“Yes and no. I believe that you are exactly what Laurent Textiles needs to bring it well into the 20thcentury. You run this patch like a seasoned military general, garnering respect as well as results. You will, at first, whip my employee pool into shape, streamline everything until we are running as efficiently as possible, then I want you to expand our reach further than I ever thought possible. The world is changing, and we either change with it or we fall behind.”
“And me, Emil?”
“Well, Paddy, primarily I want you to work the property with Maeve and the others. In addition to my being Jewish, we employ several Negros. If that is going to be a problem for either of you, I will bid you goodnight now.”
I share another look with Paddy and grin. “Emil, we do not much care how or where you worship, or what color your skin might be, so long as you are an honest, hard-working, and fair person.”
Emil blinks rapidly and if I knew him better, I would be able to confidently say he is about to cry. Adorable. “Paddy, before you start working with Maeve, I want you to travel with me to suppliers, mines, and such to assess the working conditions, company ethics, and weed out the undesirable companies to work with in the future. I do need a coal supplier, and I am willing to pay a little more to cover the distance knowing the coal I need did not take the lives of good men to obtain. Once that issorted, you will be on the farm, and Trinli will come with me to the factory.”
“This is…this is a lot, Emil. We met less than twelve hours ago, and you are offering us a grand future on a silver platter.” Paddy leans forward, staring shrewdly at Emil. “What is the catch?”
“The catch is…my wife is a terrible cook.”
I lean my head against Paddy as we both laugh hysterically. The boys come running from outside and jump into our laps. Emil stares at us, Jakob helping Noemi toddle over to Emil. He lifts her into the air, bringing her squealing into his lap.
Over the top of Riordan’s head, I meet Emil’s gaze. “Where would we live?”
“We have an extensive property. The others who work for us have small cottages on plots at the edges of our property line; they own free and clear. Given your family size, I would say something larger than a cottage is in order and in a more secluded area of the property, so while that is being built, you will stay with Maeve, Hazel, and I in the big house.”
I swallow past the lump of emotion that clogs my throat, my eyes filling faster than I can wipe them away. “Why us?”
His expression softens looking down at our little girl chattering nonsense. “I cannot say definitively. I have learned never to question my gut, and my gut says I need this family on my side. But it is more than that. Have you ever…” He trails off, looks between Paddy and I and shrugs. “The moment I laid eyes on my wife, I knew she was integral to my existence. We had not uttered a word to one another, but I knew. With absolute certainty.” I look up at Paddy and find him already smiling down at me. “I see you two know exactly of what I speak. Big changes are coming and your family is integral to my family’s existence.”
Paddy 16.
1915 – Baltimore, Maryland
I never tire of looking at my wife. She is always beautiful, even with her sleeves rolled up, dirt on her cheeks, and her hair damp with sweat. At home, she walks the fields and gardens in plain clothing, at one with the earth. At work, she is buttoned up and sophisticated, cutting a striking figure amongst the men that populate the industry.
Right now, she is radiant, disembarking the train that brought us from Northern Pennsylvania, she and Maeve praising their new brassieres in the same breath as cursing the need for any undergarments at all. Emil and I continue to wisely keep our opinions to ourselves, though I know we are both supporters of no support. Nothing wrong with knowing your woman is bare beneath her layers, ripe and ready for the taking whenever the mood strikes her or you.
Admittedly, I enjoyed watching her put it on this morning and even more when I held the strap in the back and rutted into her like a beastie from behind. She enjoyed herself too.
Maeve convinced my wife to splurge on a few new custom pieces of clothing from Laurent’s for our trip to Baltimore. Her burgundy skirt and matching fitted jacket, cream colored ruffled blouse, and something called a cloche hat on her head. Her hair trails down her back beneath it, reminding me of ourdaughters. Jakob, Riordan, and Gabriel are the only ones of our eleven children accompanying us. Emil and Maeve’s three are at the homestead with ours, probably wreaking havoc on their chaperones. It is far easier to tend to the land from sunup to sundown than wrangle eleven children not yet in their teen years. I only pray the brave men and woman watching them will still be there when we return next week.
“Aunt Olga’s ship will be docking this evening at the earliest. We can check into our hotel before supper. Boys, what are your plans? Will you be joining us?”
Jakob nods at Emil, a scowl marring his face. He is in protective mode, and I appreciate it more than he knows. This trip is extremely hard on hisMutti, though she is trying not to show it. She has not been back since she was forced to flee with Darragh more than 15 years ago.
“Uncle Emil, we will be staying withMutti. I do not feel comfortable leaving her.”
“Jakob, I will be fine, your da is with me.”
“He is, and so are your eldest sons.” Jakob is surprisingly a lot like me. Over the years, out of all our children, he is who I spend most of my time with. Not for any preference, we share many interests, a common view of the world, and a deep love for the land. Riordan and Gabriel share their industrious nature with theirMuttiand Uncle Emil. And the rest of our brood are still figuring out who they are and loving life.
The fact that our children have that luxury is often difficult for Trinli and I to accept. We grew up fighting to survive in some form or another. Working hard to bridge the gap between where we were and where we wanted to be. Our children, and the Laurent’s, are privileged to find their footing in the world withno pressure or constraints. And never any force. Our daughters will find love on their own, just as our sons will.
I smirk to myself knowing one or two have already found it. The boys remain clueless and I pray they do not feck it up too much before figuring out their future was always right in front of them.
Trinli takes a deep breath. I rest my hand on her hip and stand close behind her, giving her my support. “We should go now. Get the ugliness over with, then we can focus on Aunt Olga’s arrival.”
Maeve snorts, “Right, because having to flee your homeland because of a world war and a boiling uprising in your own country is such a happy occasion.”
“Based on what Emil has mentioned of his aunt, I would think she would agree that visiting my parents is far more dire than anything going on in Russia.”
“It is Russia.” Riordan comments, his voice low and deep. “I imagine uprisings and war are normal over there.”
“We should wait until Aunt Olga explains what is going on over there before making any assumptions out loud.” I clap Riordan’s shoulder hard, gripping the meat of his muscle tight enough to cause him to wince. He dips his chin curtly once in understanding.
