Arm in arm, Father and Cordelia led the way. My stepmother had her toddler, Sam, on her right hip. Katie was next, holding Susan's hand. Anna was next to me, ignoring me with every step she took, and then Simon was behind us.
To be quite honest, it was the strangest walk to church I had ever been a part of. At school, there had been a chapel on school grounds, and the reverend had delivered his sermon in sign for us. In Springfield, I had always trailed behind my aunt and uncle. To be in the center of a group was disconcerting.
There was already a large group milling about the yard of the white church. I took a deep breath,, drawing on all my courage. Meeting new people had become a bit easier since I'd set out for Montana, but it still was not my favorite thing to do.
Father pulled his arm away from Cordelia and turned to reach his good hand out to me. Stepping around Katie, I went to him. He kept me by his side as he approached the closest man. They shook hands, exchanging greetings. My eyes went to the badge on his vest.
"Miss," he said, tipping his hat to me. "Welcome to town."
"—my daughter Ivy," Father said, making sure he looked straight at me as he made the introduction though I missed the first part of his sentence. "Ivy, this...Sheriff John Worth."
I nodded in acknowledgement. Father turned back to the sheriff and, I presumed, explained that I was deaf. The sheriff did a double take, looking at me a little closer the second time. I took the opportunity to study him closer. He was of average height, taller than me at least, and had a graying mustache over his lip.
As Father continued to talk to Sheriff Worth, I glanced around. Anna had found several of her friends and was gesturing dramatically as she spoke. They all glanced my way and then their shoulders shook with laughter. What was she telling them?
A touch on my arm brought my focus back to Father and the sheriff. Red-faced, Sheriff Worth said, with exaggerated mouth movements, "You were on the stage that was held up?"
It would have been comical if it didn't actually help me understand. I gave a brief nod in answer. Sheriff glanced at Father, who looked concerned. "I received a wire with the news," he said, without the exaggerated speaking. "There was mention of a deaf passenger."
My attention was caught by someone who passed behind the sheriff. It was the young man who had caught me! He nodded and tipped his hat when his gaze met mine. A blush heated up my cheeks as I nodded in return.
When would I know his name?
All too soon, it was time to enter the church and I hadn't even met the reverend. While I'd hoped to sit near my father for the service, I was squished in between Simon and Anna. Neither of them looked happy about the situation.
We were in the back pew, so it was impossible for me to see the reverend speak. Out of respect, I stood for the hymns and read along from the hymnal that Anna held in her hands. I didn't even attempt to join my voice with the congregation. That would have been a disaster given that I had little control over volume and pitch!
There was little to occupy my mind as I sat through the sermon. The walls were wooden planks and the windows were simple. In Springfield, stained glass windows had sparkled and held my attention whenever Uncle Richard sat us too far from the pulpit for me too read Reverend Weston's lips. Here, I was bored out of my mind.
Anna jabbed me in the ribs with her elbow when everyone bowed their heads for the final prayer. When I tried to step away from her, I knocked into Simon and he too elbowed me in the side. I glared at him, but he had his head down and his eyes closed.
It wasn't always going to be like this, was it?
¤¤¤¤
I had the feeling that Father and Cordelia noticed the little spat between the three of us. They were quick to lead us out of the church as soon as the service was over. There was no stopping to talk to their neighbors and we made the short walk to the house much faster than we had earlier in the morning.
It was even more confusing when Cordelia set down bread and ham on the table. She didn't even pause to eat but rushed into her bedroom. Anna pushed Katie towards me and fed Sam. Father took pity on me as I stared at the three year old with no idea what I was supposed to do with her. He sat the girl on his knee and shared his food with her.
This was not what I thought being part of a large family would be like.
Everyone ate quickly. Simon was the first to finish and he rushed out of the room. Was something happening that I didn't know about? Cordelia came out, dressed in a worn cotton gown. Whatever she said made Anna and Susan jump up from their seats. They snatched up all the plates and rushed to the kitchen.
Carrying Sam, Father hurried to the bedroom. Standing behind the chair where I had sat for the brief meal, I watched in confusion. Cordelia faced me and her expression was filled with impatience. She waved her hands in a shooing motion as though she wanted me out of the room.
With no other choice and completely baffled, I retreated to the parlor. Through the window, I saw a wagon pull up in front of the house. My rescuer from the previous day set the brake and then jumped to the ground. He pushed his hat back as he stared at the house. His expression seemed serious.
I stepped to the side, hoping he hadn't seen me. As I did, I saw Simon rush past the parlor doorway, presumably to meet his friend. My brother had changed out of his suit into trousers and a ragged shirt.
