"John, what if they don't like me?" Ruth asked for the over 100th time since they had received the letter that John's parents would be visiting.
"Honey, my parents will love you because I love you," John said slipping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck.
"I still don't cook very well," Ruth sighed, trying to pull away.
"It doesn't matter," John whispered, kissing her neck again and tightening his arms around her to keep her from pulling away.
"But, I'm sure you mother is a good cook and the few things I can cook won't stack up against her," Ruth whined, fisting her hands into a knot.
"It doesn't matter," John whispered again.
"Neither of my parents will care how you cook, they will only care that you make me happy and you do," John sighed as he kissed her neck again.
"The stage won't be here for a while, why don't we do something that will distract you for a little bit?" John asked.
"John," Ruth said, feeling her knees go weak, her heart beating faster and she started to sag in his arms. "the house is a mess and I can't go to meet your parents right after we…"
John cut her sentence off with a deep kiss to her mouth as he swept her up into his arms and started walking towards the bedroom.
"We have cleaned this house until it is sparkling," John said laying her softly on the bed. "And as far as celebrating the fact that we're married in the most physical way, there's something I haven't told you about my parents."
"What?" Ruth giggled as she started to undue John's shirt buttons.
"They pretty much can't keep their hands off of each other," John rolled his eyes. "When I was growing up it was embarrassing, but now that I'm a married man, I am in complete understanding."
"So, what do you say, Mrs. Fellows?" John asked as he inched her skirt up to her hips, "want to be distracted?"
"Oh, yes, Mr. Fellows" Ruth giggled as she felt John's lips start to kiss a line up her thighs.
John held Ruth's sweaty hand as they waited at the stage stop and Ruth bounced on her feet and tried to shake off the nerves.
"I wish they would get here," she said.
"I do too, so that you can meet them and see that they won't be judgmental of you." John said squeezing her hand.
"What if Sally misbehaves while they're here?"
"Honey, they raised two children, they know children misbehave," John said, "Besides Sally is doing really well."
"I know, I just want them to like Sally and me," Ruth said, stiffening as she saw the stage draw into town.
"Thank goodness," John sighed. "Now you can meet and you can see I haven't been lying to you about my parents and they will like both you and Sally. You two are very," he kissed her neck, "very" he kissed her neck again "likeable. In fact you are both loveable."
"I didn't think you were lying," Ruth said and started to tear up.
"I know, Honey," John said, as he hugged her.
"Now, put a smile on that pretty face, and stop worrying!" John scolded as he wiped the tears away with his thumbs, and kissed her.
The stage pulled to stop and an extremely tall, dignified looking man stepped off the stage who then turned to help a tiny sprite of a woman with dark hair and green eyes down.
"Ma, Pa?" John said, stepping forward, picking up the small woman and spinning her around. He set her down before reaching out to shake the tall man's hand.
"Johnny!" The woman said and slipped her arm around John and his pa's waists. John dropped his hand from his father's and they were soon in an embrace with his mother between them.
"Where's my new daughter?" Erin asked as she wiggled out from between the two men.
John stepped back and slipped his arm around Ruth, drawing her close.
"James and Erin Fellows, this is my wife, Ruth," John said kissing her cheek.
"It's a pleasure to meet you both, Mr. and Mrs. Fellows," Ruth said nodding her head at them timidly.
James stepped forward and gently kissed the back of Ruth's hand.
"The pleasure is mine, Ruth," James said softly. "I hope you'll feel comfortable calling me Pa once you get to know me, but until then, please call me James."
"And call me Erin, unless you're a mind to call me Belle mere," Erin laughed, taking Ruth's hand and holding it to her cheek.
"What's belle mere?" James asked laughing and looking between Ruth and Erin.
"Ruth knows," Erin said with dancing eyes and a nod at her daughter in law. "Our new daughter is a finely educated woman."
"It's French for mother-in-law," Ruth said blushing.
"When Frenchie heard we were going to visit Johnny he wanted to know what Ruth would call me. I said I would be happy with whatever Ruth chose, and he suggested belle mere. I kind of like the idea of my beautiful new daughter calling an Indiana girl by a French name."
