by E A Lake
“Would you consider talking to him about it, Sister?” Mary jumped in.
“I suppose I could. I don’t have much to lose except my pride, I guess. I’m sure I know his answer already. I can see where I owe it to the group to at least try.” Theresa sighed and shook her head. “What a strange twist of events we find ourselves in. I guess it never crossed my mind that there would be issues like this so far out in the country.”
Hunter woke to the sound of a screaming baby. He pried his eyes open. The absolute darkness on the porch told him that it had to be the middle of the night. He rolled over on his cushion and tried to fall back asleep. Whoever was up had one very unhappy baby. He saw a lamp get lit in the kitchen. He wasn’t going to be able to fall back into dream world until this baby was happy. He decided to go investigate.
Coming from her room to help, Sister Theresa bumped into Hunter. Seeing him, she smiled and kept walking toward the kitchen. There stood Emily and a very unhappy Cal, waiting for water to warm on the two-burner gas stove. Emily looked beat. And that was being nice about the situation. Thirteen year-olds and sleep deprivation don’t mix very well.
Theresa took Cal and went to change him in the living room. If all went as planned, it would be quiet again in five minutes or less. Hunter went to the sink and scooped a glass of water from the drinking bucket. May as well have a drink of something while he was up.
“Does he do this every night?” Hunter glanced at the young girl watching the water warm on the stove. She yawned and nodded sleepily.
Just then Sister Theresa came back with a somewhat happier baby. “And I’m sad to report that there will probably be at least three more in the next hour or so. None of them are ready to sleep through the night, I’m afraid.” Theresa rocked the baby in her arms and watched for Hunter’s reaction. He seemed unchanged; maybe that was a good sign. “Mary’s Rachel is probably the closest to being ready to sleep through, but she hasn’t yet.”
Hunter rubbed his tired eyes. “Wow, well this is fun.” He winked at Theresa who could only shrug back. What else was there to say? He needed to know what he might be getting into, even though this wasn’t the prettiest of things. She hoped it wouldn’t be the one issue that drove him away. “Well, I’m going back to sleep till the next round explodes.”
As Hunter left the kitchen, he stumbled into Sara and Matty coming down for obvious reasons.
Sara looked up at Hunter through tired eyes. “Can you hold Matty for a minute, Hunter? I see Sister has Cal right now, and I need to use the bathroom quick.” Sara didn’t wait for a response, handing the baby to the man. At least this one wasn’t screaming. That was until momma disappeared, and Matty realized a strange man was holding him. Emily came in quickly and took him away from Hunter. His crying stopped almost instantly.
Hunter scratched his scalp and headed for the porch. “Yep, this is a ball of fun in the middle of the night, Sister.” He shut the porch door and laid back down while Sister Theresa watched him.
Probably not the best start to the plan, she thought, but at least he got to see everything at its worst.
Chapter Twenty-four
“Five highchairs, two playpens, two dozen baby outfits, two dozen assorted outfits for teens, a dozen assorted blankets, six newer pillows, and coats for all sizes. Sweatshirts for same, size 3, 4, 6 & 8 ladies’ shoes, any baby footwear, hats for babies, and various products including toothpaste, baby powder, deodorant and female hygiene products.” Hunter looked up from the list. The Sister stood idly, deep in thought trying to come up with other urgent needs. “Really? You need all this stuff?” Hunter felt like he was being sent on a scavenger hunt.
Theresa nodded. “That’s a start for now. I know there will be more as time goes on. Especially toward fall.” She watched as he scowled at the list. “You said there were a lot of abandoned properties in the area. How many do you think?”
“Probably 50 within a five-mile radius. I suppose I’ll find some of this. Heck, may even find it all.” Hunter peeked sideways at Theresa. “This is a lot of stuff, Sister.”
“I know, and you’re just the man for the job. I just know you will have good luck finding most of it.” She tried to get his attention, but he was still in shock from the voluminous list she had sprung on him so early in the day.
