Joseph, My Son

Chapter 3

The chandelier in the restaurant of the Palace Hotel dripped a golden glow over their table. Although Joe walked with a slight limp when he handed Eleanor into her chair at the table, he was smiling intently. She was beautiful, wearing a peach-colored dress that complimented her complexion perfectly. He had dressed in his good suit with a string tie neatly tied at the collar and he was looking forward to a very nice night.

"I know that it's not Sacramento or San Francisco, but the Palace Restaurant is very good. I hope you'll like it," he began.

"I'm sure that it will be perfect, Joe" responded Eleanor.

"Did you enjoy the wedding party yesterday?" It seemed like a lifetime ago already. "Hop Sing really outdid himself with the food. And Pa hired the best musicians in the territory.

"Yes, I had a wonderful time, especially when we were dancing together." Her bright smile pleased Joe.

"Well, we have dances fairly often. In fact, there will be a square dance next Saturday night. Would you like to go with me?"

Eleanor hesitated. "I've never gone to a square dance. I'm afraid I don't know how to do one."

Joe smiled at her and took her hand in his. "Don't worry, it's easy. You just follow what the caller tells you to do, and I'll show you the steps you aren't familiar with."

"Well, if you promise not to laugh if I make a mistake…"

"I wouldn't think of it," he replied in mock horror. "You know, Hoss's romance with Prudence really didn't start until he took her to a dance the first week she was in town. None of us could believe how quickly he fell for her. But now, I'm beginning to see how it can happen. When the right person comes into your life, that is." Joe almost slapped himself. How could she possibly think he was being sincere when he came out with a line like that? And yet, what he had said was absolutely what he was feeling. Eleanor was blushing furiously, looking down at the table. She really didn't know what to make of that statement. It was so forward. But try as she might, she couldn't detect any insincerity in it. Still, she reasoned, she had not had too many beaux back in Sacramento and Joseph was an unknown quantity to her. Perhaps he was sincere, but perhaps that was what he said to everyone he escorted.

She looked up at him cautiously after a moment to gather her wits. "I hope that's not what you say to every woman you bring to this restaurant. It would hurt terribly if it was."

Joe was surprised and more than a little upset at the turn of events. Of course, if Eleanor felt that he was being inappropriate, he only had himself to blame. Damn it! Even Hoss could speak more suitably at a moment like this. And Adam wouldn't have said anything wrong in the first place! He took a deep breath and remembered the morning's work as he squirmed a bit in his chair. That made the blush that had come into his cheeks disappear rapidly, to be replaced by a little grimace of pain. What Eleanor would make of that he could not know, but at the moment, his only concern was to convince her that he was completely sincere. If she had noted the small grimace of pain or the paleness of his face, she didn't react to it.

"I don't take just anyone here. I hope you understand that. Yesterday at the party I met someone who made me feel very different, unlike anyone else I'd ever met. I hope you'll believe me."

The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the waiter with the menus. After the ritual of scanning what was on offer that night and conveying their choices to the man, Joe and Eleanor sat in silence. He was sure he had scuttled any possibility of romance with her. "Well", he said to himself, "there's no reason not to have a nice dinner. Eleanor and I can certainly talk civilly about inconsequential things."

While he placed his napkin on his knee, he looked at the young woman across the table from him. She returned his polite demeanor but waited for him to begin the conversation.

"How have you found Virginia City so far?" he asked.

"It's a nice town. I really didn't know what to expect. It's nice not to be crowded, I suppose. Sacramento is street after street of stone and brick buildings, and it's noisy, too," she replied.

"Yes. I've been to Sacramento and to San Francisco. I always miss the open spaces here when I'm in a big city. I would like to see New Orleans, however. My mother was born and raised there," Joe responded.

"Do you have any relatives you could visit with in New Orleans?" Eleanor politely asked.

"Not that I know of. My mother had some older relatives there, but they've all passed on."

"Yes. It's the same with my father's family. The Hoods came from Michigan mostly. Now only he and my aunt are left. My mother has some relatives in Oregon and they all originally came from Pennsylvania." Eleanor sighed. "I guess most people here in the west came from somewhere else, not like the old, well-established families of the east who sank their roots deep."

