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IN APRIL, THE GROUND thawed, and every farmer focused on plowing and planting his fields for the next harvest. Jan and Karl began the grueling task of breaking sod on Karl’s land to the north.
“We need more feed corn now that we have our hogs, three steers and ten cows—and their calves too—to feed in the fall, eh?” Karl was exhilarated by the growth of their livestock, and this mild rejoicing was as exuberantly as ever Karl expressed himself.
Two months later Jan and Karl mailed their proof papers to the land office in Fremont. They laid their hands on the letters before they sent them, thanking God for his grace and favor.
Elli smiled for her husband’s joy . . . and for a secret joy of her own.
—
DESPITE A DROUGHT THAT had begun the year before and had worsened over the winter, the Thoresens had done better than many of their neighbors, mainly because of their well-established herd of hogs. Even so, they had barely afforded the lumber and hardware to build Karl and Amalie’s house. They needed a good harvest this year and prayed for rain, as did their neighbors.
On a crisp morning a few days after sending the proof papers, Karl and Jan hosted the raising of Karl and Amalie’s house. Karl and Jan had laid the foundation even with Jan’s house, not far across the property line, and about the same distance from the barn as Jan and Elli’s house.
The Andersons brought along another family new to the neighborhood—Brian and Fiona McKennie and their little brood. Brian had claimed land to the west of the Andersons, a few miles closer to the growing town of RiverBend.
As if the ethnic mix of the community was not diverse enough, the McKennies were newly emigrated from Ireland. Fortunately, they knew some English; unfortunately, they spoke it with a heavily accented brogue. Of course, they knew no German, Swedish, or Norwegian.
In spite of the language barrier, Brian and Fiona were a smiling, happy couple. Brian set to work with the men, whistling a quick, merry tune as he did. Fiona, pregnant with her third child, bustled about with the other women, easily making new acquaintances.
Brian was a ruddy redhead; his oldest child, Meg, at age six, took after him with a bright complexion and deep auburn braids that hung down her slender back. Meg’s makeup could not have been more different from her mother’s curling black hair and black eyes, but the McKennie’s two-year-old son was the spit and image of Fiona.
The Thoresens, even reserved Karl, took to the McKennies and their cheerful ways. “I like them, Karl. These are Christian people,” Jan said with appreciation. “It is good to have another Christian family in the neighborhood.”
Karl nodded his agreement but pursed his lips. “Likely they are Catholic, Jan,” he answered quietly.
“Ja, likely they are,” Jan said, shrugging his shoulders. “But there is no Catholic church anywhere near. Maybe they would like to come to our church, eh?”
Karl shot his eyes to where Adolphe stood, carefully watching the work going on around him. “I would not mention it to Minister Veicht, Jan.”
“So, Adolphe would not welcome the McKennies, is that it?” Jan muttered darkly. “Is that now how we treat our neighbors? Is that how we show the love of God?”
“Jan, keep your tongue,” Karl shot back. “You are speaking of our minister!”
“Ja, and I will ask again—how did he get to be our minister? I would like to know! Was it ever put to a vote of the people?” Jan’s voice had risen, and several men had stopped working to listen.
“Shush, Jan!” Karl hissed. “People are listening!” Before he turned aside he muttered, “You should be more careful of your words lest someone hear you!”
“Maybe they should hear me, Karl! And I tell you—Tomas would not have stood around telling everyone what to do while never dirtying his hands.”
Jan curbed his tongue after his last outburst even though his heart was still hot in his breast. He knew most of the men within earshot would not have understood what he’d said; nevertheless, they surely would have recognized his ire.
He glanced around. Norvald caught his eye. “Ja, Norvald knows what I said,” Jan muttered.
His Swedish friend nodded once in his direction and then went back to work. Jan, however, as hard as he tried, could not find his peace again.
Lord, this man Adolphe has taken over our church and preaches only rules and regulations as ‘holiness,’ never encouragement or your love and grace, Jan fretted. I am having a hard time accepting his leadership.
He sighed as the Lord convicted him again regarding his temper. All right, Lord. I put it in your hands again, ja? I will let you deal with it in your time.
—
AFTER THE RAISING, Karl and Jan busied themselves framing the bedrooms and other interior rooms. Karl and Amalie’s house mirrored Jan and Elli’s—two stories, tall and narrow, with four small bedrooms upstairs and a bedroom, living room, kitchen, and pantry downstairs. Jan worked side by side with Karl to get the house to a place where Karl and his family could move in.
I am being selfish in this, I know, Lord, Jan confessed, but still, it will be a good thing for both our families when we have our own houses, ja?
