Myrtle bit her lip.“I’d really like to bake.Maybe I could even have a bakery.”
“That would work,” Belle said.“The way we work money is we all share everyone’s profits, and we all share the food we make.Agnes and I both have cold houses.The ice isn’t very deep into the ground, and it’s always there, even in summer.The men dug out pits in the ground and then built stone walls around them.The meat stays good year-round this way.”
“That’s really smart!”Myrtle said, nodding.“So, if I bake, I share a loaf of bread with everyone and sell the rest at the store?”
“Exactly,” Belle said.“Unless someone wants to do their own baking, which is fine.The men in the area are always looking for sweet treats.You could bake pies, cakes, bread, and anything else you can think of.It’s always sold the day we take it to Mrs.Johnson, and she splits the profits between us.”
Myrtle nodded.“What about the cost of supplies?”
“She takes all that into account.It’s been really nice to partner with her on these things,” Agnes said.
“Then I’m going to bake,” Myrtle said.“Everyone needs to let me know if they want a share of what I bake.”
“For now, we all will,” Belle said.“We’re all pushing hard to be finished before winter.For your own meals, we’ll all choose the meat we want from the stores we have.There’s plenty of smoked salmon, and even some just frozen.We have moose, duck, and venison.Maggie and Sally usually choose what they want the day they plan to cook, and everything stays cold until then.”
Agnes nodded.“And don’t worry about taking the meat, even if you didn’t help provide it.Everyone shared with me when I arrived, and we’ll share with the next to come, if more do.I think we’re too late in the year for more, but we’ll share all we have even as we get more for the winter.”
Myrtle smiled.“Thank you for that.I was surprised that Aaron had no food at all.”
Josie nodded.“Neither did Malcolm.”
Belle frowned for a moment.“I’m only going to need a couple of loaf pans if you’re taking on the baking, Myrtle.I’m going to give you the others I have.It will help you get a good start.”
“Oh, thank you!”Myrtle said.“That will help me a lot!”
“I have some extras as well,” Maggie said.“Will you just bake bread, or do you plan to bake sweets as well?”
“I plan to bake everything I can.I’ve already talked to Aaron about getting a second oven.”Myrtle sighed.“Oh, how I wish I could have a dedicated bakery, but that’s not going to work for a while.”
Belle shrugged.“I’m sure the men would build it for you, but it would make more sense to wait until spring.”
“Then I’ll revisit the idea in the spring,” Myrtle said.“I like the idea of having tables for people to eat.Maybe a soup every day.”
Maggie looked at Myrtle, shaking her head.“You’d need a partner for that.Someone to serve tables and make soups.I think it’s possible, but you’d only want to be open at breakfast, lunch, and supper times.And it would be a lot of work.”
“More work than waiting tables at the hotel?”Myrtle asked.
“Maybe...wait for someone who has the same vision you do,” Belle said.“I think you’d be biting off more than you can chew.”
“I’ll wait then.If someone is willing to go in with me, that will happen down the road.For now, I’ll bake bread and sweets and see how they do at the store in town.”
They moved on to other topics, but Myrtle couldn’t shake the idea of wanting to sell her bread and desserts to people directly and not through the store.Though, it made a great deal more sense to follow the pattern the others had set.Soon, she’d be able to decide if it worked for her or if she wanted to do things differently.
Myrtle left their meeting with a stack of loaf pans from Maggie, with a promise from Belle to bring more.Each of the ladies wanted her to bake them a loaf of bread per day, at least until the foraging, fishing, and hunting were done for the year.
As she walked home, she made a mental list of things she needed to accomplish that day.First, she needed to get the laundry taken care of.After the long trek from Skagway, her clothes could almost stand up on their own, and she knew Aaron’s weren’t much better.
She carried in water and put it on the stove to heat as she stripped the bed and gathered everything that needed to be washed.
Myrtle was in the process of hanging the clothes out to dry when Belle called out to her.“I brought pans and some venison and vegetables for your supper.I know you bought other necessities at the store.”
“Oh, thank you!I hadn’t taken the time to think about what I’d fix for supper tonight.”
“I figured as much.I’m making sure to take some meat and vegetables to all the ladies who just arrived.”
Myrtle looked at Belle for a moment.“Is there truly enough food for all of us?I don’t want to take what you’ve worked so hard to store.”
“We’ll be fine,” Belle said.“Two of us will be hunting, and I won’t be baking bread.Maggie will watch the baby for me since she needs to rest for a little longer.We’ll get a lot done.”
