Lia did as instructed, but Susanna could see the matter was far from over. Her uncle had that steeled look of determination in his eyes.
“Who is paying for her?” he asked again.
“I am,” Susanna said without hesitation.
“Of course, you aren’t. Herbert is,” her mother corrected.
Harrison looked to his brother. “Which is it?”
Father looked momentarily embarrassed. “I suppose Susanna is. I haven’t given the woman any money.”
Mother looked surprised and glanced from her husband to Susanna and back.
“And for this house?” Uncle Harrison pressed.
Father picked at his tamale. “Again, Susanna. She offered to find the place and did so. She’s not asked me for money, and I offered none.”
Susanna’s uncle turned to her. “So you are using your own money to pay for your parents to have undeserved luxuries.”
“This is hardly luxury,” Mother proclaimed loudly. “And why shouldn’t a daughter help her parents in their time of need?” She pushed back from the table. “Honestly, you are a cruel man, Harrison. You shame us at every turn. I’m certain Herbert intends to pay Susanna for her kindness. God knows she’s the only one to offer us kindness.”
“I kept you from being put out on the street and moved you here to allow you to escape the shame and humiliation you were certain to face in Topeka. Don’t you consider that a kindness?” Uncle Harrison replied. “Both of you are spoiled children expecting the rest of the world to see to your needs, but it’s time you grew up. I forbid Susanna to spend another dime on either of you.”
“You can hardly forbid my daughter to do anything,” Mother countered. “She is a grown woman, and if she chooses to help her family, then it is because we raised her to see the value of supporting family in their time of need.” She got to her feet. “I feel faint. Your aggressive nature is more than I can stand. I must lie down.” She exited the room without another word, slamming the bedroom door for emphasis.
Susanna looked to her uncle, who shook his head and went back to eating. Father ducked his head and kept his gaze on his plate as if to make himself invisible.
It was a sad moment in Susanna’s life. Her parents were like willful children who refused to be corrected. What in the worldwould happen to them if they didn’t change? Even she didn’t have enough money to keep them indefinitely.
“Gary, I’ve shown you three different times how to do this. You aren’t paying attention,” Owen said, taking the sledge from him.
“I’m trying. I guess I just don’t understand.”
“Or you aren’t listening.” Owen had reached the end of his patience. It was over one hundred degrees in the shop, and everyone was on edge.
Mr. Payne came over, clearly angry. “Owen, I looked over that boiler you remade. It’s substandard and needs to be redone. Who did you have working on it? The man obviously doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
Gary paled despite the heat. He threw Owen a pleading look. For a moment, Owen’s anger mounted. Gary actually expected Owen to smooth things over—just like his brother used to do. But try as he might, Owen couldn’t bring himself to admit it was Gary. He liked Gary, and even though the kid was difficult to train, Owen didn’t want to see him get fired.
“It was my fault,” Owen said, doing what he vowed he’d never do again—taking the blame for someone else’s poor work. “I’ll see it’s fixed.”
Payne nodded and looked at the metal piece they’d been working on all morning. “When are you going to have this done?”
“Not sure now, but hopefully by tomorrow—end of the day.”
“See to it. We have a schedule to keep. Every 1400 hours we have to remake these boilers and do so in a manner that will keep them going another 1400. I can’t have substandard work.”
Mr. Payne walked off, and Gary breathed a heavy sigh.
“Thanks for covering for me. I thought I’d done a good job.”
Owen hadn’t had a chance to inspect the piece, so it really was his fault in a way. “I should have looked at it. I won’t take the blame next time, Gary. If you can’t do the work, you’ll have to go. There are plenty of other jobs on the railroad. Maybe this one doesn’t suit you.”
Gary shook his head. “No. I’ll figure it out. I want to work with you. I’m sure I can do better.”
Owen nodded. “You’ll have to.”
Gary was no sooner home that evening than his mother was harping at him to clean up. He was filthy and knew he smelled bad, but he wasn’t in the mood to be bossed around. Nothing had gone right at work, and even though Owen was patient, it was all such a mess, and Gary wished he could just slip away unnoticed. Nevertheless, Uncle Harrison was coming to dinner, and Gary was expected to be there and to dress properly.
