A Harvest of Hope (8 page)

She pointed to the boxes piled to the side. “Those go to the hospital. They are medical supplies. I packed a couple of personal things in them, but I can get them when I go on duty.”

Why was it that whenever he looked at her, her heart rate picked up?

“Your things are all at the boardinghouse. Miss Nester packed them for you. They moved over early last week. Others wanted to come too. I think Miss Wells is on duty.”

She kept looking around, anywhere, so she wouldn't have to look at Trygve. “Everyone in Blessing must be at church.”

“Well, not everyone. Dr. Elizabeth is not allowed to go anywhere. Astrid is afraid if she catches anything—”

“Is there something going around?” Their steps kept slowing as they neared the boardinghouse.

“Not that I know of. Oh, I nearly forgot. Tante Ingeborg has invited you to dinner at the farm.” He stopped. “Please. I know you are exhausted, but it would mean a lot to her.”

I just want to
take a bath and go to bed.

He did not wait for an answer. “I'll come back and get you.” Together they climbed the three steps to the boardinghouse porch. “I'll take your bag to your room.” He opened the door and motioned her in.

“Why, Nurse Hastings, you're back at last. How good to see you. Good morning, Trygve!” Mrs. Wiste came from be
hind the desk, her smile of greeting lighting the dimness of the vestibule.

Trygve was grinning too. “'Morning, Sophie. Where shall I put this?”

“The lady or the bag?”

“Both.”

Miriam was poised to be aghast at the banter when she remembered that Trygve and Sophie Wiste were brother and sister. Was that perhaps why she liked Mrs. Wiste so much? It was going to take some time before she got all the family connections in Blessing straightened out.

Mrs. Wiste led the way to the stairs. “Your room is all ready. The other two chose to share a room, but I hated to put three of you in together. Especially since you will all be on such different schedules. Will this be agreeable with you?”

“Of course, and thank you.” Miriam had to hurry to keep up. “I see they've gotten most of the outside done.”

“They have, and there is not a lot left to do inside anymore either. You nurses will be able to sleep during the day here now. At least I hope so. Neither of the others has lodged a complaint. Dr. Deming, the dentist, is in the same wing. Funny to think of wings here at our boardinghouse. Dinner will be at noon and supper is served at six. Breakfast starts at five thirty, so that should not be a problem.” Mrs. Wiste marched toward the end of the hall.

“There's going to be a little hammering, though.” Trygve pointed upward. “The ceiling moldings aren't in yet. I'll try to finish that tomorrow morning.”

“Here we are.” Mrs. Wiste stopped. “Miss Wells and Miss Nester are in that room next to yours. They wanted to be here to greet you, but Mrs. Jeffers talked Corabell into accompanying her to church, and Vera is on duty.” She opened a door and stepped aside. “There are towels on your bed and a list of meal times on the door. You will have morning sun in your room. Here is your closet.” She opened a narrow door where Miriam's aprons and extra things hung.

“They even unpacked for me. I am so touched. Mrs. Wiste, this is lovely. Look at the quilt and the braided rug, even a rocking chair and a dressing table. Are all the rooms like this?”

Trygve was grinning again. “Sophie, here, is very proud of her new addition, but I know she did some extra things for her nurses, as she calls you. Sophie has a very proprietary interest in anything to do with the hospital. As you will hear, she is forming a volunteer hospital society. I have a feeling the society will become a rival of the quilting circle. Or maybe not.” His grin made her smile back.

“We have a society like that in Chicago. They do a lot of good to help both the hospital and the patients. But in Blessing too?”

Mrs. Wiste was grinning as well. “Right. We will have a party when the boardinghouse is truly finished, and I have a feeling from the bits I've heard, it will in some way become
‘a benefit for the hospital
.
'
Those are the words you will hear bandied about.”

Miriam leaned closer and dropped her voice. “Do you think I could take a bath now, and then a nap?”

