Posted July 14, 2021 / Clara Redmond Lutz
Though it was rather rude to have their little huddle and leave her there, she so obviously knew the subject matter. Clara waited it out, picking up only tiny bits of what was being said. At length Arabella approached her once more and started up.
Clara took every word with much more than a pinch of salt. It was even said in such a sickly sweetish tone, smacking of insincerity.
"Please do tell us if'n you would like us all to do any little thing at all."
"Well, I must say..." Clara started but Arabella wasn't quite done.
"Er, oh, and we won't mend the roof or rebuild the chimbly or fix the polemics unless you ask us to."
Fix the ???? Clara wasn't going to even bother. She wanted to get out her main answer now.
"So now you are going to be condescending then? I could take umbrage but frankly, beggars cannot be choosers and in this current state of mine, I am most decidedly going to simply take you up on your offer. Thank you all of you," Clara nodded and opened the door as far as she could so they might enter in.
Arabella then nudged Miriam "Tell her about the nice food we brung."
"Huh? Ohhh, certainly....I'm sorry," Miriam was taken aback for a few seconds before smiling up at the taller Clara, "We thought you might be hungry so we brought along a lunch basket with fried chicken and some pickled cucumber plus corn bread biscuits. Hope you like it?"
Clara nodded and even returned the smile as best she could, "Thank you, ladies. I will admit to being quite famished."
"Anyhow please come in and perhaps you can assist me with cleaning the floors and dusting everything. Oh and if you find any more dead animals, chucking them out," she remarked.
"More dead animals?" Miriam was wide eyed.
"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
Posted July 15, 2021 / Arabella Mudd
"So now you are going to be condescending then? I could take umbrage but frankly, beggars cannot be choosers and in this current state of mine, I am most decidedly going to simply take you up on your offer. Thank you all of you," Clara nodded and opened the door as far as she could so they might enter in.
'Condescending'? 'Umbrage'? Clara's new helpmates looked at each other: this might require another huddle. But luckily Clara then used sign language by opening the door to them, and they knew that she was graciously allowing them to clean her house.
Arabella then nudged Miriam "Tell her about the nice food we brung."
"Huh? Ohhh, certainly....I'm sorry," Miriam was taken aback for a few seconds before smiling up at the taller Clara, "We thought you might be hungry so we brought along a lunch basket with fried chicken and some pickled cucumber plus corn bread biscuits. Hope you like it?"
"And don't worry, we didn't cook any of it!" Arabella assured her: after all, Clara didn't know Miriam at all, she knew Arabella only too well, and Jemima just looked like the sort of person you wouldn't want to have griddlin' your chitlins. "It's all from Mammy Cookie, Mrs Wigfall and Rachel. Oh! That's Miriam's Mama, we're on first name terms you know..." Arabella boasted "... like a third daughter, I am." she beamed, closing her eyes, shaking her head in a sort of ecstasy and unconsciously mimicking Mrs Kaufmann's Yiddish speech patterns and intonation.
Clara nodded and even returned the smile as best she could, "Thank you, ladies. I will admit to being quite famished."
"Oh, well, wait 'till you taste Rachel's fried chicken! It's a traditional Jewish dish, you know!" lectured Arabella, who was more obsessed with Hebrew culture than the whole five members of Miriam's family put together. "... except we call it kosher schnitzel!"
"Anyhow please come in and perhaps you can assist me with cleaning the floors and dusting everything. Oh and if you find any more dead animals, chucking them out," she remarked.
"More dead animals?" Miriam was wide eyed.
They hadn't been in there five seconds before Arabella let out a dreadful scream and tried to clamber onto a rickety table. "WAAAAAAAAA! There's a great big spider on the floor!!" she yelped "Quick, kill it!!"
Jemima bent down and gently picked up the admittedly large Hobo-spider in her cupped hands to carry it outside. "No, don't kill them, its bad luck" she admonished the panicking girl, who was now screaming again because she was nearer the roof and cobwebs were brushing her face.
"Anyhow, how come you're so scared of a few insects [sic] you told me you spent fourteen years growing up in a tumbledown shack on a mountain!" Jemima frowned at the quaking Arabella.
"I did!" she wailed "And I spent fourteen years screamin'!"
Posted July 15, 2021 / Clara Redmond Lutz
Clara listened to Arabella describe the cooks, she'd have to trust those women knew what they were doing. One was a professional cook, granted for a saloon, and the other two mothers. That had to count for something.
