“See? I’m right,” Charlotte said simply, piercing a vegetable with her fork.
Arthur frowned. Perhaps he ought to change the subject. He scooped up another forkful of food, waiting for some time to pass so it would feel less awkward to suddenly launch into a new topic of conversation.
Five seconds passed while they both continued to eat.
Then fifteen more.
Finally, Arthur said, “Did you know they’ll have a women’s building at the fair?”
Charlotte’s eyes went wide. “No! Really?”
“Mm-hmm,” Arthur said. “I’m not sure what will be in there yet, but they’ll have one.”
“Goodness,” Charlotte said, flopping back against the cushion. “How wonderful.”
“I hope you’ll come see it,” Arthur said. “Bring Emma.”
“I bet she’d like it better ifyoutook her instead.”
“Oh, but I’ll be so busy watching after my own exhibit.”
Charlotte smiled wryly. “You’re suddenly very confident in yourself.”
“I kind of am,” Arthur said, chuckling. “I really think that, with this recent purchase, I’m in the best position to showcase the latest in printing technology.”
Charlotte’s smile transformed, blossoming from her small teasing smile into one of genuine warmth and fondness. She raised her wineglass.
“I’m happy for you, Arthur.”
Arthur picked up his wineglass as well. “Thank you.”
Hope swelled in Arthur’s chest as they clinked the glasses together.
“I have a feeling that this fair will really change the world,” he said.
“Or at leastyourworld,” Charlotte said, back to teasing.
Arthur laughed. “Or at least mine.”
Chapter Two
Jesse
Jesse O’Connor awoke shortly before six in the morning. His body instinctually knew the exact time he needed to rise for work, even though he would have preferred to sleep much later. Tentatively, Jesse poked his foot out from under the blankets and frowned the moment he felt the cold air. His woolen socks were the only thing saving his toes from being instantaneously frozen. Giuseppe had most likely forgotten to bank the coal before bed. Jesse let out a sigh. Predictable. It seemed like every week, at least once, Jesse needed to reignite the furnace himself, which then caused him to be late for work. And every time, Jesse would then receive an earful from Mrs. Walsh about her clothing shop being too cold the moment he returned home. Without fail, she’d blame Jesse for it, if only because Giuseppe was the sweeter of the two.
Groaning wearily, Jesse pulled his foot back under the covers and rolled onto his back. For the next few minutes, Jesse lay listening to the faraway sounds of the city. Even with the windows closed, he could still hear a faint clip-clop of horse hooves outside, most likely one of the nighttime streetcars, which ran too infrequently to justify use of the electric ones.
After enjoying the comfort of his bed for a bit longer, Jesse forced himself to leave it. Irritated by the frigid temperature (well, perhaps not exactly frigid, but still too cold for his liking), he went into Giuseppe’s room to scold him. Once Jesse reached the edge of Giuseppe’s bed, he lifted his foot and nudged his roommate’s leg with his big toe. Giuseppe merely stirred. Jesse repeated the motion twice more, harder each time, and his last forceful poke caused Giuseppe to wake.
“Ten more minutes, ma,” Giuseppe complained, his eyes still closed.
“You forgot to bank the coal last night.”
Giuseppe sighed. “I was tired. You try working sixteen hours in a row and see how well your brain operates after.”
“I told you to try to find some other kind of work.”
“But the steel mill is so close. It only takes me two minutes to make it there.”
