A Promise for Ellie (30 page)

Astrid turned to look out the window. “Dawn is coming.”

“Ja, the night tarries, but the sun always rises. That’s my daily reminder that God overcomes the dark. Like the sun, He is here always. Even when we can’t see Him, we know He is here and that, if we wait, we will sense and feel Him again.”

Elizabeth went to stand at the window, her hands cupping her elbows. “We’re having a pink and gold sunrise. Thank you for coming, Ingeborg. I need to be reminded of the sun in the sky and the Son of our heavenly Father. And that I’m not the one defeating death. He is. I’m just one of His servants, doing the best I can and leaving the rest in His hands.”

Ingeborg rose and, taking Astrid and Ellie with her, went to stand by Elizabeth. She wrapped her arms around them all, and they stood for a while, arms entangled, watching the gold rim of the sun inch above the horizon and then spring into the air, heralded by birdsong.

“My dear daughters, I prayed for years for more babies, but He gave me full-grown daughters instead. I thank Him daily for each one of you, and I pray that you will grow to know Him better day by day.” Tears slipped down her cheeks, matching the ones on their faces. “And now, Lord God, fill us with your peace and bring healing to our dear Penny. In Jesus’ mighty name, amen.”

Elizabeth stepped back to the bed to check on her patient.

Ellie hugged her soon-to-be mother-in-law one more time. “I’ll go make breakfast.”

“I need to get on home,” Ingeborg said. “Astrid, you want to take me? Or I could walk.”

“You take her, Astrid,” Elizabeth said. “Then take the buggy back to our house. I’ll go feed Inga and come back later to check on Penny. Thorliff ’s probably ready to bring her over here by now.”

“I’m surprised we haven’t heard her screaming.” Ingeborg patted Elizabeth’s cheek. “You have a beautiful daughter. I hope I can come by in the next day or so and be with her for a while. Or you can bring her out.”

“We’ll see. Ellie, any questions?”

Ellie shook her head. “Can Astrid take care of the children while I open the store?”

“I’ll be back to do that.” Astrid followed her mother out the door.

After they climbed into the buggy, Astrid set her basket on the floor.

“Mor . . .”

“Astrid, please don’t ask me why again.”

She gave her mother a wounded look. “I wasn’t going to. I just wondered if we should send Onkel Hjelmer a telegraph or wait to write a letter.”

“I’m sorry, Astrid. Let me think. Will it help her to have him come home or will it cause dissension?”

“Dissension?”

“An argument or fight.”

“Why would his coming home cause a fight? I thought she said she wanted him there.”

“No, she said he was gone again. It seems that Hjelmer is always gone when Penny needs him the most.”

“And that makes her mad?”

“Sometimes.”

“Then she should tell him to stay home.”

Ingeborg snorted at the simplistic answer. “Astrid, wives don’t go around telling their husbands what to do.”

“Some do. Mr. Valders never says much, but Mrs. Valders tells him what to do.”

“True.”

“But you don’t tell Pa what to do. You ask him nice. Is that the difference?”

“About as well as I could explain it.” A wave of weariness nearly swamped Ingeborg. She didn’t have the stamina of a few years ago, that was for certain. Especially since the big bleed, as she referred to her illness. The scary thing—what if it started again?

“You all right?”

“I will be.”

“Do you need a nap?”

Ingeborg chuckled. “That’s what I used to say to you when you turned cranky when you were little.”

“You’re not cranky anymore. You just have that gray look about your eyes again. Elizabeth asked me if you were still taking it easy.”

“And what did you say?”

“I said, ‘Easier, but she don’t sit down much.’ ”

“Doesn’t.”

Astrid heaved a sigh. “You don’t, you know.”

Ingeborg waved at Andrew, who was already up nailing shakes on the roof of his house. He used the hammer to wave back and returned to his work.

“I’d hammer on shakes if they’d let me,” Astrid declared.

“I know you would, but I’d rather you didn’t.”

“Because I’m a girl?”

“Because there’s too much work to be done on the ground or in the house for you to be climbing up on his roof.”

“What is it like, Ma, wearing men’s britches?”

“Like walking around in your bloomers, only heavier. But they sure are handy for working in the garden and for milking cows. And for riding horseback.”

“Maybe we should wear them and start a new style.”

Ingeborg glanced at her daughter. “Your pa would have six fits from Sunday.”

“I’ve been thinking.”

“About what?” Ingeborg always knew that things were about to break loose when Astrid said those three little words.
Please, Lord,
don’t let her shock me too much
.

“Well, Elizabeth and I’ve been talking about what I will do when I graduate.” She glanced sideways at her mother. “And since there is no man in my life . . .”

Thank you, Lord, for that
.

“Not that that would make a real difference anyway. I for sure want to go to school.”

“I think that’s a fine idea. What school?”

“Oh good. I hoped you’d say that. Nursing school.”

“I’d think you could get far better training working here with Dr. Elizabeth.”

“She said I could do that, but she would like me to go to Chicago to train at the same place she did. To be a doctor, I’d need a college degree, but I could go right into nurse’s training after I graduate.” She paused a moment as she stopped the horses at the fence around the house. “I don’t think I want to be a doctor, but I like taking care of sick people. You do too, Ma—so I take after you.”

“I’m not so sure that I like it, not all the time, at least, but it’s something I’m good at. God makes sure of that. People trust me and I trust God, and it works pretty well.” She turned to climb down from the buggy. “Thanks for the buggy ride.”

