In her room, she opened the letter and read it. Yes! Maybe there was hope after all. Wanting to share the news, but not yet willing to share it with her mother, she went downstairs to show it to her father.
“Good for him,” her father said. “I don’t know whether he would be agreeable or not,” her father said. “I could help cover your trip back, if you decide that’s what you want to do.”
“Papa, that would be wonderful. I probably have enough of my own, but some reserve would be comforting,” she said.
“Would you marry there or here, Liebchen?” he asked. “Also, I think it’s time to let your mother in on your plans, don’t you?”
“Yes, I suppose it would be proper. She is my mother, although I’m afraid of what her reaction might be,” she said.
“She might surprise you,” he said.
“We’ll see, Papa. I’m going to tell her and then we’ll see…”
Chapter 8: Mama, I Have Something To Tell You
“Mama, can we talk?” Katerina asked.
“Yes, of course, you can always talk to me. You should know that,” her mother said.
“Mama, I’ve been writing to a man in Oregon for some time now. He’s a farmer, and he’s asked that we meet. I have told him it is too dangerous for a woman to travel unescorted.”
“I should hope so,” her mother replied.
“Anyway, since I couldn’t go there, I suggested he come here. He’s poor, but has his own farm and he says it is doing well. He is going to try to save enough to come to Columbus. I don’t know how long it might take, but, I’ll wait.
“Mama, when he comes, if we are compatible, we will be married and live in Oregon. I would plan on teaching there, as I do here. He completed school before claiming land for a homestead. He has 640 acres and grows wheat and strawberries..” She finally ran down after spewing forth all of the information.
“Does he go to church?”
“Yes, he does. He completed school in a Catholic school. He’s Irish and he’s Catholic,” Katerina said.
“That is certainly a lot of information to digest at once,” her mother said.
“I’ve been afraid to tell you about it until now. But it was time.”
“It’s a sad thing that we have gotten to where you don’t feel comfortable telling me about something so big in your life,” Marta said.
“I agree. I’d like to change that if I can,” Katerina said.
“I have always wanted you to get a good education and you have that. You’ve made me very proud. You have good work to do. I will look forward to meeting this young man of yours. When he comes, will he stay here?” her mother asked.
“Mama, could he?” she asked her mother. “I would so appreciate it.”
“It would seem we have time enough to prepare for a guest. You will help, of course?”
“Yes Mama, I will do all of the work. I won’t cause you any extra work.”
“It’s a mother’s work to help her daughter prepare to be married,” her mother said.
“We may not even get along in person. We may not be compatible or he might not even like me,” she said.
“Then he is a fool,” her mother said firmly.
* * *
“Dear Patrick, What a pleasant surprise to get another letter. After the last one, I did not expect another. I am most pleased by your efforts. I will help in any way I can. I have spoken with my parents about your upcoming (I hope!) visit. My mother insists you stay with us. Our apartment is over Papa’s shop, but we can make arrangements. Please keep me up to date on your plans.
Perhaps it is ill advised of me to tell you about this, but if I return with you to Oregon, you won’t have to worry about my fare. Papa says he will cover it. Do you think he is trying to rid himself of me? I hope not. As you may have surmised, I have not had the best of relationships with my mother. I think we have resolved that now. She is excited about your visit. Perhaps they are both trying to get rid of me? I think not. They only want the best for me.
I wish Oregon was not so far away. Have you ever seen the ocean? I have long dreamed of seeing one of the oceans. When I look at the atlas, I see it is less than 100 miles to the ocean. Do you think I might see it one day? I hope so. Do write back soon. Sincerely, (s) Katerina”
Waiting for a return letter was exquisite torture. Katerina was checking the mailbox before her letter had even had a chance to travel the distance to Oregon.
In fact, it didn’t make it at all.
Patrick waited, and waited, and waited. No answer came. At his parent’s farm for a Sunday dinner with the whole family, he told them, “I wrote Katerina and apologized for the previous letter, and told her I was going to attempt to visit, but didn’t know how long it would take. I asked her if she was agreeable, then please let me know. I guess she isn’t agreeable. I messed up big time.”
“Messed what up, little brother? Who is this Katerina you’re talking about?” asked James, the oldest of the boys.
“I wasn’t going to tell you yet, because I know you’ll tease me about it, but I’ve been writing to a lady from Ohio. I’ve invited her to visit and maybe marry, but it is too dangerous for her to travel,” Patrick said.
“That’s easily solved,” John said. “Go get her.”
“I can’t afford the tickets to go there and bring her back. I wrote and told her I was going to try and save the money and then come. She didn’t answer me, so I guess she’s given up and gone on,” Patrick said.
