“Does cold weather ever come to the desert?” she asked.
“Absolutely. We had us a blizzard not two winters back. It comes heavier in the higher elevations, of course, but we’ve had our share of cold and even snow.” He led her into a room on the left. “Here’s the kitchen. You can see that it has an icebox. The train brings in ice regular, so it’s not a problem to have ice delivered. We’re pretty modern here.”
“I would say so.” She smiled and continued her inspection.
“The smaller of the two bedrooms is off the right of the living room, and the larger is on the left.” He opened the door to the smaller bedroom, and Susanna stepped in. She could see it working well for Gary. “There’s an outhouse in the back and a couple of cauldrons for laundry near the outside pump.”
“Sounds quite convenient.” Of course, her mother wouldn’t think so.
After seeing all there was to see, she knew it was time to hear the price and negotiate the details. Could she manage it for herself? This would be her first big venture without her father-in-law, husband, or Uncle Harrison to guide her. She glanced heavenward and whispered a prayer.
“And what is the price you are asking for this house?” She decided it was best to get right to the point.
Mr. Medford looked at her rather sheepishly. “Well, the fact is . . . I had a higher price in mind, but the Lord gave me another number to ask.”
For whatever reason, his words put Susanna at ease. “Very well, and what is that price?”
“Three hundred dollars.”
She thought of the money she had back in the hotel safe. She had brought exactly four hundred dollars with her from Topeka. There was more than enough to pay cash and have money left over until she could arrange with the bank for more.
“And the furniture stays with it?” She glanced around at the sparse but adequate pieces.
“It does. Two beds, one in each room, kitchen table with four chairs, and the sofa in the living room. And like I said, the laundry cauldrons stay.”
“I’ll take it. It seems the Lord is looking out for the both of us today.”
Mr. Medford nodded. “I’ve never known Him to do otherwise.”
She smiled at the old man and extended her hand. “Neither have I.”
“You will just have to wear it wrinkled,” Mother declared to Gary as he fussed over his Sunday shirt. “I don’t know how to iron it. I’ve never had to do such things for myself.”
“I could stay home. You’re the one who always protests wrinkles. We are supposed to look our best all the time in case we come across someone who will promote our destiny.”
“Well, they certainly won’t come from this horrid place. Decent people wouldn’t be caught dead here.”
Susanna had just arrived from the hotel and looked at her mother. “How did the house suit you last night?” She had borrowed linens from the hotel to make the beds and give it a homier appeal before showing it to her mother and father. For now she’d told them they could rent the house. She had no desire for them to know she had bought it outright. If they knew she had money, there would be no end to her misery.
“It certainly isn’t what we are used to,” her mother replied, “but it is better than that hotel. I simply could not show my face in church with the explanation that I was living behind the work desk of a hotel. The shame would have been too great.”
Susanna knew she’d only made the situation worse in some ways. Her mother had complained and cried and gotten her way once again. Susanna wasn’t teaching her anything but that such actions continued to work. But it had given Susanna great peace of mind. With her parents and Gary staying at the house, she had taken the hotel manager’s rooms. As far as she was concerned, she’d gotten the best of the arrangement.
“The Methodist church services start in ten minutes,” Mother announced. “We need to go now, or we’ll be rushed in getting there. I hate that we must walk everywhere. Herbert, you simply must arrange for us to have a carriage.”
“Mother, there is nothing far enough away to merit a carriage. We can walk to all of the stores, the church, and the Harvey House.” Susanna shook her head. “Even the railroad depot is close. And we certainly cannot afford to purchase a carriage and horses. Nor do you have any place to keep them, so we would have the added expense of a livery.”
“Oh, you are always so uncaring, Susanna. My nerves simply will not take walking everywhere. Especially when it’s hot.”
“I’m sorry, Mother, but you will have to get used to walking in the heat. Besides, you’ll have plenty of work at the hotel to do, so being out and about won’t be a problem. I won’t be here forever, and you’ll need to take over my duties.”
Her mother looked stunned. “I can’t. I won’t. I wasn’t raised to do such things.” She looked at her husband. “I haven’t the constitution for it.”
“Don’t go on so, Gladys. We’ll get it all figured out. Maybe Gary can take over Susanna’s chores when she leaves us.”
“I’m no washerwoman,” Gary declared. “Cooking and cleaning are women’s work. I’m going to check into a job at the Santa Fe.”
“What about helping me with the hotel?” Father asked.
“The hotel is your punishment, not mine,” Gary replied.
The look of surprise on Father’s face left Susanna certain a fight was about to erupt.
She shook her head and reached for her brother’s arm. “We’re going to be late for church.”
They headed out of the house, and Susanna remarked at how much cooler it had been inside.
“The adobe keeps the house so nice and cool. Won’t that be a blessing, Mother?”
“Electricity would be a blessing. I honestly don’t know why things are so primitive. The railroad has electricity, and you would think the town could afford it.”
“Uncle Harrison said it’s coming. That’s why he had the hotel wired for it. It was no doubt a great expense, but he plans for there to be fans in every room.”
“He can afford it,” Mother countered. “Which is why it’s a grief that he won’t help us for a short time while your father finds something new in which to invest. It’s hardly his fault that the other venture came to an end.”
Susanna could not understand what thoughts must be inside her mother’s head. Did she not comprehend that the choices Father made had robbed them of their financial security? Did she not understand that her husband’s pride had put them in this position? Her mother wasn’t generally naïve about money, but when it came to her husband, it seemed he could do no wrong and any complication was someone else’s fault.
A group of brown-skinned children ran past them. They were laughing and bantering back and forth in Spanish. Susanna smiled. How wonderful to be so carefree.
“Savages,” her father murmured.
“Savages, father?” Susanna stared at him, shocked. “They’re children. And from the look of it, they’re headed to church.”
“I suppose they could have been brought to the Lord,” he murmured. “I’m still not convinced that such wild people can understand what it is to be tamed and settled.”