Chapter Text
I.
January 8th 1927 | 1:41pm | Tango
Tango’s head ached from where it was pressed against the rattling train window. She had watched as dry grass and dirt hills turned into slightly more snowy dry grass and dirt hills, as she got further north. The train curved a little, pressing her further into the window and pushing her face against the grimy glass.
A clatter sounded from the other side of the train car, and as she turned to identify the source she grimaced in discomfort at the change in position – the hard wooden bench under her had gotten uncomfortable after 3 hours, it was starting to verge on painful after 6. We must be near the border by now. She hoped so, anyway.
“Oops!” the woman across the aisle from her stage-whispered, as she picked up the makeup compact she had dropped. That must’ve been the source of the noise Tango thought, watching as the other woman continued to consult her mirror as she twirled thick strands of strawberry-blonde hair around her fingers, over and over again, until she seemed satisfied with the result. As she resumed her conversation with her travel companion, Tango turned back to the train window, self consciously tugging at her golden curls where they hung limp over her face.
She hadn’t had the chance to fix her appearance as she was leaving, not if she wanted to make the next train through Utah. As it stands the only seat she could afford that was still available was the basic ‘seat’ she sat on currently – if you could call the hard wooden slats a ‘seat’ at all. She adjusted her posture for the 3rd time that hour, tightened her cardigan, and returned to staring at the changing landscape outside.
Her eyelids fluttered, the quiet conversation around her and the dull rattle of the moving train lulled into an uneasy sleep.
~~~~~~
January 8th 1927 | 2:01pm | Jimmy
Jimmy squinted at the beige blob in the distance, was that a sheep laying down? Or just a sheep-shaped rock? Maybe she should’ve put her glasses on before heading out but it was too late now, she couldn’t be bothered. Really it wouldn’t be a problem if she had fixed that hole in the barbed fence of the sheep paddock, but you’ve got to believe her, she was going to do it today! She just got busy doing… other stuff. Yep, other stuff . She nodded to the air, and resigned herself to walking over to the sheep shaped rock to check it up close.
She trudged through the snow on the ground, kicking it up as she went to investigate. The air was bitingly cold, colder than it had been recently, so she hurried along, eager to finish her ranch work early, so she could pop into town before the sun started to set.
She tugged her gloves on a little tighter, and stared at the beige lump in front of her. A tentative finger poked forwards.
“Sheep? Or are you a rock?”, as her finger made contact it sunk into soft fleece.
“Sheep.” She announced to the air. A gentle shake woke the ewe from where it had decided to nap in the snow after escaping the paddock. “C’mon, you rebel,” she tells the sheep, as it stands. It began to follow Jimmy as she led it back to the paddock. That hole in the fence really needs fixing… but I’m too busy today, tomorrow for sure. She directed the sheep back into the paddock with the rest of the flock, where they grazed at the dry grass and snow. It’d be a few months until they got sheared again, it was still too cold this time of year for any of that.
Her horse was still standing on the far side of the paddock, where Jimmy left her. A jaunty whistling filled the air as she walked back over to greet her trusty steed.
“Hey sweetheart, I’m all finished with the sheep now.” Arrow snorted as Jimmy set a foot in the stirrup and swung her other leg over the horse’s back. She gave Arrow’s neck a few pats and directed the horse back towards the ranch.
~~~~~~
January 8th 1927 | 4:50pm | Tango
Noise picked up in the train car, and Tango blinked open her sore eyes to see signs of civilisation outside her window. Only a few farmhouses and what she thought might be a church; it’s been at least an hour since they last stopped in a town, and they were approaching another now.
She turned to look through the windows on the other side of the train car, and she could see the platform approaching. A small hanging sign claims she’s made it to the small town of Tumble, Utah. Population: 75. It’s one of the smallest towns the train has passed through so far, and definitely the coldest, she thought, as she pulled her arms around herself.
In the hour it had been since they last stopped in a town, the snow had gone from a dusty white layer on the brush to being a sturdy carpet. A shrill screeching echoed in the valley they were in as the train began to slow to a complete stop.
“Tumble, eh?” said a man sitting on the same bench as her. “Not much going on here, last I heard.”
“You’ve been here?” Tango replied. The man glanced at her, a strand of white hair falling into his thin face.
“Not for a while, I’ve got a friend who works out here, runs the general store.” He paused. “I haven’t seen them in a few years though,” a dark eye looked at Tango from under his hair.
“You?”
Tango jumped. “Me? What about me?” She answered, a hint of suspicion in her tone.
“What are you doing all the way out here? A city girl like you out in the middle of nowhere, I’d almost think you were on the run!” The man replied, humour colouring his voice as he raised an eyebrow at her.