“You’re welcome. Should we send Hjelmer a telegram?”

“Let Penny decide. She’ll be feeling better by tomorrow.”

Ingeborg paused at the gate to watch Astrid back up the team and buggy and turn around to head back to Penny’s. While so many girls were marrying at fifteen and sixteen, she was glad to hear that her daughter wanted to go on to school. “Good thing we bought those extra cows,” she told Barney as he wriggled at her feet. “We’re going to need money for her to go to school.” She paused and watched the dust swirling up behind the spinning wheels of the buggy. “But I hope not clear to Chicago.”

Later that week Ingeborg breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it had been almost two months since her episode in church. Better to be done with the monthlies than to have a repeat of before. Ingeborg had set the bread to baking early, and after breakfast, as soon as the dew was off the plants, went out to pick beans. While they’d had one mess for supper, this time there were enough to can. The last of the peas needed picking too, but she’d do that later. With the men eating at Kaaren’s today, she should be able to get it all done. The curds were ready to be drained and poured into the molds over at the cheese house on the morrow. And the raspberries that grew along the back fence of the garden would be ready to pick any day now.

Since Penny was back on her feet and Elizabeth had no one staying in her surgery, Astrid would have to come home to help her mother.

“Tante Ingeborg?” Sophie’s voice made Ingeborg smile.

“In the garden.”

“Mor said I should come help you for a while.”

“Bless your heart. I was about to send for Astrid.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“The beans and peas need picking. I’m thinking of drying the rest of the peas.”

“Mor has a full tray of them drying. I like fresh better, or canned.”

“Don’t we all? Right from the garden is the very best.”

“Why don’t I pick the beans and you take the peas?” Sophie suggested.

“Good.” But all the while she dropped fat pea pods into her basket, Ingeborg thought back to her future daughter-in-law. Ellie had looked so shocked when Penny’s baby was born dead.What had been going through her mind?

“T
HORLIFF, WHEN YOU WERE AWAY
at school, did you sometimes get so homesick you thought your heart would break?” Ellie asked. She’d been snagged to help Thorliff as soon as she’d arrived from Penny’s.

Leaving off cranking the ice cream machine for a minute, Thorliff smiled down at the girl feeding the ice chips into the bucket surrounding the canister of cream, sugar, and egg mixture. “Ja, that is to be expected. But I thought Blessing was more your home.”

“It is, or I thought so too, but I really miss Ma and the little ones.”

“Why don’t you go for a visit?”

“I can’t leave Penny right now. She’s not over the birth and loss of the baby. This one hit her real hard. And everyone is canning, so the other women don’t have time to come help her either.”

“I think we should have a party before harvest starts.” Andrew sat on the top step. “Do they have barn warmings . . . like housewarmings?”

Ellie smiled at him. “We’ve had barn dances lots of times.”

“A barn dance. Good idea. Saturday night would give everyone time to get ready.” Thorliff gave the ice cream freezer another crank. “This feels like it is done. Let’s pack it good and put the sacks over the top.”

“I’ll go see if the sauce is ready.”

Astrid leaped off the porch. “Oh, I forgot to pick the eggs. Come on, Ellie, you can help me and visit your chickens.” Grabbing a basket off the railing, she waited.

“Coming,” Ellie said, and together the two headed for the chicken house. “I saw the chicks earlier. They are so cute and already getting their feathers.”

“I was going to surprise you. When do you think you’ll move them to your barn?”

“Andrew said anytime, now that he’s living at the house.”

“Sleeping, you mean, the little he sleeps. I heard him pounding nails last night just before I fell asleep.”

Ellie turned the handle and held the door open for Astrid to go in first. The two girls stood and watched the hens cackle their way in from outside, sure there would be grain scattered soon.

“Sorry, ladies, no food this time. Just give us your eggs.” Astrid made her way to the row of nesting boxes and removed the eggs from the straw to her basket.

Ellie watched her mother hen come in with five chicks following her and pecking about her feet. “Wish I’d brought some oats. Aren’t they cute?”

“She lost three. One drowned in the water pan.” Astrid straightened. “Two dozen eggs. Penny will be glad when you take eggs back with you.”

“Oh, I didn’t know I was doing that.”

“You weren’t until now. Say good-bye to your friends and come on. I want some ice cream before it’s all gone.”

“Just think, my own chickens.”

“I’ll give you a couple more. Then you’ll have an even half dozen, not counting the chicks.”

Ellie closed the door behind them. She’d never had chickens of her own before. Come to think of it, she’d never had any animals of her own before.

A while later the Bjorklunds, the Knutsons, and Ellie gathered on Ingeborg’s porch to open the ice cream canister. “Two flavors of syrup—raspberry and chocolate.” Ingeborg set the bowls on the table. “Three if you mix them.”

“Raspberry and chocolate?” Astrid wrinkled her nose.

Thorliff thumped her on the head. “Don’t denigrate something if you haven’t tried it.”

“How can I do that—whatever de . . . de . . . that word is.”

“Denigrate. To make fun of, to criticize.”

“Why didn’t you just say that?”

“Because you need to learn new words. A good vocabulary is the mark of an educated person.”

“One of the marks.” Elizabeth sat on the two-seater swing attached to the beams overhead, using one foot to keep the swing in motion and the baby in her lap content.

“What’s another?” Astrid laid the spoons on the table next to the bowls.

“Oh, what books you are reading, the variety of things you are interested in. Getting knowledge is an important part of growing up.”