paired up like her and Brandon. White and Indian. No wonder no one had given them any strange looks when they’d arrived here. They were used to seeing mixed couples together. It was a way of life in this place.

  “You weren’t lying when you said you had a lot for me to wash,” came a woman’s voice.

  Lokni turned her attention to the woman and almost bumped into Brandon. He had come to a sudden stop. Lokni stepped around him and saw a white woman who was holding a door open. Lokni glanced inside the doorway and saw divided groups of clothing and blankets on one side of the room that needed washing. On the other side—on a table—were clothes and blankets neatly folded and ready to return to their owners.