James slept very well Sunday night. And in the morning, the family gathered for breakfast and discussed plans for the week. Jarrod and his family needed to get back to San Francisco; Jarrod needed to return to work and Jane felt the children needed to get back to school and their routine. Jarrod and Jane discussed it between them at the table and agreed they would return Wednesday morning.
Nick and Heath needed to attend to the branding, something that had been postponed because of their mother's death. They agreed they would do some of it today and tend to the rest as time allowed for the rest of the week. Tom and Will would help.
The Stockton Barkley children were encouraged but not pushed to get back to school and routine. None, not even Leah, were eager to return just yet. Audra wanted to go to town and mail a letter to her son. She also wanted to send a telegram to him.
Audra always wrote a letter to her son on Sunday afternoon, telling him about events she and his father attended, any travel plans, and books she was reading. The night before she had composed a letter to him, telling him about his grandmother's funeral and her decision to stay on the ranch and help Emily run the household, at least for a time. She also described the boys' adventure on the High Ridge and Grace's heroism and all about the picnic. But letters could take as much as two weeks to reach the East Coast and Audra wasn't even sure Charles, Jr. knew his grandmother had died; she thought a telegram was in order so he would at least know where his mother was.
Carrie had heard no more about Leah visiting the cousins in San Francisco but she had been terse with her mother the night before when she came to say good night. She hoped she would at least be allowed to accompany her aunt Audra to town this morning. In the end, she did get to go to town with her but her mother came with them.
Sarah stayed at the house with Jane. Vicky and Leah helped with some household chores and looked after Julia while Ellie joined Grace, Daniel, and James clearing the south field of rocks. Jarrod worked in the library.
Emily looked behind at the house as she drove the buggy past the gate and the guesthouse. "Audra?" she asked, "How would you like to take Carrie and Leah to San Francisco?"
"Well, "Audra started, "I'm not sure, when were . . . I mean, why are they going to San Francisco?" Audra was only just getting accustomed to the notion of being on the ranch and now she was being asked to consider this.
"Oh, not right away, of course," Emily said, trying to minimize the importance of the trip for the girls. "It's just that Jane thought it would be nice to have Carrie and Leah visit the city and get some exposure to high culture. I think it's a wonderful idea but I think fourteen is too young to ride the train alone and it might be fun for you, too."
"Aunt Audra, please?" Carrie pleaded. Audra smiled at her and said she would love to go with the girls but not quite yet.
Carrie could hardly believe it. She had won her battle to go to San Francisco without even trying. Even better, Aunt Jane had wanted her to go after all, something, she thought bitterly, her mother never even mentioned to her.
Once in town, Emily and Carrie stopped at the dry goods store to pick up staples for the kitchen. They also stopped at Schaeffer's store and bought several yards of black cloth; the women would be wearing mourning for weeks, months, to come.
Audra mailed her letter and then she went to the telegraph office. There she wired her son the following message: IN CALI GRNDMA DEAD stop WILL STAY 2 HELP NCK EM stop. Audra couldn't think of how to end her message so she simply wrote ALL MY LOVE, MTHR. Stop.
Lunch was quieter that day with Nick, Heath, and the two oldest boys off at branding. Jarrod once again sat at the head of the table. The talk was mainly about the girls' trip to San Francisco and the things they might do there. Audra noted none of this was a surprise to Jarrod but she worried that perhaps Grace would also like to go along. She looked at Jane and gestured over to Heath and Sarah's youngest.
"Grace, you are more than welcome to come, as well, if you like," Jane said.
Grace, however, had no particular interest in going to museums or shows or any of that. "Oh, uh, thank you, Aunt Jane," she said, "maybe some other time."
Julia got down from her chair and walked over to her mother and stated that she wanted to go to San Francisco with Aunt Audra, too. She may have meant her words to be heard only by her mother but everyone else heard.
Jarrod smiled and said, "Julia, you have a standing invitation to come to San Francisco, ride the cable cars, and visit the sites in exactly ten years. Of course, by that time, I expect Grace will be running the ranch and you'll be her right hand man."
Everyone at the table laughed at that except Emily who excused herself and left the room, taking Julia with her. Looks were exchanged in her wake but no comment was made.
