New Home
There was a round table in the kitchen, and Mrs. Howard pulled out a chair for Hope, which she took. The room was small, but there was an ice box as well as a fireplace for cooking and a washbasin, though it didn’t look like they had a pump here. Glancing out the back window, Hope could see a well. At least it was close by.
After a few minutes of scurrying around, Mrs. Howard passed Hope a glass of milk, a piece of salted meat, and a roll. “Hope that’s okay. We’ll have something better for dinner.”
“It’s just fine, thank you,” Hope replied, not sure what to think of the meat. She had no utensils, so she picked it up and took a bite. It was tough and salty, but otherwise good.
“You like it? We get jerky from one of the local ranchers. Purty good, ain’t it?”
Hope wasn’t quite sure how to answer that. She didn’t want to be impolite. “It’s… unique.” She smiled, hoping not to sound offensive.
Mrs. Howard raised an eyebrow at her, like she wasn’t quite sure what that meant. She did a few more quick chores around the kitchen while Hope drank the fresh milk, which was very good, and had a bite of the roll that was also tasty. Then, Mrs. Howard pulled out the chair across from her and had a seat.
“Now, you should probably know teachin’ here ain’t gonna be the same as the school yer used to. I’m one of the most educated women in this here town, and I don’t speak proper or nothin’ at all like that. My letter mighta been deceivin’, but I had some help with it.”
Hope cleared her throat, planning to choose her words carefully. “You sound educated to me.” It did seem as if Mrs. Howard was a better writer than a speaker, though, considering how formal her letter sounded compared to how she was speaking now, she wondered how much help she’d gotten and from whom. Hope had eaten most of the jerky and pulled off another piece of the roll, wondering if she was supposed to eat all of it. “But I know this will be different.”
“I taught both of my sons how to read and write, how to do math. Brady, well, he don’t care much for book learnin’. He started workin’ at the ranch outside of town when he was about fourteen. That was enough schoolin’ for him. Nicholas, on the other hand, he always loved to read. Out-learned me when he was about twelve. Then, we had to turn to borrowin’ books from the libraries down in Dallas and San Antone by correspondence. He went back east to study medicine, and now he’s the town doctor. I’m so proud of that boy, I can’t rightly tell you. But that ain’t for most around here. I think you’ll find most of your students are more like Brady, wishin’ to get outside and do somethin’ rather than sittin’ in a schoolhouse listen to lectures all day.”
“I completely understand,” Hope nodded, thinking it must be Nicholas who helped with the letter. “There will be many students who are needed at home, especially during the fall and spring. I know that. And there will be many who will miss regularly because of that. But I hope to give them the best education possible while they are in my classroom and to inspire others in the town to understand the necessities of getting a solid education. I’m certain your help with the latter, especially, will be most beneficial. If the other women in town could come to have the understanding you do, I’m certain we can be successful. Perhaps we will have many more doctors and lawyers come from this part of Texas.”
The smile on Nita’s face was most generous, but before she could speak, laughter from the adjoining room jarred both of them, and Hope heard Brady mutter, “That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard,” before the front door slammed.
Shaking her head, Mrs. Howard said, “You’ll have to excuse my oldest. Just because he don’t understand the importance of a good education don’t mean others won’t, though I reckon there are more who think like Brady than don’t round these parts.”
Hope wasn’t sure what to say to that, so she decided not to respond at all. Instead, she asked, “Do you think I should go lend him a hand? Is he moving my trunks?”
“I reckon that’s what he’s doing, but I don’t think you should bother tryin’ to help. He’s liable to send you back in anyhow. He won’t want no help from a lady.”
It was hard to be offended when she realized the mother knew the son pretty well. “I am gracious that you’re allowing me to stay in your home. It would’ve been a more difficult choice if I’d had to stay with strangers. At least, we’ve met before. And Lola speaks of your family often.”
“Lola is a good gal. I wish we lived closer to my brother’s family, but my husband has always wanted to live in what he considered untamed country. I wonder if he’ll wanna get up and move the more settled this part of Texas becomes. But for now, I suppose it’s wild enough. You do have to watch yerself a little now. From time to time, we’ll get some lawless folk wandering in here. For the most part, people are friendly enough, don’t want to harm nobody. But you jest never know what you might run into.”
Hope let that sink in, taking another swallow of her milk before saying, “I noticed the saloon on the town square.”
“That’s right. It’s owned by the sheriff, fellow by the name of Bill Roan. You’ll wanna stay on his good side. There’s a couple more saloons elsewhere in town. Sometimes we get a whole slew of cattle hands, ranchers, in all at once, wantin’ to get themselves a little tipsy and play cards. Some of yer students ‘ill also be the offspring of the town’s other unmentionables.” She raised her eyebrows and tipped her forehead in Hope’s direction, like she was hoping her guest would catch her drift, but Hope had no idea what she was talking about.
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