A Winter's Promise (22 page)

How did I ever manage alone?
Emma asked herself as she put wood in the stove.

When the children were in bed, Jenny read a chapter from Matthew. They talked about what she had read for
a few minutes. Then she said
“
Do you mind if I
don
’
t
read any more tonight? My throat is a little sore.
”
Jenny
cleared her throat.
“
I would like to talk awhile, though.
”

“
Did you get the fire started faster this morning?
”
Emma asked.

“
A little faster, but the room was still terribly cold when I had a visitor—Mrs. Gross.
”

“
Oh, dear!
”

“
She stormed i
n and shook
her fist at me! You know
how big she is. I was so shocked; I guess I just stood there
wit
h
my mouth open.
”

“
What was she mad about?
”

The cold schoolroom. She reminded me that her husband is on the school board, and he
’
d see that I got
fired if I didn
’
t have it warm by the time the children
got there tomorrow.
”

“
Did you tell her about the kindling and green
wood?
”

Jenny shook her head.
“
I didn
’
t have a chance. She
shouted some more and stomped out.
”
Jenny
’
s voice
was
soft when she continued.
“
I
’
ve been praying that Grandpa Verleger will have a change of heart and help
me. He has plenty of kindling wood. He could give
some to the school.
”
She smiled shyly.
“
I
’
m even pray
ing that he
’
ll offer to start the fire for me. He
’
s always up early.
”

Later, snuggled deep under the covers, Jenny
’
s words came back to Emma. She hadn
’
t wanted to discourage Jenny, but Emma couldn
’
t imagine Grandpa giving kindling wood to the school, much less starting the fire.
I
’
d
never even think of praying for something so impossi
ble. Hope she isn
’
t too disappointed when
God doesn
’
t
do
it.

When the clock struck ten, she was still worrying.
Then she
remembered what Jenny had read about not
worrying, but praying instead. It didn
’
t help
her a
bit.
How long would it take, Emma wondered, until she felt free to pray again? The only comfort she could find was
knowing that Al would be home in two days. She
hugged his pillow and fell asleep.

It was Fred who discovered the winter wo
nder
land Friday morning.
“
Mama, yook
!” he called.
“
The trees is all
fwowered!
”

Emma chuckled as she peered out of the
window
where Fred ha
d melted the frost with his hand.
“It s
ure is!
”
She beckoned to Jenny.
“
Fred sa
ys it’s
‘
floured
’
out there. He sees me sift flour
when I
bake.”

Jenny took a peek and said,
“
Oh, let
’
s go look!”

She pulled o
n her coat and helped Fred with his
, while Emma threw a shawl around herself and
El
lie.

At the door of the lean-to, they huddled a
mo
ment in rapt silence.

“
It
’
s so beautiful.
. .” Jenny whispered. “I’
ve
never seen frost like this before. It
’
s a fairyland!
”
She beamed an ecstatic smile at Emma.

“
It is beautiful,
”
Emma said, returning Jenny
’
s
smile as best
she could. But as she turned to go in
,
she saw a hint of disappointment dim Jenny
’
s
smile. She had realized that Emma wasn
’
t sharing
her ecstasy.

Later, as Emma washed breakfast dishes, she
though
t,
What
’
s
the matter with me? I had that,
same
co
ver-on-the-jar feeling. My eyes
tell me it
’
s beautiful,
but the sight doesn
’
t make me feel good down inside.

All
week
she had tried to ignore the emptiness she
felt in spite of all
the
good things that had happened.

Carefully she listed as many blessings as she could
think of:
Al really cared about the children. He had proved that.

The children loved Jenny and were safe while she did
chores.

It was exciting and fun to have Jenny around—in spite of her onion breath.

Al was earning money for the team and other needs.
They
were
all healthy.

It would soon be spring.

Her back was almost well.

But, instead of brightening her mood, the reminder
of
all
the things she had to be thankful for made her feel
guiltier than ever.
You should be so happy!
she scolded herself.

Dishes do
ne, Emma put water in the small tub to
bathe Georgie. When she splashed water on his tummy,
he laughed out loud and waved his chubby little arms.

“
You are so precious,
”
she told him. Holding his wig
gly little body close in the towel, she recalled a conversa
tion with Jenny
yesterday.

Emma had confessed that she felt a twinge of envy
when she watched Jenny hike off for school in the
morning, and Jenny had laughed and said,
“
Isn
’
t that
the way! The grass is always greener on the other side of
the fence. I walk away thinking how nice it must be to
stay
in the cozy warm house with your
own
children
and look forward to seeing your man every weekend.
”

She sighed longingly.
“
I
’
ll never forget Mr. Verleger
’
s
voice when he told us how concerned he was about
leaving you alone with the children, and how proud he
was
of how you
had
managed
those days
after
you hurt
your back.
”
She lowered her voice almost to a whisper.
“
I thought,
If a man ever loves me like that, I
’
ll be completely happy!

