by Kit Morgan
“I could be so lucky,” Ma said. “But I have enough on my hands as it is with the ones we do have.”
Ebba sipped her coffee, placed the cup in its saucer and glanced at Justin and Jason sitting across from her in their parents’ laps. Ma held Autumn in her arms. “Four is a good number of grandchildren,” she said. “They’re close enough together in age so they’ll grow up together and always have each other for playmates.”
Everyone stared at her.
Ebba glanced around the table again. “What did I say?”
Ma smiled and looked at Benjamin. “When is your brother coming up to the house?”
“Pretty soon, Ma,” he said. “Why?”
“I think it’s time to get all the introductions over with, that’s all,” she said.
Daniel smiled and covered his mouth with a hand. “Yeah, I guess we’d better.”
“So I will meet them before you go to work for the day?” Ebba asked.
“That’s a good idea,” Ma said. “We have a lot of work today too, ladies. Ebba, how are you at baking cookies?”
“I make very good cookies. At least my father thought so.”
“Then you’re in charge of baking those today. Samijo, what were you planning?”
“Well, I’d like to show Ebba my home, but I’m going to need my oven for pies.”
“You girls can run across the orchard and take care of that after breakfast and the introductions,” Ma said. “Then Ebba can come back here and start on those cookies.”
Ebba was about to ask her what kind of cookies she wanted when a commotion sounded outside the kitchen door. Everyone ignored the ruckus except her. It was all she could do not to stand and look to see what was coming – it sounded like quite a crowd!
The kitchen door burst open and a small boy with dark curly hair ran in. “Nonna! Did ya save me any bacon?” He had the oddest accent – like a cross between the Weaver men and Mr. Milioti, the greengrocer back in Denver.
“Now you know I love you as much as the next person, Leo,” Ma said, “but I’m afraid I ate all of it. Though Daniel’s mail-order bride is going to bake cookies later.”
The boy looked around the table, his eyes finally landing on Ebba. “Are you?” he asked and pointed at her.
“Leonardo, didn’t yer ma tell ya it ain’t polite to point?” Daniel asked.
The boy’s hand dropped as he looked at Daniel. “Who is she?”
“Yer grandma just told ya,” Daniel said. “This here’s Ebba, my mail-order bride. We’re gonna get hitched in a couple days. Ya wanna come?”
Leo didn’t have a chance to respond, as five more children piled in through the door, followed by the most beautiful woman Ebba had ever seen. She actually gasped at the sight of her.
Behind the woman came a man carrying an infant in one muscular arm – clearly Benjamin’s brother Calvin. Ebba wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart except that Calvin hadn’t shaved that morning. Well, his chin was shaved, but his upper lip sported a few days’ growth of hair. “Mornin’, everyone!” he said happily and headed straight for Ebba with his hand extended. “I’m Calvin – I’m gonna be yer new brother-in-law!”
Ebba was about to return the greeting when a girl in her early to mid-teens came in with a baby on each hip. The girl went straight for the beauty standing next to Calvin. “Here, Bella, I changed them both for you.”
“Thank you, Rufi. You are such a help to me. You will make a fine wife one day.”
“Here, why don’t you take Thatcher for me?” Calvin handed the toddler he was holding off to the girl.
Ebba openly gawked – she couldn’t help it at this point. Children spilled into the hallway, the kitchen not big enough to hold everyone. Some ran upstairs while others went into the parlor, jumping and laughing all the way. The house was suddenly a cacophony of English seasoned heavily with Italian. Perhaps she shouldn’t worry about slipping into her native Swedish now and then. But all of these children couldn’t possibly belong to Calvin and Bella, could they?
“I suppose you’re wondering where all these younguns came from,” Ma yelled over the noise.
Ebba slowly nodded, eyes wide.
“Well, Bella’s parents passed away, so after she and Calvin married, she sent for her brothers and sisters to come join them. They were staying with an aunt in New York, but her health wasn’t so good. So here they are!”
