by Kit Morgan
Bella stepped out of his embrace and, spying a nearby log, went and sat on it. “Calvin, I am bad wife.”
He joined her and sat. “No, ya ain’t. I think ya just get excited about things is all.”
She looked at him and shook her head. “No, I bad wife. I try to put words in your mouth and in your head.” She tapped her temple for emphasis.
Calvin studied her. “How so?”
“You … do not know?” she asked, incredulous.
He shrugged. “I think I have an idea, but let’s hear yer side.” He knew he was putting her on the spot, but so be it. If she’d tricked him, she needed to hear herself confess. That was something Pa had taught him and his brothers: a man’ll believe what comes outta his own mouth ‘fore he believes what comes outta another’s …
“I put idea in your head …” she said and hung her head.
“Ohhhh,” he drawled. “Is that what you did?” He knew what she was referring to. You’re gonna ask if’n we can send for all them brothers and sisters of yours …
She nodded but didn’t say another word.
“Are they really that bad off?”
“I not know. I not written yet to find out. My aunt, she tell me not to write until I get here.”
“Does she know where ya are?”
Bella looked at him and shook her head.
“No? What do ya mean? How come she doesn’t know where you went?”
“I could not tell her! If I did, my father find out and find me! Then he make me marry that Giuseppi Dellavedova!” She spat into the leaves.
Calvin jumped at the action. “Jumpin’ johnnies, you really don’t like that fella, do ya?”
Her face twisted up in a grimace. “He a vile man. Il stupido e brutto figlio di puttana! That means –”
Calvin waved his hands in front of him. “Nah, nah, I think I get the idea. I can understand ya not wantin’ to get hitched to that.”
“Hmph.”
He took her hand in his. “I think the first thing ya gotta do is write yer aunt and tell her where ya are.”
Bella sighed. “Yes, you are right.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “I sorry I say all those things.”
“Aw shucks, darlin’. No offense, but I didn’t understand a word ya said anyways.”
She pressed her lips together to suppress a laugh. “No? Maybe I teach you Italiano.”
“Maybe, but I prefer to speak my own language.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah,” he said, took her in his arms and kissed her. When he lifted his lips from hers, he gazed into her eyes and smiled. “How’s that for talkin’?”
* * *
By the time Calvin and Bella returned to the house, Charity had supper started. She looked much better than she did at their last meal. There was color in her cheeks and she greeted the couple with a happy smile. “I’m glad to see you worked things out,” she said.
“Yeah,” Calvin said and put his arm around Bella. “For the most part.”
“Is there anything I can help you with?” she asked.
“No, it ain’t nothin’ we can’t handle,” Calvin told her.
“I’m glad to hear it.
Bella glanced between the two, sighed then focused on Calvin. “We talk to your mother now, yes?
“I think you and I need to talk about things for a spell. Let’s decide what to do first. Then we’ll talk to Ma.”
Bella sighed again and nodded. What did she expect? She’d tricked him into giving her the answer she wanted to hear. How pathetic was that? Now her penance would be to wait. Her eyes drifted to the stove, then the worktable. Maybe if she helped prepare supper she’d feel better. “I help you,” she told Charity.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’ve made this dish so often I could do it with my eyes closed.”
Bella fought against another sigh. Now what was she going to do? She needed to think about things before she spoke again with Calvin. Having something to do would help.
Naturally, he was right. They needed to iron out the details and decide how to handle the issue of her siblings before dragging the rest of the family into it. She was so used to having to get things done on her own that the thought of dealing with so many others was daunting, even if they were trying to help. She supposed the question she feared most was, would they help?
“I’d best get back to work,” Calvin said. “My brothers prob’ly think I fell down the well or something.” Charity laughed at his joke.
“I go see if your mama needs me,” Bella said.
“She’s in her sewing room,” Charity informed her.
Bella nodded, kissed Calvin and went to find Ma Weaver. Maybe she’d give her a task that would keep her busy for the next couple of hours until supper was ready. If she didn’t, then she wasn’t sure how she was going to manage, let alone escape her guilt.
Thirteen
“What’s the matter, child?” Ma Weaver asked. “Did you and Calvin have a disagreement?”
Bella’s eyebrows rose. “No, no disagreement. Well … little one.”
“I thought you might have, considering how fast you lit out of the house earlier.”
Bella had to think a moment. “Ah, no. I run away to find Charity. I run very fast to tell her I was sorry.”
“Telling someone you’re sorry is a good thing, so long as you really mean it. I guess you did, being as how you were in such a hurry to say it.”
Bella nodded in relief. “Yes, I want to make things right.”
Ma looked up from the hat she was working on. “And what about you and Calvin? Do the two of you need to tell each other you’re sorry?”
Bella blanched. The last thing she wanted to do was tell her new mother-in-law the trick she’d pulled on her husband. “We … come to agreement.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I sure hate to see younguns start a marriage out arguing with each other. My guess is you’ve got a bit of a temper. Actually, I take that back – I know you do. I’ve seen it in action already.”
Bella's cheeks grew hot. What could she say to that? It was true.
