Rebecca's Reward

by Lauraine Snelling

  28

  “THAT WOMAN CAN CAUSE more trouble than a sky full of grasshoppers. Only thing is, she should know better.”

  Ingeborg watched her daughter stomp around the kitchen, smoke rising from her ears. “I take it you mean Mrs. Valders?”

  “Who else would accuse Rebecca of flirting with Mr. Jeffers and inviting his attentions?”

  “She didn’t!”

  “Not in those exact words, but the inference was there. I thought Thorliff was going to throw her into the snowbank. Everything was going so well, the store was getting cleaner by the minute. I never realized how hard Penny worked to keep that place looking good all the time.” Astrid stopped and looked square at her mother. “Then she came in and the joy died in a heartbeat. She is determined that the store is going to be hers.”

  “That’s why Thorliff had Mr. Valders help him write up the contract, so that she couldn’t say there were any wrongdoings.” Ingeborg rolled the bread dough over with a solid thump and kept on kneading. This would be the lightest bread they’d had in a long time. Kneading bread was always a good outlet for anger. She slammed the heel of her hand into the spongy dough and flipped the outer side into the middle, at the same time giving the mound a quarter turn. All of her actions were of such ingrained habit that she needn’t think on the job at all. She could instead think of ways to discipline Hildegunn. Did she never listen to any of Pastor’s sermons? Had she never thought that what the Word said about an evil tongue might apply to her?

  Like forgiveness? The thought fluttered through her mind like a butterfly on a warm summer day, dipping and kissing the flowers. Oh, Lord, there you go again. Why can I never be allowed a tantrum or three without you nosing in? She slammed the dough over again.

  “Maybe you better let me finish that, so I don’t head back to town and scream at her.”

  “At the rate I’m going, I’ll need to scrub floors or go split wood.”

  “Ah, Mor, you always know just the right thing to say to calm me down.”

  “I’m talking to me more than you. God just mentioned forgiveness to me.”

  Astrid rolled her eyes. “How come He never gets through to her?”

  “I have to remind myself that He loves her just as much as He loves me. And that I am to love her in the same way.” Ingeborg wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, leaving a streak of flour behind. She slammed the dough around again and straightened her shoulders with a heavy sigh. “Every time I think I have forgiven her and let go of the resentment—let’s be real honest here—the all-out fury, she goes and does something like this, and there I go again.”

  “And you know what?”

  Ingeborg looked at Astrid, while her hands spun the dough again. “What?”

  “How are Rebecca and Gerald ever going to get together?”

  “Are you sure he cares for her?”

  “I think so, but he’s very careful not to show it. I’m not even sure Rebecca knows.”

  “Uff da! Because of his mother?”

  Astrid nodded slowly.

  “How very sad. I thought she might be falling for that young man in Bismarck.”

  “She’s always had a special place in her heart for Gerald.” Astrid dipped her fingers in the bacon grease and rubbed the insides of the bread pans. “Were you planning on this for supper?”

  “Ja. I got a late start what with all the commotion, and the yeast seems mighty slow.” She thought a moment. “Sometimes that happens with the store-bought kind. Even though it is far easier than sourdough or potato water, like we used to use all the time.”

  “How’s Far?” Astrid asked, dropping her voice.

  “He was up much of the day, so he was really tired when we walked him back to bed. His walking gets better with every day. And he is able to move all his fingers. He’s coming along.” That Hildegunn. How can she be so blind? Mean-spirited, that’s what she is. And, Lord, you want me to forgive her—again. Uff da.

  Ingeborg slashed a hunk off the dough and rolled it into a loaf form, tucking the ends under to fit in the pan. “Did Thorliff talk to Penny?”

  “He tried, but she wasn’t home. He’s going to bring Rebecca back out and all the ledgers, so you and Far can go through those if you want to. I told him you felt bad because you couldn’t help out.”

  “Sure doesn’t seem right not to be there.” She tucked the second loaf into a pan. “How would you like scones for a treat?”

  “Sounds wonderful. Far loves the fried dough too. Do we have any syrup?”

