“Am I? Agnes told me that Ann called me „Creepy
Alex" while we were growing up. She even said that Ann
once told her that she"d kill me if I ever became her brother-
in-law. Do you think she"s going to do something to the
dinner?”
After the wagon was in its proper spot, I unhooked
the horses. I knew I shouldn"t increase his anxiety but the
moment seemed too good to pass up. “I"l tell you what.
You ride Thunder and I"l ride Lightning.” I got the horses
ready while I talked. “We"l take a race. If you win, we"ll eat
in town. If I win, we"l eat here. Deal?”
He shifted from one foot to the other. “I don"t like to
make bets anymore.”
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“Just because you"re going to be a preacher doesn"t
mean you can"t have some good old fashioned fun. I
promise you that Ann wil not do anything to your food.”
“I don"t know.”
“Wouldn"t it be good to have a race for old time"s
sake? We used to have a lot of fun. Sometimes I miss it.”
He sighed. “I do too. When you go off to college,
everyone expects you to be serious.”
“Great. So throw off your hat and let"s have some
fun!”
“Alright. But if I win, we"re eating in town.”
“Agreed.”
As we got up on the horses, I asked him how long he
planned to stay.
“Two days,” he said. “Agnes and I stil have to visit
my aunt and uncle.”
“How are they doing?”
“They"re doing well. They wanted me to stop by here
first so I can give them an update on your progress out
here.”
“Then I"l have to give you a tour tomorrow.”
We urged our horses forward. I pointed to the route
we should use in our race. “Are you ready?”
He grinned. “On the count of three. One, two...” He
took off.
“You cheater!” I spurred my horse to action.
The ride felt wonderful, and I won despite his effort to
gain a head start.
“We eat here tonight!” I cheered. “Ann"s making your
favorite dish. Pot roast with vegetables. She"s going all out
for you and Agnes. She"ll make Agnes" favorite meal
tomorrow.”
“I can"t wait.” He didn"t sound enthusiastic.
By the time we went into the house, Ann was almost
done with the meal. Alex sat next to Agnes on the couch so
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I slipped into the kitchen, wrapped my arms around Ann and
kissed her on the side of the neck.
She jumped. “Why don"t I ever hear you when you
come into the kitchen?”
I chuckled. “Alex and I had a race to see if we were
going to eat here or in town. I won so we"ll be eating here.”
She frowned and turned from the sink where she
was washing some bowls. “Why doesn"t he want to eat my
food?”
“He"s afraid you"re going to put something bad in it. I
told him you wouldn"t but he believes the worst.”
“I can"t believe this. I went to great lengths to be
nice to him in the barn, and this is how he thanks me?”
For Ann, it probably was a big effort on her part. “I
know. You were wonderful.” I kissed her soapy hand. “I
think Agnes told Alex the „Creepy Alex" rants you had while
we were growing up. It"s got him paranoid.”
She seemed ready to protest but then she looked out
the window and slyly grinned.
“What are you planning?” I liked it when she had that
twinkle in her eye.
“You"l see.” She kissed me on the cheek. “I don"t
want you to have to share the blame.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Just keep Alex and Agnes out of here. I want him to
know that no one was in here with me.”
I couldn"t wait to see what she was scheming. And
fortunately, I didn"t have to wait long. As soon as we sat at
the table, Alex led us in prayer.
“Lord, we thank You for the chance to get together,”
he began. “Most of all, we thank You for Your protection
from things we cannot see that may be out to harm us.
Please watch over us while we eat this meal and give us
long life afterwards. Amen.”
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I struggled to hold in my laughter, but Ann"s own
quiet giggles didn"t help. She nudged me in the side, which
only made the situation that much more funny.
“What is so funny?” Agnes wondered, bewildered. “I
thought that was a lovely prayer.”
I couldn"t look at Ann. I knew I would burst out
laughing if I did. Instead, I focused on my little sister.
“We"re just so happy you two are here.”
“Oh, that"s nice.” She smiled, content with the
answer.
Alex hesitated to eat the food on his plate. He
glanced around the table and sighed.
Agnes brought a fork full of pot roast up to her
mouth.
“Agnes, stop!” Ann cried out. “I gave you the wrong
plate.” She ran over to the other side of the table and
switched Agnes" and Alex"s plates. “There. That"s better. I
wanted to give the bigger potato to Alex. I know how you
men need your strength.” She sat next to me and took a bite
of the food on her plate. “Isn"t anyone else going to eat?”
I stared at her in awe. How could she do that with a
straight face?
I tried to eat but I was too busy fighting off my
laughter to do so.
“This is delicious,” Agnes said after she took a bite.
She glanced at Alex. “You should eat some. It"s your
favorite dish.”
“I"m not that hungry. Maybe I should just share your
plate,” he replied.
“You haven"t eaten anything since this morning.”
“Traveling affects my appetite.”
“You ate just fine last night.”
“Are you lying, Alex?” I pretended to be shocked.
“You can"t preach the Bible and lie.”
“I"m not lying. I real y don"t have much of an
appetite.”
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Ann groaned. “Alex, I did nothing to your food. I
must admit I"m disheartened that you would think I would do
such a thing.”
