At the store, Katie put what she wanted on her account, knowing that Belle would be selling enough to cover it.
“The men were disappointed that we didn’t have fresh baked goods today.”
Belle smiled.“I hope you told them to come back tomorrow!”
“Of course I did!”
“I’ll do my baking first thing in the morning, and then I’ll go foraging again.Now that I know what to look for, I think I can gather what I need on my own.If I could find more potatoes or celery than I need, could you sell it?”
Katie laughed.“If there’s food, it will sell.The men are always happy to have anything that’s not beans.”
“Then I’ll see how much I can find.”
Belle felt elated to know how to find what they would need for the year.It felt as if she was in a race against winter, and she’d already been told that winter would start early.
That evening, she made a pot of beans with some of the celery mixed in.She’d never eaten anything of the sort, but she would need to be creative with what she could forage or buy.Thankfully, Everett didn’t seem fussy.
After supper that night, they talked about her plans for the week, and he seemed thrilled to know she was throwing herself into winter preparations the way she was.
“You don’t have to always provide baked goods for the store,” he said when she mentioned that was her plan for the following morning.
“I know.But I enjoy baking, and I don’t think you could eat as much as I’d like to bake.”
He laughed.“You are something else, Belle Thompson.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said.
“It was certainly meant as one.”
“What would you like to have tomorrow?”she asked.“Cornbread or wheat bread?”
“I have to choose?”he asked, pretending dismay.“What if I want both?”
“I’ll do one type tomorrow, and one type the next day,” Belle told him.“I want to be able to forage more in the afternoon.The more berries I can put up, the more jam you’ll have to see you through the winter.”
“All right.I choose cornbread for tomorrow then.And I’ll look forward to all the jam I’ll be eating this winter.”
“Smart man.”She moved to sit on his lap and kiss him, wondering if he would be upset by her boldness.To her relief, he put his arms around her and kissed her passionately.
“Marrying you was the best decision I ever made,” he said when they came up for air.
“I feel exactly the same way.”
*****
FOR THE REST OF THEweek, Belle baked in the mornings, always baking bread and alternating between cake and cookies for a sweet treat.Then in the afternoons, she foraged.On Friday afternoon, she saw a deer grazing in the clearing where she did most of her strawberry picking, and she wished she had her rifle.Fresh meat would be a blessing.
Everett promised he would hunt as soon as he had the time, but it hadn’t happened yet.Perhaps she could spend her Saturday afternoon with a rifle instead of a berry pail.She also needed to take a day to put up strawberry preserves.The berries were lasting in the cellar for now, but they wouldn’t keep forever.“Monday,” she said aloud.“I’ll make jam on Monday.”
When she arrived home with all of her forage that afternoon, she decided to take a basket of celery and a basket of Eskimo potatoes to the store.She knew they had enough to last them, and there was no point of going to all the work of foraging if she was going to let the food go bad.
When she arrived at the store, there were a few men at the counter, all asking for more sweets.Katie was shaking her head.“I’m sorry.I’ve sold all I had for today.”
Belle bit her lip.She wasn’t sure if she wanted to apologize for not making more or laugh that the men were so excited by her baking.So, she did neither.
She placed her basket on the counter, saying nothing to the men.Katie looked in the basket and smiled.“I do have fresh Eskimo potatoes and celery.”
One of the men looked at Belle.“Can I make a request for snickerdoodles?They’re my favorite, and yours are even better than my ma’s.”
