On Tuesday afternoon, during the second week of Ralph's confinement, Leann checked on him while he napped. She gently placed her hand across his forehead. His skin felt cool to her touch. His jaw looked normal, and the swelling in his private area diminished.
She decided to pick the apples while Ralph slept. They were ripening quickly, and some needed picking before the birds and squirrels ate them. She found an empty bushel basket in the cellar and made her way to the orchard. Working for over an hour, she filled the basket to the brim. The full basket would be hard to carry, so she decided to leave it in the orchard until Jim came from school. He could help her carry it to the cellar and store the apples in a bin.
Some of the finer apples would be shipped by train to Sonny in St. Louis, where he sold them or shipped them down the Mississippi to other towns. Leann and Ralph needed the money so she didn't want any apples going to waste.
When she returned to the house, she recognized Joan Smith's horse and buggy in the front yard. Joan had come early if she wished to visit Jim. The children were still in school. Upon entering the house, Leann heard Ralph's deep voice coming from the bedroom, followed by a woman's small laugh. She felt the heat of anger rising in her face. The nerve of the woman, going into my husband's sick room without me being there.
By the sound of Ralph's voice, he enjoyed Joan's company. Leann bustled through the bedroom door. Joan sat on the chair beside Ralph's bed. She was dressed in the usual fine manner of a shop proprietor, with her golden hair neatly piled under one of her latest creations. She looked stunningly pretty. Ralph sat up in the bed looking at a book. Thank goodness he had his nightshirt on. Sometimes he removed his shirt during the warm afternoons. Leann brushed the loose strands of hair from her face and smoothed her dress.
Neither Ralph nor Joan noticed her until she spoke. Not being able to hide the agitation, Leann said, "Hello, Joan."
Joan and Ralph turned toward her. Her face felt flushed with work and anger. Ralph stared and Joan's mouth formed an O.
"Hello, Leann," Joan said after an awkward silence. "I knocked on the door and Ralph called for me to come in."
"You must have knocked awfully hard, because he was asleep when I went outside." Leann tried to calm her shaking voice.
"I was awake. I had to get up," Ralph explained, then stopped. He didn't want to say in front of Joan that he got up to relieve himself.
She forced herself to ask, trying to keep the edge to her voice under control. "Would you care for some tea?"
"No thank you. I must be going." Joan rose from the chair. "I wanted to bring the children a toy and Ralph this book on native birds. I heard they were sick, but have not been able to visit."
"Thank you," Ralph said with a warm smile to Joan. "This is a very pretty book. We'll all enjoy it, but won't you stay until the kids get home? They would love to see you."
Joan's eyes narrowed at Leann. "No, I need to get back. Glad you're feeling better, Ralph." She rose to leave. "Leann, good day."
Leann made way for Joan to pass through the bedroom door and caught a whiff of her perfume. Leann gave Ralph a hard look before leaving the room. His mouth formed a firm line, and his jaw twitched. Surely, he understood why she was upset.
After Joan left, Leann stayed in the kitchen to fix a snack for the children. They would be home from school soon. She didn't want to face Ralph in anger, but he called to her. She put the cookies on the table and went to the bedroom, standing just inside the door.
"What was that all about with Joan?" His dark eyes flashed.
She didn't know how to explain acting like a jealous lover. Without answering, she diverted her eyes from his and made a pretense of straightening the wrinkles from her skirt, then brushed the loose wisps of hair from her face.
"Come here." He motioned. She moved slowly toward the bed. He patted the place beside him. His eyes softened when a smile broke across his lips. She sat down. He took her hand. "Are you jealous of Joan?"
She thought for a moment, searching his eyes. "I didn't like her being in here with you without me. It's improper."
His smile vanished, but he squeezed her hand. "Look, you're my one and only love. I've loved you most of my life. There never has been, and never will be, anyone for me but you. No other woman can hold a candle to you in my eyes." He lifted her hand and brushed the back of it with his mouth. "Besides, Joan's in love with Sonny."
"How do you know that? Has Sonny said something to you?" She didn't believe Sonny talked to Ralph about Joan. Sonny kept his personal affairs very private.
"She's talked to me about Sonny." He turned away to look out of the window.
So the woman had been talking to her husband without her knowledge. "When did you talk to Joan?" She pulled his chin to face her.
