Alicia's Misfortune (27 page)

“Okay.
 
I’ll send it
as the sole requester.
 
But I’m going to
ask him to consider having you come along with me.
 
And if he won’t agree to that, then I’m going
to find out what kind of work there might be near his ranch so that you can
come out later.”
 
Emily nodded her head,
already visualizing a life on a ranch out in Texas.

“You know, there could be a lot of other women sending
letters to this man.”
 
Leila leaned
forward and scrunched her nose.
 
She
didn’t want Emily to get her hopes up.
 
“But, I guess you have as much a chance as any of the others.”
 
She shrugged and then got up to reach for her
coat.

“Hey, where are you going?”
 
Emily wondered why Leila was leaving so abruptly.
 

“I’m off to look for work.”
 
She smiled and then buttoned up her coat, waved to Martha, and walked
outside.
 
Emily sat alone at the table,
feeling somewhat confused by Leila’s behavior, but also a little bit optimistic
that the man in Texas would choose her as his bride.
 
What did she have to lose?
 
She reviewed the letter once more, then added
a few sentences and made a few edits.
 
When she was pleased with the final result, she folded it neatly in half
and then slid it inside the envelope.
 

Back at home Leila was busy scouring the other local papers
for any leads.
 
She didn’t turn up with
much, and by the time Emily came home, she was ready to make dinner and resume
her search until the next day.
 
“Get the
letter mailed?”
 
Leila called out to
Emily from the kitchen.
 
Emily nodded
with satisfaction.

“I dropped it in the mailbox so it should be there in about
a week.”
 
Emily shrugged and then looked
at Leila.
 
“You know, I made sure to
include you in the letter, Ley.”
 
Emily
didn’t think it would be fair to take the position if it were offered unless
she knew that Leila would somehow benefit, as well.
 

“I appreciate it, Emily.
 
But seriously- I’ll find work, eventually.
 
I wouldn’t want to travel out to Texas as a
third wheel.
 
I’m not mad, so don’t
worry.”
 
Leila smiled and then went about
chopping vegetables for a soup that she had decided to prepare.
 
“I’m sure that whatever happens, it will all
be for the best.”
 
Leila meant what she
said.
  
She set her carrots and her
peppers into a large pot, and then started to make the broth.
 
Emily sat down at the kitchen table.

“I guess it doesn’t help for me to get my hopes up,
anyway.”
 
She knew that it was always
like her to think the best and to assume that she’d get whatever she set her
hopes on.
 
She really hadn’t suffered too
many big let-downs yet in life, so it made sense for her to think that life would
always tilt in her favor.

“I think that you have a good chance.”
 
Leila didn’t look up from making her soup,
but Emily could tell that she was sincere.
 
“Who knows, Emily.
 
Maybe you’ll
be the first one in the family to finally see another part of the world.”
 
Leila smiled and then scraped some onions
into her pot.
 
Emily sat quietly in
thought.
 
Then she nodded her head.
 
She hoped that Leila was right.

About a week after Emily had sent her letter there was an ad
that ran in the paper for a baker.
 
Leila
responded immediately, and was called in for an interview.
 
She was hired on the spot.
 
Emily was thrilled for her cousin, but at the
same time she also felt an uneasiness in her bones.
 
What would happen to her if she didn’t hear
from Dylan McBride?
 
What if he already
decided on marrying somebody else?
 
Emily
worried, but told herself not to get too worked up just yet.

On the morning of Leila’s first day at the bakery, a letter
came in the mail for Emily.
 
It was
postmarked from the United States, and the return address was 3532 Running
River Road in Lubbock, Texas.
 
Leila was
so excited for Emily that she almost made herself late for work.
 
“Hurry!
 
Open it and see what it says.”
 
Leila ran her hands through her hair and watched as Emily carefully tore
open the edge of the envelope.

In what felt like an eternity of silence, Emily carefully
unfolded the letter and held it in front of her face.
 
Leila leaned in next to her to try and see
what it said. Emily giggled with excitement and then read the letter out
loud.
 
“Dear Emily, I wanted you to know
that after reading through more than fifty letters, I’ve decided to choose you
for my marriage.
 
I will tell you more
about how I came to my decision after you have made the trip out to Texas.
 
I look forward to meeting you.
 
Please let your cousin know that I will
likely have some work for her in the spring when the weather gets warmer.
 
I will arrange for your flight and would like
you to come out as soon as possible.
 
Thank you.
 
Dylan McBride.”
 

Emily dropped the letter and it drifted across the
floor.
 
Even with her optimistic
attitude, she was still surprised that he had actually selected her.
 
What would she do now?
 
How could she just pack up and leave
Leila?
 
What if the spring work he
mentioned didn’t actually pan out?
 
Her
mind whirled with questions and anxieties. Before she could even process a
reaction, Leila threw her arms around her cousin and gave her a kiss on the
cheek.

“See?”
 
She jumped up
and down.
 
“I knew that he would pick
you!
 
I’m telling you, Emily.
 
I just had a feeling that this was meant to
be.
 
And look at the timing.
 
I just found work, and I think I’m going to
like this job.
 
We’re both going to make
it, after all.”
 
Leila beamed with
happiness.
 
To her, this was the best
sequence of events that could have occurred since the fire.
 

“Texas, here I come.”
 
Emily threw her arms around Leila and the two embraced until Emily
backed away with a questionable expression on her face.
 
“Leila, I sure hope this works out.
 
I mean, I’ve never left Lancashire, and now
I’m going to be traveling to another part of the world, to a ranch…”
 
Her voice trailed off and she started to
worry.
 
“I don’t want to leave you.
 
