Feeling better about the situation, he nodded and picked up his lemonade. If only he’d been more careful yesterday. He knew the rain from the other night had loosened the ground by the river. He should have gotten off of Jack and just walked down to get the hat that had blown off his head.
Who knew Nebraska winds could make a hat fly away so fast? Next time, he would let his hat go. It simply wasn’t worth all of this aggravation. He sipped the lemonade and settled into the chair as he waited for it to be time for lunch.
***
Mary glanced out the kitchen window as she washed the last dish from lunch. From her vantage point, she saw that Dave was back in the chair, his foot propped up on the ottoman. Isaac was running in the front yard with Jasper who was more than delighted to be out of the fence for a change. Mary just hoped Isaac remembered to keep the dog away from the hens.
She turned her attention back to the sink and rinsed off the plate. Then she handed it to Rachel.
Rachel dried it off the best she could for a five-year-old. “I’m a big girl.”
“Yes, you are,” Mary replied. “But I hope you don’t get in a hurry to grow up too fast. I want to keep you around for a few more years.” She smiled and, on impulse, hugged the girl.
“I need to dry the dish,” Rachel protested.
Mary chuckled and released her daughter. “Alright. I won’t interfere with your work.”
Mary heard Dave let out a long sigh from the porch.
Rachel glanced at her. “Is that the wind?”
“No. It’s your pa. He’s bored.” April thought Joel sighed a lot, but Mary bet Dave had him beat. It seemed that all Dave did was sigh while in that chair. “Your pa needs something to do. Let’s go out there and talk to him.”
Rachel gave her the plate, and she set it on the shelf with the other dishes. Rachel put the towel on the worktable and started to run out of the room.
“Rachel, where does the towel go when you’re done?” Mary asked.
Rachel stopped just as she reached the threshold of the doorway and turned back to her. “I forgot.” She hurried to the towel and draped it on the back of one of the chairs.
“Thank you,” Mary told her.
“Welcome.” Then Rachel was running out of the room again.
Mary finished wiping up the rest of the kitchen, collected the basket of her sewing supplies, and went out to the porch. Rachel had abandoned the idea of sitting on the porch in favor of playing with Isaac and Jasper. It was just as well. She didn’t think Rachel would be all that excited about listening to her parents talk about “boring grown-up things”, as Isaac liked to put it.
“Is Adam asleep already?” Dave asked.
“He’s used to taking a nap this time of day.” Mary sat in a rocking chair next to him. Usually, she sat on the porch swing, but this chair was closer. “You make it a habit of disappearing after lunch, so you miss all the excitement that happens in the house.”
He shot her a wry grin. “I check on the animals. Sometimes I even milk a cow.”
She stopped sorting through the items in her basket. “Would you like me to do that?”
“No. I want you to keep me company. I was thinking of going to the barn later today and checking on them.”
“With your injury?”
“I have the crutch.” He gestured to the long wooden crutch next to him.
“Yes, but it’s not easy to use, is it?”
He shrugged. “It’s alright.”
“But it takes you longer to get anywhere while you’re using it.”
He thought over her words and said, “You’re right. I should go to the barn now. Maybe it’ll take me the entire afternoon to get back to the house.”
She let out a light huff. “But I came out here to talk to you.”
He grinned, and she saw that he was joking.
She swatted her hand in his direction then continued looking for the potholder she was in the middle of making.
“Actually,” he began, “it’s not a bad idea. I should do that tomorrow. I’ll go in there right after breakfast and check on the animals to make sure everything’s fine.”
“You can’t feed them, milk the cow, or collect the eggs.”
“But I can see how they’re doing and let you know what needs to be done.”
“Dave, I can check the animals and see right away if they’re fine.” Noting the disappointed look on his face, she amended, “Though, now that I think about it, it would be nice if you did that while I was making breakfast so I know what to expect when I get to the barn.”
He seemed happy by this. He even said, “That’s a good point. I’ll check them in the afternoon and evening, too. That way you can focus on lunch and supper.”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to do that so many times in a day when Joel told you to keep your leg propped up?”
“I’m not going to step on it. I’ll use the crutch.”
She decided not to argue. He had to know it wasn’t necessary for him to make three trips. Even when he was well, he didn’t make it a habit of checking on them more than twice a day unless one of them was close to giving birth or sick. But then, if he was careful, there probably wouldn’t be any harm in it. At the very least, it would give him a sense of purpose. It was certainly better than being stuck in
