The Douglas Farm

A couple of days went by and things had never been worse in the Douglas household. Lisa had given up trying to reconcile things between her and Oliver and the result was an insurmountable tension that engulfed the farm. Oliver and Lisa hardly spoke a word to each other, and if they were communicating, it only resulted in yelling and slamming of doors. The rest of the time, the Douglas's and Eb would sit in cold silence.

At the moment, Oliver was sipping his coffee and reading the newspaper with a pensive expression on his face, obviously upset over the declining prices in the wheat market. Eb sat across the table from him trying to eat his breakfast as silently as possible so as not to spark Oliver's fury. Lisa was at the stove, gloomily preparing another pot of coffee.

The tension between the three of them was so thick, Eb could hardly stand it. He felt like he was suffocating in silence; he wanted to do something to break it, but knew that it would be to no avail. If he were to open his mouth and say something, it would only be met by a snide remark from Oliver, a defensive retort from Lisa on Eb's behalf, and another heated argument between them. He decided that it would be best to keep his mouth shut.

Eb continued to eat the rest of his breakfast in silence, trying to think of anything else besides the horrible strain in the kitchen. But one thought led to another and soon Eb began to reminisce about the good times he and the Douglas's used to have together, which upset him even more than the silence. He remembered how much fun it used to be working with Lisa to scam Oliver into doing something he already said he wouldn't do. He recalled the wonderful feeling of unity he felt with them. He had felt like he was really part of the family in those days. Despite his resolution to stay silent, Eb sighed.

It seemed like those times were so long ago, but in reality they only occurred a few months before. He looked at Oliver and Lisa and wondered how things could have changed so much so quickly. The good natured sparkle that used to be present in Oliver's eyes in the face of all his yelling was now completely gone and replaced with a look of frustration. There also seemed to be deep lines of anger permanently sketched in his forehead and frown lines forever present on the corners of his mouth.

But it was the changes that Lisa had undergone that worried Eb the most. Like Oliver, any trace of happiness in her eyes was gone, but unlike Oliver, it was replaced with a deep sadness. She also seemed paler than usual and there were bags under her eyes indicating that she hadn't had a good night's sleep in a while. Eb also couldn't remember the last time she ate, which would explain her slightly thinner appearance.

Mr. Douglas's mood isn't just ruining their marriage, it's ruining her health, Eb thought sadly. At this thought, Eb's anxiety increased ten fold. He knew if he didn't do something soon, the Douglas marriage and Lisa's healthy days would be over.

Well, I am not be able to do anything about their marriage, but I can do something to help Mrs. Douglas, he thought. At that moment, Eb resolved to something special for Lisa to cheer her up.

Maybe I could cook her a nice dinner, just for her, he thought. At the prospect, Eb became very excited and began to finish off his breakfast with a new energy. When he finished, he proceeded to wash his dishes and was just about to walk out the back door when he heard Oliver's stern voice call out to him from behind.

"Eb, now that you're finally finished eating," he said bitingly, "you can get started on watering the tomatoes and weeding the wheat."

"Yes Mr. Douglas," Eb replied with a more exasperated tone then he meant to use. Oliver gave him a cold stare but continued on.

"I'm going into Drucker's and when I return, I expect to see at least one of those chores completed. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," Eb answered in a more humble tone this time. With that, Oliver stood up and without so much as a goodbye to either of them, walked into the living room and out of the house, slamming the door behind him. Lisa winced at the harsh sound, sighed and began to clear the table, tears sparkling in her brown eyes. Eb figured that if she could ever use cheering up, now was that time.

"Mrs. Douglas," Eb asked in a soft voice.

"Yes Eb," Lisa replied in as much of a cheery tone as she could muster.

"Well, I was noticing that Mr. Douglas hardly comes home for dinner anymore, so I was wondering if you would let me treat you to a special dinner. You know, just the two of us, so we can kind of give each other company," Eb explained with a hopeful smile on his face.

"Eb, that is very kind of you, but I vouldn't vant you to get into any kind of trouble vith my husband for leaving vork early," she replied.

"Aw, don't worry about that, Mrs. Douglas. We usually work at opposite ends of the fields anyway. He wouldn't even notice I'm gone."

"Vell, I don't know, Eb. I haven't had much of an appetite lately." Lisa replied sadly.

"My cooking will change that," Eb said quickly. "Come on, Mrs. Douglas, it'll give us a chance to just sit in peace and talk about things."

Lisa was fully aware of what Eb was getting at and smiled at him gratefully. "That vould be very nice, Eb. Vot do you say we schedule this dinner for tomorrow?"

"How about tonight," Eb asked, not wanting Lisa to go another day without eating a decent meal.

"Alright, Eb. Tonight it is," she said with a smile at which Eb beamed. It had been a while since he had seen one of those on her face and he was proud that he could put it there.

"Great Mrs. Douglas! I'll go start on my chores so I can finish early and won't skip out on to much work," he said.

"Alright, go ahead," Lisa replied as she turned to get back to clearing the table. Eb turned around and was about to head out the front door when he remembered something.

"Oh and it's a formal dinner," he added with a smile. Lisa giggled.

"I'll be sure to remember that," she said with a wink. At that, Eb turned and bounded toward the fields, glad that he could make his "mom" so happy. He just hoped the dinner he was to prepare for her would be just the trick to return her health back to normal.