After crossing Broadway Murdock jokingly spoke to Margaret.
“Well, we survived Purgatory Hill, so it’s all downhill from here.”
Margaret looked up and saw that the sidewalk ahead was slightly uphill for the next 200 feet and by no means downhill after that, but she knew what the Canadian meant.
“Thank God,” she said, “I’m so faint thanks to that hill, I doubt I could take another step. Of course, my skipping lunch today probably didn’t help either. But I needed to shed a few pounds.”
“Are you serious, Maggie?” he responded. “You don’t need to lose any weight; you look great!”
“Thanks for the compliment, Murdy, but I’m thinking you’ve got your rose-colored glasses on today. Either that or you’re daft.”
Murdock just laughed, shook his head, and said: “Women!”
Then suddenly, he burst out laughing again, this time a louder and more prolonged laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Margaret asked.
“I just remembered something my brother Harry used to say to Edith, our extremely skinny sister.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“He’d say: ‘You’re so thin you’d disappear if you turned sideways.’ I always thought that was sooo hysterical. Edith would roll her eyes and then shake her head at Harry.”
Margaret smiled and kept walking, all the while being both amused and delighted at Murdock’s boyish playfulness. Since Judy’s was only two blocks from Broadway, it wasn’t long before the new friends crossed over Pine Street and saw the tiny restaurant waiting for them just up ahead.
Anyone who saw the restaurant from a distance would describe it as a small, nondescript, two-story house sitting on the corner of Essex and State Street, not as a thriving eating establishment. The only indication that it housed a restaurant was the small sign above its door—JUDY’S: YOU CRAVE IT, WE’LL COOK IT—and two large windows in front that gave witness to hungry people sitting at small wooden tables, just on the other side; and even those indicators could only be seen clearly if you were standing on the sidewalk in front of the small white structure. Upon entering, one would see that the inside was no more alluring than the outside. But looks or even ambience was not what Judy’s was known for: food was; and word-of-mouth made it the most popular restaurant on the east side. The throngs of noisy people that inhabited it attested to that.
—1—
Once inside, the newly made friends ordered coffee and a bite to eat, and then walked to an empty table near the windows overlooking State Street. Murdock politely pulled a chair out for Margaret, making sure she had the best view outside, as any gentleman would do.
“Would you like to sit here?” he asked.
“Why, thank you, Mr. Haley.”
Margaret sat down and Murdock took the seat across from her. While sitting there making idle conversation, they saw horse-drawn wagons, carriages, buggies, and an occasional stagecoach pass by, each carrying people of all types and of all walks of life.
“I guess it won’t be too long before the stagecoaches are totally replaced by electric trolleys,” Margaret said, as the 5:30 coach from Old Town came into view.
“You’re probably right,” Murdock replied. “And I’m not sure whether that’s gonna be a good thing or a bad thing. I suspect that it will be a little of both.”
“Yes, but I guess you can’t stop progress,” Margaret said. “I know one thing though: the heated trolley cars are sure nice in the winter. Even so, horses are sure a lot more reliable than those darn trolleys. I don’t know how many times I’ve had to wait on a broken-down trolley while another one came to the rescue. More times than I’d like to remember, I suspect. Although I love living with my mother in Glenburn, I sometimes wish I had a place here in Bangor, just so I wouldn’t have to waste so much time on the trolley.”
“Tell me about your mom,” Murdock said to Margaret after she mentioned her mother.
“She’s real nice. I live with her on Ohio Street, about 6 miles from downtown Bangor.”
“How is it, living at home?”
“It’s wonderful. I love living in the country, away from the hustle and bustle of city life. And my mother and I get along so well. She likes to gossip and tell stories; and so, may I add, do I. I just love listening to her stories, especially humorous ones. I try to come up with some of my own, every now and again, because I like to make her laugh. But I hav’ta admit, it’s hard to match her humor. Of course, after meeting you, I’ll for sure have a humorous story to tell her tonight.”
“And what might that be, if you don’t mind my asking?” Murdock responded quizzically.
“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough,” Margaret laughed.
“Here’s your order, miss,” the waitress interrupted. “And here’s yours, Murdy.”
“Thanks, Sarah,” he replied.
“What’s the matter, Sarah? Don’t you like me anymore?” Margaret asked.
The middle-aged waitress looked puzzled, and then her face lit up.
“Maggie! Well, I’ll be! It’s been a while. You look so different: so beautiful and ladylike now.”
“Well, thank you. Yes, it has been a while. I’m not that young schoolgirl you once knew.”
“I’ll say. You sure have blossomed,” she said. “What you been up to, Maggie?”
“I’ve been mostly stuck in Glenburn since I graduated from Bangor High: working for Old Man Smith. Until today, that is. I just started work here in the city: as a secretary at the Bangor Freight Station. It’s a real good job.”
“That’s wonderful. How long have you two known each other?” the waitress inquired.
“We just met. You know anything about this gent, Sarah?”
“You kidding? Every woman in Bangor knows about Murdy.”
“Is that right?” Margaret said with a curious look on her face.
“Wait a minute, I don’t think you should say any more, Sarah,” the blushing Canadian quickly interjected.
