by Mercy Levy
“How was your day today?” Thomas asked as he pulled up to the house. He had a Christmas tree in the back of the wagon and was whistling a tune. Belinda was standing on the porch holding Hope bundled in a little jacket of her own.
She handed him the baby after he leapt down from the wagon seat and told him what they had done.
“She seems to enjoy watching me work around the kitchen. It’s nice putting her in that chair so she isn’t crawling around or getting into things she shouldn’t.” Belinda walked over to the tree and looked it over, and Thomas agreed.
“I thought you might find that helpful. I often kept her in the cradle when I was trying to get things done in the house. I must say it’s also quite nice getting to come here straight after school instead of stopping by to pick her up, too.” He gently patted Belinda on her back as he looked over her shoulder at the tree, then he handed Hope back to her.
“You take the baby, and I’ll find something to put this in. I thought it would be a nice touch to the living room, don’t you?” He didn’t wait for her answer, but started whistling another Christmas carol as he headed to the barn in search of a stand for the tree.
Belinda wrapped her shawl around her shoulders, with Hope nestled close, and took her back inside. It was getting cold, and she didn’t want the baby to feel chilled in the wind. Once inside, Belinda leaned over the cradle and set Hope inside then paused for a moment as she gently brushed the girl’s hair with her hand, letting her mind wander.
I wonder what it would have been like to know my daughter. She probably would have been like you.
But what happened to your mother? Thomas never mentions her. I’ve never asked, but there has to be something behind what happened. There has to be.
“What are you two doing?” Her thoughts were interrupted by Thomas as he walked in through the door. He was pulling the tree under one arm, and holding the tree stand in the other.
“Nothing, I was just making sure she settled into the cradle before we got busy on the tree.” She smiled as she rose and walked over to give him a hand with his burden. He smiled a gentle smile, and Belinda knew he was relieved she liked Hope.
As the two of them worked to set up the tree, Belinda tried to think of a way to ask about Hope’s mother. Nothing came to mind. Part of her wanted to ask him straight out, but it seemed that it would be accusing him of something. She had never told him of her past, so why should he be obligated to hell her about his?
Suddenly, an idea came to her.
“Have you had much trouble with the Indians up in these parts? I hear that they have been a little difficult in the past while.” She was hanging ornaments on hooks and handing them up to him, but he didn’t seem concerned.
“I suppose they have further north, but I don’t think we’ve had anything to report down here. Those people back East are certain that this place is wild and untamed, but trust me, I wouldn’t leave my wife and little girl out here if I thought there was any danger.” He smiled and winked at her, but Belinda felt confused.
Was he talking about her or his other wife?
“If I felt uncomfortable out here, would you mind if I came into town with you?” She asked suddenly, trying to get a feel for who he was talking about. He looked at her with curiosity in his eyes and nodded.
“I suppose if you thought it wasn’t safe, but what would make you think that?” He looked at her with one eyebrow raised, and Belinda suddenly felt herself blushing.
“A man on the train said there had been some attacks out in these parts, and if something came up, I just don’t want to be out here alone.” She looked down at the ornament in her hand, and Thomas put his hand over hers.
“Hey, you have to trust me on this. I would never let anything bad happen to you or Hope. If there were any sort of danger from the Indians, outlaws, or even wild animals, I would have you in town in a heartbeat. Do you trust me?” He looked at her inquisitively, and Belinda hesitated.
She wanted so desperately to ask about what happened to Hope’s mother, but she knew after this conversation it would be the worst time to bring it up, so she nodded.
“Yes, I trust you.”
She could see Thomas’s face relax, and he smiled.
“Good, because I think I might be falling in love with you.” He said softly and leaned forward, gently kissing her forehead.
“I have to get the outside chores done before it gets dark. I’ll be back soon.” And with that, he was gone, leaving Belinda alone with her thoughts. She closed her eyes, thinking about what he said.
