"Mind yer manners, Rip, ain't just the two of us." Ty cautioned.
"Yes sir." Was the response. Rip had recovered from the horror of the raid on the farm but he still had his moments because a boy would always carry the pain and the anger of that night. But he was resilient, and that was the mark of a strong young man, though he had a couple more years before he would be considered as such.
@Wayfarer
Clara put in long days given she had to run the diner herself and by supper she was usually tuckered. But the diner had an hour to go yet before closing time so one simply had to persevere. She recognized the man entering though not the young man/boy. No matter, a customer was a customer, they all deserved good service.
The young but visibly with child brunette headed toward the table they had chosen then flashed her customer service smile. Forcing smiles had always been difficult for her even as a child. Clara was a very phlegmatic personality.
"Hello, Mr. Thornton, been awhile. How are you?" she started in and once he answered that she added, "What can I get you two?"
The daily menu was on the wall on a chalkboard, her printed penmanship was exquisite.
"THERE'S SOMEBODY AT THE DOOR!!!"
The order was disturbed by the door opening and Jemima Wigfall marching in, holding an unhappy looking Buster firmly in her arms. "Hey, Clara, I think your cat hurt its paw!" she bellowed, then skidded to a halt, realising that she was interrupting a business interaction of the pie persuasion.
"Oh, sorry!" she blurted and nodded to Ty "Howdy Mr. Thornton" and then looked at the young man with him and gulped, lost for words. She heard herself blurt out "Cat hurt his paw." as she stared glassy eyed at Rip and somewhere violins played and church bells rang out.
Buster jumped out of her arms while she was distracted by the lad and hightailed it to the kitchen to escape out the back. His limp was miraculously gone: turned out he'd been putting it on for sympathy, because Jemima sometimes fed him scraps if he looked forlorn enough. Shorn of any excuse to be here, the frowsy Wigfall girl bobbed forward and looked through to the kitchen, where dirty plates were piled high.
"You all on you own, Clara? The woman not in?" 'The Woman': Jemima shared Arabella's distain for Lucinda Dietrich but for totally different reasons. Arabella resented the woman butting in at church and dropping all the hymn books on the floor, Jemima was more angry about her stealing the most handsome, eligible, unmarried man in town. "Want me to wash up for ya?" she asked, helpfully, and attempted one of her rare smiles.
"Hello, Mr. Thornton, been awhile. How are you?" she started in and once he answered that she added, "What can I get you two?"
"Evenin' Misus Lutz." Ty looked at The board where the menu for the day was written, most excellently "Rip? what strikes you? Believe I'll have th -"
The order was disturbed by the door opening and Jemima Wigfall marching in, holding an unhappy looking Buster firmly in her arms. "Hey, Clara, I think your cat hurt its paw!" Buster jumped out of her arms while she was distracted by the lad and hightailed it to the kitchen to escape out the back. "Want me to wash up for ya?" she asked, helpfully, and attempted one of her rare smiles.
Wayfarer
Javia
Clara was just about to take the man and boy's orders when the door burst open and there was Jemima holding a cat? Why was she bringing a cat into this eating establishment? She did not need to ask though.
"Hey, Clara, I think your cat hurt its paw."
Clara glared, "I bet your pardon. That is NOT my cat. I do not own any cats."
Seemingly the cat wanted no more to do with being there than Clara wanted it there. It dashed away and sure didn't look like it had an injured paw.
"Want me to wash up for ya?"Jemima now asked.
"Nice of you to offer but I cannot pay you for it. I am not currently taking on any new employees. Lest you forget I am not the owner, merely in charge until Miss Pike returns from her ..........rather lengthy wedding trip," Clara pointed out.
But she was keeping customers waiting, "Excuse me, Mr. Thornton, what was your order then?"
"THERE'S SOMEBODY AT THE DOOR!!!"
