Almanzo, Laura, Rose and Jenny are settling into their new farm in Mansfield, Missouri. they have been there a week, but some memories are hard to forget. A one shot. Inspired by a story in the Little House Sampler and the book, On the Way Home by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Story complete in one chapter
In the Land of the Big Red Apple
Almanzo looked around the new farm. He smiled and shook his head. They had been here a week, a whole week and already it seemed different. It was a sign, he thought. Maybe Beth had been right after all.
It had only been a seven hour trip from Iowa to Missouri. They drove around the area looking for the perfect farm until Laura told them to stop. Almanzo wasn’t thrilled with the way it looked, but Laura insisted that this was what she was looking for.
And so he gave in, so much so that the two of them had just come back from the real estate office and placed a down payment of one hundred dollars on the forty acre property.
“Uncle Manzo, you have to find Aunt Laura,” Jenny said, as she walked out of the small one room cabin that had come with the property. “Supper’s ready. I cooked up a surprise for you two.”
Almanzo smiled. He held his arms out and Jenny ran into them. He swayed her back and forth and then he let her go.
“Wow, Uncle Manzo,” she said, looking into his eyes. “You’re in a good mood.”
“Jenny, this is the second time in my life that I have been so happy. I don’t know why. This place, this rocky ridge filled with stones and wood needs a lot of work, but I have a feeling Aunt Laura knows what she’s talking about.”
“When was the first time?” Jenny asked.
”It was the day Beth and I married,” Almanzo said, looking at her. “But that’s another story for….”
“Papa, Papa,” his four year old daughter, Rose, ran out and lifted her arms, a sign for Almanzo to pick up her, which he did.
“Rosey Posey, you are gettin’ way too big to pick up anymore,” he said.
“I know you can do it, Papa. I believe in you.” Rose answered with a smile as Almanzo picked her up and placed her on his shoulder.
“Rose,” Jenny said, “come on, you know better than that. I need you to help me. You promised me, remember?”
Almanzo grinned and looked at his daughter. “Did you promise Jenny you’d help her?”
Rose looked at her father and nodded her head.
“Well, Jenny’s right then. If you promised to help out, you’ve got to keep that promise.”
“Why, Papa?”
“Because, it’s the right thing to do,” Almanzo said, putting her down on the ground. Jenny grabbed her hand. “If you say you’re going to do something for someone, you should always do what you promised. If you don’t a lot of people will be hurt and disappointed in you. People will never trust you anymore. Is that how you want other people to see you?”
Rose smiled and shook her head. “No Papa,” she answered, “but I wanted to go with you.”
Almanzo bent down to her size. “Rose, you are a big girl now and you’ve got to start acting like one. Now you go with your cousin and I’ll see if I can find Mama Beth. She’s got to be around here somewhere.”
“Wasn’t she with you?” Jenny said.
“She was, but I think she went to look for…”
“She’s sitting on a rock by the spring, Papa,” Rose said, pointing.. “She’s been crying.”
Almanzo looked at his daughter, a slow smile starting at his lips. He looked over at Jenny who looked as surprised as he did.
‘’She’s right, Uncle Manzo. I can see her from here.”
Almanzo stood up and turned around. Rose and Jenny had been right. He knew what was bothering her. It was just last night when Almanzo woke to find Laura at the other end of the room by the fireplace. She was sitting in the rocking chair staring into the fire. She was so absorbed watching the flames that she hadn’t heard his footsteps as he….
“Uncle Manzo?”
Almanzo turned to face Jenny. He smiled. “I’m sorry, ladies,” he said, smiling, even though tears were welling up in his eyes. “I’ll go get Mama Beth. Don’t wait for us, Jenny. We’ll be right in.”
And as he turned, he lost the smile. It was going to be hard getting Laura inside. And his niece and his daughter both knew it.
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Almanzo, ran down to the source of the spring. The creek from it flowed all through their property. The best part about it was that it was so close to the log cabin, just like Plum Creek had back in Walnut Grove.
