Caleb

by Christine Sterling

  “You’re on the second floor,” the clerk called as they headed down the hallway.

  Caleb found the stairs next to a small dining room.

  He removed Lydia’s arm from around his neck and leaned her against the wall. “Can you walk up the stairs?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  He reached in his pocket and handed the key to Hart. “Can you read what number that is?”

  Hart looked at the key. “Ten?”

  “Good job. I need you to go find room ten and open the door.” Hart scrambled up the stairs in search of the correct room. “Come on, sweetheart,” Caleb said softly, scooping Lydia up in his arms. She moaned slightly and wrapped her arms around his neck, placing her head against his chest.

  “You smell good,” she said giving a little giggle.

  “I smell like cattle and dirt and old cowboys.”

  “And leather mixed with cotton and sunshine,” she whispered. “I love you.”

  Caleb froze. He remembered what the doctor said. That her notion of them being married was probably protecting her from whatever happened. He didn’t know what to say, so without thinking, he blurted out the only words in his mind. “I love you too.”

  Why on earth had he just said that?

  Caleb kicked himself as he carried her up the rest of the steps and down the hall to a room with the number ten in bright painted letters on the door. Hart already had the door opened and was proceeding to climb on top of the bed.

  “Hart, don’t do that,” Caleb said. “You need a bath first.”

  “Did you see how big this room is? Why it is larger than our bedroom back home!” Hart raced to the window. “I can see the entire street from up here.”

  Caleb gently put Lydia in a large winged chair. “Stay here, honey,” he said softly to her, removing her arm from around his neck. Lydia’s head rolled to the side as she leaned it up against the side of the chair.

  “What’s wrong with her?” a woman’s voice asked from behind him.

  Caleb turned to see a young woman in a green dress covered with an apron standing at the door. Her hair was pinned underneath a small white cap.

  “Nothing. She’s tired. May I help you?”

  “I came to see if you were ready for your bath?”

  “Yes please.”

  The woman looked around the room. “Don’t you have any luggage?”

  Caleb was growing impatient. “No. We don’t. Is that a requirement?”

  “Oh no,” the woman said. “I was just trying to figure out where to put the tub.”

  “Right here is fine,” Caleb said pointing to the floor.

  The woman disappeared into the hallway and he heard her dragging something heavy down the wooden floor. He poked his head out to see her tugging on a large copper tub with a high back. Without speaking, Caleb went and grabbed the far end of the tub and assisted her in getting it in the room.

  “Thank you,” the maid replied. She left the room, returning a few minutes later with a pot of hot water. She repeated the process until the tub was half-filled. “Is there anything else?”

  “She’ll need soap and a towel.”

  “Right over there by the washbasin.”

  “Thank you. Can you point me in the direction of the bathhouse? I need to clean up as well.”

  “That’s halfway down on the other side of the road. Can’t miss it. Has a big placard with a razor on it.”

  “And the mercantile. I need to get her a new dress.”

  “Two buildings past that.”

  He reached in his pocket and pulled out a nickel, placing it in the woman’s hands.

  “Thank you, sir!” she said excitedly. “When you are ready to have the tub emptied just let me know.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Just call me Molly.”

  “Thank you, Molly,” Caleb said shutting the door behind her. Hart was still busy looking out the window, taking in the sights of the town. Caleb knelt in front of Lydia. Her eyes were closed. “Hey,” he said softly, touching her arm.

  Her eyes flitted open. This was the first time Caleb had a chance to look at them without the blood pooling in the whites. Her green eyes stood out against the bruises that were beginning to fade. “Hi,” she said softly.

  “The maid came by with a bath. It is still a bit too hot.” Lydia nodded. “I’m going to go get cleaned up and then I’ll take you out to dinner if you are feeling up to it.”

  “Alright,” Lydia said softly.

  “Do you need help bathing?”

  Lydia shook her head and winced. “No. I’m just moving slowly. I’ll be alright.”

