by Danni Roan
“I didn’t count it yet,” Peri admitted, “We’ll do it now,” she finished rushing back outside to fetch the mule and overstuffed saddlebags. Hurrying to put the mule in the barn with a good feed of hay and oats, Peri turned back to the house taking the back stairs two at a time as the saddle bags rattled and clinked on her shoulder.
***
“Five hundred dollars!” Aunt Betsy said shocked at the amount the coins and bills had added up to. “I can’t believe your pa had five hundred dollars stashed away and never let on,” she finished staring at Peri in shock.
“You would have thought he could spend a little on his women,” Peri agreed, looking down at her faded dress and threadbare apron. “Prim and I have never had more than two dresses to our name at any one time, and Mama’s things are so worn they’re barely worth calling clothes.”
Betsy reached out patting Peri’s arm. “Your pa wasn’t always like that,” she said sorrow choking her voice. “When he was young, he was generous to the point of excess. Then there was the gambling and carousing, he spent every penny he earned almost before he got his pay,” she added with a sad shake of her head. “Of course that all changed when he met your ma,” Betsy said with a smile turning from the kitchen table to look at Mrs. Perkins rocking gently in the chair. “It doesn’t seem right what happened to your mama,” she finished.
Peri turned from the table where she had been counting currency to look over at her mother. Mama’s face was peaceful, her dark hair streaked with gray wound into a simple knot at the back of her neck was becoming. Though in her forties Mama’s face was smooth and devoid of wrinkles, and her blue eyes, so much like her daughters' eyes were clear.
“When your Pa met Mercy,” Betsy said still gazing at her sister-in-law, “he fell in love so hard I think he would have sold his soul to win her hand. Mercy’s family lived in a nice house on Main Street, and her father owned the mill. He didn’t approve of your mother stepping out with my brother,” she added pausing to rise and move to the stove.
“Is that how Papa got his job at the factory?” Peri asked, wondering why she had never heard this story before. As far as she knew, she had no other kin in Rockington.
“Yes,” Betsy said pouring a cup of coffee for herself and her niece. “Mercy’s father tried everything under the sun to keep her from marrying James Perkins,” she said with a sad smile. “James was persistent though, and in the end was permitted to wed as long as he stayed out of trouble and changed his wild ways. For Mercy he would have done anything,” she finished sipping her coffee and grimacing at the bitter taste.
“But if her father owned the mill, why did Papa lose his job after Ma was injured?” Peri asked, her heart sinking to her stomach. “You would have thought he would have taken us all in or sent for the best doctors to help Mama.”
“He died,” Betsy said. “Mercy’s father passed when you were still a mite, and his son took over the factory. He was a bitter, ambitious young man who wanted out of this backwoods town. As soon as he had control of the business he sold the place, packed up his mother and moved.” Betsy’s dark eyes flashed with an unfamiliar fire as she turned back to Peri. “He came out to the farm when you girls were small and offered to take you and Mercy with them, but only if she agreed to leave James behind.” Anger tinged Aunt Betsy’s voice as she slammed her cup onto the stove splitting it neatly in half. “Your mother said no, and they never heard from her family again,” she finished shaking her head at the mess she had made.
Peri stared at her aunt who bent to pick up the shards of her old mug before mopping up the coffee dripping from the sizzling stove.
“I didn’t know,” Peri said her voice rough with emotions.
“I probably shouldn’t have told you,” Betsy said, “but it all seemed to come sweeping back today.”
“I’ll take good care of Mama,” Peri said rising and helping her aunt clean up the mess. “I’m glad you told me,” Peri added, “I think it helps me understand a great deal.”
Betsy wrapped an arm around her spunky niece as they finished their task. “I’ll get lunch started,” she said with a smile. “Why don’t you go down to the Mercantile and see if you can work out your transportation to the depot in Nashville. I hate to see you go, but your sister needs you.”
Chapter 5
Peri had felt antsy and uncomfortable on the train trip south, fidgeting at the inactivity of staying in their booth where they sat on the hard seat for two long days.
When they reached the riverboat for the next leg of the journey though, she couldn’t help but smile as her mother hummed the low strains of To the Regions Beyond. “It will be nice to ride on a boat for a while won’t it Mama?” she asked guiding her mother up the gangplank and following a porter to their room. She had bought a new dress for herself and her mother, but the travel ware was still simple and serviceable.
Peri grinned as the porter placed their few bags in the small room with one chair, two solid bunk beds.
“There’s a water barrel at the bottom of the stairs,” the porter said, “and you can get hot water from the kitchen if you go between meals. The necessary is at the back of the boat.”
Peri pressed a penny into the man’s hand, thanking him as he backed out of the small room. “Mama, you’ll sleep on the lower bed,” she said guiding her mother to sit on the stiff mattress and rough woolen blankets. “I think we’ll be very comfortable here as we travel along the river. The depot man said that river travel was faster and much more comfortable than taking the stage all the way from Arkansas to Needful,” she added, taking a turn around the room and looking at the small washstand and simple yet sturdy furnishings.
