This is a sequel to Alden's Dilemma and picks up right where the episode ends. The story explains what happens to John and Almanzo when they arrive in Springfield and how they get back to Walnut Grove. Story complete in one chapter. Updated and edited for content.
Coming Home
Sequel to Alden's Dilemma
Lea Wyatt was tired. She was tired of milking cows, mucking stalls and collecting eggs. She was tired of shucking corn and pitching hay. Lea was tired of farm life in general.
At twenty seven years of age, Amelia Wyatt was the youngest woman living on what was once her father's ranch. The family had started calling her Lea at an early age and it stuck. Brown eyed with bright red hair, she was the only girl in the long history of the Wyatt family. She often wondered what she was doing there, the only unmarried female within earshot still living with her brother, older than her by four years. It was literally the talk of the town.
At first, she loved the idea of taking care of the ranch; doing the books, ordering the supplies and, believe it or not, doing the chores Chet didn't really want to do. It all changed when he married his childhood sweetheart. It wasn't long before Chester and Hannah started having children. Five years had passed and two little twin boys had been added to the family with another on the way. Now she felt that she was in the way, even though her brother told her she wasn't. Chet explained that Hannah was too busy with the kids and that numbers weren't her thing. No one else could do all that cyphering, he added and that they really needed her.
So she stayed. After all, her name was in the will. She had a right to live there just as much as her brother did.
"Lea, we're back with the cattle," her brother called from the bottom of the stairs. "And you wouldn't believe what we found with them."
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"Laura, Laura," Mrs. Foster called. "There's a package here from San Francisco here for you. The sound of the words "San Francisco" caught Laura Wilder's and Sarah Carter's attention. Almanzo and John should have been home days ago. It had been almost two and a half weeks since anyone had heard from them. Maybe this was good news.
"Oh," Mrs. Foster called again. "There's a telegram as well."
The two women ran over to the postmistress.
"Oh, Mrs. Foster," Laura said, accepting the package and the telegram. "Thanks so much."
"Come on," Sarah said, "we don't have to open these in the middle of town." She eyed Mrs. Oleson staring at the two of them. "We'll go to my place."
"Good idea." Laura said, nodding her head.
"Oh, Laura, Sarah," Mrs. Oleson called as the two walked over to wear the rig was parked. "Have you heard from John and Zaldomo?"
Laura turned to look at Harriet Oleson as she and Sarah climbed into the Wilder's buckboard. "Not yet, Mrs. Oleson," Laura told her, but we'll let you know when we do."
And Laura started Skip and Barnum as they headed to the Carter's place.
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Lea stared at the two men wondering where they came from and how they got mixed up in a cattle car with their new cows. Both of them had been asleep when Chet and the ranch hands picked them up. Both looked dirty and unkempt and in need of a bath, a shave and something to eat. She watched the two of them as they watched her, waiting for someone to say something. The blond guy was kinda cute, she decided, while the dark haired one, well, he was handsome as well, but the blond haired one caught her full attention. There was something about him that she found intriguing and didn't know why. The dark haired one was more her type.
"Alright," she asked, the two of them, "Where are you from and how did you get mixed up with my cows?"
The two of them looked at each other. "It's actually a long story," the blond man piped up. "No one has believed us yet, no matter who we tell."
"Try me," Lea answered, crossing her arms against her chest. "Oh and there's a big hole on your jacket sleeve. If you take it off, I can mend it for you."
The blond man nodded and shrugged off the jacket. He handed it to her.
"A little accident," was all he said.
"Well, if you're not going to tell me anything, at least tell me your names and where you're from. Maybe we can contact someone, anyone. There must be someone out there who is wondering where the two of you are."
And so the telegram went out.
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"They're at a ranch just outside Springfield," Laura said, passing the telegram over to Sarah. "It seems they were picked up at the train station yesterday when the ranch hands picked up their cattle."
"What were they doing in a cattle car?" Sarah asked, putting the telegram on the table.
Laura shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "At least they gave us an address."
"What's in the package?" Sarah said, grabbing the medium sized neatly wrapped box. She shook it. "It's from San Francisco, and it's addressed to Mr. Almanzo Wilder."
Laura grabbed it and ripped it open. She pulled out the contents and stared at it.
"It's Manly's wallet," she said, picking it up to examine it further.
"There's a note here," Sarah said, taking the envelope out of the box.
"There's money in here," Laura said as she opened it up. "And two tickets to The Grange meeting, which they were supposed to attend a week and a half ago."
"Laura, look at this," Sarah said. "It's an apology letter from The Grange. Almanzo and John were robbed in San Francisco. The police caught the woman who took Almanzo's wallet."
