Friends

Sophie spent another night in Jeremiah's cottage. He didn't speak to her for the rest of the day. She missed hearing his voice and hated that the last thing he said was that she would have to let him go.

"I'm not ready to let you go," she mumbled as she lay in bed.

'I'm always here,' he said.

She smiled as she felt the warmth grow around her. The fire was burning brightly. She lit it herself tonight. One skill mastered, she said to herself. Only like a million others to conquer.

She was putting the last few items in her basket when Taylor the clerk knocked on her door.

"Hello," she said when he walked in. She tried to sound casual, but her uneasiness bleed through. She was suspicious of him after reading the last journal entry.

"Can I help you carry anything?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you. Will you carry the basket?"

"Of course."

He crossed the room and easily scooped up the basket in his arms. "I can carry the sack as well."

"No thank you, I can carry it."

She took one more look at the cottage before she left and followed Taylor out the door. Sophie was wearing the black dress again. It was warm under the hot sun, she already felt heated just being outside a few minutes. She smiled at Thomas as she passed his shop.

Taylor carried the basket clear into her bedroom and set it on the floor next to her trunk. She was collecting quite a bit of stuff. She really needed to find a permanent place she thought to herself. Frida stood in the doorway looking at her collection of stuff piled in the corner of the room. Sophie already missed the privacy of the cottage, although she didn't really feel alone there either.

"You're still wearing black I see," Frida said flatly.

Sophie nodded.

"That is like man repellant you know?"

Sophie nodded again and suppressed a smile.

"Don't be foolish Sophie, you need to marry."

"Thank you for your concern Frida. I promise I am listening to you."

Sophie was being truthful, she really was listening to her. She just couldn't get herself to acknowledge the fact that she would have to marry someone.

"I just need some time. I want to meet more people,"

Frida scoffed. "There is nothing wrong with Willard. You should grab him up while you can.

Sophie stayed silent. It would do no good to argue with her. She ate breakfast again with the two of them. Frida didn't say much but the governor was companionable.

"What are you doing today Ms. Sophie?"

"Thomas has volunteered to take me around to the farms. Show me the area a little and introduce me to some people."

Frida scoffed, "Thomas," she muttered under her breath.

"That is very kind of him," the governor remarked.

"Yes, I think since he was such good friends with Jeremiah he feels obligated to help me," she shrugged.

"Yeah, I bet he does." Frida grumbled. The governor shot her a glance.

"I think we all feel a little that way," he said. "I'm glad Thomas is doing that."

Sophie didn't stick around after breakfast. Frida's hostility and cold shoulder was wearing on her so she walked over to Thomas' shop. He acknowledged her as he approached but continued banging on some metal pieces as she approached. She took a seat on a barrel sitting in the corner and watched him work. He was clamping together metal pieces to form some kind of hinge, she observed. It was fascinating to watch him work. The metal responded and formed to the shape he coaxed it into. It was a good thing he had strong hands, she thought. Willard would never be able to do this job. She looked at her own hands thinking the same thing.

Everything was covered in grease and suit. She was glad she was wearing her black dress. Anything else would be instantly tarnished.

"I need to hook up Maddox and then I am ready to go," he said after a half hour or so.

"Maddox?" she asked confused.

They walked together to the stables at the edge of town. There were several horses boarded there as well as a wagon. Maddox was a beautiful palomino horse with a light brown coat and white mane.

"Oh Maddox you are beautiful," Sophie said stroking his neck. "What a beautiful boy you are."

Thomas watched her as she led Maddox over to the wagon. She wasn't completely unprepared, he thought. She clearly knew her way around a stable and with a horse. They led Maddox and the wagon back to his hop where he loaded all of the hinges and metal pieces he had been working on. Sophie watched him load a couple metal pieces before grabbing one herself and putting it on the wagon. It was much heavier than she expected. She was, again, glad she was wearing black. It was so heavy she had to rest them against her hip while she carried it. She continued loading them one at a time while Thomas could carry two or three.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye with admiration. She wasn't afraid to jump in and that was a good thing. Perhaps she would survive out here.

"What are these all for?" she asked.

"They are hinges and latches for gates. It's my own design. I'm installing them on the gates around the farms. We're hoping it will keep the livestock in better."

