"Smokey! Sic em, boy, sic em!"
"She did mention goin' out," Justus confirmed, "tomorrow some time."
“Sounds dangerous!” snapped Granny.
“Someone'll escort her, of course," he further assured the granny, "make sure she gets there safe."
“Oh no, bless your soul, I mean dangerous to close this place up, or leave it in the hands of someone who’ll make a mess of it!” she said, patting Justus’ hand gently. Leonora couldn’t help noticing that, the old dear had really taken a shine to the young man.
"Helen is a right pretty name," he then agreed between bites.
“Well ‘course Helen’s a pretty name – it’s MY name!” Granny declared. Lee’s mouth dropped, she’d only ever known her Grandmother called ‘Granny’ or ‘Mrs Miggins’ (or a few other choice names, none of them ‘Helen’!) It seemed bizarre to find out her name after all these years.
"Never considered on what I'd name a baby, but then, I named my horse Mule, an' I never considered any babies besides cows!"
"I won't ask what you call your mule!" Granny chaffed him "Just hope it ain't 'Helen'!"
The sprightly old lady jumped up. “I’d better go and help Clara sort all of this out!” she declared, and bustled off to the kitchen, leaving Leonora alone with Justus. She didn’t like to bother Justus when he was eating, she hated that herself, being asked some polite question while you had a mouth full of pie. Instead she addressed the waitress.
“Oh, excuse me Miss, could I order some dessert. What do have especially today?”
@Bongo
@Wayfarer
"Yes, Dear"
"Hello husband dear, yes, one of Pike's hands brought us the news. A healthy baby boy. Name of Wheeler, cannot say I much care for it but then none of my business," Clara responded.
Jacob shrugged and came to the same conclusion as his Grandmother “Oh, that’ll be after ‘Fightin’ Joe Wheeler’, the Confederate general, wasn’t Pike a Texas Ranger or something in the War?” he asked. From then on, the little lad from the Rockin’ P would be known as ‘Fightin’ Joe’ or just ‘Joe’ to all and sundry in Kalispell.
"And yes, Emeline asked if I could come out just for a few days. I have agreed."
She looked at the frying pan, the meat sizzling in it would need a few minutes so she turned and moved up to her man.
He was close enough behind her to slip his arms around her waist as she spoke. Lord she was beautiful… and desirable. He’d often though how he’d like to sneak up behind her in the kitchen and… oh, but she had a little speech. He pulled his best earnest ‘listening face’.
"I am in a quandary, dear, I cannot simply leave the diner to Constance. She has been doing fine but she cannot handle both waitress and cook all by herself. She is only learning how we cook and bake things here. So I either close the place down completely for a few days or find someone who could do the cooking and Constance said she is fine with that. So the place could stay open."
“Well who…”
"As for our daughter, do not fret. I am taking Em along with me. I know you need to continue working too. It will not be for long, dear," she then kissed him on the cheek.
He was just kissing her back when Granny appeared, popping up, as she so often did, like a silent genie from the bottle.
“Hey, never mind all that canoodlin’! Your steaks are burning!” she declared (they weren't) and moved over and grabbing the flipper, flipped the meat over. “Now don’t you worry, Clara, this place’ll be in good hands with me!”
Jacob enjoyed the look on Clara’s face for a second, then interjected “I think you’re needed at the farm though Granny, otherwise who’s gonna cook Amos and Scrappy and Lee’s dinner for ‘em?” he tried.
Granny had an answer for that. “Oh, Lee does all the cooking now she’s up and well again. Pretty good too, ‘cept when she makes all that German stuff your father ate. I don’t care how delicious it is, it ain’t AMERICAN!!” the old lady declared.
Jacob’s eyes met Clara’s. Was she thinking what he was thinking?
For a moment, there were people all around, than then it was just Justus and Lee, but at least he could eat in relative peace, and Miss Lee was polite about not making conversation. And while that was nice, it was awkward, so when she flagged Constance for pie, he smiled and commented, "All th' pie here's real good, ain't it? Not real sure what my favorite is. Maybe th' pecan, especially when it's got whipped cream on it."
He took a bite of his meal, then asked, "Have ya lived here all yer life, Miss Lee?"