"Sounds good. Let us get some work done now," as long as they were here, Clara wasn't going to waste their precious time here with idle chatter.
A big spider frightened Arabella into near blind panic and ear ringing sound levels but Jemima handled it adroitly. Clara would have just stomped on the creature. As Clara half expected Ara would probably be not all that useful, what with her fear of spiders in a place like this and her proclivity to just chatter away about any old topic instead of working. Miriam and Jemina were much better though. They actually were making a lot of progress until...
"Might be able to get some fresh water? This stuff is almost black now," Miriam pointed out tilting the bucket so that Clara could see.
"Yes, but there is no well about, there is a small creek about a few hundred yards to the east, you could get some there," Clara answered.
Soon Jemima and Miriam were off to fill up three buckets thus giving Clara and Arabella with a bit of private time.
"This was very nice of you to show up like this. The new girl seems very nice," Clara remarked, knowing that would be more than enough to spark Arabella into more conversation.
"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
Posted July 15, 2021 / Arabella Mudd
"This was very nice of you to show up like this. The new girl seems very nice," Clara remarked, knowing that would be more than enough to spark Arabella into more conversation.
Arabella gave a veritable gasp of agreement. "Oh Clara, isn't she WONDERFUL!!?" she asked grasping the slightly older girl's hand. She gave a sigh of ecstasy and looked up to the heaven from whence, she believed, Miriam had descended.
"She is so beautiful and clever and shy and talented... I heard Mr. Pettigrew say he'd never seen anyone who was self taught sew like her, and when she's all trained up, why, she'd be able to get a job in one of the big fashion houses in New Orleans or New York or Paris or Helena or anywhere!" she panted, having forgotten to breath while executing this veritable eulogy.
"Course, I'd have to go with her!" she added, suddenly looking worried at the idea of being separated from the seamstress.
"Oh, and her family. Such a family you never met!" she expanded, somehow, either subconsciously or on purpose slipping into Mrs Kaufmann's Yiddish speech-patterns again and emphasising what she was saying with the same sort of hand movements. "The mother: a paragon; the Father; you never met so hard-working; the son; such an artist, and the little sister, a blessing, such a shayna punim!"
Clara looked at her a bit strangely at all this kvelling about her new friend and, it seemed, adoptive family. Arabella thought she knew what the problem was, and quickly moved to quell Clar's fears.
"Oh... course... all that don't mean I ain't your bosom friend no more, I mean, I don't want you to feel all jealous of Miriam. I ... I can have two bosom friends, can't I? I mean you got Jacob now and I got Miriam, so it's even-stevens, ain't it?!" she assured the new Mrs Lutz, who was probably seething with rage that Miss Kaufmann had displaced her in Arabella's most ardent affections.
"THERE'S SOMEBODY AT THE DOOR!!!"
Posted July 15, 2021 / Jemima Wigfall
As Miriam and Jemima walked down to the creek until, about half way there, the older girl stopped and caught the younger by the arm, so that she skidded to a halt and their buckets clanked together.
"Hold it" said Jemima with that serious, narrow eyed look on her face that made it look like she was permanently scowling at the world and all it contained. "I've been wanting to say something to you and now's about the best time, I reckon."
She put down her buckets and drew herself up to her full height and crossed her arms. "It's about you and her." she said, nodding a head back to the shack, but without taking her eyes of the shy little Jewish girl. 'Her' was Arabella, presumably, for Clara was still really a stranger to her.
"Plumbing up pretty good friends, ain't ya?" she asked, or rather stated, looking deep into Miriam's eyes, as if trying to bore into her very soul. Then she said it.
"You more'n friends?"
Posted July 15, 2021 / Clara Redmond Lutz
Goodness, Arabella sure gushed on and on about this new girl. Apparently well on the road to be the finest seamstress west of the Mississippi? And then Arabella realized she might have to go with her to her new homes.
"Well, that may be so but give it a few years. You both are a bit young for gallivanting about the country," Clara advised, this coming from a pregnant bride of sixteen.
"So she is Jewish, I recognize some of the terms you been saying. I think her family might well be the only Jews in Kalispell," she mused, she had nothing against Jews even though there were some folks who said they were Christ's crucifiers. Certainly not this family of course.
Arabella was suddenly afraid Clara would be distraught, jealous, something over her budding new friendship. The truth was far from it.
"No, I do not harbor such thoughts. Not at all. I am happy for you to find such a good friend. And it does not change our friendship either. Friendship can be for life," she declared.
