Meanwhile, Jenny and Drew are sitting next to each other on the fancy, little couch,...talking.
"So,...is it exciting being a homesteader?" Jenny asked.
"Yeah...whenever we find a place for our farm, I helping with some of the farm work...My three older brothers are also farmers, so I guess it kind of runs in the family."
"Do you think you'll be farmer one day?" Jenny asked him, smiling.
"I reckon." Drew said. "Considering my age, I could probably have my own farm now...but I want to help out Cage and Arrah and get a little experience first, ya know?"
"I think that that's very sweet of you, Drew," Jenny said, looking into his green eyes. "You wanting to help out your family like that."
"What about you Jenny?" Drew asked.
"What about me, exactly?"
"Ya think you'll ever be a farmer's wife?" Drew asked, smiling a crooked smile, just like his older brother.
Jenny blushed a little. "Yeah, I guess so...I don't think a could be a writer or a teacher or something like that."
"Aww Jenny, never say you can't do somethin'. Arrah always tells me, ya can do anything ya put your mind to,..."Follow your dreams and reach for the stars."
"It's that another thing Arrah tells you?"
"Nope,...that's what I always say." Drew smiled. "I've got a question Jenny, and I hope you don't mind me asking..."
"Ok,...what is it?"
"Why are you living with your aunt and uncle.?"
"Well, my Ma and Pa died a few years ago...Pa knew that he was going to die beforehand and he wanted me to live with Uncle Manzo and Aunt Laura. They adopted me when I was twelve... You and your brothers are adopted too, right Drew?"
"Yeah,... Jenny,...can we go out on the porch and talk?"
"Let me ask Aunt Laura first." Jenny leaves and walks into the kitchen.
"Aunt Laura?"
"Yes Jenny?" Laura asked while getting things out to set the table.
"May Drew and I go out on the porch?"
"Whatever for?" Laura asked, smiling.
"Just to talk."
"Alright, but lunch is almost ready."
"Yes ma'am." Jenny said. Jenny walked back into the sitting room. "C'mon Drew, Aunt Laura said it's ok." Jenny said motioning to the door. Jenny and Drew walked out onto the porch, and Jenny sits down on the steps.
"Thanks Jenny," Drew said as he sat down next to her. "...I worry about my brothers sometimes, they really miss Ma and Pa, especially Graham...That's why I wanted our conversation to be a little... private just in case we started talking about them again...They're not as strong as I am in that aspect,...so I look out for them in that way.
"It must have been quite tragic for them,...having their parents die, with them being so young and all." Jenny said.
"Graham misses them so much...It seems more and more each day. Leslie didn't even know Pa, he died before he was even born, but I know he misses Ma. There's no doubt about that. He was so attached to her, kind of like he is to Arrah." Drew said, solemnly. "When Ma and Pa died,... at first we were tossed back and forth from each of my older brothers...Mathis didn't treat us as he should have...He said we just got in the way most of the time."
"That's unbelievable that your own brother would even say that!"
"Well when Arrah and Cage got married, they adopted us and everything worked out fine."
"I can see they love and care about you deeply." Jenny said.
"Yeah." Drew smiled. "They do, and they're more involved in our lives than my other brothers are."
Laura peaks her head thru the door . "Jenny?"
"Yes, Aunt Laura?"
"Will you go get Manly and Cage? Lunch is ready."
"Yes Ma'am." Jenny answered.
"Drew, you can come in now if you'd like."
"Thank you ma'am, but may I walk Jenny out to the barn?" Drew asked.
"Of course, you kids have fun." Laura said. She smiled, watching them walk all the way to the barn. The young people talking all the way there." Laura thought, 'Hmmm,...Jennifer Celestia Wilder Lay, sounds kind of nice.' She then laughed to herself and put the thought out of her head, knowing Manly wouldn't let Jenny grow up so soon.
"Uncle Manzo, Mr. Lay?" Jenny called to them while she and Drew entered the barn.
