The Remembrance Book

When Ma stopped the wagon, Laura couldn't believe her eyes. Next to the ruins of what was once the Wilder house stood a brand new skeleton of a new little house. Pa was there too. Sitting next to him was Almanzo in his wheelchair. She wasn't sure what was happening; she wasn't sure how Almanzo could have contributed to the building.

With one last look at Ma, Laura jumped off the wagon; a puzzled expression on her face.

"Stay there a minute," Almanzo told her.

It turned into complete shock when she watched Almanzo slowly rise from his sitting position. He used a cane to steady himself.

"I know it's small," Almanzo said as he took his first steps. "We'll all be living in one room for awhile."

Laura nodded. "I'm used to that."

"You'll have to fetch the water from the well because there's no pump in the kitchen like before."

"I'm used to that too."

"And we're gonna be downright poor for a time," he continued. "But the Farmer's Almanac predicts a good year. Cool summer, mild winter."

"If the Almanac says it's so, it's so."

Almanzo stopped walking. Laura couldn't believe that he was standing right in front of her.

"We're right back where we started, you might say. But the land is ours. And nobody can take it away from us."

She shook her head. "They better not try."

"Welcome home, Beth." Almanzo answered, looking into her eyes. He waited for her reaction.

Laura was crying as she rushed into his arms. Almanzo pulled her towards him and swept her into a bear hug. There were tears in his eyes.

It was then she heard Ma's voice. The two of them broke apart and faced her. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Well, I don't know about all of you, but I'm starving. Think we can go into your new house for dinner?"

"You just make sure everybody wipes their feet off first," Laura said as everyone laughed. It was at that moment that Almanzo swept her into his arms again.

"So how's it coming?"

Laura looked up and slammed the book shut. She saw Ma staring at her.

"It's good to see you writing," Ma said. "We are all worried about you."

Laura looked down at the table; then up at Ma. She stood. "Doc Baker did tell me to keep busy."

Ma shook her head and sat down. "We thought that once Almanzo started walking again, you'd be feeling better. "

Laura was going to answer, thought better of it; then she sat down again.

"I'm sorry, Ma. I'm just all mixed up, I guess. I didn't mean to snap at you."

Ma smiled. "Laura, we just want you to get well. We're leaving in a few months and I want to see you happy. It's good to see you writing again."

Laura smiled and looked down at the book. "I'm calling it my Remembrance Book," she said picking it up and handing it to Ma.

"I'm really impressed, Laura," Ma said, after reading a few pages. "Believe me; you'd make a great writer. You should send some of these out to local papers, maybe Minneapolis." She handed the book back to her daughter.

"Have you shown these to Almanzo?" she asked.

Laura accepted the book and stood up. She shook her head. "He's been so busy with the house that there isn't much time for me." She turned and headed for Ma and Pa's bedroom where she and Almanzo slept in a mattress on the floor. There was hardly any room with the James and Cassandra now in the family.

Ma shook her head. "I don't know about that, Laura. He's so happy right now." She walked into the kitchen to check on supper.

"Is that what he said?" Laura asked, walking out of the bedroom. She walked into the kitchen, grabbed the plates and began to set the table.

Ma stared at her as she walked past her; then shook her head.

"Laura Ingalls Wilder, I don't understand you. You can see it written all over his face."

Laura didn't answer. She just continued to set the table.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Laura was quiet all through dinner," Pa said as Ma took the last of the dishes off the table. She handed them over to him to wash. He was standing beside the indoor pump waiting to wash them.

"I'm not sure, Charles," Ma said, walking back to grab more. "She's been acting strangely since Almanzo started walking and rebuilding. Everyone notices, including Almanzo. He doesn't know how to please her." She looked up at him. "I'm so glad you told them to the two of them to take a walk."

Pa stopped up the water and placed the dishes in the sink. "I had a feeling, Caroline. Almanzo has mentioned it to me. Doc Baker thinks everything has been piled on top of her. I'm not sure she accepts that he loves her after what happened with Eliza Jane."