Something had happened in her heart when he had told her he loved her, and she wasn’t sure what it was. It made her happy in a way, but she mostly felt confused… and uncertain.
Chapter 8 – Trouble
Belinda watched as Thomas put on his coat and buttoned it down to the bottom.
“I just wish you would stay today; it looks like it’s going to storm.” She said nervously, but Thomas assured her it was going to be just fine and that he had to go.
“There’s going to be children arriving whether there’s snow falling or not, and they have to have a teacher. You know I would rather stay here with you two, but I simply cannot. I am relieved that you are here with Hope now. I wouldn’t want her out in this.” He stood and smiled at Belinda, who tried to smile back.
“But it’s Christmas Eve. How much can there possibly be to do?” She asked, and Thomas laughed.
“It’s going to be a short day, that’s for sure. But I still have to go.” He looked at her with a smile, but Belinda looked away.
“Oh, come now, my dear. It’s not all that bad. Do you miss me while I’m gone?” He gave her his most charming smile, and she couldn’t help but smile in return.
“What if I do?” She asked playfully, and he kissed her on the forehead.
“I miss you, too, but as I said, I have a job I have to do, and there are going to be children there waiting. I’ll see you soon.” With final squeeze, he was off, leaving her alone on the prairie.
Belinda walked back into the house, watching through the window. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen, so she walked back into the living room and scooped Hope up in her arms.
Holding her close, Belinda whispered in her ear.
“It’s going to be ok Little One, I’m here. I’m here.” She cooed quietly; she hoped her nerves weren’t shining through, but with how tense Hope seemed, Belinda knew she had to be feeling a little outwardly nervous.
“Thomas is only going to be gone for a few hours, then everything’s going to be fine.”
The wind picked up, shaking the house violently as it did. Hope was startled awake by the sound and started crying, causing Belinda to stop what she was working on in the kitchen to come pick her up. She walked over to the window and looked out, concerned the storm was going to turn into a blizzard.
It didn’t look that bad now, at least Belinda didn’t think so. She had never witnessed a prairie blizzard, but she heard that they were fierce. There were blizzards in the fields around New York, but Belinda was always careful to remain indoors, so she wasn’t sure what to expect.
“It’s ok; it’s just the wind. It sure looks cold out there.” Belinda had gotten in the habit of talking to Hope as though she was old enough to answer. It made her feel less alone out on the prairie.
Suddenly, she jumped out of her skin as there was a pounding at the door. Feeling a surge of relief, she ran to the door and threw it open.
“Thomas!” She said, but then paled. It wasn’t Thomas who stood on the porch, but two Indians. They were dressed in pants only, feathers in their hair. One was wearing a quiver at his side with a bow in his hand, the other held a couple of dead rabbits by the ears.
“Shelter.” The one with the rabbits said. Belinda was terrified. She took a step back, holding Hope with both hands. The Indians took a step forward. Belinda felt her voice catch in her throat, and the Indian with the rabbits spoke once m
ore.
“Shelter.” He said, pointing to the house. Belinda was as white as a ghost, and desperately wanted to yell at them to go away, but she didn’t want to think about what would happen if she did.
“My husband will be home soon.” She said hoarsely. She reached for the door to close it, but the Indian with the bow held up his hand.
“No.” He said, Belinda felt her heart pounding, worried that she might faint.
Suddenly, the sound of a wagon filled their ears, and she turned to see who was coming up the road. To her relief, Thomas was in the wagon with his coat wrapped around him. She hoped that he had some sort of weapon he could grab without the Indians seeing.
The Indians both turned as he rode up, and Thomas held his hand up in the air in greeting. He leapt off the wagon and hurried up to the porch to see what was going on, and Belinda nearly cried for joy.
“Shelter.” The Indian with the rabbits said and pointed to the house. Thomas nodded and walked between them into the house, putting a hand on Belinda’s shoulder.
