A Heart for Home

by Lauraine Snelling

  Ingeborg glanced at her daughter to see her smooth away the conflict that had tightened her eyes. “Not at all. Here, you take my chair and join us. I’ll get the coffee.”

  “Thank you, but – are you sure?”

  “Just sit down, Mr. Landsverk. My mother never says something she doesn’t mean. Would you care for rhubarb pie?” Astrid did not smile as she spoke.

  “Yes, please.”

  Astrid slid the slices of pie onto the plates and passed them around the table. Ingeborg poured the coffee, and the conversation picked up again.

  When the table was cleared and Astrid and Ingeborg were washing the dishes, the others trooped outside to take up the chairs on the porch, some sitting on the flat railing board and the children on the floor.

  “You didn’t look happy,” Ingeborg said as she set a washed plate in the rinse water.

  “I’m not. I don’t really want to see him, but I know we live in the same town, and it would be bad manners to ignore him.”

  “I think he still – ”

  “Has feelings for me? Then he should have been kinder, or rather, more understanding when we last spoke. I don’t believe he would be happy married to a doctor. At least not this doctor.”

  “That happens to many female doctors. It takes a special man to have his wife gone hither and yon to care for her patients.”

  “Like Far?”

  “Ja, he is indeed a special man. Roald would not have been able to adjust, I don’t think.”

  “But people will be able to come to the hospital for care, and that should make it easier.”

  “You are saying you would not go out on a call?”

  “Not at all, but . . .” Astrid looked at her mother. “Change, even good change, is not necessarily easy, is it?”

  “No, it is not. But nothing is impossible with God.”

  Astrid heaved a sigh. “That sure was evident down on the Rosebud Reservation.”

  Ellie and Andrew came in from the porch. “We need to get these little ones home to bed. Thank you for supper.”

  Carl raised his sleepy head from his father’s shoulder. “’Night, Grandma.”

  “’Night.” She reached up to kiss his cheek.

  Joshua stepped through the door. “Will you be going back to town, Dr. Bjorklund?”

  Astrid nodded.

  “May I walk with you?”

  Ingeborg took the pan of dishwater to empty outside on her rosebush. Lord, give her wisdom and the right words for this man.

  17

  Thorliff helped his family into the buggy and turned to Astrid. “You want to ride?”

  “No. I’ll walk with Mr. Landsverk.”

  “You are sure?”

  Astrid leaned closer to lower her voice. “I think this is necessary.”

  “No blood, now.”

  “Thorliff!” She whispered his name, but the rebuke was obvious. Turning to the man waiting a few feet away, she nodded. “Let’s wait and let the dust settle a bit first.”

  They paused with neither one saying a word, the silence not one of comfort, at least not on her part. It’s a good thing one can pray in silence, she thought as she pleaded for God to give her the right words.

  “I thought maybe you were going to stay in South Dakota for the whole summer,” Joshua said.

  Astrid let that comment pass. “Our trip was longer than I’d anticipated.” She started off down the lane.

  “But you were able to save lives.”

  “As Mor would say, ‘Thanks be to God.’ ” She fought to find something to say. “I hear your brother has arrived.”

  “He has. I’d bring all my family here if I could, but my older brother and my sister have decided to stay in Iowa. He has the family farm to run.”

  Astrid tried to think of something else to say, but everything she thought of would bring up their past.

  “Miss Bjorklund, er, Dr. Bjorklund . . .”

  She could feel her hackles rising, so she took a deep breath and kept on walking.

  Joshua cleared his throat. “I know I have an apology to make.”

  Surprise caught her and stopped her in her tracks. She turned to watch him.

  “I know I was out of line concerning your trip to the Rosebud Reservation. I . . . I’m sorry for getting so angry.”

  She watched his face, recognizing the strength it took for him to say that. “Mr. Landsverk, I accept your apology.”

  “Then we can go back to where we were and talk of . . . of ma – of courting?”

  Astrid heaved a sigh. “I’m afraid not.” She paused. Never had she intentionally wounded a man, but at the look on his face, she’d done it now. “I’m sorry, but I do not believe we are meant for each other. You need a woman who will give you her whole heart, who will think . . .” She stumbled. “I . . . I am just not that woman. My first calling is to be a doctor. Many female doctors never marry for this very reason. Others regret it and the marriage dissolves. Mr. Landsverk, I know there is the perfect woman for you somewhere, but it is not me.”

  When Joshua stared into her eyes, she could see both fury and sorrow.

  He gave a brief nod. “I think you are wrong, but I will not mention this ever again. Good evening, Doctor Bjorklund,” he said, emphasizing the word doctor, turned, and strode off toward town, his feet pounding the dirt, raising dust.

  Astrid swallowed the tears and turned to stare at the setting sun, shimmering instead of clear. Why was life so hard at times? She thought of calling him back. Perhaps she was wrong. Was she throwing away the marriage she’d dreamed of? The only person she wanted to talk with was her mother. But she had looked so tired.

