Chapter Two—Robin In Demand

     In the evening of the day she had gotten the $15,000 loan from the Whitewater bank, Robin Morrow sat in her living room pouring through wholesale catalogues, making notes of things she wanted to order for her new shop. She’d ask her aunt a question every once in a while. “Aunt Martha, how many of these do you think I should get to start off with?…do you think there would be a market for this?…how much of a markup should I have on my stuff?…I think I’ll start out with a sale on some items, just to try to get some people to come. I’m so afraid nobody will show up…I think I’m going to call the store ‘For Ladies Only.’ Do you like that?…” Aunt Martha didn’t know any more about running a store than Robin did, but she was getting almost as excited about it as her niece, largely because Robin was so enthused.
     “I don’t know how much you should order. Maybe you can ask Mr. Wilcox. He might know what the best sellers in town are…oh, yes, I think the ladies would love those…ten percent is a good profit figure, I think…people will come, you just wait and see…I like that name…Men will come, too, to buy their wives presents…” The two of them were having a ball.
     The next morning, Robin went to Compton Building Company first thing. She talked to Mike Compton, one of the co-owners, and told her what she was doing and what she needed.
     “Let’s go take a look,” he said, and they rode together to Robin’s new building.
     “How many different items are you going to sell?” Mike asked her, as he walked around, studying the building.
     “Lots,” Robin said. “Clothing, jewelry, perfumes and soaps, kitchen and household items…anything women might want. And an office in the back.”
     “You’ll need a lot of shelving, then….”
     Mike had brought a clipboard and he made copious notes. “The building is in good shape, by and large,” he told her. “There are a couple of panels on that wall that I think we’d better replace and we’ll need to check the roof. But this is a fairly new building and it seems structurally sound, so basically what we’ll need to do is turn it into a merchandise store. That won’t be any problem.”
     “How much will it cost?” Robin asked. “I was going to do the painting myself,” she added hastily.
     Mike smiled. “Oh, I think we can include that in the price. But I really think you should wallpaper the walls with something bright and feminine.”
     Robin liked that idea. “Ok. I’ll take a look at some.”
     They went back to his office and Robin sat on pins and needles while Mike worked for several minutes on figures. He was mumbling to himself, but Robin couldn’t understand him. Geez, I hope this doesn’t cost an arm and a leg…I’m afraid it’s going to be $10,000 or so, and I won’t have much left to get any merchandise… come on, Mike, hurry up, and PLEASE don’t charge me very much….
     Finally, he stopped figuring. He smiled at her and handed her an invoice. There were items on it like “lumber,” “shelving,” “glass,” “painting,” “labor,” and besides each item was written “no cost.” At the very bottom was the line “Total cost: $0.”
     Robin looked at him. He was smiling at her. “I don’t understand,” she said.
    He laughed. “Well, you know, I ought to charge you about $100,000 because that’s how much money you cost me by stopping that battle a few weeks ago. The Indians would have burned most of the town down, and I’d have made a killing. As it is, we’re doing pretty good rebuilding what they did burn down.” His smile softened. “You saved this town, Robin. I’m not about to charge you for helping you start your business. Let’s just say it’s a gift from all of Whitewater.”
     “Mike, no, this isn’t right,” Robin said. “I can’t accept this. It’s going to cost you a lot of money to do all that work. You have to let me pay you.”
     He sighed. “All right, all right,” he replied. “Hand me the invoice.” Robin did, wondering what he would do. He erased the figure at the bottom and wrote another one in, then gave her back the invoice. She read the new number: $100. “If you want to pay more than that, you’ll just have to hire somebody else.”
     Robin fought back tears. “Mike…” She closed her eyes, trying not to cry. She lowered her head. “Thank you,” she whispered.
     “It’s this town that owes you a thanks. Not only did you save countless buildings, but more importantly, you saved countless lives. There’s no way to put a financial figure on that.”
