Free Falling in Love With Her Husband by Ruth Ann Nordin

determined not to show it.
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    Falling In Love With Her Husband

    Todd stopped in front of the mercantile. I had heard
    of a mercantile but never entered one before. Servants did
    that kind of shopping, but we didn"t have servants anymore.

    “I"m going to apply for a job at the bank.” He pointed
    to the building down the street. “I plan to work there until I
    have enough money saved up to buy farming supplies.
    Since my father insisted that I work at his bank, I know I can
    do that job. Afterwards, I can help you through the
    mercantile if you"d like.”

    I eyed the store warily. It would be comforting to
    have him with me, but I didn"t want him to think I was
    incompetent. Besides, I had to learn to take care of these
    things on my own. “I"m sure I can figure it out. How hard
    can it be to buy food?”

    “You"re right. We eat it every day.” He dug into his
    pocket and handed me some money. “Do you think this wil
    be enough? I know it"s not much but it"s all I can afford right
    now.”

    Since the issue of cost never crossed my mind
    before, I was sure it was enough. “This wil do fine.”

    After Todd helped me down from the wagon, I
    entered the store, trying to act as if I did this all the time. I
    frowned as I walked around, examining the contents on the
    shelves. I recognized fruits, vegetables and eggs, but
    everything else seemed to be in jars or paper sacks. Why
    didn"t anything look like food? I read labels for flour, yeast,
    broth and baking soda. My eyes scanned the labels. I felt
    as if I were reading a foreign language. Where were the
    breads, mashed potatoes, and steaks? Very little of this
    resembled actual food.

    I sighed in despair. First, I had ripped my pink dress,
    stunk for weeks because I hadn"t bathed, and now this?
    Was living without servants going to change everything? As
    I began to feel sorry for myself, I imagined Kent and
    Rebecca together. My jaw clenched. So my life would be
    different. I could handle it. I began to pick things at random.
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    Falling In Love With Her Husband
    I would make sense of it later. Luck was on my side, for I
    saw a recipe book. Of course, I grabbed it.

    “Hello,” a warm voice greeted me.

    I looked up from the recipe book that I had just
    placed in the basket. The woman who stood before me was
    dressed in simpler clothing that looked like it had seen better
    days. She looked like she was my mother"s age. I noticed
    her rough hands. Would my smooth hands be that rough
    one day? Was I staring at an image of who I would become
    living out west?

    I shoved the thoughts away. “Hello,” I replied,
    nervously smiling. I wasn"t sure what the proper method of
    greeting someone was in this town.

    “I haven"t seen you before,” she kindly said. “Are
    you passing through or are you moving here?”

    “My husband bought a farm out here.” I cleared my
    throat. I wasn"t used to referring to Todd that way. “It"s
    north of here actually.”

    “That"s wonderful! My names is Beth Coley. My
    husband and I own this store. We have a son who owns his
    own farm west of here and a daughter who sews clothes
    down the street. Where did you move from?”

    “Virginia. My name is Ann, and my husband is Todd
    Brothers. We just arrived here. We haven"t even checked
    out the farm yet.”

    “My, that"s a long way to travel. You must be
    exhausted.”

    I nodded.

    “Do you have pots and pans to cook your food in?”

    My eyes widened. I hadn"t thought of any of those
    things. “I don"t think so.” What exactly did cooking entail?
    “Could you recommend some things I might need? I"m not
    familiar with cooking. I had servants who did that for me.” I
    blushed.

    She didn"t judge me as I feared she would. Instead,
    she told me the basics of cooking. She examined the items
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    Falling In Love With Her Husband
    in my basket and placed some unnecessary things back on
    the shelves. She put the things I would need into my
    basket.

    Unfortunately, the total