Paved with Gold

The Baker

János spent the rest of that day lounging, as he was still exhausted from the journey. Rozalia called when dinner was ready, a beef stew with mashed potatoes and pickled green beans from the cellar under the house.
It was then that János got to meet the other tenants of the boarding house, at least, those that were already off of work.
Istvan, János' roommate, was a brute man. He stood incredibly tall, with huge muscles and a curly black beard. János was immediately intimidated by him, naturally, as Istvan was the exact opposite of János. They shook hands to introduce themselves, but nothing else was said.

Elek asked him how the day of mining went, and he answered shortly that it was as good as it could be. He left it at that as Rozalia served Istvan more potatoes.

Antoni was a Polish gentleman who had been there a month already. János couldn't understand him, but Elek explained to János that Antoni had a wife and two sons back home. He found a job in a shoe factory and was saving up money to bring them to Ohio where they could all be a family again.

Lastly, he met Miklos, another Hungarian man only a few years older than János. He was from Budapest, and had originally set sail with his father who unfortunately died on the journey here. He wore a sad smile when he told János of his father, and his plans for the future here.

János told his story at the end of dinner, all of them amazed at his journey. They had all had enough money to take trains to their ports of departure, whereas János had to walk or catch rides. They were surprised with his resilience, and János hoped that he could keep that resilience throughout his life.

They finished dinner and each went up to their rooms for the night. Even though the next day was Saturday, most immigrants worked jobs that never had a day off. Maybe one, if they were lucky.
Tomorrow was big day for János. He would make his way into town and to Barra's Bakery around 6am, and begin doing whatever it was Iszak would want him to do.

János awoke with a fright at the sound of Rozalia's jarring breakfast bell. She had told him the night before that it rings at 5am, as most of the men have to report at work at 6.

Rubbing his eyes awake, he turned towards Istvan's bed to find it empty. He couldn't believe he didn't wake up to the sound of such a large man getting ready for work. Then again, he hasn't exactly slept well in the last month.

János pulled on his new pants and tied his shoes, ran a couple fingers through the front of his hair. He would need a haircut soon.

Jogging down the stairs he smelled fresh sausage and buttery biscuits. He smiled a good morning to Elek and Rozalia who were sitting at the table with plates of fried sausage, biscuits, and jam.
János began eating with them quietly until Elek started the conversation by reminding him where Barra's Bakery was on Main Street.

"Do you think I will have to talk to customers?" János asked wearily, hinting at the fact he couldn't speak English.

"I would say probably not, as I think Iszák will primarily keep you in the back to do the heavy lifting." Elek said matter-of-factly. János nodded and took another bite of sausage.
"However, if you do have to speak to someone, there's a good chance they're Hungarian. It is a Hungarian bakery after all. The English people have their own."
Elek left it at that and János ate the rest of his breakfast and got ready to go.

It was freezing outside as János stepped into the grass in the front of his boarding house. The cold December air had a mugginess to it, since they were so close to the lake, making the air sting his face. He bundled his arms across his chest and made his way to Main Street.

It was still early, about 5:45am. It was still very much dark, but the business owners had already begun setting up shop for the day.

János tried his best to keep to himself, but people eyed him from their storefronts. It was a relatively small town, and he was easily recognizable as a newcomer. He smiled and nodded to those that stared.