     She just nodded, not able to speak for a moment. Then when she could trust her voice not to break, she asked, “When can you get started?”
     “The only other thing I want to do is check the roof. Well, double check the walls and floor to make sure they are sound. I can have a man do that this afternoon. Once I get report on that, I’ll have the final plans drawn up and have them done…let’s see, today is Wednesday. Give me the weekend. Come by Monday morning at 10. If everything looks ok to you, we can sign a contract and should be able to start the next day. I don’t think it will take too long to get everything finished. Maybe by the middle of September.”
     That was about six weeks away. Maybe I can plan for an October 1 opening… I’ve got to get my merchandise ordered. I’ll do that this week. The catalogues said delivery within four weeks…I can find a place to store it…”That would be wonderful, Mike. Thank you so much.”
     “Oh, don’t thank me yet,” he said, smiling again. “Wait till you get my bill.” And Robin started crying for real at that one and got up and ran out of the room. She’d never get a bill from Compton Building Company and she knew it.

     And everybody was after her. Well, not everybody, just…everybody. Several ladies clubs approached her and wanted her to join. She was asked to speak at a civic luncheon, and several ladies potlucks. An organization similar to the modern Girl Scouts wanted her to be a “team leader” and go with the girls on some camping trips and take part in various crafts and recreational activities. There was a volleyball team and the afore-mentioned baseball team, various other sporting activities, none of which the doctor would let her participate in. “Next year on those,” he counseled. There was a riding club, and when Doc Sharpe cleared her to ride Roberta, she did join that one. Her church wanted her to teach a Bible class. She wanted to join the theatrical club; I’ve always had a desire to do some acting…And then there was the local male population…but surely the reader is not interested in that…The problem was, she didn’t have time for all of it, so she had to be judicious in her choices. At the moment, the business was priority one so she put much of everything else on hold. She also still got tired easily, and her Aunt Martha made her rest.
     “But I’ve got things to do, Aunt Martha.”
     “You get to bed right now, young lady. Don’t you think for a moment that you’re too old for me to take a strap to your backside.” Robin groaned, but she obeyed because she knew Aunt Martha was right. Well, that, and I’m afraid she might really do it!
     The Wednesday afternoon of the day she had talked to Mike Compton, she went back to talk to banker Wilcox. He was happy she had come and asked her if she had gone to see the building yet.
     “Oh, yes, I did that first thing. It’s perfect. This morning, Mike Compton and I went to the building and he’s going to draw up some plans for the store and then maybe get started next week.” She paused. “He’s not going to charge me anything, Mr. Wilcox,” she said softly. “That has to be thousands of dollars of work he’s going to do, but he isn’t going to charge me.”
     Wilcox smiled softly. “Well, it probably wouldn’t cost as much as you think, but that’s still real nice of him. But don’t be surprised if a few more things like that pop up for you. People in Whitewater are very appreciative of what you did. I know you don’t think so and would never admit it, but you really did, single-handedly, end that battle and save a lot of lives. We can never repay you for that. Never.”
     Robin started to argue, but she didn’t. She just said, “Thank you.” Then she got down to the reason she came to see him. “As you know, I’m kinda new at this. I’m not sure how much I should order of each commodity. I mean, I know I need more than one, but how many? Five? Ten? The town isn’t that big, so surely I’m not going to sell too much. Do you have any ideas? And how much should I charge?”
     “Well, do keep in mind a couple of things. One, there are other people in town that sell the same goods you do, and there will be a lot of people remain loyal to them. But you’ll be very convenient, because you’ll have everything. And try to get the latest stuff, too. People like that. And a second thing. Remember that, probably by next summer, the railroad is going to operating just south of here. The growth to the community won’t be immediate, but it will come. You want to plan for that, eventually. I don’t think I’d order now with that in mind, but you don’t want to be caught short when it does happen. If people come to your store, and you’re out of what they want, they’ll go somewhere else and likely not come back. It’s probably best to over-order, just to be on the safe side. You can always keep the goods in storage until you need them. You obviously want to order more of the things you think ladies will buy the most of.” He smiled. “You’re a lady, what kind of things do you want the most?”
