A Winter's Promise (18 page)

“
Go potty now, like a good girl, and maybe Albert will
sing to you when you get into bed,
”

There was no way this tired little girl could stay
awake another hour until Al came back. Maybe she
’
d
wake up before he left. Emma groaned. If Ellie got to say good-bye to him, she
’
d cry and cry when he hiked away.
But if she didn
’
t see him go, she
’
d
wake up, find him
gone, and still
cry. What was the difference. . .

“
Albert! Are you done eating? Come here!
”

Eventually he came, with Fred right behind him.

“
I need you to help me,
”
Emma whispered.
“
I want to
get Fred and Ellie to bed. They
’
ll settle down if you crawl
in with them and sing to them.
”

Albert frowned and stuck out his lower lip.

When Fred glanced away, Emma winked at Albert—meaning,
“
I
’
ll have a special reward for you.
”

Albert nodded and grinned.

For once Fred didn
’
t protest about nap time. He raced
into the bedroom, squealing and giggling, and Emma had to remind him to go potty first.

Why
on earth did Al have to go to his folks
’
house
for?
she wondered. He could have made a quic
k
stop on
his way to camp. When she put the baby up on her
shoulder, her arms were so weak she had to sit him on
her lap.

Al
’
s sock!
l
He wanted another pair. She
’
d have to
darn them. W
ith one hand
Emma
dropped
a
comforter
on the floor, straightened it wit
h her toe, and laid
the
baby on it. Maybe h
e would roll around contentedly.
It
was a good
time for him to be on the floor, while no one
would be opening the door to let in cold drafts.

Emma struggled to her feet. She could hear Albert singing, but the other two were quiet. Thank
goodness.
It was working.

Now, what could she give Albert for
a reward? Going
outside wa
s nothing unusual. Anyway, she
wanted him
to go out when Al came back. Paper and pencil?
That was
nothing new, either. There were only enough
pep
permints f
or one apiece after Al left. . .
Suddenly
she re
membered the wallpaper scraps Ma had sent a couple,
weeks ago,

That was it! She
’
d stir up a little flour and
water
paste, and let Albert paper something. But what? Men
tally, she roved the house. Ah. The little wooden box,
under her bed that held yarn
. He could cover the whole
thing with paper if he wanted to.

She tiptoed to the bedroom, pulled out the box,
dumped the yarn on the bed, winked at Albert, and tiptoed out again, her finger over her lips. Fred and Ellie had their eyes closed, but she feared they weren
’
t yet sleeping soundly.

She
’
d have to clear the table to give Albert room to
paste. All the while sh
e set the dishes in the dishpan
she
didn
’
t care if they
ever
got washed
, her mind spewed
out thoughts:
Doesn
’
t he think about what
goes on
here
after he
’
s gone? Does he just walk away and forget
us?
Sure, he can heave those water buckets up just like that,
and shovel out manure, but I don
’
t have his strength.
Doesn
’
t he realize I
’
m a woman? He didn
’
t even ask
me how
my
back was this morning. He doesn
’
t care, as
long as I
’
m walking around. Well, one of these days,
when I can
’
t keep going, he
’
ll be sorry!

Albert tiptoed out of the bedroom, grinning expec
tan
tly. Emma put her fingers to
her lips
again and mo
tioned toward the bedroom.

Albert put his
hand over his
mouth
and
drew his shoulders way up to his earlobes. He snuggled up to her,
and
she hugged him.

“
Come see,
”
she whispered. Mustering enthusiasm,
she showed him the wallpaper and box.
“
I
’
ll
make
some
paste for you,
”
she said, spooning flour into a cup. She
stir
red
it, then demonstrated with a small piece of wallpaper.
“
You lay it right side down and put paste on it.
Then
you lay it on the box, like this, and smooth it
down. You can cover the whole thing. Won
’
t that be pretty? I
’
ll give you a wet rag to wipe your fingers on.
”

While Albert pasted, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth, Emma rummaged through her mending basket for
a pair of Al
’
s heavy woolen socks.

