The Hansen Girls Chapter 8

Chapter 8

            The next morning, Danielle awoke to sunlight streaming through the window near the bed. What time is it? she wondered. Danielle rolled over to look at the clock on the nearby shelf.            “Eight o’clock!” Danielle cried. She hurled herself out of bed. “I’m usually up at five-thirty,” she muttered. Glancing around, she saw Lillian had laid a dress out for her. Danielle scrubbed her face and changed into the dress. It was a simple blue calico dress and it fit Danielle well enough. After she dressed, she found a brush and tamed her hair into two pigtails. She climbed down the steps and found Lillian reading in the parlor.

            “Good morning,” the woman greeted her. Lillian was dressed in a white top and a forest green skirt.

            “Why’d you let me sleep in so late?” Danielle questioned sitting down beside her.

            “Once I found out you slept in a prison for a week, I was prepared to let you sleep all day!” Lillian declared.

            Danielle smiled; she was beginning to really like the O’Neal family. They were very friendly people.

            “Are you hungry?” Lillian placed her book down and stood up.

            “Yes, the prison food wasn’t good either.”

            Lillian flew into the kitchen and began cooking a mess of pancakes. “You eat your fill,” Lillian said when she placed a huge stack in front of Danielle.

            Danielle bowed her head in a quick prayer before she dug in.

            “So, you believe in God?” Lillian asked.

            “Yes ma’am! Mama and Papa taught me about Jesus when I was just a little girl. I’ve been a Christian for a while now. All my sisters are Christians too.”

            “That’s wonderful! Paul and I are both Christians as well and we attend a small country church down the road a ways. They only have services every other week because our pastor is a traveling preacher and he has another town he preaches at.” Lillian sat down across from Danielle. “Tell me about yourself.”

            Between bites, Danielle explained all she could. “First off, I’m sixteen and my sister Belle says I’m a tomboy. My siblings even call me Danny, but you can call me Danny or Danielle.

            “I have nine sisters and four brothers. My brothers went off a month ago to live in the city. I’m not sure where they are.” Danielle continued on telling about each sister from youngest to oldest. “Belle works really hard for us. She has been in charge of us ever since Mama passed away almost six years ago.”

            Lillian smiled gently, “I understand. My mother died when I was thirteen.”

            “But, weren’t you just at your mother’s house?” Danielle asked.

            “My step-mother’s house. Father remarried quickly.”

            Danielle explained what was left to explain and finished her breakfast. “Is Paul— Mr. O’Neal— out in the woods right now?”

            “Yes, Paul likes getting an early start on the day. And you may call us Paul and Lillian instead of Mr. and Mrs. O’Neal,” Lillian said. “Personally, I like Lillian better.”

            “Me too. It is such a pretty name.”

            “Thank-you; my Mother always wanted a girl named Lillian.”         

             “Do you have any chores for me to do?” Danielle asked once they moved back to the parlor.

            “Well, mainly all we have to do is clean the house and take care of the chickens. Paul takes care of the other animals.”

            “Only the housework and chickens?” Danielle asked a bit crestfallen.

            Noticing Danielle’s face, Lillian spoke quickly. “But I’m sure Paul would enjoy the help,” she added.

            “When will he come home?”

            “He works all morning, and then comes home for lunch. After lunch he goes back to chopping down trees. On Mondays he delivers a load of wood to the mill in Fairburn.”    

            “I’ll talk to him at lunch,” Danielle decided.

            While Lillian sewed, she asked Danielle some questions about schooling. Danielle knew a good deal from Belle and Alice but didn’t know the more advanced things. Lillian was a teacher for nearly two years before she and Paul married. Lillian dug out some old McGuffey’s and a few other books, plus a slate. Lillian drilled Danielle the whole morning. By the end of the morning, Danielle felt her brain would burst. At noon, Paul walked in the house and Lillian and Danielle went to greet him. Paul kissed Lillian and smiled at Danielle.

            “Is lunch ready?” Paul asked patting his stomach.

            “Oh no, I forgot!” Lillian cried.

            “Forgot? How could you forget?” Paul said in mock dismay, “I’m starving!”

            “Give me ten minutes,” Lillian said whisking into the kitchen.

            Paul winked at Danielle and went back outside.

Danielle followed him. “Paul, can I help you with the animals every morning?”

            “You really want to?” Paul asked with some surprise.

            “I used to do it with my brothers back home,” Danielle persisted shaking her head firmly.

            “Well, tonight I’ll show you what to do and then you can help tomorrow. How’s that?”

            “Great!”

            Paul went to where a small sled-type object sat with a couple tree trunks on it. “While Lillian makes lunch, I’m going to unload these. Do you mind calling me when lunch is ready?”

            “Sure, but I can help you.” Danielle walked over to Paul.

            Paul looked at her doubtfully, “They are really heavy.”

            “I can try,” Danielle persisted crossing her arms.

            Paul grinned and gave in, “Oh why not. I’ve heard the men talk about girl lumberjacks.” He handed Danielle a pair of gloves and they both gripped an end of the log. With Paul’s strength and Danielle’s spirit, the two moved the log over to where Paul stacked them.