     She smiled. “Clothes. Shoes. Underwear. Those things wear out sooner than pots and pans do.”
     He nodded. “There you go. And get the newest fashions. Ask the wholesalers to send you their latest catalogues. The ones Billie Jean gave you are about a year old. They’ll still be good for most things, but you especially want the newest clothing fashions. As far as pricing is concerned…” He shrugged. “Go to the other stores and see what they charge. Try to undersell them, if you can. You need to make a profit, don’t ever forget that. So, as best you can, figure out what your monthly expenses are going to be so you’ll know how much you need to sell. You may have to price accordingly.”
     “Well, I won’t know my total budget until you tell me how much I’m going to have to pay you each month.”
     He nodded. “Well, I won’t know that for sure until I know exactly how much of the $15,000 you’re going to want to borrow. I’ll get that figure for you soon. I’ll stretch the note out to at least five years, if you need for me to, and that will help you.”
     “This is kinda scary,” Robin said.
     “Yes, but if you work hard, you’ll make it. Do you have any idea yet of when you might open the store?”
     “Well, Mike said he might be through by the middle of September. I’m going to order my goods this week, or the first of next week. Then I thought I’d have a ‘Grand Opening’ sale, to try to get people to come in.”
     “Oh, they’ll come anyway, but I think the sale at the beginning is a very good idea. Again, don’t undersell your profit needs, but a good price will entice them to come back.”
     “Ok, thanks.” Robin stood up and Wilcox did, too.
     “If there is anything else you need, don’t hesitate to come by, you hear?”
     “Thank you, Mr. Wilcox.” She shook his hand and left.
     So far, so good. But it’s still scary…

     She had to order her goods via telegraph, and that was expensive because it was a very long message. She had to send three of them, to three different wholesalers, because none of them had everything she wanted. One basically had clothes, another kitchen and household items, and the other beauty products and jewelry. The total telegraph bill was a little over $25, which was extremely high, but she thought, from now on, she could do a lot of her ordering by mail, as long as she planned far enough in advance. This first order obviously had to be the biggest.
     “Thanks a lot, Cotton,” she told the telegraph operator when he had finished.
     “My fanger is sore, Miss Morrow. I’m gonna dee-mand a dance at the next monthly git-together.”
     She laughed. “You can have the first one,” she said. “Cotton” Mathers was at least 70 years old. “And I’m sorry about your ‘fanger.’”
     She received an acknowledgement from each of the wholesalers within two days. No problems filling her order, should all be there within four weeks. End of August…Mike said he may be through by mid-September…October 1 opening… She nodded. Everything was going according to plan.
     She was going to hire two assistants, at least to begin with. She had no idea how many she would need. She could always hire more, if need be, or release one of the girls if not needed, though she’d hate to do that. So she’d hire them under the proviso of a 30-day probationary period. She would tell them that the first month would be the busiest so she’d need the extra help, but there were no guarantees beyond that first month. She budgeted $30 a month for each, which was about the going wage for that sort of help. Cowboys on the range averaged $30 a month, but got room and board for free. Len Kramer’s lumberjacks pulled in $50 a month, but also paid no rent or meal fees. Clerks at most shops would get around $25 or $30. It was “blue collar” type work, so wages weren’t expected to be very high. She felt comfortable paying that amount.
     Robin was at the Compton office at 10 AM Monday morning, as scheduled. She was excited to see the plans he had come up with and she was ecstatic with what she saw. He showed her some wallpaper and she chose the one she liked. Brand new hardwood floors. Glass paneling—“sky lights,” Mike called them—in the roof to let in natural lighting so the store would rarely need any artificial illumination. State-of-the-art display counters and shelving. Conspicuously paced braziers to keep the whole room warm during the cold winter months. New, and larger, frame windows up front which, with the windows in back, could be opened to provide some breeze during the hot summer—the whole place had the best quality materials, but his design had a very cozy down-home look that would definitely appeal to female sensibilities. Even a cute little sign hanging out front in a charming, eye-pleasing script. He explained everything to her and she was thrilled.