"Yeah Jenny?" Almanzo said while setting the wheel up on it's side to look at it.
"Aunt Laura says that lunch is ready."
"Alright we'll walk out with you." said Almanzo.
"Did you get the wheel fixed Uncle Manzo?"
"Yep."
"By the way, Almanzo. Thank you for fixing it for us. You helped us out tremendously." Cage tries to slip a few dollars in Almanzo's hand, but he declines it.
"No Cage, I won't take your money."
"Please? It's the least we could do. You helping out total strangers like ya have." Cage said and once again put the money in his hand.
"Guess it looks like you're not taking no for an answer." Almanzo said. "But don't think of it as stranger helping stranger. It's more like a friend helping out a friend."
"I appreciate you calling us friends of yours." Cage said as they were walking back to the house.
"Plus, I think you and your wife remind me a bit of Laura and I."
"Well from what I've seen Almanzo, I hope to have a good marriage like yours."
"Oh, I'm so hungry I think I'll eat the prettiest thing I see!" Almanzo said as he started to chase Jenny around the yard.
"Uncle Manzo!" Jenny was laughing hysterically.
Laura is is out on the porch watching the whole thing. "Almanzo James Wilder, what in the world are you doing?" She said, laughing at him.
"Speakin' of pretty things..." Almanzo jogs up the steps and kisses Laura and he puts his hands around her waist.
"Manly, now that's enough of that," Laura laughs. "The luncheon is ready." They walk inside the house and into the dining room where Arrah, Rose, and the boys were waiting for them.
"I hope you you all are hungry." Laura said as everyone was taking their seats at the table.
"I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!" Graham said.
"I could eat two of 'em." said Leslie, who was sitting on Arrah's lap. Thinking that was such a cute, funny thing for a little boy to say, everyone at the table laughed. "Well I could, if I was hungry enough!" Leslie said.
"Well, let's say a word of prayer before we eat,...we usually hold hands if that's ok"
"Of course. There's nothing wrong with tradition." Cage said. So, Almanzo held Laura's hand. Laura held Graham's. Graham held Rose's. Rose held Jenny's. Jenny held Drew's hand. Drew held Cage's. Cage held Arrah's..."What about me? Don't I get to hold somebody's hand?"
"You can hold mine, Les." Arrah said, smiling and grasping his small hand.
Almanzo bowed his head and prayed for the meal. "Dear Lord, thank you for this wonderful food we are about to receive. Bless it to our bodies. Thank you that we've met the Lay family. Bless them as they find a homestead, may their joys be many and their sorrows few. Amen."
"Amen." Everyone repeated. Rose stated that Almanzo said the Lay's were a "family". She told him she didn't understand and she thought a family was a Ma, a Pa, and their children. Arrah told her that anyone who is related and love each other can be a family... She also added that they have adopted the boys, and that they would feel strange calling their brother and sister-in-law, 'Ma and Pa'." Drew said that no one in the world could ever replace their real Ma and Pa, anyway...
So the Wilder's and the Lay's ate lunch together. They enjoyed each other's fellowship so much that the Lay's stayed for supper that night as well. One of the conversations at the suppertable was of course, homesteading.
"Do you have any idea where you'll be settling down, Cage?" Laura asked.
"Maybe here,... know of any good places to build a farm on?
"And whatever happened to 'I'll know it when I see it'?" Arrah asked, giving him her famous glare. She then smiled over at Laura, remembering their conversation from earlier in the day.
"I said I was thinking about it." Cage told her. "We'll talk about it tonight when the boys are asleep."
"Speaking of which, where are all of you staying?" Almanzo asked.
We'll probably be sleeping in the wagon, or we might stay in a hotel." Cage said.
"Nonsense, you'll stay here." Almanzo said. "Besides, hotels are so expensive and there's no sense on wasting your hard earned money on things like that." Cage was about to say something, but Almanzo cut him off telling him that they had an extra room for them to stay in. Cage looked at his wife deciding that they would stay at the Wilder's for tonight.