Chapter 8
It was like reversing their journey out from San Antonio on the day that Julie arrived, as they drove into town.
It still amazed Andrew how far they had come in a mere two weeks.
Sitting beside him on the driver’s seat, Julie spent a portion of the trip with her head on his shoulder as he put his arm around her.
They could sit like that quite comfortably now, and she seemed to like knowing he was near. Especially after the flood.
He was still getting over that. Those two days when he hadn’t known where she was or if she was all right kept coming up in his nightmares. He didn’t wake up screaming like Julie sometimes did, but nightmares bothered him nonetheless.
“Do you think that Walter and Kyle will go and buy the chickens while we’re gone?” Julie asked as they drove along the track in the early morning sun.
Andrew pursed his lips and nodded slowly. “I’m certain they will. Kyle is impulsive, and when Walter thinks something is a good idea, he sees little reason to delay.”
“I thought that might be the case. Well, fresh eggs will be most welcome. Bean stew for every meal is starting to make me hate the sight of beans.”
“We can buy some bread and some other canned vegetables,” Andrew said. “Maybe even some canned meat. Since we have no decent means of storage, we’re at the mercy of the weather for now.”
“Do you think we could stop in to see a friend of mine?” Julie asked. She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. “This is her address.”
Andrew frowned in surprise. “You have a friend out here?”
“One I made on the train, yes. Mrs. Edwards,” Julie said. “She gave me her address and said that when I come to town I should look her up.”
“Let’s see where she’s living,” Andrew said. He read the address. “That’s on the other side of town. I think it’s one of the nicer estates. Maybe we can arrange to visit with her next month? I don’t think we’ll have time to visit today.”
Julie nodded. “I understand,” she said.
Andrew felt like an ogre for saying no to her.
Julie so rarely asked for anything. Could they fit a visit in and still get back before dark?
He wasn’t sure. The prudent thing to do would be to send Mrs. Edwards a message and make arrangements to see her the next time they were in town.
That would be better, and they could stay overnight.
Actually, that sounded really good. A night away from the others, just the two of them together?
It sounded like a little slice of heaven.
“You have a funny look on your face,” Julie noted. “Are you all right?”
Andrew nodded. “I was thinking it would be wonderful to see your friend. It’s still early enough in the day that I think there’s time. Why don’t you send her a message, and we can see if we can meet her somewhere for lunch? Then we can set up a longer visit for next month.”
She beamed and kissed his cheek. “You’re the best.”
Soon, San Antonio came into view. The land being so uniformly flat, the town’s buildings seemed to sprout up out of the horizon.
When they entered the town, they drove down to the post office and the general store and parked the cart where the horse could get a drink of water at a trough. Then they went about their business.
“Do you think you could mail this letter to my folks?” Julie asked, handing him an envelope. “They’ll want to know that I’m all right.”
“Of course,” Andrew said. He took the letter and smiled. “I was wondering if you were going to write home. I’ll pick up some more writing paper and envelopes while I’m there too.”
Before heading into the post office, he directed Julie to the little store next door. It was an in-town messenger service. She grinned.
“Like a human telephone service,” Julie said. “What a wonderful idea.”
“Yes, it is,” Andrew said. “Although a telephone would be far more convenient.”
“I’m sure Mr. Bell will expand his services out this way eventually,” Julie said. She sighed. “Wouldn’t that be something? Being able to speak to Mother and Father from here.”
Then, with a jaunty step, she entered the store and Andrew headed to the post office with less enthusiasm.
The letter he had spent hours composing and rewriting felt like a weight in his pocket.
He wasn’t happy about saying the things he had said in the letter.
As Jeff put it, he was just embellishing a little, and yet it still felt a lot like lying.
Andrew didn’t like to lie even when one might consider the lie a little white one.
Deception was not right, and he didn’t hold with it.
Still, he had promised his friends and his wife that the mine was a good investment of their time and effort, and he didn’t know for certain that it wasn’t.
Ethan’s test results had not been glowing.