     “Oh, Mike, it’s perfect. It’s just…perfect. I can’t tell you how wonderful it is. Please let…” She was going to say “please let me pay you,” but that had already been decided and she didn’t want to put him on the spot again by bringing it up. So instead she said, “If you ever need a recommendation or want to show someone an example of your work, then please let me know.”
     “Well, wait till I finish and you see it before you say something like that.” But he was obviously happy that she had liked the plans.
     “When can you get started and how long do you think it will take?”
     “The only thing I don’t have is the sky lighting for the roof. I’ll have to order that and I’m not sure how long it will take to get it in. Depending upon when you want to open the store, we may have to put it in after you do. But that won’t be a problem from our perspective. We’d be out of your way and we wouldn’t need to be inside but maybe once or twice to make sure everything fit. Otherwise, I think we can get it all done within the six week framework I gave you, especially since all this work, except the roof, is inside. That makes it a lot easier; we won’t have to worry about rain.” He rolled up the plans. “We’re doing a lot of work all over town now because of the Indian raid, but I can divert some men to your store. I’ll get them on it tomorrow. Is that ok with you?”
     “Oh, yes, thank you…” Robin wanted to cry again and told herself to stop that. But everyone was being so nice and so helpful. She couldn’t help but be touched.
     Once that was all done, Robin was a bit stumped. Now what do I have left to do?…I’ll advertise for employee help around the first of September…I want to hire people to help me put my stock on the shelves…put a big ad in the paper to advertise my grand opening, but word of mouth will do that pretty well so I’m not going to spend too much money on advertising…get a “Grand Opening Sale” sign made up to hang out front…hmmm…what else?….None of that was immediately pressing…well, I guess I’ll just watch Mike build my store….

     And so, yes, every day Robin went over to her building and watched Mike’s men work. She stayed out of the way, of course, but she also brought the laborers lemonade, sandwiches, and cookies, for which they were very grateful. It was August now, so the weather was still hot. But she enjoyed watching them and seeing how everything, almost miraculously, came together.
     Something quite amusing happened the Wednesday of that first week, the second day Mike’s men had been there working. Robin was standing in the doorway just taking everything in when she was approached by a woman.
     “Hi, dear,” the lady said. “You’re Robin Morrow, right?”
     Robin looked at her. A pretty lady—almost. She had probably once been very pretty, but seemed a bit worn with age. Maybe mid-40s, a little plump but trying to hold it in and keep some semblance of curves, and luscious blonde hair that probably wasn’t natural. The crow’s feet around her eyes, some lines around her mouth, and some wrinkles in her neck showed her age. But, as far as the male of the species was concerned, he might not notice any of that because he probably wouldn’t be able to keep his eyes off a bust that was as huge as any Robin had ever seen. And yet, it didn’t look unnatural to Robin. She’s just a big-chested woman…
     She responded, “Yes, I am. Can I help you?”
     The woman smiled. “It’s what we can do for each other, honey.” She examined Robin up and down. “I was told you were a looker and I was told right. How would you like to make a lot of money, Miss Morrow?”
     “Well, I’m not above that, but what would I have to do?” By now, Robin was pretty sure she knew the answer to that question.
     The woman handed her a card. “Madame Sophie,” and there was a Main Street address in Miner’s Corner. “You could make a lot of money, sweetheart, a lot.”
     Robin smiled, and decided to play along. “Oh? How much money?”