"You choose, Ruth," Erin said with a huge smile, squeezing Ruth's hand before letting it go. "I'll answer to whatever name you choose to call me."
Erin walked back to James and interlaced her fingers with the hand he extended and then closed her eyes and tilted her head up to him. James smiled and bent down to kiss her gently.
"My wife needs a certain amount of kisses each day," James explained to Ruth when he saw her looking at them wide eyed. He reached out for the bag John held out to him.
"I have to be diligent about it because I don't want her feeling neglected," James continued smiling down at his wife.
"You never neglect me, James," Erin said, kissing his hand.
"Come on, folks," John said picking up the other bag and interlacing his fingers in Ruth's. "Let me show you where we live."
As they entered the yard, Ruth saw James' eyes narrow in assessment.
"Good to see all that wood chopped, Son," James said nodding his head. "One of the most important things you can do is keep your family warm and you can't do that without a good supply of firewood."
"I remember you saying that, Pa," John said as he opened the front door and ushered his wife and parents inside.
"Oh, it's charming, Ruth!" Erin exclaimed. "You've turned this house into a real home."
"Now, when do get to meet my granddaughter?" Erin asked looking around.
"She's in school right now, Ma," John said as he led them to Sally's room. "She'll be home this afternoon. You'll be staying here in her room."
"Johnny, we don't want to put your daughter out of her room," Erin said putting her hand on John's arm.
"Erin, my love," James said softly, pulling his tiny wife to stand in front of him, wrapping his arms around her from the back and tucking his chin over her shoulder "this is John and Ruth's home and we'll sleep where we're told without complaint, right?"
He cupped her cheek and tipped her face up, rubbing his thumb lightly over her lips.
"Of course," Erin said brightly, pecking James quickly on the lips. "We'll be sure to thank Sally when she gets home from school."
"I've made lunch," Ruth said, "unless you'd like to rest and eat a bit later."
"I am starving," Erin said, "I could eat a horse."
"It's just stew, I'm still learning how to cook," Ruth said nervously.
"I'm sure it will be lovely," Erin said taking her hand and walking towards the table.
"You learn what you need to know when you need it. I'm sure you didn't need to know how to cook before you married John and now that you do, you're learning how," Erin said with a smile and nodding to her husband as he held her chair for her.
With his parents seated, John went to help Ruth carry the meal to the table.
"Ruth is working on learning to bake bread," John said, "these yeast rolls she makes are very good."
"Bread is hard to make," James said. "When Erin was learning, I thought I could do better than she could and with the confidence of a man who knows absolutely nothing about baking I set about showing her that the best bakers are men. I thought how hard can it be? Yeast, flour, water, eggs, throw it in the oven, no problem."
"Big problem," Erin giggled and she started eating her stew.
"That is the truth," James laughed out, "bread was overworked, so it was hard as a rock when it came out of the oven and the insides were dry. I learned two very important lessons as a husband that day. The first was shut up and eat the trials, and the second is that just because something looks easy doesn't mean it is."
Ruth quickly glanced at John and smiled down at her bowl.
"Ruth? Does my son need to learn those lessons?" James asked directly.
"No, Mr. Fellows," Ruth smiled, as she reached out to take John's hand "John told me our first day in the house that he would happily eat my every attempt and he has."
They lapsed into silence as each of them savored the stew.
"Your stew is really good," Erin said with a smile as she finished eating.
"Thank you, Belle mere," Ruth said quietly keeping her eyes down.
"Thank you, Ruth," Erin said. "That title makes me feel very elegant!"
"Would you like some more?" Ruth asked standing, reaching for the pot and looking around the table.
"It was very good, but I am full," James said.
"Me too," Erin said with a happy shiver.
"If everyone has finished, I'll clear the table," Ruth said, standing.
Erin, James and John all picked up their dishes and followed her to the kitchen.
"Oh, no you're guests. I can take care of this," Ruth said as she took the bowls from their hands.
