Chapter 16

By now in their new land, the Baydas think they have reason to feel at least half secure. Their main worry all summer has been whether they’d be able to prepare enough provisions to survive a winter. They still don’t know if Mr. Kuzyk exaggerates when he talks about Canadian winters, but at least it seems that firewood is limitless; they shouldn’t freeze. They have been luckier than most people, to have a proper house built so they won’t have to hunch down in a buda like bears their first winter. But they still don’t have a plough. Tato decides they will borrow one from Mr. Kuzyk. They’ll need the harvest wages to buy enough flour to last the winter. They’ll need dried fruit, sugar, and medicines if anyone gets sick. Tato and Dido will want a winter’s supply of tobacco. And Tato says it wouldn’t be right not to pay off the debt to Sam Zitchka.

It’s such a nice time after harvest. Mama says that families will come to the festival even if they won’t have a priest there. They will prepare baskets of fruit, vegetables from the
gardens, even if there won’t be a priest to give the blessings.

The Bayda garden has produced. They have been truly fortunate. They have a milk cow, and the thirteen chicks that hatched in May are already laying eggs. But Mama has been wondering if there will be grain enough to last the winter for them. Surely there will be. The garden plots of barley and wheat produced enough seed to plant at least one or two acres next spring. They’ll be pushing it to have two acres ready for planting. There should be enough extra grain to feed fourteen chickens through the winter.

This time of year it’s not even that bad to be out in the bush clearing the land. The mosquitoes are gone. So why shouldn’t the Bayda’s feel like celebrating? On top of everything else, the highbush cranberries are ripe for the picking.

Late in the afternoon, Gabriel Desjarlais rides into the yard. He’s brought a haunch of venison. Brovko runs in circles around the horse, barking, and sniffing at the meat.

“Stop it!” Andrei says to the dog.

“Where is everybody?”

“I was in the field picking roots,” Andrei says. “Dido’s still out there.”

“Where’s your mother?”

“She’s berry picking, and Tato’s gone to Kuzyk’s to see about borrowing the plough.”

“I’ve brought you some meat,” Gabriel says.

“Marie’s in the house...she can cook it for supper. I’ll take it to her.”

“Here,” Gabriel says, handing it down to Andrei.

Brovko jumps. “Quit it!” Andrei says, pushing at the dog. He takes the meat inside, then runs to join Gabriel by the barn.

“Do you think he’ll grow as tall as Raven?” Andrei says. Vityr’s inside the corral and he approaches the rail, rubbing noses with Gabriel’s horse.

Andrei continues with his question. “Don’t you think he’s growing?”

Gabriel pats Vityr on the neck. “I’m sure,” Gabriel says, “he’ll be as big as Raven.”

Andrei plants his foot on the bottom rail. “Are you busy on Saturday?” he asks.

“Why do you ask?”

“We’re having a festival,” Andrei says. “Marie’s going to be in a play. She wants you to be in it too.”

Gabriel starts to laugh. He slaps his knee, asking questions and laughing, each question louder than the first. “You want me to be in a play? A festival? A Ukrainian festival? Marie wants me to act in a play at a Ukrainian festival?”

Marie is standing in the doorway of the house a hundred feet away, a knife and a half-peeled potato in her hands.

“What are you saying?” she shouts. Gabriel turns to face her.

“You want me to be in a play?”

“I never said anything of the kind,” Marie says, and she throws the potato in Andrei’s direction and stomps back into the house.

“Did I say something wrong?” Gabriel smiles at Andrei, and they walk to the house. Before he gets there, Marie’s back in the doorway.

“I baked some buns,” she says. “Come inside. And you, Andrei. Maybe I’ll give you one, even if you don’t deserve it.”

They sit around the big trunk in the middle of the east room. They shouldn’t be eating in here. The east room is to be used only for special occasions. It will be used for Christmas and Easter, and when visitors come. Gabriel’s a vistor, but Mama might not think he’s any special kind of visitor, like Mr. Kuzyk and his mother, or like a priest. But Mama might invite Gabriel to this room. She would be thankful for the meat.

“The last thing I want to do,” Marie says, “is act in Dido’s play.”

“Will you, if I go in it?” Gabriel asks.

“You?” Marie stares at him. “You’d actually take a part in a Ukrainian play?”

“Why not?”

“Sure, why not?” Andrei asks. “And Dido has a part for Chi Pete. At our festivals we have music, and dancing too. Dido plays his flute, and he wants the Smuk boys to dance.”

“I’ll ask Uncle Moise to come. He plays the violin. You haven’t seen dancing until you’ve seen the Red River Jig, and heard Uncle Moise play.”

“Dido will tell us what he has in mind. He’s been planning all week. After supper we can start practicing.” Andrei finishes a second bun. “How long until supper?” he asks Marie. “I have to tell Dido when to come in from the field.”

“Tell him in one hour. Go back out and help,” Marie says. “I don’t want you under my feet when I have work to do.” She smiles at Gabriel.

“She’ll get you peeling potatoes,” Andrei says as he leaves.