Eleven

Gerda and Olina were hanging clothes on the line when they noticed a horse-drawn surrey turn from the country road and start up the long drive to the house. With her right hand, Gerda shaded her eyes from the bright sunlight and gazed at the approaching vehicle.

Olina removed a wooden peg-shaped clothespin from her mouth and secured a sheet to the rope line. “Is that someone you know?”

“The surrey belongs to the Braxtons.” Gerda picked up another pillowcase from the laundry basket. “It looks as if Mrs. Braxton is driving, and she has another woman with her. Did Moder say anything this morning at breakfast about expecting company?”

“I didn’t hear her.” Olina stopped and, while Gerda hung the final piece of laundry on the line, watched the two women as they moved closer and closer to the house.

Gerda picked up the empty laundry basket. “I thought maybe I wasn’t paying attention. Come on. We don’t often get unexpected company.”

The young women went in through the back door before the knock sounded on the front. Mrs. Nilsson looked up from the stove, where she was stirring a pot of stew.

“Now who can that be?” She patted a stray lock of hair into place and started untying her apron strings. “Did you see anyone drive up?”

“Mrs. Braxton and another woman,” Olina answered while Gerda hung the laundry basket on a hook beside the back door.

Gerda turned to her mother. “I think it might be her sister-in-law. The one who is married to Mr. Braxton’s brother.”

Mrs. Nilsson brushed her hands down her skirt to smooth it. “The one from Denver?” When Gerda frowned and glanced at Olina, she stopped talking.

“I forgot they were coming to town for a visit.” Mrs. Nilsson started toward the front door.

“Denver?” Olina looked at Gerda. “Is he the man who owns the store where Lars went to work when he moved to Denver?”

Gerda slowly nodded, not taking her gaze from her friend’s face.

Olina took a deep breath. “I think I’ll go to my room.” She hurried through the hall and up the stairs before Mrs. Nilsson had invited her guests into the house.

❧

“Do come in.” Mrs. Nilsson opened the door wide and gestured toward the parlor.

The two women preceded her into the room. After sitting on the sofa, they started removing their gloves.

Mrs. Nilsson sat in her favorite rocker. “It’s always a nice surprise to have guests come to your door. Besides, I want to know how Lars is doing.”

Mrs. Braxton glanced at her sister-in-law, who said, “He was fine when we left Denver.”

“Actually. . .” Mrs. Braxton looked around. “We were hoping to talk to Gerda and Olina.”

Gerda was starting up the stairs to check on Olina when she heard her own name spoken. She came back down the steps and entered the parlor.

“Gerda is right here.” Mrs. Nilsson looked at her. “Do you know where Olina is?”

“She went upstairs.” Gerda sat in the straight chair where she could see both the staircase and the other women in the parlor.

“Let me go put some tea to steep while you talk to Gerda.” Mrs. Nilsson started toward the kitchen. “Then I’ll go see about Olina.”

❧

Olina was standing at her favorite place beside the window, watching two birds with their babies in a nest in the tree by the barn, when she heard a soft knock on her door. She had been expecting someone, but she had figured it would be Gerda, not her mother. Gerda always knocked harder. Olina glanced one more time at the industrious birds before she started toward the door. I wish I could be like you. You don’t seem to have a worry in the world.

Olina took a deep breath before she opened the door and peeked around the edge. “Yes?”

“The ladies would like to see you and Gerda.” Mrs. Nilsson’s compassionate look went to Olina’s heart. “But you don’t have to come down. . .if you don’t want to.”

Olina sighed. “It’s okay. I have to face people sooner or later.” She fluffed her hair where the kerchief had mashed it while she was hanging up the clothes. “I’m feeling better since I told your family everything last week.” She stepped through the door and closed it behind her.

Mrs. Nilsson put her arm around Olina’s waist. “I’m proud of you, Olina.”

They went down the stairs together. When they entered the parlor, Mrs. Braxton looked up eagerly.

“Olina, there you are.” She stood and took Olina’s hand in both of hers. “My sister-in-law wanted to meet you two.”

