Page 4 of Mail Order Moose

She waited for him to say more. Men often did, in Ella’s experience. They turned ordinary observations into corrections or commands. David only put the shirt on carefully and buttoned it with a faint, thoughtful frown.

They ate at the table with the morning growing brighter beyond the window. David took two bites before he stopped and looked at the shelf behind her.

“I don’t mean to stare,” he said. “It’s only that I’ve lived here three years, and this is the first morning I haven’t had to move something before sitting down.”

Ella’s spoon stilled. Praise made her feel uncomfortable.

“It needed doing,” she said.

“Most things that need doing don’t get done so neatly.”

She could think of nothing safe to say to that, so she reached for his cup and poured more coffee. He accepted it with a quiet thank-you and did not press the matter.

After David left for the mill, Ella worked in a manner that would have appeared slow to anyone watching, though it was not slow at all. She washed the dishes, wiped the table, shook crumbs from the cloth, set beans to soak for supper, and measured flour in her palm to judge how many loaves it might become. She did not need paper. Paper could be lost. Her memory was never lost.

She carried water, though the bucket pulled hard at her arm. She brought in wood, stacking it by size to make it easier to grab, whether she wanted to start a fire or keep it going. She set aside the softened onions, scrubbed the good potatoes, and put David’s clothing away, organizing it as she went. By midmorning, the cabin was changed. There was no more space in it than before, but there was less confusion.

When it was time to walk to the mercantile to meet her friends, she wrapped a heel of bread and a small portion of beans in cloth, then hesitated. David had said some days he came home for lunch. He had not said this day. If he returned and she was gone, he could eat what she left on the table.

Only then did she put on her coat and go to the mercantile to meet with her friends.

She arrived shortly before the others and put a few things on the counter to purchase. She hadn’t talked to David about money, but she had enough of her own saved that she could buy a few things.

When she went to purchase the goods she’d chosen, Katie refused the money. Ella frowned. “You must be paid for your goods.”

“I will be. I’m starting an account for you. I think we’ll find you’ll be making money off things you do, and it’ll be easier for both of us if no actual money exchanges hands.”

Ella nodded. She wanted to argue, but that would mean having to explain to the other woman what was on her mind. She wasn’t comfortable enough to have an entire conversation yet, so she went along with her.

Belle met Ella, Lula, Josie, and Myrtle at the store, and they quickly set out for Maggie’s cabin, so they could discuss business and what was necessary for the survival of winter.

By the time Ella and her friends arrived, voices had already filled it. Sally was there, of course, standing close to the stove and talking with both hands. Maggie had a pencil tucked behind her ear and a ledger open on the table. Agnes sat listening to Sally, laughing and shaking her head.

“There you are,” Sally said, brightening when she saw Ella. “I was beginning to think no one else was coming.”

“Sit, if you like,” Maggie said. “Or stand. We’re only trying to sort ourselves before the whole town decides what we ought to be good for.”

That made several of the women laugh. Ella chose a place near the wall where she could see the table, the door, and the shelves without turning her head.

The purpose of the meeting, as Maggie explained it, was simple. The women from Beckham would need to be useful if they meant to belong in Yeti. Yeti was a timber town, and everything there supported the loggers. The town had no shortage of labor, but it had very little comfort and even less organization.

“Laundry will pay,” Sally said. “Men hate doing it badly, but they hate doing it well even more.”

“Meals too,” Myrtle added. “Not fancy ones. Filling ones.”

“Mending,” Lula said. “But whoever wants that thankless job better enjoy being indoors all the time.”

The laughter came easier that time. Ella smiled because Lula expected her to, though no one seemed to notice whether she had.

Maggie wrote quickly. “All right. We have Sally’s garden, which has done a good job of producing much of what we’ll need for winter. I think Belle needs someone to hunt with her. We’ve doubled the number of families we have to feed overnight.”

Ella wasn’t surprised when Lula jumped at the chance to hunt. It was her favorite thing, and she wasn’t shy about it.

Belle wrinkled her nose. “We also need someone to take over foraging. Sally does some, but she has so much to do already with her garden.”

They discussed everything that needed to be done to make their little business venture thrive. They ate while they talked, deciding that Maggie would watch any children while the others worked, and they would all meet at Maggie’s cabin every day around noon.

Maggie looked up from her notes. “Do you plan to join us, Ella? You haven’t said a word since you came in.”