"All th' pie here's real good, ain't it? Not real sure what my favorite is. Maybe th' pecan, especially when it's got whipped cream on it."
“Well, that’s all right for you, Mr. Gibbs, but we ladies have to watch our weight. Especially unmarried ladies like me, we never know we might bump into Mr. Right: we need to constantly look our best. I mean, there’s only so much corsets can do!” she joked lightly, whist also subtly hinting at her unwanted spinsterhood.
He took a bite of his meal, then asked, "Have ya lived here all yer life, Miss Lee?"
“No, I just drop in for a slice of pie now and again” she smiled, once again trying to showcase her ‘sparkling wit’.
“No, to answer your question quite seriously, Mr. Gibbs, I’m a Hawkeye.” She said, indicating her Iowa roots “I was born in Council Bluffs and we lived there until I was 10, when my Mother died of diphtheria. My Father died when I was eight, he fell through a trapdoor, so we all moved here, me and Jacob and my sister Josephina, oh, but she is now married and swimming with children and living in Helena."
Justus was chewing, so Leonora pushed on, trying to think of something interesting to say.
"Yes, well, my brother-in-law manufactures something called 'plywood'. It’s a new sort of wood from Europe that’s made by sticking together separate thin panels of other wood: it is incredibly light and strong. Mister Jolly the undertaker here in town has even experimented with making a coffin out of it. Imagine that, being buried in a plywood coffin? Well, it wasn't a great success - poor Mrs Jenkins, she dropped right out the bottom when they were carrying her to the grave, and the bearers didn't even realise it. Oh, we did laugh! Still, my brother-in-law is making ‘quite a go of it’ out there in Helena, as they say.”
She smiled again. She had a very ready and kind smile.
“I’m afraid I do run on, sometimes, Mr Gibbs, when the conversation turns to plywood, but at least it gave you a chance to finish your pie” she pointed out.
“Now, how about you? Where do you hail from, and do you have any interesting relatives in the Gibbs family tree?” she enquired – tit for tat.
"Over pie, Miss Lutz told Mr Gibbs all about plywood, its uses and its manufacture"
@[Bongo]
The old woman, moving faster than Constance would have guessed, hastened into the kitchen. She didn't have time to say anything but she well knew Clara did NOT like customers barging in back there. Oh dear.
“Oh, excuse me Miss, could I order some dessert. What do have especially today?”
"Yes, of course, Miss, we have an assortment of pies and also I believe a few slices of chocolate cake are left too," Constance answered.
Justus piped up in favor of the pies here at the diner and mentioned pecan pie with whipped cream.
"Mr. Gibbs is right about the pies, I don't make 'em so don't worry. Mrs.Lutz is the baker," added Constance.
Then her eyes went to the young cowboy, "Sorry to say, we do not have any pecan pie today."
They were still a young enough married couple that one kiss turned into a second longer one. Well until someone invaded the privacy of her kitchen, Clara was startled and broke off it off.
“Hey, never mind all that canoodlin’! Your steaks are burning!” she declared (they weren't) and moved over and grabbing the flipper, flipped the meat over.
"They are not!" Clara emphatically disagreed with a glare. How dare granny burst in uninvited. (Not there would have ever been an invitation with Clara in charge.)
“Now don’t you worry, Clara, this place’ll be in good hands with me!”
"WHAT?!" Clara gasped.
Jacob enjoyed the look on Clara’s face for a second, then interjected “I think you’re needed at the farm though Granny, otherwise who’s gonna cook Amos and Scrappy and Lee’s dinner for ‘em?” he tried.
Granny had an answer for that. “Oh, Lee does all the cooking now she’s up and well again. Pretty good too, ‘cept when she makes all that German stuff your father ate. I don’t care how delicious it is, it ain’t AMERICAN!!” the old lady declared.
Jacob’s eyes met Clara’s. Was she thinking what he was thinking?
Actually luckily for Jacob, he did not know what Clara was thinking because right at that moment her thoughts were murderous. And he plus Granny were about to hear only some of it spoken.
"Get out! You have no business walking into my kitchen! This is a business not your farmhouse. You are not, I repeat NOT going to be running anything in this diner!" Clara snapped angrily.
