Johanna: Bride of Michigan (American Mail-Order Bride 26) (3 page)

It was a long month, and Johanna anxiously awaited the letter from Paul. All of the other displaced factory workers had heard back and were en route to their perspective husbands.

She had helped Edna keep the house clean and took to scrubbing the floors. She had reddened skin to thank for that, but Edna had given her a handmade lotion that worked wonders.

While pacing in her room, there was a knock on the door. Johanna opened the door and Janna was waving an envelope. “I think you’ve been waiting for this a long time.”

Johanna took the letter and thanked her sister, closing the door. However, Janna rapped on it until she finally walked over and let her sister in.

“You can’t expect me to wait much longer. I think I’m just as excited as you.”

Johanna sighed, sinking into the soft mattress of her bed. She ripped the end of the envelope and pulled out the paper when something dropped into her lap. She stared bemused at the train ticket and slowly opened the letter.

Dearest Johanna,

Thank you for answering my ad. I’ve sent you a train ticket and will anxiously be awaiting your arrival. I love the name Johanna and assure you that you’ll be treated with the utmost respect.

Looking forward to meeting you,

Paul

She handed the letter off to her sister. “That’s short but sweet,” Janna said. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come along with you? What if he’s hideous?”

“Oh, Janna. It doesn’t matter what he looks like. I need a husband, and I don’t want you to go with me. We barely get along as it is.”

“Perhaps with you finally gone, Edgar might propose. He seems so distracted of late.”

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to pack.”

Janna left the room and Johanna pulled out her suitcase, packing her meager belongings. She never had much in the way of clothing. All the dresses she owned were either brown or gray. It was no wonder Janna didn’t want her to mingle with her friends. She didn’t let it bother her, though. She was a working-class woman and was fine with it before a fire altered the direction of her life. But she wouldn’t be sad about leaving. She only hoped that what she found in Michigan was better than what she’d leave behind.

With her suitcase in hand, Johanna walked down the stairs with as much dignity as she could muster. Edgar and her sister were at the bottom, waiting on her from the looks they shot her.

“Goodbye, Janna. Thank you for allowing me to stay.”

“Not so fast. I think we should escort you to the train,” Edgar insisted. “You’ll never make it there in time on foot.”

Drats! She had no other choice than to suffer with their company a bit longer. “Very well then.”

The black buggy was waiting outside. Edgar helped Johanna up first and then Janna, joining them in the leather backseat. The servant took his place in the front, and with a click of his tongue and gentle pull of the reins, the horses were off to a trot.

Johanna gripped the handle of her suitcase firmly. She felt very uncomfortable in Edgar’s presence. Why did he insist on coming along? She barely knew him.

“It’s too bad you’re leaving so abruptly. I had hoped to get to know you better, Johanna. Where did you meet your intended?”

“Oh, I-I—”

After an uncomfortable pause, Janna admitted, “She’s never met him, Edgar. She’s going to Michigan to be a mail-order bride.”

“What? If I had known you intended to do such a thing, I’d have proposed to you, dear.”

“Thank you, Edgar, but I think you and Janna are more suited.”

“Janna?” Edgar exclaimed. “You naughty girl. I had no idea you felt that way about me.”

“I thought you were courting Janna?”

Edgar tucked Janna’s arm through his. “I was not, but I will be now.” He laughed loudly. “If you still want me to.”

“Yes, Edgar. I’d very much like that.”

Johanna was able to relax once Edgar and Janna were staring googly-eyed at one another. Apparently, Janna didn’t mind that he had just told her he’d have proposed to her sister! Besides, Johanna had an idea that Edgar might just be after her sister’s money. They would make the perfect couple, each of them wanting something out of the other.

Johanna was on the edge of her seat as they approached the train station. The buggy came to a stop and she was helped down, standing there with her suitcase. The black engine was sleek and magnificent, with a huge smoke stack. Besides the engine, there were five other cars, two of which she expected would be sleeping cars.

She walked to the ticket booth and showed the man working there her ticket. “I was wondering when my train will be leaving.”

“You had better get moving, it’s loading now.”

Johanna hurried toward the train, searching for Janna and Edgar to say goodbye, but they had already left. Her shoulders slumped. She was positive Janna detested her for sure by that point. It was no secret that she harbored ill feeling toward her. Johanna was the youngest and even as a child, Janna was very unkind to her. She felt that Johanna was their mother’s favorite, but Johanna didn’t think so. Janna, on the other hand, was an unruly child and threw tantrums, taunting her sister regularly. Johanna was good at coming up with excuses for the bruises her sister gave her. She knew if she told her mother, Janna would find another way to make her life difficult.

“All aboard!” the conductor with a red and black uniform called out.

Johanna rushed over to him, handing over her ticket with a shaky hand. He gave it back to her and assisted her up the steps. She stumbled up the aisle, staring with wonder at the burgundy, velvety fabric on the seats with gold buttons. The walls were the same color as the seats, but the ceiling was gold.

“Find yourself a seat, Miss,” the man said.

“Am I in the right car?”

“Yes, first class, just like your ticket says.”

Johanna shuffled past families holding their children close, single men, and then women. An older woman with impressive blue eyes said, “Please, have a seat with me.”

Johanna sat across from the woman, sliding her suitcase under the seat just as the heavy doors slammed closed and the conductor took a seat. The train jerked to a start, the wheels screeching as they turned until the train coasted faster. Luckily, the woman she sat with wore her perfume heavily, which helped overshadow the oily machine smell that wafted over to her as smoke billowed from the smoke stack, viewable through the window.

