Sleigh Ride (Homespun)

December 1880

Millie finished washing the last dish and removed her apron.  She stretched to remove the kinks from her sore body.  “Are you sure you’re up to driving to town today, Mama?”  Patience looked at her skeptically.   “With the way you’ve been feeling, maybe I should just walk into town to meet the stagecoach.  Or Papa could go.”  The seven year old’s voice was anxious as she spoke to her step-mother.  She was truly worried about her.

Millie smiled at her daughter.  “
It would take you hours each way.   I’ll be fine, Patience.  This pregnancy is just taking a little more out of me than I expected it to.”  She rubbed the small of her back, wishing the persistent back pain would go away.

Patience took Grace’s hand and led her toward the sleigh.  “I’m glad your friend Charlotte is coming to help until after she’s born.”  They had no way of knowing if the baby Millie carried was a boy or girl, but the whole family had taken to calling it “she”.  They hadn’t even picked out a boy’s name.

“I am too.  I hope she and James get along okay.”  Millie had asked her friend, Charlotte, who had been raised in the same Boston orphanage she had, to come and stay with her for a while until the baby was born.  The hope was that Charlotte would fall in love with her friend Bess’s brother in law, James, and the two would marry. 

Charlotte had aged out of the orphanage and had nowhere to go.  She could have chosen from a list of men to marry, as Millie had, and become a mail order bride, but had instead decided to try life where Millie was.  At least she would have a friend there, and wouldn’t feel as if she was starting over completely.  James had paid for her fare, with the understanding he would be allowed to court Charlotte when she arrived.

Millie hefted three year old Grace into the sleigh and climbed up after her.  Both Jacob and Michael were in the barn, helping George repair the plow.  Mostly they were getting in his way, but George enjoyed having the boys with him, especially in the winter months.  It was mid-December, and with Christmas right around the corner, there were a lot of secrets in their small house.

George had hitched the sleigh up for her when he’d come home for lunch.  Millie had a few things to buy in town, and then she needed to meet the stagecoach at two.  She was so excited to see her friend.  She’d changed a lot in the eight months since she’d left Boston, and wondered if her friend would be the same young woman she remembered.

They’d had a good crop that fall, and Millie was happy having her friend stay with them wouldn’t be a financial burden on George.  The extra food shouldn’t cause too many problems, and George had promised to do some hunting for extra meat if they needed it.

Millie took both girls into the store while she made her purchases.  It was much too cold in the winter in Minnesota to stay outside for any period of time.  She quickly purchased the dry goods she needed, and a small amount of cotton to make a gown for the baby.  She had some scraps she’d started to make a baby quilt from as well.  She was hoping Charlotte would help her when she got there.

She was putting the cotton fabric she’d chosen on the counter when she felt a hand on her back.  “How are you feeling, Mrs. Stevens?”

Millie turned to see who it was.  She almost winced.  It was Agnes, the biggest busybody in the entire town.  Agnes had done some nice things for her family before she’d come, and if it hadn’t been for Agnes she never would have married George.  Still, it was hard to stomach the woman.  “I’m tired, but doing all right.  You?”

Agnes looked Millie up and down.  “You sure do get bigger every day.  You need to cut back on what you’re eating.  You’re going to be as big as a house when that baby comes.”  Her tone of voice was as if she was doing her best to be helpful, but it still made Millie want to scream.

Millie sighed.  She knew she was much bigger than she should be at only seven and a half months, but she hadn’t increased her food intake by very much.  Her stomach seemed to stand out in front of her by a mile, though. She wished she could hide her belly from Agnes if from no one else.  “I just hope the baby is healthy.”  Millie did her best to keep her tone mild as she responded.

Patience eyed the candy in the jars lining the counter.  Millie wished they could afford to buy the girls some, but with Christmas coming, she promised herself each of the children would get at least one piece for their stocking. 

Millie paid for her purchases and nodded to Agnes on the way out of the store.  “Mama, why was Mrs. Sims telling you to cut back on what you eat?  Why does she think she knows what you eat?”

Millie sighed.  “Some people think they have the right to tell everyone else what’s best for them.”  She paused as she tried to come up with the best way to explain things to her daughter.  “Since this is the first time I’ve had a baby and Mrs. Sims had several, she thinks it’s okay to give me advice about having babies.  Because my belly is bigger than she thinks it should be, she thinks I eat too much.”

Patience made a face.  “She doesn’t know anything about how much you eat.  That’s not right.” Patience would defend her mama to the end.

Millie smiled, squeezing Patience’s hand, and then picked up the reins.  “Remember this when you get older, Patience.  Some people just don’t know when to stop talking.” 