“Oh.” Tango paused, and gave a polite laugh, “Of course not! I’m…” another pause, “I’m also visiting a friend.” The man continued to stare, like he didn’t believe her. He didn’t call her on the lie though.
“Well, I’d better get moving, the sun’s gonna set soon” He relented, and he grabbed his luggage from under the bench and made for the exit of their carriage.
Her original plan had been to stay on the train for another few towns at least, but her back was really starting to hurt from the wooden bench, and as she thought about it, a new plan formed in her head. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to get off the train in Tumble, stay a little while to recuperate, then slip onto the next train out. After all, she still had her ticket, she’d just have to hope they never looked too closely at the date.
It was as though her body had listened to her thoughts about finding a room for the night, and suddenly decided to give out. As she stood to retrieve the one measly bag of clothes she’d brought with her, a wave of nausea passed over her and she had to blink back spots from her eyes. I’d better find somewhere to stay the night before I pass out .
A hand grasped her shoulder gently, “You alright darling?” a voice asked, one of the other passengers she thought.
“Just fine, thank you.” She assured them – the strawberry-blonde lady with the compact – before quickly moving towards the exit of the carriage.
~~~~~~
January 8th 1927 | 5:11pm | Jimmy
It’s not her fault, Jimmy thought, It’s not my fault I always get caught up talking to B! The sun was beginning to set and she was still in town, after getting caught up chatting with the neighbours son, who arbitrarily decided he wanted to be called by his favourite letter back when he was 4 years old, and to that day was ‘B’ to all his friends. They were both still out the front of the general store chatting up a storm when Jimmy realised the time. After exchanging goodbyes, located Arrow where she was tied to a post next door, mounted her horse again and began to head down the main road back in the direction of the ranch.
Darn the early winter sunsets! She thought, tugging on her leather gloves and wrapping her scarf tighter around her neck as Arrow passed the small buildings down the cobbled path towards the outskirts of town. She could see the carriages of a train poking out the back of the train station, and she heard the faint chuffing of steam as it slowly began to continue down the railroad, heading further north, she reckoned. She began to recount her day mentally, checking off the list of things she was supposed to do. Just as she reached the final chore on her mental list – grab some honey from the general store – she zoned back into the real world to see a small crowd leaving the train platform. There’s a few people hugging and crying, reunions,most likely, and a few stragglers wandering into town, looking for the inn. It’s as she’s passing the train station exit, that a waving hand caught her attention.
“Excuse me!” A low, feminine, and slightly raspy voice called to her. She followed the movement of the strangers waving hand down to their shoulder, and to their face. Wavy golden hair hung around their pale face, nose and cheeks tinged red by the cold air. Big, dark brown eyes stared up at Jimmy on her horse.
“How can I help you, miss?” Jimmy asked, polite as ever, despite how badly she wanted to rush home and be out of the miserable cold.
“Well, see, hmm...” The stranger paused, unsure. They glanced around. “Well I’m here for a little while, I’m wondering if you know a place where a weary girl can lay her head for a couple days?”
Jimmy considered this, then replied. “Well, this is a small town, there’s only one inn here but I’m sure they’ll have room for you.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder towards the main part of town. “Go down this main road here, and turn left when you see the general store, you can’t miss it. Pearl can help you there.” The stranger nodded, and moved to leave without further ado. It hurts manners a little bit, not introducing herself, but the biting cold slipping in through the gap in her scarf reminds her to get moving.
She shifted her weight on Arrow’s back to keep moving, and they trotted out of the town proper, spared a glance over her shoulder, at the stranger, who walked determinedly towards the general store, decorated leather suitcase in hand. Curious.
II.
January 9th 1927 | 7:00am | Jimmy
The grandfather clock in the hall chimes. Jimmy stirred, counted 7 chimes, then rolled onto her back to blink blearily at the ceiling. Deep breath in, deep breathe out. She grimaced as she rolled the covers off her body and was hit with a wave of brisk morning air. The sooner I get dressed, the better. She thought, quickly rushing over to the dresser and grabbing her clothes for the day.
One speedy change of clothes later, she appraised herself in the small handheld mirror she kept next to the bathroom sink. That braid needs redoing . She set the mirror against the wall and leaned on her bathtub rim, taking out the braid from yesterday, brushing out her straw blonde hair, and carefully rebraiding it away from her face. As she stared into the mirror, she took in her appearance. Light hazel eyes stared back at her under brown eyelashes, a few measly freckles dusted her cheeks – less obvious in the winter. Good enough .
She walked down the hall to the main room, a glance out the window showed the sun just rising above the horizon. She lit the remains of firewood in the cookstove and grabbed her iron pan from next to the sink, where she’d left it yesterday. A quick flip of the power switch on her small radio filled the air with music, only slightly staticy. As she got lost in the monotony of preparing her usual breakfast of eggs and toast, she considered her itinerary for the day.
