November, 1780
"Dog!" Thomas said in his high pitch voice.
He was pointing at Hank, who was curled up in front of the fireplace, and looking to his mother with wide eyes. His first teeth were starting to come in and they worried him during the night. Sara would stay awake most nights trying to soothe him.
"That's right!" Sara laughed.
He brought his small hands into his lap, grabbed the edge of his gown, and pulled it up over his face. Sara set down the wooden spoon that she had been cooking with and she straightened his clothes.
"Dog...dog...dog," he babbled, trying to grab his mother's hair.
Sara nodded at him. "Yes, that is our dog," she said, turning back to her work.
Thanksgiving was coming up and instead of going to her uncle's house, she had invited Aunt Catherine to her home to celebrate. She had stayed up many nights debating on what to prepare. Her aunt and uncle would arrive a few days before the holiday, so she wouldn't be cooking alone.
"Hello, son," Gil said as he walked through the back door and took off his muddied boots.
Thomas pointed at Hank. "Dog!" he said.
Gil look wide eyed. "Yep, that's the dog," he said with a smile.
Hank looked up for a moment, but put his head back down between his paws. He gave a loud sigh and closed his eyes again.
"Did you find a good one?" Sara asked.
Gil had gone out to look the chickens over. Sara wanted to prepare one for her aunt's arrival, but Gil was empty handed. She looked at him with confusion and then walked over to look out the window.
"They're in the coop," he explained. "They are looking pretty spooked. Feathers are ruffled."
"Are there any missing?" she asked him, picking Thomas up off his blanket.
Gil shrugged. "I didn't count," he admitted.
Sara walked past him and down the back steps. Thomas wriggled in her arms, but she wasn't going to put him down; that was exactly what he wanted her to do. She peeped into the henhouse and saw that her husband was right. The birds were all inside, crowded together. The rooster sat among them and he clucked a warning at Sara when he saw her.
"Oh, be quiet!" she told him.
She counted their heads twice, stood, and looked at her husband. "There are three missing," she said.
Thomas pointed at the chickens. "Dog!" he said.
"Chicken," Sara corrected him softly.
Gil put a finger to his chin. "They have to be around somewhere," then he added. "Unless we have a coyote or a hawk has gotten one."
"One maybe," Sara stated. "But there are three missing. They were all here last night."
"Do you think someone would steal them?" Gil asked her.
Sara bit her lip. "I hate to think neighbors would act that way," she said. "but perhaps."
Gil scratched his head. "I can't grab one when they're like that," he said. "That rooster will claw my eyes out."
Sara shrugged. "Maybe they'll be calmer tomorrow," she said.
Thomas pointed back towards the henhouse. "Dog!" he said.
"No, son," Gil said.
~8~
The next day, the chickens weren't calmer at all. If anything, they seemed to be more worried. Sara did another head count and gapped at Gil.
"We're missing another!" she exclaimed as she threw feed out for them to peck.
"That does it," Gil said, taking his hat off. "I'm staying up tonight to keep watch."
Sara looked back at him. "What would you do if it is a neighbor?" she asked.
"Demand our chickens back," he said as he bounced Thomas on his knee. "But I do not think the rooster would let a stranger get so close."
Sara pursed her lips as she tossed feed out of her apron. "We'll see," she said.
~8~
That night Gil kept vigil. He kept the curtain pulled back and he had a clear view of the coop. After Sara had laid Thomas down for the night, she came to sit with him. To keep them both warm she made hot coffee.
"I bet it is a pesky coyote," he commented as she handed him a tin cup.
"Then what will we do," she said. "Kill it?"
Gil nodded at her. "I know it's sad but we must," he explained. "If it knows we have chickens then it'll keep coming back and kill our whole clutch."
As they waited, Gil smoked his pipe and Sara worked on braiding a new rug for the kitchen floor. She had ripped apart a few old rugs and woven the braids together to make a larger, more colorful rug. When he said that she found it sad to kill an animal, he was right. But they needed their chickens.
"Sara, put the lamp out," Gil said quickly.
Sara looked up from her braiding and turned the key on the lamp. She looked at Gil and noticed that he had straightened up in his seat. He was looking intently on something outside. She followed his line of sight and saw, standing right beside the henhouse, a large, gray wolf. The wolf brought it's nose to the henhouse opening and Sara could hear the chickens clucking and the rooster give his warning cry.
"Gil," Sara breathed. "A wolf."
Gil picked up his gun carefully and stepped over to the back door. Wolves had very sensitive hearing, and there was nothing Gil could do to suppress the sound of the backdoor's squeaky hinges. He crept to the door, but, as he feared, the moment he opened it to aim, the wolf turned and ran towards the woods.
Gil set his gun down. "Now we know why so many have gone missing in such a short amount of time," he said.
Sara set her rug down and stood beside him. "Do you think it will be back?" she asked.
Gil nodded. "Yes," he said. "And wolves travel in packs. Unless it is a mad wolf."
~8~
That night Gil didn't sleep much, but Sara's exhaustion got the best of her; lately she had been growing more tired more easily. She woke up to the smell of coffee and a wailing Thomas. His teeth hadn't bothered him during the night, but he was making up for it by waking early.
"Son, you sound like the battle horn," Gil joked from the direction of Thomas' bedroom. "You'll wake your mama."
Sara pulled herself out of bed slowly but was hit with a wave of sickness. She quickly grabbed for the wash basin and let herself get sick. When she was finished she laid back down and threw her hand over her head. She needed to get up and see if the wolf had returned, but her body was demanding that she stay in bed. From the kitchen, Thomas' cries carried and she forced herself up. She walked shakily into the kitchen, saw Gil with Thomas, and offered to take him.
"You like sick, dear," Gil said to her. "Maybe you should relax a little."
Sara shook her head in protest. "Its just my stomach," she stated. "I'll be alright in a few moments."
But she wasn't alright in a few moments. Gil fed Thomas and dressed him warmly. He fed the baby porridge for lunch, but soon had enough of his worrying. He laid Thomas across his shoulder and started for the front door.
"I'll go for the doctor," he said.
Sara tried to protest, but a wave of sickness wash over her. Instead of arguing about it, she settled down into her rocking chair with her braided rug in her lap. She was too ill to get up and work, but too aware not to want to lie in bed all day.
After a some time, Gil returned with the doctor. He had Sara lay down on the bed for him and he felt her stomach. He looked into her throat, took her pulse, and checked her temperature. Then he asked her a question that was too embarrassing to even mention to her Aunt Catherine.
"Have you missed your bleeding?" he asked, putting away his tools.
Sara wrinkled her forehead. "I… yes," she said. "I guess I haven't had it in quite some time."
The doctor closed his bag. "Well, there you have it," he said, giving her a smile. "You are with child. The second one can always be a little more difficult than the first."
Sara sat up in bed. "I am?" she asked.
The doctor patted her shoulder and smiled. Gil, who had been sitting by the window, stood up and walked over to her. He took her hands and smiled at her.
"I don't know what to say," he said to her. "This is a surprise."
Sara felt a mixture of excitement and anxiety. "Are you happy about it?" she asked.
"Of course," he said as he smiled at her warmly.
~8~
A/M:
The quest for the right program to write with has been fruitless. I have found some, but once you have had Word… nothing is the same. I want my thesaurus and my grammar checker and my easy save files. I am on google doc. Not too excited about a cloud but what can I do? Please review. Love you. Also. this is a saga and may not end soon. Or ever.