“You don’t know that,” James said. “Go, we’ll help, won’t we, John?”
“Of course. He’ll never hear the end of it, but I’ll help. If we didn’t love you, we wouldn’t tease you,” John said.
“If it works for you, I might try that route myself,” said James.
“I appreciate the offers but it appears the lady is no longer interested,” Patrick said.
“You’re a farmer. You should know if you want a bull to do something you take it by the horns. You need to take the bull by the horns, Patrick. Go. If worst comes to worst, you will at least have seen a good bit of the country. James and I saw a good bit, but we walked. There was no train then. Go,” John said.
“Well said, John, well said,” James responded.
Michael, the family patriarch had said nothing the entire evening. “I knew you boys would come through. I wanted Patrick to see how we pull together when one of us is in need. Your mother and I will help also. Patrick, I want you to get a Pullman ticket so you’ll get there in good shape.”
“Papa, that’s a waste of money. I can go coach and return Pullman,” Patrick said.
“Patrick, listen to your Papa. He makes sense,” his mother said.
“Yes, Mama.”
* * *
Columbus…
I wonder why, Patrick hasn’t answered my letter? Katerina sat by the window, her favorite spot and watched the traffic pass. I wonder if he even got it. I’ll wait a few more days, and try again.
Meanwhile, her mother had been busy making plans on how the apartment would be arranged for the visit. Katerina had not told her about the lack of an answer to her most recent letter, and decided to write another.
“Dear Patrick, I’m writing today to see if you have been able to make any plans regarding a visit. Please, please write back and let me know. As for me, I’m still teaching every day. I have only fifteen students this term. For the most part they are well behaved. Most of them are quite interested in learning. Some come to class because they are forced to by their parents. You can’t be forced to learn, though. That has to come from within. Please write. Sincerely. (s) Katerina.”
Now the wait begins…
Chapter 9: A Train To Columbus
Michael and Margaret Murphy took their son to the train station early Monday morning for the 9:00AM train to Chicago, where he would change to another that would take him on to Columbus. He would arrive in Columbus on Thursday at 1:00 in the afternoon. It was the first time he had been away
from home, and the first time he had been further than Oregon City since the family came over the Oregon Trail when he was five. He was seated by a window, and waved to his parents, as the giant engine belched smoke and cinders, amid a shower of sparks created by the big eight steel wheels spinning against the steel of the track. The train with its two huge engines pulled the eight passenger cars and the baggage cars out of the station.
The first evening on the train, he was fascinated by the process in which the conductor prepared the car for sleeping. He didn’t fall asleep immediately, his mind full of thoughts about what he was doing and how it might affect the rest of his life. Pretty soon, the clackety clack sound of the wheels on the track lulled him to sleep.
The trip was long, but not boring. Patrick spent a good portion of the daylight hours on the platform at the rear of his car. At times on some of the mountain stretches, he could see the end of his train and could see the winding path the train was taking around the mountain. When it went through a tunnel, there was stygian darkness, since the tunnels were not lighted. Another large portion was spent looking out of the window. He managed to strike up conversations with several of his fellow passengers. There were no women in his car. After the train passed through the mountains, there were miles and miles of nothingness, endless prairie stretching beyond the horizon.
When the train entered Chicago, Patrick was not prepared for the size and sprawl of the city. Even though it was just past midnight and most of the people was sleeping, there was still a buzz of activity. Passing by the stockyards, he could see the outlines of the hundreds of head of cattle awaiting slaughter. It was mind boggling to him. He left the train, and following the conductor’s direction, he found the train that was to carry him on to Columbus.
Compared to Oregon City, Columbus was large. Compared to Chicago, it was small. When the train came to a stop at the Columbus depot, Patrick gathered his carpet bag, and his Stetson and found a carriage for hire. He had Katerina’s address and paid the driver two dollars to convey him to that address, The driver stopped in front of a small shop that had “Shoes, Made and Repaired lettered on the window. He went inside.
A silver haired man wearing a leather apron stained with shoe polish approached the counter. “Yes, I can help you?” he asked.
“Yes sir, I hope you can,” Patrick said. “My name is Patrick Murphy and I’ve come from Oregon to see Katerina Hauser. Is this where I can see her?”
“Ach du lieber Gott,” the man exclaimed. You’re Patrick?”
“Yes, I am. Are you Katerina’s father?” he asked.
“Yes, I am her Papa. Katerina is at school now. She is usually not home until after four. Katerina works hard to help her students and stays late when one is having problems.”
“That sounds like her from her letters,” Patrick said. “Could I wait for her here? She doesn’t know I am here. I didn’t hear back from her after we talked about her coming to Oregon so I came here.”
