by Tia Siren
He sounded nice and reasonably intelligent. She only noticed a few errors in his grammar and spelling. She hoped that the boys she would be raising were well-educated or on their way to being so. If they weren’t, she would be glad to help out. A good education, as far as she was concerned, was one of the cornerstones to growing up to be a successful adult. It was what she had taught her younger brothers, and they seemed to be much the better for it.
She caught herself staring at the pages on her book instead of actually reading the words. She smiled. It was going to be a brand new life for her. A brand-new life.
When the train pulled into the station, Ella was ready to get off. She had been sitting there for hours, only getting up once to go to the dining car and get a few pieces of fruit. She was craving an orange, but they didn’t have one.
She picked up her sewing bag once the train was at a complete stop and the attendant opened the door.
“This is Elko?” she confirmed with the attendant, who just nodded and smiled at her. She could see the appreciative look on his face and felt a bit flattered. She didn’t feel young and pretty. She felt like an old mother.
She stepped down onto the wooden platform and looked both ways. There were quite a few people around her, more than she expected. Families were seeing other family members off on whatever trip they were making to their wherever destinations. She felt like her bag was heavy all of a sudden and felt a little overheated.
She took out her hand fan and flipped it open, fanning herself with hot air. She laughed a little and continued to fan even though the breeze it created was not very cool. When she didn’t see a man with four boys around him coming her way, she strolled over to a white painted wooden bench and sat down to wait. She was sure she wouldn’t miss him when he finally arrived. She had no idea what time it was, and there were no clocks anywhere around. A train station attendant approached her after a moment and inquired as to whether or not she was okay.
“You look a bit flushed, Miss. Are you all right?” he asked. He was an older gentleman with a thin face and a ready smile.
“I am.” She looked up at him. “I am just waiting for the man I came here to be with to come and fetch me. I’m sure he’ll be along any time now.”
“Yes, Miss.” The attendant nodded. Ella caught a glimpse of his shiny nametag, which said “Alfred.”
“Alfred is my younger brother’s name,” She said in surprise. He grinned.
“Well, he must be wonderful then!”
They both laughed, and the old man wandered off.
She looked back down the platform when she heard the sound of little running feet. It was a familiar sound, and she knew what it was immediately. She stood up when she saw the family approaching. She greeted them with a smile, looking up at her soon-to-be husband, admiringly. He was a handsome man with dark hair cut short, a trim beard and mustache and a big, broad chest. He smiled at her, and she was happy to see a row of healthy looking teeth. They were so healthy; she wondered how he did it.
He held out his hand, which she took. “You are Ella Barrett from Virginia?”
“I am. You are Andrew Robinson?”
“I am. We’re glad to have you here. Boys, say ‘hi’ to Miss Ella. She will be taking care of you from now on. Papa’s going to marry her and make her his wife. Do you understand?”
The older boys nodded, but Ella could tell that Carl, the youngest, had no clue what his father was saying and only nodded after he saw his brother’s doing so.
What an agreeable, adorable little boy! She thought.
Andrew pushed each of his sons out in front of him as he introduced them. He caught Carl first and held him so that he would be still in front of Ella.
“Say Hello to Miss Ella, Carl. Carl is six.” Andrew said gently.
Carl dropped his eyes to the ground and barely whispered out, “Hello.”
“Well, hello Carl!” Ella said in an excited voice. “How are you today?”
“Tell her you’re doing fine, Carl.” Andrew prompted him. He gave Ella a glance. “He’s a little touchy with strangers right now.”
Ella nodded. “I can understand that. Well, I’m going to help Papa take good care of you, dear. I promise.”
Carl chuckled and began to circle his father and brothers in an all-out running face against himself around and around his father and brothers.
“This is Peter. He’s seven.”
“Hello, Peter.”
Peter didn’t respond even with a “hello” until his father pressed down firmly on his shoulders. Then he whined out a hello and moved to the side as if he was done speaking for the day, thank you.