Ebba continued to stare in shock at the children running here and there. Daniel reached over and put a hand over hers. “You okay, sweetie?” he asked.
His touch snapped her out of her stupor. “You … never mentioned … any of this in your letters!”
“What for? I figured ya were gonna meet them once ya got here anyway. I thought it’d be a nice surprise. So, ya surprised?”
She gaped at him. “I’m beyond surprised, actually. How do you feed them all?”
“Why do ya think it took us so long to build Calvin’s house?” Daniel asked. “We had to plant a few extra fields to feed ‘em all. But we gotta system now and it works just fine. Don’t worry, sweetie, you’re only one extra mouth,” he added with a grin.
Ebba looked at him in horror as visions of cooking for this army of Weavers stretched before her. She looked at Ma. “Are you sure one pig at our wedding will be enough?”
* * *
Samijo guided Ebba through an orchard and across a field to her cabin. The peace and quiet was a far cry from the chaos of the farmhouse, and Ebba reveled in it. The little valley where the farm was located was beautiful, peaceful and serene … so long as Calvin, Bella and company, weren’t around.
But after Samijo elaborated on why Calvin and Bella had brought her siblings to the farm, things made better sense. Ebba supposed that if she had a lot of brothers and sisters being raised by a sickly aunt, she’d have done the same thing. Bella had married an exceptional man. Most wouldn’t do what Calvin Weaver had done, taking on seven of his wife’s young siblings and putting them all in the same house. He’d become an instant father, of sorts, not to mention having his own children.
She shook her head. Nine children under one roof with two adults … not that such was uncommon. But it certainly wasn’t easy. It was a testimony to Calvin Weaver’s kind heart and generous spirit that he hadn’t told his wife no.
“I think I’ll make apple pies,” Samijo said, pulling Ebba from her thoughts. “And maybe some peach cobbler.”
“How do you get the apples? Ebba asked. “There aren’t any on the trees.”
Samijo stared at her a moment, then laughed. “I’m sorry, you’ll have to excuse me. It’s been a long time since I lived in a city. We harvest the apples in late summer. I’ll use the ones we canned last year. Canned ones work better for pie anyway, I think.”
Ebba glanced around the small kitchen. “I’ve never canned before. There was no need in the city.”
“I know – I came here from New Orleans. I used to go to the market for my Uncle Burr three times a week or more.” She too looked around the cabin. “Out here, though, it’s a lot different. But having lived in both places, I wouldn’t trade this life for ten thousand dollars.”
“Ten thousand? That’s a lot of money. You might think differently if someone set that much money in front of you.”
Samijo smiled and turned away. “Not as hard as you might think.” She went to a cupboard, opened it and pulled out several large jars. “I’ll start with these, but first let me show you around. When Arlan and I were first married, the place looked very much like it does right now.”
Ebba studied her surroundings. There were two chairs and a couch in the living area. The kitchen and dining area was small, but adequate for the size of their family. Two doors led into two separate bedrooms. “What will you do when you have more children? They all can’t share a room forever.”
“No, they can’t,” Samijo agreed. “Which is why we plan on adding a second story. That way we can have two more bedrooms. Justin and Jason can share one, t
hen we’ll go from there.”
“I can’t imagine what your brother-in-law Calvin’s house is like.”
“I can tell you, it’s a lot more organized than you might think. I know Bella’s brothers and sisters are loud and boisterous, just like the Weavers. But they’re happy children, very polite, and they do as they’re told. The oldest has her own room, while the boys share one and the rest of the girls another. The older kids take care of the younger ones, and Bella runs it all like an Army sergeant. It all works out.”
“What about the babies?” Ebba asked.”
“Alastair and Hugh are in Calvin and Bella’s room right now. When they’re old enough they’ll go to the boys’ room. Well, unless Rufina – we call her Rufi – is ready for marriage by then.”
“How old is she now?”
