Author's Chapter Notes:
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Robin and Gabriel’s days consisted of being woken up by a rooster at the crack of dawn. The first morning they heard it, it scared them to death and then laughed without stopping, still shaking in their boots. They would wash up and get dressed and tend to everything the farm entailed. They did everything from planting, to plowing, to using horse manure as fertilizer. They worked from sun up to sun down and at first it was hard. They weren’t used to this kind of work. Gabriel had more experience on the stage, of course and Robin was a little weaker out of the two, skinnier too. His strength was in the books and philosophy. He was a school boy at heart, always wanting to learn, always wanting to find a way to move forward. The first few nights the two would suffer through what McNamara called “Charlie horses”. The pain was unbearable but soon they were used to the work, rising before the sun and laying their heads on the pillows well after the sun had set. The two were grateful for a job, they would do anything and they were glad that it was this. They got their first paycheck on the 1st of every month. Gabriel and Robin each sent $25 home to Salomi and Ruth and they patted themselves on the back as they put the envelopes of money in the mail box. They wished they could see the women’s faces when they opened it. They would probably open it, expecting another letter since the two devoted themselves to writing everyday.
“Even though we push around horse shit, this was a good idea, this is going to make us a great investment”Robin said as they walked back to the main house for dinner. The two had requested Beths famous chili and cornbread and she didn’t mind making it. McNamara didn’t care, as long as she was there and cooking. She worked hard as well, tending to the animals more than anything, but she was a hard worker. He was blessed to have her.
One night it was a little warmer than usual and Beth had made some lemonade and was sitting out on the porch, holding a very fat cat in her lap and stroking its tail as it purred. Robin was inside talking to McNamara about politics, but this time Gabriel didn’t want any part in the conversation. He just wanted Roosevelt to be president so he could go home. He felt that was his only ticket back. He sat next to Beth and she poured him a glass of lemonade. “Thanks..its warm out tonight”
She nodded,”I love it, it will be the first of many. The groundhog didn’t see his shadow….so you know what that means”
Gabriel stared at her with a blank face,”No…actually I don’t” It must be some small town Kansas tradition or something
“You don’t know about Groundhog Day?”she asked with a laugh,”Doesn’t everyone?”
“No”he said with a laugh, feeling a little foolish. “What does it mean? When the groundhog doesn’t see his shadow?”
“It means winter will soon end”she said,”If he does, it will be 6 weeks of more winter. Thank God he didn’t, it can get pretty cold out here”
“Oh I know”Gabriel said
“Im sorry you two have to stay out in that little shack-“
“Its fine. We make the best of it. Ive been colder…Ive been frozen before”he admitted
“Whats New York like?”she asked. Ever since the two came, she has been fascinated about the big city. She’s lived on this farm all her life.
“Like everyone says it is. Big, fast….I don’t know. Its hard to describe because Ive lived it since I was 17. There’s always something going on, theres always someone new to meet. It used to be fun….but now….”he said and stopped. New York was different now. New York seemed like the land of opportunity when he had gotten there after he found out his grandmother passed. And it was for about 15 years or so but now, it was like nothing was there for him. But he didn’t want to give up on her.
Beth sensed that he didn’t want to talk about New York, so she changed the subject,”You didn’t live there all your life? Where were you before you hit 17?”she asked him
“Im originally from Tennessee. Born in a small town outside of Memphis”he said, it was funny, its like he forgot about it. He forced himself to forget Tennessee since there was nothing there for him anymore. His parents, grandmother and Adam were all gone.
“Did you live on a farm?”she asked with a laugh
“No…but close to many. I used to help out on some of them but it was little things like picking strawberries and walking the dogs. I wasn’t interested”
“You were interested in the Big Apple?”she asked him
“No…I was interested in the circus”he admitted. She laughed,”Im serious. My friend and I, his name was Adam. We could do many tricks, we were such clowns, literally. He could juggle anything and do acrobatics. I have an uncanny talent for picking things up with my teeth”
Beth gasped,”My lord. Like what?”she asked
“Chairs, tables…furniture really”he said. “The circus came to town many times and we showed each troupe what we could do but at 15 we were finally discovered and we became Carnies-“
“Whats a Carnie?”she asked
“Oh that’s what they call circus folks. They spend all their time at the carnival…Carnie….”
“Oh I get it”she said with a smile,”Can you still do it?”she asked him. This man had a fascinating life!
