The Hansen Girls Chapter 5

Chapter 5

           

            While the Carter boys stabled the horses, Danielle flew in the house. She whipped off her hat and threw it on the hook. She ran into the kitchen and began shouting.

            “Jinger! Set two more places at the table. Cassandra, where’s Belle? We have company.” Danielle looked to Cassandra.

            Cassandra pointed upstairs and went to check that she had cooked enough food for everyone.

            Danielle ascended the stairs and found Belle talking to Nadia. “Belle,” Danielle whispered.

            Belle turned her head towards Danielle.

            “The Carter boys are staying for dinner.”

            Belle nodded and slowly stood up. “Come along, Nadia. It’s lunch time and we have guests.”

            Nadia looked up in surprise. “A guest? We’ve never had a guest before…what’s a guest like?”

            “It’s a person you invite over to eat lunch or dinner with you,” Danielle explained.             Belle looked down at Nadia, “Remember the two boys I was telling you about?”

            Nadia nodded.

            “Those two boys are staying for lunch.”

            Belle, Danielle, and Nadia walked downstairs together and saw the Carter boys walking in the house. Both were kicking the dirt off their boots and pulling off their jackets.

            “Howdy miss,” Caleb and Davy said tipping their hats.

            Danielle made quick introductions. She began rattling off names while pointing at each sister.      

“You all look so much alike! I can’t tell who is who,” Davy laughed.  Davy tried running through all the names.

            “Close,” Belle said when he finished. “You got the twins backwards.”

            “Of course, we’re hard to tell apart,” Faith said kindly.

            “You’ll get the hang of it,” Cassandra agreed.

            The boys sat down at the table and the food was passed around. The boys were handed the food first. They took some food and dumped it on the plate.

            “Caleb, would you pray for us?” Belle asked.

            “Let’s pray.” Caleb bowed his head and prayed for God to bless the food.

            As soon as the prayer ended, the girls pestered the boys with questions.  Davy and Caleb patiently answered them. They told about their family and some funny stories they knew.

            “Y’know, I think we ought to have a party,” Davy said suddenly.

            “A party?” Elsie asked curiously.

            “Yes, a party. It’s been a while since we’ve had a regular party around here. We’ll have music, dancing, and tons of food.”

            The girls’ eyes lit up. They all were bubbling on the inside; parties were so exciting.

            Caleb stood and smiled widely. “You Hansen girls are all officially invited to a party tomorrow night at our house! Ma and Pa will want to meet you girls so we’ll just host a party.”

            “A party!” Jinger exclaimed.

            “I’ve never been to one,” Lynn said softly.

            “We’ll have to fix up our Sunday dresses,” Cassandra added fretfully.

            “Well, you can begin, cause Davy and I need to get home and help Pa with the chores.” Caleb thanked the girls warmly and Davy copied him. They took their hats and disappeared down the road.

            “I like them,” Megan announced.

            “Me too,” Belle said rising to clear the table. Cassandra sent a mysterious glance Belle’s way but Belle missed it. The girls washed the dishes and swept the floor.

            “Belle, let’s work on the dresses right away,” Elsie said eagerly.

            “I hope our green dresses still fit!” Faith said thinking of the twin’s pale green gowns.

            “I can’t remember what mine looks like!” Lynn added.

            Belle smiled her friendly smile. “Come along then, we’ll go find all the dresses.” Belle led the way upstairs to the girl’s room where the large trunk sat. Belle began pulling the dresses out. The dresses had been packed away ever since the country church had been destroyed by a fire. The pastor moved on and no one built a new church.

            Nadia, Megan, and Lynn’s purple dresses were pulled out first. The three squealed with happiness and held onto their dresses as if they would vanish. Hannah and Jinger’s yellow dresses followed along with the twin’s pale green ones. Cassandra dug around until she found her white gown and searched for holes. Belle grinned as she handed Danielle the long light pink dress. Danielle took the dress and examined it. Though Danielle wouldn’t admit it, she did adore the dress. Alice always dressed Danielle in pink since it suited her so much. Belle looked longingly at her sky blue dress. There was a small tear along the hem but that could be easily fixed.

