by Zina Abbott
The woman ate fast, like she wanted to get away. At the last minute, she turned to face Etta. “I saw you come into town with the others today. It was rather brisk this afternoon. Don’t you have anything warmer to wear than that calico dress and shawl?”
Etta dropped her eyes to her plate and shook her head. “No. I figure as soon as my husband is able, I’ll see about buying some heavy wool to make a coat. My ma gave me this shawl. It keeps me right toasty.”
“What do you have to get married in?”
Etta shrugged. “What I got on. Figured I’d wash it up tonight and ask Mrs. Howard if I can borrow a wrapper while I iron it tomorrow.”
The woman raised an eyebrow. “This is all you have?”
Embarrassed, Etta kept her eyes on her plate. “Yes. I still got some of the money I was sent. I hope to buy a length for another dress, but I don’t have no time to get it made up by Sunday.”
“You can sew, can you?”
Amazed at such a silly question, Etta raised her head and nodded. After all, didn’t all women know how to sew?
“Wait here.” Sarah pointed at the table with that imperious manner of hers. Next, she turned and walked up the stairs.
Etta had no intention of going anywhere. She had made an effort to not appear too piggish as she dished food on her plate, and she intended to eat every bite of it. Although Lizett Millard had fed the women well the night before and this day, her body was still screaming of hunger after the long days on the train with limited food. Once Etta finished her supper, she intended to snag the last piece of bread left in the basket if one of the men didn’t grab it first.
Etta’s eyes lit up with admiration as she watched Sarah descend the stairs carrying a bright blue wool dress in her arms. It was an older style of gown, one piece with bone buttons down the front. She reached out, itching to rub the fabric between her fingers when Sarah handed the gown to her, intending her to take it.
“This gown has never fit me right, plus it’s too short. I think if you can hem it and shorten the bodice, plus take it in at the side seams, you might get it to fit you.”
Etta sucked in her breath. “You mean for me to have this? You don’t want me to try to fix it so it fits you better?”
Sarah waved off her offer. “No. I have other outfits more stylish. Although this isn’t the height of fashion, perhaps you can alter it to suit you in time for the dance tomorrow night. I’ll be going to the mercantile immediately after breakfast tomorrow and can pick up some thread and needles if you don’t have any with you.”
Their landlady, Clara Howard, who had joined them to get a better look at the royal blue wool garment, answered for Etta. “I have a needle and some dark thread to help get her started. I even have some straight pins I can use to fit it to her and hold the fabric in place until she gets it sewn. We can work on it tonight after I clean up.”
Etta turned to Mrs. Howard. “Honestly? You’ll help fit the dress to me? I’d be right pleased to wash your dishes soon as I finish supper.” Then, remembering her manners, she turned back to her benefactor. “I’m much beholden to you, Miss Brown. This means a powerful lot to me, having a nice dress for the dance. Assuming things work out and all, I’ll be right proud to be married in such a pretty gown. Thank you kindly.”
Sarah had waved off Etta’s words of gratitude as if her gift had been insignificant. She spoke her farewells to Etta and Clara Howard before she climbed the stairs to her room. Etta hurried to finish her supper so she could help her hostess clear the table and wash dishes, the slice of bread one of the men had grabbed before she could get to it forgotten.
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CHAPTER 12
~o0o~
After dishes were finished, Clara Howard had insisted Etta take her turn in the bath tub while she washed Etta’s cotton dress. Once Etta emerged from the bathing room dressed in a clean chemise and drawers and wrapped in the damp bath sheet, she and Clara entered Etta’s room. Etta ducked behind the privacy screen and donned her two petticoats—one wool and the cotton one next to her skin to keep the wool from causing her to itch. While she was doing that, Clara turned the gown inside out and hung it on the top of the screen for Etta to put on.
Etta walked out, holding up the hem of the gown so she did not trip over it. Sarah Brown had claimed the gown was too short for her, but it was still too long for Etta. Clara pinned the side and back seams so the bodice fit better, used two pins to extend the front darts and marked how much of the bodice to take up above the gathers of the skirt so the waist of the dress fit Etta’s waist.