     “Well, that would depend on how much you worked, of course. I’ve heard you have this new business you’re starting. But if you came in just two nights a week, say Friday and Saturday nights for 10 hours…hmmm…” She tapped her lip, eyes narrow and on Robin, but thinking. “Ok, here’s the deal. I get $5 for a half hour for my other girls; $8 if he wants her for the whole hour. The girl gets 10% of that, plus any tip he gives her. But you…we’ll advertise you as something special. $20 an hour. You get 25%--“
     “Oh, no,” Robin said, trying to act as serious as possible, while also trying not to break out laughing. “I’d want 50%. That would still give you $10 an hour.”
    Sophie frowned. “Well, I don’t know. 35%. $7 for you.”
     “Uh uh, I’m worth a whole lot more than that and we both know it. How about this? Charge $25 an hour, with a mandatory $5 tip. We’ll split 18-12. I get the 18, of course.” Robin was tickled and had a hard time keeping a straight face. Negotiating with a whore. I wonder what Aunt Martha would think about THAT?
     “I don’t know,” Sophie said. “$30 is a lot, even for somebody like you…” She continued to look Robin up and down. I feel like a cow in a stock show….Then she nodded. “But, yeah, I think we could sell that. All right. But 50-50. That gives you $15 an hour. 10 hours a week. $150, girlie. That’s a lot of bread.”
     Yes, it was. It took the average cowpuncher 5 months to make that kind of money, and $50 a month was a good salary for a day laborer in town. Sophie was talking $600 a month for 40 hours of work. Ladies’ store? What ladies store? Robin thought, with an inward chuckle. She wasn’t tempted, though. “Well, I’ve got to get my shop started and I’m going to be super busy with that. I can’t do it now. Thanks for stopping by.”
     That was kind of abrupt, but Sophie didn’t seem put off by it. “You just keep it in mind. I’ll be back.” And she strutted off.
     Robin just smiled and shook her head. $600 a month…She giggled. If I could just get rid of my conscience…She tossed Sophie’s card in the trash. For some reason, it made her think about Rob. She made a face. Everything makes me think about Rob…That wasn’t true, of course, but it still frustrated her when he came to her mind and she still had a pain because of him. He’s still in my heart…as strong as ever…will he ever leave? She realized that it hadn’t been but a few months, but still…She sighed. Go away, Rob…you lying murderer…She kept telling herself that…without believing it…But he’s dead…THAT she did believe…

     And she had plenty of opportunity to put him aside. A few pages back, this story mentioned that Robin was quite in demand around town by various clubs, groups, and civic organizations—and by the resident male population. Over the next few weeks—and especially after her business started—she didn’t have a lot of time for social activities, but she wasn’t completely devoid of such, either. One of the issues she had to deal with, as far as men were concerned, is that Whitewater didn’t have just an excess of single males in her age range; most men were married by the time they were 25, as were most women. There were some, of course—Len Kramer, Chris Draeger, Cameron Collins, and others—but not an overabundance. Men had always been attracted to her; she’d had her pick pretty much all her life. And now, since she was in the limelight in town, they seemed to be around all the more. The men working on her shop flirted with her a lot; but they were all either married or a little too young for comfort. Age didn’t matter that much, but she didn’t want to baby sit, either. As she was invited to various civic or social functions, men would approach and talk to her; she was propositioned more than once, and usually by a married man. Married men were strictly off-limits; she would have none of that. A few of the single men just didn’t appeal to her at all; but a few of them did, and she’d work in a lunch or dinner occasionally. But again, time was limited.
     Whitewater had a lot of socials in the summer, as noted, and as she felt better, Robin went to a few of them. There was a town dance on the last Saturday of each month and she managed to go to the one in July, but Doc Sharpe was there and said “no dancing,” so she just sat and talked. She met one new fellow she was interested in; more on him in a moment. She hadn’t seen much of Chris Draeger, Cameron Collins, or Len Kramer. Given what each of them did, it didn’t surprise her a whole lot.
