Normally, what the people of
Greeley Colorado expected of Oscar Sexton was a quiet man, with deep set blue
eyes, a charming smile, and the diligent work ethic of a mechanic who loved the
work he practiced. Following Anna Jane’s
departure, he grew increasingly moody, sometimes barking out with an overt
stern growl whenever even simple matters would go awry. His partner in the garage, as well as the owners
of the café, knew it all revolved around Anna Jane; and even though Oscar would
never discuss his feelings for the girl with anyone, they nevertheless
persisted in demanding, if he loved the girl, he needed to run after her;
which, eventually, the inspiration struck him to do precisely that.
Oscar, however, was never one to
plan things out. He was more for the
spontaneity of the moment, climbing aboard inspiration wherever it landed and
modifying actions whenever circumstances would dictate. Thus, when the idea to follow Anna Jane hit,
he leapt for his things to pack and go.
Then, he considered what money the trip would take. Not enough lay in his pockets for a train
ticket in order to cover the distance like Anna Jane and her brother Eddie (Eddie proved himself as intuitive toward
business and the art of making money as did Oscar towards the art of making an
automobile sing). Even including the
money he was owed for his work at the garage, he could manage little more than
a ‘down payment’ on a ticket for a
future date.
It was decent money he made,
working as a defacto “apprentice” mechanic as he learned and honed his skills;
but it was far from the good money needed in order to travel anywhere at any
given time. Thus, the only course of
action open was hoboing it across country, from one train station to the next,
jumping aboard the first open boxcar on its way out of Greeley. Not an easy way to travel, not a safe way to
travel; but Oscar was a young man with a stocky build and a stern resolve. Like his grandfather decades before him, he
could present himself as an intimidating presence simply by the manner with
which he stared in your direction.
People knew he was no man with whom to mess, a test to which only fools
dared subject themselves.
Anna Jane lived in a boarding house
with her brother when Oscar arrived in Long Beach. It was the address she gave him that final
night in Greeley before she left. Oscar
took a room in the same boarding house, and was recommended by her for the open
job of dishwasher the café where she worked offered. It was not the work he sought, of course, but
as the rent for the room consumed his final sliver of money, it became the work
he took while searching for anything closer aligned with the mechanic work he
loved.
In the meanwhile, he and Anna Jane
picked up precisely where they left off in Greeley. Nothing had changed. They were growing closer together, and they
even began talking of getting married one day.
Before marriage could become more
of a substantive reality, Oscar looked to make a better living than he
currently did. Eventually, he attained
work at a garage; but it paid him little more than what he made in Greeley –
and considering the change in cost of living from Colorado to California, he
may even have been earning a bit less.
Nevertheless, he remained optimistic for the future. The burgeoning automobile market developing
in California offered a multitude of new opportunities for growth and
advancement. He only needed to bide him
time and be prepared to leap ahead when those doors flung open into his
direction.
One day a letter arrives for him in
the mail. It came from his mother back
in Kansas. The unexpected appearance
stymied him a bit. He thought he managed
to leave all his family troubles back in Kansas. How was his mother able to find him all the
way out here in California? Why was she
writing? What on earth could she ever
want?
Oscar found himself unable to open
the letter, so he asked Anna Jane to read it for him. She did so, and told him his mother was
writing to inform him of his brother, Alvin’s death. His appendix ruptured, and he was gone.
First, there was the shock
receiving the letter; now, Oscar’s stunned to hear of his oldest brother’s
passing. Forty was far too young an age to leave behind a wife and dependent
children. What would Alvin’s widow Sarah
do? How would she manage? Would she remarry? It was the course most young mothers took
when faced with the death of a spouse.
She was Alvin’s same age, so she wouldn’t be able to offer any new husband
children beyond her own. Perhaps, she
could meet a man who was looking for a wife, a wife to help raise the kids his
own wife left when she passed away and left them behind.
Within a few days, Oscar wrote out
a letter or response to his mother. Part
of him wished his mother’s letter had never found him, as he still hoped to put
all his family troubles behind and build a new life with Anna Jane there in
Long Beach. However, another part of him
felt some allegiance to family, despite being stepped on as the runt who never
garnered respect for any of his opinions on anything. A soul enters this life a part of only one
family. Never should that soul ever run
to quickly dissolve whatever ties may remain.
In his letter, he chose not to ask his
mother how she found him. He already
knew she was a strong-willed woman capable of innumerable resources. To attempt such would have proven a waste of
his pen’s ink. Rather, after inquiring
into Sarah and the kids, he closed with an adamant declaration that he would
not be returning to Kansas.
A second letter from his
mother arrived weeks later. She answered
all his questions on his sister-in-law Sarah by telling him she and the kids
left the farm and moved in with her parents.
Some people were gossiping she would make a good wife for William Gfeller
from Smoky Hill, as William’s wife laid grievously ill and was expected to pass
on any day now. The man would then have
a house of ten kids who needed a mother, just as Sarah now faced the situation
of four kids who needed a father. This
all meant Alvin’s farm lay in need of a tenant who could farm the land. Oscar could return to Abilene and begin
farming it, his own farm, just like his brothers, his cousins, and everyone
else within the family.
No comments:
Post a Comment