"Look, Leann, Joan's lived in Cuba for nine years now. She brought Jim to us. I've had occasion to talk to her about Jim and Sonny. You're being unreasonable. I can't avoid the woman completely. She comes out here to visit Jim all the time." His mouth tightened.
"But I'm always around when she comes."
Ralph's jaw twitched. They stared at each other with fiery darts flashing between them, until Leann realized she might indeed be unreasonable. She had never been jealous of Ralph before, doubting his love for her. What was she thinking?
She smiled. "I didn't know I was so jealous, but I guess I am."
He pulled her close, kissing her with intense passion and longing. They had not been intimate since his illness. The noise of happy children riding into the yard caught their attention, but she couldn't let go of Ralph, and clung to him with moistened eyes. He kissed her forehead then her eyelids. Using all of her strength, she broke away to see about the kids.
"Joan left a bag of toys over here by the bed. Send the kids in to get them," he said when she started out the door. "And come back, soon, so we can finish our discussion."
Leann turned back smiling and feeling reassured of her husband's love. "Okay. We'll be anxious to see the bird book she brought too."
That night, Leann felt Ralph's eyes following her every move while she undressed for bed and brushed her hair. She looked at him in the mirror. He indeed watched with a look of desire.
"Hon, why don't you get some hot water for me to shave? I have a stubble, and it may be irritating to you in a little while," Ralph said, a grin breaking across his face as he rubbed his chin.
She smiled at the suggestion, went to his bedside, and kissed him. Running a hand over his fine square jaw, she said, "It is rough. I'll be right back." She donned a robe and hastily went toward the kitchen to get warm water from the stove.
Seeing light streaming from under Katy's door, she went to check on her. Katy sat up in bed reading a book by lamplight. Moving to her bedside, Leann said, "Katy, it's time to blow out the light, and go to sleep. You need rest for tomorrow."
"Okay, Mama. Just one more minute," Katy answered without taking her eyes from the page.
"No one more minutes. Go to sleep now. You have school tomorrow." She kissed Katy gently on the forehead, took the book from her hands, laid it on the table, and blew out the lamp.
"I love you, Mama." Katy snuggled under the cover.
Leann tucked the quilt around Katy's chin, kissing her daughter one more time on the sweet forehead. "I love you, too, dear Katy. Say your prayers."
Leann left Katy's room to look in on Jim and Jesse. Both boys slept. Toby lay on the bed at Jesse's feet. The dog needed a bath. She could smell the animal from the doorway. Leann frowned and admonished herself for not paying more attention to the boys before they went to bed. Toby could stay outside, now that Jesse was over the mumps. Moving from one boy to the other, she gazed into the sweet faces of her sons. She pushed the ever-present lock of hair from Jim's forehead and removed a dog hair from the corner of Jesse's mouth.
"He kissed the dog. That boy!" she exclaimed under her breath, then grabbed Toby by the scruff of the neck and pulled the sleepy dog off Jesse's bed. Toby went obediently down the hall to the back door and then outside. "Jesse can play with you outside from now on, Toby." The dog scurried under the house.
Leann entered the kitchen and poured warm water from the kettle on the stove into a bowl. Slinging a towel over her shoulder, she placed the bowl on a tray along with Ralph's razor, a hand mirror, and bar of soap. The routine was the same she had gone through every day of Ralph's convalescence.
At first, when he felt so badly, she had shaved him, but for the past few days, he managed the task by himself while she held the mirror. "I feel helpless when you shave me," he told Leann.
"I like to help you shave. It makes me feel useful." She did enjoy shaving the stubble from his strong chin and jaw then down his broad muscular neck.
He pulled her close, kissing her fervently with soap all over his face. "You are never useless to me."
She smiled, wiping her face with his towel. "Okay, shave yourself from now on." She pretended to be irritated, but felt loved and needed.
When she entered the bedroom with the heavy tray, Ralph sat up in the bed, waiting for her. His nightshirt and drawers lay on the floor beside the bed. The tan of his skin had paled during the two weeks of confinement. Taking in his strong, broad chest covered with dark hair, and his muscled arms and shoulders, she kicked the door closed.
"Jim and Jesse are asleep, but Katy just blew out her lamp," she said, moving toward the bed with heat surging through her body.
"They've had a busy day. She'll be asleep in a minute." He watched her with intense eyes, while she made her way around the bed to sit beside him and place the tray of shaving articles in his lap.