  There was a knock on the door. Caleb walked over to find Molly at the door again with two mason jars filled with cold tea. He took the tea and walked back to Lydia handing her one of the jars. “Hart, do you want this?”

  Hart looked at the dark liquid and wrinkled his nose. “I’ll wait until dinner. Can I have milk?”

  “I’m sure they serve milk.” Caleb took a sip from the jar. It wasn’t bad. He preferred coffee and he preferred it scorching. The only time he ever drank tea was when Marmee insisted, and that was usually when he had a cold. He took another sip. He would have to mention this to Marmee, trying it cold might be something she would enjoy.

  Lydia drained her jar without taking a breath. “Oh my, I was thirsty.”

  “Would you like some more?” Caleb asked, holding his jar out to her.

  Lydia nodded and took the jar, hesitantly sipping from it. She put the empty jar and the partially full one on the side table. “I’ll finish it shortly, thank you.”

  “Will you be alright if Hart and I go out?”

  Lydia removed her bonnet and tossed it on the floor. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  “Alright. Molly knows where we are going, so if you need anything tell her to come and get me.”

  “I will.” Lydia turned to Hart. “Give Momma a kiss before you go.”

  Caleb watched as Hart ran into his mother’s arms and she kissed his forehead.

  “Don’t let anything happen to him,” she said.

  Caleb paused. “Do you remember him as your son?”

  Lydia rubbed her head. Caleb could see the dried blood in her hair start to flake. “Of course, I do. Now go. I’ll be right here.”

  Hart grabbed Caleb’s hand and pulled him towards the door. “Let’s go.”

  Caleb took one last glance at Lydia, who was still sitting in the chair, before pulling the door closed behind him.

  Chapter 9

  It didn’t take long for them to find the bathhouse. Just as Molly said there was a placard of a razor over the door. Caleb looked at the price list in the window.

  Baths … ten cents.

  Hot baths… twenty cents.

  Shave… ten cents.

  Haircut… ten cents.

  Mustache trim… five cents.

  Caleb scratched his cheek. He hadn’t shaved because facial hair protected against the sun. Perhaps he would go ahead and get a shave.

  He held the door open, shuffling Hart inside. A cowboy leaned back in the chair with towels on his face. A man in an apron that had Clyde embroidered on the front was removing towels from a pot of hot water. He spied Caleb entering and draped the towel over the cowboy’s face and moved towards the door.

  “What can I do for you, stranger? Need a bath and a shave?”

  “I need two baths.”

  “Fresh water?”

  “I’d prefer that, especially if I’m paying for it.”

  “Hot or Cold?”

  “Hot.”

  “That will be twenty cents each.”

  “I’ll have a shave and if you can trim up his hair,” he said, ruffling Hart’s long mane.

  “Yep. That will be ten cents. No charge for the boy. Need about twenty minutes and the tubs will be ready.”

  “I appreciate that.” Caleb handed sixty cents to the barber. “We are going to go to
the mercantile. I need to pick up a few things and then we’ll be back.”

  “Take your time,” the man said. “Tubs will be waiting.”

  Caleb ushered Hart back on the street and they walked down to the building boasting the best prices in town.

  “What are we here for?” Hart asked.

  “I need to check on my supply order and we have got to get some clean clothes.”

  Hart rubbed his dirty hands down the front of his shirt. “What’s wrong with these?”

  “Well, they could probably walk away on their own if you let them and you want to smell like a gentleman when we take your momma to dinner tonight.”

  “Are we going out to eat?” Hart’s eyes grew wide.

  “Yes. I figured it would be nice to have a hot meal that wasn’t cooked on the trail.”

  “But I like Tot’s cooking.”

  Caleb laughed. “I’ll be sure to tell him.”

  They walked into the store and passed barrels filled with all sorts of goods. There were glass containers lined up on the counters filled with licorice whips, gumdrops, sugar candy on a string, and horehound drops. Hart looked at the jars and Caleb saw the boy licking his lips.

  “We can come back and look at those,” he said.

