Mail Order Mix Up

by Kirsten Osbourne

  She sighed and walked to him, putting her hand on his chest. “You know I prefer it when you’re home. I just get so bored during the day. I needed something to do. When there was so much to be done, I just kept going. I didn’t think there was any real reason to rush home. If you’d let me know when you planned to be here, I’d be certain I was here when you arrived.”

  “I wanted to surprise you.”

  “I’m sorry I ruined your surprise.” She meant it, too. She loved that he’d cared enough to leave work earlier than usual to surprise her with an evening out. She was very sorry to have ruined it.

  “We’re not too late to go to the restaurant. Do you want to go?”

  She looked down at her dress which was covered with dirt. “I’ll need to change and wash my face and hands. I’ve been on my hands and knees all day.” She knew she was filthy, but she was so happy to have been doing something for others that she didn’t mind at all.

  He rubbed a smudge of dirt off her cheek with his thumb. “I can see that.” He dropped a kiss on her lips. “Hurry and change. I’ll wait.”

  She rushed up the stairs and changed quickly, splashing water on her face and hands from the pitcher on the dresser. She quickly fixed her hair and hurried back down the stairs. “I’m ready.”

  He held out his arm to her. “Let’s go then.”

  During their walk she told him all about her day and the different things that needed to be done at the orphanage. “There’s a girl there named Angela. She did my hair for our wedding. She lost her parents when she was eleven, and she’s lived at the orphanage ever since. I’ve never seen anyone work so hard!”

  He opened the door to the restaurant for her, and followed her in. They were seated by the window. “I think I’ve met Angela.”

  “She’s so sweet. I wish there was a way we could get her out of there.” She didn’t realize how wistful her voice sounded as she spoke about the teenager.

  He sighed. “You know we can’t adopt all the orphans, right?”

  “I know. I just want to help this one. Do you know of anyone who could use a lady’s maid? She is wonderful with hair. Or maybe there’s someone who needs a nurse for their children. She’s really good with the younger children.”

  He shook his head slowly. “I don’t know of anyone, but I’ll ask around.”

  “Thank you.” She looked down at her plate before taking a bite of the fish he’d ordered for her. “Do you think we could take them some food too? They eat beans at least six nights a week. They’re all so sick of beans.”

  “That we can do. Why don’t I have Albert, the gardener, drive you over to the orphanage tomorrow and you can stop and pick up some meat at the butcher’s on the way over? Would that make you feel better?”

  “It’s not about how I feel. It’s about helping others. I hate there are so many kids squeezed into that small house. I wish I could take them all home with me.”

  He grinned. “Well, I really don’t think that’s an option. I mean, I love kids, but there are over twenty of them, aren’t there?”

  She nodded. “And they live in a four bedroom house!” She hadn’t had much growing up, but at least she’d had only one other person to share a bedroom with.

  “We’ll do what we can to help, but we can’t take them all home with us.”

  “I know. I just wish we could.”

  They ate the rest of their meal in silence as she tried to think of ways to help the children. There had to be more she could do.

  *****

  The other women were thrilled when she got to the orphanage the following day. She had brought enough food for the children to have a good meal. She’d decided to make them pot roast with fresh bread and vegetables.

  She had the same three teen helpers as before, and the four of them worked together to fix the meal. When there was a lull in the cooking, she took them all into the dining room to give it the same kind of cleaning they’d given the kitchen the day before. By the time dinner time rolled around, the dining room was spotless. All of the children were excited by the special meal. “No beans!” shouted a tow-headed boy of about fourteen.

  She’d learned while they cleaned that the only meat they tended to eat was the meat the boys were able to hunt for. During the summer months the three teenaged boys in residence would go out into the woods adjacent to the orphanage, and see how much meat they could bring in. Sometimes it would only be a squirrel or a rabbit, but they would use whatever they had to flavor their beans. If they were lucky and got a deer, they would be able to eat meat for a few days before going back to their regular diet of beans.

  The orphanage had a small hen house, but they used all the eggs they found in their baking or for breakfast, so the little bit of extra food the hunting brought in helped immensely.

  Ellen was careful to leave at five-thirty that evening, so she could be certain to make it home before Patrick did. She felt he’d overreacted the night before, but she didn’t want to risk him getting angry with her two nights in a row.

  To her surprise he was waiting for her when she walked into the house. “You’re home!” she said happily running into his arms.

  “I should be home by this time every night.”

  “How?” She pulled away looking up at him in astonishment.

  “I hired another man to work in the bank. He’s going to take some of the load off of Mr. Chandler and me so we can both spend more time with our families.”

  “Thank you.” She hugged him fiercely thrilled he had made the change for her.

  He smiled. “It’s not just for you. I’m a newlywed too, and enjoy spending time with my new wife.”

  They walked into the dining room where Alice was setting the food on the table. She winked at Ellen as she set down the carved pork roast and left.

  Ellen once again was full of stories about the orphanage, and he talked about the new man at the bank. She was thrilled to be able to talk to him about her day, and actually have something to say.

