“I have always managed the housekeeping staff. Those kind need lots of looking after.” Thelma’s response took on a demeaning tone. Claire and Ruby looked at each other and shrugged.
“Well, you missed a few little details with one of our housekeepers,” Mary reminded her. The men in the barn took to chuckling, and Thelma, in a huff, went back to crossing her arms and leaning against a stall door, a look of disdain crossing her pudgy face. Mary hoped these bad feelings would not escalate into some kind of mutiny.
“I will remind all of you that you are to make these new employees comfortable and treat them well. All are experienced and qualified and they, like most of you, need work, and are grateful to get it. There is little work in Springfield for people. I’m confident our new staff will all work hard. Other questions for any of us?”
Jeb raised his claw-shaped hand. “I think I get it about the spittin’, but I may let one fly out of habit. You gonna fire me?” The barn rang with laughter.
“If we notice that you are spitting around the backside, we will certainly call you on it. Not complying could be considered insubordination,” James said.
“You go usin’ those big words and you lose folks like me, Mr. Glidewell,” Jeb explained.
“Sorry. Hey Wil, how would you put it?”
Wil stood tall. Directing his response to Jeb he said, “You ain’t tryin’. You gettin’ fired. Those the rules, Jeb.”
Jeb lifted his left arm and nodded. One of the other tobacco-chewing employees raised his hand. “I chew and have learned to spit in this here small portable cuspidor. That’s a fancy word for spittoon.” He pulled a flask-like brass vessel from his hip pocket. He opened a spring-loaded door on the front and spit into it, demonstrating its usefulness and convenience around the backside. “See, my mess ain’t bothering no one.” He let the small door on the cuspidor spring shut and slid it back into his pocket.
“Thank you, Huck. You see that, Jeb? You need one of those,” Wil suggested.
“I would be happy to purchase a few for anyone who needs one,” James added.
Silence followed and James asked if there were any more questions. No one else raised their hand. Seemed as though all the backside workers got the drift of it or they were too shy to say anything. The ranch-house employees continued to remain silent on all issues.
Maizie stood with the forms she had prepared for everyone to sign. Walking to a small table situated near the entrance of the barn, she laid out the papers with four pens and an ink bottle. Wil and Capp positioned themselves behind the table to answer any questions. As the workers began to leave, they paused briefly at the table to write their name. When Thelma took the pen in hand to sign the paper, she glared at Maizie and quietly said, “Why, aren’t you the important one? Sittin’ here making sure we sign our papers. You got “new rules” to sign, Maizie?” Maizie ignored the remark. Jeb, standing behind Thelma, took his arthritic hand and massaged his chin. “Hey Thelma, you leave that girl be. She just doin’ her job. You got no right hounding her so,” Jeb said.
“And you know what else, Thelma?” asked Wil.
“What?”
“You are about as good a person as you are a cook.” Wil stared at Thelma as she threw down the pen and walked out the door, Billy following closely behind. Jeb walked up to the table and painfully initialed the new rules. He winked at Maizie and smiled. Leaning toward her, he said, “Folks act like Thelma ’cause they’s scared. Took me a long, long time to learn that, but it’s true, Maizie. I’m ’fraid some people just cain’t let go of their improper thinkin’.” Maizie nodded and thanked Jeb.
“Guess we better watch what we say. She does feed us most of the time.” Jeb laughed, tipped his hat, and walked away.
Within a half hour the barn was empty. The Glidewells and Maizie began to head back to the ranch house. When Maizie was about a hundred yards down the lane, Capp called from the outside of the barn. Maizie stopped and turned. “Maizie, Breezy sure does like you.” Mary, hearing Capp’s voice, turned and watched as a grin broke out on Maizie’s pretty face. She waved to Capp, her actions exuding joy. Mary smiled, watching Maize’s reaction, and wondered if Capp making Maizie happy was a good thing.
Chapter 25
Yearnings
Mary and James enjoyed a small glass of champagne with their dessert before retiring to their bedchamber. Leon started a nice fire in their bedroom fireplace and filled the wood box with more dry kindling and a few logs. Ruby turned down the Glidewells’ bed and fluffed the pillows. Sitting in the slipper chairs in front of the fire, the pleasant conversation went from Mary’s trip to Springfield and on to the results of the staff meeting in the backside barn. It had been a long but good day.
As the conversation wound down, the two sat quietly, their eyes on the fire. Mary began to feel her eyelids grow heavy. James broke the silence. “Mary, Wil and I been talking about raising thoroughbred racehorses.”
“Giving up already on the quarter horses?”
“No, quarter horses are our bread and butter. Can’t give them up.”
“Then why thoroughbreds?”
“The thoroughbreds would be in addition to our current stock. Like Wil says, we can breed and train right here. Why not? We’ve got the track.”
“We sure do. You and Wil saw to that.”
“Wil has raised horses his whole life. He wants to send Capp to Kentucky to learn about thoroughbreds. He wants Capp to glean every bit of knowledge he can from the experts. He trusts Capp to work hard and so do I.”
“Sounds like you’ve made up your
