“Alright.”
As soon as Erin and Gary left the kitchen, Woape undid the strings of her purse and pulled out the small bag of ginger. She placed it next to the pie left out on the counter to cool and opened it. Just as she dipped her finger into the brown powder, Julia ran into the room.
“What are you doing?” Julia snapped.
Woape ignored her and got ready to put the ginger under her tongue.
Julia grabbed her hand. “What is this?” She glared at Woape. “Poison?”
Woape had no idea what ‘poison’ meant, but she shoved Julia away from her. What right did Julia have to be in her business? She wasn’t doing anything to hurt anyone.
Julia slapped her. “You will not poison me or my family!”
Months of animosity finally got the better of her, and before Woape had time to think, she slapped Julia back.
Julia grabbed the bag of ginger and dumped it in the sink.
What right did Julia have to do that? Woape tried to slap her again, but Julia stopped her and grabbed both of her wrists. Woape struggled to free herself but Julia’s grip was too strong. Another image flashed in her mind. Hothlepoya had grabbed her wrists too and threw her down to the ground.
“No!” Woape screamed and grabbed Julia’s hair. Never again would she allow someone to bind her. She forced Julia’s face into the pie. “No!”
Someone grabbed her and pulled her off of Julia who gasped for air. The sudden movement was all Woape needed to throw up on the floor.
“What did you do to her?” Gary yelled at Julia.
Julia wiped the pumpkin from her eyes. “She was going to poison us!”
Erin ran to grab two hand towels. She handed one to Julia and wet the other one before wiping Woape’s cheeks and chin. “I’m sure she wasn’t going to poison us.”
From there they spoke too fast for Woape to figure out any of the words they said. Not that she could focus much on the angry shouts between Gary and Julia or the frantic pleas from Erin who cleaned the floor. Woape’s skin was clammy. Though her stomach no longer bothered her, she didn’t have the energy to stand on her own so she rested against Gary who held her.
Gary used a tone that told Woape he’d had enough. He picked her up. “We are going home, and we will be home for Christmas.” Then he carried Woape out of the kitchen.
Chapter Twelve
The following Monday, Gary went to work, and on his way there, he caught sight of Julia leaving her home. Before he had time to talk himself out of it, he rode up to her and slid off his horse so he could speak with her.
“What did you do to Woape?” He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He promised himself he wouldn’t let his anger get in the way of a civil conversation. Clearing his throat, he spoke in a milder tone. “What happened on Thanksgiving?”
Julia stuffed her hands into the pockets of her coat. “She was trying to poison us.” She shook her head and snapped, “I know you don’t believe me. Aunt Erin doesn’t believe me either. But you don’t have to believe in gravity for it to exist.”
He rolled his eyes. Leave it to his sister to make that kind of analogy. “If Woape wanted to poison me, she would have done it by now. I’ve been in the same house with her for two months, and I’m as healthy as ever. In fact, I actually feel better. I don’t know what she puts in the food, but it tastes great and has done me a lot of good.”
“She doesn’t want to poison you...apparently,” she conceded. “But she was ready to put something into the pie.”
“You saw her put poison into the pie?”
“I said she was about to. She dipped her finger into some brown powder and held it up to her face.”
He blinked. “Was it in a small bag?”
“Yes.”
“You know something. You need to stop jumping to conclusions. She likes to taste that spice from time to time.”
“Maybe she’s building up an immunity to it, so she can eat the same thing as us and not die.”
The notion was so preposterous that he laughed.
She frowned. “There’s nothing funny about it. There are poisons that you can take in small doses so that they no longer affect you.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sakes. It’s not poison. It’s ground ginger.”
“Ground ginger?”
“Sure. I saw her get it from the store.”
“What would she be doing eating it? Shouldn’t she be putting it in food?”
“She doesn’t feel good sometimes. She puts a bit of it under her tongue and then she feels better. It’s one of those things she learned while growing up. It actually works. I had a stomach ache and she gave it to me. It settled my stomach right down.”
Julia looked as if she didn’t know whether to believe Gary or not. “She could be getting you used to it too.”
Was she still sticking to this story? Gary couldn’t believe it. “Woape is not trying to poison anybody.”
“She hates me.”
“I don’t blame her.”
She gasped.
“Are you surprised? You go into the kitchen and attack her.”
“I was protecting us.”
This was getting them nowhere. “Look, whether you like it or not, Woape is my wife, and you need to be nice to her.”
“I’m your sister.”
And how he’d tried to forget! But he held his tongue. He needed to find a resolution. He was going to spend the rest of his life in this town which meant he had to run into his sister, and he didn’t want to be bickering with her a good thirty years from now. After the urge to retaliate subsided, he asked, “Will you try to work with Woape? She’s learned some words now. Maybe if you two talked, things could be bearable when we have to get together again for Aunt Erin’s sake. It wouldn’t hurt you to extend the hand of friendship.”
“Did you give your wife the same lecture you’re giving me?”
He groaned. “I’m not lecturing you.”
