I MAKE NO MONEY OFF OF THIS. I AM DOING IT SOLELY FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT. I OWN NOTHING BUT A FEW ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.
Margaret's POV:
The day passed quickly as I moved around the shop cleaning. It was Wednesday and everything had to be dusted. It was also the day that we received some of our finer items in from the coast, such as cloth. Most of it was soft cotton and coarse wool that was common around here but there were a few rolls of finer material like silk that came in. The local seamstress would be in after a while to look.
I quickly moved around the small fine chine display that my mother had set in the corner. The set displayed a pretty red and blue design against the bright white background of the plate. I gently ran my fingers over the side of the teacup that I held before I sat it back down on the shelf.
I stole a glance at the clock and realized that is was almost noon and the supply train would be here soon and it mean that I had been cleaning nonstop for almost 4 hours. I decided it was time for a break so I turned around and headed for the back of the store. I found my mother in the kitchen working on making lunch.
I had almost made it beside her when I heard the front door open. "Don't stop, I'll mind the front." I told her as I walked away towards the front of the building.
As I entered I saw Daniel and HW headed back towards the counter. "Hello Mr. Plainview, How can I help you today?" I asked politly.
"Well Miss Jones, we are in need of some shotgun shells. We cannot go hunting without them and I forgot them last night." He smiled at me.
"Of course you can't. What gauge do you need?" I asked as I turned to the shelf that held the bullets and the shells.
"HW needs 20 gauge and I need 10 gauge." I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face.
"I take you weren't planning on eating what you hunted, Mr. Plainview." I asked as I handed him the boxes and took the money he handed me.
"No, I am not planning on shooting anything. HW needs to learn to hunt better. His aim is still a little off." I looked down at the boy and he nodded back at me. "My gun is only for protection." Daniel responded.
"I wish you both good luck and full satchels at the end of the day." I replied. "Good day Mr. Plainview. HW."
Daniel nodded and turned towards the door "Good day Miss Margaret."
"Bye Margaret" HW chimed in as he followed his father out of the store.
"Daniel seems like a nice man." Mother's voice cut through the silence.
I turned to face her, thankful that my cheeks didn't go red. "He does seem nice and so does his boy." I turned to go put the money in the register and decided to change the subject. "Lunch smells good."
"It is ready if you would like some." She turned and led the way back into the kitchen.
We ate in a comfortable silence. The whole time I thought about the way that Daniel had reacted to my answers to the questions that he asked yesterday.
My mother's voice broke my thoughts "you are awful quite today. Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yes I am just tired from cleaning and I was thinking about how much more there is to do today. I am only about half done with the store." I smiled at her.
"Well when you are finished we are going to head over to Sarah's house. Your grandmother is going to meet us over there. We are going to be measured for new dresses. Your grandfather keeps insisting on new dresses for us and he finally received the material today on the train." She smile at me.
"I feel like there is a catch. Why are we all getting new clothes?" I asked.
"Well it started out as being a birthday present for your 20th birthday but the material was damaged and your grandfather had a heck of a time getting it replaced. But now that we have the material we are getting some new church clothes." She grinned widely at me.
"Ugh do I have to start going again?" I asked
"Yes just for the next couple of weeks. Then you can take a few months off." She winked at me.
"Alright I will play nice. For now. I laughed. "Alright I better get back to work." I stood and went back to the store and started cleaning.
The hours passed quickly and I was finally done. I went into the kitchen and filled my pitcher with water and I went upstairs to change. I poured the water into the basin on my wash stand and placed my towel in to soak. I stepped over to my mirror. I wasn't planning on changing my dress but I noticed that it was covered in dirt from cleaning.
I sighed and went to my wardrobe. I pulled out a light blue long skirt and a white blouse. I laid them on the bed and went back to the mirror. I removed my dress and washed my arms and legs. I pulled my hair from its pins and brushed it. I quickly pulled it back up and repined it. Normally I wore it down but today I was cleaning and since we were going to be measure it needed to be up. My hair was long and dark brown like my mother's.
Once it was done I washed my face and my neck. I slipped my blouse on over my bodice. I pulled my skirt up and fastened it in place. I checked my mirror to make sure that everything was in place. I noticed more and more every day that I looked like my mother. I smiled and turned to head downstairs .I found my mother in the kitchen waiting by the backdoor.
We walked the short distance across town in silence. I looked around as we walked. There was hardly anyone out and about today. Sarah greeted us on the porch. "Maggie, you look just like your mother. You are so pretty." She pulled me into a hug. Then she turned to my mother and pulled her into a hug. "you have done such a fine job Kathryn. Come let's go inside." She led us into the house.
Sarah was a kind middle aged woman, with a large heart and she and my grandmother were close friends.
I smiled and thanked her and followed her inside. I couldn't help but grin when I saw my grandmother sitting with Sarah's baby granddaughter on her lap. "Ah, there you are. Sarah has already measured me. Kathryn, you are next. Maggie come sit and play with us." She patted the seat next to her.
I sat down and started to play with the baby, who quickly motioned for me to hold her. I took her from my grandmother and had to laugh at the giggle that escaped her mouth. It was times like this that I wished I already had a husband. I longed for children of my own.
It seemed that my grandmother knew what I was thinking. "You will make a great mother someday. You are so much like you mother, you cannot fail." She smiled at me as she pulled me into a hug. Soon mother came back out and it was my turn. I handed the baby back to my grandmother.
I stood still for Sarah while she measured all the different angles that she needed.
She smiled at me in the mirror. "you will look lovely in the material that we have for your new dress." She told me.
"What kind of material is it?" I asked.
"I'll show you when we are done." She quickly finished taking her measurements and then placed her book safely in the drawer on her desk. "Alright we have your measurements for a new dress, skirt, and blouse." She smiled at me. "Come and look at what your grandfather bought for you." She went behind her desk and pulled a roll of material off of a shelf and held it out to me.
I stepped closer and she let me hand run over it. It was a beautiful dark blue silk. I was awestruck with the material. It was so soft and so deep in color. It was perfect. I think she could tell by my speechless state that I loved it.
She smiled at me and then patted my arm. "it will look amazing on you." She turned and put it back on the shelf safely.
"and I will cherish it always." I told her and she pulled me into another hug.
On our walk home that night we talked about the material and how nice it was. As we entered the house I saw the light on in my grandfather study. I stepped in beside him and gave him a hug. "Thank you for the material. It will make the most gorgeous dress."
He hugged me back. "Of course my dear. I thought that you would like that dark color." He stood and led the way to the kitchen.
Grandmother was at the stove fixing bowl of stew. It was a nice peaceful dinner and when we finished I stood up to gather the dishes but my mother stopped me. "Go on to bed. You cleaned the whole shop by yourself without a break almost. You deserve the rest."
I nodded and wished my grandparents a good night before heading up the stairs. Once I got to my room I was barely able to change before the exhaustion hit me and I had to lay down. as soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep.
