Cora squealed, and gave them each an extra hug. “I’m so excited for you,” she said. “I want to be your first customer.”
With dancers swarming to the middle of the schoolroom, Cora noticed that Gideon now stood behind her. Once again, she had promised him the first and last dance. She turned to him and smiled. As she took Gideon’s hand, she called back to the Howell sisters. “After three dances, don’t accept any more requests for a least a couple of dances. Let’s meet at the refreshment table. I must hear all about your plans for your dress shop!”
Gideon and Cora lined up for a reel along with the other dancers, and for while she and Gideon tried to carry on a conversation each time they came together.
“I thought for sure you’d be talking about Jackson’s road trip,” Gideon said rather briskly when they came together as partners. “I guess a lady’s dress shop takes precedence over the automobile.”
Cora laughed. “Perhaps it does,” she said. “Don’t you think it’s admirable that Margie and Rose are opening up their own shop? I’m so proud of them!”
“It’s impressive,” Gideon said.
They finished the reel with less conversation and a lot of lighthearted fun until Milo walked up to Cora for the next dance. Gideon’s face went from happy to resigned with Milo’s appearance.
“Thank you for the dance, Gideon,” Cora said. Then, before she and Milo walked away, and because Gideon usually asked each of her younger sisters to dance, Cora asked a favor. “Gideon, would you mind asking my sister Nellie to dance? I’m sure she’s missing Evan tonight since he and Pa are still away on that government survey.”
“I’ll be happy to,” Gideon said, and then started walking to where Nellie sat with her children and Cora’s mother.
“I can ask your sister to dance too,” Milo said. “When is her husband expected back anyway? It must be hard to have him gone for weeks at a time on these surveys.”
“It is,” Cora said, “but Nellie’s used to it because that’s the way our family has always lived. Pa and Evan should be back in a few more weeks though.”
“Guess what?” Milo said, turning the conversation to Jackson’s road trip. “I have a copy of the Lakeview, Oregon newspaper. My father ordered it to get the latest details about Jackson, and it came in on the stage today.”
“Really?” Cora said, her eyes widening with delight. “What did it say?”
The dance, a waltz, made it easier to talk, and Milo proceeded to tell Cora more about Jackson’s automobile troubles that were written about in the Lakeview paper. When the dance ended, Cora went off with a new partner for her third dance, another young man from the community. She grinned as she noticed Gideon now dancing with her youngest sister and Milo dancing with her oldest sister. As soon as the dance ended, most of the young people congregated around the refreshment table. Before Cora could ask Margie and Rose about their shop, Milo proceeded to repeat everything he’d learned about Horatio Nelson Jackson from the newspaper.
“The Lakeview paper claims it will be winter before Jackson sees the Atlantic,” Milo said. “It’s because of all the troubles he’s having with his automobile. It’s a good thing Jackson hired a mechanic to help him drive. The mechanic fixes the Winton every time it breaks down, but sometimes it takes days if they have to wait for parts.”
“What kind of troubles are they having?” Margie asked.
“Carburetor problems, a broken spring, and a fuel leak among other things.” Milo seemed to enjoy the attention he had by having access to the latest news. “When they first left Lakeview, they were actually forced to turn back after a day’s travel and wait for more supplies. Once they got going again, the Winton sprung a fuel leak out in the middle of nowhere.” Milo paused as if he enjoyed making them wait for the rest of the story. “The mechanic rented a bicycle from some farmer and planned to ride it twenty-five miles to the nearest town to purchase more fuel.”
“That must have cost them a full day,” Gideon said.
Milo’s chest puffed out, and he grinned as he continued. “The bicycle ended up with a punctured tire, and the mechanic had to walk most of the way. So, it cost them nearly two days.”
“Oh, no,” Rose said.
“I wonder if they’ll give up,” someone said.
“I don’t think so.” Milo had a look of pride as though he were the one making the road trip. “Jackson claims he’s proven his machine can go anywhere. He feels confident he can make it all the way to New York.”
“Such determination,” Cora said, and then she quickly turned to address Margie and Rose. “I admire Jackson so much, and speaking of admiration, we have two enterprising people right here in our midst. I want to hear all about their plans for their new dress shop.”