     She thought about it occasionally, and realized that when she really wanted to be with a man the most was when she was thinking a lot about Rob. Being with somebody else helped; Rob Conners wasn’t on her mind when she was on a lunch or dinner date, or at a social function. And, of course, when she was busy with work matters, she wasn’t thinking about him, or any other man, for that matter. But nobody’s mind is occupied all the time with work or the mundane matters of life. Men and women both are social creatures and enjoy the company of the opposite sex—and their own as well—and Robin certainly enjoyed the attention of men.
     But she always ended up comparing them with Rob—and she hated that. She couldn’t help it, though.
     She thought about him as she got ready to go to the end of July town dance; Rob was still in her mind with some frequency, even thought a lot had happened in between, because she had been with him barely two months prior. I wonder if he could dance very well…She smiled to herself. Probably not, he doesn’t strike me as that kind…She was a bit low. At the dance, held at Whitewater Park, a man named Jason Kerr came up and introduced—actually re-introduced—himself, and they went walking along one of the paths beside the river. She had actually met Jason before at a party at Jennie Adams’ house and they had struck up an acquaintance then, but nothing that either of them followed up on. He was a tall, black hair with sky blue, laughing eyes and a keen sense of humor. They talked for awhile at the dance—“I’m not allowed to dance,” Robin told him, pulling a face. “Doctor’s orders.” But when he asked her to go for a walk, she accepted.
     She smiled. “I can walk, I just can’t dance.”
     He smiled back. “I can dance, I just hope I can walk.” She laughed.
     Like everybody else, he mentioned her “hero” status, but with a twist of humor. “Now, let me get this straight. How often am I going to have to bow down to you tonight and get your blessing, O Great Savior of Our City?”
     She laughed. “Oh, not you, too. Do you know how old that gets, hearing people tell me what a ‘heroine’ I am?”
     “Hmm…” he said. “I’m not sure I’d mind, especially if it was all the pretty girls who were telling me that.”
     “I’m sure. Where were you during the battle?”
     He stopped and pointed. “See that small rock there? I was hiding underneath it.”
     “Oh, I don’t believe that.”
     “Well, to be honest with you, I was about 100 feet behind you when you stopped and talked to that Indian. I was in that mob.”
     “Really?”
     “Yeah. And if that Indian hadn’t killed Burt Draeger, I might have. Although I would have had a hard time getting to him first. Boy, there were some angry people when he shot you.”
     “Why?’
     “Well, number one, you’re a woman. Number two, it looked like the battle might be over, that you had stopped it, and there was fear it might start up again. Number three, nobody liked Burt Draeger anyway. He was an…um…not a very likeable person.”
     Robin smiled and remembered that first night at the park where she had had the argument with Burt about Rob Conners. She tended to agree with Jason’s assessment of Burt’s character, though he had apologized later. “Chris is really nice, though.”
    “Yeah, Chris is ok,” Jason said. He stopped again and looked down at her. “We’re all really glad you pulled through. There were a lot of prayers being offered in your behalf.”
     She lowered her head. “Thank you.”
     They stopped along the path under a tree. She looked up at him, a question in her eyes. His hand came under her chin and lifted her head. Robin watched him come to her and she closed her eyes as he kissed her. He held it for about 10 seconds, then pulled off. Robin sighed softly and opened her eyes. They looked at each other for a few seconds and then, without a word, started walking again.
     Neither said a word for several minutes, they just walked slowly along the river. It was pretty, the tree-lined pathway and the river tinkling over some rocks as it rolled merrily downhill from the Turtle Mountains. And as the sun had gone down, it had gotten cooler and more comfortable. He put her arm around her and Robin didn’t object.
     They stopped again at a small waterfall, and watched it for a while. She looked up at him again, asking to be kissed again, and he obliged. It was another short kiss. Still not saying a word, they walked on a little farther. Finally, Robin broke the silence.
     “You aren’t talking very much.”
     “I’m not?
