Chapter One: Blossom Begins
Some day someone may wonder why things happened the way they did, and I think it's time Alexander and I left a record for those folks who will follow. This is that record. It all starts out when I came to Bluff City. When Mama and I first moved from Sikeston, Missouri to Bluff City, Illinois, I was just about to start the fourth grade. I was much too young to pay attention to boys, but that didn't stop me from noticing Alexander Armsworth.
He was literally from the other side of the tracks. Mama and I had moved into one of the old shacks on the far side of the streetcar tracks, where the workers at the old flour mill used to live. The place was pretty sorry, but being abandoned, the price was right. Mama and I never did have much ready cash. Alexander lived on the high side of the tracks. The Armsworth barn was between our place and his. His house was the third largest house in Bluff City, and quite a showplace, with three-quarters of an acre of yard, and three huge flowerbeds bordered in shells. Alexander wasn't bad looking, either, even as a kid. He had curly blonde hair, and the clearest blue eyes I'd ever seen.
I had a hard time settling into school. For one thing I had frizzy hair, and tacky clothes. The wind blew against girls like me for the most part. The daughters of the prosperous shopkeepers ruled the roost, wearing their fancy dresses and taffeta hair bows as badges of honor. Before I had the class system completely figured out, I crossed a few of the girls who had more advantages than I did, and they never did let me forget it. It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge. Letty Shambaugh, Nola Nirider and Ione Williams gave me an especially hard time, but I tried not to let them get me down. As for school itself, though, I did very well in that department. I had plenty of time to myself, what with Mama being off on her own a lot, and my Paw being a traveling man. He traveled so much I didn't see him for years at a time.
With all of that time on my hands, I applied myself to my schoolwork, and became the best speller in the whole class, among other things. When I was in fifth grade, I offered to let Alexander have the medal I'd won in the spelling bee, if he'd walk me home, but he didn't bite. He was nowhere near ready for girls, anymore than I was ready for boys, but I kept my eye on him, none the same. If you're on a diet, you can still look at the menu.
Alexander and I really got started in seventh grade. Mama is a sensitive, and she noticed that there was an aura around the Armsworth barn, indicating that it was haunted. I decided to let Alexander know his barn was concealing a lost spirit, and used a fire drill at Horace Mann School to get my point across. When we were lining up to go down the fire escape chute, I made sure I was in front of Alexander. When I got into the tube, I wedged myself in tight, and waited. He came sliding down, and like to knocked my head off with his hobnail boots. Being a considerate fellow as boys go, he jammed himself up as well, right on top of me.
Alexander had his hands on me where I'd never been handled by a boy before, and I had to admit to myself that I liked it. His mind wasn't on it, though, and I had to quickly state my business before the fire escape got backed up clear to our teacher, Miss Winkler. That time I did get him to walk me home, even though he made me meet him two blocks from school.
Alexander didn't know a thing about the spirit world, but he caught on quickly. He and I were both unique in Bluff City, as we were both sensitive to the other side, and have even been known to slip through time on occasion. We got that ghost in the barn settled into a peaceful grave, with the help of Alexander's great-uncle Miles, who was a true gentleman, even though he was bit rough around the edges. We even got a trip to New Orleans out of the deal, which is where Alexander began to see my possibilities, even if he wasn't willing to admit that at the time.
We even helped Alexander's big sister, Lucille, get out of the clutches of a playboy named Tom Hackett, and into the arms of her future husband, Lowell Seaforth. Lowell is now the editor of the Pantagraph newspaper, and I had a lot to do with that.
Several months after we came back from New Orleans, Miles Armsworth passed on. He left Alexander even more money than the Armsworth family had to begin with, and Alexander and I drifted apart. An eccentric spinster in town, Miss Gertude Dabney, got us back together, so to speak. She had a ghost in her kitchen, and used Alexander and me to settle Minerva down, since we were old hands at dealing with the spirit world by then. Minerva wasn't the type of ghost to ever rest easy, but we got her into a more amicable arrangement with Miss Dabney at any rate.
Miss Dabney paid us back by helping me settle another ghost, and because of that caper I got to go with Miss Dabney to England, on the Steamship Olympic, no less. Alexander wound up going along, and we had a fine time for the most part.
Miss Dabney had a better one, for she met an old bachelor named W. Atlee Birdsall aboard ship, and they wound up getting married and going to live at his English home. Miss Dabney always did have a hankering for anything English.
