Mail Order Mama Read online

  Mrs. Miller laughed and shook her head. “His family only makes up about half the town. There are others of us here.” She held up her shopping basket. “I need to hurry home and get started on lunch for my family. It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Johnson. I’m sure I’ll see you at church on Sunday.”

  Emily watched bemusedly as Mrs. Miller turned and rushed from the store. She turned back to Benjamin who was filling up a crate with the things on her list.

  The girls rushed over. “May we each have a piece of candy, Mama? Papa said we had to ask you.” Georgie was, as usual, the one asking for them both, and Emily’s heart went out to Abbie. She understood how hard it was to be so painfully shy. Emily noted the line of jars on the counter with different types of penny candy. Each jar held a treasure of candy for anyone with a sweet tooth.

  “Just one each would be fine. I don’t want you to spoil your lunch.”

  Benjamin added a bolt of cloth to everything else she’d asked for. It was a shade of sky blue that would match her eyes perfectly, and she loved it, but she was certain it was too costly. She knew instinctively he’d put it there for her to make herself a dress with. “Oh, that’s so pretty, Benjamin, but something more serviceable would be better for me.” She loved the color and the pattern, but she knew the cost would be dear.

  He shook his head. “This is for you. My wedding gift.” He looked her up and down, noting her old faded dress. “It will be beautiful on you.”

  “Thank you.” She couldn’t argue with him. It was his money, and he had to be proud of how his wife looked. If he wanted her to wear the blue, then she would wear the blue.

  He lifted the box, and realized then how heavy it was. “How about you take just what you need for today with you, and I’ll bring the rest home when I close up?”

  She made a face. “I’m stronger than I look. You keep underestimating me.” She lifted the box, which was heavy, but certainly not too heavy for her to manage. “I’ll be down with your lunch just as soon as I get it cooked. It may be a little late.” She would do her absolute best to get it ready in time, though. She didn’t want to interfere with his regular schedule.

  Once they were back upstairs, she put the things he’d given her away, noting the meat she’d asked for wasn’t there. There was just a small portion of salt pork. “Where does your papa get meat?” she asked.

  Abbie shrugged. “From the butcher. They trade.”

  “I didn’t see a butcher shop.” Of course, that didn’t mean anything. The butcher could be outside of town, or he could simply be working from his home, where everyone would know to go with or without a sign.

  “He’s next door. He doesn’t have a sign up. Papa keeps telling him he needs to get one so he can get more business.”

  “I see. Well, since we don’t have meat other than the salt pork, I’m just going to make beans and rice for lunch. Is that okay with you girls?” She hoped they enjoyed simple meals like beans from time to time.

  Abbie nodded, and Georgie said, “Yes, Mama. I’m not picky unless I have to eat bacon all the time.”

  Emily found a big pot and filled it half full of beans and added water from the pump. “I would rather soak them longer, but this will work.” She set them on the work table and turned to the girls. “We need to leave those to soak for an hour, and then I’ll boil them. Do you want to help me bake some bread while we wait?”

  She spent the next hour working happily with the girls showing them just what ingredients to add to make the bread and how to knead it once it was mixed. Georgie wanted to make her own little pan again, so Emily agreed while she exchanged a look with Abbie. “Would you like to make your own as well, Abbie?”

  Abbie nodded. “I want to make cinnamon bread like I did at Farmor’s. It was delicious.”

  “I think that’s a great idea. As soon as the dough is done rising, we’ll make the bread.” She thought about the other things she needed to do to get caught up. As much as Benjamin’s mother angered her, she was thankful the woman had kept them caught up on the major housework. She glanced at the clock on the wall. They still had thirty minutes before she needed to start boiling the beans. “We need to cut the salt pork for the beans. Do you girls know how to use a knife?”

  She went to the work table and selected a knife for herself and two smaller, duller knives for the girls. Abbie’s eyes widened. “Mama never let me use a sharp knife.”

  Emily wondered if she was doing the right thing, but she thought if she watched over them, the girls would do fine. “Well I’ll show you how to do it, and you have to promise to be very careful. Okay?”

