Chapter 17

Maisy tensed as she felt someone beside her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around in momentary confusion before she remembered she was a married woman now. She slowly rolled over to face her husband wanting to study his face while he was sleeping. His sandy brown hair fell across his forehead and covered up the small, smattering of freckles. His nose was short and his cheeks still showed some sign of the warmer days of summer. His lips were full and bowed, like a babes. As she reached out to brush his hair back his eyes fluttered open. She smiled at him bashfully as he stretched his arms overhead, them reached to wrap them around Maisy. "Well, Miz Lancaster," he drawled, "How are you this morning"? Maisy smiled back, "Fine as a fiddle, how about you, Mr. Lancaster?" she replied.

"I believe Christmas come just a little early this year, what do you think?" he asked with a wink. She snuggled closer to him, "I think I can agree with you. Where did you get this bed?" she asked. They looked up at the filmy canopy covering the top of the bed and attached to the four bed posts. The smooth headboard had carved flowers in it and they could just barely see the top of the matching footboard with it's curved top angling toward each post. "Member the day that uncle Jim came to visit and me and your daddy went to the barn with our wagons? Well, back in the spring when I went to the farm sale it seemed that the woman who lived there got this big ole' bed from her granny who's husband had built it for her for their wedding day. He was a woodsman and did all of the fancy carving that you see. He used the oak that he cleared from their property, and was left over after building the house, to make the bed. Said he saw one like it, when he had gone to town to deliver a load of firewood to a lawyer's house and the lawyer's wife had him carry some wood upstairs to the bedroom, for the fireplace there. Her children sold all of their parent's belongings at the farm sale when she died, said they didn't have no where's to put it and needed the money bad. So I put in a bid, explained that is was for my bride-to-be, and got it. It took me and your daddy both to get the pieces loaded. That covering up there came with it, they called it a canopee. I used some of the linens from your hope chest to get it made up and your momma came over and helped me decide which quilts to use. Do you like it?" Maisy sat up in bed, looked him in the eye and said "Why it's almost the best thing in this bedroom" and fell on him covering him in kisses.

Later as she was standing in front of the looking glass pinning up her hair she thought to herself that this must be the happiest day of her life. She looked out of the window to see across the fields and saw a small bit of smoke coming from her parent's chimney. She then straightened the covers on her bed and headed toward the kitchen to fix some breakfast. There was plenty of food left over from the wedding feast. Her daddy had carried some over to the house while Maisy was opening the wedding gifts brought by the guests. She hoped her parents had kept some at the house for themselves, because she didn't see anyway that her and Bobby could eat all of this food. She uncovered the ham and cut some slices to heat up in the frying pan, she just loved fresh ham and thought it would be good with eggs and warmed up biscuits. She carried the food over to the stove and was glad to feel that is was good and hot, Bobby must have lit it before he went out to the barn. While the ham was sizzling in the pan she walked over to the pantry to get out some fresh jam she had made that summer, she glanced out the window and say Bobby headed in from the barn with a fresh bucket of milk. She thought how good the cream would be when churned into butter.

"Wipe you feet" she said as he pulled open the door. "Yes 'mam" he replied, stomping his boots off, "You sound just like my momma. Must be something all women got in 'em " he said with a grin and he handed her the bucket of milk. "It sure does smell good in here, it feels good to see some life back into this house." Maisy set the bucket up on the counter and turned to smile at him as he reached out and swept her into a big hug. Over breakfast, they discussed all of the things they had to get done before the weather got too cold to get out. Maisy enjoyed making plans for their future. She looked forward to hosting her first quilting bee, inviting all of her friends over to see her new home and what a good wife she was going to be. She thought of the herbs she was going to have to gather and get dried before the first frost and wanted to get her granny over to work with her on the small spinning wheel so that she could get some wool ready for weaving and knitting. They discussed their future like they had been married forever instead of just a day.

The table has just been cleared when they heard a wagon pull up in front of their home. Bobby headed to the door to see who it was. He turned to Maisy and said "Well, you got your first company to entertain" and opened the door as her sisters rushed in. She hugged them tight and started trying to answer their questions as her parents came through the door. "Where's your room?" "What did you do last night, momma wouldn't tell us" "Did you cook yet" "Did Bobby get sick" "Can we have a sleep over" they were going in and out of the rooms looking everything over. "Hello sweetie" her mother said as she untied her bonnet while helping granny through the door. Maisy rushed over to hug her mother and as they embraced looked out the door to see her daddy and Bobby out in the yard talking. "Here granny, you take the rocking chair" Maisy said as she guided her grandmother over to the chair. As her granny eased herself into the chair she looked up at Maisy with a slight grin and said "We ain't interrupting nothing are we?" Maisy caught her hint and blushed. Her mother just smiled and hung her bonnet up on the coat rack by the door. Sarah Jean said loudly "Girls, why don't you go to the barn to see the calf and give us some peace and quiet." Maisy's sisters hurried out the back door and ran across the yard talking all the way. "It's like a new adventure to them" he mother said, "All they could talk about was getting over here to visit, I swear they were up at first light clamoring to go." "Well" said granny "How'd it go?" she asked Maisy. Maisy blushed again and said nothing.

After a few more minutes of small talk granny said "Help me up, I got to get me a look at that bed." Maisy looked surprised, "I know all about it" granny said, "Prob'ly before you. Your momma come home talking about it, after her and Bobby got it fixed up for you, said it was a sight to behold. I ain't seen a bed that got talked about as much as that one of yours." Sarah Jean looked over and Maisy and smiled as they helped granny up out of the chair and guided her towards the bedroom. "Good gracious" granny said as she walked into the bedroom. "You could get five people in that thing, six if'n it was a real cold night. Did you get lost in it?' she asked Maisy. Maisy set her shoulders and replied "No, 'mam, when Bobby laid down, that old feather mattress folded in and I rolled right over next to him and we stayed real close all night" and grinned big at her grandmother. Her grandmother laughed out loud and said "That's exactly where you need to be" and walked over and run her hand over the smooth wood of the foot board. "I reckon' I might have to join the girls in a sleepover to see how this big 'ol thang sleeps" as she smoothed the quilts on top of the bed.