  Lord, what do I do? This hurts. Why does doing what seems best have to cost so much? She gazed out across the land, watching the changing cloud and color patterns. North Dakota had a gift for sunsets. She’d seen nothing like this while in Georgia. The sky was slashed with vermillion, yellow, and orange, and then shaded to pinks on the clouds with just enough gray to make the colors flare. As the golden disc slipped below the horizon, a breeze waved the grass and kissed her cheeks, drying the tears and bringing her a peace that breathed all around her. Even the dirt under her feet seemed to hold her suspended, as if the entire earth waited with her.

  Verses swam through her mind. I know the thoughts that I think toward you . . . thoughts of peace . . . to give you an expected end. . . . Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. . . . The words poured through her mind and into her soul, bringing a comfort she had not believed possible. Until that moment. She blew a kiss toward her mother’s house and turned to walk toward town. When she needed Him, Jesus indeed lived up to His Word to send a Comforter, to guide her step-by-step.

  “Are you all right?” Thorliff asked when she entered the kitchen.

  “I am.”

  “I saw Joshua come home alone.”

  “I know. I told him that I am not the right woman for him and that somewhere God has that woman waiting. He was not happy with my response.”

  “I’m sure he wasn’t. He was building that house for you.”

  “I know. And I am sorry. But better to make the break now than down the road, when he cannot abide one more medical emergency.” She poured herself a glass of water and joined her brother at the table. “I still do not understand his antipathy toward the Indians, but I hope he can let that go. Bitterness is a dangerous thing.”

  “It is indeed.” Thorliff leaned back in his chair. “I hope he does not decide to leave Blessing. He has family here now, whether he can believe that or not.”

  “He has his house.”

  “Well, he has the basement dug out and the house on order. It should arrive tomorrow. He could sell that easily right now. But I hope he stays. Will that be difficult for you?”

  “Not at all. I really want the best for him. We don’t have to be good friends, you know. Although I think I can be a friend to
him.” Maybe not immediately, but time does make some things easier. She reached over and patted her brother’s hand. “I think my time on the reservation gave me a better perspective on some things. He hated my going down there. That pretty much made up my mind.”

  Thorliff nodded. “I think that all those years Mor and Far prayed for us are producing the wisdom they asked for.”

  “They are the best examples.”

  “I know.”

  “I’ve prayed for wisdom so often. In Proverbs it says to seek wisdom with all your heart. To run after her. It is interesting to me that it speaks of wisdom as a woman, not just once, but over and over.”

  “I’d not thought on that.” He smothered a yawn. “Right now wisdom says I need to get some sleep, to catch up with all that I’ve missed.” He pushed his chair back. “Turn out the light when you come up.”

  She stood. “I am coming now. Tomorrow will be a busy day.”

  “Are there any that are not?”

  “Not that I’ve noticed.”

  A bit later, lying in bed, she wondered again at the peace she still felt. She picked up her Bible and turned to Proverbs. She’d not memorized as much in the Old Testament as in the New, other than the Psalms. Maybe it was time to continue – starting with more in Proverbs.

  18

  “When will you be leaving, then?” Thorliff asked.

  “Probably the day after tomorrow. I need to be in Minneapolis on Monday for the first appointments.” Daniel Jeffers studied the calendar in front of him. “I should be gone about two weeks, and if I accomplish what I see as possible, we will have enough work to keep us going through the winter.” Selling the idea had been his father’s job, but his job was to sell the machinery they’d be building right there in their new plant. If only his father could be there to see the reality of his dreams.

  “Well, if you meet any capable and trained machinists, hire them. And tell them to bring tents to live in. Also, I know the doctors are looking for staff for the hospital, including an administrator. And Elizabeth said she received a letter from a dentist who is interested in leasing space in the hospital for his practice.” He glanced at the clock and noticed it was starting time for the construction crew.

  “The house packages will really be here today,” Daniel said. He was having a hard time believing this would really happen.

  “They said they were shipped to arrive today. They’d better, because I’ve commandeered every able body I can to help and every wagon available to move the supplies to the appropriate lots. Our new workers should be on the train too.”

  A knock on the office door caught their attention.

  “Come in,” Thorliff called.

  Joshua Landsverk pushed open the door, looking like he hadn’t slept for days. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning. Is something wrong?”

  “I’ve come to turn in my resignation.”

  “Good grief, man. Why?” Jeffers blurted out. But when he looked at Thorliff’s face, he knew this was no surprise to him. Joshua was one of their two best men. He and Toby both ran their crews as if they’d been managing men for years.

  “Sit down, Joshua.” Thorliff motioned to the chair by his desk.

  “Do you want to tell us why?”

  Joshua sat on the edge of the chair. “It’s a personal matter.”

  “Regarding my sister?”

  “I don’t want to discuss that. I think it’s better that I leave Blessing is all.”

  “But your brother is here now too.”

  “He can stay or come with me, no matter.”

  Questions bubbled in Daniel’s mind like a pot of stew on full boil. He sat still in his chair, not even making notes.

  “Joshua, there really is no need to leave Blessing. You have created a place for yourself here, and to be right up front, your leaving now would put us in a real bind.” Thorliff scratched the back of his head. “We don’t have anyone else to step into your job. You know how much construction is going on.”

