Love for Sale

there that he’d have to bring Mrs. White up here and tempt her to do “good works.“ Nobody was bossier or better at it.

Chapter 17

    Friday afternoon, Mr. Prinney went to see Mary Towerton to tell her what he was doing. She immediately suggested, in a whisper, that they go outside to talk. She threw a warm shawl over herself and baby Emily. “My son is almost four years old and understands a lot of what he hears. I don’t think the baby does. I’ll let him play on the swing while we talk.”
    The little boy had followed them out on the porch, struggling into his coat. Mary said, “Joey, say ‘How do you do?’ to Mr. Prinney.”
    Joey put his little hand out to shake Mr. Prinney’s and did as he’d been told.
    “You may go play on the swing Daddy made for you,“ she said. As he whooped and ran to the swing, Mary, with the baby in her arms, and Mr. Prinney sat down in two badly frayed wicker chairs. He was glad she didn’t apologize for their condition.
    “I need to explain a little background,“ Mr. Prinney said. He decided not to go into the whole history of the dam and the company associations Jack had told him about, and started with the tunnels. “The companies involved couldn’t start building the dam with the river flowing through the deep chasm.“
    “I understand,“ she said.
    “So they had to divert the water first. They built two enormous tunnels on each side through solid rock.“ He spared her a description of the terrible heat, the carbon monoxide poisoning, the lack of fresh water, the grueling work schedule, and the criminal disregard for safety. He said only, “This work has caused a lot of accidents. Falling rocks, injuries, illnesses, and deaths.“
    “Are you telling me I’m a widow?“ She mouthed the last word over Emily’s head.
    “No. I’m just giving you the picture of the work. Many of the men who do the labor have their families along, and they’re either living in tents on the site or small houses that are being built for them. They also have dormitories for single men and men without families with them. Your husband probably lived in one of these. I’ve been in touch with the man who manages them—he handles the food, the room assignments, disputes, and such. I’ve just sent a copy of your wedding picture, explaining that it was taken before his accident with the tractor, and he says he’ll show it to the men who might have known him as Rick Taughton instead of Richard Towerton.“
    “Do you think he’ll really do that?”
    “We can only hope so.“
    “Do you have any idea how long this will take?“ she asked.
    Prinney admired her calm and sensible questions. This couldn’t be easy for her, but she wasn’t a sniveler.
    “It could be within two weeks. However, he’s probably a busy man, so I think it will take a little more time than that. It’s a long way to send the letter and picture and a long way back for the reply.“
    “I realize that. What if this person doesn’t get around to it at all?“
    “I think he will,“ Mr. Prinney said. “I explained the situation to him in detail on the telephone and also in the letter I sent with the picture. Oh, I have the original to give back to you,“ he said, taking it from his briefcase along with a typed copy of the letter. “I’ll contact you immediately when I hear back.”
    When the adults rose carefully from the chairs, Joey ran back, his face nicely pink from his exertions. Mary said, “Joey, please tell Mr. Prinney how nice it was to meet him.”
    He parroted his mother shyly and ran inside.
    Mary stood on the porch, waving as Mr. Prinney chugged off in his Ford. Then she walked slowly into the house. She put Emily in the crib that Richard had made for Joey, and read the copy of Mr. Prinney’s letter. It was formal, of course, but it wrung her heart and she hoped it would also touch the man at the work site.
    She looked again at the wedding picture. “Mommy, you sad?“ Joey asked.
    “No. Look at this picture.“ She sat down in a chair and pulled him up on her lap. “Who’s this?“ she said, pointing at herself in the picture.
    He giggled. “You, Mommy!“
    “And who is the other person.“
    “Daddy?“
    “Yes, that’s your daddy.”
    But she knew from the question in his voice that he didn’t remember him. She’d showed him the picture and taught him that was his daddy, but she didn’t think he really knew what it meant. Daddy to him was a person who’d made the swing and