Chapter Thirty-Six

June 15th, 1912
Miles City, Montana

Freida had her bedroom window open, listening to the chirp of crickets. Jacob and Stephen were asleep, finally, after three bedtime stories. Freida found solace in the silence as she folded one of her dresses and placed it in the trunk. The next morning they would taking a train and begin their journey to Coney Island . Cal had offered to run the business for Wally until he had returned. A knock on the open door brought Freida out of her thoughts. She turned while still folding the clothes to see Cal standing in the door way.

"Good evening, Mr. Hockley." Freida greeted, "Is there something I can get for you?"

"No, no." Cal brought his hand up. He strolled to the rocking chair by the open window. He looked out at the darkness, listening to the crickets. "I hope I'm not bothering you. I will be going to bed soon, but just thought a conversation would do me well."

"Oh, okay." Freida smiled, setting another dress in the trunk. "Thank you for watching Wally's business while we are away, Mr. Hockley. It really means a lot."

"Please, call me Cal." Cal told her. Freida nodded and set a pair of Wally's slacks in the trunk.

"Cal, I need to ask you something, but please don't take it the wrong way."

"Sure, what is it?" Cal asked, genuinely curious.

"When we went to the market, my friend David told me he read in a newspaper article that you were aboard the Titanic. Is that true? If it is, why didn't you say anything when I told you our friends were also on the ship?" Freida walked into her closet, taking another dress off the hanger. Cal sighed from his rocking chair. The gossip mill didn't stop anywhere.

"I was abord the Titanic, yes." Cal admitted, "But I didn't say anything because I didn't believe it was really that important. It was a horrific event, but I try not to think about it anymore. I can only be glad that I survived. I'm sorry that I hadn't told you or Wally."

"No, no, don't apologize." Freida rounded her bed and seated herself on the edge near Cal, "I don't need you to be sorry about something so tragic that struck you in life. It was all just very unlucky and as you say, yes, horrific. I'm glad I know, though, so I can be careful as to what I say. I don't want to offend you in anyway. Did you by any chance know Jack or Rose Dawson?"

Cal's face heated up at the question. How he wanted to slap Rose just by hearing her name. How at night he had dreamt of his hands wrapping around Jack's neck in a tight grip, squeezing and squeezing despite Jack's throaty protests. Cal looked out the window at the sticky night. He hwas biting his tongue so hard, he was afraid he'd cut it clean out of his mouth. "Rose was... in first class with me," Cal released a breath, "But Jack, no. I did not."

"Oh, so you know Rose?" Freida sat up with arched eyebrows.

"Briefly. Maybe said hello once at dinner one night," Cal waved his hand at it.

"I'll send my reguards, then." Freida told him and got up to return to her task.

"No!" Cal caught her wrist and spun her around, shocking her. "She... she didn't know me. It would just be awkward. You understand that, don't you?" Freida paused for a moment.

"I can understand it if that's how you'd like it." Freida replied, making Cal smile. She returned to her task, leaving Cal to continue listening to the nightly sounds. How he enjoyed Freida's prescence. She was a pleasant person to be around. Quiet and understanding. He snuck a look at her. She was rather good looking. She looked as if she needed sleep, her eyes a bit puffy, but Cal was sure if she had one day away from boys, she'd look model material. "Finally," Freida sighed as she flipped the trunk closed and flicked the locks over, "We have enough clothes to travel to Coney Island. I'm going to go make myself a cup of coffee. Would you like a cup, Cal?"

Cal grinned at her, "That sounds nice."

...

"... and then the bell boy tripped over the suitcase and fell flat on his face." Cal finished telling his tale. Freida broke into a laugh, placing her hand to her chest. The two sat at the kitchen table, steaming mugs of coffee in their hands.

"What a funny story." Freida said, taking a sip of her warm drink. "It sounds like you've dealt with some real characters before. I haven't had a chance to meet many people. I've lived in Montana all my life."

"Really?"

"Yes, right here in Miles City. I met Wally here. He had just moved here from South Dakokta. He decided he wanted to stay here and since I loved him, I stayed here, too." There was a silence between the two. Cal stirred some more milk into his coffee.

"What were your dreams when you were younger? What did you want to do with yourself?"

"Well," Freida sighed, longingly, "for a while, I wanted to be a nurse. There are no nursing schools in Montana, though. I had to travel to go to school. But I suppose I never got around to it?"

"Why not?" Cal asked. He wanted to know everything about Freida.

"I just never did. I was looking into it, but then I met Wally and a lot of my life began to circle around him. I was twenty when we got married. Right after we got married, Wally began creating his magazine. The magazine has kept our family fed."

"Have you thought about going back now?"

"Oh, Heaven's no," Freida shook her head, blowing steam away from his coffee, "I wouldn't have the time. Jacob and Stephen require so much attention, it would hard on the entire family for me to go to school and start working a job. The boys of the Deere family need me here at home."

"Do you enjoy being a housewife?" Cal cocked an eyebrow up. Cal had always thought that women were best in the role of house wives, but a part of him saw dead dreams inside of Freida. He saw how her life affected her. The poor girl had grown weak and Cal wanted to give her her backbone again. All the energy and hope she had as a young girl seemed to be dull scar tissue.

"I enjoy being a mother." Freida replied, flatly. Cal thought to the first morning he had spent in the Deere household. How Freida had dodged Wally's good morning kiss. He wanted to say something about it, but didn't know how to say it. Freida said something about it first, though, to Cal's surprise, "You must have noticed Wally and I's distance during your stay." Freida stirred her spoon in coffee, "We've had... marital issues. Like every couple, I guess you could say." She shrugged and fell silent. Cal felt bad for her.

"I've seen it. He cares more about his work than you, doesn't he?"

"He cares more about younger and prettier women." Frieda looked him dead in the eye. They stared at each other for a moment before Cal realized what she meant. Wally had cheated on her. Frieda drank some of her coffee and sighed, "Well, it's getting rather late, wouldn't you agree, Cal? I have a train to catch tomorrow morning." She stood and gathered the mugs, taking them to the sink, "Did Wally give you the house key for while we are away?"

"Yes." Cal told her, still stewing over what she had said.

"Good." Freida rinsed the cups out and dried her hands on the sink towel, "Thank you for having coffee with me, Cal. I hope you sleep well. See you in the morning." Freida gave him a smile as she passed him and headed through the living and disappeared down the hallway. Cal only watched her go in silence.