  “In the pantry.”

  Astrid got the heavy iron skillet from the cabinet and set it on the stove to heat. “You cut them, and I’ll pat them flat. We haven’t had these for so long.” She dropped a large dollop of lard into the pan and moved it to the hottest part of the stove.

  Ingeborg cut off roll-sized bits of dough and went back to forming the loaves. It meant she would have five loaves to bake instead of six, but this would be a good treat. At least she could send fresh bread for the dinner at the store tomorrow. “You think they’ll finish cleaning today?”

  “No, especially not if they go to work on the living quarters too. That man was a real pig. No, I take that back. I don’t want to insult our hogs.”

  “Inge?”

  “Coming.” She flipped a clean towel over the loaves, leaving them to rise while she checked on her husband. Behind her she could hear the sizzle of bread dropped into the hot lard to fry.

  “Is Astrid home?”

  “Ja.”

  “How did the cleaning go?” He’d pushed himself up against the head of the bed and was working on his right hand with his left, straightening the fingers and pushing against them with his other hand.

  “I’ll send Astrid in, and she can tell you herself.”

  “What smells so good?”

  “That’s a secret. You’ll find out in a couple of minutes. How come you were sleeping so soundly, and as soon as something is cooking you wake right up?” She laid a hand on his shoulder. “Andrew should be coming to start milking anytime. Lars dropped Astrid off on his way home.”

  He leaned his cheek against her hand. “I feel so useless.”

  The sadness in his voice caught at her heart. “Not useless, only taking some time off for a bit. You’ll be out and about within a week.” Please, Lord, let it be so.

  “Thank God spring is coming. I listened to the icicles singing outside the window before I fell asleep.”

  “You want to eat your snack in here or at the table?” Astrid asked from the doorway.

  “Depends on what it is.”

  “You have to trust the cook. Here or the table?”

  “Here.”

  “Make yourself comfortable, Mor, and I’ll bring in a tray.”

  Ingeborg started to sit down in the rocker, but when Haakan patted the bed beside him, she went around and pushed another pillow up against the headboard. Then after untying her shoes, she sat against the pillow and tucked her feet up under the quilt across the foot of the bed. “Ah, now this is nice.”

  “You wait on everybody else all the time. Now this is your turn.” He raised his head and sniffed. “Scones?”

  She nudged him with her elbow. “Act surprised.”

  Astrid entered with a plate of the fried bread pieces, a bowl of warmed syrup, and three cups of coffee, along with napkins. “Where should I set this?”

  “On your father’s legs. That way we can all reach.”

  They’d just settled to dipping the bread in the syrup when a knock came at the back door, followed immediately by Andrew. “Hey, where is everyone?”

  “In here. Bring a chair.”

  “And a cup of coffee if you want to join us.”

  Haakan ate his first bite and muttered around it, “Good idea.” He licked a drip of syrup off his chin. “How come you never make these anymore?”

  “I guess because the children are grown, and this seemed to be a treat for them.”

  Andrew set his ch
air beside the bed. “Having a party and you didn’t invite me?” He dipped his piece of bread. “How did the cleaning go?”

  “More important, how are your children?”

  “Better. Finally. It seems one or the other has been ailing this winter.”

  “Tell Ellie to give them each a spoonful of blackstrap molasses. That will help. Penny used to stock cod-liver oil for a spring tonic. I don’t suppose you found any such thing at the store when you were cleaning?”

  “Nope. There was hardly anything in the medicinal section. Hardly anything in the entire store. Mr. Sam was grumbling about the hardware section. I think there were only five or six pairs of boots. Nobody better want new overalls or men’s pants or needles, or plan on sewing any summer dresses. Or dresses of any kind, for that matter.”

  “It’s going to take a lot of money to restock the necessities, let alone bring anything new in. Penny was so great at introducing new items for the women and our houses. I broke the last sewing machine needle today, and Jeffers told me a couple of weeks ago that he had ordered some and they should be in any day.”

  “There were no sewing machine needles, and Rebecca said she got the last of the hand-sewing ones. She’s counting on you to locate suppliers when you go through the ledgers. Her voice quavered a little while we talked about it. I think she started to feel overwhelmed.”