Alexander and I still didn't know where we stood with each other, but there wasn't much chance for me to stand very close. When we got to the high school, Letty Shambaugh set her sights on Alexander. At first glance, this might have seemed like a good match, as Letty is every bit as good looking as Alexander, with quite similar blonde curls, only longer, of course, and she was also one of the richest kids in town. Alexander's pa is a builder, and has put up half of the town, and Letty's pa owns the Select Dry Goods Company, so they were at least equally well off.
Letty never really understood Alexander, but he was too dense to see she just wanted him for a prop. He started taking Letty to the picture shows, and came close to pinning her with his fraternity pin. Those were dark times for me, but I managed to expose Letty for what she was, and become the best history student in the freshman class besides, thanks to the help I got from Miss Fairweather, our history teacher. She always did believe in taking people for their possibilities, and I still had plenty of those.
Alexander began to walk me home from school regularly and to it as well. We were getting closer, and Letty had pretty much written off Alexander as a bad prospect, although a couple of the other girls wouldn't have said no to stepping out with him. Things were looking up. Alexander and I still had our problems, though. Part of that was my fault.
That was the year I became a woman, and I tended to get a bit cranky at times. Over Christmas break I had other things to be cranky about. Mama and I were scraping the bottom of the barrel, and what with the holiday from school and all, I couldn't even buy a cup of milk for a nickel in the cafeteria to get me through the day. When school started up again, and I met Alexander by his barn to head back, I was purt near starved, which never helps my disposition.
My stomach was growling so loudly even Alexander noticed it.
"Good grief, Blossom! Didn't you have time for breakfast?" Alexander asked me when he heard it.
"Time wasn't the problem, Alexander. We don't all have the advantages you do."
I would never have admitted that normally, but like I told you, I was feeling peevish. His face went gentle, and I'm a sucker for Alexander when he's being sweet, even when I'm in a peevish state.
"Blossom, why don't you come over a few minutes earlier in the morning and have breakfast with us? Ma and Dad wouldn't mind. They know you've been helping me with my schoolwork. They'd think it was a fair trade. They know perfectly well I got that good mark in history last term because of the project you and I did on Egypt."
"I'm not about to become your ma's latest charity case," I said, sounding meaner than I felt. I knew that Alexander would have been the class dunce in Miss Fairweather's class if he hadn't of teamed up with me on that report.
"She's not like that, Blossom. You're all right in her books, and besides, I'm not asking you because of my mother. I'm asking you because I don't want to see you getting run down and sick. If that happened, I couldn't spend time with you, and I'd miss it."
That was the closest thing I'd ever come to having a declaration of his feelings from Alexander, and I decided not to let the opportunity go to waste. "All right, Alexander. I'll come, IF you promise me we'll talk about school. And you have to make sure your folks don't really mind. I'll wait along side of your front porch tomorrow, and if they aren't 100% behind the idea, you let me know so I can light out."
"Oh, gee whiz!" Alexander sighed, but he took my hand then, and we let the subject drop.
I cleaned myself up as best as I could the next morning, and was by the porch in plenty of time. I could smell bacon frying when Alexander opened the door, and it nearly turned me inside out.
"Did you ask if I could come in?" I demanded.
" 'Course I did!" Alexander answered, looking injured, but natty in one of his argyle patterned sweaters. He led me in, and I was stuck once more by how warm it was and how nice everything looked.
Mrs. Armsworth gave a start, but I could tell it wasn't just to see me in her dining room doorway. She was giving me the once over, checking out my hair, which was calmed down as best as I could make it, and my clothes, which were straight from the rummage sale at the Foursquare Tabernacle. "Why here is Blossom! Do sit down. I want you to tell me all about that project you did on Egypt. Alexander has been sadly remiss when it comes to details, even though he did get an A."
"Yes, Blossom, do tell," said Mr. Armsworth. "An A in history for Alexander must have been no mean trick. He doesn't take to history much as a rule."
Alexander slid a chair out for me, and I was there for the duration. Tomb robbing isn't much of a topic for breakfast conversation, but I managed to do all right. Gladys, the Armsworth's hired hand, kept setting the platters of bacon, toast and eggs, and the orange juice pitcher right in front of my place, and I shot her a grateful look. She knows how my ma and I are fixed, because my ma has worked in the Armsworth's kitchen herself on occasion, and Gladys had undoubtedly figured out what Alexander's motives had been in inviting me. Between helpings, I let slip that we were having a history test on Friday about the Ancient Greeks and Romans.
