by Gail Sattler
Something in his smile changed. The lines softened and the start of crow’s-feet appeared at the corners of his eyes, and this time, a genuine smile lit his face. He rested one arm in front of his stomach with the towel still clutched in his hand and slid the other behind him as he bowed politely. “Ma’am.”
Louise lifted both hands to her mouth. “Ma’am? Didn’t you promise not to say that?”
“I only promised your mother. Now I think I should clean up the mess I’ve made, and you’d better get finished with those carrots before your mother becomes angry with me for distracting you.”
❧
After waiting for John to sit first, Elliott sank onto the couch.
He’d never been so tired in his life. Beyond the overtiredness due to the lack of sleep while riding the freight trains, this was different. This was simple and complete exhaustion. He hurt all over. Even his hair hurt. Well, maybe not his hair, but certainly everything else did. He had sore muscles where he didn’t know he had muscles.
John had told him that it took four men to lift the jigger, although it could be done in a struggle with three. He should have put this into perspective. John moved the smaller speedster with little effort. Doing the same thing, Elliott felt like he’d put his back out and strained every muscle in his entire body.
The heavy-duty construction of the recessed handles used to move the jigger also should have given him a hint of the physical exertion required. Once they actually started to lift the heavy unit, without John being able to help, Elliott didn’t think he and the other two section men were going to manage. After much struggle, they finally did wrestle the beast onto the tracks, although he didn’t know how.
Fortunately, it was not quite as difficult to get it off the tracks as to put it on.
This was a daily part of the job.
Compared to him, the other two men possessed the strength of Samson—before the haircut.
Since they were missing an experienced man, he’d pitched in to work replacing ties, just as the regular lead hand would have done, rather than just stand by and supervise. Even though Frank and Henry were older than him by ten years, so far it appeared that they had accepted his position of leadership without question. Just to be safe, John had warned him not to tell them of his inexperience or how he’d come to arrive there until he felt confident of his ability to lead the section gang without John present.
Hopefully, soon he would know what he was supposed to be doing beyond the basics, and the unaccustomed demands on him physically would build his strength quickly. Until he could perform the duties of the section foreman without assistance, every evening would be spent with John teaching him what was involved in maintaining thirty miles of parallel railroad tracks.
Except, Elliott didn’t know if he’d be able to stay awake.
If he had been at home, he would have ignored the rest of the world, ignored his aches and pains, ignored everything going on around him, and crawled into his bed. He wouldn’t even have eaten dinner, because he was more exhausted than he was hungry. But here, he and John and Mrs. Demchuck were sitting on his bed.
The only person missing was Louise. According to her mother, Louise had gone on her bicycle to a nearby farm and had not yet returned.
He’d thought of her often during the day. Whenever they’d finished removing a tie, sliding in a new one, then driving in the spikes to hold the new one in place, they could take a short break until the next train passed. After a short time, they would pack their tools and the tie they’d removed and move to the next location he and John had marked on the weekend. In those slower moments, his thoughts drifted to Louise.
Now, when the bright spot of his long, hard day would have been seeing her, she wasn’t at home. He thought it odd that she would run such an errand and be late for dinnertime, but Mrs. Demchuck had told him that they’d unexpectedly run out of eggs because they had been doing more baking during the day. Louise was due back any minute, and upon her return, they would serve dinner.
Elliott let his eyes close as he wondered what delectable treat they had made for dessert today. He’d never eaten like this in his life. He suspected that after the eight weeks were up, John’s cast was removed, and he would be on his way, he never would eat like this again.
He sighed deeply, allowing himself to relax a little more, without opening his eyes. Louise’s honey cake was great, but the donuts were better. He’d never tasted anything like them. But then the strawberry and rhubarb pie they’d made yesterday at dinnertime had been great, too. Now that he thought about it, before he and John had left that morning, Mrs. Demchuck had mentioned during breakfast that they were going to make a walnut cake and how important it was that they had fresh eggs. He didn’t know that an egg being laid a few days ago versus that morning would make a big difference in a cake, but he chose not to voice his opinion. After all, she knew all about delicious baked goods, and he knew nothing except that Mrs. Demchuck and Louise cooked food like he’d never had in his life.
Elliott sank deeper into the couch, and his head flopped over to the side. If they kept this up, he might get very spoiled, very fast.
The murmur of John and Mrs. Demchuck’s voices droned on, and a Glenn Miller tune came on the radio. In the background, he heard a small bang but ignored it. He would open his eyes in just a minute. . . .
“Elliott? Are you sleeping?”
His eyes sprang open and he sat up with a jolt. With a slight shake of his head, the world came into focus and, with it, the sight of Louise standing above him.
Elliott rubbed his eyes. “I’m sorry. I guess I was more tired than I thought. Please forgive me for being so rude.”
He thought his heart was pounding from being startled, but it only seemed to get worse with Louise hovering above him.
“That’s okay. I know you’re tired. I didn’t think this would take so long. Apparently, you created quite a stir in church yesterday. Everyone is talking about the stranger with the lovely tenor voice in our midst. I had nearly made it out of the McSorbins’ house when Dorothy started asking about you. Do you remember her? She wore a hat with a yellow ribbon to church.”
