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  “I thought you were going to go visit them.” Rebecca looked across the circle.

  “I was, but then I got busy at the cheese house, and after the cattle had to be destroyed, I didn’t care to go anywhere. It was just too sad. But Manda wrote to say they didn’t lose a lot of cattle because they have mostly horses. Zeb is gone most of the time putting up windmills across the prairie. Besides the horses they breed and raise, they buy horses from the Indians, break and train them, and sell them to the army.”

  “Manda always was so good at training horses,” Astrid said, reaching for more popcorn. “I bet she wears britches all the time too. Grace and I turned skirts into britches last summer, and you should have heard our mothers.” She rubbed her tongue over her front teeth. “You’d have thought we went out naked. When I reminded Mor she’d worn britches when she was younger, she gave me a strange look. Said things were different then and left it at that.”

  “I heard she was a really good hunter back then too.” Sophie narrowed her eyes. “Why do you suppose she quit?”

  “Because it was scandalous, and Haakan didn’t want her to offend other people moving in,” Rebecca said.

  “How do you know that?”

  “My mor used to tell me tales of what it was like in the beginning. She and Ingeborg and Kaaren were such good friends, and they started the school and the church and everything.”

  “They had to be good friends. There wasn’t anyone else.”

  “Other than Metiz.”

  Maydell thumped her fist on the floor to get their attention. “I think we need to get back to Rebecca’s problem.”

  “Yes, ma’am!” Astrid saluted.

  “No, really. She wants to be married, and I think it is our duty to help her.”

  “I’m sure you have advice for her.”

  “I have advice for all of us. Deborah, don’t you want to get married? I know I do.”

  “Well, sure.”

  “Then here is what we do.” Maydell motioned them to draw closer, as if someone might be listening in. “I think we should each make a list of all the eligible men and write down their good traits and bad traits and then figure out who will fit best with those of us looking for husbands.”

  “I think we need a shadchan. I read about it in a book. Families hire a matchmaker to find mates for their children.”

  Sophie groaned. “What’s wrong with good old flirting and parties where people can get together and have fun?”

  “No. Listen to me. Each of us who wants to be married must make a list of things she thinks are important in a husband, and then we can match up the lists. And we can study up on how to attract that certain man.”

  The others groaned. Ellie started to giggle. Sophie joined her, and soon they were all laughing.

  “Make him tall and good looking,” someone said.

  “That’s not hard here. They’re all tall and good looking.” More giggles, and the more they laughed, the harder they laughed until they were falling into each other and clutching their stomachs.

  Rebecca flopped back on the floor. “This is crazy.”

  “I know, but …” Sophie tried to catch her breath. “If anyone ever breathes any of this to anyone else in town”—she stared hard at Ellie—“we’ll have to deny it ever happened.”

  “Promise you won’t say a word about this to Andrew.” Astrid stared at her sister-in-law.

  “But he’s going to ask me what we talked about, and …” She rubbed her side where the baby was kicking against her ribs. “I must be carrying a girl, and either she’s having a fit at what we’re saying, or she’s in total agreement.”

  “Ellie Bjorklund.” Astrid tried not to laugh, but it got away from her. She pointed a finger at her friend. “You are not to tell Andrew. Promise.”

  “I promise.” She held up her hands to ward off an attack. “I promise.”

  Mrs. Sam appeared in the doorway. “Are you young ladies ready for cake and tea?” Without waiting she carried the tray in and set it on the low table. “Sounds to me like you havin’ a good time.”

  “Oh, we are. Thank you. Happy birthday, Rebecca. And happy New Year to all of us. Nineteen hundred and three. This is going to be the best year ever.” Sophie got up to help pour the tea. When they all had cups, she raised hers. “To the new year and the daughters of Blessing.” They all joined her, standing with their cups raised. “The women of the future.”

  Rebecca sipped from her cup when the rest did. Could she have her dream without causing a rift in her family? Maybe she could marry off Gus, and then he wouldn’t be such a grouch. But then where would I live? What does the future hold?