  There was a barrel filled with stick horses and wooden pistols.

  Wooden crates filled with bottles of sarsaparilla were stacked on each other and canned peaches lined one of the walls.

  Caleb walked over to where premade clothing was laid out on a table. He picked up a linen shirt and a pair of dark wool pants for Hart. Adding a union suit and socks to the pile, he set them aside. He then picked out a cotton shirt and dark pants, along with a string tie and fresh undergarments for himself. He carried the items to the counter.

  An elderly lady was standing behind the counter. She greeted them with a smile. “Looks like you picked out some nice things.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Caleb said. “We’d like to purchase these, but I’m not done yet.”

  “Mr. Chapman,” the shopkeeper said. “Your order is ready to go.”

  “I’ll have my men come by in the morning to pick it up.”

  “Are you doing some more shopping?”

  “Yes. I need to get some clean clothes and a few other things.”

  “Look, Caleb!” Hart said. “They have cowboy hats.” He pointed to a display behind a glass counter.”

  “I need a cowboy hat. And a dress.”

  “Well I can help the boy pick out a hat and the missus can help you with the dress.”

  “Much obliged.” He tipped his hat towards the woman.

  Hart followed the shopkeeper to the display of hats.

  “What a nice boy,” the shopkeeper’s wife said.

  “He is.”

  “Must be about six or seven.”

  “Must be,” Caleb said thoughtfully. Truthfully, he didn’t know how old Hart was.

  “So, you need a dress? Are you looking for a day dress? A Sunday meeting dress?”

  “A day dress would be fine. I’d like a shawl to go with it.”

  “We have some nice premade dresses here. Came from California.” She directed Caleb to a rack with about a dozen dresses on it. “Do you have a color preference?”

  Caleb thought about Lydia and her bright eyes. “Green.”

  The woman rummaged through the items on display and pulled out a green poplin with little pink roses on it. It had a white-collar with tatting on the edges. “This is a lovely dress. There is plenty of room if your wife wants to wear padding.” His wife. The words stopped Caleb. “Is everything alright, sir? Did I say something wrong?”

  Caleb shook his head. “Everything is fine. That green one is pretty. I’ll take that. And if you have one about the same size in a different color.”

  “What about yellow? Yellow is very pretty.”

  “It is, but not practical. We are traveling, so I need something that won’t show much dirt.”

  “How about a skirt then? We have some lovely skirts in darker colors. You can pair it with a linen blouse.” The woman held up a skirt in deep burgundy and another in brown.”

  “I’ll take them both.” His head was starting to hurt. He knew nothing about women’s clothes.

  “Will you need…?” The woman tilted her head towards a display of undergarments. She must have seen the look on Caleb’s face as she patted his hand. “Do you need me to pick them out?”

  He tugged on his collar and nodded. Was it hot in the store? He thought of Lydia in the lacy undergarments and he felt a flush sweep across his cheeks. He quickly pushed the thoughts from his mind as he studied the display of candy.

  “I’ll take a nickel worth of gumdrops and give me a pound of those chews.” He wondered if Lydia liked gumdrops. He would have to ask Hart.

  The woman nodded. “I’ll meet you at the counter then.” Caleb left her to pick out undergarments for Lydia. He went and joined Hart who was having fun trying on all the different cowboy hats. He finally settled on one made from tan leather with a dark leather cord around the crown.

  “Do you like it, Caleb?”

  “I sure do, buckaroo. You look like a real cowboy.” He nodded to the shopkeeper. “We’ll take that as well.”

  “He can wear it if he wants,” the shopkeeper said.

  “Can I, Caleb?”

  Caleb nodded. “I need to get a few other things,” he said. He wandered around the store adding more items to the pile. When he was done, he pulled out a few bills. “How much do I owe you?”

  The woman tallied up the items. “I added a few strings of licorice. I know all boys love licorice.”

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Caleb said. As she totaled the items Caleb looked against the back wall. “Can I take a can of peaches as well?”

