Three months had passed and the Lay's house was finally finshed. They had the Wilder's over the first night for supper as a thank you for such a help they were to them. It was October, school would be starting up again soon and the boys would be attending with Jenny and Rose. Drew was to turn seventeen on the 13th. Graham wasn't to have his next birthday till April, and Leslie, of course he had already been three years old for about three months exactly. He was playing out in the yard with Graham with his birthday present that Arrah had given him. Inside the little calico bag she made was a dozen of little wooden 'men' that Cage had carved out of good, solid oak wood. Six of them were 'indians' and the other six were 'pioneers'. Cage took great detail in them, he had even carved the little feathers that Indians usually wore in their hair. He even made a chief, and Leslie loved them!
"Ok Les, you can be the Indians and I can be the pioneers..." Graham was saying.
"NO!...I don't want to! It's my indians and my pioneers so I get to choose!" Leslie insisted. He thought for a moment and then grinned a mischievious little boy kind of grin. "Indians are big meanies so you can be them, Graham..." He said, pushing the pile of toy Indians in front of his brother.
"I'm telling Arrah!" Graham yelled and ran inside the house. Moments later, he came out with Arrah. She was wearing her dark brown skirt and her tan blouse with the pink roses on it. Around her thin waist she had on a cream-colored apron.
"Leslie, did you...Did you call your brother a...a big meanie?" Arrah put her hands over her mouth to try and keep from laughing, and flour covered her cheeks for she was starting to bake bread for supper that night.
Leslie shook his little head no as his answer.
"Well Graham said you did, Leslie."
"No I didn't." He said. "I said that Indians were big meanies."
"And you said that I could play the Indians!" Graham raised his voice at his little brother.
"Graham Nathaniel...you hush." Arrah told him, sternly.
"Yes Ma'am." He said quietly.
"Leslie." Arrah said getting down on her knees and putting her hands on his shoulders. "You said that Indians are big meanies, but then you said that Graham could be the Indians...In a way, you called Graham a big meanie. Didn't you." She said looking straight into his big, chocolate brown eyes.
Leslie nodded.
" I think you meant to call Graham a big meanie...Didn't you."
"Yes Ma'am...I'm sorry." Leslie said.
"Don't tell me...tell your your brother." She said, and Leslie obeyed her. He said he was sorry to his brother and gave him a hug.
"It's not nice to call people names...I don't want either of you to." Arrah told them. "You know what comes next if you disobey me..."
Both boys immediately straightened up, they knew what came next if they were naughty and did it a second time...They would get spanked by Cage...and that wasn't any fun...
"Now how about you boys go and get washed up. Supper is going to be ready soon."
"What are we having?" Leslie asked.
"If you boys will help me with some of it...you'll find out."
"Ok...What do you want us to do?" asked Graham.
"Go get the water bucket and fetch me some water, please." Arrah said.
"Yes Ma'am." They said and ran off to get the water bucket. Arrah went back inside and began to gather her ingredients...She grabbed two peeled onions, some wild leeks, ground cardamon, allspice, nutmeg, three bay leaves, a clove of garlic, powdered garlic, salt, and black pepper. Arrah grabbed some deer meat that had been dried. It was the only way they could keep it fresh in their journey from Iowa to Missouri. She knew it wouldn't be like she usually made this, but it was good enough...She was just working with what she had. Graham and Leslie returned with the water bucket. Leslie was all wet.
"What happened?" Arrah asked with her hands on her hips.
"Leslie was playing in the water." Graham said.
"Don't play in the water next time, Leslie...That was very naughty." Arrah picked him up and was about to go upstairs.
"Arrah? What do I do with the water?" Graham asked. It was a bit heavy for the nine-year-old boy to hold.
"Just set it down somwhere Graham." She said, looking over her shoulder. He did as he was told and Arrah went upstairs with Leslie and got him changed into some dry clothes. When she returned, she set Leslie in his own little chair at the table so he would be out of the way.
"What are we gonna cook, Arrah?" Graham asked.
"Gethsemane Beef...Just like Jesus and the Disciples ate at the Last Supper..." Arrah said, putting all the indgredients in a large pot. She let it boil for three hours till all the water boiled off.
"Really!" Leslie asked, wide eyed.
"No not really! Its just the recipe!" Graham said. "But Arrah! We can't call it Gethse- Gethsen- Gethseme" He stumbled over the word.
"Gethsemane." Arrah corrected.
"Yeah that! We can't call it beef, 'cause it's not beef,...it's deer meat!"
"I guess you're right." Arrah laughed.
Cage came through the front door. He saw Arrah working at the stove and came up and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Hey sweetheart...Supper almost ready?"
"It will be soon...Don't you worry." Arrah laughed, playfully tapping his chest.
"What are we having?" He asks, placing his hands around her waist.