“This is Freddie. He’s 9.”
Freddie held out his hand to Ella, which she half-expected from the look on his bright little face. He was an outgoing child, probably always getting into mischief. His smile was wide for her and very genuine. “I’ve been telling papa for ages that I’m not Freddie anymore,” he said. “My name is Fred. That’s what I want to be called.”
She took his hand and shook it, giving him a sober look. “Yes, sir. I can do that.”
He grinned wide. “Thank you, Miss Ella!”
“You are welcome.”
“This is Raymond. He’s twelve.” Andrew put a hand on Raymond’s shoulder and barely pushed him forward. He was a larger boy, looked to be built like his father. He was going to be a big, strong man in his adulthood. He stood rigid and his smile was almost nonexistent.
“Hello, Miss Ella.” He did as he was told.
“Hello, Raymond.”
“Okay, the wagon is back this way.” Andrew turned around, and they began to walk down the platform in the direction of the steps that led down to the dirt lot surrounding the building.
“I am glad you don’t have an objection to helping me raise my sons,” Andrew said, looking down at her. She shook her head and pushed a strand of blond hair back up into her bonnet. “I want you to know that you don’t have to keep those layers on here. Our climate won’t do you well with all those clothes.”
She nodded up at him. “I am happy to hear that.”
“Your bonnet isn’t necessary, and you probably won’t need those gloves.”
She grinned and stripped them off her hands, proceeding to her bonnet, which she happily took off and sighed.
Andrew laughed. As they walked, the boys had begun an action-packed game of tag where they ran around and around their father and Ella. She was delighted to see them having fun together. Like her brothers, they seemed to get along very well. That was an indication to her that their father had treated them well. She didn’t ask what happened to their mother. She assumed that would come out in due time.
Carl was running in the smallest circles, narrowly darting around his brothers when they came to “tag” him. As he ran around Ella, he reached out and brushed his hands on her skirts lightly. She noticed and smiled wide. The third time he came around that way, she hung her hand down so that would brush it when he went past. He did so and spun around to stare at her.
When she laughed, he laughed too and continued running.
Adorable! She thought.
Chapter Three
The house was large and roomy. There were only a few pieces of furniture in each room and several colorful rugs on the floor, but it did seem there hadn’t been a woman living there for some time. She wondered how long it had been when she went in through the front door and saw the layers of dust on the furniture and window sills. It wasn’t untidy. In fact, everything was in its place. But it was dusty and looked depressing. She wanted to immediately throw open the curtains and let in the light but feared it would only show the dust in the air.
It was fairly late, but Andrew had kept a pot of beef stew on the fire, waiting for her to get there to feed them all.
“I hope you like beef stew.”
She nodded. “I do.”
It would be the first time she had eaten a meal she had not prepared herself. She found it to be o
ne of the tastiest meals she’d ever eaten. It made her wonder if she was not the good cook she thought she was. That brought a secret smile to her face.
She was catching looks of approval from Andrew and was glad of that. She was slender, had been told she was pretty and had a strong sense of self-esteem that probably had come naturally from her father. Though strict, her father had always been fair.
Andrew wasn’t strict with his boys. In fact, she noticed quickly that he let them have their way more often than not. She was shocked that they were well-behaved at all, considering he treated them like they were not responsible for anything. She had arrived on a Saturday night and was expecting church in the morning. When no one seemed to be up early enough, she asked Andrew whether they were going.
He seemed surprised but proceeded to get his sons ready to go. Their loud protests let her know going to church was not a common occurrence.
Once again, she was shocked by their behavior in public, not that they were rowdy but that they were not. They stayed quiet and still all through the service, with the exception of Carl, who had taken to leaning over and whispering loudly in her ear anything that came to his mind. She had a quick, strong affection for Carl, who seemed to be the sweetest little boy she’d ever met.