“Wel , you did put a squirrel in my bag during the
Christmas performance when we were fifteen,” he told her.
“I did not.”
“Sure you did. There wasn"t anyone else who could
have done it.”
“Oh no?” I spoke up.
He gasped as he turned his attention to me. “You
did it?”
“Yes,” I admitted.
“But why? We were supposed to play pranks on
other people, not each other.”
“Do you remember that day you made me eat bugs
when we were twelve? Ann said I didn"t have to eat the
bugs but you told me to either eat the bugs or kiss her?”
He grinned. “That was great. I actually wondered
which one you"d pick. You were always praising her. It
would have been more fun if you had kissed her in front of
the whole school.”
“No. It wouldn"t have been fun. I was twelve.
Kissing girls was embarrassing back then.”
“So you waited for three years to put a squirrel in my
bag?”
“I have a lot of patience.”
Ann placed her hand on my thigh and smiled at me.
“Thank goodness for that.”
I returned her smile.
“So you see, you"re perfectly safe,” Agnes said. “I
swear, all the way out here, he kept fretting over all the
things he was afraid you were going to do to him. Now he
knows who he really has to watch out for.”
“Then explain why she changed our plates around,”
he insisted.
“She wanted to give you the bigger potato.”
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“I was just playing with you, Alex,” Ann interrupted.
“I didn"t touch your plate.”
“If it makes you feel better, you can have mine,” I
offered as I exchanged my plate with his. “Now if I die in the
morning, you"l know you were right.” I took a bite. “This is
really good, Ann. Once again, you outdid yourself.”
She blushed from my compliment. “Thank you.”
Alex slowly picked up his fork. “I guess I was wrong.
I"m sorry, Ann.”
“It"s alright, Alex. I spent a lot of time calling you
„creepy", so I can understand your hesitation.”
“I won"t call you „Scary Annie" anymore. Peace?”
“Peace.”
It was good to see them finally getting along.
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Todd’s Point of View
Ann"s parents and Ginny moved to Jamestown in
August, and the harvest came shortly after that so I spent
most of my time in the fields. Her father offered to help and
seemed to enjoy the process. It was hard work, but it was
work I enjoyed. I didn"t miss sitting at a desk at the bank
even though it meant regular work hours and weekends off.
Besides, by the time the crop was taken care of, I had plenty
of time to spend around the house getting things ready for
the baby.
John gave us a bassinet he made, and Barbara, Ann
and her mother sewed baby clothes. Whenever they
discussed the details of giving birth and taking care of a
newborn, I would find something else to do, even if her
father or John wasn"t around. I was happy and anticipated
the birth of my child, but enjoyed my ignorance on the topics
Ann loved to discuss. To her credit, she simply let me feel
the baby kick and didn"t say anything else.
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It was late November when I woke up in the middle
of the night and saw Ann sitting on the bed and staring out
the window.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“I think the baby"s getting ready to come.”
I sat up in bed. “Why didn"t you wake me?”
She smiled. “It takes awhile. I could be in labor for a
day. There"s no sense in both of us not getting much sleep
tonight.”
Now I was beginning to wonder if I should have
asked for some of the details. “How long do you think it wil
be? When should I get the doctor?”
“The contractions should be five minutes apart when
you get the doctor.”
“Then I should probably keep track of them for you.”
“You don"t have to start yet. They"re far apart.
Besides, I"l keep an eye on the clock. I would like Barbara
and my parents to also be here when the time comes.
Barbara wants to help and I know my parents are eager to
see their grandchild.”
“Alright. Just tell me when I need to go.” I wished
there was more I could do for her, but I knew it was
something she had to do alone. “If you need anything, will
you let me know?”
She nodded. “I"m going to do some cleaning
downstairs. Try to get some sleep.”
“Shouldn"t you be taking it easy?”
“If I do that, the night will pass too slowly. I have to
do something.” She leaned over and kissed me. “You"re
going to be a wonderful father. I keep praying your father
will want to come here once the baby is born.”
I sighed and squeezed her hand. “Even if he
doesn"t, I"l be alright. You and our baby is what I"m
concerned about.”
She left the room and I managed to go back to sleep.
I didn"t realize I had slept in so long until I went down to the
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kitchen after getting dressed. It was almost nine. I didn"t
usually sleep this late. “Ann? Where are you?”
She didn"t reply.
I immediately ran through the house and breathed a
sigh of relief when I saw her doing laundry in the small room
off to the side of the parlor. Though I could tell she was in a
lot of pain, she didn"t scream as I expected her to.
When her face relaxed, I asked, “How far apart are
your contractions and what are you doing in here?”
“I"m getting things ready. I"ve decided to give birth in
here since it"s the easiest room to clean. I have clean
blankets, towels and clothes in the corner next to some
clean water. It"s real y a matter of waiting. I already cleaned
the downstairs. I got bored so I began washing some dirty
clothes. I"m almost done.”
“Ann, you"re pushing yourself too hard.” I didn"t mean
to sound stern but her actions worried me. I didn"t want her
to wear herself out.
“The work keeps my mind off the pain. I can
manage it better if I concentrate on something else.”
“I never realized how worrisome the whole process
could be on the husband,” I admitted, softening my tone. I