Mail Order Mix Up (18 page)

Angela nodded solemnly.  “It’s hard to lose a parent.”

“How did they die?”

“My dad was a miner, and he got trapped in a cave-in.  Mum decided she was going to
get him out, and she went in and dug and dug.  I
took
her food and water, because she refused to leave until she got him out.”  She stared
down at the table, rubbing her rag in slow circles.  “She managed to get herself trapped
along with him.  I went for help, but they were both dead by the time they were found.”

“I’m so sorry.”  Ellen’s mind raced as she wondered how she could help this sweet
girl.  She certainly had skills as a hair dresser.  Maybe Patrick would know of someone
who needed a lady’s maid
or a nurse for their children
.

“It’s not so bad living here.  The people are nice, and there’s plenty of food.” 
She looked at the pot on the stove.  “Even if it is beans most nights.”

Ellen laughed.  “We ate beans a lot when I was growing up, too.”
  She remembered hating them, but at least she’d had food every day.  She was certain
Angela felt the same way.

“Where did you grow up?”

“On a small farm in Massachusetts.”

“We lived on a farm when I was little, but my dad was certain he could make us rich
with the gold mines.  My ma tried to talk him out of it, but he just didn’t want to
listen.”  She shrugged.  “Sometimes, you just have to do what the people you love
want to do to make them happy.”

Ellen finished the last chair and stood up looking around the kitchen for something
else they could all do.  “Let’s wash the windows next.”

The girls all groaned, but moved on to the windows.  “You make us work harder than
the other women who come here,” Angela told her.

“Are there a lot of women who come to help?”
  Ellen was pleased to hear the two women who worked there had volunteers helping
them.  Taking care of thirty children and a house this size was way too much work
for just two women even if they did have teens to help them.

Angela shrugged.  “There are a few, but most of them just sit around and tell us what
to do.  They don’t actually roll up their sleeves and help.  For a rich lady, you
sure do know how to work.”

“I’ve only been a rich lady for a little over a week.  I’m used to being a poor girl.”

Angela nodded.  “That makes sense then.  The other ladies are all used to being
rich.  I’m sure in a few months
you’ll be used to it, too.”

Ellen shook her head emphatically.  “I certainly hope not.  I never want to forget
how to work.  I hate sitting around and doing nothing.”
  She couldn’t see going to the orphanage and just telling the girls what to do. 
She would work beside them as much as she could.

Ellen stayed and helped serve dinner to the children.  She kept watching the clock,
but knew there was little chance Patrick would be home before eight, so decided she
could stay until seven-thirty with no problem. 

She helped clear the table and wash the dishes thinking about how nice it would be
if she could bring some food to help out.  The children would certainly love having
a meal that wasn’t primarily beans.  She knew beans were inexpensive and filling,
and it made sense for the children to eat them, because there were so many mouths
to feed, but she’d seen the look on Angela’s face when she’d looked at the pot.

She washed the dishes while her three teenaged helpers dried and put them away.  She
worked fast enough to keep up with all three of them with no problem.  By the time
seven-thirty rolled around the kitchen was spotless.  She sought out
Ida, whom she’d first met at the park,
and promised to be back immediately after lunch on Tuesday.  She hoped she could
get her sister sorted out with her cooking quickly, because she found she wanted to
spend every waking moment helping
at the orphans’ home
.

It was a few minutes after eight when she walked into the house, and she opened the
door with a smile on her face.  She was thrilled to have been able to do something
for others for a change.  Her smile fell away when she saw Patrick leaning against
the wall in the foyer watching for her.  He looked angry, which surprised her, because
she’d never seen him anything but happy.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“What’s wrong?  I’ve been waiting for you for two hours.  Where have you been?  I’ve
been worried sick!”

“You never get home before eight.”  Her eyes went to the clock on the wall.  “It’s
only five minutes after.  I thought I’d get here before you.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “And just where have you been all this time?”

She removed her bonnet and put it on the small table beside the stairs so she could
take it up when
she went up later.  “We talked Friday
night about me volunteering at the orphanage.  I went there today.”

“I thought you meant to go for an hour or two in the afternoon.  Alice said you left
just after noon.  You were there for eight hours!”
  His face was red with anger.

She bit her lip to keep from yelling back at him.  He left her alone for twelve hours
per day, and complained when she spent eight of them doing something to help others? 
“The need was worse than we’d realized.  I fixed dinner, scrubbed the kitchen down,
and then I helped serve the children their dinner, and did the dishes afterward. 
You’re never home before eight, so I had no idea it would bother you if I was out
late.  I didn’t think you cared what I did during the twelve hours a day you spend
away from me as long as you didn’t have to be bothered with me.”  The last two words
ended on a yell despite her best intentions.

“Of course, I care what you do!  I expect you to be here when I get home in the evenings! 
What if something had happened to you?”

“If I had an idea when you would
be
home, I’d be certain to be here, but I never know when you’ll show up. What were you
doing home before eight anyway?”
  How dare he change his schedule without warning her and then yell at her for not
conforming to it?  What was his problem?

He took a deep breath, obviously trying to control his temper.  “I came home early
so I could take my wife to the restaurant for dinner, because I felt like I’d been
neglecting her.  I had no idea she preferred it when I wasn’t home.”