“Of course, come on in. My wife will get you something hot. Would you like tea or coffee?” He was talking as he pulled a couple of chairs up to the table in the kitchen, and Belinda took Hope and set her in her cradle.
“Coffee.” The Indian with the rabbits said. He and his companion walked into the kitchen, but neither one sat down.
“I need to put the horses in the stable, or this storm could freeze them. I’ll be quick.” Thomas explained after he poured coffee into two mugs. He handed one to one of the Indians, then the other mug to the other, and nodded to Belinda who gave him a pleading look.
With that, he was back outside, and Belinda felt alone once again. She didn’t know what to say to either one of them. It appeared they didn’t know English well, so she nervously walked back to the living room and picked up Hope.
Sitting down in the rocking chair, she began to hum a Christmas carol softly, trying not to think about the two Indians sitting in her kitchen.
Though it wasn’t more than a few minutes, it felt as though Thomas were outside for an eternity. Belinda could hear the Indians discussing something in their own language, but she couldn’t understand anything they were saying.
She prayed silently that they would leave soon.
Chapter 9 – Dark Secrets
Thomas sat down with the Indians in the kitchen, trying to determine just how much English they could speak. Belinda marveled at how calm he was, especially since one of the Indians had a bow and a set of arrows he had left sitting in the corner of the room.
Belinda didn’t want to be in the kitchen. She didn’t want anything to do with any of them. Part of her was relieved that Thomas was home, but another part of her was furious with him for allowing those men into their house. After all, she was a woman, and their little girl couldn’t possibly fend for herself.
She sat out in the living room next to the fire, doing her best to stay out of sight and out of mind.
She wondered what would happen if they were to do anything to Thomas. It seemed like such a risk to let them in like that, especially with the storm raging outside.
They would be able to do whatever they wanted to him or her… and no one would know for days or even weeks. And that was if they ever found out. Belinda glanced up at the clock on the mantle. It was still early, too early to put Hope to bed for the night.
What kind of Christmas Eve is this? I thought it was going to be cozy with the three of us, but here I am, sitting in my living room and fearing for my life. Belinda shook her head, trying not to have thoughts like that.
If the unthinkable happened, and Thomas allowed them to say the night, she didn’t know what she would do if she couldn’t get Hope to fall asleep. She continued to gently rock the child, but kept an eye on the kitchen in case things were to go wrong.
A few hours went by, and the wind died down. Belinda had had a large pot of stew over the fire, and Thomas had served two bowls to each of the Indians. They ate as though they hadn’t eaten in a very long time, and Belinda began to wonder more about them.
She certainly wasn’t going to ask, but she was still curious as to where the rest of their tribe was, or if they were going to bring them back. Thomas seemed perfectly at ease around these men, but every time she made eye contact with him, she tried to hint to him how upset she was by them being in the house, but he ignored her as much as possible.
The more Thomas avoided speaking with her, the more frustrated Belinda became. The only logical story of what happened to Thomas’s wife had to be related to the Indians, and the fact he was out there talking with these men now simply killed her.
At long last, one of the Indians rose, and Belinda could hear the other Indian and Thomas rise from their seats as well.
She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she saw Thomas shake hands with each of them and walk them toward the door. The Indian who had brought the rabbits held them out to Belinda.
“Thank you.” He said.
Belinda froze, completely unable to move. She was rocking Hope and felt as though her feet weight a thousand pounds. She looked helplessly at Thomas, who nodded toward the Indian.
The Indian repeated himself, holding the rabbits out once more. Reluctantly, Belinda rose with Hope still in her arms. She lifted the baby over her shoulder and supported her with one hand, then took the rabbits with the other.
“Thank you.” She whispered, and the Indian smiled, clearly pleased with the interaction. The other Indian gave her a nod, and Thomas finished showing them out the door. Belinda looked at the dead rabbits in her hand, feeling embarrassed.
She set them on the counter then laid Hope in her cradle before going back and grabbing a knife.
