A Home For Emily

Chapter Two

As they get further out of town, houses become sparser, the road they are traveling down becomes bumpier. Soon, Emily sees familiar crops in the field—cotton, corn, beans, wheat. This part of Iowa looks so much like where she lived on the outskirts of St. Joseph it's almost like she never left home.

Emily's not sure how long they travel, long enough that she is very aware of how unforgivingly hot the sun is, before Austin steers the horses toward a small house. In front of the house, two small children, both girls, are playing in the dirt. A woman sits on a small wooden chair and watches them.

Emily looks around as Austin slows the horses down to a stop. There is a chicken coop with several chickens inside and there's a pen that has a few pigs inside of it. There's a barn, but it looks smaller than the one at the Johnsons' farm. By the looks of the field surrounding the house Austin grows mainly corn, but right by the house is a small vegetable patch, Emily can see tomatoes ripe on the vines as well as squash, turnips, and a few things Emily's too far away to recognize.

At least Emily won't go hungry here. Everything is neat and well-taken care of. It's clear that Austin takes pride in his home. Emily intends to make sure it keeps looking nice.

As soon as the horses stop, the children yell "Papa" and rush to Austin. The woman stands, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand as she looks at Emily with open curiosity.

"Is this your new wife?" the woman asks. "What might be your name then?"

She's got a lilt to her voice that Emily doesn't recognize, but it reminds her of someone who used to visit the orphanage from time to time. She had been a nice woman, always had a kind word for Emily and the rest of the children. Emily wishes she could remember her name, but much of her time spent in the orphanage has faded from her memory.

"Emily Par—I mean Emily Anderson, ma'am," Emily replies.

The children are looking up at her curiously. They are both pretty, with long blonde hair. One is taller than the other by a few inches. One has blue eyes and the other one has green eyes like her father but other than that they look virtually identical.

"Don't be calling me ma'am, we don't go for such foolishness around here. I'm Kathryn and I'm very happy to make your acquaintance."

"I'm pleased to meet you as well," Emily says.

"Thanks for lending me the horses and buggy and for taking care of the children," Austin says to Kathryn.

"I cooked dinner for you, it's on the table inside. Might be a bit cold now, but it'll still fill your stomachs well enough. I need to be getting on home now, got children of my own that need to be fed."

"Thanks again, Kathryn. You need anything, you know where to find me," Austin says.

He's said more to this woman in the last few minutes than he's said to Emily since they've met.

The children hug Kathryn goodbye and then Austin helps Kathryn hop up on the buggy. A few moments later, she's on her way with a cheerful wave of her hand.

"I'm behind on the chores, better get to it," Austin says, turning away from them.

"I can help," Emily states. "I was raised on a farm. I don't know much about pigs, but I pick up things quick."

"I can handle things just fine," Austin replies. He turns around and walks toward the barn.

The two children look up at her expectantly.

Emily hasn't been around children since she was eight years old. She has no idea what to say to them. She might should have thought about what she was going to say to them before now.