That stopped all conversation instantly. “A what?” Mary Ann exclaimed.
“A birthday party?” young Joshua echoed.
“You heard me,” Joshua laughed. “I think we ought to have a birthday party.”
“Whose party, Uncle Joshua?” Emily said, any thoughts of play now forgotten.
“Yours,” he said, walking to her and touching his finger to her nose. As she squealed, he turned to her brother. “And yours, Joshua.” He moved from child to child. “And yours, Rachel.”
Olivia jumped in now too. “And yours, Matthew,” she cried.
“What are you talking about?” Matthew asked. “It’s not my birthday. In fact, nobody has a birthday today.”
Will had come to stand by his father. The smile on his face nearly split his face from ear to ear. “Yes they do,” he crowed. “It’s everybody’s birthday today.”
Joshua waved his hands for silence as that brought an eruption of noise. Gradually they quieted down again. He swung around to face his mother, his eyes softening. “It’s been eleven years since I was there for anyone’s birthday. That’s a lot of birthdays! Well, today we’re going to celebrate every one of them.”
Caroline was standing next to her mother-in-law. “He means it, Mother Steed,” she said happily. “You wouldn’t believe it. He and Will and Olivia have been like little kids at Christmastime about this.”
“But I don’t think—,” Mary Ann began.
Joshua cut her off. “Didn’t it occur to anyone to ask why we brought up two wagons with us this time?”
“Why, Uncle Joshua?” Rachel called. “Why did you bring two wagons?”
Jessica jerked around. Rachel, normally so shy and quiet, especially around Joshua, was fairly dancing with excitement. Her two stepbrothers were beside her. Luke was almost six now, but Mark was not yet four. He was too young to fully follow what was going on, but he sensed that something exciting was about to happen. Their eyes were as wide as Rachel’s. Jessica couldn’t help but laugh right out loud at the magic Joshua was working with the children.
He reared back, looking very solemn. “Why did we bring two wagons?” he intoned. “I thought you’d never ask.” He turned his head. “Olivia, would you like to tell Rachel why we brought two wagons?”
“Because one of them is full of presents!” she sang out, jumping up and down.
The eyes of the children widened, but not much more than those of the parents. “You’re funning with us,” Nathan exclaimed, more surprised than disbelieving.
“Really, Uncle Joshua?” Emily shouted. “Are there really presents in it?”
“Really, Emmy. Cross my heart.”
Three-year-old Mark Griffith stepped forward to face Joshua, his face grave, the brown eyes large and expressive. He tugged on Joshua’s coat until Joshua stopped and looked down at him. “Yes, Mark?”
“Did you bring me a present, Uncle Joshua?”
Joshua clapped his hands. “I did indeed, young man. So what say we get around back to that wagon and see just exactly what’s in it?”
* * *
Caroline was fascinated. She had watched Joshua slowly changing since they had married, and she had been especially amazed at the transformation since he had returned and been reunited with his family. But now, as he and Will untied the lashings on the wagon canvas, she saw a Joshua she had never seen before. He was more like one of the children. He laughed and teased and cajoled as he played the surprise to its very limits. Not only was he a complete part of the family again, but right now he was the very center of it.
She wanted to be by his side, holding his hand, letting some of his electricity seep into her. But, of course, she couldn’t get within ten feet of him. He was completely thronged with children. Even Peter and Matthew hung close, eager to see what secrets the wagon held.
“Olivia, you want to be the first?”
Olivia was hopping with excitement. “Yes, Papa.” She climbed up on the back step of the wagon and rummaged among the packages that lay there. She retrieved a large, flat box and jumped down again.
Joshua let his eyes run across the children’s faces until they stopped on six-year-old Emily. She began to wiggle and squirm before he could say anything. Joshua laughed. “When I left here a month ago, did I or didn’t I make you a promise?”
“Yes,” she fairly shouted, “you said you’d bring me a pretty dress. Did you? Did you?”
“Emily,” Lydia called, trying to be stern even as she smiled. “Mind your manners, now.”
“Now, Mother,” Joshua said to Lydia, “a promise is a promise.” He reached out and took Emily’s hand and drew her forward. “Emmy, you and Olivia became special friends, didn’t you?”
Emily looked to her cousin and nodded. There was five years’ difference between the two girls, but it was really true. The two of them and Rachel had gotten very close.