     She laughed softly. “Well, if you are, I’ve gone deaf.”
     He smiled. “Well, if we aren’t going to talk, I’ve got an idea.”
     “What’s that?”
     He stopped and looked at her. He smiled. She smiled, knowing what was coming, and anticipating it. Well, if I can’t dance…Jason didn’t say a word, just took her by the hand and led her down to the river’s edge where he found a nice, big boulder for them to sit on. He put his arm around her, drew her to him…and for the next hour they didn’t talk very much again…in fact, they didn’t talk at all…No Rob for awhile…

     But something very strange—very strange—happened to Robin about a week later. And it almost scared her. She woke up one morning with a clarity of focus and purpose she hadn’t had up to that point. She wasn’t sure how or why it happened, but her women’s store became the total focal point of her life, almost an obsession with her. She thought that maybe it finally hit her that it was going to be her store, her venture, her business and she was absolutely determined not to fail. Everything else had to stand aside; that store was going to be her life, at least for the foreseeable future. This is MY store. I’m going to work as hard as I can to make it the best store in town. Now is the time for me to be selfish, so everybody get out of my way. She wasn’t sure why such a feeling hit her that hard that particular morning; she thought it might have been because she had gone to dinner with Matt Compton, Mike’s brother, the night before. I don’t want ANYTHING to come between me and having a successful business… 
     The rest of her life didn’t stop, but it was all definitely in the back of the wagon. The store became all important, so other things just…weren’t that important. All other matters had their time and place in her life; but, as of that day, everything clicked, fell into place, and was compartmentalized. By far, the biggest compartment was the store. All else was minor in comparison, taken as matter-of-fact. She did everything that needed to be done, and that meant taking time out for relaxation, but it all had a purpose: the store. Get everything out of the way…for the store. Everything by the book… Her single-minded tunnel vision was eerie to her, and at times, a little bit frightening. What am I becoming?…She felt almost like a machine.
     Aunt Martha noticed and was nonplussed. Her niece was acting strangely. “Is…something wrong, dear? Nothing…had happened…has it?”
     “No, nothing’s wrong, Aunt Martha. I have a lot on my mind with this new business I’m starting, so if I seem a little distracted, I’m sorry. I’d like to get to my store this morning. I enjoy watching them work, and I want to start mapping out where I want things to go. My goods won’t be here for a few weeks, but I need to be prepared when they do.”
     “Ok, dear. I need to go to the grocery store this morning. May I stop by and look?”
     “Of course. I’d love for you to.”
     They ate breakfast together and Robin told her aunt more about what she had in mind for her enterprise. Aunt Martha listened, and even made a suggestion or two that Robin found reasonable and worth considering. “Thank you, Aunt Martha, I’ll certainly give that some thought.” Anything that will help my store…
     Before she left, Robin gave her aunt a hug, and said, “Thank you, Aunt Martha, for everything.” Again, Aunt Martha was caught off guard. She never did or said that before… “Good bye,” Robin said to her. “I’ll see you soon if you stop by the store.” And when the older lady heard her niece close the back door on her way to get Roberta, she sat down at the table and cried. Oh, Ben, I wish you could see her, how well you raised her, what a wonderful young lady she has become…

     Matter of fact. All business. Robin couldn’t explain it. She didn’t try to. In fact, she didn’t even think about it as she rode to the store. I wonder if I ordered enough kitchen supplies…I better re-check my invoices…

     And that whole episode illustrated perfectly the next few weeks of Robin’s life. Structured, orderly, purposeful, direct, disciplined. Nothing out of place, if she could help it, Rob creeping in occasionally, but soon pushed to the side to get back to business. She went to church on Sundays. She socialized with her girlfriends on occasion, to relax because she knew she needed that. She went to the bank and talked with Eric Wilcox a couple of times about the business to get his input. Mike Compton came by the store on several occasions and helped explain exactly what his men were doing. She spoke at a ladies’ luncheon and took the opportunity to reveal that she was opening a women’s store in town, an announcement that drew a lot of interest. She’d go shopping with her aunt, do her household chores, ride Roberta to give her some exercise—all these things were in her life, but were all deliberately placed in their own little compartments, given the time they needed, but far behind the business on her priority list. She even had a compartment for “flexibility.” When Aunt Martha felt a little sick for about three days, Robin made her go to the doctor and went with her. Then Robin stayed at home the rest of the day to take care of Aunt Martha’s chores so that she could rest. Importance and priorities were different, at least in Robin’s mind. Nothing was more important to her than Aunt Martha and her relationships with friends; but, priority-wise, unless there was some extenuating circumstance like Aunt Martha’s illness, everything and everybody were secondary to her work.
