The Position

Dear Miss Tucker,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to you on behalf of the school board of the town of McKinney, Texas, and the school board president, Mr. Gabriel Stewart. We received your letter regarding the schoolteacher position and are impressed with your qualifications. We have received other letters of interest but feel of those who have applied, your experience puts you above the others, so we would like to offer you the position.
Before you accept, please be aware that this area is mostly unsettled. While I feel it is safe, I am sure it is not like anything you are used to, having visited Lamar, Missouri, myself on occasion. The position pays $6 per month with no pay in the summer months when school is out of session. As of now, there is no residence for the schoolteacher, so you are invited to stay with my husband and I. Room and board will be provided to you for as long as you live here. The town is looking into constructing a small cottage on the school grounds. If this structure is completed, you may live there at no cost to you, though you will be required to provide your own meals at that time. The school board insists you remain unmarried for as long as you are in employment as the schoolteacher. We uphold Godly values in our town, and I am glad to know you attend church with my niece Lola and are a strict Southern Baptist, as am I. We expect you to refrain from any behavior which could be categorized as sinful in any capacity, including drinking alcohol, swearing, or being seen unaccompanied with an unwed young man in public. It is important that the children of our town are able to see you as a good role model and that you uphold good Christian morals and values.
Currently, there are approximately twenty-six students between the ages of six and seventeen who would make up your class. Most of them have received very little schooling. Very few can read or write or do their sums, though their mothers have worked with them at various levels at home. The schoolhouse was just completed in the fall and is spacious enough for all of the current students plus a few more. We are in need of supplies but would like to hear from you as to exactly what is necessary before the school board approves any purchases.
If all of this sounds agreeable to you, please let us know that you accept the position. We would like for you to start as soon as possible but no later than March 1st. If you are unable to make it to McKinney before then, please do not accept the position. As mentioned, we do have other candidates.
Sincerely,
Nita Howard, School Board Secretary, McKinney, Texas

Hope finished reading and looked up to see her mother and Faith standing in the doorway. Without comment, she stretched out her arm, handing the letter to Cordia. She took it and read the whole thing through before handing it to Faith and moving to sit next to her daughter on the bed.
They said nothing for a full minute or two before Cordia noted, “That salary is greater than a dollar a month more than what you make now.”
“And you’d have free room and board, at least for a while. That sounds nice.” Faith managed a small smile and then took a seat on the stool in front of Hope’s vanity.
“Yes, that’s true,” Hope noted. “Mrs. Howard seems… pleasant.”
“Very matter-of-fact but nice. Her brother is the same way, isn’t he?” Faith asked, meaning Lola’s father.
“I’d say so,” Cordia nodded. “And Sam’s nice enough, once you get to know him.”
“Did Lola say anything about her cousins? Do they still live at home?” Faith wanted to know.
“I’m not sure.” Hope looked at the letter, which Faith still held in her hand, and seeing her gaze, her sister handed it over. “It would be awfully hard to leave my current students.” The thought of not seeing them finish made her stomach tighten, but she knew they were ready. These children, the ones in McKinney, sounded like they were in desperate need of a good teacher, and while these other candidates might be able to help them, if the school board chose her, it must be for a reason.
“Why don’t you think on it, and when your father gets home, we can discuss it as a family?” Cordia reached over and patted her daughter’s hand, but she could see the sadness in her mother’s eyes as she considered not having her little girl at home anymore.
“That’s a good idea,” Hope replied. “Thank you.” She didn’t know what else to say, so she said nothing more, and after a moment, her mother and sister got up and walked out the bedroom door, leaving her alone with the letter.
Hope read it a few more times and then imagined what it would be like to tell the superintendent she’d accepted another job. It would be hard, but she thought he’d understand, particularly if Hope suggested Lola as a temporary replacement. There was a girl in her class now, Becky, who was doing quite well and might even score high enough on her exams to take over the schoolteacher position in the fall if the superintendent thought it was a good fit.
Her eyes flittered around her room, and she imagined packing her belongings and heading to Texas. How would she ever decide what to take and what to leave behind? What would it be like to live in another family’s home, not knowing anyone? Would she feel comfortable taking her meals with a couple she didn’t know? What about their sons? Would they be there? She remembered meeting Lola’s cousins when she was younger, and they seemed nice enough, though a bit rambunctious. Hadn’t she said they’d both moved out recently? Hope couldn’t remember how old they were either. What if one of them was handsome, and she fell in love with him? Would she have to give up her teaching position?
Realizing she was getting ahead of herself, she laid back on her pillow and set the letter aside. She needed to make sure she was considering this change for the right reasons. Did she want to be a schoolteacher in Texas to help the students, to follow her own dreams of making the world a better place, or was she running away from Jimmy Brooks? While Hope was fairly settled her reasons were mostly the first two, she’d be lying to herself if she didn’t at least admit that part of it was the latter. When she looked at her parents’ story, it was certainly the adventure that sparked her enthusiasm, but for them, it had also been about love, about finding themselves but also coming together. Hope wouldn’t exactly describe herself as a romantic, but she knew that those feelings of passion and desire that had brought her folks together were woven into her soul as well.
The letter had said she couldn’t be married and work as the schoolteacher in McKinney, however, so she needed to keep that in mind. If she moved there and met some handsome gentleman, she may find herself choosing between becoming his wife and keeping her employment, which wasn’t at all fair, but it needed to be considered. Even the thought of falling in love had her shaking her head. If she hadn’t been able to find someone in the last twenty years, she had no idea why she thought she’d find him in Texas.
The sound of the front door opening announced that her father was home. Hope took a few deep breaths, thinking it would be nice if her grandparents felt well enough to come down for supper so that they could all discuss the situation together. Ultimately, she would be the one to decide, but it would be helpful if the rest of her family weighed in since she valued their opinions so much.
She sat up, taking the letter and slipping it into her pocket, thinking her daddy would most definitely want to study it before he gave any sort of recommendation. She definitely trusted his judgment and knew he wouldn’t let emotion sway him the way her mother and sister would.
Hope headed for the stairs, glad to have the letter in her pocket. At least she knew now, and they did want her. Now it was only a question of whether or not she wanted them, and that decision might just end up being the most difficult one she’d ever made in her life.