“Well, that’s why we decided to let Livvy pick your present for you.” He turned to his daughter. “Okay, Livvy.”
Olivia held it out to Emily. “Happy birthday. I hope you like it.”
With a cry of joy, Emily snatched the box and pawed it open. She almost ripped the lid off it once it was unwrapped. There was a gasp. Then very slowly she pulled out the dress that lay there. There were instant oohs and aahs and a smattering of applause as Emily dropped the box and held the dress up to her. She twirled slowly around. The dress was bright red, with a white pinafore and white lace at the collar and sleeves. There was a matching bonnet with long ribbons.
Emily looked up at her mother in awe. “Oh, Mama!” she breathed. “Look at me.”
“It’s beautiful, Emmy.” Lydia stepped over to Caroline. “It is, Caroline. It’s perfect for her, with her dark hair and eyes.”
Caroline was watching her niece with a pleased smile. “I was there, but Livvy really did pick this one out all by herself. And she is getting to be quite the seamstress. She helped me fix some things on it so it will fit better.”
“Well, it’s wonderful. Look at Emmy’s eyes. I’ve never seen her so happy.”
Joshua was again searching the faces of the children. “Let’s see.” He pulled at his lip thoughtfully. “Will, you think we might have something for these Griffith boys?”
Luke and Mark looked to Will with great, hopeful eyes. Will nodded and went to the wagon. He came back with two pairs of fine leather boots. Again there were cries of surprise and pleasure. Boots were typically for men only. Most boys went barefoot all summer—except for Sunday, and then they only wore shoes. But these were small miniatures of the kind of boots Joshua himself wore. The two boys took them reverently and walked back to the others in half a daze.
And so it went. Joshua was having the time of his life. There was a finely sharpened hunting knife for Nathan, two wonderfully clever folding prams for Lydia’s and Jessica’s babies, a double-bladed ax for John Griffith, sets of hand-carved walnut mixing bowls for Jessica and Lydia, a dress of royal blue for Rachel. Mary Ann got four bolts of cloth and a cleverly designed sewing box full of thread and lace and needles and buttons.
Joshua had purchased ten pairs of boots altogether from the boot maker in St. Louis. In addition to the two pairs he’d given Luke and Mark, there were three pairs for Nathan and his two sons, one for John Griffith, a pair each for Derek and Peter, and two more pairs for Matthew and Benjamin. When he finished, everyone had to sit down and try them on. Young Joshua and Luke Griffith had to trade, but other than that, Joshua and Will had guessed pretty accurately.
Mary Ann was shaking her head. “Joshua, you’ve spent a small fortune on these. You shouldn’t have.”
“Now, Mother,” he chided her. “After eleven years of no presents, I figure this is a bargain at twice the price.”
“Well, it’s wonderful,” Nathan said. “I can’t believe it. No wonder you had to bring a second wagon.”
Looking suddenly perplexed, Joshua scanned the circle. “Have we missed anyone?” His eyes stopped on his younger sister, who held nothing. “Why, dear me. We seem to have missed Rebecca.”
Beaming now, he turned again to the wagon and drew out a very large, flat box. It was tied carefully with a red ribbon. He turned. “Rebecca?”
She came forward, shyly now, suspecting what it might be. He reached out and took one hand. The corners of his mouth softened. “Dear, sweet Becca. Caroline and I never dreamed you would need this so soon. We thought it would be next spring before you would be married. How grateful we are that we decided to come up now.” He handed her the box. “I hope you like it.”
She opened it slowly, untying the ribbon and then folding it neatly and placing it in the pocket of her apron before proceeding. Then she lifted the lid of the box. There was a quick intake of breath, then a long “Ohhhhh.” The family echoed it almost instantly.
She took the dress by the shoulders and held it up, pushing the box aside. The dress was high necked with a tight-fitting bodice. The sleeves were Victorian, coming straight off the shoulder and then puffing out at each elbow. The skirt was full, pleated at the waist and long to the ground. But it was the colors that made it most striking. They were the colors of an early spring sunrise. The taffeta was a light pink; the collar, cuffs, and bowknots that fastened down the front were white.
“Oh, Joshua! Caroline! It’s . . .” There were no words she could find that were adequate.
Caroline stepped to the wagon and got a smaller box, this one round and stiff. Smiling, she brought it to Rebecca. “As Emily well knows, no dress is complete without a matching bonnet.” She lifted the lid.
