Forever Yours

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  What he hadn’t counted on was how awkward it would be to keep one leg propped up on the ottoman while he ran the clothes over the washboard. A couple of times, his leg almost slipped off the ottoman. He had to stop what he was doing and reposition his leg then try to figure out a better way of sitting so it didn’t happen again.

  This, however, was easier said than done, and just as he finished scrubbing the shirt, his leg slid to the edge of the ottoman. Dave hurried to shake out the water from the shirt, but his leg fell to the floor of the porch. Pain shot straight up to his hip and then to his back.

  He gritted his teeth and lifted his leg to relieve the pain. This action, however, proved to be a mistake since he only ended up lurching forward into the bucket of soapy water where he’d been washing the clothes. The bucket and the table it’d been on all came crashing down under his weight. He went toppling to the floor right along with everything else. He landed on his side with a resounding thud. He remained still for a moment as the world spun around him.

  The sound of someone laughing made the world grow still. Ignoring the soapy laundry water that was all over him, he threw the shirt aside and propped himself up with his arms. He looked over in time to see Joel bounding up the steps of the porch.

  Joel snickered. “I thought Tom was clumsy, but you have him beat.”

  “It’s not easy to wash clothes with a broken leg,” Dave replied.

  “I’ll help you up.” Joel went behind him and lifted him up. With a grunt, he plopped him back into the chair. “You’ve gained some weight since you broke your leg. I have to tell Mary to stop feeding you all the time. By the time your leg is healed, you’ll be too heavy to ride the horses.”

  “Ha ha,” Dave muttered as Joel set his leg back on the ottoman. “I can’t understand why Tom doesn’t find you amusing.”

  “Tom doesn’t have a sense of humor,” Joel replied. “He takes everything too seriously. Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone what happened. I wouldn’t want them to think you got hurt while doing women’s work.” Again, he snickered.

  Dave rolled his eyes. “You’re all heart, Joel.”

  “What can I say? I care about people.”

  Dave was ready to respond when April came up the porch steps with her newborn baby, Levi, in her arms. She paused when she saw the bucket and washboard tipped over, and then she looked over at Dave.

  Eight-year-old Nora came running up the steps around April and gasped when she saw the mess. Nora looked back at four-year-old Hannah. “Look what happened to Uncle Dave!”

  Hannah peered around her and laughed. “Uncle Dave is funny.”

  Dave shook his head. “It’s just great that Hannah’s taken so much after you, Joel.”

  Joel’s chest puffed up with pride. “It is, isn’t it?”

  “What happened?” April asked.

  “Dave couldn’t figure out how to use a washboard,” Joel said before Dave could answer. “He should leave the laundry to the people who actually know how to do it.” He picked up the bucket and then tossed the washboard into it. Joel glanced at the pile of clothes Dave had already washed. Fortunately, they were safe on the back of another chair. “At least he managed to get some things wet.”

  “Those are clean,” Dave said. “Don’t touch them.”

  The front door opened, and Dave’s mother gasped in surprise. “Joel and April! What are you two doing here?”

  Nora and Hannah ran over to hug her.

  “We had nothing else to do, so we thought we’d check on the patient,” Joel said, gesturing to Dave.

  Dave’s mother finally noticed that Dave was wet. Her eyes widened in alarm. “What happened to you? I thought you were going to wash clothes.”

  “He decided to go for a swim instead,” Joel replied.

  Dave rolled his eyes, but his mother laughed and said, “I know Dave wouldn’t do that.” Turning to Dave, she added, “I wondered if you could handle washing clothes with your leg being the way it is. It’s a lot more work than you men give us credit for.” She glanced at April. “Am I right?”

  April nodded. “It is a lot of work, and it mostly goes unappreciated.”

  “I appreciate it,” Dave said. When had he ever once given any of them the impression he didn’t? “I would much rather pull a calf out of the mud than wash clothes. Pulling the calf out is a lot easier.”

  “Judging by the way you were floundering around on this porch when I came here, I believe it,” Joel told him.

  “Stop giving him a hard time,” April interrupted. “I’ll be happy to help with the laundry. Is Mary here?”

