"Couldn't be you two are in cahoots now, could it? Like maybe Elfred just happened to purchase this wreck for me, and maybe Mr. Farley just happened to be conveniently coming into the steamship office as we were standing there, and now he just happens to have the time on his hands to repair this piece of junk. At what kind of inflated prices, might I ask?"
Farley said nothing, only stood as before with his hands clamped under his armpits, studying her from beneath his wiry eyebrows. He was big, and the oilskins made him look bigger. He was calm, and his spraddle-legged stance made
A 1)
him look calmer. He had feet the size of dories that made him look as if nothing could tip him over. But no overgrown lummox was going to intimidate Roberta Jewett.
"Well, am I right, Mr. Farley?"
Gabe Farley, unruffled, turned to study Roberta Jewett more closely. First divorced woman he'd ever seen, and he wasn't sure what to make of her. There she stood, confronting him and Elfred with her suspicions, just like a man would do. No fear, no compunctions, just out with it! Didn't care much about her appearance either - that was evident right from the get-go. Stood there with her hair looking like a patch of swamp grass after a hurricane and her coat all crinkled and hanging unbuttoned. No hat, no gloves, no prissy posturing. She stood with her feet just about as widespread as Gabe's own, and he thought, Whew! Are the women going to be talking about this one behind her back! The men, too.
"Well, now, Mrs. Jewett, you could be right," he said, one-handedly removing his cap and scratching his skull. He angled the cap across his temple again and tugged the brim down till it hid his right eyebrow. "Could be wrong though, too, so I guess it's up to you to decide if you want my help or not. "
"Well, answer me straight, Mr. Farley. Are you in cahoots with my brother-in-law?" "Nope."
She had expected a lengthier denial. Surprised by his monosyllabic reply, she turned away.and wandered the room. "Well, even if you are, I
Al
"Don't
"I'm
guess there's no problem because Elfred just agreed to finance the repairs on this house, didn't you, Elfred? You see, Mr. Farley, I don't have any money. Well, that's not exactly true. I had four hundred, but Elfred took two to buy this junk heap, leaving me with two hundred, which I intend to use to buy a motorcar."
"A motorcar," Farley repeated, the way an uncle would say to a five-year-old, "To Africa
you laugh at me, Mr. Farley!" not laughing at you."
"Yes, you are. I'm not an idiot, nor am I incapable of making decisions for me and my girls, and I've decided I shall own a motorcar-, come hell or high water."
"Bully for you, but we're not settling the question of whether or not you want me to repair this house."
"Ask Elfred. He got me into this mess. He can get me out."
Elfred cleared his throat and came forward. "Go ahead, Gabe, work up an estimate and bring it to me. We'll work it out somehow between Roberta and me. She's got to live somewhere, and this - I'm afraid - is it."
"All right, I'll look around. Excuse me," he said to Roberta, touching his cap and leaving the room.
The girls had gone exploring, and two of them called from the front porch. "Mother, come out here! "
She went to join Rebecca and Susan, who were standing at the porch rail, looking out
AA
through the rain. "Look, Mother," Becky said enthusiastically, "we'll be able to see the harbor from here, and all the boats, and the islands. I'm sure we'll be able to see them once the rain clears. And the sunrises! Oh, they'll be stunning, Mother! just imagine, this railing and floor fixed, and our old wicker out here, and something with a delicious smell blossoming there beside the steps" - she jumped over two broken boards and turned at the far end of the porch - "and maybe a hammock here in the shade, for hot summer afternoons, and I'll write a poem about the harbor and stand right here at the top of these steps as if this were the
Farley said nothing, only stood as before with his hands clamped under his armpits, studying her from beneath his wiry eyebrows. He was big, and the oilskins made him look bigger. He was calm, and his spraddle-legged stance made
A 1)
him look calmer. He had feet the size of dories that made him look as if nothing could tip him over. But no overgrown lummox was going to intimidate Roberta Jewett.
"Well, am I right, Mr. Farley?"
Gabe Farley, unruffled, turned to study Roberta Jewett more closely. First divorced woman he'd ever seen, and he wasn't sure what to make of her. There she stood, confronting him and Elfred with her suspicions, just like a man would do. No fear, no compunctions, just out with it! Didn't care much about her appearance either - that was evident right from the get-go. Stood there with her hair looking like a patch of swamp grass after a hurricane and her coat all crinkled and hanging unbuttoned. No hat, no gloves, no prissy posturing. She stood with her feet just about as widespread as Gabe's own, and he thought, Whew! Are the women going to be talking about this one behind her back! The men, too.
"Well, now, Mrs. Jewett, you could be right," he said, one-handedly removing his cap and scratching his skull. He angled the cap across his temple again and tugged the brim down till it hid his right eyebrow. "Could be wrong though, too, so I guess it's up to you to decide if you want my help or not. "
"Well, answer me straight, Mr. Farley. Are you in cahoots with my brother-in-law?" "Nope."
She had expected a lengthier denial. Surprised by his monosyllabic reply, she turned away.and wandered the room. "Well, even if you are, I
Al
"Don't
"I'm
guess there's no problem because Elfred just agreed to finance the repairs on this house, didn't you, Elfred? You see, Mr. Farley, I don't have any money. Well, that's not exactly true. I had four hundred, but Elfred took two to buy this junk heap, leaving me with two hundred, which I intend to use to buy a motorcar."
"A motorcar," Farley repeated, the way an uncle would say to a five-year-old, "To Africa
you laugh at me, Mr. Farley!" not laughing at you."
"Yes, you are. I'm not an idiot, nor am I incapable of making decisions for me and my girls, and I've decided I shall own a motorcar-, come hell or high water."
"Bully for you, but we're not settling the question of whether or not you want me to repair this house."
"Ask Elfred. He got me into this mess. He can get me out."
Elfred cleared his throat and came forward. "Go ahead, Gabe, work up an estimate and bring it to me. We'll work it out somehow between Roberta and me. She's got to live somewhere, and this - I'm afraid - is it."
"All right, I'll look around. Excuse me," he said to Roberta, touching his cap and leaving the room.
The girls had gone exploring, and two of them called from the front porch. "Mother, come out here! "
She went to join Rebecca and Susan, who were standing at the porch rail, looking out
AA
through the rain. "Look, Mother," Becky said enthusiastically, "we'll be able to see the harbor from here, and all the boats, and the islands. I'm sure we'll be able to see them once the rain clears. And the sunrises! Oh, they'll be stunning, Mother! just imagine, this railing and floor fixed, and our old wicker out here, and something with a delicious smell blossoming there beside the steps" - she jumped over two broken boards and turned at the far end of the porch - "and maybe a hammock here in the shade, for hot summer afternoons, and I'll write a poem about the harbor and stand right here at the top of these steps as if this were the
Similar Books
Listen
Kate Veitch
Killer Weekend
Ridley Pearson
The Periodic Table
Primo Levi
Frankie and Stankie
Barbara Trapido
Inside
Alix Ohlin
American Prometheus
Kai Bird
The Alpha's Baby
M.E. James
Freakling
Lana Krumwiede
Nomads' Fall: Burning Bastards MC
Ryder Dane