"We like to pitch in," Erin said. "There shouldn't be only one person working when something needs to be done."
With the four of them working, the dishes were quickly done and everything was put away.
"Your stew was very tasty, thank you," Erin said. "I know you were nervous serving your in-laws the first meal in your new home, but I want you to know that neither James nor I will ever judge you. Perhaps you'd like to know that when I was a new bride I knew nothing about cooking or cleaning or keeping house. I don't think even Johnny knows that. Do you, Johnny?"
"No, Ma," John said, raising his eyebrows. "Do tell."
"Well," she said as they moved towards the living room and James pulled her into his lap. "I was the youngest daughter of five daughters and because I was so small of stature and the youngest, pretty much nothing was expected of me. I didn't have to cook or clean or do any chores really. So, I was ill prepared for married life when James and I married when I was sixteen."
"She was pretty as a picture, but a bit spoiled," James said kissing her cheek.
"Who's telling this story?" Erin asked, pushing at his shoulder.
"You are, my love," James said seriously. "I am just providing commentary."
"Well, James knew I needed to learn a few things and he had been raised on a farm with just him and his pa, and he knew acres of more things than I did. So, he thought he would just teach me what I needed to know."
"How hard could it be?" James said with a grin and a wink at his wife.
"So, several times every day for the first month we were married, I would hear come, my love, and he would try to teach me something I needed to know to keep house. Come my love, let's make breakfast, come my love let's do laundry, come my love, let's gather the eggs. By the end of the month, if I never heard the words come my love again, it would have been too soon."
"She threatened to murder me in my sleep," James said with a laugh.
"I did not," Erin protested with a smile and another push to his shoulder.
"Oh, yes, I believe you're right, perhaps I did," she said laying her finger on the side of her cheek, rolling her eyes up and then turning back with a smile to John and Ruth. "Well, James said fine then, why don't you take over and say come my love to me?"
"And she did with a vengeance!" James said, playfully grabbing the hand that came back to slap his shoulder and kissed it. "I have never worked so hard in all my life!"
"Well, I may not have done the work, but I did see what was done and so I did some come my loving of my own for the next week," Erin said as she shifted on James' lap and put her arms around his neck. "He was a good and patient teacher."
"And she was a good and patient learner - expect for the death threat," James chimed in with a wink.
"So, after a month of James teaching me and a week of me getting a bit of revenge, we both realized that I knew what needed to be done and then it was just about practicing enough that I could master it."
"James still helped because some things were just slow for me, and we made a good team," Erin said kissing him.
"And you ate every attempt without complaint," Erin softly said as she looked fondly into his eyes.
"Then they had children who they come my loved to," John said and rolled his eyes.
"Not much more reason to have children than to put them to work," James said with a laugh. "Children are expensive and noisy and break things and keep you up at night."
"Thanks, Pa," John said and laughed.
"Don't look so worried, Ruth, we're just teasing" James said. "The best days of my life after marrying my beautiful bride was when John made me a pa of a son and when Helen made me the pa of a daughter."
Ruth smiled timidly, just as the door swung open and Sally rushed in before stopping suddenly.
"Sally," Ruth said, standing, "this is your grandma and grandpa. Come over and meet them."
Ruth put her arm around Sally's shoulders and walked her towards the couch.
"I'm your grandma, Sally, John's ma," Erin said getting off of James' lap, kneeling down in front of Sally and sitting back on her heels.
"And this big lug." Erin continued reaching out to pat James' knee, "is your grandpa, John's pa."
"I already have a grandpa," Sally said looking down at Erin.
"I will answer to most anything as long as it's said with love and respect, Sally," James said with a smile. "So, what would you like to call me?"
Sally looked up at him and shrugged.
"Gramps?" John suggested.
"Thanks, son, but your thoughts are not helping," James said with a laugh before turning back to see Sally thinking.
"Sorry you aren't welcoming of my thoughts, Pa," John teased with a huge grin.
"How about Grandad?" Ruth suggested softly.
"What do you think Sally. Do you think you might call me Grandad?"
