“But Mrs. Banks clears the table!” Joey protested.
“You will put your plates in the basin. Thank you.” She turned to Lee and spoke to him softly. “Why was there a pig in my kitchen when I went to make breakfast this morning? What were you thinking to allow them to have a pig for a pet?”
Lee sighed. “Probably not my best parenting decision. The boys wanted him so badly, and they kept on me until I agreed.” He shrugged. “Since they wash him every day, he’s not dirty.”
“You know better than that!” Jasmine shook her head at him. “No more barnyard animals as pets. They may have a puppy or a kitten, but nothing else. Do you understand me?” How could he have thought that was a good idea to start with?
Lee took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it softly. “I do understand.” He pulled her from her chair into his lap. “I can’t wait until the boys go to bed.”
She shook her head. “You’re not going to get around me that easily, Lee Fields.”
He pulled her face down for a kiss, his tongue tangling with hers. There was a loud door slam from behind them. Startled they pulled apart to see Mrs. Banks glaring at them. “I’ll not keep walking in on this kind of behavior. You two need to remember it’s daylight.”
Jasmine giggled as she buried her face in Lee’s neck. She wondered what the woman would say if she told her she’d made Lee get up to light the lantern all three times they’d woken and made love during the night. She’d be shocked. “Yes, ma’am.” Her words were mumbled against her husband’s neck.
Lee gently pushed her from his lap and stood up. “I need to get to work. I’ll be back at noon for lunch.”
Jasmine nodded. “I’ll have something waiting for you.” She thought about what she’d seen in the kitchen earlier while she quickly cleared the table and went in search of the boys. She needed to get started on their schooling right away.
Chapter Five
Jasmine spent two hours teaching the boys which letters and numbers were which before she switched to table manners. “When you eat, you will use a napkin to wipe your mouth. Not your sleeve and not your brother’s shirt. A napkin.” She held up the napkin she’d left on the table to show them what she meant. She wasn’t certain either one of them had ever used a napkin.
“Why?” Jacob asked.
It took Jasmine a moment to realize he wasn’t being insolent. He genuinely didn’t understand why she thought he should use a napkin. “Because it’s polite, and it saves your shirt from having to be washed.”
“But then you have to wash the napkin,” Joey protested.
It was all Jasmine could do not to laugh at that argument. “But napkins are smaller and easier to wash. And you don’t have to have as many clothes if you don’t get them as dirty, so then you can spend more money on toys.”
Both boys sat up straighter when she said that. “We’ll use napkins,” Joseph told her. They seemed eager to do as she asked when it came right down to it.
“Now, let’s talk about table manners. What should you have in your mouth when you talk?” she asked.
They looked at each other. “Only white food?” Joey guessed.
She shook her head. “Only meat?” Jacob was grasping at straws. Neither of them had any clue what they were doing wrong.
“You should have your tongue and your teeth in your mouth when you talk. Nothing else.” She sighed. “This morning at breakfast, you were spraying food all over each other because your mouths were so full while you were talking.”
“That’s bad?” Joey asked.
Jasmine nodded. “It’s very impolite. We need to work on keeping our mouths shut while we chew. No one should see the food in your mouths.”
Jacob looked at Joey and sighed. “Having a ma is going to be a lot of work.” Jacob said the words with a long suffering sigh. It was obvious he would do it, but he wouldn’t be terribly willing.
“That’s enough school for today. You two go and play. Lunch will be ready in a few minutes.” She’d started baking bread before sitting down with them that morning, and she had a huge pot of beans cooking on the stove.
Mrs. Banks was nowhere to be found as Jasmine went about her tasks in the kitchen. She pulled a loaf of bread from the oven and smiled at the aroma. Perfect. There was a small crock with a bit of butter left in it, but Jasmine could see that she would need to add making butter to her list. Yesterday, she’d worried there would be nothing for her to do with a housekeeper there. Now she saw she would have work to do as long as she felt up to doing it.
Lee held her hand while they ate their lunch, and the boys did their best to only use their napkins and eat with their mouths closed. When Lee lifted his arm to wipe his mouth with his sleeve, Jasmine caught it and pressed a napkin into his hand nodding toward the boys. She wanted him to set a good example for his sons. He nodded, carefully using the napkin on his mouth before setting it back down on the table.
Jasmine was surprised when every bit of food was once again devoured. She’d only learned to cook a few months before while helping Daisy, but apparently she was still a much better cook than Mrs. Banks.
She cleared the table after the meal but got shooed out of the way when she started doing the dishes. Jasmine nodded with a smile. She’d happily do the cooking and allow the other woman to wash the dishes. Whether Mrs. Banks knew it or not, they were already learning to deal with each other.
She found the cream and the butter churn and set about making butter that afternoon. As soon as she had it in crocks covered by a cloth, she went out into the yard to check on the boys. They’d been so quiet she worried they were into mischief.
She found them in the pig pen with Hamm, staring at him with sad looks on their faces. “What’s wrong?” They looked so forlorn, she was worried about them.
“Hamm doesn’t like living with pigs. He likes living with people,” Jacob told her.