Olina looked at the other woman still sitting on the sofa. The woman was smiling at her. Olina wondered how much she might know about what had happened, if she knew that Olina had come to America to marry Lars.

“Olina, this is Sophia.” Mrs. Braxton took Olina by the arm and led her farther into the room. “She was wondering how long it would take you and Gerda to make her some dresses.”

Olina looked at Gerda. This was what they were hoping for. “How many dresses are we talking about?”

Sophia Braxton rose from where she was sitting. “We’re going to be here in Litchfield for a week before we return to Denver. We were in Chicago, but I didn’t see any clothes there that could compare with the dress you made Marja.” She looked at her sister-in-law. “Without a dressmaker, I can’t get clothes that fit as well as her dress does. I would like to have as many dresses as you can make during the week we are here. I understand that you brought several European fashions with you when you came.”

Olina wondered if she looked as surprised as Gerda did. How many dresses could they make in a week? They didn’t know.

Marja looked from one girl to the other. “I have an idea.”

“What?” Olina and Gerda both said at once.

Marja clapped her hands before clasping them under her chin. “You girls could stay in town this week. That way you would be close if you need to do any fitting.”

Olina was amazed. She would have never thought of that.

“But where would they stay?” Mrs. Nilsson looked worried.

“They could stay at the hotel.” Sophia stood up. “What a wonderful idea. Adolph could rent the room next to ours. I think it’s empty.”

The idea presented interesting possibilities to Olina. If all they did that week was sew, they might make quite a bit of money.

Marja chuckled. “I’m full of ideas. The price on treadle sewing machines has dropped, so we ordered one for the store. It came last week. Maybe you girls could use it. I’ve heard that you can sew much faster that way.”

Olina looked at Gerda. Sew with a machine? She had never used one. All the dresses she had made were by hand. “I wouldn’t know how to use it.”

“It has a manual.” Marja patted Olina’s arm. “We could learn how to use it together. That would help Mr. Braxton and me sell more of the machines, if we know how well they work.”

It would be a change from staying on the farm. Maybe it was not a bad idea. Olina turned toward Mrs. Nilsson.

“Do you think Mr. Nilsson would mind?”

“We could ask him.”

❧

When the men came in for dinner, Gerda and Olina had a hard time keeping their questions to themselves. They wanted to blurt out what Mrs. Braxton had said, but they knew they needed to wait. It seemed as if the men took an eternity washing up, but finally, they were all seated around the table. After the blessing, Mrs. Nilsson started passing food around the table.

“We had some visitors today.” She smiled at the girls as she made the casual comment. “Marja Braxton and her sister-in-law Sophia came by.”

Mr. Nilsson put a large scoop of gravy on his mashed potatoes, then passed the gravy boat along to Gustaf. “What did Mrs. Braxton have to say? Did she have any news of Lars?” After realizing what he had said, Mr. Nilsson blushed and looked at Olina.

Mrs. Nilsson took a bite of her baked chicken. She chewed and swallowed it before answering. “She said he was fine when she left Denver. She didn’t come to see me. She wanted to talk to the girls.”

Mr. Nilsson looked first at Gerda, then Olina. “Why would she want to talk to our lovely girls?”

Gerda giggled. “She wants us to sew for her sister-in-law.”

“You remember when the girls made the dress for Marja?” Mrs. Nilsson put her hand on her husband’s arm. “They did such a good job that she recommended them to Sophia.”

Mr. Nilsson nodded. “Good work speaks for itself.”

“They want the girls to spend the week in town, so they can sew all week for Sophia.”

The girls held their breath while they waited for Mr. Nilsson to answer. However, they knew he couldn’t be rushed.

Mr. Nilsson thought for a moment. “That might not be a bad idea. Where would they stay? Do the Braxtons have enough room for all the extra people?”

“Well.” Mrs. Nilsson took a drink of water. “The Braxtons’ living quarters are small, so Adolph and Sophia are staying at the hotel. They want to rent the room next to them for the girls.”

Mr. Nilsson put his fork down and rested his forearms on the table. He looked from his wife to his daughter to Olina. “Is that right?”

