Two hours later, it was dark again, and Edward hadn’t come home. The day had passed so quickly that Marybeth hadn’t even thought about what to cook for their dinner. She usually made plenty so that she’d have enough for lunch the next day. She looked through the things she had to work with. In winter, the tent families kept a box outside the flaps with perishable items. Unfortunately, the current cold snap froze everything hard.
There was still a hunk of ham left, and Marybeth knew she had beans. Ham and beans were a good solution. She could make up a big pot and bake some corn bread as well. It would last them a couple of days, and even Carrie ate that without protest.
She brought the food in, then secured the flaps for the night. She’d had Carrie to the outhouse only a half hour earlier, so they were ready to be inside until morning.
The few things Marybeth had managed to get washed hung from a rope that Edward had secured from one tent pole to the other. Melody had told Marybeth that this was how a lot of folks dried their clothes. They also used the lines outside even in the cold. The clothes would often freeze but dried all the same. Later Marybeth would heat up the irons and finish the process, but first things first.
She thought again about the night before and Edward getting lost. She silently thanked God for watching over him. The fear of what she and Carrie would have done if he’d died crept into the forefront of her thoughts once again. No matter how hard she tried not to fret, she found it nearly impossible to let it go.
It dawned on her that she’d not been to any church services or prayer meetings since leaving Indiana. She and Edward had read the Bible together and prayed over their meals, but it wasn’t the same. Melody had talked about the church where she and her father went. It wasn’t so much a church as a few people who met together at city hall and listened to Dr. Scott preach. Melody said he was a good speaker and seemed to know the Bible very well.
Marybeth missed gathering with other Christians. Even when there were troubles like the kind Pastor Orton had brought about, Marybeth knew that the fellowship was something her soul craved. Not to mention the importance of hearing the Bible taught. She would speak to Edward and see if they couldn’t start going to church on Sundays. It would cut into Edward’s sleep, but maybe he missed it as much as she did.
By the time the beans were cooked, it was late. She had forgotten how long it would take to ready them and had fixed ham-and-cheese sandwiches for their supper while the beanscontinued to boil. Carrie had long since fallen asleep, and Marybeth took that time to heat up the irons and create a makeshift ironing board on the crate they used as a table. Oh, how she had taken for granted the comforts of home. Back in Indiana she had had a lovely ironing board and clothesline. There had been cupboards with plenty of space for all of her pans and dishes.
Memories of home and days when her mother had been alive came back to cheer her. Marybeth had loved working in the garden with her mother. Mama had a way of telling stories and teaching Marybeth about the cultivation of food all at the same time. It was more fun than work, even on hot, humid days when Marybeth would have loved to go swimming instead of labor in the dirt.
After Mama had died and Papa remarried, Marybeth had enjoyed learning things from Carrie’s mother, Sarah. She’d been with them such a short time. Just a year. But Marybeth considered her a friend. They had both been so excited when it was announced that Sarah was expecting a baby. Marybeth had never looked forward to anything as much as she did the birth of her sister. But the delivery had been hard, and two hours after holding her infant daughter, Sarah slipped away from them. The doctor said she bled to death. A year later, they lost Janey. Childbirth had taken the life of both women—good friends that Marybeth had thought would be around forever.
The memories of saying good-bye to each still haunted Marybeth. Both had known they were dying. Sarah had made Marybeth promise she would be a mother to Carrie. Janey had asked Marybeth to watch over Edward.
Tears came to Marybeth as she let the memories fade. How different she had thought her life would be. Before herstepmother died, she had dreamed of marrying and living in a house near Edward and Janey. They would help each other, and their children would grow up together. They would attend church on Sundays and perhaps share Sunday meals. Sadly, that never happened.
But she had kept her promises. She had been a mother to Carrie and had watched over Edward. And she would go on with those tasks for as long as God gave her breath. It was her duty and pleasure. She was glad that she had them both and wasn’t going to allow the devil to rob her of her joy. Even if life hadn’t turned out the way she had hoped and dreamed, she would do her best and be thankful for what she had.
12
“This is so much more than I’d imagined,” Marybeth said, looking around her new home.
The workshop Fred planned was twenty by fifteen, but with some leftover lumber, he and Edward had added a little room off the kitchen area for bathing and laundry. They’d even managed to build some floor-to-ceiling shelves for storage. In the kitchen, they had put up counters where eventually Fred would do woodworking. For now, they served very well for food preparation and clean-up. They’d even nailed a couple of Fred’s old crates to the wall to act as cupboards.
Eve had come up with a small table, as well as a couple of cots they had used when they first arrived.
“They aren’t much,” she had apologized, “but much better than sleeping on the floor.”
And there was a floor! Not just hard-packed dirt. Most sheds didn’t have that kind of luxury, but Fred said he’d always planned to have a floor, and so they did.
Edward and Fred had secured the stove at the sale of the dead man’s things. It was a little bigger than the one in thetent but not by much. Still, once the men had it set up and safely vented, it warmed the entire room in a very short time. It was going to be perfect.
“I’m sorry there’s no window just yet,” Fred said. “I ordered a small one, but they said it might take a while to get it. Once it comes, we’ll put it in over here, where I’ll work.” He pointed to the counter area where they’d framed a spot for a window. Edward had nailed a board over the open space from the outside to keep things warm inside.
Marybeth wasn’t about to complain. “There weren’t any windows in the tent either. This is just fine by me, Fred. You and Eve were more than generous. I’m excited about our new home.”
“Sorry it’s too cold to paint. The place would look completely different if you had a coat of paint on the walls,” Eve Henderson said as she arrived.
“Again, it’s just perfect. It’s so much better than what we had.” Marybeth had such a sense of peace. Where the tent never felt like home, this was already making her feel happy and relaxed.
“It won’t be quite so hard to find, eh, Ed?” Fred said, laughing.
Marybeth had never heard anyone called Edward by the shortened version of his name. She didn’t think it suited him. He was Edward, and that’s all she saw him as. Not Ed or Eddie or Teddie. Just Edward.
“I’ve given serious thought to running a rope from the house to the jail,” Edward said, laughing. “I doubt the freight wagons would appreciate it, but at least I’d find my way without trouble.”
They all chuckled at that, but Marybeth knew they all took quite seriously the problem that could easily happen again.When she, Carrie, and Melody walked over following the wagon with their things, Marybeth couldn’t help but see how easy it had been for Edward to lose his way. Once you left the center of town, things got a little confusing, and on the outer edges of town, it was really bad. There were no street signs or landmarks, just wide-open spaces.
Eve turned to go. “It’s nearly time for the menfolk to go to work. Why don’t you all come up to the house and have a bite to eat? You didn’t stop for lunch, so I know you must be hungry. The children are waiting and ready to eat.” She and Melody had been watching over Carrie and the Henderson boys while the rest of them worked to get the shed in order.
“That suits me just fine,” Fred replied and offered Eve his arm. “Let me escort you, milady.” She smiled and took hold of him to make her trudge through the snow a little easier.
