Mary Louise and Lucinda looked up from their play by the fireplace and watched as their pa entered the room. Jeremiah found that the cumbersome clothing he wore made his usually lithe gait, awkward. Giggles erupted from the twins' mouths as they watched their pa walk. Jeremiah turned towards them and gazed down upon them with mock sternness.
"Are you laughing at me?" he asked them gruffly.
He watched with amusement as the girls turned to look at each other, then back at him. "Yes, pa." They said in unison.
Jeremiah burst out laughing. If there was one thing about his girls he admired most, it was their honesty. Even at the young age of five, he could always count on the girls to answer him truthfully if he asked them about something. Even if it meant that one or both of them would get into trouble, they would always tell the truth.
"I guess that this means war! Tickle war! I'll show you not to laugh at your pa!" Jeremiah exclaimed, gruffly.
Mary Louise and Lucinda shrieked in anticipated delight. Both jumped up from the floor and darted in different directions. Even though the bulky clothing he wore hindered his movements, neither girl stood a chance in getting away from him. With one strong arm, he lashed out quickly and grabbed Lucinda's dress. Mary Louise darted under his arm and hid behind the sofa. Hefting Lucinda up to where he could hold her steady in one arm, Jeremiah began to tickle her unmercifully with his free hand.
Lucinda squirmed in his arms, shrieking as her pa tickled her. "Mary Louise, help me! Help me! She squealed between peals of laughter.
Hearing her twins' plea for help and catching sight of her predicament, Mary Louise darted out from behind the sofa. Not stopping to consider the fact that she wasn't allowed to climb on the furniture, Mary Louise jumped onto the sofa and leaped onto her pa's back. She clung to her pa's back with her legs and wrapped her chubby hands around his head, covering his eyes. She hoped that her pa not being able to see, might slow him down enough to give Lucinda the chance to get away. Instead, Jeremiah dropped to his knees on the hardwood floor and lowered Lucinda carefully down to the ground, using one hand to keep her pinned in place, while with the other he flung Mary Louise over his back and onto the floor besides her twin. With both hands busy trying to keep the twins from freeing themselves from his grasp, and unable to continue to tickle them, Jeremiah did the next best thing. He lowered his head and began to alternately tickle their faces with his beard.
It was to this playful scene that Theresa walked in on a few moments later. She had entered the room to tell Jeremiah that breakfast was ready, but the words had stuck in her throat as she took in the cheerful scene. Tears welled up in her eyes, as she stood in the doorway and watched her husband and children play.
She couldn't help thinking that this might very well be the last time her children ever played with their pa. It might very well be the last time that she ever saw her husband alive, and she wanted to savor every second she had left with him. She was still standing there, watching them when Lucinda spotted her.
"Hi Mama, wanna play with us?" she asked.
"Do I want to play with you?" Theresa corrected absently.
"Yes, Mama. Play with us." Mary Louise piped up.
Lucinda's question caused Theresa to snap out of her reverie, and bring her presence in the room to Jeremiah's attention. He sat back on his knees and allowed the girls to squirm out from underneath him. With one look, Jeremiah was able to tell that Theresa was barely keeping her emotions under control. The liquidly eyes, pale face and saddened expression caused a hot pain to slice through his heart. He hated doing anything that hurt Theresa, but knew that this time it couldn't be helped, not if they were all going to survive through the winter.
Noticing the look Jeremiah had given her, Theresa hastily wiped the tears from her eyes and forced herself to be cheerful, if only for the sake of the children. Jeremiah smiled as he watched her pulled herself together.
"Breakfast is ready. Girls, come wash up." She said quietly, and headed back into the kitchen.
Jeremiah followed her into the kitchen, with the twins following obediently behind. They waited besides their pa as he washed his face and hands, then took their turns at the wash basin by standing on a wooden stool. When they had finished washing their hands and faces, they took their places at the table, and bowed their heads, while Jeremiah asked a blessing on the meal and for protection over his family during the next few days.
"Our father, we ask a blessing on the food before us that it might offer nourishment and strength to our bodies. We ask that you be with each member of the family and keep them safe from all harm. Please guide me safely to independence and back home with the much needed supplies. Amen."