“Etta, if I were you, I think I’d leave the fabric where it is rather than cut it off and resew it. The seams are wide enough even before you take this in that you can let the dress out quite a bit once you find yourself with child. The extra length in front, especially, will help the gown fit over an expanding waistline.”
Clara Howard’s words caused a shiver of excitement to course through Etta. Assuming Eddie Joe decided to marry her, she could possibly be a mother by this time next year. Although she would be her biggest during the warm weather where she might prefer to wear a cotton gown, still the warmer dress would be perfect for those early months when she would put on some weight without showing much.
Next, Clara marked where Etta should fold the fabric so the hem was at the right length for her. She gave a needle and a partial spool of dark thread to Etta. “Don’t stay up all night working on this, Etta. You’ll still have time in the morning.”
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CHAPTER 13
~o0o~
After those miners who worked the half-day shift on Saturdays left after breakfast, and most of the women left the table, Etta proudly told Clara that between the night before and that morning, she had the sides and waist sewn and a quarter of the bottom hemmed before she ran out of thread. “I got a little money left from that which was sent me. Figure after I help with dishes, I’ll go to the mercantile next door to replace what I used of yours and buy my own to finish.”
“You don’t need to help with dishes, Etta. You just worry about getting that dress ready for tonight. You might want to have it done as soon as possible in case your groom gets into town early and comes looking for you first thing.”
Etta was going to insist on helping with dishes until her landlady brought up the possibility Eddie Joe might come for her before the dance. She finished her meal and took an armload of dishes to the kitchen before she found her money she had squirreled away in her tow sack and left for the mercantile.
Once inside Brinks Mercantile, Etta was ready to pay for her purchases when Sarah Brown entered the store.
Sarah smiled as she viewed Etta’s purchase. “I see you found your thread to finish the gown.”
“Yes. Got me my own packet of needles, too, and some straight pins.” Etta held up her right hand with her fingers splayed. A metal thimble adorned her middle finger. “Got me a real thimble, too, instead of no rawhide like I always used before.”
“Good for you.” Sarah’s voice lacked enthusiasm as she turned her attention to Etta’s hair. “You must have washed your hair last night.”
Self-consciously, Etta reached up and grabbed one of the flyaway locks that floated at the side of her face. “I did. Takes a couple days after I wash it for my hair to settle down so it don’t blow around so.”
Etta paid for her purchases and left the mercantile. For all that Sarah Brown had been nice to her and gifted her with the dress, the woman who was only a few years older than she was intimidated her. She knew her fine hair was thin and would not stay where it was put once it dried from the water she used to try to style it. Going without much to eat most of the time she had been with Buford had made the matter worse. Even though she had worked hard these past two months helping her brother, she had eaten better food and more of it. It had helped her fill out a little and helped with her hair. Stil
l, her hair had never been easy to manage.
A small, mean-spirited, envious part of Etta hoped Eddie Joe didn’t see or meet Sarah Brown. Etta knew if he saw her and Sarah side by side, he would choose Sarah hands down. She dressed beautifully. Her rich, thick hair was always styled in the height of fashion beneath her expensive hats. There was no way Etta could compete with someone like Sarah Brown and come out the winner in any man’s eyes.
Back in her room hemming her dress, Etta jerked upright in surprise at the knock on her door. She opened it to find Sarah on the other side.
“Etta, I brought you a few things. Consider them a wedding gift.” Sarah held out a length of lace. “Perhaps you can tack this to the collar somehow to add a little something. I’ve always felt that neckband was a little too plain.” Next, she held up a length of thin, black grosgrain ribbon. “You may want to wear this around your neck so the bow rests over the top button. Keep the loops of the bow small and the tails longer—it will look better.”