He remembered meeting a number of young women yesterday, but no one particularly stuck out in his mind. He had accompanied Louise, and since at the time he’d thought he would only have a few hours left with her, he hadn’t paid attention to much else, especially other young ladies. “I don’t really remember. Sorry.”
She rested her fingertips on his shoulder as she spoke, and his heart continued to beat far too fast. “Don’t worry. I told her simply that you were a friend of the family and that as a special favor, you were going to be staying on as part of the section gang until Papa’s cast is removed.”
His throat constricted. He hadn’t yet thought about what his relationship to Louise or her family was to be. Considering the short amount of time he had known them, he thought it an honor to be counted as their friend. However, he wasn’t sure that friendship with Louise was exactly what he wanted.
At twenty-five years of age, it was time for him to settle down—to find a wife and raise a family. So far, he had not met a woman who interested him in such a manner. Until now. In only a few days, he’d become quite fond of Louise. He couldn’t stop thinking about her, to the point of wondering if, as they got to know each other better, their association could go past friendship and perhaps into a courtship.
Suddenly, her fingers moved off his shoulder, and Louise hurried into the kitchen.
Mrs. Demchuck followed Louise, but Elliott remained seated. He was in no position to think of courting Louise or any young woman. The only reason he had a job for the moment was because her father had given it to him, not because he deserved it, neither had he earned it. John had only given him this job because John was desperate, and Elliott had happened to be in the right place at the right time, by God’s timing. This job was temporary. He still didn’t know for sure that the job promised to him at the logging camp woul
d come to pass, which was the main reason he’d accepted John’s offer.
Under such circumstances, he had no security to offer a woman, especially Louise. Her father possessed the most secure income, if not the largest, in the community. Even the business owners in town were at the whim of the economy. Elliott, on the other hand, had no real permanent job and no assets. He didn’t even have a home to live in, rented or otherwise. For now, only because God had provided, his home was the couch in the Demchucks’ living room.
If Louise wanted to think of him as a friend, and friend only, she obviously had more sense than he did.
Friends, it would be, and it would never be any other way.
And then, in eight short weeks, he would be gone.
“Papa! Elliott! Dinner is ready! Come into the kitchen.”
Elliott pushed himself up, offered his hand to John, and accompanied him into the kitchen.
❧
Louise removed the basins from their hooks on the wall and set them on the table while her mother filled the kettle to heat the water to wash the dishes. Today was Louise’s turn to dry and put everything away in the hutch on the other side of the kitchen. Usually she preferred to wash, but today, she had changed her mind.
She hadn’t thought about it before, but every time she walked back and forth from the table to the hutch to put the clean dishes away she could look through the doorway between the kitchen and dining room and watch Elliott and her father sitting at the desk.
She didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help looking every time she walked past.
As they had every other time the two men sat together at the desk, Elliott sat to the left with his left leg sticking out to the side, her father to the right with his casted right leg extended on the outside of the desk. Beneath the small desk, Elliott’s right leg and her father’s left almost pressed together as they sat side by side.
She slowed her pace every time she walked past the opening. At varying times, Elliott nodded as her father talked while referring to different papers on the desk. Once it appeared her father had attempted to draw a picture and pointed to it as he explained something.
Every time Louise walked past, she noticed Elliott’s posture sagged a wee bit more and he sat a little less upright. From behind as she walked back and forth, often she could see his complete profile as the two men faced each other. Elliott’s eyes progressively became less and less bright, and his expression began to dull from the combination of exhaustion and information overload.
Her mother’s voice from behind her nearly made her drop the plate from her hands.
“Louise, if you want to put the plates and cups away one at a time, that’s fine with me. But if you think you are going to continue walking back and forth with every single piece of cutlery, you had better think again.”
Her cheeks burned as she hurried to the hutch, tucked the plate onto the stack, and shuffled back to the table, where she picked up a handful of the clean cutlery. Louise opened her mouth, intending to defend herself, but her words caught in her throat. Her mother was nibbling on her lower lip in an attempt not to laugh.
“It’s not funny, Mama. He’s almost falling asleep in the chair and Papa is still talking. You saw him at the dinner table. I was surprised he didn’t nod off while we were eating.”
Her mother’s grin faded. “Of course, you’re right. We know he’s not used to this pace or this much work. Perhaps it’s a good thing that cake didn’t make it into the oven until so late. If it’s done, this is a good reason to interrupt them.”
Louise nearly ran across the room as she dried the handful of cutlery and closed the drawer.
“The walnut cake does smell done. Do you remember what time we put it in the oven?”
“No, I only remember that it was when we called Elliott and your papa for dinner and that it was late.”
Louise picked up the pot holders and opened the oven to remove the cake. As the heavy door swung open to the right, she stepped to the left to avoid the rush of heat. She bent at the waist to examine the cake before lifting it out. Since it was nicely rounded in the center, she reached inside, lifted the cake out, and set it on the flat surface of the cookstove. Gently, she pressed her finger into the center of the cake and smiled when the indent she made bounced back. “It’s done, Mama.” Today, she would not wait for the cake to cool before she cut it.