Sally nodded as James picked up her hand and kissed it. "Well, that just suits me fine. Thank you, Ruth."
The five of them stared at each other for a few long moments until John said, "how about a tour of the town, Pa?"
"And if you'll let me, Ruth, I'd like to show you my molasses cookie recipe," Erin said as she stood. "Would you like that?"
"Oh, yes, I am trying to learn to bake, but I only have the hang of rolls so far and even those, not all the time," Ruth said shyly.
"Daughter, baking is difficult and even the best of bakers have days when nothing turns out. Cookies are much easier to make and I can show you all kinds of tricks to make sure they turn out well," Erin said, putting her arm around Ruth's waist and turning her towards the kitchen.
"Please let me show you," Erin said earnestly. "My daughter, Helen, and I always had such fun making cookies and maybe I can get to know you and Sally better as we make them"
"I'd like that and I'm sure Sally would too," Ruth said with a smile and a nod.
"It sounds like we are not needed here," James said, turning to John, "So, lead on McDuff,"
"Exeunt," John replied opening the door, ushering his father through and following him with a laugh.
"Ma," John said, leaning around the door and saying in a sing song voice. "We have pecans."
"Good to know, son," Erin said with a laugh and John ducked back behind the door and closed it.
"Pecans?" Ruth asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh," Erin said hooking her arm around Ruth's and walking towards the kitchen, "that was Johnny's not too subtle way of asking me to teach you how to make nut cluster cookies too. I'd love to teach you that too if you'd like. If the pecans aren't shelled, Johnny and James will have to get busy tonight. They know that's part of the deal."
"Grandma," Sally asked, "what's exuent?"
"Well, honey, when your papa was a boy, your Aunt Helen decided she wanted to read Shakespeare and your grandpa and your papa thought it was funny to find times that quoting Shakespeare would work in ordinary conversation. Exeunt means a bunch of people leave the stage during a play and lead on McDuff means let's go, I'll follow you, but whenever they said it, your Aunt Helen would get so upset because those words aren't in the plays of Shakespeare. It's really, lay on McDuff, which means to do your best."
"Can I say one when they get back?" Sally asked.
"Of course you may!" Erin said with a hearty laugh. "Tonight when you go to bed, say: I must say goodnight till it be morrow. Can you remember that? It will make both your papa and your grandad smile."
"I can remember that, Grandma," Sally said with a smile.
"Good," Erin clapped her hands and turned to Ruth expectantly.
"So, what do you need, Belle Mere?" Ruth asked.
"Get out what you think we need Ruth and I'll fill in the gaps," Erin said, pulling Sally's hair back over her shoulders.
Ruth looked at the cabinets with worry.
"Aprons?' She started stalling, reaching behind the door and handing one to Sally and Erin before tying her own on.
"Be brave, Ruth," Erin said with a fake Scottish burr. "You canna make a mistake."
"Yes, she can, Grandma, she can pick things that are a mistake," Sally chimed in, looking up at her.
"No, Sally, there might just be some things we don't use," Erin said.
"Go ahead, Ruth," Erin said tying Sally's apron on and leaning against the counter and crossing her arms over her chest.
Ruth took a big breath and began getting out what she thought they needed, when she was finished, she turned to Erin with an expectant look.
"Good, Ruth, just two things I don't see: salt and molasses," Erin said, looking around.
Ruth blushed as she reached down to get the molasses jar near the door and the salt from the table, "How could I forget molasses?"
As Erin began to teach Ruth and Sally, Ruth found herself laughing and calming down. She remembered that John had told her that his mother touched him a lot and he was right. Ruth was not used to the sort of affection that her new mother-in-law lavished on her. Ruth could hardly believe how natural the side hugs, touches and hair strokes felt and she basked in the attention, but she felt the tears come to her eyes a couple of times as she thought of her own mother and how she wished that she had learned these things from her. Erin kept up a steady, happy chatter and acted like she didn't see the tears, even though there were a couple of times that Ruth felt her eyes on her as she dabbed at her cheeks. By the time the men came back in the house, the pile of cookies had grown and the house smelled of wonderful things.