  “She has a lot of emotions to work through, but she will receive strength as she needs it. I’ve been praying wisdom for her too, as for all of us.”

  Andrew dipped the last of his scone into the syrup, wiped his hands on the dish towel Astrid had slung over her shoulder, and stood, picking his chair up with him. “You need anything from the springhouse? Milk?”

  “You want to feed the chickens and pick the eggs?” Astrid grinned up at him. The chickens had always been Astrid’s responsibility, but since she spent so much of her time at the surgery, Ingeborg had taken over the hen house.

  “What? And deprive you of your favorite chore?” He paused at the doorway. “You feeling up to a couple of small visitors, Far?”

  “Anytime.”

  “Why don’t you and Ellie come for supper?” Ingeborg swung her feet off the bed. “I’m making stew with dumplings. There’s plenty.”

  “I’ll take care of the chickens and go get them,” Astrid said as she dipped her last bite into the syrup. “These are so good.”

  “Thanks. They’ll like that.”

  “I hope Thorliff brings out the mail when he comes. And the newspaper.” Haakan dabbed at a spot of syrup on his shirt front. “Eating in bed can be messy.”

  “You can always sit in the rocking chair. If you want to join us in the kitchen …”

  “I think I’ll read for a while here.”

  Ingeborg was cutting carrots to put in the stew when she heard harness bells announcing the arrival of a sleigh. As Thorliff ushered Rebecca, Elizabeth, and Inga in, Ingeborg spread her arms wide and the little girl ran into them.

  “Gamma, I came to see you.” She clapped her palms on Ingeborg’s cheeks. “You don’t never come to see me.” After one more hug she wriggled to be set down. “Where’s Gampa?”

  “In the bedroom.”

  “He sick?”

  “Go see him.”

  Inga charged across the room, leaving Ingeborg and Elizabeth to exchange smiles.

  “Will you stay for supper?”

  “I came to check on Haakan.”

  “I figured, but we’ll have a family supper. Astrid is going to get Ellie and the children.” She looked to Rebecca. “How are you?”

  “A bit overwhelmed.” Rebecca hung up her coat and took Elizabeth’s to do the same. “There is so much to do there.”

  “And to think only a few days ago you were in Bismarck.”

  “Playing. And dreaming of my soda shop. Life was so simple then. Whoever would have thought things would change like this.” Rebecca held her hands over the stove to warm them. “What can I do to help?”

  “You can sit down and have a cup of coffee. The scones are all gone, but there are molasses cookies if you’d like.”

  Thorliff came back carrying a stack of ledgers. “These go back for the last couple of years. That should be enough.”

  “What did Penny say?”

  “Before or after she cried?” He set the leather-trimmed books on a chest of drawers along the wall. A giggle from Inga turned his attention to the bedroom. “Sounds like a party in there.”

  “It is always a party when Inga is around.” Ingeborg’s smile brought one from Thorliff.

  “I’ll take the mail and the paper in, and Far will have something to keep him busy. How’s he handling the forced rest?”

  “So far so good. What did Penny say?”

  “Oh, sorry. She said she’d talk with Hjelmer and see what they could do. From the excitement in her voice, I’d say she’ll be the owner of the store again, even if from a long distance. I’ll call her back tomorrow.” He picked up a ledger too. “You have paper and pencil? Far can start finding the suppliers for us.”

  Sleigh bells announced more arrivals.

  “We better bring in the other table from the parlor so everyone has a place to sit.” Ingeborg handed him the writing box. “Full house tonight.”

  Astrid carried a basket and one-year-old Carl in from the sleigh. “Ellie brought an apple cake she’d just taken out of the oven.” She set Carl on the floor. “Go find Gampa.” She pointed to the bedroom, where Inga belted out another laugh.

  “She seems to be entertaining everyone in there,” Astrid said with a grin as she closed the door behind Ellie.