She held the mirror, watching as he removed the prickly stubble. He caught her eye and winked, then stared at her lips. She smiled. Her heart fluttered with anticipation of whatever he had in store for them considering his recent illness.
"I'll be ready to get out of this bed tomorrow." He wiped his face with the towel.
"Are you sure, Ralph? You don't want to get up and around too soon." She was so afraid he would develop the kind of complication Dr. Reynolds warned them about.
"I tell you what." He handed the towel and tray to her. "Put these things on the washstand, and come to bed. I'll show you how ready I am."
With shaking hands, she readily placed the tray on the washstand, blew out the lamp, slipped out of her nightgown, and crawled beneath the warm quilts snuggling close to her husband. He wrapped strong arms around her, making her feel safe. She felt so very happy he was well and whole again, but deep in her heart of hearts, she would miss him being near every day.
***
The sun broke over the horizon and filtered through the window, waking Leann the next morning. She heard a flock of crows cawing in the cornfield. Feeling a chill on the other side, she realized Ralph was gone from their bed. Panic choked her, but then she remembered the promise he made to get up and about today. She knew his eagerness to be on with the business of harvesting the tobacco crop.
Their families had done a great job in getting most of the crop into the barn to dry, but about a third of the plants remained to be cut, spiked on poles, and hung in the barn. Leann remembered all the work left to be done after the tobacco was hung to dry. Ralph would cure it, by lighting small fires with low flames and a lot of smoke throughout the barn. He used wood chips from oak trees and sawdust from the mill in town for the fires. The tobacco leaves would dry to a golden yellow.
When the weather became just right with the humidity high enough so the leaves didn't crack and break, Ralph and his hired helpers would take them down from the drying racks and place them on the floor of the barn. They would strip the golden leaves from the stalks and stack them in bundles or hands of eight to ten each. Leann and the children would help wrap the hands in large pieces of burlap, ready to send by rail to Sonny in St. Louis. The family finances fared better since Ralph began growing tobacco on the farm like Sonny suggested several years ago.
Leann jumped from the bed, donned her heavy robe, then ran barefoot to the back door and looked for Ralph. As she suspected, he stood in the tobacco field surveying the remainder of the crop. She rushed back to the bedroom, hurriedly cast the robe aside and dressed, stopped at the back door long enough to slip on her outside shoes, then opened the door and rushed out to join him.
"Hi." Ralph smiled, placing an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.
"Good morning. It's good to see you up." She felt happy and comfortable in his embrace. He kissed the top of her head.
"Do you see the hill over there? The one with all the trees?" He pointed to a thickly forested hill on the edge of the field. "I'm going to start clearing it this winter, and have the logs made into lumber. We're gonna build a fine new home on that hill. Now that the barn's finished, I can start on the house."
"I would love a new house, but the old one suits me just fine." The oaks on the hill were beginning to show their fall colors. "Those oaks are so very beautiful. I hate to see them cut down."
"The house is getting pretty cramped, and with the large family you're wanting, we'll need more room."
She looked up at him. He still gazed at the hill. He seemed to be reassuring her all would be okay with his health. She put her arm around his waist and snuggled closer.
God, I pray he's healed completely. I won't fret if he can't father more children. Just let him be well. He's my life.
He turned to look down into her eyes, reading the very thoughts of her mind. "Having mumps didn't keep Sonny from fathering kids, and it won't hinder me either."
She was taken aback with his words. He actually voiced aloud what both knew in their hearts to be true. She could only say, "Ralph?"
"Leann, I agree with Tell Springer. The older Jim gets, the more he looks like Sonny. Don't worry, you're the only one on this earth who will hear me say so."
She thought for a minute. "He does have Wade written all over him. But you're a Wade, too."
"We all know he isn't my natural son or Junior's. Who does that leave in the Wade family? Certainly not Pa." He laughed.
Toby licked Ralph's hand. Neither one had seen the dog come up to them. "Well, hello, boy. Where did you come from?" Ralph asked.
Leann released her husband to look back at the house. Ralph followed her gaze. Jesse stood in the door. He watched them for a minute, and then turned quickly back inside the house. Leann knew he went to wake up Katy and Jim. As she suspected, in a moment Katy, followed by Jim and then Jesse, burst through the back door and started running toward the field. All three were still in nightclothes and barefoot.
