He took her hand and said a quick prayer for them before taking his first bite.“What is this?”he asked.
“Belle gave me some duck from her cold house, and I made it into fried duck.I hope that’s all right.And I made mashed potatoes with Eskimo potatoes they shared with me.”
“It’s wonderful!”he said, grinning at her.As he’d gotten used to being around her, his stammer was occurring less and less.
“I’m glad you like it.”She took a bite of her own food, happy with how it had turned out.“The girls proposed a little business plan for the three of us today, and I wanted to talk to you about it.”
“Of course.What is the plan?I know they’ve both been selling baked goods to the store.”
“Yes, the plan is for me to be part of that in a way...”She outlined the discussion she’d had with the other women, watching him to see how he felt about it.
“So, you’d be planting and nurturing a garden, but you’d split it between our three households.And we would get paid for what they sell to the store as well as getting forage and meat?That sounds like a wonderful opportunity.”
“I thought so too.I don’t know what I’d do in the winter to make money, but perhaps I can sew or crochet.I’m certain the girls and Mrs.Johnson will have ideas.”
“Yes.I would say you should take them up on the offer.It will be nice to not have to work so hard hunting on the weekends, and I’ve heard Mrs.Thompson is a good hunter.”
“I’m glad you agree with my assessment.I would love to be able to make some money.I know it cost you a lot to be off work to travel to get me.”
“It will definitely help out, but I can support us if you don’t want to work.”
Sally shook her head.“I want to work.I was thinking about what I could do the whole way here.”
“I’m glad you won’t be alone.I know Everett, Belle’s husband, talked about how much his wife missed female companionship.She had Mrs.Johnson, but Mrs.Johnson spends a great deal of time working.”
“I think it will work out well for us,” Sally said.“I have water heating for you to take a bath this evening.I know I felt a great deal better after my bath.”
“That sounds wonderful.”Tom rubbed the back of his neck.“I work with smelly men, but I was embarrassed to have to go with as bad as I smelled this morning.”
She chuckled.“It will be taken care of.”Taking a bite of her duck, she added, “I can also make baked goods for the store if I want to, of course.It seems Mrs.Johnson never has enough.”
“Would you rather bake than garden?”he asked.
Sally shook her head.“No, I love to garden.There’s just something about taking a seed and turning it into food that I enjoy.”
“I’ll help you clear some of our land this weekend.Will that be soon enough?”he asked.
She bit her lip for a moment before giggling.“I don’t even know what day it is!”
He joined her in laughter.“Today is Thursday.”
“I can wait then.I’ve already spoken with Mrs.Johnson about buying seeds, and I found a book on the Alaskan growing season and what will grow and when I should plant.I also bought a lot of the seeds before leaving Massachusetts.They’re light, and I knew they would be a great deal more expensive here.”
He shook his head with a smile.“It sounds like you did some studying.”
“I was waiting for the melt.I knew meeting you would be wonderful, but I wanted to be able to help around here.”
“You’ve already done more than you know.”He looked around the room.“The cabin looks wonderful, and I noticed the laundry drying on the line.It will be nice to put on clean clothes after my bath.It’s been much too long since I’ve worn anything clean.”
She nodded.“I feel the same.I want another bath to wash off after having put on clothes that were dirty this morning.”
“You should take another after me.I’m happy to bring in water from the river.”
“I’ll wait until morning,” she said.“After your bath, we need to finally consummate this marriage of ours.”
He choked a bit on the bite of duck in his mouth.After swallowing water, he said, “I didn’t know if you still wanted that to happen tonight.”
“I think we’ve both waited long enough, don’t you?”She sighed.“I’ve never had relations with a man, of course, but my mother told me it was a beautiful way to express love in a marriage.I’m looking forward to it a great deal.”
