Hope cleaned the dishes and put everything away. She set out what she’d need for breakfast in the morning, grabbed a blanket, and lay down on the bedroll beneath the wagon.
She had given little thought to whether her husband was a drinker until just then. Now, Hope knew he was a drinker, and she feared he’d come back inebriated and try to consummate the marriage. Hope shrugged. It would have to happen sometime. She cringed once again.
Chapter Three
Hope awoke to the smell of cheap perfume mixed with beer. Her back was to Callum, and she didn’t turn around or otherwise show she was awake or aware of his stench.
Her husband had apparently visited a saloon and maybe somewhere else. Had he been with a saloon woman? She closed her eyes and prepared to go back to sleep. If the saloon women kept him happy, she wouldn’t have to.
Callum woke her by shaking her shoulder. “Get up. It’s time to make my breakfast. I’m starving.”
Hope opened one eye and noticed it was still nighttime although she could see the horizon lightening. “It’s still dark.”
“And this is the time we start on the journey tomorrow, so you’d better get used to it.”
His voice was a slightly sharper than it had been before. She’d heard somewhere that men who drank were often cranky the next day, and she thought it best not to argue with him, so she got up to start the fire. She thought about what a miserable mistake she'd made while she cooked the pancakes. In exchange for an exciting adventure, she’d gotten herself a nasty husband who had little affection for her and drank in saloons.
She gazed over at Anna who was also cooking. Hope had seen Anna's husband a few times, but she hadn’t spoken to him. She wondered if Anna was happily married.
Later that day, Anna came over for a visit.
“Hope, I’m going to the river to wash clothes. Would you like to come with me?”
“Yes. I have some things to launder, too.”
The women sat beside each other on the banks of the Missouri River. First, they wet their garments, then they soaped them up and rubbed them before rinsing them in the water. After wringing them out, they spread them on a few shrubs nearby. Then, they sat in the sunshine and talked.
Hope asked, “What’s your husband’s name?”
“Walter. We’re Anna and Walter Cummings from Juliette, Indiana. How about you?”
“Callum and Hope Butler. I’m from Illinois, and Callum is from Missouri.”
Anna nodded. “Are you ready for tomorrow? It’s a long journey.”
“I suppose I am. I just wish—”
“Yes?”
Hope wanted to confide in this woman, but she couldn’t. Anna was a sweet woman, but she was still a stranger, after all.
“I hope the weather holds up for tomorrow.”
“The people in town say this has been a mild spring with little rain. I also hope it holds out. I hear it’s rough on the wagons when there’s a lot of mud.”
“Do you and Walter have any children?”
“We have a daughter, Catherine, who’s married and staying in Indiana. She said she and her husband will follow us later, but for now, she’s expecting her first baby.”
“Oh, Anna—and you won’t be there to see it.”
“No, but her husband’s mother will be. Catherine said as soon as the child is weaned, she and her husband would come to Oregon to homestead, too.” Anna asked, “How long have you and Callum been married?”
“Not long at all. This trip is sort of our wedding trip,” she said.
“Oh, dear. Some wedding trip. I hope he makes it up to you later.” She laughed.
Hope was bent over the fire cooking ham when the people owning the wagon behind them arrived. She noticed that they had a flatbed wagon filled with barrels and crates of supplies. Two men were helping them load it into their wagon. The couple looked young, about the same age as she and Callum. She hoped they'd be friendly like Anna.
The couple set up their tent as soon as the men with the flatbed wagon left. She saw the man kiss his wife on the forehead before he gathered firewood and built the fire for her. Hope was jealous. She’d also seen Walter help Anna gather wood and start a fire. Callum never helped her.
The woman had cooked something over the fire, and they sat and ate at about the same time she and Callum were.
Hope filled Callum’s plate and handed it to him. “We have new neighbors.”
Callum shook his finger at her. “Don’t go getting too chummy with the neighbors. I’m a loner, and I’d like to keep it that way. You go inviting them here, and I’ll tell them to leave.”
Hope couldn’t believe her ears. “Everyone needs friends.”
“I don’t.”
“Well, I do. I grew up in an orphanage and always had people around me.”
“The last thing we need is people nosing around. Just mind your own business, and we’ll get along fine.” He pushed his plate at her. “I’ll have another helping.”
Hope gave Callum the rest of the ham and potatoes.
“You’d better get the dishes washed and packed away. We leave at four in the morning. Wesley Shank, the wagon train master, said we aren’t to build a morning fire but to have a cold breakfast, and we'll stop at noon for a cold lunch. The only cooked meal will be supper.”
“I thought you would put up a tent. I’d prefer to sleep in one.”
Callum sighed. “That would be a red flag that we either aren’t married or we aren’t getting along. You will sleep by my side. If it looks like rain, I’ll put a tent up and we’ll both sleep in it.” He stood. “I’m going into town, but I won’t
