"Yes, Dear"
"Awwwww no"
They'd finally gotten settled for the evening: Jacob's work for the day at Western Union was done, no great long deliveries today but he was still dog tired; Clara had also put in a full day at the Diner which, even with the new girl's help was perhaps more exhausting than her husband's job; but crockery, cutlery and cooking and baking vessels were all washed up and dried, the Diner was all shut up; it was about time to get baby Emeline all tucked up in her cot, and the happy young couple wouldn't be far behind her in drifting off to the Land of Nod...
And then came the knock at the door downstairs and Arabella's distinctive foghorn voice.
"Coooo-eeee! Coooooooo-eeeee! Clara-Ann! Clara-Ann! It's me!! I came round to see you like you said!"
Jacob sighed again and hefted himself from his chair.
"I'll get rid of her..." he offered.
He went out into the cramped landing outside the main upstairs living room and down the wooden stairs chuntering to himself "Coming round here all hours o' the night... keepin' folks up... I'll tell her where to go...."
Predicably enough, less than a minute later, he was leading their guest... no, make that guests, up the stairs and into the lamplit room, which suddenly felt very cramped indeed. As well as Arabella, there was Miriam and, of all people, Mr Worcester Pettigrew, the draper.
"Hey, look Clara, it's Arabella and Miriam and Mr Pettigrew." he said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.
Arabella gave him sharp look.
"Hey, we brought presents!" she protested.
Just as the young couple were settled in for the evening, a loud knock was followed by a louder voice. Most familiar too.
"Coooo-eeee! Coooooooo-eeeee! Clara-Ann! Clara-Ann! It's me!! I came round to see you like you said!"
Clara just closed her eyes, "Oh no, I did tell her to stop by some time."
Jacob gallantly volunteered to answer the door and send Arabella away for another time. Clara nodded in agreement.
"I'll get rid of her..." he offered.
Well wouldn't you know it, he did not. Clara sighed, she should have handled it. She loved Jacob dearly but he was no match for Arabella. And as they all tramped up Clara saw with horror she wasn't alone. Miriam and Mr. Pettigrew? Why?
"Hey, look Clara, it's Arabella and Miriam and Mr Pettigrew." Jacob said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.
Arabella gave him sharp look.
"Hey, we brought presents!" she protested.
Clara got up to greet her unbidden visitors, "Oh hello, nice to see you again Mr. Pettigrew, Miriam."
At least Miriam came into the diner for bakery some days, Mr. Pettigrew never. But one look at the man and yes, probably best he not eat baked goods.
"Where are the snows of yesterday" - Villon
Clara got up to greet her unbidden visitors, "Oh hello, nice to see you again Mr. Pettigrew, Miriam."
The man removed his hat, displaying his rather ridiculous comb-over, and gave a little bow to each of the young couple.
“Mrs Lutz, Mr Lutz, please forgive this intrusion but Miss Mudd was quite adamant that we should visit and make the acquaintance of… oh, and there she is!!” the rotund red-haired man beamed. For a chubby chap, he moved with amazing swiftness: before anyone could object, he had picked Emeline up out of her cot and was cradling the three-month old baby in his arms, displaying a surprising level of experience in such matters.
“Oh, you are a fine young lady, Miss Lutz! A fine young lady indeed!” he cooed. Maybe Em liked the colour of the gentleman’s hair but she gurgled contentedly at the attention. “A good weight, Mrs Lutz! Oh yes, a good weight, I say.” He nodded approvingly at Clara, for then as now it was important for a baby to put on weight in the first few months.
He was soon back to paying attention to the baby, though. “Yes, you are! You are a very fine young lady indeed!!
Arabella, perhaps unhappy with not being the centre of attention, then piped up.
“Oh Clara-Ann, look, I brought the baby a nice present!” she announced, handing her friend a very pretty little silver rattle wrapped in tissue paper. “it’s real silver, I got it in Virginia City; we went down there really well, you know. I got two curtain calls. Not as good as Helena, I got three curtain calls there and a marriage proposal, still, two's pretty good. Oh, Dolly, didn’t you have a present for Baby Emeline, too?” she asked, turning to the Jewish seamstress.
"Oh, it is fine, Mr. Pettigrew," Clara responded but that's when the man saw the baby off to the side and went right to her. Clara watched with amazement how taken he was with the child, her estimation of the man rose accordingly.
“Oh, you are a fine young lady, Miss Lutz! A fine young lady indeed!” he cooed. Maybe Em liked the colour of the gentleman’s hair but she gurgled contentedly at the attention. “A good weight, Mrs Lutz! Oh yes, a good weight, I say.” He nodded approvingly at Clara.
