Loving Eliza (18 page)

Eliza glanced at the money in her hand.  She only had $10.  That seemed like a large amount when she left Omaha.  Now it didn’t look like it was that much after all.  She looked back up at the woman.  “So how much is it a week?”

“$4.”

“And the $8 will only get me through one week?”

“Technically, $4 of that $8 is for the renter’s insurance.”

She took a deep breath.  She didn’t even have enough for
two weeks.  “Does the $4 include meals?” Even as she
said
it, she winced.  It sounded pathetic.  But what could she do?

“Well, yes.  Food can get expensive.”

“What if I didn’t eat here?”

“Then I suppose we could agree to $3 a week.  So you would only have to pay me $7.”

So that made it $4 for the insurance and $3 for the week.  She had $3 left.  That at least gave her another week.  “Alright, Mrs. Richie.  Here’s the $7.”

The woman took the money and stood up.  “I will show you to your room.”

Eliza obediently followed her up the narrow staircase.  “That woman you mentioned who needs her house cleaned...What’s her name?”

“Harriet Lube.”

“Do you think I could stop by her house tomorrow to ask about the job?”

“I’m sure she’d welcome it, dear.  The poor thing hasn’t had anyone to clean her place in almost a year.”

“That long?  Why?”

The woman shrugged as they reached the top of the staircase.  “Who knows?  The last person who worked for her just quit and never said why.”

Good.  That would give her a start on earning money.  “I’ll stop and see her tomorrow then.”

“She’ll like that.  It’ll help ease the loneliness.” Molly pointed to
the opposite end of the hallway
.  “Alan Grey stays in that room.  He’s been a recluse ever since his wife
died
.  Now, in the
next room is
Erica Strickland.  She’s nearing sixty and spends most of her time sleeping and sitting in the parlor.  Then there’s you.  My bedroom is next to yours.”

Eliza followed Molly to the small room with a made up bed, a dresser, and a rocking chair and small table.

“This is your room.  That big window will give you the view I told you about.”

Eliza entered it and set the travel bag down.  In some ways it reminded her of her place next to John’s house. 
S
he walked to the window and looked out of it.  Just as Molly said, she could see the main street and most of the houses in the area.  She could even see the road that led out to John’s land.  She quickly
clos
e
d the curtains
.  They weren’t going to block out all of the light, but they blocked the view well enough and that’s all that mattered.

“This room is perfect,” Eliza said.

Molly gave her a wide smile.  “I’m glad you think so.  I pride myself on being a good hostess.  I’ll bring a pitcher of water and a bowl for you.  If you need the privy, it’s out back.  There’s also a chamber pot under the bed.  Baths are allowed once a week.  Your turn will be Saturday at six in the evening.  We all must be as clean as possible when we go to church.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll return with that pitcher and bowl.”

As soon as Molly closed the door, Eliza pulled the picture from her sleeve and stared at it.  It had given her comfort ever since her son’s adopted parents sent it to her.  He’d been six months
old
when it was taken.  She wondered what he looked like now.  He’d be twelve.  She imagined
he was a happy boy.  His parents
seemed like nice people.  She crawled into bed and held the picture to her breast.  The exhaustion of the day suddenly caught up to her.  She hadn’t slept much the night before, and the day had been grueling. 
At least it’s over.  I can finally rest.
  She slowly inhaled and then released her breath
.

She’d make it.  She always did.  No matter what life handed her, she would survive.  She did before and she would again.

The door creaked open.

Her eyelids fluttered and she saw Molly gently placing the pitcher and bowl on the dresser.  “Sleep
well, Miss Sweet.” Then she turned the knob on the kerosene lamp until only a dim light lit
the room.

Eliza wanted to respond, to thank her, but she was too tired, and before she knew it, she fell into the bliss of sleep where all aches and pains disappeared.

J
ohn had hoped that Eliza would be back at his place when he returned.  The first thing he did was check the little home he’d given her to stay in.  But it was empty.  He
stood in the doorway, unsure of
what to do.  He’d looked all over town, starting with Frank and Addy’s place and then to the boarding house before he finally made his way to Charity’s home.  He couldn’t think of anywhere else she might stay.  While he was at Charity’s, he tried to ask the marshal to search for her, but the man shooed him away as if he were a child.  When John grabbed the marshal by the shirt collar, Daphne intervened and after a good fifteen minutes of trying to write down what he wanted, she finally translated it to the big oaf who—at long last—left the house to notify everyone in town that he was looking for Eliza.

John had also taken the time to tell Daphne that since she had been delayed, he had gotten to know Eliza and wanted to marry her.  He apologized and hoped she would soon find one of the other single men in town who were more to her liking.  Daphne said she understood, and Charity started making plans on which available bachelor would be the best pick to go after.

John took his time in returning hom
e.  The sun was setting, which
made it hard for him to examine the landscape.  Perhaps Eliza had decided to leave town altogether.  But where would she go?  There wasn’t anything around them for miles.

He heard a noise.  Hoping it might be Eliza, he turned around but only saw a deer leap out of sight.  He lowered the lantern and lumbered to his house.  The absence of Eliza’s chitter chatter was deafening.  He’d been used to silence before she came, but once she made her home here, he’d had the pleasure of her voice.  Whether she talk
ed to him or sang, she
had delighted him with her presence.  And now she was gone.