She moved to sit down at the table. Her schedule had really filled up since Grian left to pursue his dreams as a big-city journalist, Jimmy remembered the day Grian decided writing their small-town paper ‘The Tumble Times’ just wouldn’t cut it, and Jimmy, I have to leave, you have to understand. It’s what I want more than anything . Well, how could Jimmy ever say no to that?
Her tin cup clinked slightly as she set her coffee down next to her plate of food on the uneven table surface. Right. Task at hand . First she had to feed all the animals, that would take at least an hour, then she had to milk the cows, then check on the chickens, then the pigs, then the sheep, and maybe she should also check the veggie garden, she thought it might’ve been a few days since she last done that. She finished the last bite of her breakfast and leaned back in her chair, downed the last sip of coffee, and stood up.
If I get all that done before 3pm today I’ll have time to see B in town again, just before afternoon mass. It was a Sunday, so of course Jimmy would attend mass with the rest of town, even if she didn’t really believe in all that. It was tradition at this point, and life out on the ranch got lonely without her sister around.
She swept up her plate and coffee cup, depositing them next to the iron pan in the sink. On her way out of the main room she also snagged one of the cookies B gave her from the jar on the shelf. The sun had properly started the rise above the grass and snow, her pocket watch declared that it was 7:45am. She had 7 hours to get all the farm work done, heaps of time. Maybe she’d get her dinner in town today. I wonder if I’ll see that kind lady again? That blonde haired lady from the train station. Jimmy wasn’t sure why, but the stranger’s face seemed stuck in her mind.
She shook her head to rid herself of errant thoughts, grabbed her hat from the hook next to the front door, and stepped out into the cold to begin work for the day.
~~~~~~
January 9th 1927 | 9:45am | Tango
It was later than usual when Tango finally opened her eyes to the unfamiliar walls of the small bedroom. The sun was well risen, though her room was still very cold. She wrapped the woolen blankets tighter and sat up, reexamining the room now that she was seeing it in the light. A dull striped wallpaper covered the walls, unlit gas lamps jutting out on the wall.
Just as Tango was pulling on her tights, still half buried under the covers, she heard a knocking on her door.
“Hey Tango, it’s Pearl! Are you awake yet?” A soft voice called, with an unplaceable accent. Tango thought back to last night, Pearl, she’s the one who gave me the room, the really tall one .
“Mmm. Yep!” She returned, her voice still crackly from sleep.
“Do you want any breakfast? They won’t be doing breakfast in the hall downstairs much longer, but I can bring some up to you if you’d like?” Tango considered this, she hadn’t planned on being in town long, and the temperature would take some getting used to.
“Could you bring some up for me? If it’s not too much of a hassle?” She asked Pearl, whose shadow shifted under the door.
“Of course, I’ll be just a moment.” Was Pearl’s reply, followed by the shadow under the door disappearing down the hallway.
Tango used the time it took Pearl to retrieve breakfast to continue dressing, methodical layering herself up to keep warm. Tights, socks, two different skirts, her favourite black undershirt that covered her neck and arms, a red blouse, and her winter jacket on top as well. She was thoroughly protected from the brisk breeze now.
Pearl returned just in time, with a small tray of food in hand. She glanced around as she swept into the room to place the tray on the small table in the corner.
“Were you cold at all last night? Need any extra blankets?” She asked, as she raised a cheek eyebrow at Tango’s getup.
“No, thank you. I was warm enough”. Tango looked down at her outfit a little self-consciously.
“I’m from Phoenix, originally. It’s a bit warmer down there.” Pearl nodded in understanding. “Well, Tango, if you do need anything, pop down to the hall, I’m usually around.” She said, and stepped back out into the hallway, closing the door behind her.
Tango moved across the room to sit at the desk, and settled into the wooden chair to pick at her breakfast. It was a pretty standard meal, scrambled eggs, toast, and some tinned peach slices on a little dish on the side. A small tin cup of water accompanied it. I’ll have to ask Pearl if they have any coffee , she thought. I’ll also need more winter things if I’m going to continue north . The clothes she had from Phoenix were good enough for this town, but any further north and she would freeze. It had only been a day, but she was starting to miss Arizona, if only because of the warmer weather. She missed her horse, Revy, too. Suddenly, the pretty stranger from yesterday popped into her mind. The straw blonde cowgirl on a horse, who helped her find the inn. The cowgirl’s horse was beautiful, clearly well loved, a spotty grey mare with a shiny coat. The pair complimented each other, if Tango had to guess she’d say they’d been a pair for several years at least, possibly a family horse? I’ll ask if I see them again . Wait. See them again? She wasn’t planning on sticking around.
She shoved another piece of eggy toast into her mouth, and returned to staring out the window next to her.