Rebecca's Reward

by Lauraine Snelling

  “I know what a good rower and swimmer you are, so I need you to be my partner in the rowboat race.”

  “But my brothers said …” She hesitated. If she didn’t tell him, then maybe she could. And they could actually win.

  “Don’t worry. They know you’ll be safe with me.”

  Rebecca chuckled as she remembered their stunned expressions when she and Gerald swept over the finish line.

  “What’s funny?” Linnea asked.

  “Oh, I’m thinking about a race I was in when I was young.”

  “Mr. Benson likes you. Do you like him?”

  “I like him as a friend,” Rebecca answered. She thought of her list of qualities she was looking for in a man: loves children, kind, goodlooking, good Christian, strong character, good sense of humor, truthful, courageous. Thomas Benson had the first two, but she wouldn’t be there long enough to know how many more qualities he had.

  “He’s nicer than Mr. von Drehl,” Linnea said. “Mr. Benson acts real, and Mr. von Drehl just pretends.”

  Rebecca stopped for a moment in astonishment. What did Linnea see that she didn’t? Well, it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t know what other qualities Kurt had either, unless he kept in touch. But did anyone have all those traits, or was she living in a dream, like her soda shop, according to her brothers? The same brothers who managed to keep all young men from spending time with her.

  She liked the feeling of interest in her from Kurt and Thomas. It was her first taste of freedom. Now with the miles separating her from Knute and Gus, for the first time ever, Rebecca realized her brothers had always been protecting her from dangers, real or imagined. But when she thought of the man on the train, she shivered and understood their concerns a little more. In their arrogant way they did care about her, she guessed, but they also never seemed to see her as a grown-up either.

  Gerald always had. She mentally ticked off his traits and realized they were all on her list, although she knew some people didn’t recognize the inner strength in him. Or his quiet humor. But she did. Ever since he had smiled his quirky smile at their rowing victory, she knew he was real too. A real friend. Now, if she could just find a real husband.

  13

  ROMANCE WAS SKATING IN the moonlight with one mittened hand held securely by Kurt’s right hand while his left snugged her left hand against her waist. The warmth of his arm around her caused more heat than she expected. They started out skating with arms crossed in front, but when he switched to holding her closer to his side, they skated as one. The rhythm of their skate-shod feet made Rebecca feel like she was floating.

  “Are you warm enough?” he asked, his breath tickling the tendril of hair that sneaked out from under Penny’s fur hat.

  She nodded and turned to smile up at him. Her breath caught in her throat. He had to be the best looking young man in all of Bismarck. And he was skating with her. In fact, he’d brought her to the skating rink. What was happening to her? If this fluttery feeling was what the girls at home had been talking about, no wonder Maydell was all in a dither about wanting a man in her life. Especially if the man looked and acted like Kurt von Drehl.

  “Have you ever skated backward?”

  The memory of ending up on her posterior more than once in her efforts made her shake her head. “I couldn’t get the hang of it.”

  “How about if I skate backward first, then I’ll help you?”

  She flinched inside but nodded on the outside.

  “Ready?” At her nod he took his arm from behind her and, with a smooth swoop was in front of her, skating backward and holding both of her hands. “Did you watch my feet?”

  She shook her head, more mesmerized by the smile that curved his mouth and crinkled his eyes. Staring at him made her breath catch too.

  “You want to try? We’ll stop, and then I’ll go behind you and put my hands on your waist. Then you just let yourself follow me, like dancing.”

  “Do we have to?”

  “No, but I think you’ll enjoy it. See? Like those two over there.” He nodded to another couple skating in tandem.

  He brought them to a stop and slipped behind her, and she felt herself easing backward. With his hands holding her up, her feet began the reverse rhythm, and she was skating backward.

  “See, it’s not so bad.”

  A giggle escaped as she swayed first to one foot then the other. “But I can’t see where I am going.”

  “I won’t let us bump into anyone.”

