Family Reunion

Almanzo woke up early as usual. He was used to it by now, same routine every morning. Since his marriage to Laura three months ago, a new chore had become part of that routine; one that he could never break himself out of and that was watching Beth sleep. She was so beautiful while she slept and he never had the heart to wake her up.

He couldn't take his eyes off her, no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't believe how much he loved her and he smiled at the thought of how lucky he was to have found her.

Today was different, though. Today was the family reunion; today he would meet Laura's Uncle Tom Quiner, not to mention a visit from Adam and Mary who had an important announcement to make.

He turned to look out the bedroom window. It was a beautiful Saturday and a perfect day for a picnic down by the lake. Uncle Tom Quiner, one of Ma's brothers, had paid a surprise visit to the Ingalls household. He had come alone; Aunt Lily didn't have the time with raising the children and all. Maybe she'd be able to come with him next time. Always active in the lumber industry, he wanted to open a store in Walnut Grove and to build a house, but this time, he had changed his mind. He was going to stay in Wisconsin and continue working for the same company that he had been working for over twenty years. But as long as he was in town, he wanted to meet Almanzo Wilder, after all, he had heard so much about him.

Well, at least that's what Beth had told him anyway.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Almanzo watched Laura bait a hook for the first time. He had heard that she could, he had heard it so many times that he decided to take her fishing down by the lake. He had brought four fishing poles with him, Charles was bringing four more. The hooks were another story, Laura had to bring Pa's tackle box that he shared with Albert.

"I had heard somewhere that you were really good," Almanzo smiled, "And I heard that you were better at it than a few boys."

"Boys?" Laura said, turning to face him. "Almanzo Wilder, where the heck are you getting your information from?"

"Wasn't it you who told me that you could do it faster than any of the boys in Walnut Grove or was that Albert that mentioned it?"

Laura looked at him, his smile had gotten wider.

Almanzo stuck the pole in the dirt and slid his arms around her waist, almost causing Laura's pole to fall into the water.

He was about to kiss her when the Laura's pole pulled and shook, followed by Almanzo's.

They looked at each other, broke apart and ran to the fishing poles to pull up what they caught.

The fish that Beth had caught was a lot bigger than his, but he wasn't surprised. The stories about the fishing exploits of the great Laura Ingalls had been well known around town and widely circulated.

"What do you do with them?" Almanzo asked.

Laura smiled and grabbed his little fish. "Watch this," she said as she threw it right back into the lake. She did the same thing with hers.

"Waste of two good fish," Manly said, watching the ripples in the water spread out as they landed in the water. He turned his attention to his wife who, he noticed, was already watching him.

Again, Almanzo slid his arm around her waist and again he moved closer.

"Beth," he whispered as he pulled her toward him.

"Hey," a male voice called out, "what are you doing way out here? We're all wondering where the two of you had gone off to."

Almanzo put his arm around Laura as she edged closer and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Tell them we're comin', Albert," Almanzo said, standing up. He grabbed Laura's hand to help her up. "Are Adam and Mary here?"

"You two don't have to go anywhere," Charles's voice called out. "We've come to you. I had forgotten that you brought the fishing poles."

"We're right behind the crowd, Almanzo," Adam said, stepping forward, as he and Almanzo embraced.

"Pa, Uncle Tom," Laura said as she ran toward both of them, and then hugged Mary. The two walked back over to their husbands together, Mary's arm threaded through hers.

"Hey," Charles called, "Why don't we have a contest? Let's see who can catch the biggest fish?"

Meanwhile, Almanzo, Adam, Charles, Tom and Albert were fighting over which poles they were going to use. Caroline, Mary and Laura set out the blanket, set up the dishes, the eating utensils and the napkins.

The men hadn't even put the poles in the water when the women called them all for supper.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So," Almanzo said, looking at Adam. "When are you two moving to New York?"

Almanzo placed a protective arm around Laura's shoulders.

"Probably at the end of the month," Adam said, placing his arm around Mary's waist and pulling her close.

"Well," Laura said, looking at Mary. "We'll miss the two of you."

"And we have the two of you to thank for keeping the Blind School up and running for a short time." Adam said, putting his arm around his wife.

"Anytime, Adam" Almanzo said, looking into Laura's eyes. "I'm just glad that we could help out."

Adam looked over at Almanzo and Laura. They were lost in each other's eyes and each other's thoughts. They weren't anywhere near the lake or Walnut Grove. He watched Almanzo play with Laura's hair. He saw the two of them giggle over something that Laura said. He smiled as he saw Almanzo reach out to pull Laura close. When Almanzo kissed her, Adam had enough.

"Adam," Mary asked, then frowned. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is just fine, Mary," he answered. He cupped her chin and brought his lips closer to hers.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Manly," Laura asked as they lay in bed together. She put down her old and worn book of Ralph Waldo Emerson's essays. There was a popcorn bowl in between them.

"Yeah, darlin'?" he answered, his eyes still on the page he was reading.

"Did you have a good time today? Who finally won the fishing contest? Last I heard it was tied? I know it was last minute and all, but… "

Manly put the book down and turned to face her. "No one won the fishin' contest, Beth. I don't think it ever got started. All we did was argue over who caught the biggest fish." He looked at her and smiled. "But it was nice finally meetin' your Uncle Tom and getting' to know him. I mean it was better than bein' jealous over some handsome young man that I didn't even know."

"Yeah, that happened not too long after you and I started courting. I didn't even think that you remembered…"

There was no answer. Manly had picked up the book and was reading again.

"That book must be pretty important," Laura asked. "What are you reading anyway?"

"Jules Verne," he replied, "20,000 Leagues under the Sea," Almanzo said. "It's a great book, Beth, keeps me pretty interested. Can you imagine being Captain Nemo, travelin' the world in a submarine, studying different…."

But Laura's kiss silenced him. Reading was over for the night.