The bonnet was simple, matching the elegance of the dress. It was also pink and white, with a white bow at the throat and long white ribbons trailing down from that.
Derek was staring. “That’s the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen,” he said. Then suddenly his face fell. “You will look absolutely lovely in it.”
And me standing next to you in my patched cotton pants and worn shirt
.
Joshua read his face as clearly as if he had spoken. “Seems to me a gentleman needs something more than a pair of new boots to get married in.” He looked at his wife. “Caroline?”
“Come here, Derek,” Caroline said.
As Derek stepped forward, she eyed him up and down. “This was a lot harder for me,” she said. “I’m not used to buying clothes for men.”
“The boots are more than enough,” Derek started, embarrassed to be the center of attention now.
“Nonsense,” Caroline said. She looked over her shoulder at Joshua. “All right, Joshua, let’s see how I did.”
This time Joshua brought out a large leather valise. He unbuckled the straps, opened it, and began handing things out to Caroline. First came a white shirt with a ruffle down the button line. A dark brown silk cravat was fastened to the top button just below the high collar. The trousers were fawn colored, with tight-fitting legs and straps at the bottom to hold them down. Finally out came a man’s frocked coat. It was cut at the waist in the front but had long tails in the back. The broadcloth was dyed a tobacco brown and trimmed out with a darker brown velvet shawl collar. It was handsome indeed, and Derek just gawked at it.
As Joshua held it up against Derek, Caroline nodded. “I think we may have done it right,” she said, obviously pleased. She turned to Rebecca. “It was made for a taller man, so I had the tailor shorten it a little. I think it will be fine.”
“Fine?” Derek cried. “I have never worn anything half so fine, let alone owned it for myself.”
Lydia clapped her hands in delight. “I think we need a modeling show. Rebecca, go in the house and try on your dress. Derek, you can change in the smokehouse.”
“Yes,” Mary Ann said. “If we have to fix anything, we’d better know it now so we can have everything ready for tomorrow.”
Joshua cut in. “Hold it, everyone. Before you run off, let’s make sure everyone has a present.”
Everyone turned. No one was without something. Young Joshua answered for them all. “Everybody’s got something, Uncle Joshua.”
“What about Grandpa?” Will said.
Benjamin’s head came up and he looked startled. Then he held up his boots. “I’ve got these.”
Joshua waved that off. “Go on, Pa. I just got you the boots because we were getting them for everyone else.” He swung around. “What do you think kids? Does Grandpa deserve his very own present?”
An instant chorus rang out. “Yes! Yes!”
“Actually, this will kind of be for Grandma too. But mostly it’s for Grandpa.”
“What is it?” Emily called, her own dress forgotten now.
“You come look and tell me,” Joshua answered. She ran to him and he lifted her up to the wagon. She lifted the flap and peered inside. When she turned back she was puzzled. “What is it, Uncle Joshua?”
“I wanna see,” young Joshua said, running up to join them. He too looked in the wagon and swung back with a strange look on his face. “It’s big. What is it?”
Joshua turned to his son. “Will, let’s get the canvas down.”
Working swiftly, they untied the ropes along the side of the wagon that held the canvas cover down over the metal hoops. They swung the cover high over the top and let it drop to the other side, revealing the inside of the wagon. There was very little room in it. The back few feet, which had been filled with all the other presents, was now empty, but the rest of the large wagon box was filled with a huge wooden crate.
Benjamin moved forward, his eyes going over it carefully. “I’m with the grandchildren, Joshua,” he finally said. “What is it?”
“Come around this side, Pa,” Joshua said softly. He took his father’s elbow and walked him around to the opposite side. He pointed. On one of the wooden slats there were stenciled red letters. They ran vertically, and Benjamin tipped his head to read them, pronouncing the words slowly.
“ ‘McCormick Company, Chicago, Illinois.’ ” He turned to Joshua. “McCormick Company? I don’t get it.”
Joshua’s grin was nearly splitting his face now. “Cyrus Hall McCormick. Doesn’t that name mean anything to you?”
Benjamin started to shake his head, then he stopped, stunned. “The reaping machine?” he said in a hoarse whisper.
Joshua laughed right out loud. “Exactly!”
“This is one of them reaping machines?” Benjamin repeated again, barely able to comprehend. “But how . . . ? Where . . . ?”