            “Any bad tears?” Belle stood and looked at her sisters.

            “Lynn's hem is loose and so is mine,” Megan piped up.

            Belle grabbed the basket full of sewing materials and set to work on fixing Lynn and Megan’s hems. Cassandra began work on her own while Danielle, Elsie and Faith began lengthening theirs.

~~~

            The next day, the girls focused on finishing the dresses and getting done with chores. Lynn and Megan swept the floor while watching Belle finish their dresses. Hannah, Jinger, and Cassandra scrubbed and dried the dishes speedily so they could help with the dresses. Danielle watered the newly planted seeds and the twins did the barn chores in record time. Everyone was eager to go to the party that evening.

~~~

            The clock struck five and all the girls climbed into the Hansen wagon. Danielle helped Belle up to the front seat and clamored up herself. Danielle clucked to the two draft horses and the creatures plodded forward. A warm spring breeze floated by and the sky slowly darkened. They reached the Carter’s farm at quarter until six. As the girls climbed down from the wagon, Mr. Carter met them at the door.

            “Howdy, everyone! You must be the Hansen girls. My name’s Jonathan Carter.” The girls shook hands and were ushered into the house. Mrs. Carter, a small, petite woman with dark blonde hair greeted the girls.

            “I never had any daughters of my own so this is a real treat!”

            Belle enjoyed Mrs. Carter’s joyful character already. Davy and Caleb emerged from the back room. They wore freshly washed white shirts with black pants and suspenders.

            “Hello, Hansen girls,” Caleb welcomed.

            Davy went around and shook hands with all the ladies. “Let’s get the music started,” he called after shaking hands. Mr. Carter found his accordion, Caleb searched for his guitar, and Davy struck up “Camptown Races” on his fiddle. The other instruments joined in and everyone began singing. The Carter family all had very good voices as did the Hansen girls. They sang song after song until Mrs. Carter demanded everyone eat before they “die of starvation”. Mrs. Carter proved to be a fantastic cook. All the turkey was devoured rapidly and the canned vegetables followed. Cassandra’s pie was complimented over and over. The last piece of pie was fought over, even though the three men each had a piece.

            After supper, Mrs. Carter took Davy’s fiddle and played some dancing songs for the group to dance to. Caleb made a beeline for Belle but Mr. Carter beat him to her. Belle and Mr. Carter began swirling around the floor and were joined by Davy and Danielle. Caleb, though disappointed that his father had Belle, found Cassandra and whisked her around. The three younger girls trotted merrily in a circle, shrieking and squealing. Hannah and Faith danced together with Elsie and Jinger following. The men made their rounds changing from girl to girl. When dark fell, Cassandra took everyone home while Belle and Danielle stayed to help Mrs. Carter clean up.

            “Thank-you very much,” Mrs. Carter repeated again.

             Danielle smiled, “We really don’t mind. We had such a good time!”

            Belle nodded her agreement and dried the last plate. “We better go.”

            Danielle grabbed her shawl and walked towards the door. Belle followed her sister and said goodnight to their hosts.

            “We better walk you home,” Caleb said stepping forward. “It’s awful dark.” The sisters agreed and the four set off. Caleb offered Belle his arm and they walked off. Davy and Danielle followed farther behind.

            “They sure are head-over-heels for each other,” Danielle remarked.

            Davy nodded his head, “You’re absolutely right.”

            “Belle never had a beau before,” Danielle said watching the two walk.

