A Bride For The Asking -- (on hold)

Chapter 19--A Deal Is Struck

            “We’re going to open our restaurant in a tent?”  If Ike turned into an elephant, Aunt Mary couldn’t have been more astonished.

            “Sure.  And, why not?”  Ike shrugged.  “Half the businesses in this town first opened their tent flaps long before they had doors to open, Woman.”

            “But how…..?” Aunt Mary gaped at him, not knowing quite how to phrase her next question.

            “Easy.  We put three tents together.  One for the dining room.  One for the kitchen itself.  And, one for storage.”

            He watched as Aunt Mary stared at the empty, muddy lot Ike Jorgenson had brought her to see with dismay. He saw her trying to picture what he had envisioned and couldn’t.  Her mind twirled like a windmill, he thought, with ideas, obstacles, hopes, and despair.  Her confusion was obvious.

            Ike saw all that written on her face, and wanted to nip that right in the bud. 

            “The start-up costs would be minimal.  The cost of the three tents.  We can have tables and benches made to order.  A Stove.  Some work tables.  We can save any empty boxes to re-use as storage shelves.” 

            He watched the look in her expressive features turn calculating as she caught the first hint of his vision, and pressed her hard.  “All the profits we can funnel into building a real restaurant.  In the meantime, we will be building up a clientele.”

            Ike knew the moment Aunt Mary began to see what he was talking about.  But that brought up other issues she wanted settled right then.  “Why are you doing this for me, Mr. Jorgenson?  And, I want an honest answer.”

            “For you?  Hell, Woman, whatever gave you that idea?”  Ike put on his best poker face for Mary McGregor.  “This is an opportunity for us both to make some money.  I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with this piece of property I own.  Why does there have to be any other reason than that?”

            “Because I know men,” she declared.  “I want everything in writing, with a copy for each of us.  I don’t want no misunderstanding six months from now.”

            Ike grinned down at her in appreciation.  She was smart as a fox.  He liked that.  No shyster would be pulling the wool over her eyes, he thought in satisfaction, and then realized glumly that that meant him as well.  He laughed out loud suddenly at his own quandary in regards to her, startling Aunt Mary enough that she flinched away from the sudden sound of his laughter. 

            “OK.  Then we have a deal, Mary McGregor?” Ike asked, spitting into his palm and offering it to her.  Mary looked down disdainfully at his hand, and very reluctantly eased her own much smaller one into it with a shudder.  Ike’s hand closed around hers like a trap and he saw a flash of regret he was never meant to see.  Was she thinking of her late husband, he wondered?  Or, was she already regretting her decision to go into business with him.  Whatever the look was, it disappeared almost as quickly as it had came.  She gave Ike a watery smile and said: 

            “Yes.  We have a deal.  Now can we go somewhere less noisy and muddy to work out the details?”

            Ike looked around him then, and saw the boardwalks and streets bustling with traffic, all slowing down to see Big Ike Jorgenson standing in the middle of main street holding a beautiful woman's hand.  Funny, he hadn't even noticed where they were until she said something.  Quickly, he directed her back to the boardwalk, and then back towards the way they had come. 

            He took her back to the hotel, where they sat in an inconspicuous corner of the small lobby and worked out the details of their agreement, dollar amounts involved, and a hundred other minor points they had to work out between them.  It took a while, but at last the agreement was finished and they each took a signed and witnessed copy of the contract away with them.  Aunt Mary to her hotel room.  Ike back to his saloon where he had living quarters on the upper floor.

            As Ike sat down in his favorite chair, with a double shot of brandy to keep him company, he felt very satisfied with this day’s work.  Mary McGregor.  God, what a woman.