“He’s a pig. He likes other pigs.” Jasmine wasn’t going to fall for that nonsense. If they wanted an unacceptable pet, they needed to find one small enough to live in a bucket like she had.
“He’s going to get cold sleeping outside,” Joey complained.
“He’ll be fine.” Jasmine shook her head at them. They obviously loved their pig. She went back to the house and settled down to work on some mending she found. She’d need to ask Lee to take her to town the next day, so she could get some staples. The boys were both outgrowing their Sunday best clothes, and Lee could use a new dress shirt. There was a lot to do to make up for the fact that there hadn’t been a woman in the house for years. She wondered where their clothes had come from over the years, but decided not to ask. She didn’t want to hear any more stories of nurses that were in and out of their lives.
At dinner that evening, both boys did their best to be mannerly. When Lee used his sleeve to wipe his mouth, Jasmine pushed his napkin toward him, nodding at the boys. When he wiped his mouth with his napkin, both boys imitated him. Jasmine wondered if he realized the kind of influence he had over his sons.
After dinner, she did the dishes, knowing that Mrs. Banks would prefer she left them for her in the morning, but surely the older woman could see why she felt the need to do them. She couldn’t leave that kind of mess in her kitchen overnight. Besides, Mrs. Banks had done all of the pots and pans, leaving her with only the dishes on the table to do.
After dinner, she joined Lee and the boys in the parlor again, but this time she worked on the mending she’d found. When he went upstairs to tuck the boys into bed, she slipped into their room to undress.
When he walked into the room, she was waiting on top of the covers fully naked, watching for him. He needed to get used to the fact that when he finished the rest of his chores for the day, it would be time to deal with his wife. She needed him as much as the boys did.
*****
Lee drove them into town the following day and stood with the boys while she shopped for the things she needed. She made a small mountain on the counter with
her numerous purchases, but he never said a word. She bought fabric for two new aprons and for clothes for both of the boys. She even bought white linen so she could make a new dress shirt for Lee to wear to church on Sundays.
When she was finished, Lee paid for her purchases and carried them to the wagon for her. After helping her up, he asked, “Do you want to eat at the restaurant before we go home?”
She contemplated that for a moment. She loved the idea of not having to have the cold lunch she’d planned, but she was worried the boys would embarrass her with their terrible manners. Finally, she nodded. “That would be nice.”
He led her into the restaurant, and followed the waitress to a table. Jasmine looked at the boys and smiled. “Remember your manners while we’re here.”
“Yes, ma’am,” they chorused.
Jasmine was surprised that all three of them had much better manners than they displayed at home. She was proud of how the meal went and smiling happily during the drive back to the ranch.
Just as they pulled up into the yard, Daisy drove up from the other direction, their mother, aunt, and Dinah along with them. Jasmine waited while Lee helped her down, before running over to the buggy to greet her family.
Mary looked Jasmine over as soon as Lee helped her down. “Are you all right?”
Jasmine smiled. “Yes, Mama, I’m just fine. I have a wonderful husband and two sweet sons.” She would have been exasperated with her mother if she hadn’t expected her to come by to check on her.
Lee helped both Daisy and Harriett down before he carried in the supplies with the boys help. “I’ll be working. Dinner around five?” he asked, kissing her on the forehead.
Jasmine nodded. “That sounds good to me.” She led her family into the house, wondering what she could make them for a snack to go with the tea. She hadn’t had the time to make cookies or a cake yet, so she settled them in the parlor before going into the kitchen to search for something that would pass as a treat. She settled on jam on the bread she’d made the day before, and made small triangles out of them, placing the treats carefully on a tray along with a fresh pot of tea.
She carried the laden tray into the parlor and set it on a small table in the corner of the room, before serving each of them. Finally she settled down in an overstuffed chair. “I’m glad you came to visit me,” she said. “You’re my first visitors here.”
Mary smiled at her. “It’s a beautiful house. I’m so pleased to see you have an indoor bathroom as well as a housekeeper. You grew up with the luxuries, and you shouldn’t have to do without as a married woman.” She glanced at Daisy letting her know she still didn’t approve of her not having a housekeeper.
Daisy ignored her as usual. She’d spent a lot of time trying to please her mother for years, but in the past year or so, since she’d married Eli.
Jasmine laughed shaking her head. “I don’t care about the luxuries, Mama. I’m just glad I married a good man whom I care about, and have two sweet little boys. Their manners need help, of course, but I love them.” She didn’t add that a lot of things about the boys needed help, but she thought it. “I have my work cut out for me.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to teach them manners?” Daisy asked. “I’ve heard some horror stories about things those two get up to.”
Jasmine shrugged. “I can handle them. They just need to be taught.” She was more than confident in her abilities.
*****
Jacob and Joey sat beneath the open window where they were unashamedly eavesdropping on the new step-mother and her family. At Jasmine’s words, they exchanged a glance and moved away to a place they wouldn’t be overheard. “Did you hear that?” Joey asked, obviously upset.
Jacob nodded. “She wants to change us. She doesn’t think we’re good enough to be her sons.”