“It makes me mad when people say mean things to you.” 

“I know it does, and I thank you for it.  It doesn’t bother me, though, because I know it’s not true.”  Millie said the words to convince herself as much as she tried to convince her daughter.  She was a little worried about how big she was getting, but there wasn’t much she could do about it.

She parked the sleigh across from the stagecoach stop, and climbed down carefully to see if the stagecoach was expected on time.  The girls waited in the sleigh, covered by the blankets and thick quilts Millie had put over them when they left home.

Just as she was stepping up to the window for the telegraph and stagecoach office, she saw the stagecoach come rumbling to a stop.  Millie turned and watched as the people disembarked, excited to see her friend.  When she finally saw Charlotte’s dark curls, she hurried forward to embrace her friend.  “You’re here!  You’re really here!”

Charlotte pulled away and looked down at Millie.  Charlotte was a tall woman, where Millie was short.  “It’s so good to see you!  How are you feeling?”  Charlotte was blond, while Millie had dark hair.  Charlotte had always been curvier than Millie, but now Millie was pregnant, her shape had changed a great deal.

It was the first question everyone asked her these days.  “Round,” Millie answered shortly.  “I’m feeling very round.”  She sighed and patted her belly through her thick coat.

Charlotte let out a quick laugh.  “You’re looking rather round.”  She turned and looked around.  “Didn’t you bring the children?” 

“Just the girls.  They’re in the sleigh.  Let’s get your things and we’ll drive home.”  She gave her friend another one-armed hug.  “I’m so glad you’re here.  I hope you don’t mind sleeping in with the girls.”

Charlotte shook her head.  “Having only two girls to share a room with will feel like privacy after the crowded girl’s room in the orphanage.”

Millie nodded remembering her days there.  “Patience is really excited about you sleeping with them.  You’ll like my Patience.  She’s a good girl and wants to help with everything.”  The pride in Millie’s voice was apparent as she talked about Patience.

“When will I meet James?” Charlotte blurted out.  She was conflicted about meeting the young man whom she may marry.  She was nervous about seeing him, but also excited to meet him.

Millie grinned as she looked at her friend.  “He’ll be at church on Sunday.  I think you’ll like him.” 

“I hope so.  I’d hate it if he paid my fare out here and then we didn’t get along.”  That had been her fear since they’d first started planning her visit.  What if he paid all that money for her to travel out there, and she didn’t like him?  What if he didn’t like her?

Millie shook her head.  “It was a risk he was willing to take.  He didn’t want to be locked into a loveless marriage either.  If either of you don’t get along, then you can move on.”  Millie had prayed that wouldn’t be the case.  She didn’t want to have to say goodbye to her friend again.

Charlotte grabbed her two bags and carried them to the sleigh behind Millie.  “I was able to get a job helping out a widow in town for a couple of months, so I have a little money saved.”  She paused.  “If I have to I can refund at least part of his money.”

“Don’t worry about it so much.  Let me introduce you to my daughters.  This is Patience.”  Millie indicated the older girl with her long blond hair in braids.  “And our youngest is Grace.”  She pointed to the little girl sitting on her older sister’s lap with her thumb in her mouth.  “Well, our youngest so far.”  She patted her belly affectionately.

Charlotte climbed into the sleigh beside the girls.  “And you’ve learned to drive a team of horses?  You’re so different here!”  Charlotte looked at Millie with wide-eyes, obviously admiring how her friend had grown.  “I never would have dreamed of you being one of those independent women who could drive a team.”

Millie nodded.  “I’m a lot different than I was.  I love it here.  I wouldn’t go back to the selfish girl I was for anything.”  She tucked the quilts around herself and made sure the girls were warm enough.

Charlotte looked at her in astonishment.  “I never thought you were selfish!”  Millie had always worked so hard, how could she have been selfish?

Millie shrugged.  “I hid it well.”  She picked up the reigns and started the long drive home.  “It’s a forty-five minute drive.  Make sure you’re covered up well.”  The countryside was beautiful that December morning.  There had been a light snowfall the previous night and the tree branches and ground were covered in untouched snow. 

Patience shyly pointed out different things on the ride home.  She pointed out the few houses they passed and mentioned who lived in each of them. 

“Bess is going to come by tomorrow afternoon for a bit.  She’s James’s sister-in-law.  You’ll love her.  We met, and I knew immediately I’d made a lifelong friend.”  Millie was very excited for her two closest friends to meet.  She pictured years and years of the three of them visiting and letting their children play.  She smiled at the thought.