  At that moment her feet shot out from under her, and thanks to the impetus from two boys ramming into them, all four ended in a heap on the ice.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “Are you all right?”

  The voices flitted around her, and ignoring the ignominy of it all, Rebecca started to laugh and couldn’t stop no matter how sternly she ordered herself. She couldn’t believe it had happened again. Somehow she attracted collisions. As they untangled themselves, others stopped to help them up. While Kurt scolded one of the half-grown boys, Rebecca grinned up at the two young men who pulled her to her feet.

  “Are you hurt?”

  She shook her head. “Not at all.” It looked, however, like Kurt’s pride had taken a tumble on the ice. “That’s one of the good things about all the winter clothing. I’m well padded.”

  The tall blonde burst out laughing. “You are new here?”

  “Fairly.”

  “Miss Baard is skating with me,” Kurt told him, still sounding a bit put out.

  “Well, if you get tired of skating with him, I’ll be waiting.” The young man skated off, his long red scarf trailing over his shoulder.

  Wait until I get home and tell all these stories. No one is going to believe me. A pang of homesickness hit her with about the same force as the young skaters who crashed them all in a heap. A picture of Gerald flashed across her mind. He’d get a chuckle out of her stories, for sure. She liked to make him laugh, something he didn’t do much of. Hopefully she’d have the opportunity to tell him when she got home. Mrs. Valders glared at her if she so much as smiled at her son. Maybe she couldn’t recognize friendship, since she worked so hard not to have any friends herself. Hands crossed in front again, they resumed the swoops of ice dancing until the chill of late afternoon brought most of the skaters over to the two metal barrels where fires roared.

  “I promised Penny I’d be home in time for supper.”

  “I suppose we better be going, then.” Kurt motioned toward the benches. “I hope you’ve had as fine a time as I have.”

  She nodded. “Even the tumble was funny.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Don’t remind me.”

  But the grin that tickled his cheeks made her smile in return.

  “I can’t see you tomorrow or the next day, as I have classes all day.”

  “Oh. I think I’ll be leaving in three days or so.”

  “Really? Do you have to?”

  No, but I want to, she suddenly realized. “I can’t believe I’ve been here nearly a month already. Dorothy’s baby is arriving soon, and I have a lot to do at home. I need to get seeds started for the garden, and spring cleaning has to be done before Easter… .”

  “Is that a law?” He unbuckled her skates and then his.

  “In Blessing it is. Besides, I already stayed on a week longer than I thought I might.”

  “I know, but it wasn’t long enough. I was hoping you would stay here and go to school or something.” They strolled up the sidewalk, which was framed by piles of snow.

  How can I change the subject? “What classes are you taking?”

  The rest of the way to Penny’s house he told her about life at the college and how he didn’t see any sense in taking more of the Romance languages and much preferred the sciences.

  It all sounded like a foreign language to her.

  “May I see you again before you leave?”

  A lump in her throat made her only nod.

  “We could write letters—or talk on the tele
phone.” He held her hand as if she were about to fall down.

  “I don’t have a telephone, remember?” He sounded as if he really wanted to keep in touch with her. But why? His head was full of studies and her life was so ordinary.

  “But you will eventually.”

  She shrugged. “If my brothers think it is necessary. I will write, though.”

  They both startled as the door opened and Gus stuck his head out. “Ma says supper is ready.” The look he shot Kurt lacked any degree of hospitality.

  “I’m coming.” Rebecca smiled and nodded. “Thanks for the skating lesson.”

  Kurt touched his forehead with one gloved finger. “Anytime.”

  Rebecca allowed Gus to pull her into the house and turned to see Kurt walking backward and grinning at her.

  “Gustaf Bjorklund, how rude,” Penny scolded, just on the other side of her son. “I didn’t tell you to drag her inside, just to say supper was ready.” She looked to Rebecca. “You could have invited Mr. von Drehl in.”

