The Hard Land-Part 26
A story of love and survival
While Harry Nash retrieved the sleigh and the horses from the livery stable, Amanda carried the luggage into the train depot to wait along with Earl and Elizabeth. Earl sat on the traveling trunk and Elizabeth bounced the baby on her hip to keep him quiet. Harry pulled his sleigh alongside the platform.
“Do you want to ride with us?” Harry asked.
“I think so. I don’t know if Frank got my message or not.”
“It was lucky Thomas remembered to tell Amanda we were traveling on the same train,” Earl said as he slid the trunk across the platform.
“Yes, the two of them seemed to be caught up in their own little world,” Harry chuckled.
“I’ll get Elizabeth and Amanda,” Earl said once the trunk and other luggage were loaded.
Harry held the team at the platform until Amanda, Earl, Elizabeth, and Benny climbed in. Amanda insisted that Elizabeth take the seat next to Harry and she gladly did. She and Earl traded off holding Benny as the sleigh slowly made its way across the valley. It was dark when they reached Franklin. Harry pulled his sleigh up to the livery stable and arranged for the horses to be boarded for the night. “I’ll go see if the Sparrows are up for a little company tonight,” Harry said. “Wait here until I am sure.”
Fifteen minutes later, Harry returned and escorted them to the Sparrow’s house. Harriet had laid out a small dinner for them and they visited as they ate.
“Harry, I think you will have to take the floor here in the living room. Amanda, we will put you in the little room off from the kitchen. Elizabeth and Earl, you can take our room and we will move over to our daughter’s room,” Harriet said.
“Oh, no,” said Elizabeth. “We don’t want to push you out of your room.”
“Nonsense,” Harriet said. “Take our room. It will be much warmer for the baby.”
“Are you sure,” Earl asked.
“Of course. We wouldn’t want the little guy to be cold. Alright then, off to bed we go,” Henry said.
Earl woke early, but Harry already had the team hitched up. Harriet insisted that they all sit down to breakfast before they headed out. Even as eager as they were to get home, they could not pass up Harriet’s hotcakes and sausages with real maple syrup brought all the way from New England.
They had just crossed over Maple Creek when Frank met them in his sleigh. While Frank got the sleigh turned around, Elizabeth pulled Amanda close. “Don’t let Thomas get away,” she said. “He adores you.”
Amanda blushed. “I don’t intend to,” she breathed.
“Good. Remember, I am on your side,” Elizabeth whispered with a wink.
Frank stopped the team to allow Earl and Elizabeth to climb into the sleigh and the two sleighs traveled side by side until they reached the gnarled box elder tree.
Elizabeth waved and Amanda waved back. “What are you two conspiring about?” Earl asked.
“Nothing.” Elizabeth smiled at her husband, but he had a pretty good idea of what the two women were thinking.
Earl jumped down from the sleigh as soon as Frank stopped it and took Benny from Elizabeth so she could climb down from the seat. With his free hand, Earl guided Elizabeth to the house.
Frank had explained the situation with the cabin during the ride home, and with little protest, Earl and Elizabeth agreed to move into Hank’s room until the shingles were replaced on their home.
As soon as Elizabeth and Benny were in the house, Frank and Earl returned to the barn to retrieve the trunk. Anna came in from the kitchen and held out her arms to take Benny.
Elizabeth relinquished Benny. You’re expecting!” Elizabeth squealed.
“I am,” Anna said as she opened the blanket to get a look at Benny’s face.
“When is the baby coming?”
“July, I think.”
“It will be so fun to have our children so close in age.”
“Frank and I have talked about that, and we agree that it will be good.” Anna sat on a chair and played with Benny. In just a few minutes, he was asleep. She held on to the bundle in her arms rocking back and forth thinking of the day when she would once again hold her own baby. It had been so long. Hank was nearly six years old, and she was beginning to despair that she would have another baby.