“After this, we only have one more change and then we’ll be in Needful with Prim,” Peri said cheerfully. “For now I think we’ll lay down for a bit then take a turn around the deck once we’re underway.”
Settling her mother in the lower bunk, Peri climbed the few steps into the top bunk and laid her head on the soft pillow, drifting off to sleep almost instantly.
***
Peri woke to the gentle rocking of the boat and the deep throaty chug-chug of the paddlewheel pushing them along the river.
“Mama,” she called, leaning over the edge of her bunk and gazing down at her mother who lay still and silent on her bunk below. “I see you’re awake,” Peri said with a grin, swinging her legs over the bunk and leaping to the floor.
“Let’s go for a walk,” she said. “We’ll go to the privy then see what we can see,” she added with a giggle, taking her mother’s hand and heading out the door.
The bright sunlight splashed onto Peri’s face like a wave of warmth, light, and joy as she turned her face to the heavens, her heavy bonnet slipping backward on her head.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” she asked, holding tight to her mother’s arm as they shuffled along the raised upper deck.
Moving toward the front of the boat and away from the creak and splash of the brightly painted wheel propelling them along the river, Peri pressed up to the rail where she could get a glimpse of the water rushing by.
Glancing at her mother to make sure she wasn’t troubled by the movement beneath her feet, or frightened by the water below, Peri turned back to the water taking a deep breath of the warm air.
“Do you like it, Mama?” Peri asked. With no one else to talk to she turned to the only other person she knew, smiling as her mother’s eyes gazed out across the river to the far shore.
“We’ll be in Needful in two short days,” Peri continued. “Then we’ll take the stage the rest of the way until we meet Prim.”
“Excuse me,” a deep rich voice called from Peri’s left. “Did you say you’re going to Needful, Texas?”
“Yes,” Peri replied looking up at the tall thin man in the gray suit. “We’re meeting my sister there.”
“I’m also going to Needful,” the man offered with a smile as he pulled his hat from his hair, letting the breeze ruffle his tight brown curls. “I
f I can be of any assistance, please let me know.”
“Thank you,” Peri said with a smile. “I’m Periwinkle Perkins and this is my mother Mercy,” she added offering her hand.
“Bradon Tippert,” the man said taking Peri’s hand and giving it a soft shake. “At your service.”
***
The boat ride to Texas was all too short in Peri’s mind as she met other guests, enjoyed good food and slept well in her neat bunk.
“Miss Perkins,” Mr. Tippert said stepping up to her as she and her mother prepared to disembark. “Are you taking the stage to Needful? If so, please allow me to accompany you to the station.”
“That’s very kind,” Peri said, “thank you.”
Mr. Tippert offered her his arm as together they led her mother down the gangplank and loaded their gear on a handcart.
“You might want to stretch your legs a bit before you board the stage,” Mr. Tippert suggested as they purchased their tickets for the next run to Needful. “It’s my understanding that there are few stops between here and Needful, and that those are primitive, to say the least.”
Peri tucked her tickets into her reticule and nodded. “I think that’s a good plan,” she said gazing up and down the street. “Do you think we’ll be safe?”
“I’d be happy to accompany you,” Mr. Tippert offered. “As a matter of fact, I was hoping to pick up a few items at the general store and something to eat along the way.”
Together the trio set out along the bustling docks until finding a store where they could buy a few items for the trip then returned to the stage station.
In what felt like only minutes they were soon pressed into the cramped quarters of the stagecoach as it sprang into motion with a clatter of wheels and jangle of harness.
Peri looked over at her mother who seemed to be smiling as the heavy carriage rocked and swayed over the rutted road, trying to catch a hint of what song the older Perkins was humming today Peri scowled.
“I think I approve of your mother’s tune,” Mr. Tippert said from the other side of the coach. “I believe it is Send the Light,” he finished with a smile.
Peri leaned toward her mother, shaking her head, as she wondered how she hadn’t noticed before. “I see you’re familiar with the old hymns,” she said.
“I had better be,” the man said with a wide grin that transformed his craggy face, “as a minister I’m expected to know such things.”
Chapter 6
Peri craned her neck trying to get a better view of the town they were galloping into, squealing as the stage came to a sudden stop in front of a tall building with a wide porch.
Pushing her floppy bonnet back from her face, where it had settled, as she bumped into the edge of the window, Peri grinned as she read the sign on the building.
“The Hampton House!” Peri cried excitedly. “Mama, we’re here. This is where Prim is working!”
Mr. Tippert opened the door letting Peri climb down, and then looked up as another young woman, much like Miss Periwinkle only with darker hair, screamed.
Peri laughed as Prim cried her name pulling her into a tight hug.