"Any ugly cookies to be had?" James asked, putting his hands on his wife's waist and peering around her shoulder.
"Certainly not!" Erin said indignantly, as she leaned back into his chest and laughed. "Ruth and Sally do not make ugly cookies."
"My apologies, Ruth and Sally," James said and bowed, "my beautiful bride is always careful to make at least a couple that are ugly so that I don't have to wait for dessert. I wasn't making disparaging remarks about your cookie making abilities. I guess John and I will have to wait then."
Ruth smiled and then reached out and broke one of the larger cookies in half.
"Oops," she said sadly, "it looks like one is broken!"
"We can take care of that for you, ma'am, right son?" James asked puffing out his chest and taking half of the cookie.
"Yes, Sir," John said, reaching out to take the remaining half. "Can't have broken cookies. Wouldn't be right."
"No, son, glad to see you're the man I raised to take care of problems like that," James laughed as he bit into his half.
"Thank you, ladies, even broken, these cookies are very tasty," James said as he made his way to the couch. He sat down next to Sally, leaned far to the side looked over her shoulder at what she was reading, when she looked up, he met her eyes and smiled.
"You like reading, that's good. Your papa likes reading too. I'll bet your ma does too." James said sitting back up.
"Do you like to read?" Sally asked looking up from her book.
"I do, "James replied "but I like telling stories better. Your papa and I used to do that all the time."
"Really?" Sally asked closing her book and looking over her shoulder at her Papa who was in the kitchen with his arms around Ruth, talking to Erin.
"John," James called, "come over there so we can show your daughter how to play the story writing game."
John kissed Ruth's head and walked over to the armchair near the couch and sat back, propping his leg up on his knee, settling back in to the cushions, he smiled, as his father said, "It was a fearful, dark and rain swept night."
"Sally had just settled into her warm bed with a good book and her cat, Chester," John replied.
"The blustery wind caused the branches to scratch against the window like witch's claws," James continued with a smirk.
"But, Sally felt warm and cozy in her bed, and knew her Mama and Papa would keep her safe," John said with an answering smirk. "When you get better at this, Sally you have to keep an eye on your grandad. He sometimes likes to make it hard to come up with the next line."
"I won't do that to you Sally," James said. "Your papa and I have been doing this a long time, so it's fun for us, but feel free to make it hard for me." He said with a wink. "I like a challenge."
The banter back and forth between James and Sally continued until Ruth called Sally to set the table.
"But Mama, Grandad and I are playing," Sally whined.
"Go on, Grandad, it's your turn," she said, turning to look at James and putting her knee up on the couch.
Several moments of silence passed as Ruth stared at the back of Sally's head and then glanced at Erin with a blush. James frowned.
"I am sure whining and not doing as your mother asked is frowned on in this family," James said sternly, breaking the silence. "You need to get up and help your mother; we can return to the game after dinner."
"James, I am sure that Ruth is capable of correcting Sally if need be," Erin said walking over and putting her hands on James' shoulders.
"Of course, Erin," James said, but he didn't take his eyes off of Sally "my apologies, Ruth. Force of habit."
Ruth said quietly, "It's all right, James."
Sally looked at James and Ruth with confusion as they looked at her expectantly, until Sally finally stood and walked over to begin setting the table after her mother repeated, "Please, come set the table, Sally."
James looked over at John who was hunched over a medical book and who had barely glanced up at the exchange.
James frowned and said, "John, if I might see you out on the porch for a minute?"
"John?" he repeated when John didn't look up.
John stood, still reading, and placed a marker in the gutter between the pages and followed his father out to the porch and then to the woodpile.
"I'm getting nervous, Pa, those words and piles of wood didn't bode well for me as a child," John said with a laugh as he leaned against the woodpile and watched his father pacing. "Neither does the pacing."
"I'm sorry, John. I'm trying to decide if I should speak up or hold my peace about being a father and a husband. You're grown and are allowed to be Sally's father and Ruth's husband however you see fit…" James paused and looked at John.