“Let me take him.” Elizabeth stood and reached out her arms. Anna placed the sleeping baby in Elizabeth’s arms. “I’ll put him in the cradle and help you with dinner.”
Anna went to the kitchen while Elizabeth got Benny settled into the cradle and started to peel the withered potatoes Frank had brought from the cellar last night. Along with a few raggedy carrots, that was all that was left of the garden crops.
“Smells good,” Elizabeth said as she entered the kitchen.
“I hope it tastes good. We are at the end of what we stored in the cellar. It is a good thing we have the chickens.”
“We brought a few things from Ogden. I’ll have Earl bring them into the house.”
The back door opened, and Frank and Earl came into the house carrying the trunk. “We’ll put this in the bedroom,” Frank said.
Anna raised her hand. “Wait, Benny is sleeping in there. Just set it in the living room for now.”
“Earl, can you bring up the supplies we brought?” Elizabeth asked.
The men set the trunk down and returned to the barn to retrieve two wooden boxes.
Anna was pleased to see nice-looking potatoes and a few other things to be added to the larder. “Spring cannot come soon enough for me,” she said. “We should save a few of these potatoes to plant.”
“The chicken in the pot is the last of the ones we raised to eat,” Frank said. “We don’t want to start eating the laying hens.”
“I hope we are not going to be a burden,” Earl said.
“No way will you be a burden. We have a nice fat pig that we will slaughter in a few days, and spring is right around the corner.” Frank said.
Anna added a handful of barley to the stew simmering on the stove. “Dinner will only be a few more minutes. Tell us about your winter in Ogden.”
Earl and Elizabeth both started to talk at once, but then they both stopped. They looked at each other and giggled.
“You go first,” Elizabeth said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, of course.”
“It was interesting,” Earl began. “It took us a little while to get into the Walker’s routine, but once we did things were pretty good.”
“Pretty good? Is that what you call being ignored by my parents?”
Earl laughed. “That was only for the first three months. Really, it all worked out well. Elizabeth had the best medical care available. The Walkers were hospitable most of the time, and it was good to be able to spend time with Ma and Pa. They miss having you and their grandchildren close by, but they are happy that you are living your dream.”
“A lot of your friends asked about you,” Elizabeth said and named several people she had talked to who asked about Frank and Anna.
“It’s nice to be remembered,” Anna said.
“How are things working out with Richard at the hardware store?” Frank asked.
“He is working out surprisingly well. He and Martha are getting married in June and after that, I think Pa is going to step back a little at the store and let Richard take more responsibility.”
“Will Pa step back?” Frank asked.
“I don’t know. He says he will, but we will have to wait and see.
“Dinner is ready,” Anna said. “Frank, call the children.”
Within minutes, Hank and Charlotte rushed through the door and shed their coats and boots. Hank climbed onto his chair and grabbed his spoon. Anna shook her head, and Hank laid the spoon down beside the bowl of stew and folded his arms.
“Earl, will you offer grace?” Frank asked.
They bowed their heads and after Earl offered a short simple prayer they dove into their meal. It did not take long to finish the bowl of stew and there were no seconds to be offered. It was a good thing there was bread and butter to go with it.
The children got ready for bed and the adults visited into the night catching up on all that had happened since Earl and Elizabeth left for Ogden last October.
“Well, we better be getting to bed,” Frank finally said. “The chores won’t do themselves in the morning.”
Earl groaned inwardly. He had gotten out of the habit of getting up early to do chores. He hoisted himself out of the chair and took Elizabeth by the hand. “I’ve got to get back into the routine.”
“No problem, I’ll rouse you on my way out the door,” Frank said.
True to his word, Frank knocked on the bedroom door at five thirty the next morning.
Earl moaned as he rolled out of bed.
“You wanted to get back to the farm,” Elizabeth reminded him as he pulled on his pants and shirt. He grabbed his boots and carried them to the kitchen where he sat on a chair and pulled them on. The boots felt good on his feet. He was eager to get them into the stirrups again.