            “Well done,” Paul praised when they moved all ten logs.

            “Thanks,” Danielle said wiping sweat off her brow.

            “Let’s go wash up and find Lillian.” They walked in the house where Lillian was finished up lunch.

            “Danielle! What happened?” Lillian gasped looking at Danielle’s smudged dress and sweaty face.

             “Go ahead and wash up, I’ll explain.” Paul shooed Danielle off to the washroom and he turned to his wife. “She wanted to help me move the logs,” he explained.

            “And you let her?” Lillian said raising a blonde eyebrow.

             “She did real well. She is strong for a woman. She was so determined; I couldn’t say no.”

             “She wasn’t like me when I was a girl.”       

             “That’s for sure!” Paul hooted. “Never set foot out of town, never set foot in a stable, never rode a horse, never—”

            “Paul!” Lillian groaned in embarrassment.

            Paul laughed and headed to the washroom. Danielle was smiling when she entered the kitchen.

            Lillian noticed, “You heard?”

            Danielle nodded.

            “I was so spoiled growing up. Now I do my own cooking, cleaning, and my share of chores,” Lillian sighed.

            “Welcome to life on a farm,” Danielle said with a small smile. “Oh, Paul said he will teach me what to do with the animals tonight.”

            “That’s fine. Paul will appreciate some help.”

            Paul walked out of the washroom and sat down at the table. “Let’s eat!” Paul prayed and then everyone began eating. Over lunch, Lillian relayed all the information Danielle had told her at breakfast to Paul. All the info was relayed by the time lunch was finished.

~~~

            Danielle helped Lillian make supper that evening. Danielle slowly learned where Lillian kept her pots and pans and plates and flour and sugar and everything else. Danielle handed Lillian the bag of flour, and as Lillian dumped the flour into a bowl, Danielle timidly asked Lillian a question.

            “Lillian?”

            “Yes?”

            “Will you and Paul send me to school?”

            “Do you want to go?”

            “No…not really. I’m too old to try and learn with other kids my age…I’d rather learn from you.”

            Lillian grinned; obviously pleased. “If you want to learn here, I’ll teach you here.”

            Danielle sighed with relief and went back to work.

  ~~~

            After supper, Paul showed Danielle how to feed and care for the animals.

            “The horses and Thunder each get a can on this corn and oat mixture,” Paul said. He showed her the bucket of feed and the can he used. “Then you split a bale of hay between them.”

            Danielle memorized everything Paul said so she wouldn’t forget.

            “Then you give them plenty of water. The goats get two cans of the feed and a third of a bale of hay. Since they are always out in the pasture, they don’t need as much. The water trough is over here and you make sure it is kept full.” Paul went on to describe caring for the goats and skipped talking about the horse care since Danielle knew how to care for them. “I think that’s all. I feed every morning at six so I can be finished at six thirty, eat breakfast, and head to work.”

            Danielle reviewed everything in her head. “I think I remember it all.”

            “Good, let’s go sit in the living room for a bit before heading to bed.” Paul led the way into the cabin.

            The evening was spent sitting in the parlor. Lillian and Paul discussed their bill at the mercantile and how church would go the following day.

            “Monday, I’m going to go pay off the mercantile bill. I finally got the check from Jack Hogsworth today and I can pay off the bill.”

            Lillian nodded, “You’ll need to pick up some flour and some baking soda.”

            Paul scribbled it down on a scrap piece of paper. “Anything else, Lillian?” Paul asked glancing up.

            “Not that I can think of,” Lillian responded.

            Danielle sat quietly beside Lillian. She had already pulled out her braids and changed into her nightgown. She recalled nights when all ten sisters and all four brothers would sit in their own parlor chatting and singing or reading stories to each other.

            Danielle stood up suddenly. “I’m tired; I think I’ll go to bed.”

~~~

Paul and Lillian stood up too. Lillian watched Danielle carefully. She could sense Danielle was upset about something. She reached out and ran her hand over Danielle’s back.

            “Goodnight, Danielle.”

            Danielle instantly stiffened at Lillian’s touch and stepped away.

            Lillian opened her mouth to apologize but Danielle had already mumbled a quick goodnight and rushed up into the loft.

            Lillian pressed her lips together and turned to Paul. Paul smiled at Lillian and put his arm around her shoulders.

            “Give it time, love. She’s been through a lot.”

            Lillian nodded, “I just want to help her…”

            “You will. You will.”

           

~~~

            The next morning, Danielle woke up early to help Paul. Lillian had laid out an older, worn dress of hers for Danielle to use. That way, Danielle wouldn’t dirty up a nicer dress. After dressing and braiding her hair, she went back downstairs where Paul was pulling on a pair of boots.

            “There you are. Are you ready?”

            “I’m ready,” Danielle said. Paul loaned Danielle an old pair of boots so she wouldn’t mess up her nice pair. Danielle slid her feet into them and hurried outside with Paul.

            “Why don’t you feed the chickens and goats while I feed the horses,” Paul said handing her a can of feed.

