A Winter's Promise (17 page)

Anger
threatened to crowd out her disappointment,
but Emma choked it ba
ck and wiped her eyes with her a
pron.
“
Oh, Al, hurry
up!
”
she whispered as she stared
out at the gleaming whiteness, oblivious of its beauty.

Beyond her eagerness to talk to him lay a more pro
found reason for wanting him back in the house. As
soon as Al and the boys came in, the dark thoughts, al
ways at the edge of her consciousness, would recede
—
the thoughts about God. Eve
ntually, she would have to fa
ce those awful doubts, but not now. If God wasn
’
t go
ing
to help her, she had to help herself by having it out
w
ith Al.

When she heard them coming, she quickly tried to
rehearse what she would say to Al after dinner. Into the
kitchen they tramped, red cheeks glowing, noses run
n
ing, the boys laughing and shoving each other. Emma
pulled out a piece of soft rag from her apron pocket.
“
Blow,
”
she ordered each in turn.

“
Star
’
s eatin
’
already,
”
Albert said,
“
but her legs are
real wobbly.
”

Emma chuckled.
“
Your legs were more than wobbly
the day you were born! You didn
’
t walk for almost a year. This little calf can walk the very first day.
”

Albert hung up his coat, which promptly fell off the
hook He ignored
it.

Emma pointed to it.

He sighed and hung it up, saying,
“
Calves are smarter
than people, huh?
”

Emma tried to hide her smile.
“
Well, not really. Just in some ways. Nature knew mama cows couldn
’
t carry
their babies like people can, so calves have to be able to
walk right away.
”

“
Oh,
”
he said,
looking puzzled.
“
What
’
s
‘
nature
’
?
”

“
Ah. . .
nature is, nature
is. . .
God.
God
made every
thing.
”

“
Then why don
’
t people just say
‘
God
’
instead of say
ing
‘
nature
’
?
”

Before she could come up with an answer, she heard
Al stomping off snow in the lean-to.
“
Quick! Wash your
hands before Papa comes,
”
she said as she poured water
for them.

“
Calf looks good,
”
Al announced.

“
How
’
s Molly?
”

“
Fine.
”

Emma heaved a sigh of relief.

“
I dragged in enough hay to last you this week,
”
he said rolling up his sleeves.

As sh
e dished up the vegetables, Emm
a muttered to herself,
“
I need a lot more than hay dragged in from the
stack.
”
Then more loudly she said,
“
Hurry up, boys.
Come and eat.
”
But as soon as Al finished washing his
hands, he began swinging the boys on his long arms un
til they squealed with delight. Ellie clung to his leg, squealing, too.

Emma scooped her up and set her at the table, but El
lie screamed and tore off the dish towel Emma tried to
tie around her neck. She wanted a ride on Al
’
s arm.

“
Just one ride?
”
Al said, and lifted her down from her
chair.

While Ellie rode, the boys tackled his legs. When he
set Ellie down, he made a ferocious face, growled, and
grabbed a boy in each a
rm and pinned them to the floor.
Ordinarily Emma thoroughly enjoyed their horseplay
but now, one eye on
the clock, she yelled,
“
Come on!
Dinner
’
s getting cold!
”

She bribed Ellie with a piece of bread and syrup and
managed to get her seated, the dish towel securely tied.

“
The baby will be crying any minute now,
”
she mut
tered. How he could sleep through this commotion, she
didn
’
t know.

Finally, breathless and flushed, the boys slid behind
the table on the bench. Al sat down, looked at
her
in
t
ently, and said,
“
Y
ou know, we didn
’
t ask the blessing
last night or this morning.
”

Emma dropped her eyes and nodded. Did Al suspect
she wasn
’
t on speaking terms with God? She tensed. What if he asked her to pray? Relief washed over her
w
hen she heard his deep voice.

“
Fat
her, forgive us for forgetting
to thank You. We do
than
k You for this food and for
all
You
have given to
us. And, most of all, we thank You for sending Jesus. In
Jesus
’
name we pray. Amen.
”

He
picked up his fork and shook it at the boys.
“
Boys! That was a terrible thing we did, forgetting to pray and to
thank God. He
has
to
have first place in our lives. We
just can
’
t forget Him like that. We better not get so
caught up with other things. . .

His words drifted past Emma as she poked the meat
plate at him. A sermon, yet! Absentmindedly he took the plate.
“
. . .
and when we forget to thank Him. . .
”

Emma
’
s jaws tightened as she cut her meat. She chewed a bite and forced it down.
“
He could have at
least prayed for our safety,
”
she grumbled to herself. An
ger brought a sting
of tears, and she blinked furiously.

“
Hey! I forgot to tell you!
”
Al boomed.
“
I
had my picture taken last week. The whole camp did.
”

The boys
’
eyes widened.
“
You did?
”

Al nodded.
“
A photographer—that
’
s a man who
takes pictures
—
came out to the camp. The woods boss
ordered us to load up a sleigh for the picture, and we all
stood around it. You should have seen that load!
‘
Course we were just showin
’
off—the horses couldn
’
t have pulled that load, but it looked good. Didn
’
t get much work done that afternoon.
“

Emma frowned. Al hadn
’
t even taken a bite, and it was after twelve. Only two hours till he had to leave, and he hadn
’
t watered the stock yet.

“
You gonna get a
picture, to bring home?
”
Albert asked,
Fred waved his spoon.
“
Kin I see it?
”

“
How
’
s it get outta the camera?
”
Albert asked before
Al could answer either question.

“
Can
’
t tell you now,
”
Al said, glancing at the clock.
“
I
gotta eat. There
’
s a lot to do yet.
”

“
Thank goodness,
”
Emma said to herself when she
saw him shovel in his food.
“
Are you leaving about
two?
”
she asked.

He nodded.
“
I could
use
an extra pair of socks this week,
”
he said with his mouth full of food.

Albert started to protest, but Emma shushed him.
“
Papa knows he shouldn
’
t talk with his mouth full, but
this is an emergency.
”

“
What
’
s a
‘
mergency?
”

“
It
’
s when something has to be done
right now
.
”

“
Like when we gotta pick up our
blocks
right now?
”

“
Well ... not exactly. I
’
ll explain it better later. I hear
Georgie crying.
”

Emma took a quick gulp of coffee and went to tend
the baby. The sooner she got him changed and quiet, the
sooner she could talk with Al. Should she get Fred and
Ellie down for naps and let Albert go out to play before
she tried to talk with him?

“
Such a good little boy,
”
she crooned to George, as she
laid him on the bed. He stopped crying and grinned.

She heard the door slam. With deft movements she
lifted the baby by the ankles, pulled out the soggy diaper,
and whipped a dry triangle under him. She pulled the
three corners together, pinned it, and swept him into her arms.

When she returned to the table, Al
’
s place was emp
ty!
“
Papa go out already?
”
she said, wondering if the boys would sense her dismay.

Albert nodded.
“
He said he was going to Grandpa
’
s,
and we couldn
’
t come along.
”

“
To Grandpa
’
s!
”
Emma whirle
d and
headed
back to
the bedroom, too angry to cry.
Less than
two
hours lef
t,
and he goes to
his pa
’
s.
Even with his long legs, it would
take him nea
rly twenty minutes one way, and
he
’
d talk
awhile, and the stock hadn
’
t even been watered.

The baby screamed, and she swayed with him in her
arms until her legs began to tremble so badly that she
staggered to the rocker. Of course, the boys were squab
bling and Ellie had climbed down from her chair and
was
crying and tugging at the towel around her neck. Emma untied it with one hand.