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She groaned, rolling over onto her side. Instead of getting up, she lay there for a moment and then sighed. “I really need to catch up on my sleep someday,” she said softly, swinging her legs to the side of the bed, only then seeming to realize she wasn’t wearing anything. “I’ll start breakfast while you do the morning chores.” She yawned loudly, needing another week in bed.
She stood up, not paying attention to how he was watching her. Why would she worry about him seeing her with nothing on when he’d felt her that way the night before? Touch was more intimate than sight anyway.
She found her bag and pulled out clothes for her day, and then looked behind her to where Albert was watching her dress. “You all right?” she asked.
“I just…Yeah, I’m all right. Gotta work.” With those words, he headed out the door and off to do his chores.
Unsure what had just happened, Alice dressed and then went into the kitchen, noticing the ice box for the first time. Elizabeth had one in her home, but her family had never had one. It would be nice to keep food fresh for longer. Every modern kitchen should have one!
She found eggs in the ice box, a few potatoes in the pantry, and she started cutting up the potatoes to make fried eggs and potatoes for breakfast. It had always been one of her favorite things growing up, and she hoped Albert would like it as much as she did.
By the time Albert came back in with fresh eggs and a pail full of milk, Alice had the potatoes almost finished frying. “Coffee or milk with breakfast?” she asked. She’d planned to make a pot of coffee, even though she didn’t drink it herself, but she hadn’t been able to find a coffee pot.
“Just milk. I’m not really a coffee drinker. I’ve tried, but it just tastes too bitter for me.”
Alice smiled. “Me too. I looked for a coffeepot to make it for you, but I was planning on having milk with my breakfast.”
“And this is the reason that I’m sure we’ll get along.” He walked to her and kissed her softly. “Now don’t burn my eggs.”
She laughed. “I’ll do my best. Eggs are not my favorite thing to cook, but they’re my favorite breakfast, so I need to figure them out.” She flipped the fried potatoes onto two plates, and then started the eggs. “What did you eat for breakfast before I came along?”
“Whatever Mrs. H made. The only time I didn’t eat at my parents’ house was for the noon meal, and one of the men would make enough food for everyone. I’m not a cook at all.”
“I can understand that,” Alice said, flipping two perfect eggs onto the plate with his potatoes. She carried the plate to the table and then went back to fry her own. “I’ll be there in just a minute or two.”
He nodded, watching her work. It was odd to think they’d been strangers just forty-eight hours ago, and already it felt right to have her in his kitchen cooking his breakfast as if she’d done it a dozen times before.
When she joined him, they bowed their heads for their prayer, and she said, “I’m probably going to need to go to town for supplies soon.”
“If we can wait until Saturday, I’ll go with you.”
She stared at him blankly. “I don’t even know what day it is!”
He laughed. “You got here on Tuesday, so today is Thursday.”
“I’m sure we can wait two days. If all else fails, we’ll eat at Susan’s house.”
He shrugged. “I would be all right with doing that, but I’d like us to quickly start being able to do things on our own without their help.”
“Me too!” Alice didn’t like to think about being a burden on her sister and his father. It just didn’t feel right.
“Good. I’m glad we agree. You’ll probably have to start our kitchen garden in a couple of weeks.”
“So early?” she asked. “What if there’s a late freeze?”
“We’ve only had one freeze so far this year, and that was in January. We should be just fine.”
“All right. I’ll talk to Susan about what grows well here. Could you plow a section of the yard, so I can use it for my garden?”
He nodded. “I won’t do it myself, but I have a friend who will do it for you, and I’ll give him some beef to make up for it.”
“That sounds perfect,” she said. She looked around her. The house was bigger than she’d expected, but there still wasn’t a lot of cleaning to be done after what Susan and Mrs. H had done already. “I’ll spend part of the day with Susan. She wants us to sew together. After I get the dishes done, of course. Will you come home for lunch?”
He shook his head. “Nope. I’ll eat with my men.”
“Sounds good.” Alice wondered if she’d have a place in his life other than in his bed, but she didn’t think it was the right moment to ask him that. He’d said in his letter he’d be working long hours, and she had agreed to it by writing him back. No, she couldn’t start complaining about his hours just yet. Maybe next week. “What time will you be home for supper?”
“I’m usually done between six-thirty and seven,” he told her.
