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“Did they really talk about that?” Alice asked.
“Oh, yes. I sometimes heard them arguing. Susan was certain we’d both end up in prison if she didn’t do something about it.”
She chuckled. “But you didn’t!”
“No, not yet anyway.”
With him breaking the ice that way, she felt more comfortable working in silence for the rest of the evening, glad he knew how to make her feel at ease.
When it was time for bed, she had no problem changing in front of him, but when she was about to pull her nightgown over her head, he plucked it from her fingers and tossed it to the floor. “I have a feeling you won’t be needing that tonight,” he said, pulling her toward him.
“Is that so?” she asked.
Albert grinned. “Oh, yeah.”
*****
On Saturday, they finally went to get supplies. “What’s my budget?” Alice asked when Albert pulled up in front of the store.
“Just get everything we need, but not everything we want.”
She sighed. “So, if I feel like I need fabric for curtains?” She hated there were no curtains on their bedroom window. She felt like she was putting on a show, even though they’d never seen anyone outside the window.
“Then get some fabric.”
She frowned. “And if I feel like I need beautiful dishes for guests?”
“Rein yourself in.”
Alice felt like she understood then. “All right. Let me see what I can do.”
He jumped down from the wagon and helped her, and they went inside together. Almost immediately, he was flagged down by someone, and he stopped and talked to them, while she found what she needed in the store.
For the most part, she just purchased food, but she found some fabric for curtains, and a nice vase for some of the wildflowers she enjoyed picking. There was a small section of the store completely devoted to seeds, and she found herself choosing many of the different things, some she’d never even tasted. She was interested in growing a garden, and she figured it was worth it to try whatever she wanted. She even found some blackberry seeds, imagining the jams she would one day be able to make.
She and Susan had talked about putting in their kitchen gardens together and working on them as a team. As much as Alice hated weeding, she knew it would be a great deal more enjoyable with her sister.
She purchased several different types of canned goods since her garden wouldn’t be ready for several months, and a large slab of bacon for their breakfasts. By the end of her trip, she knew she’d chosen too many things, and she was standing looking at the counter, completely covered with her purchases, trying to decide what she should put back.
“Is that all you need?” Albert asked from behind her.
Alice turned to him. “All?”
“There’s nothing else? I figured you’d want curtains for the kitchen and a tablecloth to match. You seem to like those girly things.”
“I would like those things. May I choose a fabric and add it to my order?”
“I told you to get whatever you needed. Sounds like you need that.”
Alice was shocked at how much he was willing to spend on things she felt were luxuries. She’d had no idea she’d married a generous man.
After he had paid the merchant—she’d walked away when he gave the total, not wanting to even know how much she’d spent—someone helped him load the wagon, and they made the drive back toward home.
Just as they reached the edge of town, he stopped the wagon, jumped down, and helped her to her feet. “Let’s eat at the diner. You shouldn’t have to cook the noon meal after so much shopping.”
She gaped at him for a moment, but she wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. “I’d enjoy that.”
They went into the establishment and took a table back in one corner of the room. A waitress sashayed over to them, smiling coyly at Albert. “Well, if it isn’t the eldest Dailey boy.”