Hugging her sister tight, Peri took a deep breath letting the worry and tension that had followed her all the way to Texas dissipate.
“Don’t strangle me, Prim,” Periwinkle laughed as happy tears stung her eyes. “Help me get Mama,” she added pulling back with a grin.
Together the sisters stepped back up to the stage and reached in to take the work-worn fingers of their mother, leading her down the step carefully.
“Mama,” Prim’s voice stuck in her throat as she hugged her mother who hummed happily in her ear. “I can’t believe you’re here,” Prim whispered, not able to release her mother for several moments.
Peri wiped the tears from her eyes, noting how well her sister looked. Prim’s dark hair shimmered in the bright afternoon sunlight, and her simple dress covered in a heavy apron fit her well.
“Don’t just stand there,” an old woman said with a smile, as she gestured for everyone to come inside with her dangerous looking stick she had raced out with at Prim’s scream. “Come in and we’ll get you fed up and comfortable.”
Behind her, Peri could hear Mr. Tippert stepping out of the stage, and she twisted to offer him a silent thank you as she was whisked into the boarding house and restaurant.
***
Peri tried to look around her as her sister dragged them into the building. The town looked nice enough if rough around the edges.
Prim was in a tizzy as she hurried everyone inside and to a table in the corner.
“Prim, why are all of these men staring at me?” Peri asked as they set their mother into a chair where she swayed back and forth while still humming.
“There are very few single women in this town,” Prim whispered back in reply. “When I first got here, I was completely overwhelmed by them.”
Peri looked around her and shivered at the dirty men gazing back at her. “I don’t think this is the kind of attention I was hoping for.”
Prim smiled. She had grown accustomed to the men watching her every move, or vying for her attention. Until she had explained that she and Mr. Bowlings were now officially engaged, she had suffered at least three proposals a day.
“I’ll get you both some coffee and something to eat,” Prim said kissing her mother’s cheek before hurrying to the kitchen where Rosa was busy preparing plates.
Peri smoothed her dress as she took another look around the room. None of the men tried to approach her, and she settled a little. Needful seemed to be just that, in need of more women. As she watched, her sister returned carrying a tray with piping bowls toward their table, placing the food before them and then heading to the other tables and serving the men seated around the room.
“Here Mama,” Peri said pressing a fork into her mother’s hand. “I know you’re hungry, those sandwiches didn’t go very far.”
As her mother began to scoop the food into her mouth, Peri noticed Prim speaking to Mr. Tippert, taking his order and explaining that there were rooms available upstairs. She hoped that Primrose would be able to return soon and sit with them, but she understood that Prim had a job to do.
It didn’t seem right that Primrose had needed to leave her home in Tennessee just to get a respectable job, but here in Texas, she seemed to be happy in her lot.
Peri was only grateful that Prim hadn’t been forced to marry one of the hard-looking men in the room to provide for her and Mama. They had obviously arrived in time.
“Prim you go visit with your kin now,” the older woman that Prim called Olive said hurrying to the table. “I’ll take over here. You have much to tell your sister and mother I believe,” she added with a grin.
Peri cocked her head trying to catch the older woman’s words as Prim returned to the kitchen before coming back to the table with her own meal as Peri pressed a cup of coffee into her mother’s hand.
“I don’t understand how you came to be here,” Prim said. “I haven’t had a chance to send you any money at all.”
“I found Pa’s stash,” Peri said leaning across the table and speaking in a hushed whisper. “I gave some to Aunt Betsy then decided to come along before the weather got too bad.”
Prim gazed, wide-eyed at her sister, in disbelief. They had scoured the mountain the day their father had died, but found no sign of the money they knew he had hoarded over the years. “I can’t believe it,” she gasped.
“I spent two whole days up on the mountain,” Peri said. “Someone had come along and taken Pa’s still, but everything else was just the way we left it. I hunted and hunted all over the place, and finally found it buried behind the privy.”
Prim smiled pleased at her sister’s tenaciousness.
“By the time I left it looked like some mad gofer had been digging all around the house, but I found it.”
Prim reached across the table and squeezed Peri’s hand then lifted a napkin to dab at her mother’s ch
in. Although she could still feed herself, her mother’s hand wasn’t always steady, and she needed some assistance.
“Now what’s the news with you?” Peri asked her eyes full of excitement. “The last I knew, you hadn’t married the man you came here to meet.”
Chapter 7
“Married!” Peri gasped. “But you’ve only been here four months, how can you be getting married? Did that man finally decide he wanted you?”
“Shh,” Prim hissed as she leaned across the table, her mother’s humming had changed between bites of food and sounded something like a wedding march to Prim’s ears. “I met Mr. Bowlings that first day,” she said. “Remember I wrote about how he saved me from that miserable old bull.”
“Oh, how romantic,” Peri gushed, clapping her hands together in front of her as her mother spluttered and she turned to help Mama sip her coffee.