“Sixteen and a real beauty, just like her sister – she’ll have no trouble finding a husband. But there’ll be trouble if he doesn’t want to live here on the farm. I can’t imagine any of them leaving at this point, any more than I can imagine Arlan and I would.”
Ebba walked over to a chair at the table and sat. “I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but I’m overwhelmed. Daniel didn’t tell me anything about …” She waved a hand in the air. “… having so much family. I thought it was just him and his mother.”
Samijo sat across from her. “Oh, you poor thing. I’m sorry he didn’t tell you. I hope you’re not too angry with him.”
“I guess I am a little angry. I envisioned a nice little house with just the two of us and now I … I don’t know what to think.”
Samijo suddenly straightened. “You’re not thinking of backing out of marrying Daniel, are you?”
“Oh no, it’s just that … I’m not sure what to think of all this. If he didn’t tell me about all of you, then what else hasn’t he told me?”
“Daniel wouldn’t lie, Ebba. Really, none of the Weavers would, ever. I guess because he’s used to having so many people around, he didn’t think that you might not be as comfortable with them. At least give him a chance to apologize. But first you have to tell him how you feel.”
Ebba shrugged, unsure of what to say. She didn’t want to use the words betrayed or cheated, but they were how she felt. “What’s done is done. It’s not important anymore.”
“It is if you think so. You need to tell Daniel. Trust me, you’ll want to be able to tell each other anything. Arlan and I have had our quarrels over the last few years, most of which could’ve been avoided if we’d only talked to each other instead of shutting each other out. It’s no different with Charity and Benjamin. They’ve had their moments.”
“And what about Calvin and Bella?”
“They don’t have that problem,” Samijo said with a smile. “Bella speaks her mind all the time.”
Ebba’s eyes widened. But she’d met Bella, and could see the woman wasn’t the type to hold anything back. “It’s my guess that she takes some getting used to?”
“You guessed right, but you will. And once you do, you will love her just like we do. I wouldn’t change her a bit.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Ebba said with a smile. “Now how can I help you?”
* * *
Ebba helped Samijo prepare some pies before heading back to the main house. Crossing the field and entering the orchard had a calming effect on her, and she stopped to note the beauty of the trees and landscape around her. She’d never been in an orchard before today and enjoyed the smells. The blossoms had long since fallen to the ground and were lost to the winds and rain, but it was nonetheless lovely.
She took a deep breath of fresh air, sighed … and sneezed. “Oh no!” she sniffed as she wiped at her nose with her hand. “Where’s my handkerchief?” She patted the pockets of her skirt in vain – she must have left it at the house.
She began to sneeze again and again. “Drat!” She lifted her skirt and tried to hurry back. Maybe Ma could whip her up another batch of that concoction she’d made in town. She could certainly use some, especially now that it was late morning – her affliction would be in full force soon. Would she even be able to bake cookies? She had one task assigned to her, an easy one at that, and here she was, fighting a sneezing fit.
She did her best to stay on the path, stumbling twice because of her sneezing and almost falling over. How embarrassing would that be? Good grief, she could barely walk, her eyes were so watery. She longed to rub them, but that would only make things worse. It always did. “Blast, blast, blast!” she said, pressing on. “Why do I have to be this way?”
“Ebba! Ebba what’s wrong?” Daniel asked as he ran toward her.
Ebba sneezed and looked at him, or tried to. “I’m fine, I just …” She sneezed again, and started to cry.
“Ah, sweetie, ya poor thing. Ya must be plumb miserable. Do ya know what’s wrong?”
“Of course I know what’s wrong!” she yelped, then sneezed again. “It’s just that I don’t know what to do about it!” More sneezing.
Daniel swallowed hard, trying to figure out what to do, then reached into his pocket, pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her. “Here, take this.”
She grabbed at empty air, unable to see it, until he put it in her hand. She immediately blew her nose with it, then promptly sneezed some more.
“Great jumpin’ horny toads!” Daniel exclaimed. “I ain’t never seen nothin’ like this!”
“You’re not helping,” she groaned, and blew her nose again.