Laura grabbed the note. "She had five more wallets on her including Manly's when the police caught her stealing another man's wallet."
Laura picked up the wallet and rooted around for something. "Sarah, I found the railroad tickets. That means they didn't use them."
They both stared at one another.
"Well," Laura said, "now we know why they were in the cattle car."
"So what do we do now?" Sarah asked.
"Let's talk to Reverend Alden and Reverend Hale. They might be able to help us. I know that Reverend Hale is here for another week or so before he leaves."
Sarah nodded.
"Well, it's getting late and Jenny is looking after Rose. I've got to be getting home." Laura stood. "See you tomorrow, Sarah. We'll get this thing straightened out."
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"You clean up pretty well," Lea said to Almanzo as they waited for dinner.
"Thanks," Manly answered. He smiled. "And thanks for mending my jacket. I ripped it getting out of the cattle car. I guess it's easier getting into it than out of it."
"No problem," Lea told him. "I do it for everyone out here. Coats, jackets, shirts, socks, you name it. Everything has to get mended sooner or later. " Lea looked at him. "How long were you two traveling before you arrived in Springfield?"
Almanzo looked at her. "Ten days. We spent three days walking, almost two days waiting for a train to show up and five days inside the cattle car dreaming about making steaks out of your livestock."
"My brother tells me that you were at The Grange meeting,"
Almanzo shook his head. "We were in San Francisco for the meeting; we just never made it to the meeting. We lost the tickets when my wallet was stolen."
"I suppose the train tickets were in there too?"
Almanzo nodded. "Everything was in there except for a dime in my pocket and John found a nickel in his. And so, for fifteen cents, we feasted on five apples that we split between us."
Amelia grinned. "There were just enough apples to last you two until yesterday."
Almanzo shook his head. "Are you serious? We ran out of apples three days ago."
Lea looked at him. He was cute; there was no getting around it.
"So, what's going to happen now?" Almanzo asked.
"My brother will give you the money for the stage trip to Walnut Grove tomorrow morning. That's what he told me, but we have to wait until he and John get back and it should be soon. I'm going along to make sure nothing else goes wrong."
"We'll have to pay him back for this," Almanzo said, looking at her. "I mean, John and I are strangers, we could be anybody. You didn't have to…"
"Don't worry, Almanzo. Chester knew who you were; all he had to do was hear your name. It was printed in The Grange newsletter along with an article. You're supposed to get an award for something."
Almanzo nodded and looked down. "Yeah, for wrinkled irrigation. It got me a free round trip ticket."
"Yeah, and a lot good that did you," She looked at him. "Come on, you must have someone waiting at home for you?"
Almanzo brightened up. He raised his head, looked at Lea and smiled. "Yep, I do. Right now, it's me, my wife, Laura and my little girl Rosey. We're also taking care of my niece, Jenny. They're probably worried sick."
Lea nodded. All of a sudden she couldn't think of a thing to say. She had wished that Almanzo had been single, but it was too good to be true. Maybe John didn't have anyone waiting for him, but somehow she doubted that.
"Don't worry, Almanzo. Chet and John are down at the station wiring Walnut Grove now. They should be back soon." She stood up. "I guess we should walk back to the house. Dinner should be almost ready. You and John will stay with us tonight and we'll all go back tomorrow. "
"What about you, Lea?" Almanzo asked as they stood up. "Do you have anyone special in your life?"
Ämelia shook her head. "No, I don't. My brother wants me to stay to help with the books, which is what I've been doing. You see, this was my Pa's ranch. He left it to the both of us and we're still keeping it going. Except I am…."
Almanzo stopped and looked at her. "Except you are what, Lea?"
She looked down at the ground. "I need a change, Almanzo. That's one reason I'm going with you tomorrow. "
"You don't need to run away, Amelia Wyatt. I tried it once and it didn't work, not for me anyway. It just made a bad situation worse. You have change within yourself and you need faith, courage and lots of determination to move on."
When no answer came, he continued.
"Beth taught me how to live again, how to believe in myself and how much better a person I can be. I admire her, Lea. Beth never gives up; she's one determined woman. She's helped me to grow and see things in a positive light. I don't know where I'd be without her. She is everything to me and always will be. Right now, I miss her so much. Ten days away from her feels like an eternity."
He looked down and shook his head. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this. I'm not much of a talker."
"And I don't know why I opened up to you either, Almanzo Wilder. Sometimes I wish…"
"Look, there is one thing that my wife taught me, actually there's several, but right now, I'll give you two. Remember that with confidence and determination, you can lick anything. And the second is that there is someone for everyone out there, Amelia. You just haven't found him yet, but you will. I have a feeling that he's lonely and upset just like you. And the two of you will love each other until the end of time just like me and Beth."
