Everything was supposed to get easier after we were married. And they did, in a way. I knew where I was goin' every day around five o'clock, and that I was gonna be takin' the prettiest girl in town home with me. I knew whose bed I was sleepin' in every night, and where Doralice was sleepin', too. And I knew if we didn't get that piece of land that Doralice wanted bought from Jasper Willoughby I was never gonna get eggs for breakfast again.
Jasper owned the vacant lot behind our house and the empty lot to the north, too. Doralice wanted the lot behind us for a fenced yard with a chicken coop and chickens, so we'd have fresh eggs and chicken dinners. And we'd already started talking about adding on a room or two for any future Maverick's that might come along, so we'd be ready if and when.
And dang it, Jasper was turning out to be a pain in the behind. First he wanted to sell, then he didn't want to sell, then he wanted so much money that if we bought the land I'd have to build the damn chicken coop myself. And we all remember what happened in Mexico when I tried to build a school. I'd finally asked him to make a decision about selling us the property by Friday. The land had just been sittin' there for at least three years, and nobody else seemed to want it.
It was hard work, gettin' used to workin' five or six nights a week at the same time that I was tryin' to learn how to be a good husband. At least time-wise. There used to be time for me to laze around and do nothin' . . . now there was no time even to do somethin'. Most nights one or the other of us fell into bed, too exhausted to do much anything but sleep. We kept tellin' each other that it was just gonna take time to get used to all the things we had to do, and we'd learn how to make time for the important stuff. Then one night as I pulled my wife close to me I realized it had been more than a week since I'd had the energy to make love to her, and I was ashamed.
"Honey, you still awake?"
"Mmm-hmm" she answered me.
"I think we should hire a housekeeper."
"You do? Don't you think I do a good enough job?"
She sounded indignant, and I couldn't blame her. I hadn't explained myself. "I think you do a fabulous job. But between the saloon and the house and everything else there is to do, we never have time for each other. One or the other of us is always too tired. And I'd much rather hold my wife in my arms than fold the laundry."
I waited for a response and it took a few minutes to realize that Doralice had just proven my point. She'd fallen asleep while I held her.
The next morning I got up early and made coffee. Doralice came out of the bedroom, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and yawning. "Sorry about last night."
I scooped her into my arms and kissed her. "That's alright, you just proved my point. Does Ana Sofia still come in and clean for Maude once in a while?"
She took the coffee I handed her and nodded her head. "I think so. Whenever Maude needs her."
"And wasn't she lookin' for a full-time job?"
"Last I heard, she was."
"What about her?" I asked hopefully.
"That's not a bad idea. She's Mamacita Rosita's daughter. Let's go down to Mamacita's and have breakfast, and we'll see if she's there."
Convincing Doralice was the easy part. Now we had to convince Ana Sofia.
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Ana Sofia didn't come into her mother's café until we were almost finished with breakfast. Doralice looked more relaxed than I had seen her in days and I was feelin' pretty good about things myself
She was a pretty girl, maybe seventeen or eighteen, and she came straight to our table. "Miss Doralice, Mister Bart, how are you? How is married life treating you?"
"It's good, Ana Sofia, there just seems to be too much of it. I mean, there's too many things to do in a day. Are you still looking for a job?"
"Si, Señora, I am. Do you know of one?"
She was still standin' by our table and I got up and pulled a chair out for her. "Please, sit down. As a matter of fact, we do know of a job. With our workin' at the saloon so many hours there's just no time for anything else. Would you consider workin' for us at our house?"
She smiled and nodded. "I think that would be very good for all of us. What would you want me to do?"
"Just take care of the house. Clean, do laundry, wash up the breakfast dishes that we leave, and play with Lucy."
Ana Sofia looked confused. "Lucy?"
"Our kitten. Oh, and maybe get supper started for us. We can work it out as we go along. Would you consider that?"
"Si, Señora, I would be most happy to do those things for you. Do you want me to come every day?"
"Yes, at first. We'll see how long it takes to get things done. Can you start tomorrow?"
"Si, Señora. Is nine o'clock too early?"
I shook my head. "Nine o'clock is just fine, Ana Sofia. We'll see you then."
I breathed a sigh of relief as she returned to the kitchen. "That was easy enough."
Doralice giggled. "That was just the beginning, handsome. It's still gonna take a while for things to settle down. But I promise to stay awake tonight."
I paid the bill and we headed back towards home. "What do we have to do this mornin'?"
"Well, we need to . . . "
I got a wicked grin on my face. "No, we don't. Ana Sofia's comin' tomorrow. Whatever we've got to do today can wait until then."
"But we . . . "
"It will wait." I bent down and kissed her, right there on the boardwalk, in front of everybody.
"Oh," she replied. "I see what you mean."
I was beginnin' to get the hang of this husband business.