            “Caleb never had a girl either.” Davy sighed, “Enough of this boring talk; do you know any good riddles?”

 ~~~

            Belle and Caleb looked over their shoulders at the laughing duo behind them.

            “They sure get along well,” Caleb said.

            “Danielle is comfortable around just about anyone,” Belle sighed.  “I’m terribly shy sometimes.”

            “You’re not too shy.” They walked in silence for a moment. “Belle,” Caleb said hesitantly.

            Belle looked up at Caleb.

            “Have you ever had a…a…beau before?”

            Belle blushed, “No…I’ve never had the time and there are hardly any boys nearby.”

            Caleb nodded at the last remark. “I understand…but you’re a really pretty woman…and if you don’t mind me asking…” Caleb paused nervously.

            Belle smiled up at him, “Go ahead.”

            Caleb relaxed and asked, “Would you mind if I courted you?”

  ~~~

             Danielle quit laughing in time to here Caleb’s question. Davy stopped too.

            “Wow, I didn’t think he had the nerve!” Davy stared in awe at his brother. “Did you hear Belle’s answer?”

            Danielle nodded, “She said yes.”

            “I’m glad for Caleb; Belle is a great woman.”

            “Yeah, she is. Caleb seems really nice too.” Danielle shrugged indifferently.

            They reached home and Caleb and Davy called goodbye and hiked back to their house. Belle floated into the house and Danielle followed. They found their freshly cleaned nightgowns and changed into them. Belle and Danielle mounted the steps together.

            “I had a great time,” Danielle said, “All the singing and the dancing and the food!”

            Belle smiled at her sister, “It was a well-needed party.”

            “You bet!”

            Belle said goodnight to Danielle and sat down on her own bed. Belle slowly ran a hairbrush through her thick hair and thought about her walk home with Caleb. I can’t believe Caleb wants to court me! But I’m so glad…he’s so kind and sweet and respectful.

            Belle couldn’t fall asleep. She couldn’t keep her thoughts away from Caleb. Tonight, she had realized how handsome he really was; his blond hair, pale blue eyes, and kind personality. Stop it, Belle! Belle scolded herself. How could she be thinking of such things! She was supposed to be a mother! Not a young girl in love. Belle had missed out on such things. She had become a “mother” too soon. She never complained, in fact she enjoyed it somewhat. Belle sometimes forgot that the girls were her sisters. My sisters need me…I can’t let anyone court me while my sisters need someone to care for them. Belle began having second thoughts on allowing Caleb to court her. I better talk to him tomorrow, Belle thought.

~~~

            Belle met Caleb the following afternoon. She took a deep breath and quickly told him that she had changed her mind and that he couldn’t court her anymore.

            “Why not?” Caleb demanded angrily.

            Belle bit her lip. This was not going how she had hoped. She hoped Caleb would be kind and understanding. It was hard enough for her to tell Caleb. She really liked Caleb.

            “Caleb, I need to take care of my family. They have no parents. Mama didn’t want us to go to an orphanage so someone needs to care for them.”

            “Cassandra could do it,” Caleb protested kicking a clump of dirt.

            “Maybe she could…but Mama asked me too. Besides, I can’t go gallivanting off with some young man when there is so much work to do.” Belle rested her hands on her hips.

            “What if we met only once or twice a week?” Caleb looked sorrowfully into Belle’s eyes. “You promised me last night,” he reminded stepping towards her.

            I did, didn’t I? Belle thought sadly. “I’m sorry…I just…” Belle struggled to find the words.

            “You do like me don’t you Belle?”

            Belle groaned, Oh if only he wasn’t so handsome and so sweet and persistent. Why am I so weak around him? “Once or twice a week,” Belle agreed quietly. She looked down at her feet, swirled around and walked back to her cabin.

~~~

            Cassandra bit her lip nervously. She watched as Belle disappeared inside the cabin and watched as Caleb walked back to the fields to start working.

            I can’t take care of this family! Cassandra thought in alarm. We are barely surviving as it is…if Belle marries Caleb and leaves me to take care of everyone…I can’t do it! I’d have to separate them and then Belle would be mad at me. Belle would hate me…but there is nothing else I can do…

            Cassandra looked back at Caleb as he walked up to the fields. He’s handsome…not really what I always dreamed of but…maybe if…Cassandra stopped suddenly. No! That’s downright evil! Cassandra turned and ran back into the cabin.

CHAPTER SIX