He saw her sitting there, staring out into the wilderness; the bucket of fresh spring water sitting on the ground next to her. He noticed that there were boulders all over this part of the property. The one she was sitting on was big enough for at least three people.
Almanzo sat down next to her, but she took no notice of it.
“Miss them, don’t you?”
Laura turned to find Almanzo staring into her eyes.
“Oh, Manly,” she said, rushing into his arms. “How did you know?”
“I told you last night, sweetheart,” he whispered in her ear. “We had the same conversation, except we were by the fireplace. Today you’re out here.” He released her and caressed her cheek with his thumb, drying her tears. He smiled. “Come on inside, we’re all worried about you.”
“Worried? Why are you all worried?” She held up the bucket. “I told Jenny that I was going to get some water from the spring. They were all excited because Jenny said she never…”
But their conversation was cut short as Almanzo kissed her.
“Did you find the quilt yet?” he asked as he released her.
Laura shook her head. “Maybe you can help me look for it later, before it gets dark?”
Almanzo grinned. He nodded his head. “I don’t see why not, we sure could use it.”
Laura frowned. “Pa left it for Rose, Manly, it’s not ours.”
Almanzo smiled. “It’s too big for her and we can use it until you finish mending ours.”
“You’re right, Manly,”
Almanzo smiled. “We’ll argue about it later, but we’ve got to get inside right now. Supper should be on the table. Just remember that I love you. “
They both stood up from the rock, his arm around her. “Rose told me that you were crying. She wanted to come with me to cheer you up.”
Laura looked up at him. “She’s a smart little girl, isn’t she?”
Almanzo nodded. “She sure is, she surprised me and Jenny. Wonder what she’ll be like when she gets older.”
They both laughed as Almanzo picked up the bucket and they both headed back to the cabin.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
“Whatcha doin’?
Laura looked up from the rocking chair next to the fireplace. Almanzo squatted down next to her.
“I’m writing about our trip, Manly. I’m writing about Burr Oak, the towns we traveled through, the people that we met.”
“It wasn’t all that long, you know, it was only seven miles.”
“Doesn’t matter how long it was, Manly. All that matters was that it was an interesting trip and enough for me to write about.”
Almanzo smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. “Have you written anything about me?”
Laura smiled. “You are the star of the show, Manly, but you might have to share that with the kids and Ma and Pa. I hope you don’t mind.”
His smile widened. “We should keep it down, Beth. There’s only one room and no windows. Two beds side by side. “
Laura shook her head. “You made a divider, that’s all we’ll need for now. When we have time and more money, we’ll build an extra room and attach it to the cabin. Right now, it’s cozy in here for the four of us.”
“You have the confidence for all of us, Beth. I’ve always admired that about you. You know what you want, you go after it and you don’t stop until you get it.”
She touched his face. “You’re like that yourself, Manly,” she said, looking at him. “Look what you’ve done with this place in the short time we’ve been here.”
Almanzo lost the smile and looked into her eyes.
“It’s you, Beth. It’s you that keeps me moving from sunup to sundown. You are the reason we’re here and you’re the reason that we’re going to stay here. From the day you brought home that advertisement from the real estate office, I couldn’t stop thinking about moving down here, from doing what I love. It was you who convinced me that this place, full of rocks and tree stumps, could be turned into a beautiful and successful working farm.”
Almanzo was smiling again, a dreamy look on his face and love in his eyes. “We’ll make it here, Beth. It’ll be you and me together working side by side and by the time we’re done, you won’t even recognize the place.”
“We won’t,” she corrected him.
Almanzo’s smile got wider and he nodded his head. “We won’t,” he repeated and he kissed her.
Authors Note:
This story was inspired by a piece I read in the Little House Sampler called Grandpa’s Fiddle 1 and 2 written by Rose Wilder Lane. It was also inspired by On the Way Home by Laura Ingalls Wilder which was about their trip to Mansfield, Missouri from DeSmet, South Dakota in 1894.
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