"Nice of you to offer but I cannot pay you for it. I am not currently taking on any new employees. Lest you forget I am not the owner, merely in charge until Miss Pike returns from her ..........rather lengthy wedding trip," Clara pointed out.
"I meant it as a favour, Clara, not everyone's money-mad, you know!" frowned Jemima, a little miffed, feeling that Clara had someone sullied her offer by even mentioning payment, let alone her ingratitude over the cat which spent most of its time hanging around the pie emporium. Still, she had made the offer and she intended to fulfil it: she walked past the uppity girl, rolling her sleeves up, ready to get washing and muttering darkly "'lest you forget' indeed!"
Meanwhile, Clara got back to business.
But she was keeping customers waiting, "Excuse me, Mr. Thornton, what was your order then?"
"Looks like two specials and coffee oughtta do us." Ty said, "An' the Pikes, any word on when they might be getting back, town needs Pike all they got is Charlie, not that there's been much trouble since the Marshal was shot. Nothing agin young Charlie Wentworth you understand. Jest alays good ta have an experienced man to teach the new man the ropes."
He looked after the Wigfall woman then smiled, "Ya know, having a body of offer at no cost is about a kind a gift as one could give, say what you will about Jemima Wigfall, I've heard she's a hard worker, and it seems thems hard to come by. 'scuse me for buttin' in."
Rip, meanwhile, paid what was transpiring no mind, he was busy watching the street and all of the traffic, pedestrian and horse or wagon traffic. They did not get to town much working at the mine.
Wayfarer, Javia
"I meant it as a favour, Clara, not everyone's money-mad, you know!" frowned Jemima, a little miffed then she marched toward the back anyway.
"Sorry, fine, I would be grateful," Clara certainly thought money was important to that girl given all the jobs she did.Why else would she do it?
Meanwhile her customers put in their orders.
"Looks like two specials and coffee oughtta do us." Ty said, "An' the Pikes, any word on when they might be getting back, town needs Pike all they got is Charlie, not that there's been much trouble since the Marshal was shot. Nothing agin young Charlie Wentworth you understand. Jest alays good ta have an experienced man to teach the new man the ropes."
"Two specials and coffee coming up," Clara didn't need to write that down, it was simple to remember. Now as for his question about the Pikes...
"I have heard nothing definitive as to when they will return but of course I expect them soon. I do know they are traveling quite extensively and having a wonderful time from the telegrams and letters I have received."
"As for Deputy Wentworth, I best just reserve my opinion on that issue," Clara still did not like Charlie since their disastrous first encounters.
"I will be back with your coffees then work on the specials," she assured the two of them.
"THERE'S SOMEBODY AT THE DOOR!!!"
Jemima clinked and clanked and splished and splashed as she scrubbed away at the pots and pans, looking up only as Clara entered to make the coffees.
"You're busy tonight." she stated the obvious.
All right, so it wasn't the height of sophisticated conversations, but this was the back end of the Territories, not the salons of Paris.
"Mister Thornton's nice, isn't he?" Jemima asked Clara' opinion, casually.
Rip looked across the wooden table at Ty, the man who took him in, so to speak. "When the Marshal's better, you got any plans other than we continue workin' at the 'Copper Queen'?" He ha;f smiled, "I mean I like it an' al, but school, gonna start an' I 'spose you'd want me to go."
"I would. Education's important, more important than workin' the mine in whatever capacity you an' me'd be hired to do." Ty replied, "I know that it ain't a whole lotta fun sittin' learnin' stuff you don't figger's important, but it is. Bein' able ta read and usin' yer numbers'll take ya a long way in this world, and yeah, I want you should go back when she starts."
"I 'spose." Rip said dejectedly.
"Hey now, them that kilt yer family, dumber'n dirt most of 'em. Cain't read a lick, ner know the difference 'tween a dime an' a dollar. You don't wanna turn out like that now do ya?" Ty asked, seriously. That set Rip to pondering the whole thing as they waited for their meal.
s.