But as he said, he’d had next to no equipment, he had done the tests in a hurry, and just because the results said the copper wasn’t A grade didn’t mean it wasn’t serviceable.
They could still turn a tidy profit. The key was not to overspend in the setup and to manage Mr. McGregor’s expectations.
Jeff, who had no trouble bending the truth a little, had helped him sugarcoat things.
Reaching the front of the line, Andrew paid the postage and reluctantly let the letter go. It was out of his hands quite literally now and that was a good thing. He would only have to deal with the response.
“Anything for the Carter party?” he asked. It was the name they had given the post office for their mail to be kept under.
The clerk, a young, thin man, turned and inspected a few pigeonholes that ran from near the ceiling to the countertop. He walked along until he came to one that had a collection of envelopes tied with twine. He picked the thick bundle up and read something on it.
“Here you are, sir,” he said and deposited the packet in Andrew’s hand. Andrew tucked the mail into his jacket pocket, making it bulge.
“Thank you,” he said and headed outside.
Julie met him with a grin on her face. “I sent Mrs. Edwards the message,” she said. “Hopefully she’s free.” She was grinning so happily that Andrew managed to forget his own dread and find some enjoyment in the day.
First, they went to the general store and bought cans of meat and vegetables.
Then they got some pasta, which would break the monotony of rice.
They bought some bread at the bakery and drove around to the feed store to get oats and lucerne for the horses and corn for the chickens they knew would be waiting for them when they returned to the camp.
“This is a lot more fun than I thought it would be,” Julie said. “Can we stop in at the apothecary store too? I have to replace a few things.”
“Of course,” Andrew said.
The apothecary store was quite large and smelled of alcohol and herbs.
“It smells like your trunk, only stronger,” Andrew commented as they entered the store.
Julie nodded, but she clearly wasn’t paying him much attention.
Her eyes were already roaming over the shelves behind the counter, picking out the things she needed.
Andrew left her to it. He stayed close and when she had everything she needed, which was quite a few tinctures and a few boxes of dried herbs, he offered to pay for it all.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “I do have a little money saved that I could use.”
“It’s a work expense,” he said. “These remedies will be used to treat the men, so you shouldn’t have to spend your own money.”
“Oh, thank you,” she said, and her smile was enough to mitigate his worries about whether their financier would actually agree to reimburse such an expense.
When they left the apothecary, they went to the cart and climbed back in after stashing the herbs in the back in a crate of straw.
“Should we have lunch, or should we wait and see if your friend is available?” Andrew asked.
“I doubt she will be if she hasn’t answered us already,” Julie said. “Mrs. Edwards made it sound as though she’s always busy.”
“All right then,” Andrew said. He drove along until they came to the hotel. Then they spent some time trying to find a place to tie up the cart. It was an exercise in futility, and they ended up tying up outside the bank.
“I trust that having something other than beans for lunch will be just what the doctor ordered?” Andrew asked, a wry smile on his lips.
Julie pretended to think about it. She looked so sweet when she wrinkled her nose and tapped her index finger on her chin.
“Mmm,” she said. “I might have to check my schedule.”
“Well, check away,” Andrew said. “I can wait.”
She laughed. “It seems I’m free.”
“Excellent,” he said and offering her his arm, led her into the hotel. Its dining room was quite full and rather fancy, with little tables set out all around the place with white linen tablecloths and shiny cutlery. It was such a nice change from their tin plates and wooden utensils.
They were led to a table by a window through which they could watch people and carts going by. A young man served them, and they both asked for small cider and the pie of the day, which turned out to be beef with vegetables.
When their food and drinks arrived, Julie closed her eyes and inhaled the aroma of the pie. She looked as though she might swoon, and Andrew grabbed her shoulder to steady her. Her eyes popped open.
“Are you all right?” he asked, concerned.
She laughed. “Perfectly fine,” she said. “I was enjoying the smell of something besides beans. Now tell me, Andrew,” she said as she dug into her meal. “I don’t know exactly why you want to start a town and a mine. It seems rather odd for the son of an attorney.”
He had never thought of it like that. Andrew took a moment, sipping his small cider before answering her.