“Yes, you are. Despite what you think, I’m not stupid. I can see what Woape is up to, even if you can’t. There’s something going on with her, and it’s not good.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that she’s conniving and dangerous.”
“She is not!”
Their aunt emerged from the house. “I can hear you two arguing from the kitchen. What is the problem?”
He rubbed his eyes. “I’m trying to get Julia to talk to Woape.”
Erin tightened the shawl around her shoulders and shook her head. “Julia, go on to the store. I must speak with Gary.”
“Gladly,” Julia said and headed down the road.
His aunt turned to him. “I’m afraid there’s no way to get those two to get along. I’ve talked to Julia. She insists that Woape was going to put something harmful into the pie, and no amount of reasoning will work with her.”
“So you know Woape wasn’t trying to do anything bad?”
“Oh, of course she wasn’t. But Julia is convinced that she was.” She sighed and gave a slight shrug. “I really don’t know how to reason with your sister.”
“That’s because she’s unreasonable.”
A grin crossed her face. “You don’t know her as well as I do, Gary. Sure, she has her moments...and Lord knows she’s irrational when it comes to Woape...but deep down, she does her best. She’s not a bad person. You just haven’t seen that side of her.” She paused for a moment and tightened the shawl around her shoulders. “She was deeply hurt when you left.”
He blinked. “What?”
“Well, it’s true. You were her last connection to your parents, and when you left, it was as if your parents died all over again.”
“That’s ridiculous. I’m her little brother.”
“A little brother she took under her wing and loved with all her heart. She gave up a lot for you. You just don’t realize it because you were too young to understand a woman’s heart.”
He didn’t know whether to accept this premise or
not, but his aunt obviously did. “I’m not a kid anymore. I’m a grown man who can take care of himself.”
“But you never told her you were leaving. You just got up and left one morning and wrote a note. How was she to prepare for the fact that you grew up?”
It always came back to that morning. He didn’t realize it was so important he made a formal good-bye. It wasn’t like he never planned to come back. He said he would. He just hadn’t specified when.
“Anyway, try to remember that there are two sides to every story,” Erin softly said. “Things aren’t always as they seem. As for Julia and Woape... It’s not that far-fetched to understand why Julia panicked. I don’t know what Woape was doing with that bag’s contents, but-”
“It’s ground ginger. She uses it to calm her stomach. So there’s nothing to worry about.”
She frowned. “Calm her stomach? Is being around Julia making her so nervous she gets sick?”
“I don’t think so. She’s been taking it a lot lately.”
“She doesn’t look ill, and she didn’t take it when she lived here.” She motioned to the house. “It started after you two got married.”
“Right.”
“Is she expecting a child?”
“No.”
“How do you know? Did you ask her?”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t have to ask. She would tell me.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Why wouldn’t she?”
“Does she know the words to tell you that she’s with child?”
He furrowed his eyebrows. Did she? Mentally working through the words Woape knew, he realized that words like ‘baby’ and ‘pregnant’ weren’t in her vocabulary. Excitement spread through him as he considered the possibility. Could it be true? Funny, how he hadn’t thought about being a father. He should have expected it. After all, he and Woape certainly spent enough time together in bed to make sure such a thing happened.
Erin nudged him in the arm. “You should ask her.”
Of course, he’d ask her! He couldn’t wait to get off work so he could. Work! He quickly glanced at his pocket watch. “Alright, Aunt Erin. I’ll talk to her when I get home. I better go before Edward gives my job to someone else.”
“And I’ll try talking to Julia again, but don’t expect me to do that today. She needs time to calm down.”
What else could he expect? But at the moment, he didn’t care. If his aunt was right, then he was going to have a son or daughter next year. He wondered when that would be. He and Woape married on September 22. At the most, it would be a little over two months. So the baby would be born in the early summer.
As he headed over to his employer’s, he reminded himself that he couldn’t jump the gun. It was possible that Woape wasn’t pregnant. It really could be the stress with adjusting to her new life and having to deal with Julia that was making her sick. But as much as he tried to keep his imagination in check, he couldn’t help but run through the possibilities of having a child. He could teach a boy to ride a horse and shoot a gun.
But the child might be a girl. He didn’t know what he’d do with a girl. He shrugged. If the child was a girl, he’d figure something out. Maybe he could teach her to ride a horse. Woape did it, so the notion wouldn’t be foreign to her if he wanted to teach their daughter to ride too. He stopped in front of the building he worked at, tied the reins to the post, and patted his horse. This would make a fine horse to train on.
After another admonition to wait until he verified Woape was even expecting a child, he turned his attention to the matter at hand. No one would be doing any good if he didn’t get to work on time. Time for dwelling on the ‘what if’s would come soon enough.
***
Woape finished working on the blanket she was making when Gary came home. She set aside the blanket and stood up from the rocking chair in the parlor so she could help him. To her surprise, he gently took her hands before she could reach for his coat. He looked so excited that she wondered what could possibly be on his mind.
He smiled and patted her stomach. “Baby?”