  4

  Dear Rebecca,

  How I love to hear from you, although if you would include more of the news from Blessing, I’d appreciate that too. We are getting by here in Bismarck, with the usual colds and runny noses for wintertime, but other than that, I must not complain. The children are doing well in school. Pastor Solberg gave them a good start. Hjelmer is busy with work, although I think he misses Blessing nearly as much as I do, even though he wasn’t there a whole lot.

  While I miss my store and all my customers, I have made this house a home and have joined the Ladies Aid at the Lutheran church here. It is strange to have so many churches. We live about six blocks from the church, this one built of cut stone and so large compared to our church at home.

  There, I’ve done it again. Blessing is home to me. This is just where I live for the moment. I’ve heard that Mr. Jeffers is not doing well with my store. I am having a hard time forgiving myself for getting in a rush and selling to someone outside of Blessing, but with Mrs. Valders trying to buy it for nothing and Hjelmer insisting we needed to get moved—well, as they say, the rest is history. The moral of the story is, well, I’m not sure what the moral is.

  So regarding you and your soda shop, I think you have a good idea, and of course you will be able to manage it. Don’t listen to anyone who says you can’t. I am sure the First Bank of Blessing will loan you money if you need to borrow. However, I am in agreement with Gus that you don’t borrow unless you absolutely have to. I think you will soon find that the dress shop is too small and you will need to look for another place. Or be sure you can add on to it when time and money become available. If it were me, I would talk to Thorliff and his crew and see if anyone else is interested in another new building. The way Blessing is growing, they need to get some buildings built ahead, houses too.

  It would be good if you could visit a similar shop somewhere else, like in Grand Forks. I’m not sure if Grafton has such a business or not. There is one here in Bismarck. You could always get on the train and come to see me, and we’ll explore. In fact, I think that is a very good idea. Surely there is enough money in the family account for you to come to Bismarck. How I would love to see you. And the children would be overjoyed.

  Regarding the bookkeeping, I always kept a ledger. You can buy a leather-bound one from the catalog, and you need to keep records of everything from the very beginning. Talk to Ingeborg if you have any questions there. She is the one who taught me how to do that. Mr. Valders, if you talk to him without Mrs. Valders around, will also give you good advice.

  Rebecca stared out the window at a glittering diamond-crusted world. Asking Mr. Valders made her want to squirm inside. While he’d never been mean or anything, he was not the most approachable man. She’d rather talk with Ingeborg any day. Mrs. Garrison would be helpful too. And Sophie. When she thought about it, there were quite a few businesswomen in Blessing. But wouldn’t it be fun to go visit Penny? But get on the train all by herself and go? What would Gus and Knute say? Maydell came from Grafton on the train by herself. Of course Bismarck was a lot farther away, but still …

  Why couldn’t she just do like her brothers said and be content to keep house until she found a man to marry? And if they had their way, her husband would want to work on the farm and just move into the farmhouse. When Gus got married, he could build
another house.

  She thought of Anji, her sister, now living part of the time in Norway and part of the time back here with her “Mr. Moen,” as she always called him. The last letter said she was expecting again, and the new baby would give them six children, including the two daughters Mr. Moen had from his first wife. Anji had never dreamed of having a business. She always thought being a wife and a mother the greatest thing ever invented.

  Rebecca returned to reading her letter.

  And so, my dear Rebecca, I will look forward to not only hearing from you, but seeing you soon, before spring comes and you need to start your seeds and spring housecleaning.

  All my love, Penny

  P.S. Linnea says she misses you and come soon. PB.

  Laying the letter on the table, Rebecca studied the calendar on the wall, one Thorliff had printed and sent out with the newspaper to welcome in the new year. Dorothy would cook for Gus, so he wouldn’t have to worry about cooking. Except there was the new baby coming, so when would be a good time to go? She didn’t want to miss the birth. That wouldn’t be fair to her family.