  The girls stared at her with wide eyes. “I promise,” Abbie said.

  “I will be careful,” Georgie told her.

  She gave them each a small dull knife and stood one on either side of her at the work table. Georgie had to stand on a chair, but Abbie was tall enough to reach on her own. She gave them each a small slab of the meat and showed them the correct way to hold their knives to cut it. She demonstrated the size she wanted for the beans and they all stood cutting together. She did three fourths of the amount on her own, but the girls did some. When they were finished, she put it all in a small pile.

  “Now we need to drain the beans and rinse them, and then we’ll add water.” The girls watched as she showed them step by step how to boil the beans. Then she started a pot of rice to go with them. “There. Lunch will be delicious.” She walked to the table and checked on the bread, punched it down, and covered it again with a kitchen towel. She washed and dried her hands. “We have the ingredients for sugar cookies or a yellow cake. Which would you girls rather make today?”

  Georgie started squealing jumping up and down. “Cake!”

  Emily looked at Abbie. “Would cake be okay with you, too?”

  Abbie looked at her sister and sighed. “Cake is fine.”

  Emily tilted her head to the side. “Do you prefer cookies?” Abbie didn’t seem pleased at the idea of cake, and Emily wondered if she ever got to choose what she wanted.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Well, let’s let your little sister choose this time, but next time you get to choose. Would that be fair?”

  Abbie nodded a smile on her face. It was obvious that because Georgie was more boisterous, Abbie was used to giving in to her wants and needs instead of standing up for what she wanted.

  “We’ll bake the cake after lunch. We have about forty minutes before then, but I don’t want to leave the kitchen with the pot boiling, because it might boil over. Would you each bring me all of your socks here? I know that’s a silly thing to ask, but I want to make sure they don’t need to be mended. We’ll go through all your clothes today, and see what needs to be mended and what new clothes you need.” Georgie made a face but ran up the stairs to obey. Abbie walked along slower, but she seemed to like the idea.

  They each came back with four pairs of socks. Emily had never owned more than two pair in her life, so she was surprised they had so many. It showed her just how wealthy her new family was. She went through each sock and found Abbie had one pair that needed to be mended while Georgie needed every sock she owned mended. It made sense with the difference in the girls, though. George was certain to not be as careful with her things as Abbie was.

  Emily had brought a small sewing kit with her and put it in the parlor where she was sure she’d be using it. She looked down at Abbie. “Would you run to the parlor and fetch my sewing kit? I put it on the table between the chairs.”

  Before Abbie could even respond, Georgie had run out of the room to do it. Abbie’s face fell. Emily hugged the child with one arm, and said very softly, so Georgie wouldn’t hear, “Abbie, you and I are a lot alike. We’re both quiet and shy. I know it seems like Georgie does everything first and always gets her way, but I’m not always going to let that happen. I’m here to watch out for both of you.”

  Abbie had a tear in her eye as she hugged Emily. “Thank you for being my mama.”

  Sh
e sat down with the girls and pushed the bread dough out of the way, showing them each how to carefully mend their own socks, before getting up to check lunch. By the time she’d done four of Georgie’s socks, Georgie had done one and Abbie had done both of hers, it was time for lunch. “We’ll put this aside for now. I’m going to take your papa his lunch. Do you want to come with me, or do you want to eat without me?”

  Abbie stood up. “We’ll come with you.”

  Georgie rubbed her stomach. “But I’m hungry!”

  Emily looked at Georgie. “There’s no one to stay with you since Abbie wants to come with me.” After putting a large bowl of rice and beans on a tray for Benjamin, she held her hand out for Georgie. “Let’s go.”

  They took the same path they’d taken before down the stairs and in through the back room. Once they were there, she stopped. “Should I take the food into the front, or just let your papa know it’s here so he can eat between customers?”

  “Take it to him, Mama. His customers know he eats while he works. They don’t mind.” Abbie led the way, so Emily followed.