  “The orphanage is at capacity now,” she told him. “I asked what would happen if more children came, and they said they’d have to turn them away.” She stabbed her meat. “Can you imagine turning orphans away because there’s no room?”

  “I’ll tell you what. If more come, and there’s no room, we can take one.”

  She squealed and ran around the table to hug him. “Do you mean it?”

  He sighed. “I can see nothing would make you happier, so yes that would be okay.”

  She sat back down and enjoyed her meal. “You know a gift like that is better than diamonds, don’t you?”

  He nodded. “But it would be so much easier just to give you diamonds.”

  She laughed. “I never promised to be an easy wife, did I? I really don’t remember that being in the vows.”

  Chapter Ten

  That week set a pattern for the following months. Every morning Ellen went to Malinda’s to help her with her cooking skills, although Malinda was learning rapidly, and it was obvious Ellen was no longer needed. They both enjoyed spending their mornings together, so neither of them put an end to it. Malinda seemed happier in her marriage than she had, and she confessed to Ellen she’d told Wesley a lot more about her thoughts and feelings.

  Every afternoon, she went to the orphanage, and spent time with the children. She cooked, cleaned, and changed diapers. She found she was in her element there, and other than spending time with Patrick, it was her favorite thing to do.

  She’d been working at the orphanage for a little over four weeks when she heard a knock on the door. She didn’t see anyone else, so she went to the door. There, on the ground, was a baby who was obviously a newborn. She looked both ways, and didn’t see anyone, so she picked it up. On a note pinned to the small blue blanket wrapped around it were the words, “Please take care of my little boy. His name is Jonathan. His father died, and I can’t support him. Please find a family who will love him.”

  The baby was sound asleep, and Ellen
carried him inside. One of the older boys had left the previous week, so she knew there’d be room for him. She took him to Ida and showed her the note.

  Ida shook her head sadly. “I don’t know what we’ll do with him. There’re no beds left in the baby room.”

  “But one of the boys left last week! Surely there’s room for him.”

  Ida sighed. “It doesn’t work that way. If a baby had left, we’d have room, but it was one of the teenage boys. If we’d gotten a boy over three, he could have bunked in with the older boys, and everything would have been fine. We have no room for a baby boy.” She made a face. “I guess we’ll have to wire the orphanage in Denver to see if they have room.”

  Ellen shook her head. “There’s no need. I’m taking him home with me.” Patrick had said she could take home the next child who couldn’t stay at the orphanage, and she was going to take him at his word.

  “You can’t take a baby home with you. You’re newly married. You need time alone with your husband.”

  Ellen bit her lip, considering what the other woman was saying. “You’re right. We do need time alone. So I’ll take Angela as well, and she can be his nurse.” She wasn’t sure how Patrick would react to her bringing home two of the orphans, but Angela would be a huge help to her, and would free up another bed in the orphanage.

  “What will your husband say?”

  Ellen shrugged. She really wasn’t certain. “It’ll be fine.”

  She stood looking down at the tiny child in her arms, and she knew it really would be okay. He had already agreed to take in the next child the orphanage couldn’t hold, and she was bringing home someone who would take care of the new baby. How could he complain about that?

  She went and found the teenager in the kitchen. She was watching over the pot of rabbit stew they were having for supper. “Angela?”

  Angela looked up and saw the baby in Ellen’s arms. “We got a new one? Where are they going to put him? There’s no room!” Even though her words were negative the young girl automatically reached for the baby.

  Ellen watched the younger girl’s face as she took the baby in her arms and cradled him against her. “His name is Jonathan.” She reached out and stroked her finger down the cheek of the sweet baby.

  “What happens now?” Angela asked sadly. “Are they seeing if the home in Denver has room for him?” She stared down at the baby, as concerned for him as Ellen was.

  Ellen shook her head. “They were going to, but I thought I’d take him home with me.” She watched the younger girl’s face to see what her reaction would be.

  Angela’s eyes widened. “What will Mr. Harris say?”

  “He told me I could take home the next child who couldn’t be kept here.”

  “So the orphanage is going to lose you?” Angela sighed. “We’ll really miss you around here, Mrs. Harris. You’ve been great.” She stared down at the baby, seeming upset.

  Ellen understood how she felt. The two of them had become very close during the time she’d volunteered at the orphanage. “Well, I have an idea that would make it so I could take him home with me and still work here some.” She looked at the red head as her eyes lifted. The tears shimmering there gave her hope the girl would like the idea. “I was hoping I could hire you to be his nurse. You could help me with him, and I could still have time for the orphanage. Of course, I have to talk to my husband about it, but I think it would be the perfect solution.”

  Angela’s face lit up. “Me? You want me to come live with you in your big house?”

  Ellen nodded with a smile. “That’s exactly what I want. Would you mind?” She could already tell by the girl’s face that she loved the idea, but she asked anyway.

  “I’d love to!”

  Ellen left Angela sitting at the table cooing over the baby as she stirred the pot on the stove. “I’ll get one of the other girls to take over here, and we can go upstairs and get your things together.”

  Angela looked at her with a look of trepidation. “Aren’t you going to talk to Mr. Harris first?”