"If you do not leave right away, I will ..........I will take a broom and chase you out! And that is not an idle threat, trust me!" the brunette was plainly furious.
"Yes, Dear"
Poor old Jacob. Like most men, all he wanted was a nice quiet life. He was willing to go out, put in the hours at work, risk life and limb riding all over the county to support his wife and child, so long as he could come home to a little peace and quiet.
But oh no. The women in his life wouldn’t allow THAT. A little bit of calm and peace and quiet and rest. Oh no!
Em was always crying, or Clara was always getting annoyed at folks, or granny was always interfering and making problems, or if you dropped into the saloon for a quiet drink, some woman’d be all over you… it was exasperatin’!
"Get out! You have no business walking into my kitchen! This is a business not your farmhouse. You are not, I repeat NOT going to be running anything in this diner!" Clara snapped angrily.
“Now don’t you talk to me like that Clara Lutz, I’m just trying to help you out! You need to learn to be more grateful to folks instead of snapping at them like an angry pug all the time!” Granny retorted, in no way cowed by her Granddaughter-in-law’s incandescent rage. She’d had much worse rows with her own daughter and her granddaughter Josphina, along with, well, many of the town’s residents throughout the decades; you could say she specialised in it. This was all water off a duck’s back.
"If you do not leave right away, I will ..........I will take a broom and chase you out! And that is not an idle threat, trust me!" the brunette was plainly furious.
“Huh! Like to see you try! Nobody’s ever chased ME off o’ nowhere” the old battleaxe declared, waving her flipper like the Sword of Gideon.
Then, suddenly and unexpectedly, there was a third voice.
“Oh will you two just SHUT UP!”
Granny nearly dropped her flipper as she turned in stunned amazement to look at her grandson.
“I’m just SO fed up and disgusted with the two of you, every time you meet you’re interferin’,” he pointed at Granny “… an’ you’re getting your drawers in a twist about nuthin’!” he pointed at Clara. “Shoutin’ and bawlin’ – all the time! And I can’t side with you, because then I’ll never hear the last of it from her, and I can’t side with you, because then I’ll never hear the last of it from her. Why it makes a feller SICK! The two women I care most about in the world and together you’re making my life a MISERY!!” he declared and taking his hat and throwing it on the kitchen floor, he stormed out at the back door, stopping only to shout at the now crying Em in her basket.
“And you can shut up, too!”
He slammed the back door out of the kitchen and, amazingly, the baby stopped crying.
Mrs Miggins stood dumbfounded for a second, then meekly handed the spatula back to Clara with a quiet "I'm sorry, my dear." She then, with as much dignity as she could muster, walked back out the front way and back to her table.
As if Granny's barging into her kitchen and then defiance about leaving wasn't bad enough, it all got very very worse when Jacob erupted, taking both women by surprise. Baby Em even started crying.
“Oh will you two just SHUT UP!"
Clara's eyes went wide, he had never spoken to her like that. She froze in place. And he was not finished either.
“I’m just SO fed up and disgusted with the two of you, every time you meet you’re interferin’,” he pointed at Granny “… an’ you’re getting your drawers in a twist about nuthin’!” he pointed at Clara. “Shoutin’ and bawlin’ – all the time! And I can’t side with you, because then I’ll never hear the last of it from her, and I can’t side with you, because then I’ll never hear the last of it from her. Why it makes a feller SICK! The two women I care most about in the world and together you’re making my life a MISERY!!” he declared and taking his hat and throwing it on the kitchen floor, he stormed out at the back door, stopping only to shout at the now crying Em in her basket.
He even snapped at the baby. Surprisingly the baby quieted but for how long lord only knew. As shocking as it was for Jacob to tear into her for him to get angry with an innocent baby? Clara could not believe this was even happening! And now, he was gone. Gone where?
Mrs Miggins stood dumbfounded for a second, then meekly handed the spatula back to Clara with a quiet "I'm sorry, my dear." She then, with as much dignity as she could muster, walked back out the front way and back to her table.
Clara took the spatula then placed it onto the stove. She also removed the frying pan from the fire so the meat did not burn. She still had a lot of cooking to do yet now she felt like doing nothing, nothing but sitting down and crying. She would never imagined Jacob, her gentle and loving Jacob, turning on her like this. Her fury had been directed only at Granny. She felt lost, alone. Only the baby's stirring and new tears prevented her from just collapsing. She raced over to the baby and took her into her arms.