Jeremiah began dishing out the oatmeal while Theresa sliced the muffins and spread butter onto them. While most of their food supplies at nearly diminished, she was thankful to the Lord for providing them with a milk cow that would give birth in the early spring. Because of the cow's pregnancy, her family had all the milk, butter, cream, and cottage cheese they could eat. Now that Jeremiah had killed the two young sows, she would be able to make headcheese as well. Just the thought of biting into a piece of creamy cheese made her mouth water.
"Theresa, are you okay. You haven' t touched your oatmeal?" Jeremiah asked with concern.
Theresa blushed at the knowledge that Jeremiah had caught her dreaming about cheese. He had teased her unmercifully the first few months she was pregnant, because she had craved pickles dunked in buttermilk.
"I'm fine, Jeremiah." She said quickly and began eating her oatmeal. She felt Jeremiah studying her face, but she didn't look up. After a few moments, Jeremiah directed his attention to the twins.
"I'm going to leave after breakfast to go into Independence. Is there anything you girls want?'" he asked.
"Can we go with you papa, to depenance?" Mary Louise asked.
"Not this time, honey. It's really cold outside and I can't have my girls getting sick." Jeremiah said.
"Won't you get cold papa?" Lucinda asked innocently.
Theresa's eyes shot upward, a panic look in them. Jeremiah gazed at her for several moments before responding to Lucinda's questions. They had agreed from the start that they would never hide or lie to their children about anything, even if the girls were better off not knowing what was going on. Judging by the look Theresa was leveling at him from the across the table, she was clearly expecting him to respond in a truthful way to Lucinda's question.
"Not very cold, honey. That is why papa is dressed so funny. So's that the extra clothes can keep him warm. Now, is there anything you want me to bring you back from Independence." He asked, again.
"Jelly. We's wanna jelly." The girls said together.
Jeremiah laughed. While the twins spoke very well for their age, there were still times that they went back to using the gibberish they had used to communicate with each other when they were babies. Their pa's laughter brought big grins to the girl's faces. From Theresa he received a stern grin. She spent at least an hour a day teaching new words to the children and having them recite the words back to her in the proper form. It exasperated her to no end at how much one little laugh from him, could cause them to go back to the gibberish they had used before. Jeremiah knew that her wanting the children to speak properly was a direct result of the years she had spent as a schoolteacher.
"Girls. The proper way to ask your pa if he will bring you back some jelly is by saying, ' Papa will you bring us back some jelly from Independence, please.'" Theresa said, emphasizing the words 'want' and 'Independence' so that the twins would be able to say them correctly.
With obedient reluctance, Mary Louise and Lucinda turned toward their pa and said together, "Papa will you bring us back some jelly from Independence."
"I'll do my best to bring you some jelly home." Jeremiah answered solemnly.
The twins turned towards their ma, eager to see if they had pleased her by repeating their question properly. Theresa looked at them with love for them shining in her eyes and a wide smile on her face. They beamed under her approval.
The family continued to chatter through out the rest of the meal, both Jeremiah and Theresa presenting a cheerful face for the sake of the twins. All too soon the meal ended and it was time for Jeremiah to head out. Theresa watched silently as Jeremiah strapped on the snowshoes he had made. Next, he pulled on his wool-lined duster and wrapped the muffler around the lower portion of his face.
He grabbed the girls up one at a time, holding them close for a moment and crooning words of love into their ears. He then stepped to Theresa and wrapped her in his arms. Theresa clung to him, desperate to keep him with her. Their lips met in desperation and Jeremiah fought to keep from losing himself in her warmth. Reluctantly, he pulled away and walked to the door. He pulled on his fur-lined gloves, and placed his worn Stetson on his head.
He turned back towards Theresa and the girls, tears in his eyes. "You girls be good and mind your Mama while I'm gone. "
"We will papa!" they exclaimed.
"I love you." He said, opening the door.
"We love you, too! " Theresa and the girls exclaimed together.
With a loving look at his family, Jeremiah stepped out into the cold and closed the door behind him.
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