Posted July 15, 2021 / Miriam Kaufman
Miriam came to an instant halt upon Jemima's command, the bigger older girl had something she suddenly wanted to say. Who was Miriam to refuse to hear her out. In truth Jemima was quite intimidating to the petite brunette.
"It's about you and her..." clarified Jemima.
"Arabella? Of course, what?" Miriam clutched her lone pail.
"Plumbing up pretty good friends, ain't ya?" Jemima stared at her like she was preparing to pounce almost.
"Yes," Miriam nodded, big eyed.
"You more'n friends?"
Miriam seemed puzzled, "Excuse me. Not sure what you mean? We have agreed to be best of friends, yes. I don't know what more than friends means?"
"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
Posted July 16, 2021 / Arabella Mudd
"Well, that may be so but give it a few years. You both are a bit young for gallivanting about the country," Clara advised, this coming from a pregnant bride of sixteen.
Arabella shook her head. "Uh-uh! I'm just counting the days! Come next April I'll be sixteen years big an' I'm gettin' gallivantin'!" she announced proudly. "An' Miriam will already be sixteen, too. Oh, we're virtually twins, 'cept she's Jewish."
"So she is Jewish, I recognize some of the terms you been saying. I think her family might well be the only Jews in Kalispell," she mused, she had nothing against Jews even though there were some folks who said they were Christ's crucifiers. Certainly not this family of course.
"Yeah, and if anybody says they don't like 'em cause of it, I'll bash 'em!" threatened Arabella with a look of serious intent on her face as she held up a very weak looking arm and fist. Such a threat might have been more pungent coming from someone like Jemima.
Arabella was suddenly afraid Clara would be distraught, jealous, something over her budding new friendship. The truth was far from it.
"No, I do not harbor such thoughts. Not at all. I am happy for you to find such a good friend. And it does not change our friendship either. Friendship can be for life," she declared.
"Oh Clara, that's so poetical!" melted the younger girl "I'd give you a hug but I don't wanna squash the baby!" Still, it would have been nicer if Clara had been just a little bit jealous!
"And you mustn't worry too much about Jacob bein' away on that hair-raising perilous job o' work he's on, too much worry by Mommy will be bad for baby, too." she pontificated.
"Oh, is it still all right to call him Jacob now that you're wed: it might be too familiar, maybe I should call him Mr. Lutz or you'll get jealous of me and think I'm getting over-friendly with your awfully wedded husband..." she rattled on, oblivious that she'd just let on about how this gig with Hector Wigfall was one fraught with danger.
"THERE'S SOMEBODY AT THE DOOR!!!"
Posted July 16, 2021 / Jemima Wigfall
"You more'n friends?"
Miriam seemed puzzled, "Excuse me. Not sure what you mean? We have agreed to be best of friends, yes. I don't know what more than friends means?"
Jemima sniffed . This was a bad habit, always giving a little sniff before she spoke, and it always gave the impression that she was either pissed with the person she was speaking to or trying to 'sniff out the truth'. In most cases, both were true: but actually the sniff was more to do with having a permanently runny nose.
[Sniff] "Yes you do." she said, bluntly. "I know Arabella, and I know all her little secret ways and how she 'ain't right'. I know what she's like about other women and I reckon you do too, by now." Jemima had seen the two of them together, like a pair of barnacles they were. Wouldn't be surprised if she caught the pair of them getting all kissy together in Mr. Pettigrew's stockroom.
She looked the innocent looking little seamstress up and down with a withering stare.
[Sniff] "You two in love with each other?" she asked baldly.
Posted July 16, 2021 / Clara Redmond Lutz
"Well, you could indeed pass as sisters to be honest, you both have the dark hair and are quite petite," Clara actually agreed there with Arabella, for once.
Ara's threat to punch anyone who picked on that family for their Jewish background was hardly intimidating though Clara also agreed at least with the sentiment. Clara had nothing against Jews, the negroes, why even the Irish. She was quite tolerant well except when it came to the Indians - but then they were brute savages.
Fortunately she was spared a hug from Ara thanks to her pregnancy, Clara was getting better about such contact, why she positively craved it from her husband and even Emeline. But her list was short. Then the girl mentioned Jacob's 'perilous' job? Plus another bit about possible jealousy? Honestly....
"That is LAWFULLY married husband. And what do you mean perilous job? Jacob said it is quite simple just involves him being away for a stretch of time," Clara frowned.