  She took the tray and set it on the counter behind Benjamin while he talked to a young woman in the store. Two older men sat in the corner playing checkers. One of the older men called out, “Is this your new wife, Benjamin? She’s a tiny little thing!”

  Benjamin finished with the woman and turned to the men playing checkers. “Better to be a tiny little thing like my wife than an overbearing woman like your wife!”

  Emily’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the man to see how he’d react. Why would Benjamin talk to one of his customers that way?

  He threw back his head and laughed out loud. “That’s true. Very true.” The man sniffed. “Your lunch smells good. Better than the bread your mother brings in even.”

  Benjamin put his arm around Emily’s waist. “My wife is a good cook.” He gestured to the man at the table. “The loud mouth over there is my cousin, Thomas. His friend is my brother, Samuel. They were both at the wedding, but I know you didn’t have a chance to meet everyone.”

  Emily smiled toward the men and waved timidly. She felt like she was on display and she hated that. “Do you need anything else before I go back upstairs?” she asked softly. She wanted to hurry away so she could hide. She needed to feed the girls, of course, but getting out of the room was even more important to her.

  “I talked to the butcher this morning. I got some chicken for our supper.” He indicated a wrapped piece of meat on the counter. “Any day you want meat for supper, you tell me and I’ll get it for you. We can have fresh every day with a butcher in town.”

  She nodded. “Thank you.” She picked up the wrapped chicken from the counter and headed toward the stairs.

  Benjamin caught her hand. “Are the girls minding you?”

  Emily’s face lit up at the question. “They’ve been wonderful. I don’t have a single complaint. We’re about to eat lunch, and then we’ll bake some bread for supper.”

  His eyes searched hers. He’d worried a little that the girls wouldn’t mind her because she was so little she wouldn’t seem like an authority figure. “You would tell me if they didn’t?”

  “Of course, I would. Our girls are wonderful. They do everything I say.” Both girls nodded to emphasize her words, and he let go of her arm.

  “Okay, I believe you. You go and have a good lunch. I’ll be home a little after six.”

  She picked up the chicken and hurried out of the store and into the back room, going up the stairs with the girls to have her lunch.

  After lunch, Emily asked, “Do you girls like chicken and dumplings?” She’d always loved chicken and dumplings, and wanted to share the dish with the girls.

  The girls looked at each other. “We’ve never had chicken with our dumplings, but we love dumplings. And chicken,” Abbie told her.

  Emily frowned. “Well, we’ll try it and see then.” The three of them made the bread. Each girl was given a ball of dough the size of her fist to make her own bread with while Emily made four loaves of bread and a dozen dinner rolls to serve with their chicken and dumplings.

  As soon as the bread was in the oven, she began preparing to boil the chicken. Once it was on, she boiled the water to wash dishes. “Will you girls wash the dishes for me while I clean off the table and finish darning your socks?”

  “You want us to do the dishes?” Abbie asked in surprise.

  Emily wasn’t certain what she’d said wrong. By Abbie’s age, she’d been doing the dishes on her own. “Yes, would you wash so Georgie can dry?” After the girls were used to doing the dishes together that way, she’d have Georgie start washing. They were certainly old enough to learn to do simple tasks.

  “We’ve never done dishes before,” Abbie explained.

  “Never done dishes? Really?” Emily went to the sink and put the bowls they’d used for lunch into it. “Just wash them until there’s no food left, and Georgie can dry them. If you can’t reach to put them away, set them aside and I’ll do that.”

  She mixed the rice in with the beans for another meal, and covered the pot with the lid. She’d have to ask the girls how to get down to the cellar. She was sure there had to be one to keep the food cold, so they could store it for the next day.

  She darned the last of the socks while the girls washed the dishes. She was glad they were so eager to help, even when it wasn’t something they normally did. They talked back and forth as they worked together, somehow not realizing she was listening.

  “Mama never made us do dishes,” Georgie said, a slight whine in her voice.

  “Well, our new mama says we have to do the dishes so we have to do the dishes. We’re older now, and we can do them.” Abbie’s voice was patient while she explained how she thought things should be.