Whatever my family had planned for the afternoon, they expected to get dirty. I needed to know what was happening. As soon as Father came out, dressed in a similar manner as Simon, I hurried to him and wiggled my hands in question. "What is going on?"
For a moment, he stared at me with a frown, and then he glanced around. His shoulders rose and fell with a sigh, and he shook his head. Gesturing for me to follow, Father went to the desk in the parlor and found the only sheet of paper there. He wrote a quick note.
Ivy, I am so sorry we did not tell you. Today, we are moving to the ranch.
Since when did Father own a ranch? He was store owner! What did he know about ranching? My confusion must been obvious because Father laughed. He took back the paper, wrote some more, and then put it in my hand. He hurried on his way, leaving me to read the note.
There will be more room on the ranch. It's a good move for the future of this family. You'll understand when you see it.
So, none of my questions were answered. Well, I had an answer to two questions. Now I knew why my trunk had been left on the porch. What was the point of carrying it in if it would just have to be brought back out? I also understood why the house looked so bare.
When I looked up, I realized that I wasn't alone in the room. A blush spread on my cheeks once again as the young man, his hat in his hand, nodded at me. Feeling shy, I raised my hand in greeting.Would I learn his name at last? It was strange to think of him as 'my rescuer' or the 'young man'.
"Hello," he said.
Simon stepped around him, and glanced between us. He shook his head and made a gesture to his friend. "—Prater, my sister Ivy," he said, looking impatient. "Come help with the furniture." Without waiting for an answer, my brother left the room.
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Ivy," the young man—I assumed that Prater was his last name— said, putting his hat back on. I'd missed whatever first name my brother had given. I think it ended with 'emy', which made no sense at all. The only name I knew of that would contain those letters was 'Emmy'. It was a girl's name, so that couldn't be right.
He waited until I gave a nod of acknowledgement and then he backed out of the room. I could have have offered him the paper and gotten his full name. Even though I really wanted to know his first name, I was a little glad I hadn't done that. It would have emphasized how different I was, and that was the last thing I ever wanted to do.
I was like any other person. I'd known men who'd fought in the war who now had no leg or arm. While they were treated with care and uneasy at first, in time they returned to their lives, more or less. But with me...I was always on the outside, looking in.
Shaking my head, I folded up the paper and slipped it into my pocket. It still had room for other writing and it would have been wasteful to throw it out. After a glance down at my good dress and not wanting it to be ruined with hard work, I climbed up the ladder to the attic. Anna was already there, scowling at the pile of soiled items at the foot of my bed. She nudged at it with her foot as though she hadn't seen it earlier.
As soon as she saw me. she turned and set about stripping the rest of the beds. Holding back a sigh, I lifted my carpet bag from the floor, set it on the bed, and then opened it. I pulled out the second dress that I'd worn on my journey. It was in sore need of a wash, but I assumed that until the entire family was moved to this ranch, I would have no access to a washtub for my clothes or for myself. It would have to do, though, for I was not about to put my traveling dress back on.
Anna left the attic with the other bedding while I changed. I made sure all of my belongings were in my bag and then gathered up the soiled sheets. I could only hope that there would be some place I could store them in the wagon that no one would notice the smell.
More people and wagons had arrived when I climbed down to the main floor. Feeling as though I were in the way, I hurried outside and, after stuffing the bedding in under some of the dining table chair, I retreated to the porch. At least ten men carried furniture in and out, loading the items onto three different wagons.
Within two hours, the house had been emptied of everything. Sadly, Cordelia had discovered the soiled sheets and she sent a scowl in my direction as though it were my fault the three year old had wet the bed. She allowed them to remain where they were, no doubt not wanting to draw attention to them.
When it was clear there was nothing more to be added, Father helped me up onto one of the wagon seats, and he climbed up to take the reins. That earned me yet another frown from Cordelia, who rightly expected to be by her husband. To make room for her, I climbed over the seat and settled among the odds and ends. It wasn't the most comfortable place, but Cordelia was able to sit next to Father with Katie beside her and Sam on her lap.
It was quite a caravan that set off out of town. The sun shone down us, and everyone looked happy with the fine weather. A gentle breeze stirred the tall grass, ensuring that it did not become overbearingly hot. When I glanced at the other wagons, everyone seemed as though they were laughing and talking.
Simon and young Mr. Prater were in the wagon behind us, and Anna leaned forward between them. I couldn't be surprised that Anna knew Simon's friend but it seemed as though she were far closer than I'd ever seen a young lady be with a man. At least, the way she hung on his shoulder didn't seem quite appropriate.