After lunch, James and Daniel were given permission to go riding with Grace with Jarrod being particularly emphatic with his son to stay on the main trails and out of trouble.
Nick and Heath arrived back at the house by mid-afternoon; Tom and Will stayed out and took a ride together. Nick went to change his shirt and found his wife and youngest daughter lying on the bed, Emily was sleeping and Julia was singing to herself. She was so engrossed in her song, she didn't notice her father enter the room.
"Hiya, Punkin," Nick whispered. Julia's cried "Papa!" and Emily stirred. Nick pressed his finger to his lips to tell Julia to be quiet and sat on her side of the bed, which was his side, while he removed his dirty, sweaty shirt. It was Julia's effort to move over on the bed to be close to him that woke Emily.
She propped herself up on her elbows and asked Nick what time it was. He answered and told his little girl to get him a fresh shirt from the drawer, pointing to it. He kept his back to his wife who sat up a moment before getting off the bed and rinsing her face with water from the pitcher atop a bureau.
Emily turned to face him, or rather, face his back. "Audra said she would escort the girls to San Francisco," she told him. Nick said nothing but put on his fresh shirt and then his vest as Julia handed them to him. When he was done, he stood and picked Julia up, placing her feet on his as he walked her to the door. It was a fun game they played.
"Julia, your mother and I need to talk. Why don't you go see if you can help Aunt Audra." He didn't actually know what Audra was doing at the moment or if she needed any help or company but he knew it was likely the only bait strong enough to get the child to leave without a fuss.
After she was gone, Nick closed the door and turned to Emily who remained standing in front of the bureau. "I thought I made it clear I don't want Carrie going off to San Francisco."
"And I don't see why it should even be an issue," Emily said.
"Em, I don't wanna have the same discussion we had last night."
"Neither do I," she replied, "since it clearly didn't get us anywhere. I just don't understand what the objection is."
"I told you: She's too young and I don't want her head filled with all kinds of notions."
"Notions about what? About fashion? Art?" Emily narrowed her eyes. "Education? Votes for women?" That was a jab. Victoria had been ardently in favor of votes for women and her sons followed her lead on the issue, though Nick needed some convincing; he didn't completely understand why women needed to vote.
He sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at the pattern on the rug. He said nothing.
"Nick, you can't control your children's destinies anymore than you can dictate their personalities." They were both silent a long time before Emily spoke again, softly. "I think this is less about Carrie going to San Francisco and more about Will." She stopped; he was listening, thinking. That was a good sign. "Smart as he is, Daniel seems more interested in ranching than Will and, frankly, why can't Grace help run it, too? She loves ranching and no one's better on a horse, even if she is a girl. God knows she's smart. Why, we may even make a rancher out of James," she added for levity.
Nick smiled and chuckled at that. Then he shook his head and looked at her, serious again, "I just don't like the idea."
"Which one, Nick? Carrie riding on a cable car and going to the symphony? Or Will going to college and doing something other than ranching with his life? Or maybe you don't like the notion of a woman riding herd?"
She had pushed as far as she dared. He got up from the bed forcefully and crossed the room to stare out a window. The two stood in silence for a long time before Nick turned around and asked, "Just why does she have to go to San Francisco?"
"Because she's a young lady who thinks she's stuck on a ranch when there's a great big world out there she wants to see. Because she hasn't the temperament to imagine it, like Daniel does, it has to be shown to her; through museums, and theatre, and watching people on the street."
"She's too young!"
"Nick, she's not moving there for good and we're not sending her out on her own. It's only for a week or two and, God knows, she would be closely supervised by three people who would have her best interest at heart."
Nick scowled and said, "All right, then. She can go." He started to leave the room.
"Nick?" He stopped and looked at her. She wanted to ask him if he was really that fearful that his children were growing up, that his daughter was a young lady now who could be married and a mother within the next ten years. Or maybe he was he afraid his daughter would catch the eye of a wealthy older man who would mistreat her. Maybe, she wondered, his mother's death had him thinking of his own mortality.
"Never mind," she said, and she followed him downstairs to join the others.