After the service, Andrew introduced her to everyone he knew in a proud tone that made her feel special. Carl held on to her hand or her skirt the whole time, forgoing his tag game with his brothers for the first time.
Before they reached the wagon, Ella felt a hand on her arm and turned to see Myrtle Leamon, Andrew’s sister, giving her a wide smile. “Hello, Ella,” She said, warmly, pulling the young woman into an abrupt hug. “I’m so glad you are here to help Andrew with his boys. He needs help, as I’m sure you’ve seen.”
“Myrtle, don’t you start now,” Andrew said, good-naturedly, lifting Carl up into the wagon. He smiled at her, and she returned it with one of her own. She looked back at Ella.
“That’s my brother. He’s such a card.”
“Which one?” Andrew asked.
“Oh you.” Myrtle shook her head. “Now, Ella, I’m going to come by in the morning and help you settle in. Is that all right with you?”
Ella nodded. “I would love that, Myrtle, thank you!”
“It’s my pleasure, believe me. Andrew needs someone, as I said. And you look absolutely lovely, honey.”
“Thank you again.” Ella’s cheeks flushed, making her look even prettier.
“If you need anything, such as cleaning supplies or groceries, we will gather them from the garden or come to town to the market. Does that sound good?”
“It sounds very good, Myrtle. Thank you.”
Myrtle just laughed and nodded. “I’ll see you in the morning about seven.”
“All right, see you then!”
The next morning, Ella woke up just as Andrew was leaving for work. She heard him in the kitchen moving around. The boys were all still asleep in their beds upstairs. They each had their own room, which they were very proud of. Carl had made a point to show her every inch of his room, all of his wooden horse figurines and soldiers. Peter had also allowed her to look in his room, which he kept immaculate. Neither Freddie nor Raymond invited her to their rooms, and she didn’t push.
She wondered what time they usually got up. Before she could talk to him to ask, Andrew was gone.
She smelled the scent of rich coffee floating down the hallway to her and smiled. At least, he had done that for her. He had been quiet during dinner, letting the boys chatter with each other. She hadn’t spoken much, just listened to what they had to say. They had stories to tell, and she felt like most of them were wild tales of adventure that these four boys had never experienced. She refused to think of them as “lies” because the boys were so young and it was fruitful to encourage their imagination. If the stories had been about damaging another person’s property or well-being, she would have stepped in or talked to Andrew about it. But they were tales of boyhood dreams and competition between the four of them in racing, playing ball, racing their safety bikes around the farm. If they had as many of the adventures as they claimed, Ella was sure they had been left on their own for quite some time.
She made herself a cup of coffee and sat at the table to think for a moment. The house, though dusty, was easy to clean. With the children asleep and the sun just coming over the mountains in the distance, Ella felt comfortable and quiet for the very first time in a long time. She sighed and breathed in the scent of the coffee and enjoyed the steam rising from it on her cool face.
She thought about her brothers and was just beginning to miss them when she heard a knock at the door and someone coming through it. She assumed it was Myrtle and called out, “I’m in the kitchen, Myrtle.”
It was her sister-in-law who came through into the kitchen, smiling at her. “Good morning, Ella. You look very relaxed!”
Ella smiled. “I am. The boys are still asleep. Don’t they go to the schoolhouse?”
Myrtle snorted in a very unladylike fashion, making Ella chuckle. “No. Andrew doesn’t believe in that.” Her tone was very sarcastic, and she rolled her eyes. She set her umbrella down by the door and came to the table, stripping light gloves from her hands. She untied and pulled off her bonnet, as well. “One of the first things you will need to do, my girl,” she said. “Is get yourself some lighter clothing. You’ve got all that Eastern cloth going on, and you are going to overheat quickly. By noon, it will be much too warm to be wearing any kind of layers.”
“That’s what Andrew said, too,” Ella replied. “But I’m not sure how to buy them. I have no money.”