“No need to get embarrassed about it,” Ma said. “It’s good for Calvin to have someone like you. Lord knows the wallflower type would be no match for him. But you, I suspect you can handle him all right. Not to mention the other way around.”
A sudden picture of Calvin tossing her over his shoulder and carrying her to the creek popped into her head. Yes, he could handle her – and she was glad he could. She wasn’t sure she would respect a man who couldn’t. “Your son is good man. And … fair.”
“I raised all my boys to be fair. I’d be sorely disappointed if they weren’t. After all, marriage is all about compromise. Learning to meet in the middle.”
“What is this middle?” Bella asked, unsure of what she was saying.
“What I mean is, when two people have a disagreement it usually means both of them have to give a little.”
“Give?”
“Yes. A compromise is trying to make things work out so both people win some. Say Calvin wants you to bake him a cherry pie, but you want to make apple. You get into a fight about it and maybe Calvin wins. So you make the cherry, but are you happy about it? No. So what’s a better way to handle that?”
“I no bake him anything!” she said, her chin held high.
Ma shook her head and groaned. “No, child. You combine them. Apples and berries go good together. You make a fruit pie.”
Bella twisted up her mouth as her mind absorbed the concept. “Compromise,” she said to herself.
“It helps folks to get along better, especially when they’re as young as you and Calvin are. Because trust me, child, if you two don’t learn how to do it now, you’re going to have a heap of trouble later.”
Bella nodded in understanding. “It … sometimes a lot of work to get along. I no get along with my father well. Maybe I should have worked harder.”
Ma studied her a moment. “Is that why you’re here, child?”
<
br /> Bella took a step back, looked away and closed her eyes. “Yes.” Now what was she going to do? She didn’t want to talk about her siblings, but was talking about her father any better? Both made her feel guilty.
“Did you and your father have a big fight or something? Is that why you became a mail-order bride?”
Anger replaced guilt. Bella turned back to her. “My father… he want me to marry bad, bad man!”
“I see. Then I’m glad you came here and married a good one.”
Bella sighed in relief. At least Ma wasn’t pressing the matter. “Yes, Calvin is a good man. I like him very much.”
Ma smiled. “He likes you too.” She returned her attention to the hat. “It won’t be long before you two are head over heels in love with each other and I have another grandchild or two on the way.”
Bella smiled. “I am glad you are happy. Your sons, they very happy when they see you smile.”
“That’s only because they know I’m not gonna tan their hides for anything,” Ma said with a wink.
Bella laughed as she pictured the tiny woman chastising one of her tall sons with a switch for doing something silly.
“You feel better now, child?” Ma asked.
Her laughter stopped. “Better?”
“When you walked in here you were wound up pretty tight. I could tell something was bothering you. Whatever it is, things will work out. You just gotta give it time.”
Bella closed her eyes and nodded in agreement. Ma wasn’t asking for specifics, for which she was glad. Instead she was trying to encourage her. “Thank you. You are very wise woman. I hope I will be too someday.”
“You will, so long as you keep your eyes and ears open and don’t run from your problems.”
Bella's eyes flickered with surprise. How did the woman know? She let her eyes wander the room as she pondered Ma’s words. She was running, wasn’t she? Hadn’t she come into this room for that very reason? Speaking of which… “Can I get you anything?”
“No, child, I’m fine. But you can sit with me if you like and start thinking about those coats you’re gonna make.”
Bella nodded as she spotted the wool fabric they’d purchased atop a small table. She went to fetch it. “I make fine coats, you see!”
When she turned back to Ma, the woman wore a wide grin. “I’m sure I will, child. Now why don’t you get started?”
Grateful to be given something to do, Bella did just that.
* * *
Bella spent the next week learning the family’s daily routine. The women rose early and prepared breakfast while the men tended the morning chores. Livestock had to be fed, the barn cleaned and any tools or implements prepared for the day's work. Arlan and Samijo had breakfast at their place but often joined the family for lunch and supper.
After the breakfast dishes, Bella and Charity would help Samijo with the twins. Sometimes Samijo would come back to the main house with them; at other times they spent their mornings at her place.
The younger women took turns preparing meals which gave Ma more time to work on her hats. Charity and Bella saw to the washing and Samijo took care of mending. After supper, Arlan and Samijo stayed for dessert, coffee and a few stories in the parlor, then returned to their cabin.
“I suspect they’ll be spending more time at home once winter sets in,” Ma explained one evening after they’d gone.
“But why?” Bella asked.
“They won’t want to bring the twins out in the cold more than they have to,” Ma explained. “You gotta admit, that’s quite the trek from the farmhouse to their cabin.”
Bella hadn’t thought of that. The sun had been out every day since her arrival and she’d wondered if it was unusual for this time of year. Would the winters here be as cold as they’d been in New York? She hoped not. She liked playing with the twins after supper and would miss her time with them each night.
“I suppose they should settle into their own home anyway. I can’t expect them up here every night,” Ma said. She sighed and looked at Benjamin and Charity. “You’ll want to be thinking about your own place too.”