"You did do your assigned reading over the holiday, didn't you Alexander?" I asked him, sweetly.
Alexander paled, but before his folks could light in on him, I began to summarize that section of the history book. I have a busy memory, and all Alexander had to do was throw in a "yeah," or "that's right!" occasionally to keep the conversation going.
When it was time to go to school, Mr. Armsworth caught Alexander's eye and said with a flourish, "Well, I do hope you can remember all of that, Alexander. Perhaps Blossom could stop in tomorrow and go over it with you again. Two heads are better than one, and by Friday, I think you should both be ready for that test." He nodded to me as he rose. "I have to get to work early, so please excuse me. Brent McCallister is giving me fits this week."
Brent McCallister is the town drunk. I know him well, because he lives in one of the shacks not far from ours. He's not very neighborly, though. Mr. Armsworth has been trying to keep him afloat by letting him mix mortar on his construction sites for a living. Mr. Armsworth has been known to take in a stray or two before my time, but McCallister doesn't always appreciate the effort Alexander's pa is making on his behalf.
Mrs. Armsworth sighed, but decided to let that go and agreed that the way I reviewed the history book was a wonder. When Alexander slunk off to brush his teeth and gather his books, she walked me into the hall. I looked up at her and smiled. "I'd be happy to go on helping Alexander with his schoolwork, Ma'am, and I want to thank you for the breakfast."
"Oh, you're welcome, honey."
My books were in the hall, done up with a strap I'd made from an old belt. As I reached for them, Alexander's ma looked around. "My goodness, Blossom, where did Alexander put your coat?"
"I didn't bring one, Ma'am," I admitted. The fact is my old coat had gotten so tight it would have been a job just to get my arms through the sleeves.
Alexander came thumping down the stairs just in time to hear her tell me, "Blossom, you mustn't be forgetting your coat this time of year! You could catch your death of cold, but it's no use running back for one now. You'll be late." He eyed her with alarm as she pulled open the hall closet.
"Here…you can borrow this one. Lucille wore it when she was at the high school. It's been setting in here for ages. I meant to send it to the rummage sale at the church, but I never got around to it. It'll do for the time being."
Mrs. Armsworth extended the coat, and I hesitated. I have my pride, but she was offering it so clever, that I didn't think I could refuse. Besides, it WAS cold.
"I'm greatly obliged, Mrs. Armsworth. I'll take good care of it" I slipped it on. It had a tad more room in the rear and the bust than I needed, as Lucille had always been a full-figured girl, but it was in tip-top shape, and the sleeves and the length were just right.
Alexander's ma nodded with satisfaction at the sight of me, then said, "Run along, now, or you'll be late."
Mrs. Armsworth got a bit more satisfaction out of that coat then than she expected, because when Alexander told her goodbye he kissed her on the cheek, which is probably something he hadn't done since he was ten. She still had her hand to her cheek in wonder, when Alexander took my hand and we left the house.
So that's how I began spending my mornings at the Armsworth place. I got a square meal out of the deal, and the Armsworths got to hear everything about what was going on at school. I made sure to give Alexander a review of all of the main points of our classes when he needed it.
By Easter time we were the top boy and girl in the freshman class. Alexander became known as the brain of his fraternity, Iota Nu Beta, but the boys did begin to tease him a bit about letting a girl lead him around by the nose, even though they had to concede I could come in useful on occasion. Even the girls had to admit that, much as it hurt them to do so. I had helped the class with various projects and they'd all turned out well. Alexander was ignorant of the girl's opinions, and ignored the taunts from the boys for the most part, but I was getting uneasy about it. Men need friendships with other men. I don't know what causes them, or why they last, but I know they're important.
As I was puzzling this problem out, I at least didn't have to worry about getting in good with Alexander's parents anymore. Mrs. Armsworth has always had strange ideas about class, but since she grew up on a farm, she's no one to put down anyone else for trying to better themselves, and Mr. Armsworth works hard and respects anyone else with grit. I had plenty of that, and a bit of celebrity besides, because of my psychic turns, so they were willing to give me a chance.