“
I
will
be happy,
”
Emma said aloud now, as she
patted
Georgie dry. Determinedly she set her mind on all she
could do to make the days Al was home as pleasant as
possible.

Emma heard Jenny coughing when she came home
from school before she even opened the door.
Oh, dear!
That cold room! What
if
she gets pneumonia? Fear,
swept over her.
Maybe she will have to go back to
Grandpa
’
s.

“
I sound worse than I feel,
”
Jenny insisted when
Emma asked about her health.
“
The weather will
change. We
’
re due for a thaw. That will help.
”

Sure, and you
’
ll have wet, cold feet instead of cold,
wet feet,
Emma thought. But she mustered a smile as
she sliced bread.

“
Don
’
t look so glum!
”
Jenny said cheerily as she
warmed her hands over the stove.
“
Grandpa
’
s going to
change his mind and help me. You
’
ll see!
”

Emma bit her tongue and didn
’
t reply.
Sometimes
she acts like a child. A person has to face things as they
are, not go on dreaming they
’
re going to change.

“
Would you like to take a bath down here in my bed
room where it
’
s warmer?
”
Emma asked Jenny as she
dished up their supper.
“
You can use the big washtub.
”

“
That would be lovely. Grandma Verleger informed me that a sponge bath was good enough, so I haven
’
t
had a tub bath since fall.
”
Quickly she added,
“
I
’
ll watch
the little ones when I
’
m done, and you can have your bath.
”

Of course the children clamored for baths when
Emma carried the tub into the bedroom and Jenny began
to fill it with water.

“Not
tonight
_,
”
Emma said. “I
can
’
t heat enough water
for all of us.
Tomorrow
night is your bath night.
”

Even though she had a scant four inches of water in
the tub and had to sit with her knees up to her chin, it
felt good to
wring the washcloth and let the warm water
run
down her body while the children squealed deligh
t
edly with Jenny in the other room.

If only Al could be home tonight.

By Saturday morning, Albert could print his name
without a pattern to look at. He danced around with the
slate, chanting,
“
I can
’
t wait till Papa comes home! I can
’
t wait till Papa comes home!
”

He was making too much noise to hear Jenny ask Emma if she could take him along to Grandpa Verleger
’
s to get the rest of her things.

When Emma agreed, Jenny added,
“
I
’
ll wait until
Fred and Ellie are asleep. Fred
’
s little legs are just too
short to keep up with us.
”

“
Are you sure you should go out with that cough? Maybe if you stayed in until Monday, you
’
d—
”

“
Emma! I
’
m all right! Stop fussing over me.
”
Her
voice softened.
“
I think that goose grease you gave me
last night really helped.
”

Jenny and Albert had been gone about half an hour when Emma heard footsteps. They couldn
’
t be back al
ready.

There in the doorway stood Al, a big grin on his face.

Emma flashed him a smile.
“
Sh-h. The little ones are asleep, and Jenny took Albert with her to get the rest of
her things.
”

He pulled off his knapsack, hung up his coat, and
rubbed his hands over the stove.
“
So it
’
s
‘
Jenny,
’
is it?
Sounds like you two are kinda
chummy.
”

“
Oh, yes. But I don
’
t call her Jenny in front of the
children,
”
Emma assured him as she put water in the
coffeepot.

Before she
could
add the coffee, he wrapped
his arms
around her and kissed her soundly.
“
Oh,
Emma,
it’s
good to be home! You
feeling all right?
”

She nodded, still clinging to him in spite of the ca
mp
odor in his shirt.

He released her gently, knowing she didn
’
t appreciate
his whiskers.
“
I
’
ll shave while the coffee cooks,
”
he whispered.
“
How long have they been gone?
”

Emma glanced at the clock.
“
Close to an hour. They
could be back any minute, so you can get that gleam out
of your eye!
”

Al grinned at her
, shrugged, and started mixing
his
shaving soap.
“
So, how
is it going with Miss Clark
—
Jenny?
”

“
Good! Really good.
She has a special way with the
children, and she and I get along fine. She
reads out
loud while I knit or sew in the evening. I like that.
But I
don
’
t like it when she wants me to read a page or
two
before we stop.
”

“
What
’
s wrong with you reading a little?
”

Emma giggled.
“
It isn
’
t the reading I mind,
I
do stumble over a
lot of words. But every night
she comes home from school, she makes herself
a big,
raw onion sandwich.... So when she leans o
ver to help me
sound out words ... whew!
”

Al
’
s grin spread, and he choked back his lau
ghter so
he wouldn
’
t wake the little ones.