  The thud of boots on the porch made her check the clock. Surely it wasn’t dinnertime yet. When she heard three voices, she left her papers on the table and crossed to the stove, where the coffeepot always sat on the back staying warm in case someone came. Her mother had always done that, so the habit was ingrained. She slid a couple of sticks of wood into the firebox and brought the pot forward. Good thing there was still cake to serve with it.

  Gus came in, and when she saw Haakan and Thorliff behind him, she was glad she had a fresh apron on.

  “Good morning, Rebecca,” Haakan said as he hung his hat on one of the pegs. “Fine day we are having.”

  She greeted them both and motioned to the table. “T he coffee will be hot in a minute.”

  Haakan handed her a basket. “Some things from Ingeborg. She said you should come soon and spend the day. I know she has the quilting frame up and is always looking for another quilter.”

  “Maybe she would like to go to Bismarck with me.” The words caught her by surprise, and the look that Gus sent her made her smile even wider.

  “Bismarck? When are you going there?” Thorliff turned from hanging his things up.

  “Soon.” She indicated the letter from Penny, giving Gus, who was starting to say something, a look. “I never really thought of going until Penny said there is a soda shop in Bismarck and I should talk to the owners.”

  “That ’s a good idea,” Thorliff said. “Sounds like you’ll all be traveling.”

  Rebecca glanced at her brother, who looked a trifle confused. She pushed her papers into a stack and set them at the end of the table. “Would you rather have applesauce or cream on your cake?” It wasn’t that often they had company. This was a treat. And from the sound of things, Haakan and Thorliff were here on an errand.

  She kept an ear on the conversation as she cut the cake, put applesauce on some pieces and cream on the others, set those around, and poured the coffee, not bothering to offer cream and sugar, since all the men took theirs black.

  “Sit down now so we can all talk,” Haakan said with a smile. “This concerns you too.”

  “What does?”

  “Remember when we went east this fall and returned with a cattle car of milk cows and some hogs?”

  “Of course.”

  “Someone wrote to Thorliff and said there is a dairy herd for sale in southern Iowa. We wrote back to tell them we are interested and to see if they knew of any other stock for sale. So Lars and I will be going there at the end of January, and we wondered if Gus would like to go along. We’ll be milking twenty head or more and hoping for some sheep and hogs. I wanted to wait until the weather warmed up, but the man who is selling needs to get this finished up. Sounds like he is in bad health.” Haakan turned to Gus. “What do you think? Could you go along?”

  “I don’t know why not. We’re working on machinery, but Knute can handle that. We only have the one cow, so that’s no problem. Sure, I’d like to go.”

  Rebecca swallowed and ordered her heart to slow down. “And I could go to Bismarck at the same time.”

  All three men stared at her in unison. She sat a bit straighter and locked her fingers around her coffee cup. “How long do you think you would be gone?”

  “Hard to predict that. I’ll think we’ll take hay and grain from here. That way we won’t have to buy any.”

  “And we all have plenty of that.”

  “Right. Use the same cars both ways. I’ll check with the railroad on that.” Thorliff wrote himself a note on the pad of paper he always carried in his shirt pocket.

  “Then you’ll have an auction again like the last time?”

  “I’ll put an article about it in this week’s paper. I’d love to go, but then we wouldn’t have a paper for who knows how long.”

  “You need to train someone else to help with that.” Haakan ate the last bite of his cake. “Very good, Rebecca. Mange takk.”

  “Would you like more coffee? Cake?” She’d almost forgotten her manners just thinking of all they were talking about. She and Gus both riding the train, only going in opposite directions. While he’d been to Grafton a few times, she’d never been farther than Ingeborg’s.

  “No thank you. We better be going.” The two men pushed back their chairs. “See you in church on Sunday. I hear you girls had quite a party at the boardinghouse.”

  “We did. It was nice to be together, but we still missed Grace.” What had Haakan heard? And how? From Andrew, of course, but what all did Ellie tell her husband? Surely she didn’t mention the lists. Mortified would be a good word to apply to the feeling that grumbled around in her middle.