Katy yelled, "Papa, you're up. You're out of bed."
"Yeah! Papa you're out of bed," Jim called.
Katy got to them first, followed by Jim. They hugged Ralph's legs and waist. Jesse arrived at the scene, but couldn't get through Jim and Katy to hug his father. Ralph picked the little boy up, snuggled him close, and patted the other children on the head.
Jesse held Ralph's face in his small hands and looked into his father's eyes. "I'm so glad you're well, Papa."
"I'm glad, too, Jesse. The Lord is good to help me get over those mumps." Ralph gave Jesse a kiss on the cheek. Jesse put his arms around Ralph's neck and squeezed. "You'd think I've been gone away for a month, the way you kids are acting."
Leann smiled at the children. They were happy to have their father back, and she her husband.
"You've been gone a long time, Papa." Jim and Katy grabbed Ralph around the middle.
Ralph smiled, put Jesse down, and then gave Jim and Katy a squeeze. "Come on, let's go back to the house. I'm hungry this morning."
Katy and Jim grabbed Ralph's hands to walk beside him while Jesse looked on. Leann took Jesse by the hand. The kids swung Ralph's hands. Jesse did the same with Leann's.
The children laughed and said in a sing-song, "Papa's out of bed, Papa's out of bed."
"My goodness, these children are happy to see you up this morning. They really missed you, and so did I." She turned to look at her husband with happiness and relief flooding her heart.
He smiled. "They can't be no happier than me."
The family made their way into the house. Leann instructed the children to get ready for school while she made breakfast. She told Ralph that he should take things easy today. Sonny had promised to come help with the chores. He was coming every day, until Ralph got back on his feet. She felt thankful her brother-in-law took time away from his own business to help them.
Sonny may be a rascal, but he had a good and generous heart. His family lacked for nothing. He took care of them all. Sonny made sure Joe and Katherine had hired help on their farm after Joe Jr. left home. He went into a partnership with Joe Jr. to start a horse farm for breeding and selling horses. Sonny helped his brother purchase more land and build the necessary stables and barns for the animals. He looked for good breeding stock on his travels, taking only a small percentage of the profits. He purchased tobacco, corn, cotton, and apples from the farmers in the area, giving his family top dollar for their produce. Leann and Ralph were more prosperous because of Sonny. They could even plan to build a new house.
When they tried to thank him, Sonny said these were business deals. He made a good profit on all the produce he bought in the area. Now, he came every day to help around the farm and worked with other members of the family to get the tobacco harvested. Leann realized she and Ralph would always be in his debt, and she didn't like the idea. She didn't want to be beholding to him for anything, but Ralph needed help, and Sonny was available and willing. Others in the family assisted when they could, but had their own farms and families to tend. She would have to make peace with the fact that she would be indebted to Ralph's wayward brother the rest of her life, and after all, he gave them Jim.
Ralph sat on a chair at the table while Leann cooked breakfast and filled him in on the activities of the children. He looked tired, probably needing to go back to bed, but she wouldn't say a word. Surely, he realized it would take time to regain all of his strength. She determined to let him decide his own limitations.
He smiled when she talked about their children. "We have some fine kids, don't we, Leann?" His eyelids drooped over dull eyes.
"Yes we do. We are blessed." She poured a cup of steaming coffee into his cup. He sipped slowly.
The three children came scrambling to the table, giving their papa another hug before sitting down. "Papa, don't forget the scripture verse," Katy reminded him.
Ralph made a habit of reading a verse or two from the Bible before saying grace at the breakfast table. "Thanks for reminding me, Katy. Hand me the Bible. I think it's in the bedroom."
Katy jumped down from the table and rushed to the bedroom where Ralph had spent the last two weeks. She soon returned with the family Bible, handing it to her papa.
He turned to a bookmarked page. "I was reading these verses yesterday. 'If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.' I put the word, body, in place of, land, and prayed to the Lord. I asked the Lord to forgive me for being so prideful and thinking I didn't need anyone but myself, not even Him. Then I asked Him to heal me. He answered my prayer, and I'm up and around today."
Leann reached across the table, touching the calloused hand resting on the Bible. He smiled at her. She returned his smile as her heart filled with thankfulness. Ralph bowed his head to pray. The family did likewise.
"Thank You for being so good and faithful to Your promises, Lord, and thank You for this food," was all he said.