  “She’s helping my husband with the calf that got stuck,” Dave’s ma replied. “I was making lunch and watching the children.” She turned her gaze to her three grandchildren. “Do you want to see your cousins?”

  Nora and Hannah indicated they did and ran into the house.

  His mother laughed. “I just love a house full of children. April, why don’t you come in? Mary will be back soon. We can figure out a way to do laundry and watch the children after lunch.”

  “Or Joel can finish up,” Dave suggested. When Joel looked at him in shock, he explained, “Since you’re so great at everything, I’d hate to deny you the opportunity to show me how the laundry is properly done.”

  Joel held up his hands in front of Dave’s face. “These hands deliver babies, perform surgery, and tend to other ailments. They need to be in pristine condition.”

  “You haven’t changed a bit,” Dave said. “While we were growing up, all you ever did was make excuses as to why you couldn’t help out on the farm.”

  Joel put his hand on his chest. “I do important things, Dave. I save lives. I mend broken bones. I take care of illnesses. I…”

  When his voice drifted off, Dave glanced over at his mother and April who stared at Joel. His mother had her hands on her hips and was giving him the kind of look that used to intimidate all of her children when they were young. April’s eyes were narrowed at Joel, and she was shaking her head.

  “On the other hand,” Joel continued, “everyone is busy around here, and one of my duties is to help when needed. Where do I need to get some pails so I can fill up the bucket?”

  His mother let go of her hips and smiled at him. “Right over there.” She pointed to the two pails that were by the front door. “I’m sure Mary will appreciate the help.”

  After his mother and April went into the house, Joel muttered, “If Mary was here, she wouldn’t make me do the laundry.”

  “I guess God has a sense of humor,” Dave said, this time smirking at him. “You arrived at just the right time.”

  Joel opted not to respond. Instead, he picked up the pails and headed for the well.

  ***

  Three weeks later, Dave waited on the porch for Mary to come down with Rachel and Adam. He was leaning on his crutch by the steps while Isaac was impatiently rocking in the porch swing.

  “Can’t I play with Jasper?” Isaac asked for the fifth time.

  “No,” Dave said. “You don’t want to get your clothes dirty.”

  “You don’t want me to get my clothes dirty.”

  Dave shot him a pointed look. “Your mother and grandparents wouldn’t want you to get them dirty, either. Your grandma, aunts, and your ma are going to make some delicious treats for you to eat. The least you can do is look nice.”

  Though Isaac sighed, he didn’t argue.

  Dave heard Jasper bark from the fenced-in area. His gaze went to the wagon his brother Tom was driving onto the property, followed by a pink buggy that Jessica was driving. Tom and his oldest girl, fourteen-year-old Nelly, and his youngest girl, seven-year-old Daisy, were on the wagon. Jessica was with twelve-year-old Patricia and ten-year-old Erin.

  As Tom turned the wagon toward his house, Dave noticed that someone had painted the sides of the wagon pink. He closed his eyes and shook his head. Given that Tom had a wife and four daughters, he could understand Tom having a pink buggy. But why would
he paint the wagon pink? Tom already had a house that was pink! Dave didn’t hate the color pink, but it could be overdone.

  Dave was glad Mary was more sensible. She let him have a blue house and let him keep the wagon the nice brown color it was supposed to be.

  “Do I have to ride in something pink?” Isaac asked as he got off the porch swing.

  “Yes,” Dave replied. “Tom and Jessica are helping us by taking us to Grandma and Grandpa’s. Your ma can’t drive a wagon while taking care of us.” And he wasn’t able to make sure Adam stayed still the whole time. Isaac and Rachel would stay good, but Adam was still too young to sit still for a long period of time. “Just be glad you don’t have to ride in that wagon all the time,” Dave added.

  Isaac grimaced. “Yeah, I guess.”

  Dave couldn’t blame Isaac for not being excited to be riding in a pink wagon, but really, it could be worse. “Also, you can be glad they didn’t decorate it with bows and ribbons.”

  At that, Isaac paled. “Don’t say that so loud, Pa. They might hear you.”

