“If I go to the March’s house after breakfast, do you think you could heat up your own leftovers for lunch?” Trudie asked. It would be an easy task, but she knew Doug was much worse in the kitchen than Mrs. March.
He frowned. “How long is this going to take? I like having my meal already warmed up when I get home. It saves time.”
“I could make you two sandwiches for lunch, and wrap them in oil cloth. Then you could take them with you, and eat without ever having to come home for lunch. It’s only for a week or two.” Trudie hoped it wouldn’t be longer than that, because she didn’t want Doug upset with her, but she did feel the need to help her friend. She wondered if life would always be a balancing act.
He sighed. “I suppose that will be all right then.”
Trudie smiled at Mrs. March, letting her know she wasn’t bothered by how gruff Doug had sounded. Learning to cook wasn’t easy, and the two of them would do it together.
After supper, Mrs. March helped with the dishes, and to Trudie’s surprise she didn’t know she had to have hot water to wash the dishes in. “I’ll teach you all about housework as well,” Trudie said happily. She was thrilled to have a friend to be with while Doug was on the range.
Once the Marches had left for the night, Trudie sat down with Doug at the table, picking up her sewing. “Thank you for not minding if I help Mrs. March.”
Doug shrugged. “I do mind a little, but I suppose if you needed something she would be here.”
“I’m sure she would. She’s going to be a good friend to me.”
He looked at her for a moment before nodding. “Do you have a need to be around people?”
“Absolutely. I grew up with a dozen brothers and sisters. How on earth would I ever get used to the silence of being alone all the time? I’m thrilled to have a neighbor so close, and one who needs to learn something from me. It will be good for both of us to spend time together that way.”
“I’m glad you’ve found a friend then.”
“Have I done something to upset you?” Trudie asked. “You’ve been awfully quiet.
Doug shrugged. “I’m a mostly quiet man. I do my work, and I handle things, but I’m not running around looking for someone to talk to all day.”
Trudie sighed. “I am.”
“It looks like you’ve found someone.” Doug looked back down at a stick he was whittling, and paid attention to that instead of his wife.
Trudie had no idea how she was going to live with a mostly-quiet husband. Where was the man she’d married, who had entertained her so much for three days?
Chapter 7
Trudie made Doug’s sandwiches for him, and sent him off to work with a kiss that next morning. He seemed distracted even when he kissed her. She knew something was wrong, but if he wouldn’t talk to her about it, there was nothing she could do.
As soon as he was gone, she saddled one of the horses and rode over to the March’s house. When she’d dismounted, Mrs. March was on the porch smiling. “I made breakfast this morning exactly like you showed me. Thomas said it was wonderful. Thank you so much.” She was obviously thrilled to have cooked something edible for a change.
Trudie smiled. “So, let’s see what we want to cook next. Do you have any supplies?”
Mrs. March nodded. “We got new supplies for me to burn on Saturday. Thomas said it was surely a waste of time and effort, but I’m glad he bought them. Because now I can learn to cook with them.”
Trudie nodded, walking into the March house, a bit surprised by how dirty it was. She decided to just be bold and say what needed to be said. “Now, I’m here to help you, and I’m going to say whatever needs to be said to do that. All right?”
“Sure.”
“We need to clean before we can cook. The floor and counters are filthy, and so is the table. Has anyone ever showed you how to clean?” Trudie rolled up her sleeves in preparation for a big day of work. She loved to work!
Mrs. March shook her head, looking embarrassed. “Never. I know it’s supposed to come naturally to people...”
“No, it’s not. You should be taught to do it, and I was. So now we’re going to get started, and we’re going to clean as much as we can as quickly as we can. When the kitchen is clean, then we will start making bread.”
Mrs. March nodded. “I have a broom and some old cloths.”
“Perfect. Have you ever used a broom?”
When her friend shook her head, Trudie explained what she was going to do before doing it, and then after demonstrating, she put the broom in her friend’s hands. “Now you do it.”
It took them working together a little more than an hour to get the kitchen clean enough that Trudie felt like they could mix up the bread dough. Instead of doing it herself with Mrs. March watching, Trudie sat at the table and told her friend how much of everything to add to the dough, while she wrote down everything that needed to be done. “It’s best to follow step by step until you get used to making it. Of course, getting used to it won’t take long. You’ll be making it every day or every other day.”
When Mrs. March had added everything, Trudie told her how to mix it, and then she showed her how to knead it on the table. They floured it and covered it with a cloth, and then they both washed their hands. “Don’t worry about the mess,” Trudie said. “We wear aprons when we cook for a reason.”
“All right. What next?”
“If you’ve been here three weeks and no laundry has been done, that