Lea smiled. "Beth is her nickname?"
Almanzo nodded. "Her second name is Elizabeth. She gave me a nickname so I gave Laura one, that's how it started off. You see, I have a sister Laura too. So when we had Rose, we both decided to keep Laura's nickname so that our daughter wouldn't get mixed up."
"You mind if I ask what Laura calls you?"
"My sister calls me Mannie. Beth got the name wrong and added an "L" to it by accident. The only reason I'm telling you is you'll hear it when she sees me."
Amelia laughed. "Manly," she said, looking up. "Somehow it suits you."
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The whole town turned out for the arrival of Almanzo Wilder and John Carter, including the Reverend Hale and Reverend Alden.
"There's the stagecoach," Laura said, holding Rose in her arms.
"Give her to me, Half Pint," Mr. Edwards said as Laura handed him the baby. "I don't think I'm going to hug and kiss Almanzo."
Laura looked at him. "Just be careful, Mr. Edwards."
"I've held babies before, Mrs. Wilder."
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Almanzo couldn't wait any longer. The minute the stagecoach came to a stop that was the minute that he opened the door. He ran out; right into Laura's waiting arms.
"Beth," he breathed, cupping her face in his hands "My Beth,"
And he kissed her long and hard. It seemed like years before they broke apart. "You are a sight for sore eyes, you know that? I missed you more than you know."
Laura smiled and stroked his hair. "Not half as much as I missed you, Manly," she breathed and they kissed again.
They didn't seem to mind that everyone was watching them.
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"Mannie wasn't joking, was he?" Lea said to no one in particular. She was watching the two of them and shook her head. Well, why shouldn't he love his wife? She was beautiful just as Almanzo had spoken of her. In fact, he couldn't stop talking about her. Laura was amazing, she could cook and sew, she could teach and she loved horses. She even got one of them to walk, what was his name? That's all she got out of him.
She was jealous and she had no right to be. He was married after all. She knew that he had been right, she'd find someone. He was out there. She just had to give it time.
"Can I carry your bag, Miss?"
That voice, it sounded so familiar to her. She turned around and there he was.
"Addy?" she asked. "Is that you?"
Reverend Addison Hale smiled and nodded. "Look at you, Mia; you've turned into a beautiful young lady."
And the two of them couldn't stop staring at one another.
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Laura's Remembrance Book
1888
Homecoming Night, and that's how it is still remembered, was just perfect. Welcoming signs were everywhere. Manly and John were finally back from their adventure out west. There was a homecoming dinner at Nellie's place. It started out as invitation only, but when uninvited guests showed up, they weren't turned away. Those that were invited took it all in stride, and that included the Carters, the Olesons, Doc Baker, Reverend Alden, Mr. Edwards and Reverend Hale and his beautiful new girl, Amelia Wyatt and of course, us. I didn't know which nickname to put into writing. Anyone else who knows her calls her Lea, except for Reverend Hale who calls her Mia, his childhood name for her. They've known each other since they were kids growing up together on the outskirts of Springfield. The school was small and was set up and was sponsored by the Wyatt family. It was built on Wyatt property and was open to local families who wanted to get a good education, regardless of class or status.
It is here that I should add that Reverend Hale accompanied Lea back to the ranch a week later on his way to the diocese. Six months would pass before he proposed to her and two months later made the trip to Walnut Grove where the Reverend Alden would marry them.
Mr. Edwards took John and Manly aside and gave them an "I told you so" lecture that lasted a good ten minutes before being interrupted by dinner.
Manly was surprised when Sarah and I gave him back his wallet with the one hundred dollars in cash, the railroad tickets, the tickets to get into the meeting and the apology letter enclosed inside. He thought he'd never see it again. We also gave him his award from The Grange, a certificate with his name and what he had won the award for printed on it. There was also a frame in the box that Mr. Oleson picked out especially for Manly at the Mercantile. It is now hanging in a special place on the wall along with ticket to the meeting and the free round trip ticket that sent the two of them to San Francisco in the first place.
After the dinner, which consisted of pork chops, ribs and grilled chicken, the six of us, John and Sarah, Reverend Hale, Lea and Manly and me gathered together outside the restaurant and listened to stories from John, Manly and Lea of their travels.
Later that night, Manly's sleep was interrupted by a nightmare in which the cows in the cattle car all ganged up on him for even suggesting that they be made into steaks.
It took Manly a good year before he even looked at another steak again.
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