Her mind was running so quickly she could hardly keep up with it. On one hand, she was embarrassed that the Indians had left the rabbits with her. It would be hard for them to find any rabbits this time of the year, and the way they had eaten the stew proved how hungry they were.
But on the other hand, she hadn’t invited them into the house in the first place. In fact, she thought it rather rude that they came the way that they did and demanded to be let inside. It was her house, and she should have been able to say whether they could come inside.
She finished skinning one of the rabbits and started on the other, watching out the window for Thomas to come back in. He was in the barn finishing with the horses. Since he had hurried through the chores earlier, there was more for him to do now, but Belinda didn’t feel bad for him.
She was angry. Something had to have happened with his wife, or he couldn’t be so open to them coming into the house. Perhaps he was as afraid of them as she was. Perhaps he should have listened to her and not gone to school that day. Perhaps he should have taken her with him as she had requested.
After finishing with the second rabbit, Belinda put two hooks into the back of the legs and hung the meat out the back door to freeze. She lingered at the back door for a moment, looking at the snow fall gently to the ground now. It was a stark contrast to how it had been earlier.
Suddenly, she heard the door open and close. She took a deep breath and headed to the kitchen.
Belinda didn’t want to fight, especially not with Thomas, but she was furious, and she was going to get to the bottom of things.
Chapter 10 – A Christmas Miracle
“What do you mean, ‘what was I thinking?’” Thomas asked in surprise, looking at Belinda as though she was the one being unreasonable. Belinda crossed her arms, looking at him with anger in her eyes.
“You left me out here alone, and those men came. Anything could have happened, Thomas, anything!”
Thomas looked at her incredulously, then scoffed as he looked away.
“Belinda, you were fine. I knew you were going to be fine, or I never would have left you. I knew even if Indians did come to the house looking for shelter, you were going to be fine. The tribes in this area are peaceful; they aren’t going to hurt you
.” He looked at her, but her eyes were filling with tears.
“Is that what you told your other wife before she died?” She shot, and Thomas once again looked at her as though she had lost her mind. He put his hand to the back of his neck, and raised one of his eyebrows at her.
“My other wife? Belinda, you are the only wife that I’ve ever had.” He gave her a curious look, and Belinda gave him a sarcastic smile.
“I’m your only wife, really? And I suppose Hope just appeared out of nowhere then.” She scoffed now, looking out into the living room. Hope started crying, so she walked out and picked her up, soothing her as she did.
Thomas took a deep sigh, putting his hand to the back of his neck again. Finally, he began.
“Belinda, Hope isn’t my actual daughter. I adopted her about six months ago.” He paused, and Belinda shook her head.
“I didn’t see any orphanage around here, and you said in your letter that you wanted someone to make your family feel complete. Why would you adopt a child when you feel they need a mother before you have a wife?” She felt she had trapped him, but Thomas was calm.
“I wasn’t going to adopt a child, it just happened. You see, an older couple by the name of Tempel came out about a year ago. They had little Hope with them having just adopted her from a place back in Georgia. We became friends, and I was pretty much Hope’s godfather.” He spoke gently, and Belinda felt her heart skip a beat. He continued.
“Illness happens out here on the prairie, and not everyone is able to pull through without a doctor. I did everything I knew how to do, but it wasn’t any good. Hope became an orphan twice in just the first six months of her life. Of course, I couldn’t risk something else happening to her, so I took her in myself. You know how the rest goes.”
Belinda felt her chest tighten. She was trying to piece things together, but she needed to know more.
“Did this couple… the Tempels… did they ever say where Hope came from?” She gasped out the words, and Thomas thought for a moment.
“I guess it was considered a scandal. Hope came from a young girl who was betrothed to some rich man. I don’t know the full circumstance, I just know the girl’s mother wasn’t happy with the situation and passed them the little girl quickly.” He looked away, and Belinda felt her eyes brim over with tears.