Sophie sat next to Thomas on the wagon as he urged Maddox to go with a clicking of his tongue and a flick of the reigns. Sophie felt a wave of excitement as they rode out of the town gates. She was excited to leave the small town and see the countryside. As they bumped through the roads and fields their legs and elbows rubbed against each other. At first Sophie shyly apologized when she bumped into him but it happened so frequently she just had to become used to touching him. This was unnatural to Sophie. It was not common for her to even casually touch someone else, especially a man. She was surprised how quickly she became comfortable with her arm touching his.

Sophie knew her black dress would be extremely uncomfortable in the heat so she wore it more like a coat over her soft white cotton dress. It buttoned up the front so it was easy to sluff off. Once they were outside the walls of the city Sophie pulled off her black dress, which she was wearing as an overcoat and set it in the back of the wagon. Thomas did a double take as she stripped the dress off her shoulders.

"I may be respectful but I am also practical. I would simply cook if I wore that black dress all day in the sun," she explained.

Thomas nodded, that was very sensible of her. He didn't need her fainting in the sun. Thomas drove them to the Lisbon farm, he knew she would be excited to see Sarah again. Terrance and his brother Charles met them out front of their house. Sarah heard the wagon approach and came running out of the cottage.

"Sarah!" Sophie called. As soon as she spotted her she hopped off the wagon and ran over to her.

"How are you?" she asked. Thomas let them catch up and visit while he spoke with Terrance and Charles about where they wanted their gates placed. "How is your first day as a married woman?"

Sarah blushed brightly. "Oh, you know, it's good," she said, kicking a pebble on the ground.

"You have to tell me more, I'm begging you!" Sophie was bouncing with excitement.

"Terrance is really sweet, very kind," she said shyly.

Sophie wanted SO many more details and it was very clear that Sarah was clearly not going to divulge at this moment.

"Sarah," Sophie said in a soft whine. "Please give me something!"

"We haven't," Sarah stammered. "We haven't completely consummate everything yet."

"You haven't!" Sophie's mouth dropped open.

"We did stuff you know," Sarah's face turned even more red. "But it isn't exactly easy and Charlies had us up early today to help with the harvest. But I liked what we did."

They both giggled so loudly it caught the men's attention and they all looked at the girls. They quickly tried to squelch their giggles but it made them laugh even more. Sophie blushed under Thomas' curious gaze, she wasn't sure why.

"Come," Sarah said after they contained their giggles. "I want to introduce you to Elizabeth, my new sister in law," Sarah said, dragging her over to the other house. Elizabeth came out of the front door with a brand new baby in her arms and a toddler holding her skirts.

"Ah, hello," Elizabeth said in a tired voice. "You must be in infamous Sophie,"

Sophie blushed, she was really tired of everyone knowing her but she not knowing anyone.

"It is so wonderful to meet you," Sophie said in her most chipper voice. "I've just been dying to meet someone who has lived here for a while."

"Well, that would be me," she said.

"Jack, no don't touch that," she called to her son who was running towards the stack of tools stacked by the cottage."

"Here," Sophie offered, "Let me take the babe." Elizabeth gratefully placed the baby in her arms and took off after the small boy.

"Well, hello," Sophie cooed at the little angel in her arms. Elizabeth carried a squirming toddler back to where Sophie stood. She motioned to some logs that they could sit on and they all took a seat.

"Well, what would you like to know?" Elizabeth asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Sophie said, still doting on the baby. "How is it here, what advise can you give us?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "I don't know how it is much different than anywhere else." Elizabeth shifted the toddler on her lap. "We wake up, work hard, and go to sleep."

Wow, Elizabeth wasn't much help, Sophie thought.

"How old is your babe?" she asked changing the subject.

"Just one day old," Elizabeth said.

"Oh goodness!" Sophie said shocked. "How are you even up and about? I'm so sorry for intruding."

"No bother Sophie," she said kindly. "I'm just tired. That is normal."

"That's why she wasn't at the wedding," Sarah explained.

"Well, what can I do to help?"

"I have Sarah and she is tremendously helpful. You're not asking me the right question anyway."

"What should I be asking?"

"You should be asking me who I think you should marry."

"Oh, well," she said considering. "What advice can I give me on the matter."

"I would scoop that man up, right there, if I were you." Elizabeth nodded in the direction of Thomas who was still talking to her husband.