Chapter Five
It was many hours laterthat Sally became aware of a weight holding her down in the bed.It took a moment before she realized it was Tom’s arm.He’d held her in her sleep, and she’d loved every moment of it.
She slipped out from under his arm and pulled her nightgown back over her head.It had been discarded during their lovemaking, and she’d had to find it.His nightshirt was on the floor as well.
When she thought about what they’d done together the night before, she couldn’t help but smile.Her mother had been right.Lovemaking was wonderful.
Hurrying into the kitchen, she grabbed the egg basket and went outside to collect the eggs from the hens.He had six of them, which was a good amount for each of them in the mornings.
She mixed up the dough for a loaf of bread, and while she waited for it to rise, she fried the eggs with a little bacon which she’d purchased from the store the day before.She wondered if raising pigs would be a good idea and decided to ask someone later.It would be pointless to try if they’d freeze to death in the winters.
As soon as their simple breakfast was ready, Sally woke Tom.To her surprise, he pulled her down atop him, kissing her passionately.“Breakfast is ready,” she said softly when he broke the kiss.
He sighed.“I guess there’s really no time to make love before work.I’m not letting you out of bed until noon tomorrow.”
She giggled.“Sounds good to me.As long as we get land for my garden cleared.”
“You shouldn’t be practical when all I want to do is keep you in bed all day.”
She rolled off him.“I made eggs and bacon.I hope that’s all right.I wish we had a goat for milk.”
“Oh, we do.I just let her wander in the spring.She’ll be back in an hour or two to be milked.”
“Did you milk her yesterday?”Sally asked, worried about the poor goat.
He nodded.“I did it.My friend Jasper did it while I was gone.He was thrilled to have fresh milk for a while.”
“Tell me about Jasper.I have a friend back in Massachusetts who is thinking of coming here.Would Jasper be interested in a mail-order bride?”
“I don’t know.I can talk to him about it today, if you’d like.”
“That would be great.He works with you?”
Tom nodded, getting out of bed and stretching, not at all ashamed of his nudity.“He does.He’s a good friend.A little older than me.Good man.”
After breakfast, Tom carried water to the cabin so Sally could bathe again, remembering what she’d said the night before.Sally took the bread out of the oven and made three bacon sandwiches for his lunch before Tom left.
After he was gone, she undressed and got into the tub, planning to use the water to do the small amount of laundry that needed to be done that morning.She washed the sheets along with the clothes she’d worn the day before.
When she’d finished, she walked to the store to talk to Katie about raising pigs.She had no idea if there was a local pig farmer, but she knew she’d have cheaper bacon if she raised pigs herself.She could live on bacon.
Katie told her there was no pig farmer in the area.“I’ve looked into it myself,” Katie told her.“The pig enclosure would need to be surrounded with hay to keep the pigs warm in the winter, but I don’t think that would be difficult.I pay a lot of money to have bacon and salt pork shipped in.I could order a few piglets if that’s what you want to do.”
“I’ll talk to Tom about it this evening.What about food?Can I grow corn for them here?”
“You can grow corn here, but from what I read, it would be better to feed them softening root vegetables or let them have forage.Any part of an animal that will go to waste.Fish heads.Table scraps.Anything of that nature.You can mix corn into it, and the pigs will thrive.”
“All right.I think I can do that!I’ll let you know what Tom says by Monday.”
“I’ll look into costs for you.When I considered it, it was many years ago, and I’m certain things will be more expensive now.”
Sally nodded.“Thank you, Katie.I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with me.”
When Sally turned around, she wasn’t surprised to see Maggie standing behind her.Maggie had two large baskets, each covered with a towel.“If you wait, we can walk to Belle’s together and talk some more about what we discussed yesterday.”
“That would be wonderful,” Sally said.She stepped out of the way so Maggie could conduct her business with Katie, and then the two of them headed to Belle’s.
“Did you talk to your husband about our proposition?”Maggie asked.