Where did she go?

He swallowed the lump in his throat and blinked back his tears.  He didn’t want to cry.  Crying didn’t solve anything.  He needed solutions.  He needed information.  He needed to act.  But what else could he do?  He’d already exhausted all of his ideas.  Entering the house, he set the lantern on the kitchen table and sat down.  He took a moment to look at the yellow walls.  She enjoyed the color yellow.

His g
aze drifted to the wilting yellow
flowers at the center of the table.  Flowers didn’t last long once they were plucked from the ground, but there were so many on the property, she could pick a dozen each day and still have more to choose from.
Now she wouldn’t be picking flowers and that made the place seem emptier as well.

I shouldn’t have run from her.  I should have stayed.
  It was his fault she left.  She told him a part of her past that he hadn’t wanted to hear and he ran away from her.  He put his face in his hands and took a deep breath, fighting off the tears. 
No.  Don’t cry.  Crying won’t solve anything.
In many ways, crying was admitting defeat.  People cried when things were hopeless.

But this c
ouldn
’t be hopeless. 
Once Eliza found out that he was no longer engaged to Daphne, she’d understand how much she meant to him.  Then she’d come back.  He couldn’t marry Daphne.  If he did, he’d always be wishing he’d married Eliza instead.  Then he’d be doing wrong by Daphne, for what woman wanted to be married to a man who secretly loved another? 
He sighed. 
No.  If he couldn’t marry Eliza, he didn’t want to be married at all.

***

Eliza sat up and straightened her back.  The late morning sunlight struck her eyes and made her wince.  She lowered her head and wiped the sweat off her brow.  The kitchen floor was almost clean now.  She leaned forward on her knees and dipped the rag into the soapy water and rang out the dirt. 
Harriet Lube had needed someone to clean her house in the worst possible way.
  As tired as Eliza was, she was satisfied that she was doing honest work.
  Work she could be proud of.
  That counted for something.

She placed the rag back on the floor and scrubbed the grime from the wooden surface.  Several strands of her hair fell into her mouth.  She
tried to spit them
out but the strands were resistant things, so she threw the rag down and forced the rebellious hair back into the bun.  She’d have to wear a braid tomorrow.

“Girl?”

Eliza glanced up as Harriet used her cane to help her limp across the floor.  “Yes, Mrs. Lube?” She sat up and placed the rag in the bucket.

“After you’re done in here, I need you to go into the attic and clear it out.  I’m not getting any younger, and it’s time I threw some things out.”

“Yes, Mrs. Lube.”

“I will need you to haul all that junk to the garbage heap out past
Third Road
.”

“Where do I get a wagon to carry everything?”

“I don’t know.  That’s not my problem.”

“Do you know someone who’d loan me one?”

“Girl, I hired you to figure that kind of thing out.  Now, I must get something to eat.”

Food.  Eliza’s stomach grumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t had supper the previous night or breakfast that morning.  “May I make it for you?  I can cook.”

“I’m not paying you to eat.  I’m paying you to work.”

She clenched her skirt so she wouldn’t snap at her employer.  She needed the money.  The woman promised $5 a week.  That’d be enough for the rent and food
.  If she was careful, she could buy clothes or other necessary items as the need for them arose.
  She waited for a moment to calm down before she spoke.  “I haven’t had anything to eat since yesterday afternoon.  Couldn’t I grab a quick bite?  I’ll even make the meal.”

The woman frowned.  “I’m being generous with the money I’m going to pay you at the end of this week, aren’t I?”

“Well...yes, ma’am, and I appreciate it, but I can’t do my job if I’m hungry.”

“Then go and eat.  While you’re taking the things from the
attic to the garbage heap,
stop by Rhonda’s restaurant.” Harriet shuffled over to the table in front of the window and took a loaf of bread out of her breadbox.  “Now, when you go out to eat, don’t take more than twenty minutes.  And that will be once a day.”

Eliza knew when it was pointless to argue, so she turned back to her work and continued scrubbing the floor while Harriet made a large sandwich and ate it right in front of her.  Eliza’s mouth water
ed
and stomach rumbled to the point of pain, but she pressed on in the task.

Finally, when she was done, she dumped out the bucket of dirty water and went up to the attic which was full of cobwebs and junk that hadn’t seen the light of day in well over ten years.  She sat down for a moment and closed her eyes. 
She was hungry, and her employer just told her she had to take away some of this junk in order to eat.  But she had to find a wagon first.  Maybe she could slip into that restaurant as she looked for the wagon.  Harried didn’t have to know.

Eliza decided on that plan and climbed down the ladder and then down the steps to the first floor where Harriet had nodded off to sleep.  Good.  She could just do her task and not worry about upsetting the old bat.  Eliza realized it wasn’t a Christian thing to do—thinking p
oorly about another human being—
but she couldn’t deny that she didn’t like the woman.  From the moment she met her, Harriet Lube struck her as a crotchety woman who had nothing better to do than sulk in her own state of misery.  Miserable people often made others miserable.  Life had taught her that, and that was why Eliza vowed that no matter what, she wouldn’t fall into that trap.  Despite her circumstances, she’d be pleasant to others.