“No, I think she needs to say a whole lot more, Mr. Haley. Come on, Sarah, let’s hear it.”
“Well, Murdy here has been breaking hearts for years.”
“You don’t say!”
“Oh yes. Every decent woman in Bangor, and some not so decent, has been trying to get their hooks into him since he first moved here. I hope you have better luck, Maggie.”
Both Margaret and Murdock were now visibly blushing.
“Well, I’ve gotta get back to work now, before my boss throws a conniption fit. Good luck to the both of you. You make a real nice couple. I hope things work out.”
The waitress walked away grinning, and after a short pause Murdock was the first to speak.
“Now, what were we talking about? Oh yes, living with your mother. What’s your mother’s name, Maggie?”
“Eunice.”
“And, your father’s?”
“Edward. Edward Carver. But my father died in ’99; when I was 20.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Maggie. How did he die?”
“He died very sudden and unexpected like, but he always complained of stomach problems. We never knew exactly for sure what it was.”
“You say you were 20. Your father must’ah been a young man when he died.”
“Yeah, he was only 56.”
“How about your mother? She in good health?”
“Oh yes. Better than most; being 57 and all.”
“Do you have any sisters or brothers?”
“Yup, two sisters and a brother. My brother Bill, who was born in ’71, is the oldest; he’s 32. I lay right smack in the middle of my sister Mae, who was born in ’74, and Maude, who was born in ‘84. My mother tells everyone that Maude is 18, goin’ on 13.”
Murdock laughed and asked: “They married?”
“Mae is. She has two little ones—a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old, both girls—and another on the way. Bill’s still a bachelor. Tell me about your family, Murdy.”
“Here,” he said while reaching for his wallet, “I have a family photo I can show you. It was taken in the fall of ’90. That’s our home in the background. These are my parents: James and Elizabeth. This is Alice; that’s Jessie; that’s Edie; and that’s Georgianna. They’re the oldest. Harry here is older than me; and Arthur, next to him, is the youngest. I’m the good looking one standing next to my mother,” he joked. “I was born in ‘80, so I’m not quite as ancient as you, Maggie.”
“What do you mean?” she acted perturbed.
“From what you’ve been saying, I figure you were born in ‘79. Am I right?”
“You hit the nail right on the head, Mr. Haley. You must be a mathematical genius,” she joked.
“Close enough to one,” he joked back. “Anyway, the way I figure it, that makes me a year younger than you.”
“Maybe; maybe not? When’s your birthday?”
“May 28th,” Murdock answered.
“Hmmm. Let’s see, I was born January 26th, 1879; and you were born May 28th, 1880. Darn! Well, I guess this ancient girl is actually a little more than a year older than you. But from the way you act, a whole lot more than a year wiser.”
“Can’t argue with that logic,” Murdock laughed.
“Are your parents still in Canada, Murdy?”
“My father is, but my mother died in ‘92, when I was 12. And two of my sisters died then too: Jessie and Georgie. They all came down with cholera, during the epidemic.”
“Oh, that must’ah been very hard on you.”
“Yes it was. But I got through it.”
—2—
The young couple talked for another ten minutes about their families, and, after an hour or so of congenial conversation, Murdock was reaching for a clean napkin when he noticed his watch.
“My God! It’s almost seven! Idiot me, I’ve made you miss the trolley again,” he apologized.
“Oh, don’t go fretting yourself about that,” Margaret said. “I told my mother not to wait up because I wasn’t sure how long I’d be in Bangor today. Actually, in a way, it’s been my lucky day: I found a decent enough job, and, in turn, met a reasonably nice man.”
“I appreciate your saying that, Miss Carver, but if you ask me, I’m the lucky one. Most women wouldn’t have given me the time of day, let alone joined me for a cup of coffee.”
“Well, I probably wouldn’t have either, but you were not that much of a stranger to me. I couldn’t help but notice you stalking me in the station.”
“Yes, I guess I wasn’t being too subtle, was I? But that’s just me. If I see something I like, I go after it. Life’s too short not to, and I sure as heck wouldn’t want to miss out on a chance to meet a pretty thing like you.”
Margaret laughed and then hesitated before confessing: “Well, truth be known, I was happy that you showed interest in me. You’re not that bad on the eyes, and, besides, I could tell that you were a decent man.”
“You could, could you? How could you tell that?”
“Oh, I don’t know; your body language maybe? A woman has her ways I guess. Some call it women’s intuition.”
After being so engrossed in conversation and talking to well past 8pm, it was obvious to both that they were not only very compatible, but that they were uncommonly at ease with each other. And it was also clear that they enjoyed each other’s company immensely; so much so that after sharing a laugh with Margaret, Murdock reached across the table and gently touched her tiny hand without giving his actions a second thought. Normally she would have pulled her hand politely away from a recently met stranger, and she would have this time if it had been anyone else who was attempting to make intimate contact.
But this time something was different. This time she did not feel threatened. Instead, it felt right to her; so right that she also didn’t give his actions a second thought, other than a subconscious thought that what he had done was okay, indeed, even pleasurable. And that simple gesture by Murdock, followed by a tender parting kiss, and Margaret’s warm reaction to both, was to be the start of a whirlwind romance that would last nearly six months.