Story 19
And away you go, wench!
“No, I will not help you with the chicken!” Sabrina screamed as she stormed back into the house and up to her loft.
Sabrina had just returned to her father’s homestead from a year of training to be a nurse. He had forced her into that training and she was going to get back at him by not helping at all with the land or animals.
Her long blonde hair was often what she was busy carrying for and why she refused to help around the farm. When she wasn’t in the midst of washing, brushing or conditioning her hair; Sabrina wanted to sleep. Never did she want to work.
“I don’t know what to do with her Charles; she doesn’t listen to me at all,” Sabrina’s stepmother Rosa said.
“She will come around,” Charles said.
“Charles, she has been home for months. She hasn’t come around yet.”
“What do you propose I do? Kick my own flesh and blood out on the streets?”
“Darling, no of course not. How about send her to Chicago to work with that nice doctor we met when we traveled through there.”
“Dr. Stone?”
“Yes. Remember at dinner he said how hard it was to find good help? I’m sure he’ll pay her a decent salary. “
“She will never agree to it.”
“Then just take her out there. She has to grow up sometime. If she isn’t going to be useful around this ranch, then she should at least be useful to someone.”
“Sabrina! Come here.” Charles screamed from the front door of their small home.
He wanted to discuss her behavior and why she would not help out.
“No!” She answered back.
“Yeah, it’s going to be tough to get her all the way out to Chicago.”
“Tell her you want to take her shopping. She won’t refuse a trip for shopping.”
On the following morning, Charles sent a telegram to his from Dr. Stone in Chicago inquiring on if he was still in need of a nurse. Charles shared that his daughter had just finished her education and was looking for employment.
He did not mention that Sabrina was full-heartedly against any type of work at all. Charles hoped that if Sabrina could just get a small taste of what it was like to be independent, she would long to have her own life.
Charles also hoped that Sabrina would learn how important hard work was to getting ahead in this world.
If Sabrina continued on the path, she was currently on, Charles feared she would miss the best years for finding a proper husband.
She would be old and gray and stuck in his home screaming at him.
Charles certainly couldn’t let that happen.
He tried to decide if telling Sabrina a lie to get her out to Chicago was the best way to make the trip happen. When Dr. Stone responded that he did indeed have a job opening, Charles had to think quickly so he could get Sabrina out there.
“Honey, pack your things I need you to come to Chicago with me to pick up a few things.”
“No. I don’t want to travel that far by wagon. It will be dusty and dirty. You go by yourself.”
“Young lady, this is not me asking. I am telling you. Go get your things we are leaving in one hour.”
“No! I won’t go.”
“You will go. I run this house and not you. If you do not go get your things, I will lock you out of the house and make you sleep with the chickens.”
Sabrina new when her father was serious about something by the way he turned and walked away. Only when he walked away had he given up and there was no more talking to him. She decided it would be best to just listen to him and pack her things.
***
“What do you need me for? Bring that hag of a wife you have.”
Charles turned around and walked sternly toward Sabrina. He did not break eye contact and looked her dead in the eyes.
“You will not call Mary by such horrible names. She has cared for you since you were a child. I would not have been able to care for you after your mother died and it is only because of Mary and her big heart that you are still my daughter.”
Sabrina instantly felt bad. She actually really liked Mary. But she did know that saying something bad about Mary was the quickest way to get her Father angry.
“I’m sorry Daddy. But please can we go by stagecoach instead of our wagon. It will be a dreadfully horrible trip by wagon.”
Charles didn’t want to give into Sabrina’s request by he finally decided that it would be the easiest way to get Sabrina to go on this trip. The stagecoach was expensive, but if this trip ended with Sabrina having a job, it would be worth it.
***
Traveling by stagecoach meant that Charles and Sabrina would not be able to leave until the next day. Sabrina took that time to prepare herself for the journey by taking a bath and cleaning her dresses.
Charles spent the extra day getting ahead on the jobs around the ranch so his wife Mary would not be overwhelmed while he was gone.
It was infuriating to Charles that Sabrina would not even offer to help with things around the house.
He was disappointed that the daughter he raised had turned out to be such a spoiled brat.
As they entered the stagecoach, Sabrina tried to spread out and take the whole seat on her side of the coach. But she quickly learned that traveling by stagecoach would not be a plush as she thought it would.
