Falling in Love With Her Husband (10 page)

bank. “I have to go. My husband is waiting for me.”

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Falling In Love With Her Husband

“Let me help you with those bags,” Mr. Coley offered.

“Thank you, again.”

I joined Todd and introduced him to Mr. Coley. After

Todd and Mr. Coley put the bags in the wagon, they shook

hands. Mr. Coley gave him directions on a quicker and

easier way to get to the farm. Todd thanked him and then

we left.

“The people here are nice,” Todd commented.

I nodded. Turning my attention to other matters, I

asked, “Did they hire you at the bank?”

“My interview with the boss is the day after

tomorrow. I"l know then.”

After the months we traveled for what seemed like

endless miles, I thought the trip to the farm would be quick,

but it seemed longer than our trek across the states.

An hour passed by the time we arrived at the empty

white two-story house. Mr. Martin had left modest

furnishings, which were still in good shape except for the

kitchen table that had a wobbly leg.

“I had to take out a loan to pay for it,” Todd explained

as I looked around.

I tried not to get discouraged as I looked at the dust

and cobwebs covering everything. My parents would never

accept such living conditions.
You’re not in Virginia

anymore. This is a different world.

“The water from the well should work,” he said. He

left to check it.

I went to investigate the small house. The parlor

was spacious and led to the front door. The dining room led

to the kitchen. The kitchen led to the back door. There

were two closets and a small room with things in it that I

didn"t recognize. The wooden stairs led to three bedrooms.

I stepped out of the last bedroom and walked down the

stairs. The kitchen had a pump at the sink.

“We"re in luck,” Todd said when he came back into

the house through the front door. “The water is good.”

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I hesitated to ask the question that pressed on my

mind but had to because sooner or later, I"d have to use the

privy. “Where is the toilet?”

“The outhouse is in the back. I"l show you where.”

I followed him to the kitchen window which

overlooked the fields and the barn. He pointed to a small

wooden building the size of a closet that had a door. It was

between the house and the barn.

“The well"s out front, so the water won"t get

contaminated from…” He shrugged. “You know.”

The idea of going to the bathroom outside made me

cringe. It didn"t seem sanitary. Just what other unpleasant

things would I face out here?

He sighed. “I"l help you clean this place. Once we

get rid of the dust, it will look better. Why don"t you sit down

and rest? I"l bring our things in.”

I shook my head. “I"d rather help. I want to do

something other than sit.” I had done enough sitting over the

past couple of months. It felt good to move.

We didn"t have much, but after the tiring trip, it

seemed that we would never finish putting things away

where they now belonged. I was glad that Mrs. Coley

recommended that I get pots and pans, because the kitchen

cupboards were bare. Once we finished our task, we were

so tired that we fell asleep. I slept on the couch and he slept

on the chair.

***

Early the next morning, I woke up refreshed and in a

good mood. I wasn"t a morning person by nature, so it was

unusual for me to wake up with a smile on my face. In the

daylight, the house didn"t look as bad as it had last night.

We could make it work.

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Since Todd was still asleep, I decided to surprise him

by making breakfast. I took out the recipe book that Mrs.

Coley had given me.

I decided to make scrambled eggs. It looked like a

meal that was difficult to ruin. I stared at the cast iron stove

and the wood on the floor in the corner. A box of matches

sat on the counter. I hadn"t been allowed in the kitchen

while I was growing up, so I did as Mrs. Coley instructed in

starting a fire under the range. The oven door was right

next to the compartment where the fire burned. Neither the

oven nor the range looked easy. How would I know when

the range was too hot? Or what if it didn"t get hot enough?

I turned back to the task of making scrambled eggs.

I threw the eggs into the pan and used the wooden spoon to

stir them around. I stopped when I realized the eggs didn"t

mix well. I read the recipe again and groaned. I wasn"t

supposed to keep the shells. I tossed the eggs into the sink.

This time I tried breaking the eggs, but I either used too

much force to crack them open or not enough. In the end, I

was stuck with egg white and bits of the shells splattered all

over the table. After five attempts at it, I didn"t dare use any

more eggs. I quickly put out the fire and cleaned up the

table. I threw the bad food into the pail in the corner of the

room.

I angrily sat in the kitchen chair. Cooking was not as

easy as Mrs. Coley made it sound. What made me think I

could live out here? None of the classes I took prepared me

for any of this. Everyone just assumed I"d spend my life

surrounded by servants who did the “trivial work”, as my

father once put it.

My eyes fell on the fruits on the counter. At least I

knew how to cut fruit. I took some apples and strawberries

and cut them up. Then I ate my portion and waited for Todd

to wake up so he could eat his.

“Good morning,” Todd greeted as he entered the

kitchen.

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Falling In Love With Her Husband

I waited for him to sit across from me so he could

eat. It still felt strange to think of Todd as my husband. I

knew he was the right choice for me, though I didn"t feel the

romantic feelings toward him that I had felt for Kent. I hoped

the feelings would come in time. I meant what I told him.

That I would do my best to be a good wife. I had messed up

with Kent, and my parents warned me about him. Since

they liked Todd, then Todd had to be the right choice. I

hope I didn"t make a bad decision. The last thing I wanted

to do was to hurt Todd because of my selfishness.