"Yes, Em has a very good appetite," Clara actually smiled, but she tended to smile much more than normal when it had anything to do with her child.
"Oh, her name is Emeline by the way," she added.
“Oh Clara-Ann, look, I brought the baby a nice present!” Arabella announced, handing her friend a very pretty little silver rattle wrapped in tissue paper. “it’s real silver, I got it in Virginia City; we went down there really well, you know. I got two curtain calls. Not as good as Helena, I got three curtain calls there and a marriage proposal, still, two's pretty good."
Clara took the rattle, "Why thank you, Arabella, how nice of you to think of her."
"Oh, Dolly, didn’t you have a present for Baby Emeline, too?” Ara now asked, turning to the Jewish seamstress.
Miriam smiled shyly and stepped forward breaking her demure silent presence then. She had a small rather flat box in her hand.
"This is for your little one."
"Why thank you, you didn't have to, Miriam," Clara nodded, it was not wrapped so easy enough to open.
Baby clothing. At first glance the sizes looked if not to fit exactly, as fast as a baby grows, they'd come in handy soon enough.
"Oh gosh, very useful. We can always use clothing. Thank you again, dear," Clara handed the box over to Jacob so he could take a look, not that her husband ever cared much about clothing but it would save them some money too, less things to buy. Children were not cheap to raise.
"Very kind of our guests, is it not, Jacob?" she noted. She well knew Jacob was not enthralled with this late visit. She sympathized, they had both had long days.
"Where are the snows of yesterday" - Villon
"Oh gosh, very useful. We can always use clothing. Thank you again, dear," Clara handed the box over to Jacob so he could take a look, not that her husband ever cared much about clothing, but it would save them some money too, less things to buy. Children were not cheap to raise.
Arabella was filled with a sort of vicarious pride at this praise heaped on her girlfriend. “Good present, isn’t it?” she piped up. “Mrs Kaufman thought clothes were a good idea too, but she didn’t think much of my idea, did she Dolly? ‘Bella! ‘Bella! For why you buy dis silver rittle? But kleyder for a baby, kleyder, in this weather yet, always it is a blessing!’” she launched into a wickedly accurate impersonation of Miriam’s mother which was sadly lost on most of those present as the butcher’s wife was hardly ever seen outside the house.
"Very kind of our guests, is it not, Jacob?" she noted.
“Uh huh” nodded Jacob looking politely at the small garments.
However, he brightened a little when Mr. Pettigrew announced “Now, everybody always buys presents for the baby, but what about poor old Mama and Papa? Miss Kaufman, if you could take Miss Emeline for a second…” he handed the child carefully to the young seamstress with a murmured instruction to support her head. He searched his pockets and produced a very decent looking cigar for Jacob and a small bottle for Clara.
“Rose Otto, Mrs Lutz” he intoned, handing over the vessel containing the popular but moderately expensive 19th Century perfume. “As for Baby Emeline, I hope you will forgive my impertinence, but I have taken it upon myself to open a small account in her name at the Bank. Er…” he searched his pockets, eventually producing a little carboard book which he handed to Jacob, as head of the household. Jacob was too polite to look inside to see how much had been deposited, but when they checked later there was a whole $10 in there, a respectable amount indeed.
Wanting to be centre stage again, Arabella grabbed the rattle and rattled it in the baby’s face which sudden movement and noise made the infant cry. “What’s wrong with her?” Arabella asked perplexed “That thing’s solid silver!”
“Perhaps it is time that we departed” Mr Pettigrew suggested deftly.
While Clara stoically endured Ara's dramatic mimickry of Miriam's mother, Miriam herself did not enjoy it one bit but would have admitted it sounded a whole lot like her. Still, she said nothing. Ara was so much different than her in so many ways, but yet they still connected. Perhaps a modern miracle?
But the kindly Mr. Pettigrew was not done with the gifting, not by far. He remarked he had more and produced a bottle of perfume for Clara (who frankly never used the stuff, a bit extravagant in her opinion) and a cigar for Jacob. He better not smoke that in the house was Clara's first thought. Actually she'd never seen him smoke at all. But the merchant's heart was in the right place at least.
"Oh thank you, sir," she took the bottle. Maybe she could pass it on to her employee, Constance was a city girl and came from rich folk background. Clara liked her despite those things.
But then Pettigrew came up with a wonderful sort of gift, for the baby. A bank account and apparently there was money in it too. My goodness, that was quite the gesture.
"Oh you are just too kind, you should not have," she was truly touched.
Now the old Clara would have been too proud to take such 'charity' but now that she was a mother with a child, such pride was chucked out the window.
Wanting to be centre stage again, Arabella grabbed the rattle and rattled it in the baby’s face which sudden movement and noise made the infant cry. “What’s wrong with her?” Arabella asked perplexed “That thing’s solid silver!”