A pair of rich socialites and their husbands had bought tickets for the trip to Chicago as well. Charles and Sabrina were relegated to a small seat that was flipped out on the back of the coach.
Charles looked at his daughter as he saw her starting to build up to having one of her tantrums.
“One single word out of you and I’ll leave you right here,” Charles said under his breath as they climbed into the tiny seat.
Sabrina didn’t dare say anything, but tears rolled down her face.
It was a hot July day and their travels would be horrendous with the sun beating down on them.
She couldn’t imagine how they would even make it to Chicago alive if they had to sit back there exposed to the elements for the entire trip.
As the hours went by Sabrina could not get comfortable in her seat.
Her father had fallen asleep rather quickly and she was left with barely any room to move.
It was a disaster and she couldn’t take it another moment.
The sun beating down on her was making her feel ill and Sabrina needed to get inside the stagecoach.
When they made a stop, Sabrina went blatantly up to the driver to ask why she and her father had been force to the back when they had paid for a ticket just like the others.
The driver gave her some excuse about the other people purchasing their tickets at a higher rate, but that was not acceptable to Sabrina.
“I am going to die out in that heat. I just cannot bare it another moment,” Sabrina said to the driver.
“Well, I’m sorry. I could get you an umbrella if you would like.”
“No! I need to sit inside the coach.”
“Well, that is not an option. It is full.”
“That is ridiculous. There is room for me in there. I barely weigh anything. I will sit on the floor. Please just let me inside and out of this hot sun.”
One of the wealthy women overheard Sabrina and whispered something to her husband. He then came over to the driver with an offer.
“My wife is agreeable to you sitting inside with us if you have any talents such as singing or storytelling that you could share.”
Sabrina did not like the idea of having to work for anything, but she certainly wasn’t going to bake out in that sun for another moment.
“Yes, I’m a lovely singer. I spent many years singing with my church growing up.”
“Well come entertain us then young lady.”
Sabrina ran over to her father and kissed him on the cheek.
“They have invited me to sing for them inside the stagecoach Daddy.”
Charles wasn’t angry at all. In fact, it proved a point that he had wondered about for a long time. Would Sabrina be able to work if something were important enough to her?
The answer was yes, she would.
It gave Charles hope when he heard Sabrina singing from inside the stagecoach. Perhaps she would not spend her entire life as a spoiled brat. Perhaps there would be something that drove her to be passionate and work hard.
Hopefully, she would find that something while she was working for Dr. Stone.
Charles knew that Dr. Stone was a difficult man to work for. Most of his previous assistants had quit after he yelled at them. But Sabrina was accustomed to being yelled at all the time, it never phased her and it certainly never made her stop doing what she wanted to do.
The tricky part of this whole deals would be convincing Sabrina that she wanted to work with Dr. Stone.
Charles thought about it throughout their ride to Chicago.
He would have to find something to motivate her to stay in Chicago and work.
Otherwise, Sabrina was likely to just hope the next stagecoach back to their ranch.
As they pulled into the main stop in Chicago, Charles jumped down from the stagecoach and helped to unload the bags. He listened as his daughter made small talk with the women they had traveled with. Sabrina sounded so adult as she described her education as a nurse.
Charles wished that Sabrina could have just been this girl. The woman that was standing there right now was a hard worker that would interact nicely with people and treated others with respect. But Charles knew the truth; underneath that pretty exterior was a dark side of Sabrina.
***
Charles brought Sabrina straight to Dr. Stone’s office.
“Dr. Stone, it’s so nice to see you again. This is my daughter Sabrina, the nurse.”
Sabrina suddenly became very interested in her work as a nurse. Dr. Stone was a handsome man. Rugged with dark brown hair and brilliant blue eyes. He was tall and stood least six feet. Sabrina felt a jolt of energy just being near him.
“Hello, Sabrina. I’m Robert Stone. I’m so glad you’ve come to work with me.”
Sabrina gave her father a look that could have killed.
She had been tricked into coming to Chicago simply so he could get her a job.
At first Sabrina wanted to scream and run away.
But this Robert Stone was very interesting to Sabrina.
She couldn’t turn down the opportunity to work with a nice looking guy like this.
Charles left Sabrina to look around the office with Dr. Stone.