Thirty

Jennie lay on her bed one day the following week. It was early morning and her grandfather's words echoed in her mind. Did he not imply that it was acceptable not to get married? Certainly not in haste or without due consideration to possible consequences.

Jenny thought about the times where there was a proposal. Or at least in a position where one could infer such would happen. Well, there really only were two times, she thought. And neither led to a formal proposal. Not in the way she hoped.

Vincent Hornback first came to mind. His advances, if you could call them such, were still in progress. Maybe...

The prior Sunday, Mr. Hornback knocked on the front door, Aunt Ella answering.

“Good afternoon, Miss Stark.”

His voice was immediately recognizable to Jennie, who jerked her head upwards from her Bible. Sunday afternoons often found her in deep study of the scriptures, And, on that particular Sunday, Grandfather Stark joined her.

“I would like to call upon Miss Jennie Stark, if that is acceptable. I understand she is back in residence here at the farm. Is there someone of whom I should ask permission?”

“Mr….”

“Pardon me. I am Mr. Vincent Hornback. You might recall that we met the afternoon of the reception for Miss Stark's graduation. She and I have known each other for many years, from church, and from both high school and college.”

“I see. Please have a seat, Mr. Hornback.” Ella waved toward the porch swing and the wicker chairs near it. “I shall make inquiries.”

The parlor in which Jennie and her grandfather sat was immediately accessible by the front door. A simple farmhouse, the residence had no foyer, but what it did possess were shutters which were closed to keep out the afternoon sun. The windows, however, remained open so sound carried equally through the front entrance and from the windows.

“Grandfather…” began Jennie, murmuring so as to not be heard by the gentleman.

“Do you wish to see him?” Jennie paused, then nodded. “Then, why don’t you sit on the porch? If the occasion arises that you tire of his company, you can say you need a respite from the heat and wish to retire.”

Jennie cocked her head, squinting through her thick lenses. She tried to stifle a grin but failed and soon she arose to give her grandpa a hug before exiting.

Outside, Mr. Hornback jumped out of the swing and made a short bow.

“Miss Stark, I am delighted you are joining me rather than retiring from the heat.”

Jennie giggled. “Oh! We were caught, Grandfather and I? Conspiring on how to avoid you? Well, I suppose I must contrive a different excuse should I require one. But,” she continued, “please tell me how it is you came to be here? I thought you were spending the summer in Columbia before going off somewhere to be the president of one company or another.”

“Miss Stark, is it not obvious?”

Jennie’s open palms turned upwards as she seated herself on a wicker chair. She indicated that Mr. Hornback resume his perch on the porch swing. “No. Explain please.”

“It is true I had once planned to remain in Columbia for the summer before my position in Chicago.”

Jennie’s jaw dropped. She had imagined someone would snatch Vic up to work for them, but never did she think of him leaving the state, especially for a city.

“But when I came to call on you the other day, your father told me you changed your mind about staying, and instead you returned to the farm. Surely, you must realize the only reason I planned to remain in Columbia, away from my family, was to be able to see you. Often.”

Jennie shook her head slowly. “I… Well… Please tell me about what awaits you in Chicago.” She decided to postpone her curiosity about Victor’s desire to see her, which came as quite the surprise. More shocking, however, was his decision to travel so far away for employment. Surely, if he desired to work in a city, he could have gone to St. Louis or Kansas City, the latter being not even fifty miles of his family’s farm.

“Miss Stark, a man recruiting for Swift Meat Packing Company interviewed me on campus in the spring. Although he was seeking men to work in local plants, he told me there might be a better-paying position in Chicago in their advertising and marketing department.”

“Go on.”

“Well, he noticed from my transcript that I had credits in both agriculture and journalism, and, of course,” he guffawed, good-naturedly slapping his knee, “he took notice of my natural good looks.”

Jennie’s grin emboldened him to proceed.

“He told me he would pass my name on to the office there in Chicago. The next week, I received a telephone call requesting that I come to St. Louis for an interview. I met with some gentlemen at the St. Louis office, one of them from the Chicago office, and thought the interview went well, but I heard nothing further from them. That is,” he continued, “until last week.”

“Well, how about that! I’ll make an educated guess as to what they said.”

“I already gave it away, I think. I told them I needed time to consider and to square away some unfinished business. They told me the position would start in August. They also mentioned they have a company baseball team where they needed a talented first base player.”

At his mention of the baseball team, Victor lit up. He paused and his disposition grew somber.

“They needed an answer immediately, so I told them, yes.”

Jennie slowly exhaled the air she had been holding since Victor mentioned a Chicago man and an interview. In an instant, she realized her daydream of a life with Victor was evaporating. Why had she thought there could be a future with this man?

“Mr. Hornback, it is certainly thoughtful you took the time and effort to stop by to say farewell.” Jennie mustered up what optimism she could.

“Miss Stark, you misunderstand…”

Victor removed his hat and placed it over his heart.