Some of the young men in the circle looked skyward, but Gideon nodded eagerly as though he couldn’t wait to hear about the girls’ new dress shop. Perhaps he simply rejoiced at the change of topic away from Milo going on and on about Jackson and his automobile.
“We’re going to make dresses, skirts, and blouses from both new fabric and salvaged fabric from gently used gowns,” Margie said. “We’ll take orders from patrons and create ready-made garments. Our aunt has made quite a successful business in Denver by creating lovely dresses from donated gowns as well as from new material. For every three donated gowns from her wealthy clients, she makes them one new gown for only the expense of the fabric.”
A rather loud voice from behind Cora broke into the conversation. “What’s this I’m hearing about new dresses and gowns?”
Cora happily moved a little closer to Gideon to make room for Mrs. Stribling in the circle. Mrs. Stribling, a wealthy widow, had always worn the most expensive gowns in town.
Rose repeated the exact plan her sister had outlined just moments before for Mrs. Stribling. “We’ll be working out of our home until we can afford to rent a shop,” Rose added, “but we’re hoping that won’t take too long.”
“Count on me for donated gowns!” Mrs. Stribling said. “I’ve been wanting to go through the trunks in my attic for some time, and this will be the perfect excuse. I hope your fingers are itching to sew, because I have a multitudinous number of gowns that I would love to donate. I can’t wait to see fresh frocks created from the contents of my trunks.”
“I’ll help you go through your trunks tomorrow!” Cora grinned and clasped her hands together. The thought of helping the Howell girls get started in such a generous way thrilled Cora. Plus, she adored Mrs. Stribling and her big rambling home. She couldn’t think of anything more enjoyable than looking through the trunks in her attic.
Cora glanced at Gideon’s lips as they curved into a gentle smile. Well, perhaps there is something that would be immeasurably more enjoyable, she thought, and then she tore her eyes from Gideon’s lips, hoping no one read her thoughts.
Especially Gideon.
Sunday after church, the Gardner’s had a simple lunch of cold beef, bread Cora had made the day before, and an assortment of fresh greens and pickled vegetables. Mrs. Stribling had accepted the Gardner’s invitation for lunch, and she kept Cora and her family laughing throughout the meal with her outlandish remarks.
When it was time for dessert, Cora’s brother chided her about the pie crust. “You’ve lost your touch, Cora,” Charlie said. “This pie crust is as tough as hard candy.”
“What do you mean that my pie crust is tough, Charlie Gardner?” Cora had already popped a piece of pie crust onto the table when she tried to cut into it, and then discreetly picked the piece up and placed it back onto her plate. “I made the bread, not the pies.”
Cora looked at her two youngest sisters, a question in her raised eyebrows.
Fern and Beth burst into giggles, and finally the truth came out. “When you and Ma went upstairs to clean, we sort of used the pie dough to create a village with buildings and people and animals,” Fern said. “But we didn’t play too long before we squished the dough back together and rolled out the crusts.�
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“Was playing with the dough a bad thing?” Beth asked, innocently.
“It’s all right,” Mrs. Gardner said. “I should have stayed in the kitchen to supervise since you’re still learning. But, overworking the dough does make pie crust tough.”
“Personally, I think this pie crust is perfect,” Mrs. Stribling announced in her rather loud, and to some people, obnoxious voice. Then, giving Charlie a hard look, she added, “Anyone who doesn’t approve of these pies, shouldn’t eat them. Besides, eating tough crust makes people tough, and that’s what we need out here in this dry Idaho desert.”
Cora reached to take Charlie’s pie away from him.
“No, no, no,” Charlie said. “You’re absolutely right, Mrs. Stribling. This crust is perfect! The pie is perfect! In fact, I think I’ll have a second piece.”
“You’d better change your tune,” Mrs. Stribling said, pointing her fork at Charlie. “Tsk-tsk, complaining about the small hands that prepared your dessert.”
Charlie’s face reddened, but he cheerfully accepted another piece of pie when Beth offered it to him. “Charlie grew the wheat for our flour,” Beth said.