  “Do you think we’ll have to do them every day?”

  “Maybe even after every meal, but that’s okay. She can cook!”

  Georgie agreed reluctantly. “That’s true, but dishes aren’t any fun.”

  “If they’re not fun for us, then they’re not fun for Mama either. Don’t you want her to be happy here? We need to do some of the things that aren’t fun to make her happy.”

  Emily bit her lip to keep from laughing. She honestly didn’t mind doing the dishes, but the girls were certainly old enough to learn how and to start doing them on their own. Part of her job with her new family was to teach the girls to be good wives when they married. That meant teaching them to sew, cook, clean and do the dishes.

  She finished up Georgie’s last sock as the girls finished the dishes. Then she went to check on the bread. It was perfectly browned, so she pulled it out and dumped it on a cloth on the table. The girls looked at their own small pieces of bread. Abbie’s was again pretty and smelled delicious. Georgie’s looked like she’d rolled it in mud.

  “Can we eat them now, Mama?” Abbie asked. “They’ll be better warm.”

  Georgie frowned down at hers. “I don’t think mine’s going to be good warm or cold.”

  “Yes, you can eat them warm.” Emily handed Georgie a dinner roll she’d put butter and a little cinnamon and sugar on. “Now you can eat something that tastes good too. Next time, don’t put pepper on it.”

  Georgie smiled and bit into her roll. “Thank you, Mama!”

  Emily checked the chicken boiling in a pot on the stove and decided to give it a little more time. She wanted the chicken to fall off the bone before she added the dumplings and made a gravy for it. “After you’re finished, would one of you girls show me how to get to the cellar?”

  “We both will,” Abbie told her. “There’s a little food down there, but not much. Mama usually kept a kitchen garden and canned in the fall, but she died and the garden was overrun with weeds.” She made a face. “I kept telling Papa I’d grow the plants, but he didn’t want me to.”

  Emily stroked her hand over Abbie’s head. “We’ll plant a garden together in the spring, and you girls can help me weed it
, and then we’ll can them all next fall.”

  Abbie’s eyes met Emily’s. “I start school in September.” She looked down at her food, obviously nervous at the idea.

  Emily smiled. “Before you start school, we’ll make you two pretty dresses and I’ll make sure you know how to read and write. It’ll be easier for you that way.” She certainly understood Abbie’s reticence.

  Abbie let out a sigh of relief. “It’s not going to be easy anyway. I don’t want to go to school.”

  “I didn’t want to go either,” Emily admitted, “but I made some really good friends there, and I’m so glad I did. It was hard, because like you, I’m really shy about talking to strangers. Will you have any cousins in school?”

  Abbie nodded. “Lots and lots.”

  “That’ll make it easier. We have almost a year before you start, though, and we’ll have everything ready before then.” She squeezed Abbie’s hand to let her know they’d work together to get everything ready.

  *****

  Benjamin closed the shop a few minutes early, and headed across the street to the cemetery. He’d told Anna that Emily was coming, but he wanted her to know how good Emily was with their girls. He knelt on the edge of her grave and started pulling the weeds as usual.

  “I got married yesterday. She’s nothing like you. I guess in my head, I was sending off for a wife exactly like my first one.” He set the weeds he’d picked off to the side. “The girls love her. She’s very kind and gentle, and so far she seems to be a good cook. She’s a tiny little thing, though. I feel like I’m going to break her if I touch her, and then I feel like I’m betraying you.”

  He sighed heavily. “I still miss you every day. I’m not sure how I feel about her, but I know she’s making our lives easier. I’m sorry I had to marry her, but our girls, they needed a new mama. Abbie is finally smiling again. The first time she smiled after your death is when I agreed to send off for a bride. Now that Emily’s here, she’s smiling all the time. Emily’s more like Abbie than you and Georgie. She’s quiet. I have to work to talk to her, which I never had to do with you. I know it’s strange, but I can’t help but compare the two of you. I miss you, Anna.” He stood up, still looking down at the gravestone. “I’ll be late for supper if I don’t go. I’ll come see you again soon.”