  With a chuckle, Dave gave him a pat on the shoulder. “If they go that far, I’ll have a talk with your uncle.” Because no matter how much Tom let Jessica get her way, he needed to have some limits!

  Tom stopped the wagon in front of the porch. “You ready to get in?” he asked as he jumped down from the wagon.

  “I am, but Mary’s still in the house with Rachel and Adam,” Dave said.

  “Nelly, go help your aunt,” Tom called out.

  “Sure thing, Pa,” Nelly replied and jumped out of the wagon the exact same way Tom had.

  Dave blinked in surprise, but he waited until she ran into the house before he turned his attention back to Tom. “The more I see her, the more I realize she imitates everything you do. Before you know it, she’ll want to plant crops.”

  Tom took the crutch and then put Dave’s arm around his shoulders. “Oh, she already did that this spring.”

  “She did?” Dave asked.

  Tom nodded as he helped Dave to the wagon. “She did a good job of it, too. I might let her help with the harvest in a couple more years.”

  “Do you really think it’s wise for a girl to be out in the fields gathering crops?”

  “I don’t see why she can’t.”

  “She should be with the other girls and the women.”

  “Dave, you got to stop being so old-fashioned. Girls and women are doing more things outside the home these days.” They reached the wagon and Tom turned to face him. “In Missouri, I heard the daughter of a homesteader took over the place without getting a husband.”

  “No way.”

  “It’s true. And she’s been managing the place for five years now. If she can do it, Nelly can help with the crops.”

  Well, Dave supposed Mary had pitched in from time to time to help with the crops, but he couldn’t remember her ever volunteering to plant or reap any. He couldn’t recall a time when Rachel wanted to be in the fields, either.

  “As long as it’s something Nelly wants to do and she doesn’t hurt herself, I guess there’s no harm,” Dave said.

  “She loves it, and she never does anything she can’t handle. She’s got a good head on her shoulders. Of course, all my girls do.”

  “At least you’re not still upset you didn’t have a son.”

  “I love my girls. To be honest, I wouldn’t know what I’d do with a son at this point.”

  With a laugh, he said, “You’d probably paint this wagon blue instead of pink.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with pink when you have a house full of girls. Besides, I kind of like it. Every time I see it, I think of my family.” Tom set the crutch aside and lowered the back end of the wagon. “I’ll help you in.”

  Once Tom lifted Dave up into the wagon, Dave scooted back until his back was up against the side of the wagon. He took a moment to catch his breath then accepted the crutch as Tom handed it to him.

  “Hi, Uncle Dave,” Daisy greeted as she turned around to look at him.

  “Hi, Daisy.” After a moment, Dave asked, “Do you want to plant crops like Nelly when you get older?”

  Daisy’s nose scrunched up. “No. Bugs are out in the fields. And I don’t like getting dirty.” She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. “I like being inside where it’s clean and safe.”

  Isaac sat next to Dave.

  “Want to play when we get to Grandma and Grandpa’s?” Daisy asked Isaac.

  Isaac shook his head. “I’m not going to play dolls again.”

  “This won’t be dolls.” She bent under the seat she was sitting on and showed him about thirty wooden sticks that were tied together with a string. “It’s called pick-up sticks. I’ll untie the sticks and let go of them. You and I will take turns picking them up.”

  “That sounds stupid,” Isaac said.

  “You didn’t let me finish. If you move any other stick while picking one up, you lose a turn. The person who gets the most sticks wins.”

  Isaac’s eyebrows rose in interest. “That doesn’t sound so stupid. Alright. I’ll play.”

  “Great!”

  Patricia and Erin came running up to the wagon and hopped in. “How did you hurt your leg?” Patricia asked Dave as she sat next to him.

  “Uncle Joel said the bone broke,” Erin added as she sat next to Patricia. “Did the bones poke out of your leg? Was there blood everywhere?”

  Daisy grimaced. “That’s gross.”

  “It’s not gross,” Erin replied. “It’s what happens when people get injured.” Erin’s gaze went to Dave. “Uncle Joel told us how things can go wrong with the human body.”

  Daisy turned away from them and covered her ears.