She sighed and walked to him, putting her hand on his chest.  “You know I prefer it
when you’re home.  I just get so bored during the day.  I needed something to do. 
When there was so much to be done, I just kept
going
.  I didn’t think there was any real reason to rush home.  If you’d let me know when
you planned to be here, I’d be certain I was here when you arrived.”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“I’m sorry I ruined your surprise.”
  She meant it, too.  She loved that he’d cared enough to leave work earlier than
usual to surprise her with an evening out.  She was very sorry to have ruined it.

“We’re not too late to go to the restaurant.  Do you want to go?”

She looked down at her dress which was covered with dirt.  “I’ll need to change and
wash my face and hands.  I’ve been on my hands and knees all day.”
  She knew she was filthy, but she was so happy to have been doing something for others
that she didn’t mind at all.

He rubbed a smudge of dirt off her cheek with his thumb.  “I can see that.”  He dropped
a kiss on her lips.  “Hurry and change.  I’ll wait.”

She rushed up the stairs and changed quickly, splashing water on her face and hands
from the pitcher on the dresser.  She quickly fixed her hair and hurried back down
the stairs.  “I’m ready.”

He held out his arm to her.  “Let’s go then.”

During their walk she told him all about her day and the different things that needed
to be done at the orphanage. 
“There’s a girl there named Angela.  She did my hair for our wedding.  She lost her
parents when she was eleven, and she’s lived at the orphanage ever since.  I’ve never
seen anyone work so hard!”

He opened the door to the restaurant for her, and followed her in.  They were seated
by the window.  “I
think I’ve met
Angela.”

“She’s so sweet.  I wish there
was
a way we could get her out of there.”
  She didn’t realize how wistful her voice sounded as she spoke about the teenager.

He sighed.  “You know we can’t adopt
all
the orphans, right?”

“I know.  I just want to help this one.  Do you know of anyone who could use a lady’s
maid?  She is wonderful with hair.  Or maybe there’s someone who needs a n
urse
for their children.  She’s really good with the younger children.”

He shook his head slowly.  “I don’t know of anyone, but I’ll ask around.”

“Thank you.”  She looked down at her plate before taking a bite of the fish he’d ordered
for her.  “Do you think we could take them some food too?  They eat beans at least
six nights a week. They’re all so sick of beans.”
 

“That we can do.  Why don’t I have Albert, the gardener, drive you over to the orphanage
tomorrow and you can stop and pick up some meat at the butcher’s on the way over? 
Would that make you feel better?”

“It’s not about how I feel.  It’s about helping others.  I hate there are so many
kids squeezed into that small house.  I wish I could take them all home with me.”

He grinned.  “Well, I really don’t think that’s an option.  I mean, I love kids, but
there are over
twenty
of them, aren’t there?”

She nodded.  “And they live in a four bedroom house!”
  She hadn’t had much growing up, but at least she’d had only one other person to
share a bedroom with.

“We’ll do what we can to help, but we can’t take them all home with us.”

“I know.  I just wish we could.”

They ate the rest of their meal in silence as she tried to think of ways to help the
children.  There had to be more she could do.

*****

The other women were thrilled when she got to the orphanage the following day.  She
had brought enough food for the children to have a good meal.  She’d decided to make
them
pot roast
with fresh bread and vegetables. 

She had the same three teen helpers as before, and the four of them worked together
to fix the meal.  When there was a lull in the cooking, she took them all into the
dining room to give it the same kind of clean
ing
they’d given the kitchen the day before.  By the time dinner time rolled around,
the dining room was spotless.  All of the children were excited by the special meal. 
“No beans!” shouted a tow-headed boy of about fourteen. 

She’d learned while they cleaned that the only meat they tended to eat was the meat
the boys were able to hunt for.  During the summer months the three teenaged boys
in residence
would go out into the woods adjacent to the orphanage, and see how much meat they
could bring in.  Sometimes it would only be a squirrel or a rabbit, but they would
use whatever they had to flavor their beans.  If they were lucky and got a deer, they
would be able to eat meat for a few days before going back to their regular diet of
beans.

The orphanage had a small hen house, but they used all the eggs they found in their
baking or for breakfast, so the little bit of extra food the hunting brought in helped
immensely.

Ellen was careful to leave at five-thirty that evening, so she could be certain to
make it home before Patrick did.  She felt he’d overreacted the night before, but
she didn’t want to risk him getting angry with her two nights in a row. 

To her surprise he was waiting for her when she walked into the house.  “You’re home!”
she said happily running into his arms.

“I should be home by this time every night.”

“How?”
  She pulled away looking up at him in astonishment.

“I hired another man to work in the bank.  He’s going to take some of the load off
of Mr. Chandler and
me
so we can both spend more time with our families.”

“Thank you.”
  She hugged him fiercely thrilled he had made the change for her.

He smiled.  “It’s not just for you.  I’m a newlywed too, and enjoy spending time with
my new wife.”

They walked into the dining room where Alice was setting the food on the table.  She
winked at Ellen as she set down the carved pork roast and left.

Ellen once again was full of stories about the orphanage, and he talked about the
new man at the bank.  She was thrilled to be able to talk to him about her day, and
actually have something to say. 

“The orphanage is at capacity now,” she told him.  “I asked what would happen if more
children came, and they said they’d have to turn them away.”  She stabbed her meat. 
“Can you imagine turning orphans away because there’s no room?”