The Next Morning - New Orleans

Kitty smiled in her sleep as the sun came streaming into her room. She was dreaming that Matt was brushing kisses up and down her neck, and reached out to touch him. Her eyes opened and realizing where she was, she whispered, "I'm missing you Cowboy."

She got ready for the day and was about to start down the stairs, when she noticed that Marie was at the bottom of the staircase speaking to her maid in a serious if not stern manner. Not wanting to intrude, Kitty waited a moment before descending. Marie turned and smiled, "Kitty, you're up early, and as selfish as it sounds, I'd glad. I'd love your advise on some last minute wedding details, and there is so much in New Orleans I want to show you. Come let's plan the day over breakfast. Claire's set it out in the garden."

Kitty looked at the sturdily built woman, who was standing stiffly behind Marie. She wore a light blue maid's uniform, and starched white apron, her brown and grey hair, pulled into a tight bun. Kitty smiled, "Hello Claire, I'm Kitty Russell."

Hand's clasped in front of her, Claire replied formally without smiling, "Good morning Miss. I hope you enjoy breakfast."

Kitty started to follow Marie, but stopped and turned back to Claire, "Perhaps you can help me. I'll be wanting to mail some letters, but don't have stamps, and don't know where to take them. The maid looked at Kitty briefly and then lowered her eyes, "Miss, you can leave your envelopes on the table in the hall. I'll stamp them and give them it to the postman. I put the incoming mail on that same table every afternoon."

"Thank you, Claire, I'll do that." She smiled at the maid and hurried off to the garden.

Four Days Later – New Orleans

It was early morning, and Kitty was in her room finishing a letter to Matt. As she slid it into an envelope, she thought about her time at Marie's, and couldn't believe that three full days had flown by since the evening of her arrival. She had already seen a musical and dramatic play at the St. Charles Theater, strolled through City Park, visited the beautiful St. Louis Cathedral, and dined in several fine restaurants, all in the delightful company of Corey, Marie and Paul. When she wasn't on an outing, she was helping Marie with wedding preparations. They visited the florist to finalize floral arrangements, and the chef to check on the menu. Marie welcomed and appreciated Kitty's ideas, and Kitty enjoyed every minute of it. She was also looking forward to meeting Marie's best friend, Melissa, who was to be the maid of honor. Melissa was scheduled to arrive very soon, to be able to attend a multitude of pre-wedding events that required the presence of the maid of honor. Marie had described her friend as fun loving and vivacious, and Kitty was sure they'd become fast friends.

She picked up the envelope and went downstairs trying to calculate the number of days it took for mail delivery. With a train coming in that afternoon, she figured she just might get her first letter from Matt, and hopefully he'd receive the first one she had written to him. She placed the letter on the hallway table and went to join Marie for breakfast.

Claire watched Kitty walk by and nodded respectfully. When Kitty was out of sight, she hurried over to the table, and following Miss Marie's instructions, took the letter outside, tore it into tiny pieces, and buried it in the trash. This had become part of her morning routine.

At 3PM Claire went to pick up the mail. She loved that part of the day, when she could escape from her never-ending household chores and spend a few minutes outside. The postman handed her a pile of mail and she was sorting through it when she paused. For the first time she saw a letter that was addressed to Kitty Russell. Having been told to look out for such a letter, Claire was about to tear it up, when she noticed it was from a man. Claire had been a widow for 6 years, and her only experience with men was being married off, at the age of 15, to a rough mannered longshoreman who was 20 years her senior. In 25 years of marriage he barely said a caring word, much less wrote a letter when he was away. She stared at the envelope wondering what on earth a man would say to a woman in a letter. On impulse, she shoved it into her apron pocket and carried the rest of the mail into the house. Seeing an enveloped marked "URGENT," she quickly brought it to Miss Marie.

Marie tore the envelope open and her face fell. She looked at Kitty, "It's from my friend Melissa. She was in an accident and broke her leg. She can't get here for the wedding."

Shaking her head, Marie sighed, "I feel terrible for Melissa. At the same time I have to think about the wedding." She took Kitty's hand, "I know it's a lot to ask, but would you be willing to be my maid of honor?"

"Marie, are you sure you want me?"

Marie put her arm around Kitty, "Cousin, you're the only one I want."

Kitty smiled, "I'd be honored."

"Thank you. I just warn you that this will mean not only dress fittings and such, but also a number of pre-wedding events that the maid of honor is expected to attend with the best man.

"Oh, Marie, it will be exciting to be part of the wedding. As for those events, I'm sure they'll be a pleasure. Corey is such a fine gentleman and very good company."

Late That Evening

Claire completed her duties, and walked into the sitting room to be dismissed for the day. Miss Marie's back was to her, as she spoke quietly and intently to Corey Towers. Being tired and eager to get home, Claire cleared her throat and said softly, "Miss Marie, if there is nothing else, I'll be leaving."

Marie didn't look up but nodded and waved her hand. Claire got her shawl, and started on her half-mile walk home. Her feet hurt, but they always did at the end of the day. She had been on them for hours serving meals, sweeping, mopping, doing laundry, ironing, washing dishes, on and on. Yet she couldn't complain. Lots had it much worse than her.

She reached her boarding house, and climbed three flights to her sparsely furnished room. When she removed her apron, the letter fell from the pocket. She had forgotten about it. She picked it up and starting reading.

Dear Kitty,

Thank you for the telegram. I was happy to know that you arrived safely and that you were thinking of me.

I'm writing the evening, of the day you left, so don't have much news. Doc wants you to know that Kay Wallace finally had a boy after 5 girls. He figures that is a good thing for Mrs. Wallace who has had 6 babies in 8 years.

Mr. and Mrs. Brown's niece arrived on the afternoon stage, and Chester is already sweet on her. He's coming up with all sorts of crazy schemes to earn more money, so he can ask her out for a fancy dinner. You and I both know how well that will work, so I see making a loan in my future.

I guess that's all the news for now. I hope you are having a wonderful time. I'll write tomorrow.

Love,

Matt

PS: Just one thing more thing. You said you wouldn't be gone long enough for me to miss you. That's impossible. I started missing you before your train was even out of sight. There are so many things about you that I miss, I can't even name them, and you haven't even been gone a full day.

As Claire read the end of the letter, she felt tears well up in her eyes. She was amazed that there could be a man who'd miss a woman so much, and say so. She knew she was supposed to rip the letter up, but somehow couldn't. She folded it carefully and put it in her top dresser drawer, figuring that as long Miss Kitty didn't get it, no one would know any better.

TBC