“Oh, Fader, Mrs. Braxton has a treadle sewing machine in the store.” Gerda pleaded with her father. “She wants us to use it so we can get several dresses done this week. Would it be all right if we go? Please?”

Mr. Nilsson looked at his wife. “Do you think it’s a good idea? I wouldn’t want anything to happen to the girls.”

Mrs. Nilsson nodded. “I’m sure Johan and Marja and Adolph and Sophia would protect them.”

“Let me think about it a bit.” Mr. Nilsson picked up his fork.

“If you decide it’s all right, I would be glad to take Gerda and Olina into town in the morning.” Gustaf looked at his father. “I need to pick up a plow August is fixing for me. He said it would be ready by tomorrow.”

Mr. Nilsson took another bite and laid his fork down while he chewed his food. He looked at Gerda, then Olina. “I think that is a good idea.”

Gerda jumped up from her chair. “That’s wonderful.” She went to her father and hugged him.

Olina had finished packing her carpetbag when Gerda knocked on her door.

“I can hardly believe Father agreed to let us go. It’ll be so much fun.”

“It will be a lot of work, too.” Olina smiled at her friend’s enthusiasm. She walked over to the window for a last look at the birds. “I wonder if the babies will learn to fly by the time we get back from town?”

“What?” Gerda came up beside her.

Olina pointed toward a fork in a high branch. “See that nest? I have been watching the birds with their babies.”

“Maybe they will.” Gerda picked up Olina’s bag. It felt light. “You aren’t taking much for a week’s stay.”

“I don’t need much to work all day.” Olina laughed.

Gerda stopped at the door and turned around. “We’ll do more than just sew all the time. There’s always something going on in town.”

Olina wasn’t interested in what was going on in town. She wanted to see how much money she could make as a dressmaker. Maybe she could soon support herself. But would Mr. Nilsson let her live on her own?

The ride into town was a happy affair. Gustaf and Gerda teased each other and told funny stories. Olina relaxed and enjoyed the comradery. She missed being around her brothers, and this brought back pleasant memories. If only she could keep from thinking about Fader and the pain he had caused her. Because of him, she would never see her brothers again. She couldn’t think about that or she would cry. So she shut out those thoughts and chuckled at Gerda and Gustaf.

❧

When Olina first laughed, Gustaf almost fell off the wagon seat. He thought he would never hear that laugh again. Ever since Olina had told them about her family, she had hardly smiled when he was around. He didn’t know if she smiled at other times. He turned to look at her.

She was wearing a light green dress and bonnet. Probably one she and Gerda had been working on. He remembered their buying green fabric when they went to town. The color brought out the peachy texture of her skin. A light wind tugged some of her hair free from the confines of the hat, and the sun shining through it made it look like liquid gold floating in the air around her head. She was so beautiful. It almost hurt to look at her. He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her close, but he knew he couldn’t do that yet.

“Gustaf.” Gerda was looking at him. “You haven’t answered my question.”

He dragged his gaze from the beautiful image he was enjoying and glanced at his sister. “What did you ask?”

“See,” she said to Olina. “He wasn’t even listening to me.”

Olina laughed. “I guess not.”

“Well, what did you want to know?” Gustaf tried to sound gruff.

“How long will you stay in town today?”

Gustaf looked at Olina again. A sinking feeling settled in his stomach. He didn’t want to leave her in town. Every day he looked forward to sitting across from her at the dinner table. Often he saw her during the day as she worked around the farm, gathering eggs or hanging up clothes or walking around and enjoying the outdoors. He was always finding excuses to work near her, so they could talk to each other. The longer he was around her, the more he found to admire about her.

“I may be there most of the day.” He turned toward the outskirts of town that were up ahead. “If that’s all right with you.”

“Of course it is.” Gerda hugged his arm. “You can help us get settled. That way, you can assure Father that we are all right.”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Gustaf smiled. A very good idea. Maybe I’ll have to find several reasons to come to town this week. So I can assure Father that they’re all right. But he didn’t fool himself. He wanted to come to town to see Olina as much as possible. Yes, this week could get interesting.