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Alice nodded her thanks. “We really appreciate it. I’m not sure I’m ready to learn to cook on a new stove today.”
“Tomorrow is soon enough,” Albert agreed. If he was anxious to get Alice home and alone, he didn’t show it.
Dinner was a particularly festive event that night, with even the small children realizing it had been a special day. After their prayer, Susan went around the table asking everyone what their favorite part of the day had been—only little Clarissa was exempt as she was too young to talk beyond saying Mama and Dada.
Some of the answers were sweet, and others were downright amusing. Lewis said, “I’m thankful to have received a new sister, who can give me advice about what ladies like.”
Oliver said, “My favorite part was being in charge of getting Alice for the wedding.”
Susan looked perplexed. “I’m trying to decide if the children should call you Aunt Alice, or if that will just make things more confusing.”
“I think calling me Alice is just fine,” Alice said.
“Good. I was starting to lose my mind, because if they called you Aunt Alice, then they’d have to call their own brother Uncle Albert, and then my brain would explode.”
Alice laughed softly. “It’s a good problem to have.”
David seemed pleased with how the day had gone as well. “What do you keep smiling about, David?” Susan finally asked. Alice had wanted to, but she wasn’t sure how to start the conversation.
“Anderson came to me today to ask if I could break two new teams for him and his son. I’m excited to have new horses to work with. He’s already chosen both teams, and I just need to get them ready.”
“I should have known it was business,” Susan said, shaking her head. “One of these days you’re going to be smiling at supper, and I’m going to ask, and you’ll be happy one of the children did something.”
“Hey, I’m proud of all three-hundred-twenty-seven children!” David protested.
This time Alice had to ask. “Three hundred?”
“Sure. Don’t you think it has to feel that way at bedtime some days?”
“I know it’s how I feel most days,” Susan said. “I love all my children, but there are a lot of them.”
Oliver smiled. “And we’re all special in our own way, so a lot is a good thing, right Mama?”
“Right, Oliver.” Susan reached over and squeezed her son’s hand, and he smiled happily. “You should come over while Albert is working tomorrow, Alice. I’m working on a couple of sewing projects, and I would love to have a sewing partner. I know you said you bought new fabric.”
Alice smiled, nodding. “I’ll do that for a couple of hours, but I don’t want to start my marriage off by shirking my responsibilities.”
“Glad to hear one of the demon horde has a good work ethic.”
“We all do. Every one of us. Well maybe not the youngest four because they’re all still in school, but they’re starting to quiet down. Even little Ida Mae hasn’t been in trouble for months.”
“Well, that’s good news,” Susan said. “I do worry about all of them yet. I mean, how many siblings can Elizabeth realistically find spouses for.”
“All of them,” Alice said. “She’s amazing at what she does. People talk about her all the time. She’s even gotten a couple of women in town out of bad situations.”
“I’m sure she has! Doesn’t she always?”
After the meal, they had more wedding cake, and then Albert and Alice went to the room she’d used to fetch her belongings to take to their own home. “It feels so strange to me that we’re married and settling in together,” Alice said. “But it also feels as if we should have done this months ago.”
“I know exactly what you mean. It feels right, but odd, but right.”
“That’s exactly it!” She looked up as they walked and smiled. “It’s a full moon tonight. Do you have any idea how happy looking up at the night sky makes me?”
“I didn’t, but I’m glad to know it. We’ll have to take lots of walks late at night.” He looked up at the sky, wondering why she was so fascinated with it. “I tend to get up while it’s still dark out, not stay up late enough to see the full moon.”
“We’ll have to make a habit of staying up late one night per week, just so we can watch the stars. Maybe on Saturday nights because we won’t have to be up as early for church as you do for work.” She had to look down to make certain she was walking straight. “Do you have any men working for you?”
“I have ten. Not as many as I really need, but that’s as many as we can afford right now. Soon we’ll be able to hire more. I’m excited to say that the cattle we have are multiplying rapidly. We have lots of calves being born right now. Thanks to my men, I was able to take the entire day off to get married and be with my wife. I probably shouldn’t have taken that much time, but it felt right.”