  “Greet Ingeborg and Dr. Elizabeth.” Astrid would have told her mother some things about the party too, but they’d all promised not to tell anyone about the lists. She’d been very careful to keep hers hidden. Had the others started theirs?

  “We will.” They finished putting on their gear. “See you Sunday.”

  She shut the door behind them and then rolled her lips together to keep from laughing. She’d announced she was going, and with the other men here, Gus had just swallowed and not argued. All these years of her brothers telling her what to do and making sure she made no mistakes. Hmm. When she thought of it, did their being more than a little overbearing have anything to do with her lack of suitors? Or was she just not pretty enough, or … was there something wrong with her?

  Should she go talk with Knute and Dorothy or let Gus do the talking? He would be so excited about going with the older men that he’d probably not say a lot about her. Why had Haakan and Thorliff asked Gus to go? She poured herself another cup of coffee and sat down to study her lists. One reason: he had no family to worry about. Two: no chores to do during the winter, and he was known to be utterly dependable. Besides that, he’d gone with the threshing crew the last few years, so he and Haakan were used to working together. Andrew had always made it clear that he didn’t care if he never left Blessing. He’d much rather stay home and take care of things here. And be with Ellie and his growing family.

  Rebecca had always thought it romantic that Andrew planned on marrying Ellie from the time they were really little. What would it be like to be loved like that?

  On the last day of January, Rebecca and the men caught the southbound train in the morning to Grand Forks and then on south to Fargo, where she would catch the westbound to Bismarck while they headed east. She’d made her first telephone call from the boardinghouse and left a message for Penny at Hjelmer’s office saying when she would arrive.

  To her surprise Gerald had come to the station with a small package for her. He had bought her a box of her favorite candy. “In case you feel homesick,” he’d whispered. “Have a good time and try not to get into trouble.” He’d winked but Gus had flushed. Rebecca hadn’t been sure whether to laugh or cry.

  After settling into her seat and tucking her bag under it and
another in the shelf overhead, she stared out the window as they passed farms and endless drifts of snow.

  “Your first train trip?” Haakan asked.

  Rebecca nodded. “We’re going so fast.”

  “Seems that way compared to driving a team. But Thorliff says we’ll be building roads for automobiles pretty soon, and I expect many of them will follow the train tracks.”

  “Other parts of the country already have a lot of roads,” Lars commented.

  “Well, we do too. They just aren’t very wide.” Gus turned back from watching out the window. “You can drive to Grafton or Grand Forks or up through Drayton to Pembina.”

  “True.” Haakan turned back to Rebecca. “Astrid says you are real serious about opening a soda shop.”

  She nodded. “This spring, I hope.”

  “You’d make your own ice cream?”

  “And candies and other desserts possibly.”

  “You think there are enough people in Blessing to support a specialized shop like that?”

  “I know I’d have to keep the expenses way down, but you know how we all love ice cream as a special treat. Wouldn’t you like to have a dish of ice cream sometimes without all the work of getting the ice, cranking the machine, and waiting for it to set up? Then once it is empty, it’s all gone. I’ll be able to make up several flavors and keep them frozen to dish out whenever you want. I’d like to serve sodas too and ice cream toppings. I saw an advertisement for some in a magazine.”

  The train stopped at every station, with the men pointing out various farms and points of interest, and before she expected it, the conductor was announcing, “Fargo. Next stop Fargo.”

  While the men got on their train east immediately, she had an hour to wait, so she set her bags on a wooden seat with a high back and walked around the inside of the depot to stretch her legs before sitting down again. She couldn’t remember ever sitting so long without getting up. Even in school they’d not sat that long. After the men’s train departed, it suddenly became very quiet in the station. And every time she looked up, she felt that someone was staring at her. Some men looked at her the way Mr. Jeffers did. When the time came to get on the train, she was exhausted.