What if the bakery work doesn’t suit
you?
 
Then you’ll be here all alone, with
no job.”
 

The thought of Leila being alone, with no work, and very
little family made Emily’s stomach churn.
 
She couldn’t let it happen.
 
She
wouldn’t.
 
She would make sure that Dylan
McBride knew where she stood with her cousin’s wellbeing, and she would insist
that she come out to Texas if her work at the bakery didn’t last.

“Emily.
 

There is no sense in worrying about the unknown.
 
You have to just go out there and give it a
try.
 
Who knows?
 
You might even end up liking the guy.”
 
Leila shrugged and then walked toward the
hallway.
 
“Come on.
 
Let’s get you packed up while that soup
simmers.”
 
With that, she headed into
their bedroom and started to rifle through the closet.
 
“You might as well pack all of your nice
clothes.
 
What if wants to take you out
to dinner?
 
He’s a successful business
man.
 
He’ll probably want you to wear
fancy dresses and wear expensive jewelry.”
 
Leila smiled, trying to imagine how her cousin’s life might abruptly
change.
 
Emily frowned.
 

“I don’t own any fancy dresses or expensive jewelry, so I
hope he plans on buying whatever he needs.”
 
She frowned and then looked at the clothes as Leila pulled them out of
the closet.
 
She was already nervous
about not fitting in with his Texas lifestyle, but there was nothing she could
do now except get on the plane and go.

Emily’s flight was on the following Saturday.
 
With a mind filled with trepidation, she made
her way to the ticket counter and checked in.
 
Leila stood by and waited for them to call her flight, then watched as
she got in line to board.
 
“I love you,
Emily!”
 
Leila called out as Emily got in
line to board.
 
Emily didn’t turn around
because she didn’t want her cousin to see her crying.
 

She found her way to her seat, then stowed her carry-on
bag.
 
She sat down and buckled her seat
belt, then closed her eyes as the pilot announced their take-off.
 
In a matter of minutes she was up in the air,
flying over the clouds and away from England.
 
When her flight landed safely in Texas, she sat in her seat and then
took a deep breath.
 
She had arrived, and
now she had to meet Dylan.
 

He was waiting in the airport when she got off the
plane.
 
Emily didn’t know what he looked
like.
 
All he told her in his letter was
that he was tall and had dark hair.
 
It
could have been any of the men that she saw when she got off. She swallowed
hard and then walked toward the bag carousel.
 
When she had her suitcase, she carried it to the side and waited for him
to find her.
 
“Emily?”
 
Someone called her name and she looked up to
see a tall man, with dark hair and blue eyes, standing before her.

“I’m Dylan.”
 
He
smiled and took her suitcase.
 
Emily
sized him up and decided that he was an attractive man, probably around thirty,
and with a solid, yet lean sort of build.
 
He reminded her of a man she had once seen in a cigarette commercial,
and she wondered if he was going to be someone that she enjoyed being with, or
someone that she couldn’t stand.

“It’s nice meeting you.”
 
Emily was nervous.
 
She pulled her
hair away from her face and tried to straighten her posture.
 
She knew that it probably didn’t matter much
what she looked like- after all, he was looking for someone out of
“convenience.”
 
Yet she still had the
urge to make herself appear as attractive as possible.
 

She had worn one of her long, denim skirts with a cream
colored sweater. Dylan walked forward, turning around on occasion to make sure
that Emily was still right behind him.
 
He had a long stride, and Emily noticed that he wore brown leather
cowboy boots.
 
“Sorry if I seem to be in
a rush.
 
I just don’t like crowds too
much.”
 
Dylan gave Emily a half-hearted
smile and then continued forging ahead.

When they reached the parking lot, Dylan hoisted Emily’s
suitcase into a large, red pick-up truck.
 
So far, he seemed to match the description pretty accurately.
 
He looked professional, clean, and
confident.
 
Getting to his home would be
the real test, Emily assumed.
 
To her, it
was both exciting and anxiety- producing.
 
She didn’t know what to expect, and she had no real gauge with which to
measure her expectations, either.

“I live about a half hour away, over in Lubbock.”
 
Dylan smiled and then turned on the
radio.
 
Emily was already aware of many
differences between her home town and Texas.
 
For one, the highways were larger and wider.
 
The people were definitely more fashion
conscious, and there seemed to be an aura of country-living that emanated from
those she saw in the street.

When they pulled into Dylan’s driveway, Emily’s jaw
dropped.
 
She did a double-take and then
looked at Dylan.
 
She didn’t know what to
say, but she was floored by what she saw. “Well, this is my humble abode.
 
I’ll help you with the suitcase and then show
you to the front door.”
 
Dylan hopped out
of the truck and then opened up the trunk.
 
Emily sat in the passenger seat, not sure if he was joking or not.
 

His home was a dilapidated single wide trailer, surrounded
on either side with a faded picket fence that was busted in several
places.
 
Two dogs on long, rusty chains
barked and growled from their doghouses and a single rooster strutted alongside
the driveway.
 
Emily tried to imagine
what the inside would look like.
 
“You
ready to come in?”
 
Dylan stood in front
of her with a smile on his face.
 
Emily
gulped and then stepped out of the truck.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
 
She whispered under her breath and then followed him up the crumbling
porch steps.
 
When they reached the front
door, Dylan took a deep breath and then turned the knob.
 
The door flung open, and Emily’s eyes
widened.
 
Two young girls were cutting
each other’s hair in the middle of the room, and a woman with a cigarette
hanging out of her mouth was watching television.
 
Emily froze in her tracks and then looked at
Dylan. What had she gotten herself into?