Clara hugged the baby gently and cooed to her then looked at Ara, "Nothing is wrong with her. Em is a bit too young to appreciate such toys and besides new strange noises startle babies so they cry."
It took all her self control not to add - like the baby knows the value of silver?????
Mr.Pettigrew read the room and soon after the company departed.
***
Outside then the trio set foot then on the boardwalk outside of the diner. Miriam smiled, "I am so happy for them. That is a beautiful baby. Clara will make a wonderful mother."
"Where are the snows of yesterday" - Villon
Outside then the trio set foot then on the boardwalk outside of the diner. Miriam smiled, "I am so happy for them. That is a beautiful baby. Clara will make a wonderful mother."
However, Arabella was strangely quiet. She looked at Miriam, and then at Mr Pettigrew, and then back at Miriam and then... and then she burst out in tears and, picking up her skirts, ran off wailing down the street into the night.
"Waaaaaahhhhhh!!!"
Mr Pettigrew lay a firm but gentle hand on Miriam's shoulder.
"Let her go, Miss Kaufman, let her go. She has realised something for the first time, tonight: something that should have occurred to her some time ago. She will never have children of her own."
He smiled at her benevolently.
"I will accompany you home."
It was a bit of a walk to the Kaufman house, time for Mr Pettigrew to ask a few questions in the guise of general chit-chat.
"You were very good with the baby, I would say you have a naturally maternal nature, Miriam." the gentle older man said, for once actually using her first name, rather than employing the formality of the shop-floor.
Miriam thought she was saying nothing but good things, compliments to the baby, the mother, a good friend of Arabella at that. But whatever, Arabella suddenly burst into tears and literally raced off, setting a good pace too in that big dress.
"Oh my, should I go after her?" Miriam looked to her employer.
"Let her go, Miss Kaufman, let her go. She has realised something for the first time, tonight: something that should have occurred to her some time ago. She will never have children of her own."
"Gosh, I never thought...I mean ...well," Miriam was almost going to say maybe Ara would meet the man of her dreams but no, that was not going to happen.
He smiled at her benevolently.
"I will accompany you home."
"Thank you, now I feel terrible," Miriam was often one to blame herself for things.
"You were very good with the baby, I would say you have a naturally maternal nature, Miriam." the gentle older man said.
"Me? I didn't really do anything, you on the other hand, were amazing with her," Miriam pointed out.
"I am the oldest in my family so I have cared for my younger siblings."
"Where are the snows of yesterday" - Villon
"You were very good with the baby, I would say you have a naturally maternal nature, Miriam." the gentle older man said.
"Me? I didn't really do anything, you on the other hand, were amazing with her," Miriam pointed out.
The balding ginger man chortled "He he, I make no bones about the fact that I love children, and when someone is unable to have their own, he has to enjoy them vicariously, to delight in the little people to whom he will never be more than a jovial uncle or Godfather or neighbor."
"I am the oldest in my family so I have cared for my younger siblings."
He chuckled again.
"No doubt that seemed like a chore to you at the time, but one day in retrospect you may look upon the memory fondly." he opined.
"Miss Mudd and I are similar in that the peculiarity of our dispositions render us strictly unfitted for marriage, we must face up to the fact that there must always be a portion of our lives missing: that of the joy of Fatherhood or Motherhood."
He did not ask whether Miriam was of the same caste: he knew both of her attachment to the other girl, but also of her dalliance with Hector Wigfall, for he had been present at the unfortunate denouement of that tryst - a scene between Arabella and Miriam in his very own drapers. He felt that she, at least, had two roads before her, a fork in the road, and if she chose the path of sapphic endearment, it would come with costs.
He did not ask her about this directly, of course, he was far to much a gentleman, but he put it another way.
"Miss Mudd talks often of heading to New York and seems to assume that you would follow her there. I hope you will give me good notice should that happen, you will be mighty hard to replace Miriam." he put it that way; as if it were merely a business concern a matter of staffing his store.
He put himself in the same category as Arabella, perhaps he did not know that Miriam too was of the same inclinations as her best friend and also lover. But she kept that all to herself. She tried not to even think about children and if she wanted them or not.
"Miss Mudd talks often of heading to New York and seems to assume that you would follow her there. I hope you will give me good notice should that happen, you will be mighty hard to replace Miriam."
Well, that was a good question, fortunately the time had not yet come up for Arabella's big plan.
"I suppose I shall go with her. I could not imagine being separated by half a continent. I do not have a lot of friends," Miriam replied.
"But I do enjoy working for you, sir. So I would not leave unless it was to follow Arabella. I promise."