Unable to watch, I instead turned my thoughts in another direction. How long had this move been expected? Had Father ever mentioned he wished to take up ranching in his letters? Not that I could remember, but perhaps he had mentioned it in one of his letters to Aunt Ruth. Maybe this was why he'd delayed in sending the money for my education.
In the distance, the mountains looked majestic against the blue sky. It was as breathtaking as the view had been earlier that day. The scenery was so different from what I'd known in Springfield and at school. I couldn't get enough of it as I looked around.
It was well over an hour drive to the ranch house. Several times I nearly dozed off, but a jolt always startled me wide awake. We passed under a sign, which was hanging by one hook, proclaiming it to be the Lazy M ranch.
From the outside, the house appeared bigger than the white house in town. This one had a more rugged look, the sides being log and chink. There was a porch that stretched the entire front and four windows with glass graced the front as well. Spindly rose bushes with tiny red buds grew by the steps, giving the structure a homey feel.
As soon as the wagon came to a stop, I crawled over some chairs to get to the side and jumped down without any help. Did Father really intend for us all to live this far from town? It seemed so unreal.
Everyone else had gone to work unloading the wagons. I had no idea where Cordelia would want things, so I walked up onto the porch. Two rocking chairs were already in place, but whether they had been left there or had been brought at an earlier time was unclear. They faced the mountains at the perfect angle to observe them in all their glory.
Determined to know my new home, I crossed the threshold. I stepped immediately into the main living space, a fireplace to my right and the kitchen directly across from me. To my left were two doors, presumably leading to two bedrooms.
A ladder in between those two doors led to the loft, and I climbed up. Once I was up there, I was able to stand up straight. There was definitely more room there than in the other house, and there was already a sheet dividing the space. Simon would have some privacy from the girls.
Would that mean the youngest children would sleep in the second downstairs bedroom? I hoped so, if only because that meant that I wouldn't have share my bed.
With a sigh, I turned to the ladder. If I didn't at least offer to help, I knew it would be held against me.
¤¤¤¤
Just before the sun completely set, the last neighbor set off in his wagon. I'd managed to catch the names of two of them, Mr. Murphy and Mr. Johnson. With so much going on, it had been hard to keep track of what anyone said. By the end of the day, I had a massive headache and my eyes were tired from the strain.
The interior of the house was chaos, with nothing where it should be. Only the table and chairs were they would stay in the center of the kitchen. A single lamp rested in the center of the table basket of food, left by one of the neighbor ladies, served as our dinner.
As soon as ever scrap of food had been consumed, by unanimous agreement everyone went to their beds. Katie and Sam were put on a small trundle bed in the smaller of the two downstairs, just as I had suspected would happen. The rest of us, save for Father and Cordelia, went to the loft.
Bed frames had not been put together, so our mattresses were on the floor. Simon retreated behind his curtain without a word to any of us. Susan glanced between my mattress and her sister's which was on the other side of the loft. Despite the sharp looks that Anna gave her, the thirteen year old plopped herself down opposite me.
Rolling her eyes, Anna made no further protest. She picked up the only candle that had been brought up with us and blew the tiny flame out. I hadn't finished undressing so being plunged into darkness was particularly irritating. I counted to ten in an effort to keep my anger under control.
In the span of less than two days, Anna had next to declared war on me. Why? What had I done, besides just arriving, to make her so opposed to me?
At least I'd had my nightgown in my hand and I pulled it over my hand. Then, I felt my way onto my bed. There was the slightest scent of urine that still clung to the mattress. Wrinkling my nose, I crawled under the quilt. At least it wasn't wet still.
Would Father send me back to school? I wondered that as I stared up at the dark ceiling. After all, he'd intended to send the money. In a month or two, he could send me back, pleased to have seen me but relieved to get back to his new family. And me? I could pursue my goal of teaching at the school.
The more I thought about it, the more it appealed to me. I would be back with those who understood me, who knew the struggles I faced every day, who had never made me feel inferior. I had given it up as a lost cause when Aunt Ruth had broken the news to me.
How could I tactfully make the suggestion? I didn't want Father to think I wasn't happy to see him. I was, however it was clear that I wasn't welcome by the rest of the family. Not even my only brother wanted me there.
With a sigh, I rolled onto my side. My mind went to the kindness I had seen in those who had helped my family move. It was a trait I had seen in many I had encountered since I crossed the Mississippi river. Many of the other ladies I had traveled with had also been shown respect.
Of course, as in any community, there had been some who were not friendly and a person would not want to run into them if no one else were around.
In short, the territories were nothing like what I'd expected them to be.