She walked to the doorway between the kitchen and dining room and stopped. “Elliott? Papa? The cake is done. Would you like to stop and have a piece?”
Her father raised his arms over his head and stretched his back, while Elliott arched his shoulders and moved slightly from side to side. Her father then pushed the papers to the back of the desk and laid down his pen. “I think that’s enough for one night anyway. Let’s have that cake, and maybe we will call it an early night.”
Without her father being able to see him, Elliott looked directly into her eyes, mouthed a thank-you, and stood. Louise knew she had done the right thing.
“I can hardly wait to taste that cake. It’s been teasing me as it cooked. If you keep this up, by the time eight weeks go by, I’m afraid I may become very spoiled and very fat.”
Louise smiled. Not that she wanted to make him fat, but he did need to put on more weight for his height. “Nonsense. Now come and have a piece of cake. Mama is cutting it now. It’s my favorite recipe, and it’s wonderful when it’s warm.”
Ten
“Good-bye, Papa! We’ll be back in time for dinner.”
“This will be a good time to catch up on my reading. Have fun shopping.”
Louise waved to her father, who was standing on his crutches in the doorway and watching Elliott back the car out of the garage. Her mother gave him a quick peck on the cheek as she moved around him. Louise and her mother hurried to the car and got in while Elliott closed the garage door, and they were on their way.
“I can’t say how much I appreciate this, Mrs. Demchuck.”
“Nonsense. I simply don’t have time to have to wash the same clothes so often.”
Louise smiled at Elliott’s grace in not saying more. All week long they had no choice but to have him wear the only set of clothes he’d arrived with, and when they became soiled, her mama had loaned him some of her father’s clothes, which fit him poorly. A shopping trip was exactly what he needed to purchase some shirts and trousers of his own, in addition to a few personal items.
They hadn’t discussed it, but she was perfectly aware that Elliott was not comfortable borrowing her father’s personal things, but he had no choice. Unfortunately, because he’d only worked for the railroad for a week he’d missed the pay period. Because of that, her parents offered to give him enough money to cover a few necessities. Elliott had been awkward about accepting their money. He’d made it clear that this was strictly a loan which he would repay promptly out of his first paycheck.
“When I went to Nick’s store, I saw a few shirts and other items that I could have purchased instead of going all the way into Beauséjour.”
“Hush, Elliott. Nick’s prices for clothing are outrageous. Why, the same shirt that he charges a dollar and a quarter for, we can get in Beauséjour for a dollar. We could probably get it for ninety-five cents in Winnipeg, but that would involve making arrangements to stay overnight, as it’s simply too far to do in a day. Besides, since you haven’t worked for the railroad long enough, you’re not entitled to free rail passes, as we are. We shop at Nick’s store on the odd weeks we don’t go to Winnipeg. His food items are reasonable, but he charges far too much for the clothing and sundries.”
“Yes, I had noticed that much of his merchandise was fairly high priced.”
Elliott slowed the car, and Louise almost asked what he was doing when a doe stepped out onto the road. However, the noise from the car frightened it, and it disappeared back into the trees quickly.
Elliott turned his head to stare into the bush where the deer had disappeared as he drove past, then once ag
ain faced forward. “That was beautiful. I don’t see a lot of wild animals in Katona Falls. I suppose that out here you must see a lot of wild animals.”
“Yes. Sometimes I think I see more animals than people in Pineridge because very few people ever come off the trains. We’re so far away from a city that even the iceman won’t come by. I suppose you’ve noticed we don’t have an icebox.”
He smiled as he drove, glancing only quickly toward her before returning his attention to the dirt road ahead of him and all its hazards. “Yes, I did notice that. I suppose that’s why you don’t have a telephone, either.”
“I guess you noticed that the phone is only connected to the other section houses, and the district office.”
“Yes, I did notice that. This area is very remote. Do animals ever come right into the town of Pineridge? It’s not what I’d call a bustling metropolis.”
Louise giggled and told Elliott about the time a family of skunks made themselves at home under the porch at Mr. Tolson’s repair shop and the ensuing disaster trying to remove them once their nest was discovered. Every drop of tomato juice had been purchased from Mr. Sabinski’s store that day.
They were still laughing when they finally arrived at the main street of Beauséjour. They parked the car near the first general store on Park Avenue, then walked to the smaller store on Second Street for a better selection of the cotton yarn her mother needed to make sweaters to give away to the homeless men who passed through. Her mother made Elliott stand next to the bin of yarn while she selected her colors, which told Louise without words that the next sweater her mama made would be for Elliott.
Next they took Elliott through the few stores in town. He graciously accepted her mama’s assistance in choosing the best styles and colors for the trousers and shirts he picked, although they allowed him the privacy to select his more personal clothing items alone.
Once Elliott paid for his selections, they walked to the drugstore. He held the door open for them to enter, but when Louise stepped inside, her mama stopped.