Karl and Amalie had ordered Amalie her own cookstove and a larger stove for the living room. Money was tight, but by economizing elsewhere, Jan and Karl found what was needed. They set the stoves in place and plumbed their pipes.
Jan labored tirelessly, building the kitchen cabinets and doors in his carpentry shop out in the barn. Even with the house not quite complete, Karl was certain that they could move into the new house in another week or two.
The two Thoresen families went to bed one evening to the tumult of a much-needed spring rainstorm. Lightning flashed repeatedly and thunder shook the kitchen as they finished dinner.
“Ah, we thank you, God, for the rain!” Jan rejoiced. Thunder rumbled overhead and rain slapped the sides of the house. Then he added, speaking to Karl, “But I am glad we had your house raising three weeks ago!”
“I am glad we already did the milking, eh?” Karl chuckled. “And that all our livestock is under a good roof. I would rather sit in front of this warm fire than go out in such weather!”
Jan grinned. He was pleased to hear Karl joke about the storm. Since the raising, Jan had seen his brother happier and more relaxed.
I am glad to see my bror happy, Lord! Jan rejoiced.
—
ELLI WOKE IN THE NIGHT, not understanding why, but she was immediately wide awake. Their bedroom, with its windows shuttered against the night’s rain and cold, should have been quite dark.
She sat up and looked around, wondering if it was truly morning. Not that she saw daylight, but she could faintly make out their simple bedroom furnishings. Perhaps a full moon had risen?
Still confused, Elli climbed from their bed, went to the window, and slid it up. She loosened the shutters’ latch and opened them out a crack.
Across the field a great fire blazed. Karl and Amalie’s house, engulfed in flames, lit up the night sky.
—
JAN, KARL, AND SØREN battled the blaze into the morning hours. There never had been a chance of saving the house; it had been fully aflame when Elli’s screams had wakened them. They battled the fire so hot cinders would not jump to any of the sheds attached to the barn.
Karl hoped they could recover the heating and cookstoves. The coals from the fire would take hours to cool, but Karl could make out the shapes of the stoves through the rubble.
“We cannot afford to buy more lumber this year, not enough anyway,” Karl muttered. He hadn’t needed to say it; he and Jan had worked the numbers together and had already scrimped on other necessities to buy the materials for Karl’s house.
Jan put his hand on Karl’s shoulder. “I am sorry, Karl.”
They both were. It meant another year, at least, of Karl’s family sharing Jan and Elli’s house with them.
“To tell you the truth,” Karl said softly, “I didn’t know how Amalie would cope with the three little ones without Elli and Kristen. Sigrün is a big help. But still . . .”
Jan nodded. It was time to readjust expectations and attitudes, beginning with his own. It is all right, Lord. It is all right, he prayed over and over. I trust you.
“Lightning likely struck your house . . .” he speculated softly. Then the import of what he said dawned on him. As it did, he gasped and prayed aloud, “Lord! We are grateful! So grateful that Karl and Amalie and their barn were not in their house last night!”
Karl stared at Jan, struck dumb by the revelation. “My God!” He staggered and Jan caught him, lowered him to his knees.
Karl choked on his sobs, hiding his eyes behind his hands. “Thank you, my God! Ach! I thank you for your mercy!”
The two men knelt in the soot and ash together, praying and thanking God.
—
THAT EVENING WHEN THE children were abed, the adults gathered around the table. They were still sober—shocked and stunned from the loss of the house, but grateful for God’s mercy.
“I wish to say something to us all, something important,” Jan said softly. Elli, Amalie, and Karl turned their attention to him.
“I have been . . .” Jan’s throat closed up on him and he had to swallow before more words would come out. “I have been . . . too mindful of what is mine and Elli’s and what is yours, Karl and Amalie. I have been . . . too concerned about my own needs and wants. I—”
Again, Jan’s tongue seemed to stick in his mouth, and tears were close to the surface. “I want you to know, Karl and Amalie, that I am sorry I have insisted on my own way, on my ‘rights.’ If I have made you feel unwelcome in this house, I ask your forgiveness.”
Karl and Amalie were silent, but their eyes were bright with moisture. Jan continued, “I ask you to consider this house as much yours as it is ours—in every way. I—”
Karl’s hand touched Jan’s arm. “Bror, we thank you. From our hearts, we thank you. But it is not necessary. The things you and I quarreled over in the past needed to be fixed, ja? And haven’t we been better friends, better brothers for it?”
Karl swallowed, moved by emotion. “Our great God knows our needs. If it takes another year to build another house, we will patiently wait for it. While we wait . . . we are thankful for you sharing your home with us.”
Elli wiped her eyes with her apron and Amalie sniffled. Jan and Karl studied each other, a new understanding blooming between them.
~~**~~
