Chapter Three
After yet another meal of hardtack and jerky the following morning, Myrtle was off to the store in town. She’d spent some time cleaning and planned to do their laundry later in the day. Aaron was already off to work.
When she entered the store, she found not only Belle, but Maggie, Sally, and Agnes waiting there, Belle and Maggie with their babies in tow.
Myrtle embraced her friends. “It’s so good to see all of you.”
Agnes had the biggest smile of them all. “I heard something about a surprise?”
Myrtle had told the friends she’d journeyed with to meet her at the store a little after ten. “You’ll see,” she said mysteriously. “I have some shopping I need to do. There is absolutely no food in our cabin.”
“Oh, I’m sure there’s hardtack and beef jerky,” Maggie said, sighing. “I don’t know how those men can eat so much of it. The thought of it makes me gag now.”
“Guess what I had for breakfast,” Myrtle said, shaking her head. She looked around the store and found some sugar, flour, and other essentials she’d need for her everyday cooking. She’d wait until she was somewhere more private with the others before she brought up the idea of a bakery.
She set her purchases on the counter, and the woman there smiled.
“I’m going to put this on credit for you.
If you join the others in bringing goodies for me to sell, I’ll just start deducting what you make from your total,” the woman said.
“I’m Katie Johnson, by the way. You must call me Katie as the others do. ”
“All right, Katie,” Myrtle said. “I’m Myrtle Banks—I mean Fielding.” It was the first time Myrtle had said her new name aloud, and it felt strange to her.
She returned to the other women from Beckham just in time for Lula, Josie, and Ella to arrive. Agnes squealed when she saw them all, and hurried to hug them.
Belle smiled at Myrtle. “This is your surprise?”
Myrtle nodded. “They all traveled with me.”
“I think it’s time for one of our business meetings. We’ll go to Maggie’s. She has the littlest baby, and I’m sure Trudie will need a nap,” Belle said before going to greet the newcomers.
After the other women did a bit of shopping, they all headed toward Maggie’s cabin. Once there, they settled in, two of them sitting on the bed. “I’m sorry I don’t have more chairs!”
Lula shook her head. “Don’t worry about Ella and me. We’re just happy to be sitting after the walk from the river.”
Maggie smiled. “I remember that walk, and I agree completely.”
As usual, Belle took the lead. “So I’m sure all of you know that we’ve been working together to provide for our families, but also to provide much needed services for the community. I hunt. Maggie forages. Sally gardens and raises pigs. Agnes fishes and raises goats.”
The others nodded. “Where do you need us?” Myrtle asked.
“There are so many things that need to be done to prepare for winter,” Maggie said.
“We have been working all summer to prepare. There’s so much that can’t be done in winter or even in late fall here.
Fall seems to only last a week or two, and then we’re plunged into winter.
It will start freezing any time, and then many of the things we do will become harder. ”
“What do we still need for winter?” Josie asked. “We’ll do whatever it takes.”
Belle smiled. “Do any of you have experience hunting? Either with a rifle or bow and arrow?”
“I’ve hunted,” Lula said. “I’ve used both a rifle and a bow.”
“Then you’ll be joining me at least for the next few weeks,” Belle said. “I’d like to bring in a few more moose and even a bear if we can manage it.”
Lula nodded. “I’ll help in any way I can.”
“All my crops are in for the year, but I’ve been doing some foraging. There’s still good forage for a little longer, and Maggie needs to rest a little while longer now that the baby is here.”
“I’ll help with that,” Josie said.
“Most of the salmon are gone for the year,” Agnes said. “But this is the peak season for whitefish. I’m working on fishing as many as I can, drying some, and smoking others. Then we’ll have more food options for the winter.”
“I’ll help with that,” Ella said. “My father was a fisherman, and I’m well-acquainted with different techniques.”
Belle looked at Myrtle. “That just leaves you. Who do you want to join?”
Myrtle bit her lip. “I’d really like to bake. Maybe I could even have a bakery.”
“That would work,” Belle said. “The way we work money is we all share everyone’s profits, and we all share the food we make.
