From This Day Forward

by Lauraine Snelling

  “No, we were just good friends for all those years, but one day I caught myself saying ‘Mrs. Toby Valders.’ And when he was off building windmills, I missed him a whole lot.”

  “He was seeing someone at some point, wasn’t he?” Ellie asked.

  “Yes, but it didn’t work out, apparently.”

  Sophie bobbed her head. “I think he’s afraid to commit to marriage. I mean, he loves Benny and all his little nieces and nephews. He’s great with kids, and they all think he can walk on water.”

  “You mean he can’t?” Deborah asked, raising her eyebrows innocently.

  “Good grief.”

  When they all quit laughing, Astrid said, “I think we should sic our husbands on him.”

  “Well, Pa tried that, in a way.” Deborah told them about Toby asking her to help with invitations and saying he kind of liked her. “But then most of the time he ignores me. But Pa put him up to that, and it didn’t go well.”

  “Men are useless at that,” Sophie sniffed. “But what else can we do? Let’s make a list.” She picked up a pencil and school tablet and licked the pencil tip.

  “Well, start with Gerald,” Ellie said. “Rebecca, you have a talk with him. Maybe he knows or would be willing to ask about—I mean, couldn’t he ask him straight out? Do you love Deborah?”

  Deborah hid her face in her hands. “I’d be mortified.”

  Ellie grimaced. “Well, you might find out more than you know now.”

  “Another good ploy is to use jealousy,” Rebecca added. “It’s a shame there isn’t some other man in town who might show some interest in you that would make Toby wake up. I mean . . . the staff coming in from Chicago, for instance.”

  Deborah watched Sophie write Jealousy on her pad. “It won’t work. When the new nurses and intern come, I’m going to register for school in Grand Forks.”

  Astrid snorted. “If you go anywhere, you’re going to Chicago. No one knows more what we need than they do. Mrs. Korsheski would love to give you training in administration. I just can’t bear to have you gone. I depend on you.”

  “Let’s talk about something else, okay?” Deborah pleaded.

  “But we don’t have a plan yet,” Sophie reminded her.

  Rebecca raised a finger. “We need to have a barn dance before haying season starts. We need to raise money for the new schoolhouse, so we can have a box social. Get him to buy your box.”

  Suddenly all the voices came in a rush; Deborah couldn’t keep up, and Sophie was jotting things down wildly.

  Do silly things where he can see you.

  Do favors for him without being asked.

  Act like you’re not interested; let him come to you.

  Rebecca added, “And if he doesn’t come around or ignores you, why, just quit mooning and wishing, and instead do something nice for him.”

  Sophie added that and held her list at arm’s length. “Good. That will get us started. Thank you. What other problems should we solve?”

  “We need a teacher more than a new schoolhouse.”

  “We need both. I don’t know if Thorliff is going to continue teaching, but now that Anji and Thomas moved away, we need two more teachers.”

  “Jonathan could teach music and probably other classes too.”

  “He’s got his hands full with farming and the deaf school.”

  “Devlin.” Ellie sighed. “We are really going to miss that man come fall.”

  “My children miss them all so much, especially Benny. He lost his best friend, Gilbert. But they are having a good time out at the farm.”

  Deborah nodded. “Pa doesn’t say much, but I know he misses Devlin too.”

  “Just think, Anji would be here tonight had they not moved.” Sophie waved her hands. “All right, no sad thoughts. We need to find out if an ad for a new teacher has gone out. And we need to come up with some more fundraisers to build the school. Any more suggestions for this list to solve Deborah’s problem?”

  Ellie asked, “Is there a plan in place to do a fundraiser like we did before, where people agree to donate a certain amount?”

  Sophie shook her head. “We’ll have to ask the men about that. I know they have a lot on their minds, what with planning to start construction on the deaf school addition.”

  “That is a big project.” Astrid leaned her head back. “Oh, how easy it would be to drift off for a bit of a nap.”

  “Surely we have enough men in town to build more than one building at a time,” Rebecca said.