“The circumstances dictate that I see you as often as decorum permits between now and August. But… Miss Stark, my intentions are…”

Thirty

Jennie lay on her bed one day the following week. It was early morning and her grandfather's words echoed in her mind. Did he not imply that it was acceptable not to get married? Certainly not in haste or without due consideration to possible consequences.

Jenny thought about the times where there was a proposal. Or at least in a position where one could infer such would happen. Well, there really only were two times, she thought. And neither led to a formal proposal. Not in the way she expected.

Vincent Hornback first came to mind. His advances, if you could call them such, were still in progress. The prior Sunday, Mr. Hornback knocked on the front door, Aunt Ella answering.

“Good afternoon, Miss Stark.”

His voice was immediately recognizable to Jennie, who jerked her head upwards from her Bible. Sunday afternoons often found her in deep study of the scriptures, And, on that particular Sunday, Grandfather Stark joined her.

“I would like to call upon Miss Jennie Stark, if that is acceptable. I understand she is back in residence here at the farm. Is there someone of whom I should ask permission?”

“Mr….”

“Pardon me. I am Mr. Vincent Hornback. You might recall that we met the afternoon of the reception for Miss Stark's graduation. She and I have known each other for many years, from church, and from both high school and college.”

“I see. Please have a seat, Mr. Hornback.” Ella waved toward the porch swing and the wicker chairs near it. “I shall make inquiries.”

The parlor in which Jennie and her grandfather sat was immediately accessible by the front door. A simple farmhouse, the residence had no foyer, but what it did possess were shutters which were closed to keep out the afternoon sun. The windows, however, remained open so sound carried equally through the front entrance and from the windows.

“Grandfather…” began Jennie, murmuring so as to not be heard by the gentleman.

“Do you wish to see him?” Jennie paused, then nodded. “Then, why don’t you sit on the porch? If the occasion arises that you tire of his company, you can say you need a respite from the heat and wish to retire.”

Jennie cocked her head, squinting through her thick lenses. She tried to stifle a grin but failed and soon she arose to give her grandpa a hug before exiting.

Outside, Mr. Hornback jumped out of the swing and made a short bow.

“Miss Stark, I am delighted you are joining me rather than retiring from the heat.”

Jennie giggled. “Oh! We were caught, Grandfather and I? Conspiring on how to avoid you? Well, I suppose I must contrive a different excuse should I require one. But,” she continued, “please tell me how it is you came to be here? I thought you were spending the summer in Columbia before going off somewhere to be the president of one company or another.”

“Miss Stark, is it not obvious?”

Jennie’s open palms turned upwards as she seated herself on a wicker chair. She indicated that Mr. Hornback resume his perch on the porch swing. “No. Explain please.”

“It is true I had once planned to remain in Columbia for the summer before my position in Chicago.”

Jennie’s jaw dropped. She had imagined someone would snatch Vic up to work for them, but never did she think of him leaving the state, especially for a city.

“But when I came to call on you the other day, your father told me you changed your mind about staying, and instead you returned to the farm. Surely, you must realize the only reason I planned to remain in Columbia, away from my family, was to be able to see you. Often.”

Jennie shook her head slowly. “I… Well… Please tell me about what awaits you in Chicago.” She decided to postpone her curiosity about Victor’s desire to see her, which came as quite the surprise. More shocking, however, was his decision to travel so far away for employment. Surely, if he desired to work in a city, he could have gone to St. Louis or Kansas City, the latter being not even fifty miles of his family’s farm.

“Miss Stark, a man recruiting for Swift Meat Packing Company interviewed me on campus in the spring. Although he was seeking men to work in local plants, he told me there might be a better-paying position in Chicago in their advertising and marketing department.”

“Go on.”

“Well, he noticed from my transcript that I had credits in both agriculture and journalism, and, of course,” he guffawed, good-naturedly slapping his knee, “he took notice of my natural good looks.”

Jennie’s grin emboldened him to proceed.

“He told me he would pass my name on to the office there in Chicago. The next week, I received a telephone call requesting that I come to St. Louis for an interview. I met with some gentlemen at the St. Louis office, one of them from the Chicago office, and thought the interview went well, but I heard nothing further from them. That is,” he continued, “until last week.”

“Well, how about that! I’ll make an educated guess as to what they said.”

“I already gave it away, I think. I told them I needed time to consider and to square away some unfinished business. They told me the position would start in August. They also mentioned they have a company baseball team where they needed a talented first base player.”

At his mention of the baseball team, Victor lit up. He paused and his disposition grew somber.

“They needed an answer immediately, so I told them, yes.”

Jennie slowly exhaled the air she had been holding since Victor mentioned a Chicago man and an interview. In an instant, she realized her daydream of a life with Victor was evaporating. Why had she thought there could be a future with this man?

“Mr. Hornback, it is certainly thoughtful you took the time and effort to stop by to say farewell.” Jennie mustered up what optimism she could.

“Miss Stark, you misunderstand…”

Victor removed his hat and placed it over his heart.

“The circumstances dictate that I see you as often as decorum permits between now and August. But… Miss Stark, my intentions are…”