Agnes and I both have cold houses. The ice isn’t very deep into the ground, and it’s always there, even in summer.
The men dug out pits in the ground and then built stone walls around them.
The meat stays good year-round this way. ”
“That’s really smart!” Myrtle said, nodding. “So, if I bake, I share a loaf of bread with everyone and sell the rest at the store?”
“Exactly,” Belle said. “Unless someone wants to do their own baking, which is fine. The men in the area are always looking for sweet treats. You could bake pies, cakes, bread, and anything else you can think of. It’s always sold the day we take it to Mrs. Johnson, and she splits the profits between us. ”
Myrtle nodded. “What about the cost of supplies?”
“She takes all that into account. It’s been really nice to partner with her on these things,” Agnes said.
“Then I’m going to bake,” Myrtle said. “Everyone needs to let me know if they want a share of what I bake.”
“For now, we all will,” Belle said. “We’re all pushing hard to be finished before winter.
For your own meals, we’ll all choose the meat we want from the stores we have.
There’s plenty of smoked salmon, and even some just frozen.
We have moose, duck, and venison. Maggie and Sally usually choose what they want the day they plan to cook, and everything stays cold until then. ”
Agnes nodded. “And don’t worry about taking the meat, even if you didn’t help provide it. Everyone shared with me when I arrived, and we’ll share with the next to come, if more do. I think we’re too late in the year for more, but we’ll share all we have even as we get more for the winter.”
Myrtle smiled. “Thank you for that. I was surprised that Aaron had no food at all.”
Josie nodded. “Neither did Malcolm.”
Belle frowned for a moment. “I’m only going to need a couple of loaf pans if you’re taking on the baking, Myrtle. I’m going to give you the others I have. It will help you get a good start.”
“Oh, thank you!” Myrtle said. “That will help me a lot!”
“I have some extras as well,” Maggie said. “Will you just bake bread, or do you plan to bake sweets as well?”
“I plan to bake everything I can. I’ve already talked to Aaron about getting a second oven.” Myrtle sighed. “Oh, how I wish I could have a dedicated bakery, but that’s not going to work for a while.”
Belle shrugged. “I’m sure the men would build it for you, but it would make more sense to wait until spring.”
“Then I’ll revisit the idea in the spring,” Myrtle said. “I like the idea of having tables for people to eat. Maybe a soup every day.”
Maggie looked at Myrtle, shaking her head. “You’d need a partner for that. Someone to serve tables and make soups. I think it’s possible, but you’d only want to be open at breakfast, lunch, and supper times. And it would be a lot of work.”
“More work than waiting tables at the hotel?” Myrtle asked.
“Maybe...wait for someone who has the same vision you do,” Belle said. “I think you’d be biting off more than you can chew.”
“I’ll wait then. If someone is willing to go in with me, that will happen down the road. For now, I’ll bake bread and sweets and see how they do at the store in town.”
They moved on to other topics, but Myrtle couldn’t shake the idea of wanting to sell her bread and desserts to people directly and not through the store.
Though, it made a great deal more sense to follow the pattern the others had set.
Soon, she’d be able to decide if it worked for her or if she wanted to do things differently.
Myrtle left their meeting with a stack of loaf pans from Maggie, with a promise from Belle to bring more. Each of the ladies wanted her to bake them a loaf of bread per day, at least until the foraging, fishing, and hunting were done for the year.
As she walked home, she made a mental list of things she needed to accomplish that day. First, she needed to get the laundry taken care of. After the long trek from Skagway, her clothes could almost stand up on their own, and she knew Aaron’s weren’t much better.
She carried in water and put it on the stove to heat as she stripped the bed and gathered everything that needed to be washed.
Myrtle was in the process of hanging the clothes out to dry when Belle called out to her. “I brought pans and some venison and vegetables for your supper. I know you bought other necessities at the store.”
“Oh, thank you! I hadn’t taken the time to think about what I’d fix for supper tonight.”
“I figured as much. I’m making sure to take some meat and vegetables to all the ladies who just arrived.”