  “But are they convinced that a new school is necessary? I’m sure Thorliff is, since he was teaching there, but . . .” Sophie glanced from Astrid, who looked perfectly relaxed, her eyes closed and her head slightly leaning to one side, to Deborah, who rolled her lips to keep from smiling. Someone else chuckled.

  As one, they all stood, tiptoed over to the table and out to the back porch, Sophie making sure the door didn’t slam.

  Giggles drifted on the evening breeze, a rooster bade the sun good-night, and birds twittered their final messages of the day.

  “This is my favorite time of the day.” Deborah leaned back with a sigh of contentment.

  “I’m like Ingeborg, dawn is my favorite.”

  “Any time of day is Ingeborg’s favorite. Someday I want to be like her. And my mor.” Sophie sipped from her glass. “Deborah, these crackers are the best.”

  “The cheese roll-ups need to show up at every event.” Ellie reached for another of each. “Rebecca, now that summer is here, is your business picking up?”

  “Especially when the train arrives, I have people standing in line. Even though Benny’s only ten, he’s the biggest help, when he’s there. I scoop the ice cream, hand it to him to put in the syrup, and ring it up. He sits on a high stool and does great. Lissa was hoping to work for me this summer, until she found out they were moving. Linnea is busy helping Penny at the store.”

  Deborah asked, “What about Emily? She’s young but so capable. And Goodie loves to help. We made the crackers together. Well, all of us did. They take a lot of rolling and cutting.”

  “Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a bakery in town?” Sophie said. “Baking has never been my favorite part of cooking.”

  “You have Mrs. Sam at the boardinghouse and Helga helps you out at home. When do you cook anyway?”

  Sophie shrugged. “Well, I think about it at times. Speaking of Mrs. Sam, if you think about it, pray for her. Her heart is not good, and even though we have more help now, she likes to do things herself and not just supervise.”

  “She and Mr. Sam are getting up there in years, aren’t they?” Ellie asked.

  “They must be. I’ll ask Mor or Tante Ingeborg. They’d have a better idea than anyone.”

  Ellie caught back a yawn. “I need to be thinking of getting home. Dawn comes too soon.”

  “We need to do this more often if for no other reason than it makes us feel good,” Sophie said. “The men get together and talk all the time.”

  “They call it business,” Rebecca said. A chuckle skipped from one to the next.

  “Strange how half the businesses in town are owned by women and we never get invited to the business meetings,” Sophie replied. The squeak of the door caught their attention. “Well, sleepyhead, welcome back.”

  Astrid blinked and stretched. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” She leaned against the wall and drank from her glass. “You know, I tell women they will be tired and need extra sleep when they’re with child, but I had no idea it was like this.”

  “As long as you don’t fall asleep in surgery.” Deborah picked up the dwindling cracker plate. “Everyone says you are hungry all the time too, so here, help yourself.”

  Astrid laid a hand on her rumbling stomach. And did as she was told.

  “That’s what you told me with every baby,” Ellie scolded. “Get lots of rest and be prepared to be hungry. After all, you are eating for two.”

  “And if you heard it once, you heard it a hundred
times.” Sophie paused, her eyebrows arching. “Get your feet up.”

  “Do you have any honey, Sophie?” Astrid asked.

  “Of course, do you want me to get it?”

  “Just thought I might not dislike eating my own words as much if they were drenched in honey.” Astrid sat down.

  Deborah smiled sadly. “Doctor Elizabeth used to say that.”

  “I know. I find lots of words coming from my mouth that she put into my mind. I need to head home. Ellie, did you walk to town?” At her nod, Astrid continued, “I could ask Daniel to hitch up the buggy and take you home. He said he would.”

  Ellie smiled. “No, I’ll walk with Deborah and cut across the fields.”

  “You track through the wheat and your name will be double mud,” Rebecca said as she gathered the used dishes.

  Sophie raised her hand. “Just leave everything. Helga will clean it up in the morning, bless her.”

  “It was good of her to take your brood home to her house tonight.”

  Sophie snickered. “I know, I’m spoiled. But at least I’m not pregnant this summer. All babies should be born in the spring, like the animals bear their young in the spring.”