     It was as if her life were a 640 acre parcel of land that had been surveyed and divided up—20 acres for this, 20 acres for that, maybe 40 for another, 10 for something else. And about 500 for the business. Every section in its place, but all overshadowed by the business.
     Men had a compartment in her life, too. She had found that being with another man was the easiest way to put Rob aside for awhile, though he always came back. But not as strongly each time, she thought. She thought. And the opportunities for companionship with men didn’t stop when she decided to go into business for herself and became busy with the store. A man named Dusty Walton asked her to lunch and she accepted, and discovered that she didn’t especially like him—an arrogant fellow without very much to be arrogant about. She felt the same about another man, whose name was Tyler Burroughs. She was attracted to him when she first met him, but then unattracted to him when he took her to dinner one night. She met a pleasant, very handsome man at the August monthly dance named Adam Stouffer, and they went walking for a little while and then stopped and kissed for 20 minutes. That was the sort of “encounter” Robin wanted at the moment—no commitment, nothing serious, just relaxing and stress relieving. And maybe Rob-forgetting. She only wished that Adam had kissed her longer.
     Matt Compton, Mike’s brother, had no reservations on that score. Robin went out with him one Friday night and then he took her to Whitewater Park. He tried to get her into the back of the wagon, but she wasn’t near ready for that, but she didn’t mind him kissing her for awhile. She was conscious of the clock, however, simply because she was becoming more and more attached to her Aunt Martha and didn’t want to create any anxiety in her. So she was home by 11. Initially, I couldn’t stand the thought of coming to live with her; my memories of her were soooo negative. But now…I don’t want to think of her not being around, of hurting her, or causing her unnecessary pain. She smiled. I’m glad this has happened between me and Aunt Martha.
     And there were other men. She went to dinner with Jason Kerr a couple of Sunday nights. Cameron Collins dropped by twice, but only to say hi because he was pretty busy with fall roundup and branding. She saw Len Kramer in town one day about noon and had lunch with him. She thought about Sam Burke…I wonder how he is…he still owes me a dinner…ha…I hope he comes back for a visit…Robin liked men, liked being with them, and liked the intimate moments. They helped her relax—something that had a “compartment” in her life, too.
     And she had outings with some of her girlfriends, too. Robin forced herself to make time to go swimming, to strengthen her back like Doc Sharpe had suggested. So, for four straight Saturdays, she, Allie Kirk, and Susan Markum rode out to the waterfall/pond that Cameron had showed her and they went swimming and had a picnic. “The three best lookin’ women in town,” Cameron had called them; unfortunately for him, and the rest of the males in Whitewater, Allie and Susan were already married. Robin was always sore—and usually sunburned—after the outing, but she felt better and knew she was getting stronger.
     But she kept all of this where she thought it belonged. And she was hoping that under this avalanche of work and activity with friends, Rob Conners was finally being buried for good.
     So the social side of her life wasn’t empty, but, regardless, in her life it was business first. During the week, she became a workaholic. And even on Saturdays and Sundays, when nothing else was planned, she worked. That store became almost an obsession with her.
     And even more so as the day drew near…