“I suppose I’d better go get a wagon and horse from Henry. Maybe one of his older kids will help me. You know this could take weeks to find?” He needed her to know he wouldn’t be back by noon with everything.
“I know. But a little here and a little there, and we’ll have it all in no time, right?” She looked for any sign of happiness on his face. He was crabby this morning. “Is something bothering you, Hunter?”
“Yeah, there is something.” He tried to think of a nice way to bring this up, but decided to just spit it out. “Does anyone ever get much sleep around this place, Sister?” The corners of her mouth curled upwards; that’s what was wrong. He was tired. “I mean, you barely got one settled down, and the next one was up. Then all of a sudden two are up. Is that the way this works?”
“Well, until the little ones are older, they won’t sleep through the night. Like I told you last night, Rachel is the closest to being ready to sleep all night, but that’s still a ways off I think.”
Hunter finally gave her a little grin. “Lot of fun I gotta say, just a lot of fun. I’m heading for Henry’s to see what I can round up. I’ll be back before dark, but probably not much before that. Make sure those girls get out there and water everything a little bit. Have them pull any weeds they see, too.” Hunter gazed up at the cloudless morning sky. “I don’t think we’ll get rain for a few more days, so we gotta stay on top of that watering. And have them get right at it. You don’t want to do it in the middle of the day.”
Hunter was a ways across the yard when Theresa called out at him. “Please try and remember I grew up on a farm, Hunter. This isn’t my first time outside.” He waved and continued walking. “Oh, and I need to talk to you about something later. Alone.” She wasn’t sure he heard any of the last part.
Hunter and Henry’s oldest boy, Seth, spent all day looking for treasures amongst the abandoned homes in the area. By early evening, they made quite a dent in the list. Hunter dropped Seth off early so he could help with chores. He then continued alone on the northeast road, searching a few last homes before heading back.
Hunter struck pay dirt at the first place on that road. These people had teenaged girls. There was quite a collection of clothes in the upstairs rooms. He grabbed everything that looked decent and sorted through shoes for a while. Finally, he grabbed a box and threw in most of them so the girls could sort later. Now came the hard part.
He knelt alone staring under the bathroom sink upstairs. Yep, this is what they were looking for. May as well grab it all he figured. He grinned as he peered further back in the now half empty cupboard. Three unopened packs of cigarettes lay there, just waiting to be claimed. Maybe these were some of those sneaky teenaged wonders. He laughed as he thought of a 12-year-old sneaking a smoke.
Downstairs in the kitchen he ran into trouble – trouble in the form of a one-liter bottle of whiskey. Cheap whiskey but drinkable nonetheless. Hunter fondled the bottle and thought hard. He knew he couldn’t bring it back to the farm. If Sister found it, she’d pour it out. Maybe just a quick swig would take the edge off. He opened the bottle and took a whiff. The acrid aroma was heavenly to Hunter.
Hunter wrestled with his conscience. He hadn’t had a drink in quite a while. And he really could use one, but he honestly didn’t need it. Rubbing his dirty forehead he thought further. Nah, it wasn’t worth it. He screwed the lid back on the bottle and set it down. As he turned to leave the kitchen he stopped suddenly. He rubbed his forehead some more. One sip couldn’t hurt. Even Theresa would understand that.
Hunter walked back and spun the lid off the bottle. He smelled the familiar friend again. Closing his eyes, he paused. As he raised the bottle to his lips, he stoppe
d as a vision crept into his mind. Not Sister Theresa, not the girls, not the babies. It was Gwen. Her smiling face came rushing into his mind. With his eyes closed, he could almost see her standing in front of him.
She opened her mouth to speak, even if just in his mind. “No Hunter, you don’t need that. Not anymore.”
Tears filled his eyes. He looked around the room almost expecting to see her. But she wasn’t there. Hunter walked over and stared out the back window above the kitchen sink. Focused on the late evening sunlight streaming through the trees, he tipped the bottle and poured its contents down the drain. He returned the glass bottle to the counter and left the room. With the temptation gone, he loaded the last of his find onto the wagon and started for the farmhouse. Tonight he had a victory.