Almost speechless, Etta stumbled over her words as she reached for the gifts Sarah had brought her. “Thank you kindly, Sarah. I know just how I’ll fix this lace to the collar. And I’ll do what you said with the ribbon. This is right nice of you.”
“I hope it dresses up your gown a little. You want to look your best for your ranch foreman. One other thing. I need to hurry to an appointment, but perhaps you can find someone to help you with your hair.” Sarah held up two good-sized horn combs. “Perhaps Mrs. Howard can find a dab of oil somewhere to tamp down the hair that likes to fly around. These combs are yours. Hopefully, they will hold your hair in place. I know I can’t make my hair behave without my combs.”
Etta barely got out a thank you before Sarah hurried away from her room. She stared at the combs in her hands. Most of the time, she had been lucky to have twine or rawhide strips to tie off the ends of her braids, or hairpins to hold a bun in place. She had never owned her own set of hair combs before. Perhaps, after she completed the dress, Clara Howard could show her how to put the combs in her hair so hopefully it would stay in place.
Etta had finished the royal blue gown and put it on to admire herself in the mirror. She ran the tip of her finger across edge of the lace that peeked out from the inside of the stand-up collar. Next, she flattened the tails of the ribbon against the fabric. Sarah had been right. Tying it with long tails gave the dress a nice stylish look. The way Etta had used tiny stitches to tack the ribbon around the bottom of the neckband to hold it in place had worked out well.
Startled by the knock on her door, Etta jerked and hurried to see who had come to visit her this time.
Clara Howard stood outside in the hall. “Etta, Mr. Hampton has arrived in town and wishes to meet you. Is your dress ready?”
Etta opened the door wider. “Come in, Mrs. Howard. I just now finished. It don’t look too bad, does it?” Etta held her skirt out to the sides and twirled in place.
“It looks lovely, Etta. You did a wonderful job. I love the lace and ribbon.”
Etta reached up and fingered her neckline. “Sarah brought these for me.” Then Etta’s expression turned to one of panic. “She brought me combs, too, but I don’t know the best way to do my hair to make them stay. She said maybe you have some oil or something to help not look so windblown.”
Clara left to get some oil to dress Etta’s hair, and then helped her pin her bun in place and capture the flyaway locks in the combs. “Don’t worry about the little hairs on your neck. They won’t hurt anything. Now, I’ll carry your shawl down and place it on the arm of the settee so he can meet you for the first time in your pretty dress. Just be sure to pick up the shawl before you leave. After that snow yesterday, it’s a bit nippy out today.”
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CHAPTER 14
~o0o~
Five minutes into waiting for Etta to make her appearance, Eddie Joe rose from the settee in the Howard’s guest parlor where he had been tapping his fingers against his thighs and began to pace. He folded his arms only to realize he now tapped his hand against his elbow. Suddenly, he stopped as the question popped in his mind. What was wrong with him? Facing something new did not normally faze him. He usually took things in stride, using a combination of wit, charm and outright balderdash to get him through any sticky situation.
However, this involved meeting a woman—one who would be his wife if she would have him. Not the same.
Eddie Joe moved to the entry as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Last time had just been Mrs. Howard, but hopefully, this time she would be bringing his intended with her. His face split into a grin as a woman in blue came into view. Etta had told him the truth about her being small. But this was no child before him. The muscles she had built up working to help her brother bring in his harvest showed through her form.
Eddie Joe’s eyes scoured her face as she stepped on the floor and approached. The glow of her skin testified she had spent time out in the sun. He found her blue eyes that stared at him captivating.
Mrs. Howard’s introduction grabbed his attention. He nodded in acknowledgement. No doubt about it—Eddie Joe liked what he saw. “Pleased to meet you, Etta.”
Etta smiled wide, then immediately clapped her hand to her left cheek. Red flooded her face, and she looked away in embarrassment. She turned back, her smile more subdued and her voice soft. “Likewise, Eddie Joe.”
After Eddie Joe asked Etta to walk with him and bade Mrs. Howard goodbye, he helped her put her shawl on her shoulders. Once the two were outside, Eddie Joe turned to her with concern. “Etta, do you have a coat—something warmer than this shawl?”