            “Sure,” Danielle trekked off to the goats. Feeding went much faster with two people and she and Paul were grooming the horses in only a matter of minutes.

            “It usually takes me much longer,” Paul said as he brushed Midnight.

Danielle swept a comb through Strawberry’s mane.  “It’s nice to be back on a farm.”

            “Country life is the only life I’ll. When I asked Lillian to marry me, I told her ‘Lillian, if you marry me, we won’t be living in the city.’ But she said yes and here we are today.”

            Danielle laughed at the story. “I can’t believe Lillian was a city-girl.”

            “Boy, she was! She had a maid, cook, and butler at her house and when we married, she had to become all three! I had to help her along in the beginning but we got on fine.” The two finished chores and went inside the house. The smell of sizzling eggs greeted the two.

            “Mmm, I smell something good,” Paul declared tromping into the kitchen to greet Lillian.

            “Then you better go wash up since the food is ready.” Lillian pointed to the washroom and Danielle and Paul raced for the room.

 ~~~      

            The country church was a small white building. It held about thirty people every Sunday. The Reverend King only came to the church every other week. The other weeks he would be at another church farther away in the Black Hills. Once again, Danielle borrowed a dress from Lillian since Danielle’s pink dress still needed to be mended. Paul wore a clean white shirt and black slacks with a black tie. Lillian wore a long red dress and a matching hair ribbon on her strawberry blonde bun. Danielle braided her hair in one braid and added a blue ribbon of Lillian’s. Strawberry and Midnight drove the threesome to the church in the carriage.

            “Good morning, O’Neal! Morning, Mrs. O’Neal.” Friends tipped their hats and called out greetings as the O’Neals drove in.

            “You ladies save me a seat. I’m going to tie up the horses.” Paul helped Lillian and Danielle out of the carriage and went to tie up the horses. Lillian led Danielle into the church. The church was already filling up. Most of the limited seating was taken. Lillian found a pew and she and Danielle sat down. Paul came in a minute later and sat beside Lillian.

             “Let us begin the day with the hymn: ‘Onward Christian Soldiers.’” The Reverend stood up at the pulpit and began the service. 

             The congregation stood, grabbed the hymn books, and began singing as a woman began playing on an old piano. After the singing, the offering was taken and Joshua King began speaking.

  ~~~

            Paul and Danielle fed the animals that evening while Lillian made supper. Strawberry and Midnight gratefully chomped on the feed Danielle served them. The goats were chewing on the hay Paul tossed them and Paul and feeding the chickens. Only Thunder was left to feed. Danielle walked into the pony’s stall and walked up to the trough to toss in the feed.

            “Thunder!” Danielle complained, “you keep dumping your water bucket.” She knelt down to pick up the fallen bucket near Thunder’s front side. Thunder snorted and suddenly, kicked out at Danielle. Danielle felt a sharp pain shoot up in her knee. She was taken off her feet and landed in a heap. A surprised cry escaped from her as the pain refused to leave. She dragged herself away from Thunder as she heard Paul enter the barn.

            “Danielle? Danny, are you alright?”

             “In here,” Danielle winced.

            Paul’s head appeared over the stall door and he quickly entered the stall and pushed Thunder over to the other side. “Did he get you?”

            “Yes.”

            “Where?”

            “On my knee.”  Danielle tried to hide how badly she was hurting but her face was tight with pain.

            Paul frowned and helped Danielle to her feet. “Can you walk on it?”

Danielle tried putting weight on her leg. “Ouch!” she cried.

            Paul reached over and helped her.  “Hold on.” Paul scooped Danielle up and carried her into the house. “Lillian!” he shouted as they neared the door. Lillian appeared at the door in a flash.

            “Oh dear, what happened?” She stood back and opened the door. Paul walked in and laid Danielle on the couch.

            “Thunder got her,” he replied.

            Danielle winced and tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she held her knee.

            “I knew that horse was trouble,” Lillian groaned as she went to grab a warm rag for Danielle’s knee.

            Paul grinned and whispered to Danielle, “Thunder stepped on her toes on the first day I bought him.”

            Danielle looked up at Paul, “Was she hurt badly?”

             “Not too bad. I’d say I was hurt more by her harsh tongue-lashing.”

             Danielle managed a small laugh as Lillian returned. Lillian folded a wet rag and pressed it against Danielle’s knee.

             “Paul is so attached to the animal; otherwise Thunder would have left a long time ago.”

             “I’ll go finish the feeding and ‘talk’ to Thunder,” Paul said leaving the room with a wink.

             “It’s going to hurt for a few days. I think by Tuesday it will feel much better and Wednesday and Thursday you should be fine.” Lillian examined the swelling bruise. “Thunder never liked anyone except Paul,” Lillian muttered.

             “So Thunder stepped on you?” Danielle asked.

            “You bet he did! He wouldn’t get off. I tried to push him off and he wouldn’t budge! Paul had to come help me.” Lillian placed the rag back on Danielle’s knee. “I’m going to go finish supper; you just sit here and relax.” Lillian left the room and Danielle lay back on the couch. 

CHAPTER NINE