Daniel, unsure of what else to do, began to chuckle. “I’m sorry, sweetie, it’s just that I ain’t never seen someone sneeze so much.”
“Well, I have, just about every day of my life!”
Daniel laughed. “I still don’t believe it.”
“You have eyes, don’t you?” She pointed at herself, sniffled, sneezed again.
“Ain’t there no way to make it stop?” he asked helplessly.
“If there was, do you think I’d be standing here like this?!” she asked tersely.
“No need to bite my head off. I was just askin’.”
“Your mother … achoo, achoo … gave me something yesterday … sniff … it seemed to help.”
Daniel nodded, pulled her against him, then picked her up.
“What are you doing?” she screeched.
“Gettin’ ya back to the house as fast as I can ‘fore ya plumb sneeze yerself to death!”
“I’m not going to sneeze myself to death!” The only reason she knew that was that if it were possible, she’d have been dead a long time ago. “Put me down!”
“Nope,” he said firmly. “Yer eyes are so full of tears ya can’t see straight anyways. Yer liable to walk right into a tree and knock yerself out.”
She couldn’t even answer – the sneezes were coming thick and fast now.
“Land sakes, darlin’, don’t die on me! We ain’t even married yet!”
“No one is … achoo … dying!” she whined. Though the thought did have merit – at least she wouldn’t be sneezing anymore.
Daniel picked up the pace. “Don’t ya worry none, sweetie. As soon as we get back to the house I’ll have Ma fix ya up. She can fix anythin’.”
“I’m glad you hab such codfidence id your mother’s abilities,” she said, her nose so stuffed now she could barely breathe, let alone talk.
“She helped ya yesterday, didn’t she?” he asked as they reached the barnyard.
“Yes,” she croaked. Great. There went her voice again.
Just then Ma ran out the back door and headed straight for them. “Good Lord, what happened? Did she fall and break her leg?”
Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!
“Oh,” Ma said. “That again, is it?”
Ebba watched Ma study her through bleary eyes. “I thigk it’s the orchards,” she suggested
“Bring her inside, Daniel,” Ma instructed. “Plop her down in the kitchen and I’ll take care of the rest. Then you can get back to work.”
“Sure thing
Ma.” He headed up the back steps, carried Ebba through the open kitchen door and straight to the table where he set her on her feet next to it. “Ma’ll set ya straight, ya’ll see.” Then to her surprise, he tenderly brushed the hair out of her eyes and wiped at the tears around them. “I feel powerful sorry for ya right now, darlin’. I wish there was somethin’ else I could do.”
Ebba could only shake her head, not sure if her voice would even work. She tried to smile, but sneezed instead.
His eyes filled with determination, and he pulled her into his arms for a hug. “I gotta get back to work, sweetie. But I know that by the time I see ya again ya’ll be right as rain.” He kissed her hair, and between that and her stuffy nose, it was all she could do to remain standing.
Chapter 9
Daniel stomped back to work. Maybe if he picked up his pace, the tight feeling in his chest would lessen and he’d be able to breathe better. Fear had a way of sucking the wind out of him, and he wasn’t as accustomed to fighting it as his brothers were. They were experienced in protecting their women from harm. But how was he going to protect his from this? It was one thing to battle an outlaw, or some bungling intruder that managed to get into the house, or even a jealous rival. But sickness and disease were another thing altogether.
Maybe he was just overreacting. But it didn’t feel like it.
Ebba was sneezing something awful and could hardly see for the tears in her eyes. Had she been crying because she was in pain? Was her ailment really that bad? Or did she just not do well around apple trees? He knew Warren Johnson would start to sneeze come springtime – it would last for a few weeks, then clear up and go away. Was that what Ebba suffered? But her sneezing was much worse than Warren’s.
He certainly hoped Ma could fix her. He didn’t like the idea of Ebba sneezing her way through their wedding vows.
“What was the ruckus up at the house?” Benjamin asked as he brought their plow horse Myrtle to a stop and wiped his brow.
