Chapter Thirty-Three #2
“We got four eggs!” she said, lifting it, her face bright with a gap-toothed grin. She’d lost one of her baby teeth t’other day.
We gathered around to look in the basket. Sure enough, there were four large, brown eggs, nestled there in the checkered cloth.
“Well, my goodness!” Oscar exclaimed, tousling Lizzie’s brown hair. “That’s enough for an omelet. Do you like omelets, Lizzie?”
Lizzie scrunched up her nose. “I don’t know. I ain’t never had one.”
Oscar stepped back and put a hand to his chest, his expression one of surprise.
“Never had an omelet? Why, that’s shocking.” He turned to me. “Jimmy, Lizzie’s never had an omelet.”
“Neither have I,” Peter said, not wanting to miss out. He was at the sink, filling and refilling the tin cup, and drinking the fresh water from the pump. He placed the cup on the counter and came o’er to us.
“Well, now, is that a fact?” I said, glancing between them.
“Yes, sir,” they answered.
“I suppose I’ll have to make one, then. I can use this brand-new stove, if your momma don’t mind not bein’ the first to try it.”
Cal laughed, sitting on the old settee that Miss June had provided and cuddling with Sam. “Be my guest—and thank you, kindly.”
“Did someone milk pretty Gwendolyn this mornin’? I’m gonna need some fresh milk to mix with the eggs, and salt and pepper, if you’ve got it,” I said.
Miss June indicated a small stone pitcher with a folded cloth o’er the top, that was sitting on a lower shelf of the counter.
“Peter milked Gwen this morning,” Miss June said, “with Lizzie’s help.”
“I petted her and made sure she wasn’t mad about it,” Lizzie said.
Maggie, who had taken the pup from Miss June and was leaning up against the counter, said, “Most cows don’t mind bein’ milked. Takes the pressure off their teats. Why, they need to be milked every morning and evening.”
“All right,” Peter said, echoed by Lizzie. “We’ll do that.”
“Why, you can even milk her three times a day if you want, and if you can use the fresh milk,” I said.
“You could milk her in the morning, then late afternoon, and again in the late evening. That might be a wise thing to do, since you got five mouths to feed—and since three of you are still growin’. ”
I wasn’t sure where this knowledge came from, except that I’d grown up on a farm, way back when, before the gang, before the killin’—and way before Oscar.
“I expect we can manage that,” Maggie said. “Then we won’t need to worry ’bout keeping the morning milk fresh all the day, since we’ll get more at suppertime.”
“True.”
“I’d like to learn how to milk the cow,” Cal said. “Then, if we all know how, there won’t be a lack of hands available to do it. I reckon ’tis gonna take a lot of work to get this place up and runnin’. And we’ll all have to get along together. You ready to do that, Peter? Lizzie?”
“Yes, Momma. We want to help,” Lizzie said, grabbing Cal’s skirts and cuddling up to her. The absolute adoration in that child’s gaze was heartwarming to see.
“Yes, Momma,” Peter said, with a smile. “I’m strong, and I can help Miss Maggie build and fix stuff, I reckon.”
“Yes, I’m sure you can, Peter,” Cal said. “You’ve already been the biggest help to me, and I do thank you for it.”
Peter stood straighter. “Well, ain’t I the man of the house? I gotta be strong and protect the rest of you.”
He seemed puffed up with himself, which on the one hand was pleasing to see, but on the other hand, ’twasn’t fair that he thought he was better’n Cal or Lizzie, because he was a boy.
I was about to say something when Oscar beat me to it. He was leaning against the counter beside Maggie, petting wee Teddy, who rested happily in her arms, and he eyed the youngster with a serious air.
“You don’t gotta be the man of the house, Peter.
You’re ten years old. I think, between Maggie and your momma, you got enough strength around this place.
” He put a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Now, you’re strong, I know that, and you’re capable—’course you are.
You been helpin’ your momma manage for a long time, and that’s mighty fine of you.
But now Maggie’s here to help out, and you need to enjoy bein’ young and carefree for a time yet.
” He glanced at Cal and Maggie, who seemed to appreciate what he was saying to Peter.
“I reckon if you can keep Lizzie and Samuel safe and entertained, that would help your momma out the most. And they’ll ask for your help when they need it, I’m sure.
But you ain’t the man of this house yet, and even when you become that, you need to know that Maggie and your momma are quite capable of runnin’ things. ”
Peter looked sober, and he nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“You understand me? Don’t put your childhood behind you just yet, and don’t look at men as stronger’n women, cause they ain’t. Women are plenty strong, and menfolk shouldn’t beat them down they way they often do.”
I cleared my throat, and I had to look away. ’Twas touching to see Oscar protect for Peter what he’d never had—that precious childhood that he’d had to leave behind awful early. My gaze met Miss June’s, and she seemed to be thinking the same.
“I won’t, Oscar. I promise.”
“That’s good,” Oscar said. He stood and gave Peter’s shoulder a pat, then made a grand gesture with a bow, to invite me to the stove.
“Well, Jimmy, you better start cookin’, else these here children are gonna get mighty upset. Can you imagine? They ain’t never had an omelet before! The injustice of it!”
I shook my head with amusement at my husband’s theatrics and made my way to the basket of eggs that was sitting on the counter.
I happened to glance at Trick, and I noticed that she was watchin’ Cal in a way that made me wonder if there was more to their friendship than she was admitting to—or p’raps would be very soon.