“Of course you can. There's sufficient time for that. We have shared bathrooms in this addition, so you and the other nurses will share this bathroom between your two rooms, not like down the hall.” She opened a second door. “This is your bath.”

“Oh my.” Miriam's cheeks flamed. Now Trygve knew what she had asked.

Trygve half bowed. “As I said, things are changing here. Welcome home.” He paused at the door. “You will come to dinner? Please?”

Miriam could not refuse. “What time?”

“I'll come for you at one.”

“If I am not downstairs, please send someone up for me.”

His grin nearly cracked his face. “Rest well.”

I sure hope I am not making a mistake.
She wasn't sure if that meant accepting the dinner invitation or agreeing to go with Trygve.

M
or, are you sure you want to do this?” The voice on the other end of the line sounded worried. “We can easily move dinner from your house to ours.”

“Astrid, I cannot live in a cocoon. Life needs to return to as normal as possible. So ja. I want everyone to come to my house like usual. It won't be long before it's too cold to be outside. Freda has chickens in the oven, and we made bread yesterday. Everyone will bring what they want, and we'll have plenty of food and laughter. Besides, we need to welcome Miriam and the threshing crew back. Maybe we can even have a ball game.”

“All right. Amelia said you really wanted this, so I won't say anything to change it.”

“You are coming?”

“Of course, unless there is an emergency. See you soon.”

Ingeborg hung the earpiece back on the prong and heaved a sigh.

“Astrid?” Freda asked.

“Ja. Life has to go on with whatever we can do to make it like always. Fall is here; winter will come. I will miss Haakan forever. Sometimes I will cry, and right now I thank God for laughter, even more than usual.” She looked over to Emmy, who
was watching her carefully, her dark eyes so sober. Ingeborg opened her arms. “Come here, little one. Hugs are the best thing for sad eyes.” She hugged Emmy close. “Don't you be worrying about me. We'll just get through it all.”

Freda asked, “Where is Manny?”

Emmy stepped back. “Out with his horse. He took Joker a treat. He said maybe the little kids would like to ride this afternoon.”

“How thoughtful of him.” Freda sounded surprised. She was always less accepting than Ingeborg.

“Then he was going to harness the horse for the buggy.” Emmy looked from one woman to the other.

Ingeborg shook her head. “That boy.”

“He doesn't like to see you cry. He hopes you will smile when he drives up.”

Please, Lord, protect
that boy. He is trying so hard
. “I will make sure to smile. Thank you.”

Emmy hugged her one more time and returned to clearing the table.

Lord, please fill
my eyes with smiles for the sake of these children
, who are trying so hard to cheer me up. Remind
me that joy comes with the morning. I sometimes forget
that when the bed is empty beside me
.

She really looked at Emmy. The dress and pinafore she was wearing were woefully small, too short and tight too. “Emmy, I think we need to make you some new clothes. Those are too small for you.” Besides being so worn and faded. “I will go tomorrow while you are in school and get us some fabric. What color would you like?”

Emmy turned, her wide-eyed look so endearing that Ingeborg felt like whirling her around like she did Inga at times. “I like red and blue.” She looked down at her dress. “No holes.”

“True.” Ingeborg glanced at the clock. Ten thirty now and church was at eleven. “We'd better get a move on. Freda, are you coming?” She gave the invitation every Sunday and, as usual,
was gently refused. One of these days they would have to have a talk about that. What was keeping Freda from attending church?

The jingle of harness caught her attention. Sure enough, there was Manny with the buggy. “Will you look at that? Uff da, what determination.” She turned to Emmy. “You go tell him I will be out in a minute.”

“I will put the squash in to bake as soon as the pies come out.” Freda looked up from scooping the seeds out of the inside of the big green squash she had taken the hatchet to because it was so hard. “Good thing the tables are still out.”

Ingeborg gathered her shawl and draped it around her shoulders. “I wish you would come.”

“Maybe next Sunday.”

