Page 9 of Bride in Blue
“Apple pie. It is included with your dinner,” she said dropping the plates in front of them. “Would you care for anything else?” she asked.
Cassie shook her head. The waitress turned to leave, but her father called her back.
“We are just travelling through these parts,” he explained. “Can you make any recommendations where to go from here?”
The waitress sighed. “If I had my choice, I’d head to San Francisco or somewhere warm. I heard that town is just growing every day.”
Her father nodded and thanked the waitress.
“Are we headed to San Francisco?”
“No, girlie,” he said, finishing his coffee. “We are headed to Oregon. If anyone comes here, they will send that person onto San Francisco to look for us.” Her father looked around. “Now I just need to find a map so we can determine where to go to next.”
Cassie felt a pair of eyes on her and she looked around the café. Most of the patrons had already left, except for one person sitting at the back of the café. She smiled at Cassie and gave a little wave. Cassie found herself waving back.
“Who are you waving to?” her father asked.
“The woman in the corner,” she said, pointing to where the woman was sitting.
“There isn’t anyone there,” her father said. “I am wondering if you are cracking under all this stress, girlie?”
Cassie rubbed her eyes and looked again. “I honestly thought I saw someone there.”
Her father placed a few coins on the table. “We need to get back to the train.”
“I’d like to run to the mercantile to get a few things for the trip.”
Her father looked at his watch. “After we get the tickets. I don’t know how much time we will have left before the next train leaves.”
Cassie followed her father to the train station. She sat on the bench while he purchased the tickets. When he returned, she asked, “Where are we going?”
“Denver,” he said, handing her a ticket. “That is the next biggest hub.”
Cassie looked at the ticket. She had about thirty minutes before the train arrived. “I should have enough time to make a few purchases.”
“Do you need any coins?” her father asked.
“No. I’m only picking up a few items, so we have something to eat on the train.” Cassie left her bags with her father and hurried to the mercantile. Everything was still expensive. It was probably because stores had to ship things from the East Coast for purchase.
She really wished she had thought to pack a basket before they left New York.
She went to the counter. “I’d like five cents worth of cheese and a nickel’s worth of those crackers.”
“What type of cheese?” the shopkeeper asked.
Cassie looked behind him to a display on the counter. There were several types of cheese wedges displayed under glass cloches.
“The cheddar is magnificent,” a voice behind her replied. Cassie turned.
“You!” she said, looking at the woman she saw in the café. “You disappeared rather suddenly.”
“I apologize about that. I needed to leave quickly, so I slipped out the back.” She signaled for Cassie to turn around. “Pick your cheese.”
“What should I choose?” Cassie wondered.
“The cheddar and the Munster are delightful. I’m partial to limburger myself, but they don’t sell that out this way,” the woman said.
“Are you going to stand there talking to yourself, or are you going to pick?” the shop keep asked. “There is a line behind you that needs to meet the train as well.”
