JUNE 28, 1861

Marta was watching Jennifer eat her supper from across the room. They were the only two there at the moment. Of course that would change when it got closer to a normal suppertime. She wondered why she hadn't seen Jennifer in church yesterday? It wasn't any of her business, but she had become friends with her and wanted to get to know her better. Outside of her working relationships, she didn't have many close friends. Desiree was one of her close friends, and Jacy used to be, but she didn't see much of her any more.

Jennifer was thinking back to yesterday. She had seen a lot people going into the new church, but she wouldn't go, even if there was a slight chance of seeing that cute rider, Kid, there. She hadn't set foot in a church since her folks and little sister had died. She didn't really hate God for what had happened, but she just couldn't understand why God had let it happen. She didn't hate God, but she couldn't forgive him either, so she stayed away from churches, finding peace in her writing.

Noticing Jennifer's long face as she ate her early supper, Marta walked over to join her. "What's the matter?" Marta asked her as she took a quick little break and sat down at Jennifer's table.

"A lot of things, but mainly I wish I had a little bit more money. The newspaper doesn't pay a lot," she sighed.

"Well, are you looking for another job?" Marta had one in mind if she was.

"I don't know if I could handle three jobs or not." Jennifer frowned wishing that she could have three jobs. She needed to save more money in order to travel on. She was still in search of her brother.

"I think you could. You can even do your writing while working this other job." Marta smiled.

Intrigued Jennifer asked, "What job is it?"

"Mr. Simmons needs someone to watch the front desk and register people when they come in to get a room. I've been doing it along with being a waitress, but sometimes when we're busy, it's hard. You could work out a flexible schedule with Mr. Simmons." Marta tried to read Jennifer's facial expression to see if she liked the idea.

"That sounds great."

"Good, since we're not busy, I'll go see him in his office and see if he has time to see you. That is if that's alright with you?" Jennifer nodded, so Marta left to go see Mr. Simmons. She returned shortly after, and then Jennifer went to Mr. Simmon's office to talk to him about the position. She got hired with a flexible schedule like she wanted.