  Ellen shook her head. She knew talking to Patrick first would be the right thing to do, but she didn’t have time. There was no room for the baby in the orphanage, and she needed to get diapers and milk for him before it was time for him to sleep. “No, there’s too much to be done today.” One of the other teenagers, a girl named Madeline, walked into the kitchen. “Maddy, would you mind taking over the supper preparations? I need Angela upstairs.”

  Maddy shook her head. “No, ma’am.” She walked to the stove and immediately started stirring, looking over her shoulder in wonder.

  Ellen took the baby from Angela and followed the girl out of the room and upstairs. She hadn’t spent much time in the upper floor of the house, always working in the kitchen and on cleaning the main rooms instead. “Which room is yours?”

  Angela opened a door with ten beds lining the walls. She walked to a bed on one end of the room and knelt down, reaching for something under the bed. She pulled out a small wooden crate that obviously was what she used as a dresser. One more reach under the bed, and she took out a rag doll that looked as if it had seen better days. Removing her apron she put her spare dress, nightgown and underclothes, which was all she had on top of the apron. She added the doll, and then used the ties from the apron to wrap around the clothing to keep it all in a tight ball. “There. I’m ready.” She shrugged in embarrassment. “The doll is all I have left from my time with my parents, so I want to keep it. I know it’s childish.”

  Ellen had thought she had little when she’d left their little farm in Massachusetts, but watching this young girl with everything she owned tied up in an apron, she knew she’d grown up wealthy compared to her. They walked down the stairs and spoke with Ida. “Tomorrow’s Saturday, and I’m not going to be here. I’ll take a couple of days to get the children settled in my house. I should be here Monday afternoon, though.”

  Ida nodded. “I’m glad you’re taking them home with you. We hate having to turn any children away.”

  Ellen nodded. “I do understand, and we certainly won’t be able to take in all of the children, but we can help today.” She cradled the baby close to her as she walked out of the house with Angela trailing behind her.

  “I’m looking forward to staying with you and Mr. Harris,” Angela told her.

  Ellen smiled. “You’ll like it there. You already know Alice, and Mrs. Smith is nice as can be.” She looked at the younger girl for a moment. “How do you know Alice?”

  “She lived on a farm right along the path we took to town when we needed supplies. She and my mother were friends, and she wanted to take me in when my parents died, but her husband said they didn’t have room, so I came here.” She sighed. “I’ve always thought of her as another mother.”

  Ellen wondered if Patrick had known any of their history. Surely he would have agreed to let Angela live with them if he’d known how close she was to Alice. She opened the door and led Angela into the kitchen where Alice was preparing dinner. “We have an extra for dinner for a while.”

  Alice turned and saw Angela, her arms immediately stretching out to hug the young girl. “You’ll be staying here?”

  Angela nodded, wiping away a tear. “Mrs. Harris is going to adopt the new baby left at the orphanage, because there’s no room. So she brought me to be his nurse.”

  Alice smiled warmly. “Mr. Patrick is certainly in for a surprise when he gets home.”

  Ellen grinned at the baby sleeping in her arms. “I need to go to the mercantile to see if I can get some things for him. The only thing I’m worried about is a cradle. How will we find a cradle on such short notice?”

  “They sometimes have them in the mercantile,” Alice told her. “Not often, but there are a couple of miners who make furniture and sell it so they’ll be able to eat and keep working their claims for just a little longer.”

  “I’ll go check.” She carefully handed the baby to Angela and knew that Alice and Mrs. Smith would get
her and Jonathan settled in while she was gone.

  “Have the gardener drive you. That way if you do find what you need, you’ll be able to bring it home with no problem. Tell him to take the wagon and not the buggy, though.”

  Ellen nodded. “I’ll do that!”

  She was home an hour later with a new cradle, diapers, and fabric to make some clothes for the baby. She’d also picked up several bolts of cloth to make new clothes for Angela.

  Glancing at the clock, she saw that Patrick was due home any minute. She paced nervously in the foyer as she waited for him. How would he react to her just bringing home two of the orphans without really talking to him about it first? Would he be angry, or would he just accept it?

  Patrick opened the door, and she rushed to his side to kiss his cheek in greeting. “You’re home!”

  He laughed softly. “I’m home at this time every night.”

  She bit her lip. “Well, it’s not every night I’m waiting to talk to you when you arrive.” What was the best way to tell him?

  He raised an eyebrow and looked at her. “What’s wrong?”

  She took his hand and led him into the parlor, sitting on the couch and drawing him down beside her. “Nothing’s really wrong, but I’m afraid you’ll be angry because of something I did today.”

  “What did you do?” He looked at her with curious eyes.

  “I brought home two of the orphans.”

  He sighed. “Two? I thought we’d decided you could bring one home, but only if the house became too full.”

  She bit her lip. “I know, but I felt I needed to.” She briefly explained about Jonathan being left on the doorstep, and how she and Ida had felt they needed a little more time alone before they added an infant, so she’d brought home Angela to take care of the baby.

  He shrugged. “Okay. Well, what’s done is done. You only brought one to keep, and the other is here to help. I can understand that.”