Constance now entered the kitchen once more, she was ready to fetch some pie for Justus and the other woman. But she had heard the row going on just a mere minute or so earlier and met the old woman returning to her table, looking very solemn. Now she saw Clara, like she'd never seen her employer before. Those were tears streaming down those cheeks.
"Mrs. Lutz, are you alright?"
Clara wanted to say 'no, she was not. She was a mess. But she still had a job, a responsibility to continue with the cooking. There were customers out there and they wouldn't care about her private tribulations, they wanted the food they ordered. Her mentor, Emeline, wouldn't fall apart and neither could she then.
"Yes, yes, I will be..........alright," she still cradled little Em.
"Let me plate that steak and finish that up for you. Then I can cut some pie slices," Constance just wanted to help, she felt terrible for Clara.
"Yes....thank you," Clara sat down with the infant, it was still fussing.
Although the kitchen door into the diner was always propped open during the day when the place was open, Leonora still knocked on it before she entered, just poking her head around and asking gently “Can I come in?”
If Miss Straub was shocked at seeing tears on the formidable Clara Lutz’s face, her sister-in-law was less so. Why she’d even seen Granny cry on occasion.
She came over to Clara and on impulse put a soft hand on Clara’s shoulder. Jacob’s sister might suffer from a weak heart, but it could never be said that it was not a full one. Her unoccupied digits she used to tickle baby Em’s chubby little hand, who gurgled and calmed a little as she grabbed at her aunt’s fingers.
There was no hurry.
Lee looked down at the happy little baby and smiled. She was beautiful.
Eventually, when the time seemed right, she spoke.
“Seventeenth of September, year of 1874.” She said.
“Last time he blew up like that. I know ‘cause it was his birthday. Same sort of thing, Josephina and my grandmother were arguing, I mean, they were really at it. Those two… well, let’s just say they make you and Granny seem like the best of friends.”
Em made a gurgling noise at this improbable idea.
“I remember, Jo had just called Granny a ‘spiteful prune-faced old bitch’ and Granny had just called Jo a ‘dirty ugly little slut’, I think the phrase was, and Jake just lost control, I mean, there was furniture flying! And he stormed out and…”
There was no more to add to that story really.
“It’s because he loves you, Clara, he loves you so bad… but he can’t not love her. She brought him up since he was four. Me and Jo were no good, just a pair of selfish little girls really, she did it, she did it all. She’s his mother, really. I’m sorry Clara, my Grandmother is kinda like your Ma in law.”
Em smiled at this declaration or was it wind?
“Jake’s lucky, he got a father-in-law he really admires. You got Granny. And no matter how hard it is, he loves you both, so you and her gotta, somehow, get along. Oh, you can make him choose you over her, oh sure, you definitely got that power, but it’d kill him.”
Oh dear, it all sounded so dour and serious; Leonora tried to sound more upbeat.
“Anyway, I… think the old trout’ll be better now. Keep her beak out. Jake’ll be sorry for shouting. He’s probably sitting somewhere right now desperately upset and trying to think of a way to make amends to you for what he’s done.”
She didn’t know what else to say and, on an impulse, kissed Clara on top of her head wondering, rather incongruously as she did so, how the girl got her center-parting so straight.
Em made an “Ahh!” noise.
“Can I hold her?” Lee asked.
Justus was fervently wishing that he'd just hopped on Mule and raced back to the Rocking P as soon as he'd delivered his message, but it was too late now, and at least Miss Constance was here to be a bright light!
The row from the kitchen was hard to miss, at least the tones in voices if not the actual words, and then Miss Lee was up and going that way as Granny burst back into the dining room, headed for his table. Justus barely had time to stand and hold her chair for her, then he settled back in his seat, not sure what to say.
"Miss Lee's quite th' young lady," he observed, thinking that a compliment would boost the old woman's mood. "She says yer 'Hawkeyes'," whatever that meant, "an' been here a time. I just come from Texas in th' Fall, an' this winter was th' first I seen snow." He grinned. "Can't say as I like it much!"