"Pa, you were a great father to me and Helen and Ma seems to have very few complaints about you as a husband. If there is any advice you care to share from your experience, feel free," John said with a grin as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"I find myself wondering why you didn't jump in when Sally straight out refused to mind Ruth about setting the table," James started in a frustrated voice. "I would not have let you or Helen dismiss your mother's request like that."
"I know you wouldn't have, Pa," John said with a huge grin. "But you and ma had a bit of a different relationship with your children than Ruth and I have with Sally, at least right now."
"She's Sally's mother, you're Sally's father. I fail to see a difference. Sally should treat Ruth with respect and do as she is asked, and if she doesn't, you should step in and see that she does," James said firmly.
"Yes, Pa, she should, but when Ruth gave birth to Sally, she was rather young, so they sort of grew up together and Ruth has not had much practice in making Sally mind, so I," John said raising his eyebrows and placing his hand on his father's chest "and you," he said, recrossing his arms over his chest, "need to give her a chance to respond when Sally doesn't mind."
"I don't understand," James said shaking his head.
"We both agree that Sally needed to set the table, but Ruth needed to make her do that without either you or me stepping in. Ruth is learning to find her voice as a mother and learn what she has to do to make Sally mind and that's why I stayed quiet: because Ruth needed to handle it. Sometimes it takes her a minute or two, that's all," John said quietly.
"And I didn't give her a chance to handle it, is that what you're saying?" James said, leaning back against the woodpile and crossing his arms.
"Yes, Sir, you couldn't have known, and you did exactly what you would have done when Helen and I were children…" John said.
"Support my wife," James interrupted.
"Support your wife," John said, laughing and nodding. "I was supporting my wife because my silence showed that I trusted her to make Sally mind. I was showing her that I knew she didn't need me to step in. Granted, if Sally had thrown a fit or been obstinate, she would have been over my knee, but I think had you not stepped in, Sally would have set the table on Ruth's insistence."
"How does your mother do that?" James asked, shaking his head after a very long silence.
"Do what?" John asked.
"Stop me when I'm about to put my nose into something that I shouldn't. When she stopped me, she said Ruth would correct Sally if need be, not you, Ruth."
"Ma's a smart lady," John said, pushing off the woodpile and heading toward the house.
"She is that, son," James replied, following him, and putting a hand on his shoulder "and perceptive."
"Please accept my apology, son, for thinking you weren't supporting your wife," James said stretching out his hand as they climbed the stairs to the porch.
"No need to apologize, Pa," John said clasping his father's and shaking it. "You were doing what you thought was best for your new daughter-in-law and granddaughter."
The two men walked inside and found the table set and the meal ready to be served.
Erin went to James, put her arms around his waist, and tipped her lips up to him as she said, "Is everything all right in the Fellows' world?"
"It is," James said as he leaned down and kissed her.
John watched his parents kiss and then went to Ruth and did the same, before asking her "Are you all right?"
"I am. Erin said I now have two men to take my side and that means I should feel loved," Ruth said with a giggle.
"Do you?" Both men asked simultaneously.
"I do," Ruth said with a smile and Erin giggled. "Now, Sally is out back with Chester, if one of you will be so kind as to tell her dinner is ready."
"I am sorry, Ruth, I fear I am not making a very good first impression," James said as he tentatively walked over to Ruth and gave her a side hug.
"You're wrong, Pa," Ruth said turning toward him so they could hug properly "you are making exactly the right impression. I'm proud to be in your family with everything the membership comes with."
"Including men who lovingly jump to their ladies' aid a bit too soon sometimes?" Erin asked, walking over to John who put his arm around her.
"Including that," Ruth said nodding her head, "although I'm not quite used to people jumping to my aid quite yet."
"With these two, you will come to expect it!" Erin said emphatically, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at her husband and her son in mock seriousness.
"I'll show you aid," James said as he swatted Erin and kissed her at the same time. "I'll go call Sally."
Soon they were all seated at the table and talking about their plans for the next day.
