Make New Friends
by Donna and Toni

Luckily for Marty, she didn't have to haul her suitcase all the way into town. John Book and the two Amish brothers were driving their wagon along the road, heading to the mercantile in Edan to pick up a few supplies. Seeing the distraught girl, they of course gave her a lift, dropping her off the same place the wagon train girls had gone,
the women's boarding house.

It was a bit of a busy place, with people coming and going in their various jobs, and as Marty was coming in, Toni was also, having just ended her workday at the bank. In fact, she almost bumped into the new arrival, and smiled, "Oops! Excuse me. Toni Fanara, I work at the bank," holding out her hand in greeting.

"Marty, Marty Collins. Glad to meet you," she said, putting down her bag so that she could shake Toni's hand. "I don't have a job yet. I used to work in a day care...," her voice trailed off.

"Ah. Well, the way Edan is going in terms of pregnant women and new mothers, it won't be long before we'll need your services here for that too! Here, let me help you with that," and she picked up the bag, glancing toward the stairs to the rooms. It was obvious this woman was sad about something, and the accountant figured maybe having some company would get her mind off it.

Luckily, the room next to Toni's was unoccupied, so after checking with Larina, Toni took Marty there. She looked around and nodded. "It's nice," she said. "I was staying with Luc at his vineyard, but... we had a fight and so I moved out."

Ah, Toni thought to herself; there's my answer as to what was making her sad. To her new friend, she said, "Well, sometimes men can be a bit stubborn; believe me, I know. I've been dating Sal; he owns a farm nearby. Have you met him yet?"

"The Ital..., excuse me, the Sicilian? Yes. Nice man. Very intense! He and Luc are good friends." She opened her bag, and started to put her things away while Toni told her where the bathrooms and water closets were located, and what time meals were served for all the boarders. "Maybe tomorrow I'll look around, see if there is a place that I can run a day care or babysitting service out of," Marty said with a sigh. "Too tired to do it now." She kicked off her shoes and sat down on the bed. "Maybe a nap before supper would help."

Toni nodded. "Okay; I'll see you at dinner, then. Sleep well!", and she left the other woman to her rest.

When dinner time rolled around, the accountant looked for Marty only to not find her at the table. When she wasn't there by the time the first course was being served, Toni had two trays made up and, with the help of one of the other women, carried them up to the new woman's room. The extra tray was set on a hall table, and Toni, when once again alone, knocked softly on Marty's door. "Marty? Are you awake? I
have dinner here, for both of us."

"Toni?" a hoarse sounding voice called out. Marty opened the door a moment later, wiping her face with her sleeve. Her eyes were red and puffy looking. Apparently she had been crying. "I'm sorry. You didn't have to bring me food."

The other woman's face softened, as she told her friend, "Yes, I did. Marty, I've been through a divorce, and one thing I learned is that through any kind of problem, especially those dealing with men, you need to eat. You have to keep your strength up to figure out the best solution for yourself! It's nothing heavy, just some soup and a
nice stew. I didn't know what you wanted to drink with it, so I brought you water." The Italian would not be deterred, and Marty watched the two trays being brought in and settled on her own little table.

"Water is fine," Marty said. "Anything but wine right now..." She motioned for Toni to take the one comfortable chair in the room, while she herself sat on the stool that was by the dressing table. "I'll be okay. It's not as if I haven't had any other broken
relationships. I'll survive. Guess I had this coming. I'm too much of a goodie two shoes at times!" She managed a smile, asking Toni to tell her about the other ladies in the boarding house, and where they had all come from, and if she had heard any good gossip.

The other woman did so, filling her in on all her co-boarders, and even about some of the residents of Esperanza she'd befriended! Now that Kim's daughter had been born, the Immortal was free to resume her trips into Edan, with Richard as escort, to search the mercantile for tobacco for Asher once again. Her tobacco plants were coming along, but even they needed help, she had confided with a laugh!

Marty giggled. "I heard Sal telling Luc that the Indians have found some sort of tobacco substitute, but it tends to make you high as a kite! Has anyone tried to smoke hers yet?"

"Well, she said that she hoped her plants were just plain tobacco. She found packets of seeds for them in the mercantile, so all we can do is cross our fingers and watch Asher when he tries the first cigarettes from the batch. I wonder if vampires can get stoned?"

The imagined scene made Toni laugh out loud, and she felt even happier when Marty laughed with her. "Kim invited me to come to their home and meet her daughter, and I'm going to take her up on it in the near future. I hear she's a darling little girl, with a very friendly disposition, and her father's ice blue eyes! Combined with her mother's dark hair, she is going to be a true heartbreaker someday. Maybe when I do go to visit you could come with me! They have a new arrival there as well; Richard and his lady Emilia have adopted a sweet little redheaded girl, born on Valentine's Day, and
appropriately named Venus!" She knew the talk of babies would cheer the other woman up.

It did help, and by the end of the meal, Marty was feeling a lot better. She had a new friend, and though her heart was still hurting, things were looking up at least!