Early in the evening, Henry and Ruth pulled the wagon into Sister Theresa’s yard. Seeing her friends’ arrival, Theresa greeted them with a warm smile.
“Well good evening to both of you. I didn’t expect to see you today.” Theresa descended the back steps greeting her guests.
Mr. Mueller pulled on the reins. “Whoa,” he said, coaxing the team to a stop. Gazing at the nun now standing below him, he nodded slightly. “We have a delivery for you. You and your family.”
A quizzical expression crossed Theresa’s face as she stepped to inspect the wagon’s contents. Pulling up the tarp, she gasped seeing the full load of food. “Where ever did you procure such a load?” She asked.
Ruth climbed down from her seat and went around to stand next to the taller nun. Smiling, she admired their delivery. “Some is from us and other Amish neighbors.” She paused pulling the tarp away from the full load. “Most is from an anonymous source. Someone who wouldn’t want the recognition. Let’s get it put away before he might see it.” Ruth grabbed an armload of goods and headed for the house.
Theresa glanced up at Henry still sitting on the buckboard. “Do you mean to tell me–?”
Henry stopped her quickly with a sly finger to his lips. Theresa shook her head slowly. “Let’s just unload it, Sister,” Henry said dismounting the wagon. “Perhaps some other day we can discuss it further. But for now…” He reached out and held her trembling hand. “…for now, some things are better left not talked about. And let’s stash the items with labels in the far back end of the pantry. That way we can avoid any unneeded questions.”
Ruth and two teens she volunteered came out of the back door. The girls’ eyes widened in delight spying the Amish gifts. Theresa took a second to collect her thoughts. Smiling, she joined in unloading the much-needed food.
Hunter returned to the farm just before sundown. The back of the wagon was nearly full of his treasures from the day. He was sure the girls and Sister Theresa would be pleased.
Stepping out of the back door as he pulled into the yard, Theresa wore her usual comfortable expression. “Well, it looks like you did quite well, Hunter. That seems like quite a bit of stuff.” Theresa could see two high chairs, one crib, and a number of boxes and loose items in the back of the wagon as Hunter pulled up by the back door. Searching the wagon further, Theresa noticed two of the large boxes were full of clothes.
“Yeah, did better than I even thought we would. Seth Mueller helped out most the day. But he had to help with chores before I hit the last couple of places.” Hunter jumped down from the buckboard and took the glass of water Theresa had brought for him. She watched as he drank it down quickly.
“You must be starving. Have you had anything to eat all day?”
Hunter shook his head. “Not since breakfast. But let’s get most of this inside before the bugs get bad, and the girls can sort through it and clean up whatever they want later. I can eat after that.”
Theresa ran and got three of the teens whose babies were sleeping. Emily and Mary were still trying to get their babies settled down for the night.
Hunter unloaded and handed items to Theresa, Karen, Sheila and Sara. The group lugged the lot into the house and deposited some of it in the kitchen. The high chairs and cribs would be cleaned later, so the girls left them on the back porch. All the clothes and miscellaneous items went right to the living room to be sorted immediately.
The five teens stood in the living room excited to dig through boxes. There were many new things demanding their inspection. First, though, Sister Theresa reminded them there were chores that needed to be completed before any fun could begin.
Mary brought Hunter a large plate of food and another glass of water. She’d pick up the table, and be the first in the living room with their treasures, she hoped. Karen swept the kitchen and dining room. Sara washed, Sheila dried, and Emily put the dishes away. Karen and Theresa each took a five-gallon pail out to the well to grab enough water for the toilet and the large tub on the cook stove. Each knew their duties and did them with no complaints. Thanks to Sister Theresa, this house had quickly become a well-run home.
Chapter Twenty-five
Mary was first to dig through Hunter’s boxes of goodies. She was particularly interested in what he had found for teen clothing. The bounty appeared to be quite substantial and some of the clothes even looked appealing. Maybe he wasn’t all bad after all.