  “He doesn’t go into a lot of detail,” Patricia added. “He says there are some things little kids shouldn’t know.”

  “I know that,” Erin replied.

  “But Uncle Dave doesn’t,” Patricia said.

  “Oh, yes, that’s true.” Erin’s gaze returned to Dave. “So, how gross was your leg?”

  Dave shook his head. “There was no blood, but I could tell something was wrong.”

  Erin straightened up in interest. “Really? What did it look like?”

  “I’d rather not think about it,” Dave said. “Wouldn’t you rather be thinking of something pleasant, like pick-up sticks or something?”

  “Oh, we’re bored of that game,” Erin replied with a roll of her eyes. “Uncle Joel told us you’d tell us how you fell off a horse and broke your leg.”

  Patricia nodded. “Don’t leave anything out. We want the entire story.”

  There was no way Dave was telling them the details. Every time he thought about how careless he’d been, he got embarrassed. “There’s nothing to tell,” he finally said. “I fell off of the horse, and I hurt my leg. Your uncle came by, and I’ve been wearing this,” he pointed to the splint, “for a little over a month.”

  “So, it wasn’t gross when you broke your leg?” Erin asked, her lower lip in a pout.

  “No.” Dave shook his head. “Why do you like to hear about gross things?” He assumed for a family that was surrounded by the color pink, the girls would be a lot more feminine than these were turning out to be.

  Erin and Patricia shrugged. “It’s not every day you see a broken leg,” Erin said. “We thought it might be interesting to know what one is like.”

  “Yeah, it’s not like our pa ever fell off a horse,” Patricia added.

  “Well, tell your pa he’s lucky,” Dave said. “This isn’t any fun. I have to spend a long time in this splint. It’s not easy being stuck in a chair all day. You should be glad you can move around and play.”

  Mary came up to the wagon with Rachel and Adam, but before she could start getting the children in, Jessica asked, “Why don’t you and I ride together? Patricia and Erin are already over here. We can go in my buggy.”

  Mary glanced at Dave, and he gave her a nod. She might as well ride in the buggy. It was much mo
re comfortable than being in the back of the wagon.

  “Alright,” Mary said. “We’ll follow the rest of you.”

  Mary carried Adam to the buggy, and Jessica carried Rachel.

  Nelly hopped into the seat of the wagon. “I found Aunt Mary and got her out here,” she told Dave.

  “What did you do, lasso her?” Patricia teased her sister.

  Nelly’s eyebrows rose. “I could if I wanted to.”

  Isaac stared at her. “You don’t know how to lasso something.”

  “Sure, I do,” Nelly said. “I’m getting pretty good at it, too.” Tom hopped up into the wagon seat, and she added, “Pa, tell Isaac I know how to use a lasso.”

  Tom glanced back at Isaac. “She lassoed a calf the other day.”

  “She did?” This time Dave was the one to speak. He figured Isaac would have asked the question if he hadn’t, but he was too surprised to remain silent.

  “She got it out of the puddle it got stuck in,” Tom told him. “And on her first try.”

  “I’ve been practicing for a year,” Nelly said, looking very satisfied her pa had backed up her claim.

  “I never heard of a girl lassoing anything,” Isaac replied, not seeming convinced.

  “When we get to Grandpa and Grandma’s, I’ll prove it,” Nelly said.

  “You two should make a bet,” Erin spoke up. “That’ll make it more interesting.”

  Isaac glanced at Dave.

  Dave shook his head. If Tom said Nelly could lasso a calf, then she could do it. Tom wasn’t like Joel. What Tom said was what really happened.

  “No, I don’t want to bet,” Isaac replied.

  Patricia frowned in disappointment. “It would have been fun to win the bet.”

  “As long as you don’t doubt I can do it, we’re fine,” Nelly told Isaac.

  Isaac waited until Nelly turned her attention to the front of the wagon before he rolled his eyes. Dave put his arm around Isaac’s shoulders and gave him a reassuring pat. Isaac made the right decision, and if he was smart, he wouldn’t let his cousins’ goading get to him. They were being playful, but Isaac had a tendency to take things a little too seriously.