Mrs. Stribling was practically part of the Gardner family in an adopted grandmother sort of way. She ate Sunday dinner with the Gardner’s almost every week, and she had become an adviser of sorts when it came to the girls and their romantic interests. She also prided herself for helping keep Cora’s only brother in line for the last twenty-two years.
Most of Cora’s older sisters had helped Mrs. Stribling with her housework over the years, and now that the older girls were married with families of their own, Cora had taken over that opportunity. Mrs. Stribling insisted on paying for work rendered, or she bequeathed gifts in lieu of payment when the girls refused to take her money.
Cora, along with the rest of her family, laughed and teased Charlie as he went on and on praising his younger sisters for their wonderful pie and delicious crusts. Then Cora offered to take Mrs. Stribling home. Normally, she wouldn’t take their guest home so early, but she, Fern, and Beth eagerly looked forward to helping Mrs. Stribling forage through her trunks before the day ended. Mrs. Stribling was adamant about gathering some of her used gowns and dresses and delivering them to the Howell sisters as soon as possible.
“Yes, we need to carry on with our day,” Mrs. Stribling noted. “It’s a good thing we ate a hearty dinner and excellent pie. Digging through my cluttered attic promises to be an exhausting adventure.” She nodded at Charlie when she finished speaking as though she forgave him for his bad manners.
Cora thought her brother’s offer to hitch up the horses and drive them into town a token of his redemption for making fun of her youngest sisters’ pie crust. Fern and Beth didn’t hold his teasing against him. In fact, they clamored to snuggle up on each side of him in the carriage, and let Mrs. Stribling and Cora take the back seat.
It wasn’t a terribly long ride to Mrs. Stribling’s home, the closest structure in Clover Creek to resemble a mansion. Charlie dropped his passengers off at the front of the home, saying he would go visit a friend for an hour or two rather than help search through a bunch of lady’s gowns. As he drove away, Mrs. Stribling and the girls climbed the wide stairs to the portico.
“A lot of people go through the back door into their homes,” Mrs. Stribling said, “but I prefer to go through my front door. I am an important guest in this home as much as anyone, don’t you think?”
Fern and Beth giggled and nodded their agreement as they rushed inside. Cora and Mrs. Stribling followed.
“Margie and Rose will surely appreciate the offer of your gowns,” Cora said. “They’ve had such a difficult life with no father around to care for them, and I’m so thrilled to see them have the opportunity to go into business for themselves.”
“As am I,” Mrs. Stribling said. “And it’s my pleasure to help them. I’ll never wear the gowns in my attic again.” She raised her brows at Cora and her sisters. “Unless, of course, a fine gentleman comes along to whisk me away to a big city ball. That’s what my Walter used to do when he was alive, but such affairs are only sweet memories now. Dancing and balls are not likely to happen again at my age. And besides, I’m too well-padded now to fit into the gowns we’re looking for!
“I’ve always admired Mrs. Howell for raising such a fine son and four hard-working daughters without the help of their vagabond father. I know Evan worked every job he could since he was five years old, and the girls have helped their mother clean, bake, and sew for people. With their penchant for hard work, the girls’ dress shop is bound to succeed.”
“I hope you’re right, Rolla,” Cora said.
Mrs. Stribling’s given name was Rollalinda, but she preferred the older Gardner girls call her by her childhood nickname of Rolla. She claimed that when they called her Mrs. Stribling it made her feel old, but when they called her Rolla, it made her feel like a young woman again.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Mrs. Stribling announced. “Let me change out of my Sunday clothes, and then I’ll work up the courage to attack that attic.”
Fern and Beth grinned at each other, both looking a little hesitant about spending time with Mrs. Stribling. They presented a loaf of bread and a jar of jam that their mother had sent along.
“Thank you, dear girls. You’re going to be fine young ladies, just like your mother and your older sisters. This bread and jam will sustain me for days after the ordeal that we are about to take on.”
The girls gave Cora quick glances as if they were getting worried about what they were about to do.