Her breath caught in her throat. Was he asking what she was afraid he was asking? She pulled her hands away from his and stepped back. She wasn’t ready for this. She wasn’t even sure if she’d ever be ready. Only if she gave birth and knew this was his child could she be fully ready.
Taking off his coat and hat, he placed them on the hooks along the wall and approached her. “Woape?” He paused and then, looking inspired, he made a cradling motion with his arms. “Baby?”
She watched him, unsure of what to say. She knew what he meant, but the fact that he didn’t know that bought her a few seconds of time. Should she tell him that yes, she was with child but no, she didn’t know if it was his? He was obviously thrilled with the notion of being a father. Would he be pleased if he knew the truth? She placed her hand over her stomach. She just might throw up if she had to tell him.
“Are you sick?” he quickly asked. He led her to the chair in the parlor and prompted for her to sit.
Before she could argue, he ran to the kitchen and picked up the bag of ginger she’d placed on the counter with the other herbs and spices she’d lined up. How did he figure out that she used the ginger to deal with the sickness the baby caused? She didn’t think men cared for things pertaining to pregnancy.
He hurried to her and handed her the bag. Then, even more startling to her, he picked up her blanket and wrapped it around her waist and legs. “Rest.”
“Eat,” she protested, ready to throw the blanket off. Yes, food would be a good distraction. Maybe it would make him forget his question if he realized his favorite stew was simmering on the cook stove.
But he stopped her before she could stand up. “I can get it. You rest.”
She just couldn’t believe it. No matter how much she wanted to look away, she couldn’t. She’d never seen him this excited.
“Woape,” he whispered, kneeling in front of her and peering up at her with undeniable hope in his eyes. “Baby?”
She lost heart to tell him what he should probably know. Maybe there was no need to tell him. Maybe this was his child. If that was the case, then what was the point in making him upset? Should she deliver the child and see that it wasn’t his, then she would tell him. Pushing the nagging voice aside telling her she needed to warn him now, she finally nodded.
He practically jumped for joy and started speaking so fast that she couldn’t figure out what he was saying. After a good minute of his rambling, he glanced in her direction and laughed. Then he pointed to the steps and went to get something.
She didn’t care what he was doing. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she looked out the window—her gaze turned to the sky. Once again, she prayed to Gary’s God that this child was truly his.
Chapter Thirteen
May 1898
Woape opened her eyes that morning, reluctant to get out of bed. By the position of the sun, she knew it was an hour past dawn. The movement in her womb filled her with dread. The baby would be born in a month and a half. She wasn’t ready. Time had passed much too fast. When the baby was born...if Hothlepoya was the father...would she be able to tell? Would Gary be able to tell?
Gary came into the bedroom and smiled. “You slept well.”
“It is easy to sleep with you,” she slowly replied, testing out each word before she spoke. She worked hard to learn his language and felt that she was progressing well.
“I know. You snore.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “Snore?”
He closed his eyes and pretended to snore to show her the meaning of the word.
Gasping, she picked up her pillow and threw it at him.
He laughed as he dodged it.
“I no snore,” she insisted. “Women no snore.”
He chuckled and slid under the covers so he could pull her into his arms. “Women do snore. Julia does.”
“Julia not...” She didn’t know the c
orrect term for what she wanted to convey, so she settled for finishing, “Julia not like women.”
“What?”
He looked much too amused to give this particular conversation any serious thought, so Woape gave up. Besides, maybe she did let out a little noise in the night, but it was feminine, she was sure. Even so, there was no need to admit that to him.
“I don’t care, Woape,” he whispered, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “I love you.”
Relaxing, she giggled. “You snore more.”
“Yes. I do. And louder.” He gave her a light kiss. “You make me happy.”
Now this was much better than talk of snoring. “You make me happy too,” she carefully said, trying to place the words in the right place.
“Good.” He let his hand trace down her body until he cupped her rear end and squeezed. “You feel nice.”
“You no hungry?” Usually, the day didn’t begin until he ate, and where he put all the food he ate, she didn’t know.
“I’m cooking this morning.”
“What? Why?”
“You are tired.”
“No. I woke up.”
His eyes twinkled as he pulled her closer to him. “You will be tired.”
His meaning dawned on her at the same time he reached up to unbutton her nightgown. Her pulse raced in anticipation. She liked being with Gary this way. At first, it was a way to feel close to him, to push Hothlepoya from her mind. The memory of Hothlepoya—how he touched her with demanding hands—had eased over the months she was with Gary. Gary wasn’t always soft. There were times when his passion led him to be forceful, but it was different with him than it had been with Hothlepoya. With Gary, there was the underlying care for her. Hothlepoya never cared for her; he only cared for what she could give him, whether it be her body or servitude.
But that was all in the past. She was with Gary now, and that meant she was safe. She eagerly responded to Gary and sat up to remove her clothing. Then she waited for him to undress before she settled next to him. She was relieved that he no longer checked her back to make sure her wounds had healed. She had told him how the welts got there. The scars would always be there, but if that was the only reminder of what Hothlepoya had done to her—if the child wasn’t also going to be a reminder—then she could bear all the physical scars in the world.
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