“Not just yet, Ma,” Benjamin said. “I think it’s best if we stay here with you for a while. I’ll start thinking about building us a place after the baby comes.”
Charity absently put a hand on her belly as she looked around the room. “That’s a good idea.”
Daniel, who’d been reading a book, set it down on a nearby table. “I don’t mind bein’ in the house with the baby even if it do cry a lot.”
“Why don’t you just say you don’t want them to leave either?” Ma asked.
Daniel rolled his eyes. “Aw, Ma …”
Bella smiled to herself. Any mention of change in the household often brought a comment from Daniel. She had a fleeting thought of what he might do should her siblings arrive.
She glanced at Calvin, who’d picked up Daniel's book and was leafing through it. He hadn’t spoken about her brothers and sisters since their conversation at the Creek. Maybe she wasn’t the only one avoiding it. But they would have to talk about it sooner or later. Maybe she should bring it up tonight when they went to bed – if she got the chance. Bedtime meant kissing, not talking, and the kissing led to other things, after which neither one felt much like talking.
Maybe tonight she should stop the kissing before it got started, just so they could talk. “Fruit pie,” she whispered to herself.
“What was that, darlin’?” Calvin asked.
“Oh, nothing.”
“I thought I heard ya say ‘pie’.”
Ma glanced up from her knitting and smiled. “It’s getting late, I think I’ll go up to bed.”
“Me too, Ma,” Daniel said as he stood and stretched.
Ma put her knitting in a basket next to her chair and stood. “What about the rest of you?”
Benjamin and Charity exchanged a quick glance. “In a minute, Ma,” he told her.”
“I’ll see you in the morning, then,” she said and left the parlor with Daniel.
Once they were gone, Benjamin leaned toward Calvin. “I need to make a trip to town.”
“What ya need to go into town for?”
“I wanna see if there’s any news about John Tyler Pittman. For all I know, he’s been arrested by now.”
Calvin sat back in his chair. “Want me to go with ya?”
“We could take Ma’s hats and the coat Bella is makin’. We’re gonna hafta go anyway, but I’d rather go sooner than later.”
Calvin turned to Bella. “What ya think, darlin’ – ya up for a trip to Nowhere?”
“What about Samijo? Who will help with twins?”
“I’ll stay and help,” Charity offered. “Ben and I already talked about it.”
“If’n Matty likes the coat ya made,” Calvin said, “then he’ll wanna talk to ya about makin’ more. Ya’ll need more fabric, and I dunno how much to get. Ya gotta come along.”
Bella looked at Charity as of asking permission. “But what if there is a message?”
“A couple of days isn’t going to hurt me,” Charity told her. “To tell you the truth, I’m not sure I want to know.”
Benjamin put his arm around her. “Don’t ya worry none – everythin’s gonna turn out fine. Besides, he can’t hurt you no more, not with ya here.”
Charity nodded, then looked at Bella. “You go and take care of your business at the mercantile. Who knows, maybe you can start your own dressmaking business?”
Bella smiled at the thought. It would be a dream come true. And with the money she’d make, she’d be able to support her brothers and sisters … if they were able to come. The thought bolstered her courage to speak with Calvin that night.
“I guess we’d better tell Ma and get ourselves ready for a trip to Nowhere,” Calvin announced. He stood and held his hand out to Bella. “Let’s go sleep on it, shall we?”
She smiled as she took his hand. It was now or never.
* * *
�
�I must speak with you,” Bella told Calvin as they entered their room.
Calvin sighed. “Yeah, I know.”
“You do?”
“I was wonderin’ when ya’d get around to it. I guess I’ve been kinda avoidin’ the subject. I’m sorry.” He steered her toward the bed and they sat. “To be honest, I ain’t sure what to do. The farm don’t produce enough to feed that many people, at least not yet. Have ya written yer aunt yet?”
She shook her head. “No,” she said and picked at her skirt. “I write her tomorrow. I not want to write until I know what to tell her.”
He put his arm around her. “Well, as I see it, ya need to find out what kind of situation your brothers and sisters are in. Seven younguns is a lot for anyone to take on, even if it’s family. They may be fine for now, but the bigger they get the more they’re gonna eat. How are yer relatives gonna feed ‘em?”
“Yes, I think of that.” She turned on the bed to face him. “I so sorry I did not tell you earlier. I feel very bad and not want to think of it. I guess I too caught up in marrying you.”
He smiled and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. “That part don’t bother me, and at least it’s out in the open now. I wouldn’t want it festerin’ between us. I guess if I were in yer shoes, I’d’ve done the same thing. Don’t worry, we’ll figure somethin’ out. But the first thing to do is write that letter.”
She nodded her agreement. He was right – what else could she do? “After I write the letter, what then?”
Calvin shrugged. “We wait for an answer, what else? Until we know what’s happenin’ with them, how we gonna plan for anythin’? Besides that, we won’t have nothin’ to tell the family, and trust me, they’re gonna wanna know. ‘Specially Arlan.”
“But he already know.”
“He knows ya have seven brothers and sisters, but he don’t know the particulars.”
“Oh, yes, that is true.”