Johnny and Polly
Johnny stepped out of the telegraph office and into the cool February afternoon. Adjusting his hat, he began silently cursing the events of the day. He had ventured out of his usual territory after getting a tip about some cattle that were going cheap because someone was selling up. It had taken a bit of convincing to get Murdoch and Scott to agree to him going this far out their usual range, and now, here he was on the way home, with an injured horse and a small town to stay in. He could imagine the reception his telegram would receive but his options were limited. He could take the stage home, leaving Barranca behind – not likely – or rent a horse, trailing Barranca behind – which would take forever, and potentially do long-term damage - or wait for his horse to heal. Hopefully, as it only appeared the horse had pulled a muscle it would just take a couple of days. He realized that he was lucky that was the only injury. He sighed deeply, looking up and down the street that looked like those of so many other towns he had visited.
Turning to continue down the street to the hotel recommended by the livery owner, he heard a voice speak hesitantly behind him – "Johnny, Johnny … Lancer?".
He turned and spotted a small, auburn haired woman wearing a black woolen cloak, with a small child clutching her leg – "Polly, Polly … Foley?" he responded. He looked down and smiled, "that can't be Martha?!".
The woman smiled brightly and said "yes, yes it is" and giving the girl a gentle push forward with a soft invitation to 'go ahead' the little girl stepped over and said shyly "nice to meet you, sir" while looking straight into his eyes.
Johnny smiled brightly at the little girl, taking in her long, dark brown hair tied back with a bow and big brown eyes, the bright smile and soft rag doll clutched under her arm. "Nice to meet you too" he replied. He looked back at Polly saying, "what brings you here?".
Polly smiled at her daughter and put her hand on the young girl's shoulder. "We live here – I work at the hotel over there" she replied, pointing to a three-story white building with a wrap-around porch kitty corner from where they were standing. "What're you doin' here?" she asked.
"Barranca got injured on the way home", he replied. "I'm killin' time until he can make it back to Lancer".
"Oh well, if you need a place to stay, we have a room at the hotel" she said, smiling.
Johnny hesitated. He remembered how she didn't want to go back to her old life, but working at a hotel? Not that Johnny could judge her too much – after his childhood he knew how limited the options were for a woman with a child – but still, Polly had seemed so certain that she wanted a better life – a different life – for herself and Martha.
Polly looked at him closely, seemingly suspicious of what he was thinking. "My friend Sue owns the hotel – her husband had … came into it …". Martha interrupted her mother, smiling and saying "he won it in a poker game!". "Martha", Polly admonished gently, "remember, that is not polite to say, also, please don't interrupt". "Sorry Mama" the little girl said, looking down at her feet and pouting slightly.
"Anyway," Polly continued, glancing down at the little girl, "Martha and I help out – baking, cleaning and other things that need to be done."
Johnny smiled. He had always hoped that Polly, and Martha, had managed to find a place for themselves, and it appeared they had. "Well, why don't we walk over together and see what we can find?" he said, looking at Polly.
Polly took the little girl's hand and started walking, with Johnny falling into step beside them. While it was not far, Johnny had the impression she was hurrying to get him there. "Polly," he asked, "are you rushin' for a reason?" Suddenly he had an idea "I didn't mean anything when I asked about the hotel, you know".
She stopped at the street crossing and looked up at him closely "sorry Johnny", she said hesitantly looking down at Martha "I can understand your question. But we have made ourselves a good life here. A life to be proud of."
"Of course, Polly", he replied with some contriteness, "I should never have thought otherwise." Looking for something else to say, he asked as they waited for two stages to pass before crossing the street to the hotel "how do you know Sue?"
Polly blushed slightly as they started to cross. "I knew her from before … Martha," she said hesitantly. "Martin – her … suitor … at the time - got the hotel, they married and decided to run it. She was always asking me to come help them, but I wasn't interested. Then, I … changed my mind". She smiled down at the little girl walking beside her. "This is where we came after Martha was born – Sue and Martin are … like family – well, Martin passed away last year, so it is just her and I … and Martha" the little girl looked up smiling proudly at her mother "runnin' the hotel now."
They reached the other side of the street and walked to the front of the hotel. All of a sudden Martha yelled out "Mama – Sally is in the street" and she pointed to her doll lying in the centre of the crossway.
Johnny yelled "I'll get her" and turned and briskly walked into the street, avoiding a horse coming in his direction. He scooped the doll up and coming back to the mother and daughter, handed the doll to the little girl. Martha looked at him, her eyes big and saucer-like, "thank you, sir" she said excitedly, "thank you very much – I don't know what I would ever do without her!" "You're welcome, querida," Johnny replied, looking down at her "you need to take good care of her to make sure nothin' happens."
He smiled as he heard the young girl starting to chastise the doll "now Sally, you know better than to go into the street like that. You have to hold my hand the whole time we cross. If you do something like that again, Mama might have to paddle you. It is very dangerous and you could have gotten hurt!" Johnny looked at Polly as the girl was speaking and noticed her small smile and slight blush.
They walked up the two front steps to the door of the hotel. Coming into the building, Johnny saw a high wooden desk in the middle of a white wall. Behind the desk hung a board with numbers, with keys and mail slots below, and immediately to the left of the desk was a swinging door. To the right and slightly forward from the desk were a couple of high backed burgundy chairs with a low table of dark wood between, on which nestled a small green fern. The chairs were positioned to look out the front window, which was curtained with white gauze. On the wall to the left, a swinging door moved and he could hear the sounds of conversation and people eating – his stomach grumbled slightly, reminding him that it was lunch time.
Polly smiled at him – "why don't you go into the dining room and see if you can get some lunch. Sue is probly servin' right now and you can make arrangements for a room after." "Thanks" Johnny said, asking "where're you goin'?" "I'm going to help with the food", she replied, "we were supposed to be back before, but were delayed at the doctor's office – don't worry, though, we'll see you around," and she took the little girl's hand and went through the swinging door by the desk, through which he could see a stove, counter and people moving around – obviously the kitchen.
Hesitating slightly, Johnny pushed his way through the dining room door. As he smelled the aromas of roast beef and mashed potatoes, he smiled, a smile that got larger when he saw large pieces of apple pie going past him to a table.