When Ingeborg descended the porch steps, Manny started to get out, but she waved him back. “I'll be fine.” She climbed up into the buggy and settled herself on the seat beside him as Emmy clambered up into the back. “You have done wonderfully well. Far more than anyone expected or even hoped.” She didn't bother to say he scared her at times.

He smiled, backed the horse, and they trotted down the lane. “I was thinking, will Benny be here this afternoon?”

“I have no idea who all is coming.”

“Well, I figured we could help him ride the horse by belting his legs down to the saddle so he can't fall off.”

Ingeborg stared at him. Was this the boy who, a couple short months earlier, didn't even want to talk to those little kids?
Lord God
, oh, the miracles you are always at work on
. “I don't know why not. I'll make sure they are coming.”

As usual, she cried her way through the service. Astrid sat on one side of her and Emmy on the other, then Manny. It started when they stood to sing “Holy, Holy, Holy.” Oh how she missed Haakan's baritone voice beside her, the warmth that radiated from him, his sheer presence. Even the last year, when he had diminished in both size and energy, he was still Haakan. She
could hear Anner behind her mumbling about something and looked to see that Father Devlin had joined them. What was the matter with Anner that he couldn't let go of his anger?

Then Reverend Solberg preached on the gospel for the day, where Jesus had talked about loving one another. John 13:33 to the end of the chapter had always been one of Haakan's favorite passages. He more than once commented that when Jesus called his disciples
little children
, he knew human nature well. Some of the adults in Blessing acted like children too.

More tears. Would this never stop? She felt Emmy's hand sneak into hers. On one hand God had taken away a part of her life, but here He'd given her two more children. Inga sat with her father right in front of Ingeborg and turned around to smile at her grandma. Her smile dimmed when she saw the tears. She sighed, and Thorliff nudged his little girl to turn around.

“But Grandma's crying.” Her whisper could be heard to the back of the church at least, if not clear to the boardinghouse.

Ingeborg mopped her eyes and sniffed. When they all stood for the benediction, she cleared her throat. She'd made it through another service, and at least this time she didn't feel like bolting out the door and running until the pain stopped.

As they filed out the door where Reverend Solberg was greeting everyone, she felt another little hand on her other side.

“Grandma, you okay now?”

“Ja, I am.”

“I miss Grandpa too. Ma says it will get better, but he can't come back. I sure hope he likes it in heaven. Do you think he can see us?”

Ingeborg shared a look with Thorliff, who raised his eyebrows. “Your turn,” he mouthed.

She knew exactly what he meant. She squeezed Inga's hand and then Emmy's before whispering to them. “If you want to go outside with the other kids, you go. I'll be fine.”

They beamed at her, giggled, and headed for the door.

Penny stopped beside her. “I wanted to remind you we have quilting on Thursday. It will be good to get back together again. It seems like forever since we met.”

“Has anyone invited Amelia Jeffers?”

“I did, and two of the new ladies too. Some of the women from Tent Town are starting to take part in community activities. That is so good to see.”

“It'll get easier,” Reverend Solberg said when she reached him.

“I know, but that was one of Haakan's favorite Scripture passages. And I so cherished when he sang the bass line of ‘Holy, Holy, Holy.' She glanced over to where a group of the men were visiting. Anner's voice could be heard above the others.

She turned to Thorliff. “Please go make sure Father Devlin knows he is invited to the farm for dinner.”

Thorliff nodded. “Ja, I will.” He stopped for a moment. “Did Manny really harness that horse and hitch it to the buggy?”

“He did. And wait until you hear his idea.” When she heard Anner say something about “those people,” she wanted to go over and join the group, but instead she looked around for Hildegunn. Where was she?

When Kaaren joined her, Ingeborg asked, “Have you seen Hildegunn?”

“No, and that's strange. I wonder if she is sick. I've not heard.” She turned to ask Penny, who said the same.

“I'll go ask Anner.” Penny strode over to the men's group and returned shaking her head. “He said she has a touch of the grippe, but he didn't seem too concerned.”

“Too busy causing trouble to think about his wife,” Kaaren muttered under her breath.