  “I just don’t know how I can stay here.”

  Daniel had heard that Landsverk was sweet on Thorliff’s sister, even building a house for her, thinking she would become his wife. She must have turned his courtship down for him to want to leave like this. On one hand he felt sorry for the man, but on the other . . .

  Thorliff leaned forward. “I have a favor to ask. How about tabling your resignation for a month? See how things go. My pa always says, ‘Never make a decision in a hurry, especially one that could make a big difference in your life.’ Let it rest and pray about it. In a month we can talk again. As much work as we’ve got to do, a month will go by so fast we won’t keep up.”

  Joshua heaved a sigh through gritted teeth. “Okay. I hope you are right, Thorliff.”

  “Trust me. I’ve been in a very similar situation, and hard work is the best antidote.”

  Joshua nodded and settled his hat back on his head. “We’ll get done what we can, then, before the train comes in, right?”

  “Right. Then we’ll all move housing materials. Right now I’m wishing we had a yard to store things like this in, but then we’d have to move it all twice.”

  “A yard by the tracks is not a bad idea. With some roofed sheds and an enclosed warehouse . . .” Joshua headed out the door.

  “Right. Another major project to add to those we are already working on.” Thorliff shook his head. “We all need to be ten men.”

  And I’m leaving town, Jeffers thought. He had struggled with this for the last two weeks. They all knew he needed to be out selling their machinery and searching for men to work in the plant. And like the coming hospital, they needed office people, preferably trained on the typewriter and in accounting. As far as they knew, no one in Blessing had that kind of training. He’d thought of the possibility of offering office training to Gerald Valders. Anner Valders had the skills to run the bank, but that was a full-time job. He brought his thoughts back to the needs at hand.

  “Mrs. Wiste said the rooms are ready for the immigrant workers. She will bill us twice a month for their room and board. After that she will collect money from the men themselves. I sure hope they understand all that.” Jeffers shook his head. “I feel like we are shooting rabbits in the dark.”

  “All will be well. I am quoting my mor. And I know one thing for certain, she is praying for all of this to work out, as is Pastor Solberg.”

  “I know they have prayed miracles into existence, and if this does all work out, we will put more up to their credit.”

  “They would say to give God the glory. Astrid and I were talking about wisdom last night. She said she has prayed for wisdom for a long time, even before she went into medicine. I tell you, I started reading Proverbs again. She lit a fire under me, but if you ever tell her this, I shall deny it to the death.” The two men smiled at each other.

  As if he would ever have a chance at such a conversation with the younger Dr. Bjorklund.

  When the westbound train whistle blew, the entire town and countryside were gathered at the station. Wagons were lined up for half a mile, with the drivers shouting to one other with general joviality, more like that found at a party rather than at the start of a backbreaking job.

  Haakan and Ingeborg greeted the immigrant laborers as they got off the train. The number had grown to fourteen, and by speaking slowly in Norwegian, they’d been able to communicate with the Norwegians, of course, as well as the Swedish and German men, telling them to put their belongings on a couple of handcarts, which would be used to deliver them to the boardinghouse. The one Russian man followed the examples of the others. With that accomplished, they herded the men to the siding, where the railroad workers were uncoupling the three flat cars to be unloaded.

  Once the railcars were left behind, the train continued on westward, and the real work began. Thorliff and Jeffers, along with Anner Valders, inspected the contents of the cars and made sure that the components for each building were kept together. Then the materia
ls were hauled off the train, loaded onto the wagons, and transported to the homesites that had already been stepped off and marked.

  “You take charge of your house, Joshua. Far, you take the Jeffers house; Toby, you oversee the spec houses.” Jeffers and Mr. Valders held the sheaves of paper work, checking things off as they were unloaded.

  Two hours later the women showed up with sandwiches, cookies, and plenty of coffee, and the work halted while everyone ate. Mr. Geddick sat down with the Germans and further explained the building plans while Haakan did the same with the others. The man from Russia sat alone and watched, following the others carefully. Everyone worked until dark. By that time Joshua’s building materials were piled by his completed cellar, and portions of the spec houses and the Jeffers house were in place. The men who had cows to milk left when they needed to and returned when their chores were finished. The women helped Sophie and her staff at the boardinghouse, and at dark all the men trooped in there to eat. The weary men were still able to laugh, and their conversations rocked the walls of the dining room.

  “Once we are all unloaded, we will start building your house and digging out the cellars on the others,” Thorliff said to Joshua and his brother Aaron, and then he went from table to table, thanking the men for all their work. He ended each message with “We’ll start again at daylight.”

  By five o’clock the next evening, the railroad cars were empty, ready to be picked up again the following day by the eastbound train. The men unloaded the last of the wagons and slowly trooped back to the boardinghouse, where once again a community supper was served.

  “Mor, you could let the younger women do more of the work,”

  Thorliff said.

  “You think I am too old for this?” Ingeborg answered with a frown.

  “No, but . . .”

  Jeffers stood back and watched the exchange, enjoying the conversation. His own mother beckoned him from where she sat with the doctors Bjorklund, who were removing slivers, bandaging cuts, and treating blisters.