  “That’s all right.” Rebecca divested herself of her outer things and hung them on the coatrack. “I skated backward for the first time.” She grabbed Linnea’s hand and twirled her around.

  “I could teach you that,” Gus said with a bit of a swagger.

  Linnea smiled up at Rebecca. “You can teach me. Gus says I’m too little.”

  The three of them followed Penny into the dining room, where the table was all set and Hjelmer sat at the foot of the table waiting for them.

  “You look like you had a good time.”

  “Oh, I did.” Rebecca went on to tell them of the four-person tumble and about some of the other skaters.

  “If I’d been there, no one would have run into you again,” Gus declared.

  That evening, after she and Linnea finished the dishes, she overheard Penny and Hjelmer talking in the parlor. She moved toward the room, intending to join them, but paused when Hjelmer said that he disliked his job more all the time.

  “What don’t you like?” Penny asked.

  “It’s not what I expected. He promised me things that are not happening, like an increase in pay, and the hours are getting longer instead of shorter. I guess I’m not cut out to work in an office all the time.”

  Rebecca could hear her mother talking against the evils of eaves- dropping but couldn’t tear herself away. When she heard Linnea call for her mother, she quickly left her listening post and made her way up the stairs to her bedroom. Did that mean they might come back to Blessing? Did she dare ask Penny? How wonderful that would be.

  If only Mr. Jeffers wanted to sell the store. Tomorrow she would take Thomas Benson up on his offer to teach her how to make sodas at his shop. She needed to learn as much as possible over her last few days.

  Sitting down at her desk, she took out pencil and paper to add to the letter to Gerald that she’d started two days earlier. She might make it home before the letter did, but she’d mail it in the morning anyway.

  I went ice-skating with Mr. Kurt von Drehl today. There were so many people at the skating pond, some even dancing on skates. He tried to teach me how to skate backward, but thanks to two out-of-control skaters, we all ended up in a heap. I could tell Kurt was really embarrassed, but I thought it hilarious. No one was hurt. I am determined we will have a skating pond in Blessing next winter, even if I have to make it at our house. It’s been too long without one.

  Please don’t tell anyone, but I’ve had a streak of homesickness the last two days, even though Penny is making sure I am having a good time. We sewed Linnea a new dress and a pinafore, along with a woolen jumper. So many things are more fun when you can do them with someone you both love and enjoy.

  I feel like I am out of touch with everyone in Blessing, as if I am at the other end of the earth. I have received only one letter from Dorothy, and that was a short one. If I were going to be here longer, I would demand that you write to me. But I’ll be home yet this week. I leave Wednesday.

  She stopped and looked at the word demand. That was pretty strong. Should she cross it out? Shaking her head, she went back to writing.

  I hope you have not had any malaria attacks recently and that you enjoy your job as the telephone operator. Tomorrow I will learn how to make sodas, no matter that Gustaf Baard himself thinks my dream of a soda shop is such a silly idea. Sometimes brothers who think they know everything can be a pain in the neck. Or some other place.

  She stared at the last phrase. That was not very ladylike. What would her mother say? She would say to rewrite the entire page and delete what might be considered offensive. Rebecca heaved a sigh. If only you were still here, Ma, to tell me things, to show me how to live the kind of faith you had. I know you would tell me to read my Bible, but I don’t seem to find the wisdom there that you did. Her second sigh was even deeper.

  So I will see you in church on Sunday if not before.

  Your friend,

  Rebecca Baard

  She folded the pages and carefully inserted them in the envelope. After addressing it, she propped it against the lamp. Maybe she should write to Gus and tell him what day she was coming home so he would come to town to pick her up. Snatching another sheet of paper, she dashed off a note with the minimal information, addressed the envelope, and set it with the other.

  The sign on the window at Benson’s Soda Emporium said it would be closed Monday and Tuesday. She turned to Penny. “Oh, I wanted to ask Thomas a few more questions. Why did I put it off?”

  “You don’t have to go home on Wednesday, you know. Thursday will be just as good.”