"Gethsemane Beef." She started to say, but she looked over at Graham and smiled.
"Gethsemane Deer Meat!" Graham said. "Yay!...I finally said Gethsemane!" He laughed.
"Very good Graham." She smiled at him. There was laughter beaming in her brown eyes. Arrah turned to her husband. "Its getting late...Have you seen Drew? I thought he was going around town with you."
"He was...but then he asked if he could go over to the Wilder's place."
"He was over there five times last month." Her lips formed into a smirky type of smile.
"Well I guess tomorrow is Jenny's birthday and he was asked to help put together a surprise party."
"But if Jenny's there too she'd know about the party!" Graham said.
"Drew was asked to be a distraction." Cage smiled and raised his eyebrows. There was a gleam in his eye.
Arrah smiled at her husband and looked at Graham. "Would you go get Drew and tell him supper is almost ready, please?"
"Yes Ma'am." He said, grabbed his coat, since it was autumn and a bit chilly, and headed out the door. He walked the ten or so miles to the Wilder's place. He saw Drew and Jenny in the front yard and ran up to them and saw them...kissing.
"I guess you're doing a good job of distracting her!" Graham said.
They pulled away from each other. Both looked like they were slightly embarassed.
"Arrah says supper's almost ready Drew."
"Ok..." He said to his brother. He looked at Jenny. "See you tomorrow in church." He smiled.
"See you!" She called as the boys were walking down the dirt road.
"Drew?...Why were you kissing Jenny Wilder?" His kid brother asked as they were walking home. The sun was beginning to set into beautiful hues of reds, oranges, and golds.
"It was a Happy Birthday Kiss." He defended himself.
"Her birthday's tomorrow...I just think you like her!" Graham said, smiling up at his older brother.
"I do like her...and I think Jenny likes me too."
"How do you know that?"
"She wouldn't have kissed me back if she didn't like me too!" He smiles and runs up the front steps.
"Older brothers!" Graham said, rolling his eyes and walking in the house after his brother.
"Sorry I'm late!" Drew said. "Was having fun with Jenny at the Wilder's and lost track of the time."
"Yeah...too much fun!" Graham muttered, taking a seat at the suppertable. Drew glared at him.
"Did you wash up for supper?...You know I won't stand dirty hands at the suppertable." Arrah said, beginning to bring the food to the table.
"Wow Arrah! You sound like Ma." Drew smiled and walked out the door to go wash his hands. When he returned, the Lay's sat down to a good meal of the venison, buttered mashed potatoes, and buttered green beans. Cage, Arrah, and Drew had hot tea to drink and the two youngest had milk. The Wilder's were kind enough to buy them a milk cow.
Cage said a prayer for the meal and everyone began eating. The boys began to talk to their brother and sister-in-law about their days. They listened to all three boys, and Cage asked if he could talk to Arrah outside for a moment.
"Certainly." She said. Arrah looked at the boys, who had all stopped eating. They were all staring at her. "Boys,...eat your supper." She said, and followed her husband outside.
"I'm sorry we couldn't get here sooner, sweetheart." He said.
"What do you mean?...What's wrong?" Arrah said, placing her hands on his chest.
"I won't be able to work in the fields and plant anything till next spring...Provisions are getting low...So is money..." He said, gazing into her worried-looking brown eyes.
"I'll cut down a meal or two...Cage, you said so yourself that I eat like a bird...I'm not going to let those boys go without food..."
"I can't let you do that sweetheart." He says, rubbing her shoulders.
"I can and I will!" She says, very determined and turns to go back inside. Cage lays his hand on her shoulder.
"Wait!...Almanzo asked me if I'd like a job in town...At the mill he works at."
"Take the job." She said and turned to go inside once again.
"Wait a minute." He said and she turned around. "I love you." He smiles.
She kisses him on the lips. "I love you too." Cage put his arm around her and they both walk inside the house. They sat down at the table again and finished their supper.
"Tomorrow is Jenny's birthday." Drew said, taking his last bite of food. "Wilder's are throwing a party after services tomorrow and asked us to come over."
"Do they want us to bring anything?" Cage asked.
"Just yourselves, they said." Drew replied.
"Well I'll bring a batch of snowball cookies anyway...and I have a present for Jenny as well."
"What is it?" Graham asked.
"Well I knew how much she and Laura like listening to my stories, so I wrote a little booklet for them."
"What stories did you use?" Drew asked.
"Me and Miss Prim...Graham and the snowball bushes...The story how Cage and I met...The story of the blue Forget-Me-Nots...and the Mean Rooster."
"The Mean Rooster?...I don't remember you telling that one!" Graham said.
"Well it involves Me, my Ma, and of course one very mean rooster."
"Could you tell it to us, please?" Leslie asked.
"No...I want to let Jenny read it to all of us at her party."