He laughed,”I haven’t done it in a long time”he admitted but he got up and looked at the chair he was sitting in. He stared at it for a few seconds, guessing its weight in his head and where was the best place to pick it up, he got on his knees and bit onto the chair and slowly picked it up as Beth gasped. The cat that was in her lap, jumped off in fear. He put it back down quickly, a little disappointed,”Im not as good as I used to be”he said
“That’s good enough for me. That was great. How did you find out you had a talent like that?”she asked him as she clapped
“Bets from boys when I was little. I have strong teeth and it just went from there”he said
“So…you were discovered at 15…so you were a Carnie until you made it to New York?”she asked. He nodded and he told her about his travels around Europe, all the places he’s been to, the fun he had, the people he had met. He told her about the death of the circus master and how the troupe broke up and how he and Adam stowed away on the Titanic to get back home. “That boat sank. How did you survive?”
“Barely. Adam didn’t though. He was seasick the whole time, poor guy, he moved too slowly and he fell off the boat..”he said sadly,”I tried to help the best I could-“
“Im sure you did”Beth assured him as she reached and grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Gabriel smiled at her
“BETH! Its time for dessert! Wheres the ice cream maker?”her father called
Beth pulled away and got up,”Want some ice cream?”she asked him. Gabriel nodded and followed her inside.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
And Beth was right…well about the Groundhog. The days got warmer and every night after dinner, Beth and Gabriel would talk on the porch and then go back in for dessert. She would tell him about life on the farm, while he told her stories about life as a performer. He told her about Adam, Dorothy and Jules, his parents and his grandmother. All of them he has lost over the years. She told him about her mother, who died of cancer 2 years ago.
“I think that’s why my father is a little more overprotective of me. Im all he has. A lot of my friends…well they get to go out and have fun. My father lets me sometimes but hes always afraid something will happen to me. My friends fathers are all concerned about them finding husbands, having babies, settling down. My father is only concerned with me staying here and helping out”she admitted
“Do you like that?”he asked with a frown. Seemed like a boring life to lead. Love was so much more fun than working on a farm all your life. He thought of Salomi and how he missed her. And what would Beth do when her father was gone?
“I guess. It keeps a lot of pressure off of me. My best friend, Mary Ann, oh her parents are always hounding her about finding a husband. Shes introduced many men to them but it never seems to work out. Courtin’ seems like a lot of pressure to me”
“Well yeah of course, I mean if your pressured into it. But don’t look for love, let it find you and when you find it, it will be a place where you wouldn’t expect it”he said, thinking of Salomi and the Titanic. “I fell in love…truly…for the first time on the Titanic”
“Wow…you didn’t tell me that”
“Her name is Salomi. Beautiful name huh? Its Native American”he said proudly. Beth nodded. And he proceeded to tell her about how they first met, all the trouble they got into on the ship and her father forbidding her to see him. Beth was soon fascinated like with all his other stories.
“So you never saw her again?”she asked him
“Oh no, I did. I snuck her out of her room and we romped around the ship, that was the night we hit the iceberg. We were having so much fun in the boiler room, when we saw water…then we knew something was wrong-“
“Ice cream!”Robin came out with a shout, interrupting them again. Beth smiled and stood up and walked in the kitchen. He looked at Gabriel,”What do you two talk about all the time?”
“Just getting to know each other”Gabriel said with a shrug.”What do you and McNamara talk about?”
“Politics, philosophy, books….”Robin said with a shrug,”Hes a smart man”
“Yeah, Beth’s interesting too”he said and they walked inside for their nightly ritual of ice cream.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
However, the next night was different. After dinner, Beth excused herself from the table and put on a dress that had a blue checkerboard pattern, she had on blue heels and a blue bow in her hair. She looked younger than 25 but she looked just fine to her father. “You look beautiful huney….but do you have to go out with those girls tonight?”
“Daddy…you promised”Beth said as there was a knock on the door. “Its them, now be nice”she said as she went to the door and was greeted by two squealing women.
“Whats going on?”Robin asked
“Theres some dance at the town hall tonight. I promised her I would let her go but….”he said and shook his head,”The tall one, with brown hair, Mary Ann, shes a fast one, stay away from her”he whispered to them and they both laughed.”Im serious, she has a new fiancé every other month. I don’t know where she finds these men”
“Hello Mr. McNamara, how you doin’ this evening”Mary Ann asked him but saw Robin and Gabriel and smiled at them
“Im alright. You take care of my daughter now and stay out of trouble. Bring her back by 10”he said
“Now when have I ever disappointed you?”she asked him
He laughed,”Do you really want me to answer that?”
“Mary Ann? Sue? This is Gabriel and Robin, they are helping my father out with the farm. They are from New York”Beth said hurriedly before her father could list all of Mary Ann’s antics.