She smiled at the woman, whose tight silk dress clung to her like a second skin. Her red hair piled on her head was gray-streaked, but not so much that Johanna would consider her to be old.

The wrinkles appeared when she smiled, smashing her red lips together before saying, “You look lost, dear, and frightened. Whoever are you running from?”

What an odd question for someone to ask.
“Nobody. I’ve just never been on a train before.”

“Then it makes sense. I’ve been on more trains than most. From the East to West Coast and back again.”

“Whatever for?” When the woman’s smile faded, she quickly added, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

“Why not? I just did that to you.”

Johanna laughed, her hands running along the soft seat cushion. “I don’t mind.”

“Neither do I. I work for a matchmaker service, you know, for mail-order brides.”

“Then why are you here by yourself?”

“I need to check out a potential groom. We investigate them thoroughly. Men from Michigan sure have been ordering quite a few brides of late. I also plan to find out how the last bride is faring.”

Johanna fidgeted.
Should I tell her I’m a mail-order bride?

“I’m Gretchen, and what would your name be?”

Johanna could tell she was very good at her job with this line of questioning. “Johanna. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I must admit that I’m heading to Michigan as a mail-order bride myself.”

Her eyes widened. “What agency are you from?”

“I really don’t know. I was given a copy of the
Grooms’ Gazette
and picked out my husband.”

“It must be Stella. She’s so uncouth. I can’t imagine any mail-order bride not having an escort, at the very least. What if you don’t like the man, or he doesn’t like you? Where will you be then?”

“Does that really happen?”

“Yes, and the matchmaker I work for hires me to accompany the brides and stay until the marriage takes place. I make sure the women aren’t taken advantage of, or abused. I’ll be checking on one of the brides while I’m in Saginaw.”

“Saginaw?” Johanna said wide-eyed. “That’s where I’m going, too.”

“Great. Then I can watch over you when we get off the train. Sometimes, the grooms don’t always show up when they should.”

“I’d appreciate that, Gretchen.”

Johanna gazed out the window and was shocked at how fast the scenery moved past. They traveled past thick forests to farmland filled with cornstalks. Never in her life did she think she’d see anything besides smoke billowing from the mills, the sulfur fragrance wafting to every part of the city. Her chest rose and fell, and she trembled involuntarily in excitement. She vowed to make the best of her situation despite her heading to marry a man she didn’t know.

“It’s good to see you accepting your situation.”

“I need to make the best of things. I’m just not sure what being the wife of a lumberjack will be like.”

‘They work very hard, but some lumber bosses prefer married men to single ones. They’re considered to be more reliable.”

“The woman who you’re checking on, is she married to a lumberjack?”

“Oh, no. Her husband owns a few taverns. Apparently, he was very good at disguising who he really was, but the bride had nowhere to go and married him.”

“That sounds dreadful. I certainly hope that doesn’t happen to me.”

“I’ll look after you, dear, so no need to worry.”

* * *

The next five days were pleasant enough, but being trapped on the train day after day had taken its toll. She stretched out the soft mattress, staring up at the ceiling which sounded like someone was throwing small pebbles on it. It had been like that for a day already, since it’d been raining. Gretchen’s perfume was packed inside her nostrils and the longer she’d been in her company, the more nauseous she’d become. And to think she had been thankful it masked the aroma of the smoke.

Gretchen was snoring in the bunk below her and it was hard to get used to, but sheer exhaustion took over. She was very nervous after the stories Gretchen had told her about a bride marrying a man who owned a tavern. She prayed that wouldn’t happen to her. All she could do was turn her life over to God’s hands. Johanna considered herself a good person most of the time, or so she thought, but would it be enough for good things to come her way? It certainly didn’t help her when she stayed with Janna.

She was startled when Gretchen clambered to her feet. “Good morning, Johanna. It won’t be long before we arrive in Saginaw.”

“I know. I fear I won’t make a very good impression of myself when I meet Paul.”

“Paul?”

“Yes, my soon-to-be husband.”

Gretchen frowned, but didn’t respond. “I’ll help you, but you’ll have to wash up the best you can. I’m sure you’ll be able to get a real bath soon.”

Johanna scratched her head. “I certainly hope so.”

“You might want to start soon. It won’t be long now.”

Johanna slipped off the bunk and pulled out the only dress that was clean still, a loose and flowing white one. She thought it might make the perfect wedding dress. Finding the washroom, she washed what she could since there was little water to spare. Other passengers needed water, too, and she didn’t want to be greedy and use all of it.

She gazed into the small mirror, grumbling to herself about how horribly tangled her dark hair was. Johanna used her fingers to loosen the knots, making her way back to the bunk where her suitcase was. There, she found Gretchen shaking-0, reading her letter from Paul!

“What are you doing?” she asked, snatching it away from her.

“I-I’m sorry, but I think I should tell you just who your husband-to-be is.”

“I don’t care,” Johanna said, putting her belongings into her suitcase. “You had no business going through my things like that.”

Gretchen’s breathing was rapid and she exclaimed, “I’m so sorry. Please, don’t be angry with me. I just was curious about who your husband was. I thought I might know who he is, and I do.”

“I don’t need you to taint my view of my husband before I have the chance to meet him, don’t you understand? I need for this to work out. I don’t have anywhere to go.”

Gretchen frowned. “I’ll stay out of your way then. I didn’t mean to make you angry, and I won’t say a word about your intended.”

Johanna felt bad for being so cross with the woman, but she was frightened enough about meeting Paul. She slid across for Gretchen in the main car and said, “I’m sorry for snapping at you. I overreacted.”

She took Johanna’s hand. “You had every right to do that. I just don’t want you angry with me. I had hoped we had become friends.”