Myrtle looked at Belle for a moment. “Is there truly enough food for all of us? I don’t want to take what you’ve worked so hard to store.”
“We’ll be fine,” Belle said. “Two of us will be hunting, and I won’t be baking bread. Maggie will watch the baby for me since she needs to rest for a little longer. We’ll get a lot done.”
“I’m willing to help in any way I can.” Myrtle worried she would be a burden on the others, but she didn’t know how to contribute more than she already would be.
“Just bake me a loaf of bread every day and maybe a dessert every day or two, and I’ll be thrilled. I know the others feel the same.”
“What if I were to cook a huge pot of stew every day for all the couples? Would that help?”
Belle frowned, thinking about it. “It would help, but it’s a lot to take on. Are you sure you want to do that?”
Myrtle nodded emphatically. “It would mean you’d have more hours to hunt. And those foraging would have more time. You need to spend all your daylight hours being productive, and I can help you do that.”
Belle smiled. “Thank you. I like that idea. I’ll ask the others. Maggie may prefer to make her own meals because she’ll be home anyway, but with two babies...she may jump at the opportunity.”
“It’s a way I can help a little more. How many loaves of bread should I bake for the store every day?” Myrtle was happy to have some one-on-one time with Belle to ask her questions. It was easier than in a group setting.
“I baked five every day, and so did Maggie. There was never enough. I think you could bake fifteen or more loaves just for the store, and there would still be men who don’t get any.”
“All right. I’ll start with fifteen, and if Katie feels like she could sell more, I’ll add to what I’m doing.” Myrtle rubbed her shoulder. “I’m already feeling sore from all the kneading I’ll be doing.”
Belle laughed. “You’ll get used to it. Just like you got used to being on your feet all day at the hotel.”
Myrtle smiled. “I’m sure I will. And honestly? I can’t wait to get started. This is a dream come true for me.”
“How did it work out for Aaron to agree to bring you all back with him? We hadn’t heard a word about it!” Belle said.
“Well...we all decided at the last minute it would be easier if only one of our future husbands had to travel to bring us back. I didn’t have time to write to Aaron. Let’s just say it was a surprise, but for him, not a good one.”
“I see.” Belle made a face. “Make sure the two of you work that out!”
“We will. He told me he forgave me, and I’m trying to take his feelings into account better. It never occurred to me it would be a hardship for him. We brought extra food...”
Belle clapped Myrtle on the shoulder. “I understand completely. But men seem to prefer to be the ones to make all the final decisions. Having that taken from him was probably very frustrating.”
Myrtle nodded. “We needed an extra mule as well. I never considered that. Now I plan to work extra hard to pay him back for the extra expense I caused.”
Belle smiled. “I’m sure it will all be fine in the end. Just talk about it and make sure he isn’t still harboring any resentment about it before you move on. You don’t want your marriage to be over before it starts.”
Long after Belle left, Myrtle was still thinking over her friend’s words. Was Belle right? Did Aaron secretly resent her for taking the decision away from him?
She baked a cake for supper, hoping to sweeten Aaron’s attitude because she planned to talk to him that night. She knew he was thinking about the two of them consummating their marriage, and she felt it would be best if all their troubles were talked out before that happened.
As she worked, she prayed that things would work out between them. She wanted nothing more than to be a good wife and please her husband.
She had the kitchen cleaned and most of the dishes washed before Aaron returned home from work. He looked exhausted.
“Supper’s ready,” Myrtle said. “Do you want water or coffee to drink?”
“If coffee’s made, I’ll have that. If not, water is fine.” Aaron took a deep sniff. “What are you making? Something smells delicious.”
“Belle brought venison roast and potatoes for our supper. We all spent a long time talking about where each of the new ladies will fit into the organization Belle has going. I think we’re going to fit in just fine.
” She set his plate on the table in front of him, full of meat, potatoes, carrots, and fresh bread.
“Don’t fill yourself too full. I baked a cake as well. ”
He sighed contentedly. This was why he’d sent for a wife. He would eat like a king.