Gabriel and Robin both stood up and shook their hands,”Wow Big City men…in our little town, how lucky are we?”Mary Ann said excitedly in her southern drawl as they both shook their hands
“Well lets get goin’”Beth said as she ushered the two women out. “Bye Daddy, I’ll be fine, I promise”she said as she kissed him on the head and said goodbye to Robin and Gabriel and soon they were out the door.
“She was wearin’ a white dress”McNamara mumbled
“What?”Gabriel asked
“Mary Ann was wearing a white dress. Why? She aint pure and innocent?”he said and they laughed. Then he looked at them,”How about you two go on? Have yourselves a good time”
Robin considered it but Gabriel shook his head,”We should be getting to be bed”
“No go on. I need someone to watch Beth”McNamara said
“I don’t wanna go and watch your daughter”Gabriel said
“You two know just as well as I how naïve she is. You two know just as well as I how men are”he said.
Gabriel wanted to say no but McNamara really looked worried and his eyes were begging them to go,”We can stop by, right Robin?”
“Sure”Robin said excitedly. He was tired of the monotony, time for something fun.
“Take the truck”McNamara said as he handed them the keys,”If you see anything suspicious, bring her home”he said sternly
“Yes sir”they said
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
The three young women laughed as they got into Mary Ann’s truck and drove away. “Im so glad your father let you come out with us tonight”she said to Beth,”Last one was a riot”
“I heard”Beth said as she couldn’t help but glance back at the house. For the first time, she actually wanted to stay home. She wanted to sit and hear more of Gabriel’s stories. She wondered about this Salomi girl that he mentioned. Did she die on the Titanic too?
“….I don’t know how you stand it”Mary Ann said and Beth realized she was talking to her
“Stand what?”Beth asked
“Having those two Greek Gods living in your house! Oh and that man with the dark hair….oh hes a sight for sore eyes. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him”
“Oh Lord. Now next thing you know, she wont be able to keep her hands off of him”Sue replied and Mary Ann swatted her.
“Now what kind of woman do you think I am?”Mary Ann asked innocently,”Im perfectly innocent. Just like my white dress”she said
“Now you know damn well you have done not so innocent things….in that dress….in this truck no less!”Sue replied and the three girls laughed. Mary Ann was the wildest out of the three. The town hall held the annual dance once a month and Mary Ann always found someone to get in trouble with. It was always an adventure.
They pulled up to the brick building and parked and then walked around back to the huge barn house that the dance was located and paid their admission fees and went inside. A lot more people attended the dances now because 20% of the profits went to families suffering from the Depression.
Mary Ann and the girls were soon surrounded by admirers. They were soon seated at a table with complimentary beers in front of them. They offered them cigarettes and lit them for them, well except Beth, she didn’t smoke. “Whats your name Sug?”she asked the man in a navy uniform. There was a whole group of them there that night which was great. They were all fine looking men too.
“Freddie. Whats your’s mama?”he asked her
“Mary Ann. This is Sue”she said as she pointed to the redhead,”And Beth”she said,”I love your uniform. I love men in uniform”she said. Sue and Beth rolled their eyes playfully as Mary Ann flirted.
“Oh don’t look now but here comes Bobby”Sue whispered to her
“Does he see me?”Beth asked in a panic.
“Yep unfortunately”Sue said.
“Good evenin’ Beth. Im sure glad you made it out here tonight”Bobby said with a shy smile as he chewed on a piece of straw. Bobby has had a crush on Beth since they were children. But Beth just wasn’t interested. Bobby was very shy and very sweet but he was very clumsy and…he still seemed like a teenager to them.
“Good evenin’ Bobby. Im sure glad I came too”Beth said in a hurry as she stood up. “Sue, would you mind coming with me to the ladies room. I need to powder my nose?”she asked her. Sue nodded and they quickly walked away from him. “My God! Great, he is gonna be followin’ me all night now! Why cant he get the hint? Im just not interested”
“Then just tell him. You are way too nice to him. Just set him straight. Straight forward. Bobby, stop wasting your time. Im not interested. And he’ll surely back off”
“That’s a little harsh”she said
“You have to be cruel to be kind, sweetie”Sue said and then stopped Beth by grabbing her arm,”Guess who decided to join us?”she asked her. Beth looked around and couldn’t help but smile when she saw Gabriel and Robin walk through the door. “Tonight’s gonna be interestin’. Wait til Mary Ann sees him”she said as they rushed off to the bathroom.
*__________________________________*