Myrtle fixed herself a cup of water and sat at the table so that she was catty-cornered to Ella. She shook her head. “You don’t worry about that. I will take you to the dressmaker in town, and you can put it on credit. Andrew and I have always had a line of credit there. He will go back and pay it at the end of the week. I’m certain he would not want you wandering around in all those clothes, but you can’t run around in your petticoat! So we will get you better boots and some dresses that will let your body air out and not overheat.”
Ella nodded. “Thank you. That sounds wonderful. You know you can have some coffee, don’t you?”
Myrtle scrunched up her nose and shook her head. “Can’t stand the stuff. I prefer tea all day long.”
“I can make you some tea.” She stood up, but Myrtle held up her hand and placed it on Ella’s arm.
“Now don’t you bother with that, dear. I don’t want you thinking you have to be my host. I want to help you get used to being here and helping these boys because…” She pulled in a sigh and looked at her sympathetically. “…my brother hasn’t been able to find anyone who would stay to help with them. He’s had several women come from town to be housekeepers…not his wife, mind you, and he didn’t take any of them to his bed…but they wouldn’t stay. I think it’s because…well, the boys can be unruly. And I felt you should be warned.”
Ella felt a little uncomfortable with the thought that she needed to be warned. She wondered anxiously what was in store for her. “Surely they can’t be that bad.”
“You just need to watch and be careful. They won’t hurt you, but they will probably pull a few pranks on you that will have you wondering if you made the wrong decision coming here. I don’t want you to think that. I want you to stay. I already like you.” She gave Ella a warm smile.
“I have three younger brothers that I’ve been raising since I was ten years old.”
Myrtles dark eyebrows shot up, and she shook her head, making her black curls shake like dark leaves on a tree. “What? That’s something else. Did you lose your mother at that age?”
“Yes, she died in childbirth. I raised my brothers from that point on. Dave is 21, he’s five years younger than me. Oscar is 19 and Al, he’s the baby. He is 16. My mother died giving birth to him. She had a bleeding problem.”
“I am so sorry to hear that, Ella.” Myrtle placed
a hand on hers and gave her a sympathetic look. Ella just shook her head.
“It’s been a very long time now, Myrtle. I feel very little pain at the loss now. I took this position and decided to be Andrew’s bride because I have a lot of experience with boys.”
“Did your brothers ever put frogs in your bed or spike your coffee with lemon?”
Ella laughed softly. “No, they didn’t. But I’m not afraid of frogs and a bit of lemon might pucker my lips but won’t kill me. I’m sure I will be fine.”
Myrtle’s smile made her brown eyes sparkle. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear you say that, my dear. I have been praying for a long time that someone would come along to help my brother out. He has been very stressed since Liz passed away five years ago. He hasn’t been doing well on his own at all. He took Raymie and Freddie out of school, which I objected to but he wouldn’t listen to me. And he never sent them back. I don’t know why because all they do is run around her like wildmen.”
“I will see that they return to school,” Ella said. “An education is very important. Those boys need it to succeed in life.”
“Try convincing my brother of that. I would like to see it.”
Chapter Four
Myrtle had been correct when she told Ella that the boys were unruly. She was actually a little surprised by how little discipline Andrew had given them in the last five years. She was somewhat surprised they didn’t all have hair down to their waists and no bathtime each week. She had quickly discovered during the first week that bathing and rubbing their teeth clean were two things Andrew insisted on. He regularly emptied the chamber pots and kept the house as aired out as possible. He was a stickler for trying to make things as clean as possible, which pleased her. But the dust had always gotten away from him. Opening the windows invited in more dust from the air and their clothes and shoes did the rest.
She didn’t mind the constant dusting. It became part of her routine when she wasn’t trying to keep the boys under control. The lemon in her coffee and frogs in her bed that Myrtle mentioned were pranks that the boys had apparently used before so she was expecting them. She scolded the boys but was never harsh, leaving them thinking of more things to do to her. She wasn’t sure how to put a stop to it.