  “That will be eighteen dollars and sixty-four cents. Are you going to take all of this with you?”

  “Just the clothes for me and the boy. The rest can I have delivered to the hotel?”

  “Of course. Let me wrap up your clothes first.”

  Caleb paid the woman and put the packages with their new clothes under his arm. “Come on, Hart, we need to get going.”

  “I’ll have those packages over shortly,” she called after them.

  Caleb waved to the woman as he led Hart back to the bathhouse.

  When they arrived, the man showed them to an area of a large room that was divided by a curtain.

  There was a chair and two steaming tubs of water.

  “I didn’t fill the one for the boy. There is a bucket of cold water if you need to cool it down.”

  Caleb thanked the man and put the clean clothes on the chair. The man left, pulling the curtain behind him.

  “Check the water, Hart.”

  Hart put his hand in the water and yanked it back out. “It is really hot.”

  Caleb added the cool water to the tub and stirred it around. “It should be fine now.”

  They quickly undressed and Caleb sank into the large copper tub, leaning back against the back. He gave a little sigh as the warmth began to loosen his muscles. He heard Hart give an exaggerated sigh and lean back as well. Caleb gave a little laugh.

  He sat for a few minutes, just enjoying the feel of the water. He could fall asleep if he wasn’t careful. When he felt some of the dirt float off him, he quickly dunked under the water to wet his hair. There was a piece of soap on a board across the tub, along with a nail brush and a washcloth.

  Caleb quickly soaped his hair and started scrubbing the dirt from his skin. It didn’t take long for the water to turn the color of the creek after a bad storm. He noticed Hart was mimicking everything he did. The boy still had soap in his hair and was using the washcloth to wipe across his neck. There was still enough dirt on the boy to grow potatoes.

  Caleb scrubbed his nails and feet and then quickly ducked under the water again to rinse his hair. He noticed a bucket of clean water next to the bath. He stood and dumped the water on his head to get the las
t remnants of dirt and soap off his skin and scalp.

  Hart stood to do the same.

  “You need to get all that dirt off you,” Caleb said, “before using the clean water.” Hart plopped down in the tub once more.

  Caleb quickly dried off with the towel the shop provided and dressed in his new union suit. It felt good to have clean clothes on. He didn’t even want to pick up the dirty ones from the floor. He then walked over to Hart’s tub. Taking the cloth on the board over the tub, Caleb lathered it and scrubbed Hart’s face, neck, and behind his ears. He gave Hart’s hair a once over and checked the boy’s nails and feet.

  Caleb motioned for Hart to dunk under the water. When he came back up Caleb had the bucket for the final rinse. Hart put his hand over his eyes while Caleb poured the cool water over him.

  When he was done, Caleb grabbed a second towel and wrapped it around the boy before picking him up out of the tub. “Dry yourself and get dressed in your new clothes.”

  “What are you going to do with the old ones?’”

  “We’ll wash them tomorrow. They’ll be dry before we leave.”

  “How long are we staying?”

  “Just tonight. Tomorrow night we’ll go back to the wagon.”

  “So, we are staying with you?”

  Caleb hesitated and then nodded. “Yes. You are staying with me.”

  Hart quickly hugged Caleb around the legs. “I’m glad.”

  “Let’s finish up so we can get back to the hotel to see your Ma. She’s probably done by now.”

  They left the shop clean-shaven, with their hair trimmed and sporting some fancy cologne that Clyde insisted they try. Even Hart had a little splash of it.

  When they got back to the hotel the clerk raced around the counter. “The sheriff dropped off a telegram for you and you need to get upstairs immediately.”

  Before Caleb could ask, he heard a sound that could only be described as a wounded animal. It pierced right to his soul.

  “That sounds like Ma,” Hart said.

  Caleb didn’t think twice before running to the stairs and taking them two at a time to the second floor. Molly was standing in the doorway, her arms filled with the packages from the store. She was repeatedly apologizing as he raced to the room.

  “What happened?”