Karen ran into the living room to help Mary sort through clothes. “Anything decent, or is it all a bunch of old Amish stuff?” Karen grinned as she spoke. Mary chuckled at Karen’s comment. “Some of this looks nice.” Mary held the sundress up to Karen. She suspiciously inspected the tag.
“Twelve. Size twelve.” Karen shook her head with complete disgust. “Just who does he think is a size twelve in this house?” She dug deeper in the box. “Ten’s, twelve’s and fourteens. The whole lot of it. Ugh!” She spun to yell for the others. Before she could say a thing, she saw Sara admiring the clothing. “What size are you, Sara?”
“Zero, sometimes a one, depending on how it’s cut.” Karen threw the sundress to Sara. She looked at the tag. “Not a twelve, though. Darn, it’s sort of nice.”
“Sister,” Karen yelled. “Can you come in here, please?” Theresa appeared with a pleasant face. Karen didn’t return it. “Ten is the smallest size in here. What are you, a five?”
Theresa looked shocked. “Three or five, but never a ten. Oh my.” Theresa sorted through the box too. Some of it may work, but many items were twelve and fourteen. Far too large for any of the teens she thought. Mary and Sara started in on the baby clothes, while Theresa and Karen continued to dig through the older clothes.
“Most of this is 6 to 12 month, Sister. It’s all too big. There’s a couple of smaller items, but most of it will have to wait for a few more months.” Mary looked defeated as she finished speaking. Hunter’s haul was mostly junk to them. Theresa focused the girls.
Theresa inspected the newer items from the baby clothes pile. “We must not say a word to Hunter about this. He tried so hard. I’ll tell him to look for certain sizes after this. Maybe we can alter some of the larger items for us. Does anyone know how to sew?” The four heads present all signaled no. Theresa thought for a moment. “I’m sure Rebecca or Ruth can help us figure out what to do. And I bet he can find more out there if we ask real nice.” The heads nodded.
By then, all the females of the house were in the living room inspecting the boxes. One by one, they became painfully aware of what the others had discovered already. While the items were usable, they weren’t necessarily perfect, or even close. The group talked quietly when Hunter finally appeared and plopped down on the couch. He gazed at the dress that Mary held.
“That’s not too disgusting, is it Mary?” Hunter noticed her less than thrilled expression and wanted to remind her, and all of them, that they had to make do with what they had. “Hold it up so I can see it by you.” Hunter watched closely. When Mary held the item up shyly, he instantly saw the problem. “Well, two or three of you could wear it all at once, I suppose.” His brow furrowed. He looked disappointed, disappointed in himself. Theresa picked up on his mood change.
“Don’t worry about tha
t, Hunter. We’ll make do somehow. We can probably alter it.” Theresa gave the less than thrilled man a soft smile.
“Or use it as a tent or a blanket.” Hunter sighed as he flopped back on the old couch. “I’m sorry, girls. I never thought of sizes. Not that it would have helped. What should I be looking for?”
Karen spoke next to put in her two cents worth. “Something under seven preferably. I mean, most of us are threes and fives. Sara’s a zero, if that helps.” Hunter appeared confused. “But one is fine,” Karen added quickly.
“Now that you know, you won’t waste time grabbing things we’ll just have to give away.” Theresa tried to lighten the mood. “We can probably use some of it.”
“How’d I do on the baby stuff?” Hunter squinted skeptically at the group. When no one’s face lit up he shook his head. “Really? There are sizes for that crap, too?” How could this be so complicated?
Emily came forward. “But that’s okay. Everything you brought back for the babies we can use. They’ll all grow into it in a few months, and it should last until next spring.”
Hunter eased up on himself with this new information.
Mary sat down next to Hunter. “And the high chairs and cribs are perfect. We’ll just clean them up tonight, and we can start using them in the morning.” Her face clouded over as she looked at Theresa. “Though I’m not sure they’ll be able to sit in the high chairs yet.”