  Rebecca set her glass on the low table. “I’m thinking that bakery idea is a really good one.”

  The others paused in their packing up and stared at her.

  “I wonder if someone else might like to go in on this with me. We have a ready market with the train customers. I remember someone coming on the train with a tray of sandwiches and baked goods to sell when it stopped. We’d have to winter-proof the Soda Shoppe and probably add to it.”

  Sophie nodded. “You know, I think the boardinghouse did just that back in the early days. We need to start asking around. See who is known for their baking, besides Ingeborg’s bread. I think I remember someone trying to talk her into it years ago. Penny, I think, wanted to sell it in her store. You might talk with her. Perhaps the two of you could—”

  “Mrs. Geddick is a marvelous baker, but we sure can’t lose her cooking at the hospital.” Astrid looked weary despite her catnap. “Deborah, do not even mention such a thing to her. Please.” She caught another yawn.

  “I know, I’m just trying to think of all the bakers. She used to do all the cooking for the traveling harvest crew for Lars and Haakan.”

  “Last year her daughter did it—in fact, the last couple of years, since before the hospital opened,” Astrid said.

  “What if baking was a skill taught at the deaf school?” Sophie asked. “They teach farming, woodworking, and carpentry for the boys.”

  “And household skills for the girls. Amelia is talking about teaching sewing out there this fall.” Astrid nodded. “We need to talk with the other women. We’ve got some good ideas here. I know Mor says Clara is taking over some of the baking there and really enjoys it.”

  “Yes, but can she make bread just like Ingeborg’s?” Ellie asked.

  “I have no idea. But I heard there is going to be a hen party since we had this girl party. Let’s face it, you get the women of Blessing started on an idea, and who knows what will happen.” Astrid grinned at Deborah. “Including educating a certain young man into the path he belongs on. With Deborah. I think a December wedding would be nice.”

  Sophie cackled. “Watch out, Toby Valders! The girls of Blessing are on the march.”

  Chapter 9

  Nothing so fair as a day in June.” Astrid stopped in her walk to the hospital to feel the sun on her face. First the girl party Saturday night, then yesterday had been such a fine day, the ball game played with only their own families. The men coaching Manny to be a catcher, teaching the younger ones to bat, including the girls. Not surprisingly, both Emmy and Inga caught on quickly. Even though Carl was a bit young, he managed to hit the ball that Thorliff pitched nice and slow. Samuel surprised them all by hitting one pitch almost to the river.

  Astrid pushed open the door to the hospital. Three roses, the first from Amelia’s garden, graced the counter, the buds still tight but already fragrant.

  Her nurses were already hard at work, serving breakfasts and getting their patients up and ready for the day. “I’ll be ready for rounds in ten minutes,” she said to Deborah.

  “We have so few patients. Everyone around Blessing must be healthy.”

  “Now, that is good news. Maybe we can get caught up on ordering and restocking.” The paper work was always an unending burden. “Is Dr. Deming in today?” The dentist’s office was in the north wing of the hospital.

  “Not so far, but he didn’t say he wouldn’t be here.”

  “I’m thinking of asking him to take a trip down to the reservation to help Dr. Red Hawk for a week or however long he wants to stay.”

  “What a great idea.”

  Deborah responded to one of the nurses, and Astrid went into her office. While she always tried to leave it neat, the stack of paper work seemed to multiply when she was gone. She flipped through a couple of telephone messages, surprised to find one from Mrs. Korsheski at the Chicago hospital. She’d call after rounds and before office hours. Since Astrid was the only doctor in town now, she no longer saw patients at Thorliff’s house. After Elizabeth died, they’d removed all the medical equipment to the hospital, and everyone came directly here.

  On rounds she checked on a seven-year-old child with a broken leg and told his mother, “We can take the traction off soon, but I want to keep him here mostly to keep him quiet. If he forgets and tries to run on that leg now, you would end up back here with a lot more problems. Do you understand?”

  She nodded. The boy stared at the far wall, sullen.