Etta shook her head. “This shawl is right warm for now. I still have some of the money you sent, but I figured on making sure you don’t need clothes made before I go buying wool to make me a coat.”
“That money was for you to buy what you need for you. These here are my town clothes, and I have plenty of work clothes.”
Etta glanced over his leather duster-length coat, his leather vest over his shirt, clean pants and sturdy boots. His hat must be the one he kept for best, because it didn’t look all misshaped like hats tended to get when used for work. She also noted a holster and pistol on his hip, something she hadn’t seen on most of the men in Jubilee Springs. “I didn’t know, and I figured it safest to make certain first.”’
Eddie Joe grinned at her. “That’s right thoughtful of you, Etta, but that’s not how it’s supposed to work. A man provides for his wife, not the other way around.”
Etta stared at him in surprise. “In my family, the women always made sure their men had clothes before they worried about their own.”
“We’ll keep us both dressed. Another thing, I saw where you covered the side of your mouth when you smiled. Those two teeth missing are the ones your first husband knocked out, aren’t they?” At her nod, he continued. “I don’t mind your missing teeth, Etta. The rest look strong and healthy. I hope you can get comfortable enough around me you don’t feel like you have to hide them.”
Etta felt a great wave of relief wash over her at his words. It meant a lot that he didn’t look down on her because of the big gap in the side of her mouth. “Thank you. I still feel out of sorts since I been talking funny now I don’t have those teeth.”
Eddie Joe’s forehead wrinkled with confusion. He had figured her manner of speech was because of where she had grown up, not due to her losing two teeth.
“Ma says I got a lisp now.”
Eddie Joe smiled with understanding. He leaned towards her, and his breath tickled her ear. “No one here will notice if you don’t tell them. I like the way you talk.”
At the mercantile, Eddie Joe coaxed a reassured Etta into choosing enough heavy gray wool to make her a knee-length coat and also had her choose buttons and thread. When Mrs. Brinks suggested she get another fabric for a liner, he convinced her buy some of that, too.
Eddie Joe also added some basic food
items to his order, asking what kind of fruit and vegetables in the airtights she liked. After getting a supply of peaches, stewed tomatoes and some dried apple slices to go with the flour, corn meal and other staples, he led Etta back to the buckboard he had parked in front of the mercantile. As he walked out with his first load, Etta followed with her package of fabric. He formed his first frown of the afternoon at the sight of six of his ranch hands gathered around the box of the wagon.
Eddie Joe dropped the barrel into the bed of the buckboard and turned to his men. “What are you galoots doing here? I thought I told you to find something to do until time for the dance that didn’t involve getting drunk.”
Several of them shrugged as the one named Cletus spoke for them all. “Ain’t much to do without getting drunk. Problem with these miners is not all of them are real welcoming to outsiders playing cards in their bars or talking to their…ah…women of the night.” Cletus lifted his hat and tipped his head towards Etta. “Begging your pardon, ma’am.”
Another cowhand nudged Cletus. “It’s miss. He ain’t married her yet.”
Eddie Joe didn’t say anything, and Etta chose not to correct the man. If the men had not been told she was a widow, she would not enlighten them. It was up to Eddie Joe to tell them what he wanted them to know. Besides, in spite of the gift of fabric for a coat, she dare not take it for granted he had decided to marry her.
Eddie Joe scowled at the men. “You find yourselves something to do, because you’re not trailing us for the afternoon. I’ll finish loading this buckboard and take it to Johnny B. for safekeeping. After that, I plan to take my intended for something to eat.”
Norbert, the carpenter who had done the majority of the work on his new house, nodded towards the bundle just behind the seat of the buckboard. “We all packed grub for supper and breakfast Cooksie sent with us, but it looks like Juanita packed a big picnic lunch. You inviting us to share, Boss?” The grin on his face told Eddie Joe he was teasing.