Will She Even Like Us, Zeke?

Nell's tummy was not feeling good at all. She had never been on a ferry boat or any other kind of river boat before. It seemed like the weather was not cooperating at all. It was cold and raining and so much wind. She only had a thin winter coat. She tried to hunker down closer to the middle of the ferry hoping that soon they would either get to the other side of the river or that the sun would shine. There was so much commotion on the ferry. There were teams of horses and carts full of freight going to the west to be loaded onto wagon trains. Men were yelling at the horses and each other until Nell thought she would hear them in her sleep.  She hopefully could find someplace warm and dry to take a nap.

Some of the other people on the ferry looked at her strangely wondering why she didn't have a man with her to protect her. She had no choice but to travel alone. She was all alone in the world leaving the only friend she had behind her in the city. Needless to say she was frightened and very concerned about the trip that lay ahead. It would take weeks to reach her destination. She patted the thin little coat she was wearing reassuring herself that the money she had stitched inside the lining was still there. Without the money she had hidden she would have no money to eat for the long trip.
The ferry was rocking with the large waves that the wind made. She was so afraid that she was going to be sick. She took a really deep breath and tried to think of pleasant things. "I wonder what Nathan's children are like? Will they accept me as I am or will they only think of their ma and that I can't do the things that she was able to do? Oh dear, I hope I am strong enough to make them all happy."

Marlee Ada and her sister and brothers were very quiet after their pa told them that he had sent for a woman from a really big city to be their new ma. There were so many questions, but their pa seemed like it was not for them to question him. He expected them to accept her and help her in any way that she needed. Marlee knew that it would be a long time before she could expect this new ma, but every day even before she got dressed she would look up the lane to see if anyone strange would be walking towards their home. It made no difference that pa had said he would be picking her up in town, she still wanted to see for herself and continued to watch for her.

Sometimes Zeke would go with her. "What do you think, Zeke? Will she sing songs to us at night so we can sleep good? Will she make mud pies with us? Will she go swimming in the pond with us? Will she smell like cinnamon and vanilla like Ma did? Will she even like us, Zeke?