The Courage That It Takes To Live

Chapter 5/ New Opportunities

It was morning and Jack, John, and I had just woken up. I did the same as usual by putting a note of instructions for the kids. I kissed jack good bye and headed off to my new work. I went towards main Street In the town and started walking. Everyone was out and about, mothers going inside fabric stores and men going in the barber. There was a man standing on a wooden block who looked very professional. Then he turned towards the people and made an announcement. "Attention everyone! Attention please! I have received news from the president saying that a war will start soon. The south thinks that slavery should be aloud but we, the north, disagree and we won't let them win. Men who are 21 years or older will be drafted to go to war, if you are drafted and you refuse to go to war you'll not only be known as a coward but you will be sent to jail. Also Mrs. Peddle the manager of the laundry mat wants me to make an announcement that multiple positions for her work are open. The pay will be 5 pennies a day. That is all I have to say thank you." He said. A war! Oh no that'll not be good. But then I remembered him saying there was a job opening at the laundry mat which I believe I'd be perfect at. When me and my siblings still lived with my mom I would do the laundry all the time because mom would be at the saloon. I headed towards the end of town which was where the laundry mat was. It was a big gray building with lots of windows and a big sign that said "Laundry Mat," I walked in and immediately I felt the steam hit my face. A older woman came up and welcomed me in, she told me the list of jobs she had open. There was the washer, the one would hang the clothes up to dry, the ironer, and the folder. I said I'd take the washer job. She led me over to a big bucket full of hot water, next to it was a big pile of clothes and a bar of soap. I got to work right away by washing the clothes and scrubbing them with soap. Some of the clothes were beautiful and others needed some touching up. Once I finished washing the pile of clothes I went to go hand it to the person who hangs them up to dry. Then I headed back inside and repeated the same steps all day.

It was the end of the day and everyone was heading home so I put my coat back on and left. The walk home was cold and windy, it looked as if a storm was coming. I walked through town, towards the house. As I was walking a girl was running and two grown men were behind her chasing and shouting after her. I ran in front of her so the men couldn't get to her. "What on Earth do you think your doing?!" I asked. The men looked furious. "Well!? Explain yourselves." I said "That street rat, Alexandra or something, stole food from my stand without paying," one of the men said. "That's a lie and both of you to know it," Alexandra said as she turned towards me. "I was in the forest hunting when these two men came up from behind and tried to kidnap me so I elbowed them in the face and ran back into town. They wouldn't stop chasing me until you came" she explained furiously. Both of the men looked at each other and then ran. I suspected the little girl was right and that the men didn't want to get caught. I looked at the little girl she was wearing a dress that only went to her knees and a small thin coat. She looked fierce and smart, "Why don't you come to my house for tonight and then you can walk home tomorrow, after all it is getting late." She took a moment to think about and then shook her head no. "I wouldn't want mother to worry, plus father is leaving tomorrow for the war and I want to make sure I say goodbye to him one last time," she said with a sigh "thank you for helping me back there, much obliged." Alexandra said as she walked away. I was worried about the girl not getting home safely but there wasn't much I could do. I looked up at the sunset clouds and prayed to God for the girl to get home safely and before dark. Then I walked home. When I got inside I could smell fresh baked bread and homemade soup. Delilah was at the stove stirring the soup, I assumed she had made dinner. Everyone was busy at something. Angie and Eliza were playing with there rag dolls, Tim and John were playing with circled shaped rocks, and Ben was sharping a wooden knife that he was making. "How was your first day at work Mary?" Delilah asked. "Good, I got a job at the laundry mat that's here in town and I get 5 pennies a day." I said cheerfully "oh that's wonder-" Delilah tried to say as a loud voice from outside cut her off. I ran outside and saw jack and another boy, about a year older than him, fighting. Me and Delilah ran over and pulled them apart. "What on Earth has gotten into you?!" I asked. Jack calmed down and explained what happened " I was just walking home and then this dude tried stealing all my money so I grabbed him and punched him in the face and then we got into a fight." I looked at the other boy who looked very ashamed but he didn't object to Jack's explanation. " I'm sure the only reason you did that was because you need money, but trust me we need money to, luckily I heard that at Sam's lumber mill has a job opening, so you can go work there and earn your own money." I said. He nodded, tipped his hat, and walked away. I looked at jack to make sure he wasn't to injured. His face was bruised but rather than that he was okay. We all headed inside and I put ice on Jack's face so the bruise would die down. We ate dinner and then headed off to bed. I went to check on Tim, he was completely better. I felt relieved about that and headed off to bed. "Jack just so you know I got a job at the laundry mat here in town, and I get paid 5 pennies a day." I whispered. " That's wonderful, my boss gave me a raise today because he said I was working extra hard. He now pays me 8 pennies a day." he explained. "That's wonderful, we'll have to go shopping tomorrow for food and some fabric so I can make the kids new clothes" I explained. He smiled, nodded, and then gave me a kiss on the head and fell asleep. Not to much later I also fell asleep.