"Not all of them did. My father for one," Joe explained. He came from near Boston and was a seaman, but his real dream was to come out west. And that's what he did, although it took him a long time."

"The same with Uncle Thomas. He had a dream and although he had good luck, he worked very hard, too."

"Yes, I know. I went to school with some of your older cousins and I visited their house many times. Tom Junior and I were good friends before he moved away. How is he? I haven't heard from him for a long time."

"I'm afraid his wife is sickly. It's hard on him without her being able to help much with the house and the babies. He tries to do what he can, but he won't accept help from anyone. He's fortunate to have some good neighbors who pitch in when he'll let them - with the children and the cooking, I mean. I know my aunt and uncle want them to come back and stay with them, but Tommy is just too stubborn. It's a shame because Uncle Thomas could use more help with the distillery."

"I thought Charlie was working at the distillery with him?" asked Joe. "Didn't your uncle plan on leaving it to Charlie?"

"He still does, but it's gotten to be a pretty big enterprise and there's more than enough work for a second, even a third manager. Aunt Anna said that they were thinking about talking to one of their sons-in-law about joining in the venture, but since they have their own families' concerns and their professions to occupy them, there wasn't much chance of getting help from that corner."

As the evening wore on, Eleanor and Joe began to relax more and more with each other. As he walked her to her aunt and uncle's house, he hoped that he had been able to repair the beginning of their relationship after his faux pas.

"Would you still like to go to the square dance with me Saturday night?" he asked as he stood in front of the William's door.

"Yes, I think I would. But let's not be too serious about things, Joseph. We hardly know each other."

"Alright," he conceded. "Let's just enjoy the dance, then."

XXXXX

After dinner, Ben and Adam sat in companionable silence in front of the large great room's fireplace. Adam had a book in his lap and some paper and a pencil on the coffee table in front of him while his father was enjoying a glass of brandy while he read the newspaper. After a while the younger man put the book down and stretched. He put his hands behind his head while he sighed. Ben looked up, a question in his dark eyes.

"The sluice?" he asked.

"Yes, the sluice." Adam sighed again. "It doesn't make any sense to rebuild it out of wood. We'd just have to do it all over again in a few years. But building it with pipes is pretty expensive and would require welding. And that means hiring someone who knows how to do that with cast iron."

"So, we'd have to bring someone in from San Francisco," Ben stated flatly. The larger cities back east had been using iron and lead pipes in their water and sewer systems for almost thirty years, but out west, especially out in the small towns, that was still a novelty. "There's no way to bolt the pipes together?"

"Well, yes, but that would require a lot more maintenance," Adam replied. "The water movement would cause constant shifting, as well as having to deal with expansion and contraction due to the weather and water temperature. We'd have to have men go over it, tightening bolts and screws every week. At that point, we might as well rebuild it with wood."

Ben thought for a few minutes before he responded. "Why don't you get me some prices on the cost of the materials and what it would cost to bring in a welding expert. Then we can decide which is the best way to go."

It was getting late, and Adam was planning to go up to the sawmill the next morning, so he stood, intending to head for his room when his youngest brother came in.

"Hey, I didn't expect you two to still be awake!" Joe said as he hung up his hat and laid down his gun belt and gloves on the cabinet by the front door.

"Well, I was just about to go upstairs just now. How was dinner with the lovely Miss Hood?" Adam asked, a smile playing about his lips.

"I nearly made a mess of it before we even looked at the menu," admitted Joe.

"You? The most charming Cartwright in the Nevada territory? How could that possibly be?" asked his brother.

"Well, you could say that I started talking before I started thinking."

"Oh?' was the only thing that Ben said. There was Joe's impetuosity again. "What exactly did you say?"

"I told Eleanor that I thought that she was the special one for me."

Adam and Ben looked at each other in shock. Even for Little Joe, this was really out of left field.

"And I take it that you frightened her by saying that?" his father stated flatly.

"You could say that. But she's still willing to go with me to the square dance this weekend."