"Sally's in school tomorrow, but we can tour the surrounding countryside after she gets out of school," Ruth said.
"That would probably be best," John added. "I have patients to see in the morning and I don't like to be away from the office first thing. If something happened overnight, people usually show up quite early."
After the dinner dishes were done and everyone settled in to their places, James turned to Sally and asked, "Now where were we in our story?"
"But I thought we weren't doing it anymore," Sally said shyly.
"I said after dinner and it is definitely after a very delicious dinner," James said.
Sally nodded, but looked at her hands.
"So, whose turn is it, yours or mine?" James asked with a smile.
When Sally didn't look up, James continued, "Sally, if you're quiet because I scolded you earlier you don't need to worry about that. I know we're just getting to know each other, but your pa can tell you that I have a talent for scolding and I'm not afraid to show that talent off. It's just because I care about you."
"There were some days, Sally, when Pa'd show me that skill two or three times, so I felt really cared for," John laughed.
"And when I was really on a roll, I could come up with five or six things to scold your pa about," James said with a laugh.
Sally looked over at John who winked at her and laughed, but when Sally still looked confused, John said, "Sally, what your grandad is trying to say is that the same way he scolded me, he'll scold you and it's just a way that he shows he cares. So, you need to mind him and your grandma the same way you mind me and your Mama and don't keep worrying about it when he's done showing off his talent for scolding."
"Enough talk about scolding, I think Chester had snuck out of the house in the pouring rain and Sally was trying to figure out how to go out and save him," James said and settled back into the cushions.
"Johnny," Erin said in an off-handed way, as she smiled down at her embroidery. "I want to teach Ruth to make nut cluster cookies. Any chance the pecans have been shelled?"
"They will be by tomorrow, Ma," John said with a smile and he jumped up from his chair and gave her a kiss on her cheek. "I'll get busy right away on that."
John pulled over two of the kitchen chairs, the sack of nuts and an empty bucket and began cracking the nuts with his hands, putting the pieces into a bowl he had set on the floor near his chair.
As darkness fell and the night drew on, Sally's head began to droop.
"I think it's time for bed for this little one," James said quietly. "I need to help John with those pecans too."
"Come on, Sally," Ruth said, putting her embroidery aside. "Say, time to say good night."
Suddenly Sally sat up with a smile at Erin.
"I shall say good night til it be morrow," Sally said with a nod from Erin.
"Sally, my girl!" James said with pleasure and looked at John.
"Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow." John and James said in unison and then laughed.
"Thank you for letting us use your bedroom, Sally," Erin said. "Sleep well."
Later that night John and Ruth and James and Erin wished each other good night and headed to their perspective rooms.
"I really like your parents, John," Ruth said snuggling into John's chest. "I can see them in you."
"They like you too, honey," John said, wrapping his arms around Ruth and kissing the top of her head.
"Listen…" Ruth said, putting a finger to her lips. "Can you hear that?"
They both got quiet and listened to the whispered words they could just hear through the walls.
"Come here, Rin, I've missed you the last few days on the trail," James whispered.
"Jamie, we can't. The children are right next door!" Erin whispered back.
"Come to bed, Rini," James whispered back.
"Jamie, the bed, it will be too noisy," Erin giggled.
"Then we'll use the chair and you, my dear, will just have to be quiet, come on lovey," James whispered.
The bed in Sally's room squeaked and they heard soft footsteps moving across the room.
"John," Ruth looked at him with wide eyes, "are your parents…?"
"It would not surprise me," John said and grinned in embarrassment.
She buried her head in his chest and started to giggle. They both got quiet and listened on tenterhooks.
"The silence is almost worse than the whispering," Ruth said into John's chest.
"I told you they couldn't keep their hands off of each other and they were on the trail for three days," John said into Ruth's hair.
"We need to make some noise of our own so that we're distracted," John said tipping her face up and kissing her.
"Sally's asleep just over there," Ruth said, but kissed him back.
"Then you, my dear, will just have to be quiet, come on lovey," John said as he twisted his fingers into her hair and tried to kiss a giggling Ruth.