Sophie joined them. “That was some sermon. I have an idea that I am hoping we can seriously discuss at quilting.”

“We have to wait until then?”

Sophie grabbed for one of her three-year-old twins. “No, you stay right by your ma.”

Penny asked, “Does anyone know if Nurse Hastings came in on the train?”

Kaaren snickered. “She must have. We've not seen Trygve. He was planning to meet her. He says they'll come this afternoon.”

“Well, I sure hope she realizes how lucky she is to have a good man like Trygve. Smitten, I think, is the word I heard.” Penny smiled at Ingeborg and then Kaaren. “We need a romance in Blessing. Are they really planning to play ball this afternoon?”

“That's what Far says.” Sophie smiled. “Not that he's that rousing a ball player.”

“I need to get home. I'll see you in an hour or so.” Ingeborg headed for the buggy, where Manny already sat waiting.

“Can I ride with Grandma?” Inga pleaded.

Thorliff looked a question at his mother, who nodded. With the two little girls giggling in the back seat, Thorliff helped his mother into the front. “I'll be out later. Elizabeth wants to come too, but she's afraid Astrid will have a fit. She is getting real tired of being housebound.”

“Good. That must mean she is feeling better.”

“I think so.”

Oh, Lord, I hope
so.

Sometime later at Ingeborg's, after everyone had eaten all they could hold, the women were putting away the few leftovers as the men chose teams for the ball game, along with plenty of heckling from those not playing. Lars agreed to umpire, assisted by Reverend Solberg.

“You playing?” Thorliff asked Father Devlin.

“I'm not sure. I've not played for a long time.”

“You'll do fine. You can be on my team, if you would.”

Trygve stepped up to them grinning. “Looks like we're going to have the old guys against the kids.” He motioned to Jona
than's team, where Andrew and the other young sprouts had gathered, as his father was wont to call them.

“Hey, watch who you're calling an old guy,” Thorliff teased. “I don't exactly qualify.”

“Close enough,” Trygve said with a grin.

Ingeborg realized where the game would be played when the men hazed the cows out into the other pasture and picked up the piles in the near pasture. Perfect. The enthusiastic fans could sit on the fence rails.

She was especially pleased that quite a few people from Tent Town were gathering here. Penny had mentioned that more workers were becoming involved in the community. What better place than here? They settled onto blankets just inside the fence and leaned against it, a part of the crowd and yet not exactly. Ingeborg noticed that one of the wives was pregnant. Good and pregnant. She laughed and chattered with who was probably her husband as she opened a folded towel and laid out a fried bread of some sort.

The men worked together to position the sandbags for the bases, measuring off the proper distances. With the game ready to begin, Lars raised his hands, and eventually silence fell.

“I want us to dedicate this game to Haakan. He enjoyed the game like we all do. I don't know if they play baseball in heaven, but we sure miss him here.”

Someone started clapping, another cheered, and the clapping and cheering lasted for several minutes.

Ingeborg, settled in a chair near the gate, smiled through her tears, a little girl on either side of her as if her guardians.

“Play ball!” Lars hollered, and the pitcher for the old men, Daniel Jeffers, threw the first pitch past Andrew to Toby Valders, the catcher.

“Strike one.” The game had indeed begun.

After a bit Manny headed to the back pasture and whistled for his horse. Joker trotted over and accepted carrots from his
admiring public. Inga and Emmy pulled Benny on his cart down to the barn, where Manny had brought his horse.

Trygve left off sitting on the bench and motioned for Miriam to come with him.

Ingeborg watched them go. She knew what Manny was planning and thought it a great idea. “I'll be back,” she told Kaaren.

“Where you going?”

“Down to the barn with the little ones.”

Kaaren turned back to the ball game, and Ingeborg joined the others at the barn.

She stopped beside Miriam. “I am so glad you are back. I realize you are needed and missed in Chicago, but you are sorely needed and missed here too. Not just what you offer the community, but you. Yourself. Miriam Hastings.”