When Albert started to talk, she quickly put her fin
gers to her li
ps.

“
I liketa paste!
”
he whispered.

She flashed him a tiny smile and nodded. When she finished the socks, she rolled them up.
“
Wipe your fingers, and you can tuck these in Papa
’
s turkey.
”

“
How come you
call Papa
’
s knapsack a
‘
turkey
’
?
”

Emma shrugged.
“
I don
’
t know who start
ed calling it that. But it kinda
looks like a turkey, doesn
’
t it?
”

He grinned, scampered over to get the socks and put them in the pack, and went back to pasting.

“
I
’
m going to lie down awhile,
”
she whispered. Albert frowned.
“
Your back hurtin
’
bad, Mama?
”

She nodded. Better that he be concerned about her
back than her state of mind.

Lying in bed, Emma realized that her back really
was hurting.
It could be aching so bad that I won
’
t
be able to get up by the time Al comes home, she
thought spitefully.
What would he do
if
I told him I
just couldn
’
t walk? I
’
d have to limp around and
pretend a bit.

She rolled the thought around awhile. It would serve him right. But the money—the horses! No. It was a silly idea. Al had to go back to camp.

For a few moments, Emma enjoyed the luxury of
lying still without a single demand on her. Then
her thoughts churned again. It was like a little voice
taunting,
“
He doesn
’
t care! He doesn
’
t care about
you or the little ones!
”

It was true that he hadn
’
t said a word about how
she would manage to do the work when he was
gone. He hadn
’
t said a thing, except that he had
dragged in hay. He never said,
“
Sure glad Molly
’
s,
calf didn
’
t come when you were alone.
”
Never said,
“
Think what could have happened if Fred hadn
’
t
dropped that razor, or you hadn
’
t come in when
you did?
”
It was as though it had never happened
as far as he was concerned.

A chill
still raced through Emma
when
the
scene
flashed into her mind. What if Fred
had
been badly cut?
He could have bled to death! Why, by the time, she could
have carried him to Grandpa
’
s house.... She groaned
and
buried her face in the pillow, trying to blot out the
horrible scene.

And Al hadn
’
t even mentioned it again!

“
Work!
”
she muttered.
“
That
’
s all he thinks about.
”
Ma
was so impressed because he was ambitious.
H
umphl There
’
s more to life than work and earning
money. What good is money
if
one of the little ones gets
hurt—or dies?

I should have thought about all those things before I
married him. Someone else would have come along
if
I
had waited. Come to think
of
it, Al always did take me
for
granted. That time at the box social, why, he acted
like he was doing me a big favor to buy my lunch and eat with me. Nothing shy about him ever. Sometimes I
wondered
if
he came to see me or Ma and Pa. He
’
d talk
and talk with them, and I
’
d get so mad! He wouldn
’
t pay
attention to me until it was time for him to go. Then he
’
d take my hand, and I
’
d walk down the drive with
him and listen to him tell about his big plans. I never
should have let him know I
liked him. I could have
kept him guessing, but
I was afraid he
’
d turn on his heel
and find someone who wouldn
’
t play games with him. I
just should have waited. Maybe I
’
d have seen then what
he was really like.

Pretty soon now he
’
ll come stomping in like nothing
is wrong. He
’
ll water the stock real quick, have a cup of
coffee, and hoist his turkey on his back. Then he
’
ll give
me a peck on the cheek, hug the children, and hike
off,
and probably never even think of us until he
’
s on his
way home again next Saturday.

“
I don
’
t want to watch him hike off,
”
she continued
aloud. “I’ll get up and put all
his things together and go
back to bed.
”

S
he
had to stop and admire Albert’s papering, of
course,
and
then she
pa
cked Al’s still-damp socks and
other clothes. She tied his lunch in a piece of
flour sac
k,
mixed more paste for Albert, and went back to bed.

Immediately her thoughts fell back into
the s
am
e
groove.
He
’
s not the
man I thought he was, but I’ll just
have to make the best
of
it for the children’s sake. . .