"Well, I'm glad you sent the two of them outside to look at the house. It looks like it's coming along nicely."

Pa nodded. "Still needs a bit more work. I'm thinking of staying here until everything is taken care of. I just got a telegram from the Carters. It seems that they will be a little late coming out here. Do you and the children mind heading to Burr Oak without me?"

Ma shook her head. "Albert took good care of us while you were working on the railroad, but Charles, do you really think that it's necessary? Do you think we should all stay?"

"The house needs to be finished. I promised Almanzo that we'd work together on some of the furniture. He's going to get some of our old furniture too. I want to get everything settled and help the Carters move in. Also I'm worried about Half Pint. I want to see her get well. I'll see that you and the children are settled in Burr Oak and I'll make arrangements to come back here. I'll be back as soon as I can get there, but right now it looks like it will be six months to a year."

Ma put the plate down and moved closer to Pa. She placed her arms around him. "I've gone without you longer than that, Charles. I'm sure we'll all be busy and I know the Steadman's will help. We'll be fine until you get the hotel. Just take care of yourself."

"I will, Caroline," Pa answered, pulling her close. "I will."

XXXXXXXXXX

Almanzo was excited as he showed her around the unfinished house. "Here's the kitchen. It will be small, but I think we can manage. Here's the living room; our table will be here, right in the center. Rose's cradle will be here until she's grown and I can build an extra room for her."

Laura looked confused. "Isn't this room for Rose?" she asked as she lingered in the doorway to the unfinished room.

Almanzo smiled and shook his head. "This is going to be our room, Beth. We're getting your Ma and Pa's bedroom set. They'll have a furnished room when they get to Burr Oak."

He watched Laura's face to see if she was as excited, but he noticed no change in her expression. "Are you alright, Laura?"

Laura nodded. "I'm fine, Manly. I'm just going to miss Ma, Pa and the kids so much. I've grown up with them being so close by. I don't know how I'm going to make it through without them."

There were tears in her eyes as she ran into Almanzo's arms.

"Beth," he whispered in her ear. "I will miss them too, but I know we'll make it here. I couldn't do it without you by my side. I need you next to me. If it weren't for you, I don't know where I'd be. You pulled me through this."

She stepped back and stared at him. "Not Eliza Jane? I'm telling you, Manly, the minute she came to that door, she took over. She wouldn't let me…"

Almanzo grabbed her and pulled her close. "Beth, we've been all through this. It was you that made me realize how wrong I was. You mean everything to me. I need you to know that. I need you and Rose by my side. I am so lucky to have both of you and I don't want to lose either of you."

He held Laura away from him and looked directly in her eyes. "I know I haven't been around much, but I need you to know that I won't leave you. I need you to know that I love you. You have your husband back and he's not going anywhere."

Laura smiled despite the tears falling from her eyes. "I'm writing, Manly. I didn't think I would be able to, but when I started writing down my feelings like Doc Baker said, I felt better. In fact, I felt so much better that I started writing down everything else. I started with our marriage. I want you to read it and tell me how you feel about it."

Almanzo smiled and placed his thumb on each cheek to wipe away her tears. "I'm glad to hear that you are taking Doc Baker's advice. I should have done it myself instead of putting it off so long. I promise you that I will read a bit of it tonight. Laura, I know that you can do anything you put your mind to. That's what I love about you. And I know you don't give up until you get what you want. I know that we will be able to make it through this. I love you so much, Beth. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I know now we will be together for a long time. There will be good times; there will be bad times. There will be days of sunshine and days of shadow, but we'll pull through. Don't give up, don't get discouraged. I'll be here for you forever."

Laura looked up at him. "Oh, Manly, that's it. I'll call our story Days of Sunshine, Days of Shadow. It fits perfectly."

And she jumped into Almanzo's arms. And they both kissed forgetting that they were standing in an unfinished house. They didn't even hear Ma calling for them to come inside.