When Lucille had a big Christening party for her son, Alexander brought me along as his guest. I didn't see much point in attending except for the eats, because Lucille and I have never been fond of each other, but Alexander dug in his heels. If he was allowed to bring a friend, that friend was going to be me. I was right proud of him.
Lucille and I have locked horns on many occasions, but it didn't matter to me what she thought of me. Every path has some puddles, and when it came to me getting with Alexander, Lucille was mine. I did hear Lucille and her mother talking as they were getting ready to bring out the cake and coffee. Lucille was wondering if things were serious between me and Alexander and how her folks felt about it.
"I know Blossom and Alexander have been sweet on each other for a long time," Lucille commented, "but I still think Blossom is the type to take liberties if she gets half a chance."
"Oh, Blossom is all right," said Mrs. Armsworth. "Her mother is still a handful, but we don't have to socialize with her. At least Blossom pays attention to her schoolwork. Alexander needed a good example when it came to being studious. It's made a world of difference since Blossom's been steering him along."
Her faith in me paid off. Mrs. Armsworth nearly cried when Alexander got his report card. She raised Alexander's allowance, which is money he gets for being her son, and he took me to the moving pictures to celebrate.
We hadn't mentioned moving pictures since the fall, when I'd broken up a date between him and Letty. We didn't dredge up old history now. The film was "The Spoilers" starring William Farnum and we had just settled into our seats, and I was giving Alexander a few pointers on the Alaskan gold rush, hoping he'd be able to understand it, when we both got a shock. Letty herself was sneaking into the Bijou, just as the lights went down, and she was with Les Dawson.
If Mrs. Shambaugh could have seen them she would have whipped the lace off Letty's petticoats. Les was of an even lower class than I was, because he wasn't just poor, he was stupid. He'd been left back in school several times, and finally thrown out in when the rest of us were in eighth grade, for beating on Letty of all things. I knew this for a fact, because he'd nearly strangled me that same day. Mrs. Shambaugh couldn't stand Les Dawson.
I couldn't tell if Letty had seen us, but Alexander had sure seen her. He slipped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to whisper in my ear. "If that don't beat all!"
I leaned my head against his, and whispered back. "Jealous, are you?"
Alexander flinched. "Not likely!" Then he realized I was teasing him, and a slow grin spread over his face. "Hey!" he said. "Hey!" and he leaned over and kissed me. His mouth was warm, his lips were soft and he even smelled good. He made my head spin.
The movie started, and he turned away, but he kept his arm around me. I stared at the screen, but I was the one who didn't understand a thing that I saw. It took me all seven reels of the film to come to terms with this new development. Alexander had kissed me! I had kissed him once, at his sister's coming out party, for doing me a favor, and he'd kissed me once at school, but that time he'd been tricked into it. He'd counted that as part of his fraternity initiation. This time he'd done it on his own, without anyone saying a word to him.
That's how it all really started.
When we left the show, we didn't see Les or Letty, but there was so much commotion going on it would have been easy to miss them. Mr. Franklin, the owner of the place was hollering "Good riddance!" at his ticket girl, as she marched out, head held high.
"What's the matter, Mr. Franklin?" I inquired.
"I ain't got but two ticket girls and one of them has just left me in the lurch, that's what! She's running off to Bloomington to git married. Iffen I work my other girl every single night, she'll be quitting on me, too. I am fixed now!"
I got an inspiration, then. "Mr. Franklin, my name is Blossom Culp, and I could sure use a job. I know I could sell tickets. I know my arithmetic up and down. You can ask any of the teachers at the high school. Can't I come and sell tickets for you?"
He looked at me, and at Alexander, who was standing open-mouthed. With Lucille's old coat on, I was looking pretty presentable, and it was obvious if I was keeping company with Alexander, I must be pretty sharp. The Armsworth name was still good for something in Bluff City.
Mr. Franklin allowed he might as well give me a try, and we shook on it.
As we left the place, Alexander shook his head. "Blossom, you sure do beat all. Whatever gave you the notion to sell tickets?"
"I believe in taking an opportunity when I see it, Alexander. It can't be too hard."
"Yeah, but if you're selling tickets, when are you going to have time for me?"