After Mrs. Stribling changed her clothes and returned to the parlor, she heaved a big sigh. “Now I feel like I could take on an army, and that is what we must do. There is an army of spiders up in my attic. I know because every once in a while, one or two of them gets confused and enters my domain down here. I try to capture the little beasts and throw them out the back door, but you know, sometimes that’s impossible. When that’s the case, they eventually end up facing my broom or the bottom of my shoe. I wonder if the spiders will ambush us today when we show up in what they consider to be their domain.”
Fern giggled and Beth’s eyes widened. Oh yes, Cora thought. What a fun afternoon the girls are in for. The younger girls in the Gardner family didn’t have as many personal experiences with Mrs. Stribling as the older girls did. Once Cora had matured and started cleaning for Mrs. Stribling, she quickly found that she adored the woman. Mrs. Stribling’s blunt, sometimes gruff ways simply added spice to their friendship.
Mrs. Stribling insisted on entering the attic first once the four of them reached the dark stairway to the third floor. “If the spiders attack, it’s me they want,” she said in what was a hushed tone for her. “I’m the one who has deprived them of their relatives.”
She paused again before her ascent and turned to the three willing workers who followed. “Now stomp your feet and sing, In the Good Old Summertime as loud as you can while we climb the stairs. Spiders are really chickens at heart. Once they know we’re coming with an army of our own, they’ll scatter. We may have to fight our way through their webs, but we won’t have to fight them.”
Fern and Beth covered their mouths, but they couldn’t stop more giggles as they prepared to go up the stairs. Cora barely suppressed a giggle herself.
Mrs. Stribling led the way, carrying a kerosene lantern, as she and the Gardner girls stomped and sang all the way up the stairs and into the attic. Cora carried a second lantern and brought up the rear.
Just as Mrs. Stribling had predicted, the spiders seemed to have retreated to the far corners and cracks of the attic. There were none to be seen. After wiping away a few spider webs, Mrs. Stribling placed her lantern on a flat trunk and proceeded to attempt opening another trunk nearby. “Cora dear, will you hold your lantern over this way? It’s no wonder I don’t come up here more often. It’s too dark to see what I’m doing up here, and too treacherous with a room full of spiders
. As soon as Clover Creek gets electricity, I plan to be the first customer. I’ll string lights all over my house, and especially here in the attic.”
Once Cora held the lantern and Mrs. Stribling got the trunk opened, Mrs. Stribling let out a whoop. “Oh, will you just look at this! My twenty-fifth wedding anniversary gown.” She scooped up the flowing silk gown and crushed it to her chest. “Oh, my goodness, I don’t know if I can part with this gown.”
Cora wondered if Mrs. Stribling would wax sentimental over every gown and dress in her trunks and change her mind about donating to the Howell sisters. She didn’t have to wonder for long.
“Here,” Mrs. Stribling said to Fern and Beth after she held the lovely pink gown close to her face for a few moments. “Take this down to the parlor and lay it on the sofa. This gown cost my dear husband a fortune. The fabric is still in pristine condition after all these years, and it will make some young lady a beautiful gown. Actually, there’s so much fabric here, perhaps it will make beautiful gowns for two young ladies. Be careful, now. Watch your footing on the stairs and hold the gown up high so it doesn’t drag on the floor.”
While the girls took the gown down to the parlor, Mrs. Stribling found three more gowns in the trunk. One was ivory, one seashell white, and one gold. She also found long white gloves, satin slippers that matched the gowns, and four sets of pearls. By the time Fern and Beth had carried each gown down to the parlor, Mrs. Stribling was fanning herself with one of the slippers.
“This will have to do for today,” Mrs. Stribling said. “The dust and heat up here are getting to me. Besides, we’re not making enough noise, and I have a feeling the spiders are considering a counter offensive.” She handed the gloves, slippers, and pearls to Cora to carry, and when she reached for her lantern, she gasped and instead reached behind it with shaking hands for a bundle of letters. The letters were tied together with string and sitting on top of another trunk.
“O-o-h, my sister’s letters . . .”
Winds of Change (The Surveyor's Daughters Book 4) Page 5