The Noble Ladies' Orphanage

Chapter 15

"Oh, I might forget every now and then," Jan said. "If I were daydreaming about, say, a girl."

"I was not," Marcus said. "I just forgot."

"Well, don't forget tomorrow," his mother said.

Marcus's father prayed over their meal, and Marcus dove in to eating. When the edge was taken off his hunger he said, "Father, remember when you said there wasn't enough land or work to support all three of us boys?"

"Yes."

"Jan here tells me that you're expanding because there's so much demand for your eggs in town, and what was the other thing you were selling there, Jan?"

"Cabbages and potatoes," Jan said between bites, "and also poultry for cooking."

"You don't like working for Maraček?" his father asked.

"No, it's not that," Marcus said. "It's just...I don't know what I'll be doing long term. Jan and Tomas will run the chicken business, but what will I do? Why can't I be part of that?"

The question hung in the air while Marcus's father finished chewing a piece of bread. His large mustache obscured his lips.

"Remember when you were younger and you broke an entire day's eggs when you knocked the baskets off the cart?"

"Yes."

"And remember the time you pulled all the cabbage seedlings out of the ground because you thought they were weeds and we had to replant two weeks late?"

"Yes."

"How about the time you forgot to close the gate and a fox got into the hen house and killed a dozen of our best laying hens?"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Marcus said. "But why send me to Maraček?"

Marcus waited for the answer, but his father seemed to have forgotten it was his turn to speak.

"Cows are too big to get hurt easily," Jan chimed in. He laughed, and his parents joined in, but Marcus just dunked another piece of bread in his soup and continued eating.

"Don't feel bad, Marcus," his mother said, patting his arm. "Different people are made for different jobs, that's all."

"What if you're not made for anything?" Marcus asked.

"Everyone's made for something," she said. "You just haven't found it yet."

"That's right, Son," his father said. "Chin up." He wiped his mouth and huge jowels and even his forehead with his napkin and then laid it on the table.

"Thanks for the dinner, Ludmila. I'm going to go outside and take a look at Jan's plans for the hen house." He rubbed his thick hands together. It's been years that I've wanted to expand that thing. Let's go, son." And he clapped his hand on Jan's huge shoulder and they walked out into the dusk together.

"I'll help you with these, Mother," Marcus said as he started to clear off the dishes.

"No, no," she said. "You've been working all day and you're tired. I can do this."

"You'll be glad when Tomas gets married and Klara comes, won't you? It must be hard doing all the women's work by yourself," Marcus said.

She smiled wistfully at him. "You've always understood me better than the others," she said. "Yes, it's true. I'm looking forward to having Klara around. But the wedding is so soon. There's so much to do to get ready."

When Karolina turned in her last bucket of milk the next day, Marcus took it from her but didn't walk immediately back to the buttering room like usual. She waited, as it appeared that he wanted to say something. When he didn't speak, she said, "Are you excited about the wedding tonight?"