"I'll always make time for you, Alexander, but now you'll have time to help your pa more. You've been leaving him hanging, and the building season's starting to go great guns. You'll have more time for that fraternity of yours, too, and for hanging out with your fool friends. I know for a fact that you've been missing your fraternity meetings, and they have commented on the fact that you're spending too much time with me. It won't do for the fellers to think I've got you whipped. You're too well bred for it, and it doesn't suit either of us."
Alexander had to agree to that, and took me to Hackett's Drugstore for a milkshake to celebrate my new job. He also started spending more time at his father's office on Eldorado Street, and more time out on Armsworth Construction Company building sites learning the business from the ground up.
Selling tickets a couple of nights a week was just as easy as I thought it would be. The only time I really had to keep on my toes was when the place opened up. Once the show started, I never had more than a few stragglers. I used to bring my books and get my reading done for school in between shows. My cash drawer was always right on the money, and Mr. Franklin was pleased as punch. He paid me every week, and the money came in handy. I got fifty cents a night, which was good pay for a girl my age at that time. I bought something for myself every week. Sometimes it was a shirtwaist, or stockings, or some school supplies. It was always a treat to have something new for a change. I didn't even have to give my hard-earned cash to the Shambaughs, as a new dry goods store had opened up on the south end of town, near the two new streets Alexander's pa had put in the year before. Granger's Emporium was giving the Select Dry Goods Company a run for their money, and I was glad to do my share to help make the race interesting.
I also made sure we had a bit of food in the house to keep my mama going and out of my hair. When Alexander and I went to the pictures now, we got in for free, and that made him the envy of his friends. I was a respectable working woman. Even the Armsworths commented on what an enterprising girl I was. Mr. Armsworth, as I've said before, believes in a day's work for a day's pay, and always has.
I'd gotten myself a paying job, and I'd squared myself away with Mrs. And Mrs. Armsworth, but I didn't know how to put it to my mama that Alexander and I were keeping steady company. It turned out I didn't have to. I came in from school one afternoon after a quick bit of shopping, to find her laying out her cards, and wearing the velveteen shawl with the gold fringe she puts on when she wants to look mysterious. Mama is a first class fortune teller. It's one of the things she does to make a few bits. She hardly ever reads her own cards, though, and as she didn't have a client handy, I figured she must be poking into my future.
"You been with that kid from the house again," Mama stated.
That didn't take any cards to figure out. I decided she must have seen Alexander kissing me goodbye behind the barn, which is something that was happening on a regular basis now, and it was no use denying it. "He has a name, Mama. His name is Alexander."
"Everything in this world has a name. That don't mean nothing." Her black eyes looked straight into mine.
"No, but it would be nice if you'd use it. His name is Alexander Armsworth and he's a decent boy. He's sweet as can be, and he's fun to be with, and he likes me. Don't be surprised if he takes over his pa's construction business someday."
Mama looked down at her cards. "He'll get you in trouble."
"Mama! Alexander is a perfect gentleman!"
"That'll pass. He'll get you in trouble, but it'll be just as much your fault as it is his. It's your gypsy blood. Some fires is too hot to cool, but I won't be here to see it. Thank the Lord!"
That made me wonder if Mama was really using her second sight or just snooping. "I expect you'll be around for a long time, Mama, so it's no use worrying about it now."
"Not as long as you think." She swept up the cards. Mama can shuffle in the air, and she did so with a flourish, just to put me in my place. "Still," she added, "he's loyal to a fault. I'll give him that. "
"Miss Letty Shambaugh doesn't think so. She thinks he's a faithless worm. She was after him, but he got rid of her right quick." I set down my books, and took out my packages from the stores.
"That girl will come to a bad end…worse than you. She's too high and mighty for her own good, and she's doing to have a downfall. Then when she makes her choice, it won't last. I see Mr. Death staring her in the face."
This troubled me, because I had some idea of what was in store for Letty. A lot of things I'd heard in the past about the future were starting to make more sense. "How you do run on, Mama," I said coolly. "I stopped at the bakery and got a nice loaf of bread, and I got ten cents worth of ground round steak at the butcher's. Want some?"
Mama made short work of that food. She tore a quarter of the loaf off, saving the rest of the bread for the next day. She poured boiling water from the kettle over the bread and mixed it with the chopped meat. She added a little salt and a bit of chopped onion and parsley and fried it up into meatballs, which we ate with hot ketchup. Mama didn't mention Alexander anymore after that. She couldn't talk with her mouth full, which was a very good thing.