“
Papa!
”
Albert yelled when the door opened and Al strode in.

Emma didn
’
t move.

When Al shook her shoulder, she still didn
’
t move.
“
Em! Get up! I gotta talk with you.
”

She pretended to be asleep.

From the way he was panting, he must have run all
the way home.
“
Emma, get up!
”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

Frowning, Emma struggled to her feet.

Al put an arm close around her shoulders and led her
to the table. Then h
e leaned over and grasped both
of
her hands in his cold ones.
“
Listen!
”
he gasped.
“
How
’
d,
you like to board the teacher?
”
He had to catch his breath again.
“
I talked to Pa and Ma. And to Miss
Clark—Jenny. She
’
s willing to come and board here.
”

Emma
’
s head jerked up.
“
Board here?
”

“
Yeah! Look, Em, she
’
d be here mornings and even
ings, while you are out doing chores. Noon won
’
t be
so,
bad,
‘
cause you can get the little ones down for naps and
Albert can watch them.
”
He caught his breath again.
“
And you won
’
t be alone. If anything happened—you
needed help or anything—someone else would be
here.
”

Emma
’
s thoughts whirled.
“
But
where
would she sleep?
”

“
In the loft. I told her what it was like
—
that it would
be cold, but she said she didn
’
t mind. You could leave
the door open, so heat would go up.
”

“
But your folks—
”

^“
Pa’s sure put out. I think he likes Jenny’s co
mpany,
but Ma never did want to board her. They took her
‘
cause they were so close to the school. Of course, Ma
’
ll
miss the money.
”

“
Money?
”

“
Sure! She
’
ll pay two dollars a month.
”

“
Two dollars!
”

Al patted Emma
’
s cheek
“
I want that to be your mon
ey to buy dress goods and thread and yarn and whatever
you like.
”

“
Two dollars ... I could buy yards and yards of
goods.
”

“
Got any coffee left?
”

Emma sprang up so fast she almost knocked the chair
over.

“
Papa? What
’
s boardin
’
the teacher mean?
”
Albert asked, a piece of wallpaper dangling from his fingers.

“
That means letting Miss Clark stay here in our
house and letting her eat with us. She
’
s going to come
and live with us—unless your Mama doesn
’
t want her
to.
”

“
Oh, Al, you
know
I want her to come! I
’
m just so—
so surprised.
”

Emma
’
s hand shook so badly she could hardly fill
Al
’
s cup. She put it back on the stove. With her hands
over her face she began to cry, huge gulping sobs. Then
she felt Al
’
s arms around her.

“
Oh, Em, I was about crazy with worry. I didn
’
t know
what to do! We need the money so bad, but if anything
happened to you or one of the little ones. . .
”
His voice
broke.

“I
—
I
didn
’
t think you
cared!
”
she sobbed.

“
Didn
’
t think I cared? I never prayed so hard in my
life. I hardly slept at all
last night. Then, all of a sudden I remembered us talkin
’
about Jenny Clark, and how you
and the boys liked her. It had to be the answer to my prayers.
”

There w
as so much
Em
ma wanted to say, so much
she wanted to talk over with
Al. But now all
she coul
d do
was cry out
all
the
tension and anger. He held her
close and let her cry while Albert slipped down from the,
bench and ran in crazy circles yelling,
“
Miss Clark is gon
na live here! Miss Clark is gonna live here!
”
Fred and,
Ellie woke up, staggered out, and in moments were run
ning and yelling right with him.

Al and Emma, arms entwined, watched them and
laughed. After a long kiss, Al gently released her.
“
When
’
s she coming?
”
Emma asked.

“
I told
‘
em I
’
d stop b
y on my way to camp and let ‘em
know what we decided. Miss Clark said she
’
d come right,
away—this evening, if you want her to.
”

“
Oh, my goodness! I have to sweep up there and see
that there
’
s enough covers on the bed—and what on
earth
will
I cook for supper?
”