“You boys eat all the time, but looking at your hungry stares, one would swear I never feed you,” she commented with a shake of her head. “When your sister is old enough, it’ll be nice to have her help in here.”
She went over to the open kitchen window and saw that Doug was chasing Bob around the backyard.
“Breakfast is ready!” she called out.
They immediately stopped, cheered as if this was a grand old event, and ran to the kitchen door.
She rolled her eyes. Seriously, she fed them every meal and even gave out snacks. Turning to Charles and Ben, she helped them into their chairs and began dishing out their portions of the meal.
Joseph entered the kitchen just in time to be bombarded by Doug and Bob who pushed him aside so they could sit at their places. “You need to be careful,” he admonished them. “I’m carrying your sister.”
“Sorry, Pa,” Bob said.
“I’ll take her.” Margaret took the one month old girl and cradled her in her arms. Looking at Joseph, she said, “This is the big day.”
Joseph gave her a kiss and nodded. “I’m not going to miss working at the mercantile.”
“I’m excited for you,” she admitted. She knew how much working at the paper meant to him, and now he could work there full-time. “Well, you better sit down and eat so you have your energy for the day.”
They all sat down, waited for him to say grace, and then they began their meal.
She smiled at her daughter who stared back at the four boys who ate as if they hadn’t eaten in years. “You’ll have to get used to it, Charlotte. Your brothers are animals.”
“Hey!” Doug protested before he stuffed a waffle in his mouth.
“We’re not animals,” Bob agreed. He poured syrup on his eggs and then dug into them.
“I swear, Bob,” she began, “if it doesn’t have sugar on it, you won’t touch it.”
“Aren’t you going to eat anything?” Joseph asked her as he spread butter on his pancakes.
“I already did.” She learned that it was best to eat ahead of time because this crowd was too much to keep up with and eat. There was always someone who needed something.
Bob, like usual, was done first, so she put Charlotte down in the basinet in the corner of the room and helped him clean up. He brought his plate and cup to her and she washed them as he washed his hands. The process went unusually smooth that morning. She realized that this was going to be one of those good days. Each kid got done, one at a time with Ben taking the longest as he tore apart everything, carefully inspected it, and then took small bites of it. Ben was working on his last piece of toast when Joseph stood up.
He brought his dish and cup to the sink before kissing her good-bye. “Have a good day.”
“You too,” she replied as she washed his dishes.
After he left, Ben was done and she instructed Doug to wipe down the table and Bob to pull in the chairs. Charles bent over the basinet and made funny faces at Charlotte who turned her wide eyes in his direction.
“She’s just a baby,” Bob told Charles. “She doesn’t know what you’re doing.”
Margaret brought Ben to the sink and washed him up. “I’m sure she’s enjoying it,” she told Bob who didn’t look convinced.
Once the boys were clean and the kitchen in order, she decided to take them to the park across the street. This year Charles was four, so Doug and Bob declared that he was old enough to play ball with them. Ben, however, was still too young, but she gave him his own ball to toss around. Ben had gotten comfortable with her enough by now, so he often ran off to play with Charles or by himself.
They went onto the porch, and she set a gurgling Charlotte into the baby carriage and placed the rattle in the child’s hand. Charlotte squealed and shook it. Margaret smiled and tapped her daughter’s nose.
“You fuss over her too much,” Bob said, holding his ball under his arm.
“That’s because I’m going to need her help keeping you boys in line,” Margaret told him. “I need her on my side.”
Doug closed the screen door. “Women like babies, Bob. It can’t be helped.”
“Babies are cuddly and cute,” Margaret replied. “They’re meant to be fussed over.”
Doug and Bob grimaced so she ran over to them and hugged them.
“Oh gross!” Bob shrieked while Doug grunted.
“You boys need fussing from time to time too. But not as much as girls, I’m sure.” She nearly got tackled by Charles and Ben who decided to take that moment to rush in to hug her. Laughing, she tickled the four delighted boys before she realized that if she did this too long, she’d have no energy to walk around the park. “Alright, alright.” She stood up straight and took a deep breath. “I promised Jessica I’d meet her in fifteen minutes, so we better go.”