Isaac smiled. “Good. I always have to sleep on the bottom when Greg stays over at Grandpa and Grandma’s.”
He had just finished combing his hair when Dave came into the room. “Rachel’s already downstairs, so I’m going to get the wagon ready. It’s nice that we can finally go to town as a family again.”
“It is nice.” Mary picked Adam up. “I’ll change his diaper and then be down there.”
Isaac scrunched up his nose and set the comb down. “I’m going with Pa.”
Not surprised, Mary chuckled as the boy followed Dave out of the room.
By the time she was downstairs, Dave had pulled the wagon to the front of the barn. She peered out the window and saw that both Isaac and Rachel were helping him, or at least, they were trying to help him. Isaac, being older, was doing a better job of it than Rachel was, but Dave was patient as Rachel did her part.
She set Adam down in the parlor. “You wait here. I’ll be right back.”
She glanced at the clock in the kitchen and saw they were on time. Good. She had promised Maureen she’d bring over an apple pie while in town today, and Dave promised her they’d go to Maureen and Connie’s store before going to Richard’s. “If we go to Richard’s first, that pie won’t make it to the store,” Dave had added.
He was probably right. It seemed that Tom and Joel were especially bad about fighting for a slice or two of her pies. All she needed was for them to jump across a table to get a slice. It was far better to deliver the pie to the store first and then go to Richard’s.
The trip to town was a nice one, and Rachel, wanting to do something important, held the pie with the kind of care one might give a fine piece of china. Mary suspected the girl had a natural mothering instinct about her. She would make a good older sister to the baby. She’d still been young when Adam was born, so she hadn’t been able to do much to help Mary. This time would be different, though, since she would be six.
When they went into Maureen and Connie’s store, the two women looked at them with wide eyes. “I don’t believe we’ve ever seen you all dressed up,” Maureen said.
“We haven’t,” Connie replied. “It’s not Sunday, so you can’t be going to church. What’s the special occasion?”
“We’re celebrating the fact that Richard is featured in a prominent magazine,” Mary said as she set the pie on the counter.
“Is the magazine out already?” Connie asked.
“Richard got some copies,” Mary replied.
“Imagine being featured in a magazine,” Connie told Maureen.
“It’s really because of you two that he even got in it,” Mary said. “You thought it would be a good idea for the newspaper to write about his business.”
Connie and Maureen glanced at each other, and then Maureen nodded. “I suppose we did do that.” She winked at Mary. “That just goes to show that women can have some influence.”
“I also hear that Amanda’s mentioned in the article this time,” Mary said. “Richard wasn’t very happy the newspaper reporter left out her contribution to the business.”
Maureen’s smile widened. “That article is going to be even more inspiring than the one in the newspaper. Just think of it. When people read about Amanda’s contribution, they’ll have a higher respect for any woman who decides to run a business.” She turned her attention back to the others. “We’ve had a couple of men tell us this store won’t last, but we’re determined to prove them wrong.”
“I have no doubt you’ll do just that,” Mary replied.
The door opened, and Sally came in with Rick, Greg, and Laura, who were also in their Sunday clothes.
“I thought that was David and Mary’s wagon,” Sally told Rick. Her gaze went to Dave and Mary. “We decided to walk to Richard and Amanda’s. It’s bound to get crowded with everyone that needs to come into town. The last thing their coachman needs to do is figure out where to put our buggy.” She bypassed Dave and Mary and went to the pie that Maureen was holding. “That looks a lot like Mary’s pie.”
“How can you tell that?” Maureen asked.
“It’s got the cute little x markings in the crust that Mary always makes,” Sally said. Then she glanced at Mary. “Don’t tell me you gave her your recipe when you wouldn’t give it to me.”
Mary shook her head. “No, I didn’t give her the recipe. I’m letting people compare it to hers.”
“I want to know if I can come close to her recipe,” Maureen said. “Want to be the first to take the test?”
Sally’s eyes lit up in interest. “Sure!” Then she paused and asked, “What’s the test?”
“I made an apple pie, and I’m going to let people sample my pie and Mary’s to see if they can tell the difference,” Maureen replied.
“It sounds like fun! How many people are doing this?” Sally looked at the others in the store.
“We can get apple pie any time we want,” Dave said.
“In that case, the rest of us will be happy to be part of this test,” Rick said as he and an eager Greg and Laura joined him on his way to the counter.
“I’m going to cut the pies up into small pieces,” Maureen told them. “But you can’t watch. I don’t want to skew the results.”
Sally, Rick, and their children turned their backs to Maureen while she got the samples ready.
“This is so exciting,” Sally said. “I wonder if the judges in cooking contests feel this way. I’ve only been a contestant. I’ve never been the one picking out