Todd smiled. “It sure is a beautiful day. It"s too bad

we have to spend it cleaning.”

“Do we have any cleaning supplies?” I hadn"t thought

to purchase those at the store.

“Mr. Martin left some in the closet by the stairs.”

“Oh.” I watched as he ate. “Do you think you"l get

the banking job?”

“I think so. I know enough about it. If, for some

reason, I don"t get it, I"l apply for another job.” He must have

noticed my apprehension because he stopped eating and

smiled at me. “We"l be alright.”

My spirits lifted and a new comfort came over me. I

smiled back and nodded. I was glad to have him with me,

and I could tell he was glad to have me with him. That was

the first time I was thankful that he loved me.

***

We spent the entire morning cleaning the

downstairs. By the time we were done, I noticed the blisters

forming on my thumbs from sweeping the broom. I wanted

to please Todd, so I didn"t complain.

To my surprise, he offered to help me cook lunch.

“What do you want to eat?” he asked.

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Falling In Love With Her Husband

“I don"t know. I hadn"t thought of what to make,” I

slowly replied as I glanced at the recipe book. I had no idea

what to make without burning it. “What do you want?”

“What did you buy?”

I motioned to the cupboards that held some

vegetables, fruits, eggs, and bags of flour, yeast, and other

items that I was still trying to figure out how to cook with.

“Hmm... This isn"t what I expected,” he replied. “Is

this all the mercantile had?”

“For the most part, yes. Mrs. Coley gave me a

recipe book and some cooking tips.”

“This is all we could afford?”

Embarrassed because I didn"t know what to buy and

knew we didn"t have much, I turned away from him. I was a

failure as a wife. I didn"t know the first thing about taking

care of a house or how to cook food. I wondered if I could

get anything right out here. It was such a different world

than Virginia.

Todd put his arms around me. “Forgive me, Ann. I

wasn"t criticizing you. I just didn"t realize food cost so

much.”

Relieved, I hugged him back. “I felt lost in there.

Thankfully, Mrs. Coley was very nice and helped me.”

“I should have gone in with you, though I don"t know

if I could have been much help. I don"t understand what

we"re supposed to do with flour or yeast.”

“Apparently, you can make bread with it.” How, I

didn"t know.

“I thought I was prepared to be out here, but I didn"t

consider cooking food.”

“I"m going to learn to cook. I know I can do it.”

“One thing I do know about you is that when you set

your mind to something, you succeed.”

He had no idea how much I appreciated those

words. “Do you know how to start the fire for the stove?”

“Yes.”

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I watched in amazement as he got the fire burning.

He obviously practiced this. I should have expected it, but it

made me feel inferior as a wife.

“I had to buy some pans, pots and utensils too,” I

added. “I"m sure I can get more food next time.”

“You did good, Ann. You"ve always been good

about the choices you make.”

I frowned. “I suppose if you don"t count Kent, then I

do make good decisions.” I turned to the recipe book and

opened it.

He didn"t respond, and I wasn"t sure what else to say

either. After we decided to make soup, I took on the task of

cutting up potatoes, carrots, and celery which I added to the

broth and water in the new pot so I wouldn"t have to mess

with the stove again. I stirred the pot.

“Are you ready to put it on the range?” he asked.

I nodded and carried the pot to the stove. My hands

got too close to the range. I almost dropped the pot as I

pulled my hand away from the stove.

Todd quickly grabbed the pot and put it in place for

me. “Are you alright?”

“I"m fine,” I replied but my hand was already showing

signs of being lightly burnt. I made a mental note to never

get too close to the range again.

“Maybe cool water will help.”

I followed him to the sink. He picked up a clean

washcloth and pumped the handle until water came out. He

washed the cloth under it before he turned to me and

wrapped the cool cloth around my hand.

“That"s much better,” I assured him.

After a few minutes, he uncovered my hand so he

could inspect the wound. “It looks superficial.” He sighed. “I

didn"t think to bring any bandages.”

I took a deep breath. Somehow, the way he

carefully held my hand seemed more intimate than any kiss

Kent and I shared.

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“I"m fine. It doesn"t even hurt.” Uncomfortable, I

asked, “Do you know how to work everything in this house?”

He nodded. “It helped that I talked with the servants

back home. My father thought I was crazy for following the

servants all over the place, but I wanted to make sure I

could make it out here.”

“So, you know how to do laundry?”

“Yes. Would you like me to give you a quick tour of

the scullery room?”

Was that the name of the small room I saw with the

unfamiliar objects in it? “Yes, I would like to learn what you

know.”

He stirred the pot before he showed me the wringer

washer machine and washtub. It all seemed confusing, but

he demonstrated how to use them.

“It took me a couple of times of helping the servants

before I got the hang of doing laundry,” he said.

I didn"t look forward to doing laundry. It looked like a

lot of work. But I was determined to press on and learn the

tasks I needed to.

We finished cooking the meal and had a good lunch.

Then we headed upstairs to clean the bedrooms. Todd let

me have my choice of the bedroom I wanted. He would

sleep in another room until I was ready to be intimate. I was