Mail Order Millie by Katie Crabapple Read Free Book Online

clean as it was, and had a lot of hard work ahead of her. He made her feel like a child who needed to be punished.
    Patience got the two little ones down for her nap, and Michael had followed George back out into the fields. Millie gathered up the dirty clothes they’d all been wearing when she’d done the wash the day before, and quickly washed them and got them hanging on the line. Now that everything was clean, she should be able to limit laundry to once per week.
    Back inside, she tasted the beans, and added some seasoning to them. She tiptoed into her room, careful not to wake the baby and got her recipes, so she could make the cornbread for dinner. She couldn’t wash the two bedrooms as she’d hoped to do, so she took her pail and scrub brush and washed down the walls in the main area of the house, getting down on her knees to give the floor a good scrubbing as well.
    Once that was finished, she peeked in at the children, but both of the little ones were still asleep. “How would you like to bake a pie with me?” she asked Patience.
    Patience nodded enthusiastically. “What kind?”
    Millie shrugged. “Let’s go see what we have in the cellar.” They descended the stairs with the lantern held firmly in Millie’s hand. “What sounds good to you?”
    Patience looked at the jars on the shelves. “I like cherry pie,” she said, indicating a jar of cherries on one of the shelves.
    Millie smiled. “Cherry pie it is!” She hoped cherries made George break out in hives.
    Millie followed the recipe she had for a pie crust, rolling out the dough carefully. It’s seemed too thick to her, but she’d followed the recipe exactly, so she hoped it would come out okay.
    By the time George and Michael returned for supper, she had the table set and the milk poured for everyone. George waited while Michael washed up eyeing the table. After he’d washed his own hands, he took his seat and prayed for them.
    The family seemed to enjoy the beans and cornbread. Millie was surprised her cooking skills were as good as they were, but she was also relieved. She really didn’t want to give George any more reasons to criticize her. She didn’t even look at him as they ate, instead helping Grace get the beans in her mouth instead of all over her dress.
    “Dinner’s good,” George commented. “Thank you.”
    Millie nodded after a moment. She’d considered not speaking to him, but that would be childish, and she was trying hard to show him she was old enough to take on the responsibilities of a husband and children.
    The children didn’t say a word as they shoveled the food in their mouths quickly. They obviously liked what she was doing around here. Why didn’t George?
    When she brought out the cherry pie, Jacob’s eyes widened. “Cherry pie?” he asked. “That’s my favorite!”
    Millie smiled. “I hope you enjoy it then.” She cut an extra big piece for Jacob and put it in front of him. She gave everyone a huge piece except George. She made his tiny. She knew it was petty, but it made her feel better.
    As they ate the pie, she watched George, still hoping for signs of hives, but they never came. Oh well, she thought. She’d eventually make something that would give him hives. She hoped.
    “Tonight’s bath night,” George told them. “I’ll start hauling in water, while you bathe the children. Start with Grace and work your way through by age. Then we’ll take turns after.”
    Millie nodded still not trusting herself to speak without letting words of frustration fly at him.
    As soon as she and Patience finished the dishes, she turned to little Grace who was sitting on the floor playing with some empty spools of thread. “Are you ready for your bath, baby?” She picked up her and quickly stripped off her clothes. She gave her dirty clothes to Patience. “Put these in the laundry. We’ll do all the wash again on Monday.” And every Monday after that, she thought. Just keeping this family clean and fed was