  “But I wrote and told Gus I’d leave Wednesday.” And Gerald.

  “But we haven’t been to the post office yet. You could open the envelope and make the necessary changes.”

  Linnea clung to Rebecca’s hand. “I don’t want you to leave.”

  “I know, but I have a lot to do at home too. Maybe you and your ma can come back to Blessing to visit next summer, and you could stay at the farm.”

  “Do you have kittens?”

  “We always have kittens.” Even thoughts of the barn cats waiting for milk at milking time made her feel homesick. “Maybe we’ll have a calf by then too.”

  “All right. Let’s go to the post office, and I’ll write on the back of the envelope.”

  “Then we can go home and bake cookies.” Linnea tugged on both Rebecca’s and her mother’s hands. “I want to put raisins for the eyes and mouth.”

  With their other errands finished, the three stopped at the grocery store for eggs, milk, and cheese. When Penny motioned to buy a loaf of bread, Rebecca shook her head.

  “If you have yeast, I’ll bake bread this afternoon too.” She stared at Penny. “Don’t you bake your own bread anymore?”

  “No. I’ve never been good at bread making. I always tried to talk Ingeborg into baking bread for me. Hers is the best anywhere.”

  “Ma baked good bread.”

  “She did. Agnes and Ingeborg were good at about anything they did. And such good friends. That’s one of the many things I miss here. I don’t have any really good friends.”

  “You haven’t been here a terribly long time.”

  “It sure feels like it.” She took out her money to pay the clerk. As they walked out the door, she continued. “It’s like Blessing was another life entirely, like maybe I dreamed it all.”

  Rebecca slipped her string bag over her wrist. She and Penny each carried part of the groceries. “There’s not a day goes by but I don’t miss you, and every time people are together, they mention how much they miss you and the store the way it used to be.”

  Penny brushed a tear from her cheek.

  “Hurry. I’m hungry, and I have to go,” Linnea said, doing a small hop.

  “All right. Why didn’t you mention that earlier?”

  “I didn’t have to go earlier.”

  “Do we have to run?” Rebecca asked.

  “Maybe partway.”

  The three set
off walking so fast Linnea had to trot. Their breath billowed white in front of them, even though the sun was out and water was dripping off icicles from the edges of the roofs.

  Some spots in the street were bare, showing the mud. The late February thaw was welcome, but no one dared hope spring was on the way. Not yet.

  That evening when Kurt rang through on the telephone, Rebecca told him that she was leaving on Thursday.

  A silence stretched for a bit before he said softly, “I wish you weren’t going.”

  She couldn’t agree with him, but the thought of not seeing him again made her shoulders slump. Shame there wasn’t a way to have everything now that a young man was expressing an interest in her. Maybe it was her brothers’ protection that kept them at a distance at home. But there were also definitely no Kurt von Drehls in Blessing.

  14

  March 1903

  Blessing, North Dakota

  WAITING WAS NEVER EASY.

  Ingeborg stared at the calendar that Thorliff printed every year. Here it was the first of March, and Easter would be April 12. How could time fly by so fast on one hand and seem to drag on another? Would her relatives really come from Norway? She would have real family here in North Dakota—family of her own, not the Bjorklund side. Not that she didn’t love them all dearly, but now her cousin Alfreda was coming.

  Ignoring the wind that was spitting snow against the windows, she thought of spring coming to Norway, the snow-capped mountains beckoning all the young women to take the milk cows up to the high pastures, where the women would spend their days herding the cows, milking the cows, and making cheese. Nothing like the big operation she had built here, but they always had cheese enough to sell by the end of the summer when they brought the cows back down to the farmsteads. Oh, the stories she could tell of young women’s dreams, discussions, and crushes.

  Each year would pass with fewer of the older girls returning. Many left home to work somewhere else or got married and were replaced by younger girls. This happened to her until she was the oldest one left and people feared she’d never be married. Her mother had worried about it more than she had.