Joey crossed his arms over his chest. “We’ll show her. How do you think she feels about frogs?”
Jacob grinned and nodded. “Let’s give her a good welcome.”
*****
Jasmine went to sleep that night with a smile on her face. She had done the right thing by marrying Lee. His boys were a delight, and everything was falling into place. Even her mother had been pleased with her new home and how well-behaved the boys were. If her mother didn’t complain, then her life must be perfect.
*****
When Jasmine woke the following morning, she couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to her sweet boys. She walked to the basin to wash her hands before cooking breakfast and found three frogs living in the inch of water in the bottom of it. She knew she’d spilled it out the previous night, so those frogs were not there by mistake. She carefully put them in a bowl with a plate over the top so they could not hop away. She could see she’d need them soon.
As she finished that, she heard an “oink” from behind her, and she spun around to find Hamm rooting in his food bowl. A food bowl that had yesterday been in the pig pen. She carried the food bowl outside and shooed the pig out, before cooking breakfast. Her boys had decided to make her a victim, but she had never been a victim, and she never would.
Her mind was already working on the best way to deal with the boys. She smiled sweetly and pretending nothing had happened as they ate their breakfast, and she didn’t react at all when she moved to sit in her spot at the table to teach them, even though she had to first push a pile of tacks on the floor to keep from sitting on them.
All day, there were little things the boys did to try to make her jump or scream, but nothing worked. Did they not realize they were trying to prank a master?
After the boys were in bed that evening, she looked at Lee. “I need to stay up a little later. There are a couple of things I need to do after the boys go to sleep.”
Lee raised an eyebrow at her, but didn’t ask any questions. He followed her ten minutes later when she filled a bucket full of water, and placed it on the top of their door so it would dump on whichever boy opened it first. He even watched as she took a bowl with a plate over it and removed four tiny snakes and dropped them in the boys’ boots. When she took the frogs and put them in the bucket the boys used to slop the hogs before breakfast every morning, he realized he was dealing with a true genius. She followed all that up by going into the bathroom and rubbing soap on their toothbrushes.
He followed her into the bedroom where they both quickly shucked off their clothes and threw them on the floor. Every evening was a little worse for Jasmine. Her passion was stronger and stronger, and she hated waiting until the boys were in bed. She’d done what she needed to do as a parent first, though, and she was proud of herself for taking her responsibilities seriously.
*****
Jasmine was up even earlier than usual the following morning, wanting to be certain to hear if the boys got up to try to play practical jokes on her. She’d kept quiet about the ones they’d played on her, as if they’d never happened, so they shouldn’t be expecting anything.
Sure enough, thirty minutes before they usually woke, she heard a loud crash and yells from upstairs, and she smiled, wondering which boy had been hit with the bucket. She flipped the bacon in the pan as she heard screams of “Snake!” and knew they’d tried to put their boots on.
“Good morning,” she greeted them as she waited for them to pick up their pail to slop the hogs with the leftover food from the previous day. Their screams let her know they’d found the frogs. She smiled contentedly. She was a good parent after all.
When they all sat down to breakfast, the boys were looking at her with true reverence in their eyes. She knew they understood the pranks she’d played on them were meant to send a message, and as fellow pranksters, they understood her message loud and clear. They would never again try to prank their new mother, because she would get them much better than they’d ever dream of getting her.
Halfway through the meal, Joey looked at Jasmine. “Will you teach us how to set the bucket?” He was referring to the bucket above his doorway.
Jasmine shook
her head. “No, I won’t. And you’ll never mess with me again, will you?”
The boys exchanged a look, and Lee remained silent. He obviously understood that the little battle taking place in his house was not any of his affair, and he needed to stay out of it. “No, ma’am,” Jacob said.
“There will be no more pigs in my kitchen in the morning, will there?” Jasmine skewered the boys with her eyes, making certain they knew she meant business.
Both boys shook their heads. “We wouldn’t dream of it,” Joey answered for them both.
“Good, because if it does happen again, we’ll be having ham for dinner.”
The boys looked at each other, obviously understanding her meaning. “You wouldn’t!” Jacob protested.
Jasmine took a bite of bacon, closing her eyes as she savored the taste. “Don’t you just love bacon? I think it’s the tastiest meat there is.” The smile didn’t leave her face as she slowly chewed.
Both boys understood her meaning and jumped up to run outside. Jasmine smiled as she took a sip of her milk.
Lee looked at her in surprise. “But they saw Hamm this morning when they slopped the pigs, didn’t they?”
She shook her head with a smile. “He was tied up behind the pigsty. They wouldn’t have seen him.”
Both boys came back into the house and sat down at the table looking greatly relieved. “We promise there will never be a pig in the house again,” Joey told her, his eyes all but worshipping her.
“See that there isn’t.” She stood to clear the table, knowing Mrs. Banks would be there any moment to start the breakfast dishes. She wondered if the older woman would be in a foul mood again today.
After she’d left the room, Joey leaned forward. “You wouldn’t let her feed us Hamm, would you, Papa?”
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