  “Oh, the bread.” Ingeborg opened the oven door. “Looks pretty brown, but at least it’s not burned.” As she pulled out the pans, she set them on the table, where Astrid had laid out the wooden racks, and tipped the bread out of the pans. Dipping her fingertips in the butter, she spread it on the tops of the loaves before covering them with another towel. While her fingers moved without thinking on her part, she asked Thorliff, now sitting at the table, “So is that what you expected from Penny?”

  “I was hoping she would say she’ll be here in a week and order whatever is needed, but that was pretty unrealistic. However, after I got Mrs. Valders to quit making nasty remarks, she was on her high horse, all right… .”

  Dear Lord, here we go again.

  “She offered to double my money. I don’t think she knew what I paid for it. Her husband would be smart if he never told her his complicity in this deal, but she really wants that store. I told her Penny had the first rights to it.”

  “Did she stay and help clean?”

  Thorliff shook his head. “She glared at me, snorted at Rebecca, and hightailed it back to the post office.”

  “How I pray that Penny and Hjelmer come back here. You have enough to do between the newspaper and the building, without taking on a store too.”

  “Penny was just about Rebecca’s age when she started the store, wasn’t she?”

  “Close to it.” Ingeborg tried to think back. “I’m not sure. Some things just don’t come to mind as readily as they used to.”

  “Are you saying you are getting old?”

  “Not necessarily, but older.” And hopefully, dear Lord, wiser. I need every smidgeon of wisdom you can give me. I have to keep remembering how you forgive me, or I might go in and let her have it with both barrels. And I’ve always known how to shoot well.

  “ You can’t go, Haakan. Don’t leave me!” She felt the scream go on and on, but he walked away from her after turning once to wave good-bye. She fought to run after him, but something held her, no matter how fiercely she fought. “Haakan!” The wail echoed and re-echoed in her mind. And now she couldn’t see him any longer, not even a shadow.

  “Inge. Wake up, Inge.”

  A warm hand on her shoulder shook her gently. “Don’t leave me. Please, don’t go,” she mumbled, thrashing in her agony.

  “I’m not going anywhere. You had a bad dream.�
��

  His voice. He hadn’t gone and left her. She turned on her side and buried her face in his shoulder. She sniffed and the tears flowed. “It was so terribly real.” She struggled to speak without breaking into full out sobs. “You walked away and kept on going, and I couldn’t go with you.”

  He stroked her hair with his left hand. “Hush. It is all right. I am here beside you, and God willing, I will be for a long time to come.”

  “If you leave me, I think the dark pit will devour me, and I shall not live either, even if I am alive.”

  “No, it won’t be like that. God has said He will never leave us nor forsake us, and you know He won’t. No matter what your dreams say. He has always comforted us, so why would He change as we grow older and need Him even more? See, He is even making my hand better.”

  She took his right hand in hers and stroked it gently, straightening the fingers that wanted to curl. “Sometimes it is hard to see Him.”

  “I know. My word, do I know that after the other night. But even at the worst, I could feel Him right beside me.” He stroked her face with a gentle finger. “His rod and his staff, they did indeed comfort me.”

  “And you comfort me. Thank you for waking me. That was a bad one.”

  “Can you sleep now?”

  “If I dare close my eyes.” She sucked in a deep breath and heaved it out. “Mange takk.”

  He laid his hand across her eyes. “What do you see?”

  “Nothing. I have my eyes closed.”

  “Now go to sleep.”

  She turned her head and kissed the palm of his hand. In her mind she began, The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still …

  29

  I SHOULD GO TALK with my brothers, she thought as she buttoned her nightgown.

  The thought plagued Rebecca. But every time she decided she’d go in the morning, she could feel all her insides tighten up and a red cloud wave around her. If they wanted to talk with her, they could come find her. It wasn’t as if they didn’t know where she was. A week since she’d spoken with them. Dorothy had sent her a small note with Maydell, but she hadn’t mentioned them either. The only time she’d gone that long without seeing them was when they were off haying or harvesting or when she’d gone to Bismarck. And now Maydell had returned to Grafton for a while, so there was no one to help Dorothy. But then, perhaps Dorothy was doing much better.