“She has been upset since she didn’t receive an answer from her letter telling you to come. Her mother has been preparing for you to stay with us. Katerina checks the mail as she comes in, hoping for something from you. Let me call her mother down.” He went back to a door that opened to a stairway. Patrick could hear him calling out, “Marta, can you come down, please.”
He could hear someone descending the stairs. A stern, not unattractive woman, apparently in her middle to late forties came into the shop.
“What do you want,” she asked in an exasperated voice. “I was busy.”
“Marta, this young man is Katerina’s Patrick. He has come from Oregon to see her,” her shoemaker husband said.
“We didn’t know you were coming. You should have let us know,” she lectured.
“When I didn’t hear back from her, I decided to take the bull by the horns and come see her and persuade her to come to Oregon with me,” Patrick said.
“What is this bull, you speak of?” she asked.
“It’s an expression we use. It means, if you want it done, then do it yourself. She couldn’t come to me because of the dangers, so I came to her,” he said.
“She is going to be surprised. You will come upstairs with me, please?” She led the way up the stairs and to their living quarters, not looking back but with the full expectation he would follow. He did.
“So, your trip was good?” She pronounced the word “gut”.
“Yes, it was. It was interesting and educational. I haven’t been out of Oregon since we traveled there when I was five.”
“You are Irish, and Catholic?” she asked.
“Yes, my mother and father both came to America from Ireland and we are Catholic. I believe Katerina told me you are Lutheran?”
Steering away from private matters, she asked, “Katerina will be home soon. Would you like water, or milk?”
“I would like some water please,” he said.
“What is it like, Oregon?” she asked.
“Oregon City is less than 100 miles from the Pacific Ocean, but I have never seen it. It is nearly flat, but on a clear day we can see mountains.” Warming to his subject now, he said, “The land is good. It will grow anything. I grow wheat and strawberries. I would like to start growing apple trees too. There are many trees, so plenty of lumber to build with.”
“I believe I hear Katerina now,” she said.
The door to the apartment opened, Patrick stood, and…
Chapter 10: Katerina Meets Patrick
In walked the most beautiful girl Patrick had ever seen. She had long blonde hair, blue eyes and skin as smooth as porcelain. Patrick’s jaw dropped and he was momentarily speechless. “I’m…
I’m Patrick Murphy. You’re Katerina?”
“I am Katerina,” she said. “I didn’t get an answer to my last letter and I just mailed another two days ago. I thought you had given up.”
“Your last letter must have been lost in the mail. When I didn’t hear from you, I decided to take a chance and come ahead. If it’s a problem for you, I can go.”
Marta had discreetly left the room, but she listened outside the door. She heard her daughter say, “No, no, it’s not a problem. Mama has been preparing a place for you to stay. I’m so glad you came.” She put her hand on his wrist. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“Did you meet Papa?” she asked.
“Yes, I did. He seems like a really nice man. Reminds me some of my Papa. I could tell he cares about you very much.”
“He does, and he is my friend too. Are you tired? Would you like to take a walk?’ she asked.
“A walk would be nice. After sitting on a train for four days, I need to stretch my legs,” he said.
“It took you four days to get here?” she wondered.
“I left Oregon City Monday morning early, and got in two or three hours ago. It’s pretty incredible when you think I went about two thousand miles in four days and it took us five months from Indianapolis to Oregon City.”
“Who is caring for your farm?” she asked.
“My brothers, James and John, Papa too, probably. Papa and James live on the next farm over and John is not too far away.”
“It must have been nice growing up in a family with brothers and sisters,” she said wistfully.
“It was, they teased me terribly, but they cared and protected me too. We all get along well and have dinner at Papa’s a couple of times each month.” He laughed and said, “It was nice to get away from my diet of beans. Beans are about all I cook.”
“They must be good for you. You look healthy and you’re handsome, too,” she said.
He blushed. “Thank you. And you, you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”
It was her turn to blush. “Thank you. That’s very kind of you to say. I’ve never thought of myself as pretty. I’m too thin,” she said.
“No, you’re perfect,” he said.
She took his hand, and he immediately felt the warmth of it spread throughout his body
. He thought, She sure is nice. I like her already. They walked for thirty minutes before turning around and heading back to Katerina’s.
“Patrick, how long do you plan on staying?” she asked.
“As long as it takes,” he replied.
“As long as it takes for what?” she questioned.
“As long as it takes to convince you to come back with me.”
“That might not take very long,” she said softly.
In Search Of Love: The Story of A Mail Order Bride (Mail Order Bride Series) Page 4