  “Good.” Astrid patted the boy’s shoulder. “We’ll get you healthy again.”

  No response. Did he understand what she’d said? No matter; his mother did.

  On her way back to her office, Astrid swung by the kitchen for a cup of coffee. “Sure smells good in here.”

  Mrs. Geddick waved a hand toward the table. “The bread just came out of the oven. Do you want a slice?”

  “Being as I am always hungry, I won’t turn it down.”

  “Do you feel better today?”

  “I do, thank you. Mrs. Geddick, I wonder if your daughter is interested in helping start a bakery business here in Blessing.”

  “Adelaide wants to be a nurse here.”

  “Really? I didn’t know that. Have her come talk to me.” Addy had been an aide for the last few months and sometimes helped her mother in the hospital kitchen.

  Mrs. Geddick handed Astrid a plate with the heel of the loaf slathered in butter and strawberry jam. “The last of the jam. It’s a good thing the berries will be ripe soon.”

  “Danke.” Astrid bit into the warm bread, and for a change it did not send her stomach into revenge.

  “Put more cream in your coffee. It’ll be easier on your stomach.”

  Astrid nodded and, cup and plate in hand, headed for her office. What a gift Mrs. Geddick was to the hospital; she not only cooked and baked but put up jams and pickles and did some canning too. And one of her sons, Elmer, was an orderly.

  She’d just settled back in her desk chair when she heard Deborah say, “Examining room one, right here.” Astrid was already on her feet when Deborah stuck her head in the door.

  “Thelma is here with Roald, a head wound. It’s bleeding bad.”

  Astrid hit the examining room in full stride. “What happened, Thelma?”

  “He was running in the house. I keep telling him not to run, but . . . and he tripped and fell and hit his head on the settee. He was screaming, and by the time I got to him, there was blood everywhere.”

  “Keep the pressure on it,” Astrid instructed as she scrubbed her hands in the basin of water by the door. “Did you tell Thorliff?”

  “I’m not sure where he is.”

  “I see.” She smiled at her nephew, who lay on the examining table. Thelma looked like she’d been wounded, blood soaking into her apron and dress. “How’s my b
oy?”

  “Owie.” He started to put his hand up to his head.

  “I see. Bad owie. Let Tante Astrid look at it and make it better. Now this might hurt, so you must be a big boy.”

  When she started to peel back the blood-soaked towel, he screamed and tried to roll away. “No! Owie!”

  “Deborah, we need some help. Send Elmer for Thorliff.”

  “Roald,” Thelma soothed, “Rolly, listen to me. Shhhh.”

  He reached for Thelma. “Ma. Ma.”

  Thelma leaned over him. “I am here.” She looked to Astrid with apology. “He started that. I tell him no, but . . .”

  “Don’t worry about that right now. See if you can hold him still enough for me to look at the wound.”

  In his writhing, the blood flow had kicked back up. She palpated the area through the towel. It was already swelling, but the bone seemed firm. His pupils reacted equally to light, so he probably didn’t have a concussion.

  “We’ll need to clean it and stitch it up. Probably shave the area first.”

  “Do you want to sedate him?”

  “I need to ask Thorliff first.”

  Thelma murmured to Roald, and he quieted down.

  “How did he manage to hit the back of his head? It seems more like he was pushed.”

  The older woman shook her head. “Unless Scooter knocked him over or something. I don’t know. They were running up and down the hall.”

  “I’m going to try to remove the dish towel. See if you can hold him still.”

  But Roald arched his back and screamed again and again.

  “How can one little guy be so strong?” Astrid took a wet cloth and stroked the blood off his face. “See now, that didn’t hurt, did it, Rolly? You can let me look at the owie and make it all better, so you can go home to play.”

  He turned his face from her, hiding in Thelma’s bosom. “No.”

  Astrid heard Thorliff ask, “Where is he?” He pushed open the door to the examining room. His face turned white when he took in the blood and his son whimpering against Thelma’s chest. “What happened? How bad is it? What do you want me to do?” He threw the questions like darts at a board.