It was a hot muggy day in New York City. Hazel Montgomery wiped her forehead for the fifth time as she struggled to kneed the dough for the afternoon rush. She had made thirty loaves that morning but it seemed that the whole of Queens wanted fresh-bread today, so she was working over the hot oven to provide just that. "Hey Hazel you busy?" a voice called out.

"No Teddy I ain't busy I've been having a vacation. Of course I'm busy." Hazel snapped as she straightened, cracking her back as she did so.

Teddy backed away with his hands up, "No need to go biting off my head. The boss was wondering if you could help with the lunch crowd. Vi never showed."

"She never came in? Typical Vi, well tell the boss I quit, just as soon as this bread is done." Hazel said as she went back to working over the bread.

"Quit, you can just quit. Pop is gonna kill me if you quit. He'll blame it on me or something like that." Teddy said a note of panic creeping into his voice.

Hazel's eyes snapped, "It was your fault, you brought the pape in that had the ad, which I responded to and I got a response."

"Ad, what ad?" Teddy was curious, his panic forgotten.

"The mail-order bride ad. A Jack Parker had placed it. I responded and his kid wrote me back." Hazel said as she put the last loaf into the oven. Then she pulled a letter out of her pocket. "Listen to this: Dear Miss Montgomery. Sorry it took me so long to write back, but unfortunately my pa's death made it hard for me to know that such an ad had been placed. My Pa has always looked after us boys and the ad in the east papers was one way he did it. If you couldn't guess there ain't many women in these here parts and Pa thought bringing a girl for the east would be the best. When your letter arrived here it was the first time any of us boys had heard of this thing. But we figured it was a good idea, so hi I'm Aaron Parker. I guess the last name got lost in the translation. Francis was my Pa's second name. I ain't the oldest but I's the best looking of my brothers. If you is still interested in coming out, I'd love to introduce you to this little bit of paradise. You can contact Mr. Brian Denton at the New York Sun to get the money you need for your train ticket, just tell him that Blink sent ya. Sincerely Aaron Parker." Hazel closed the letter, clutching it close to her heart, "Doesn't he sound just wonderful."

Teddy had an incredulous look. "Yeah perfectly wonderful for some backwoods hick. I wonder how many boys he is talking about, how do you know he ain't a pimp or owner of a place of ill-repute?"

"You mean a whore house?" Hazel shot back, when Teddy nodded she sighed dramatically. "Obviously he ain't, he has a little house out in Texas where there are no rats and you can breath without taking in a ton of coal smoke. It is paradise."

Teddy snorted, "No rats? What gave you that idea? There's rats everywhere."

"But not in Texas, there are no rats there." Hazel was adamant.

Teddy again snorted, "Well if you want to go find your fortune with some backwoods hick that is your business. But you can't just quit."

"Yes I can, my train leaves tomorrow morning." Hazel said with a shrug as she opened the oven door and checked on her bread.

"Tomorrow? Hazel you can't just leave like that, what will people say? I thought you liked working here." Teddy began protesting he started coming closer. "I thought we had an understanding, this is just a trick to get me to propose ain't it? Well then Hazel will you marry me?" Teddy asked putting a hand on Hazel's head.

Hazel reacted instantly and Teddy was soon on the floor curled up in a ball. "I ain't marrying you Teddy, not for all the money in Roosevelt's bank account." Hazel snapped off her apron and grabbed her hat. On her way out she stopped by Mr. Haveshem's counter. "Mr. Haveshem I quit, I want my week's pay." Hazel said holding out her hand.

"Now Miss Montgomery we go through this every time Theodore gets fresh I'll talk to him and have him apologize." Mr. Haveshem said soothingly.

"There is no need for you to apologize for Teddy Mr. Haveshem, I quit, I got a husband and a farm waiting for me in Bloomington, Texas. I won't be coming back. You owe me five dollars I'd like that money please." Hazel said gesturing with her hand.

Mr. Haveshem looked exasperatedly, "Fine Miss Montgomery, here is your pay for this week. I'll see you on Sunday." He turned back to his shot glasses.

"No you won't Mr. Haveshem, oh I left your bread in the oven, you might want to take it out when you go back to pick your son off the floor." Hazel said as she slipped the money into the bag around her neck and slipped out the door. As she walked through the streets she smiled to herself. This time tomorrow she would be on her way to Texas. Even the name sent shivers up and down her spine. This was the adventure she was looking for all her life, no more cleaning up after messy lunchroom guests. No more cooking meals after meals without even a bit of gratitude. She was going west to be the cook of one man, who would appreciate her meals or he would get it.

The lodging house where she stayed stood silent as she approached, but that was to be expected, as it was the middle of the day, the rest of the girls wouldn't be home for hours. And Hazel expected to be long gone by then. She stopped at the rent basket for a minute to put in the money she owed for the past week, along with a note explaining she had moved on. She then went up to her room and gathered her things. In less than ten minutes she was all packed and ready to go. A quick stop to the facilities and she was on her way. The train station and her ride to freedom awaited her.