Page 26 of Mail Order Marvelous
Chapter Eight
Josie spent her dayslearning to cook and bake, and her nights learning about her new husband.What shocked her more than anything was the fact that Jack didn’t seem to have a temper at all.
She’d never even seen him annoyed with anything, and she realized she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.By the time the snow melted, Josie and Myrtle had a real plan for the bakery, and the men began building their dream.
While Myrtle worked on a menu and ordered what she would need for the bakery, Josie helped with foraging in the mornings, and she helped Sally with planting in the afternoons.It wasn’t work she particularly enjoyed, but she knew it was needed.Thankfully, there was news of at least one more woman joining them in late spring, and possibly another.Once they were there, tasks would once again be shifted.
It was late May when the bakery was finally built, Myrtle and Josie were able to go inside and decorate as well as put things away.They’d decided on three stoves for the bakery, but thankfully, Myrtle was able to move one of the stoves from her house into the new building.
Josie had put the long winter months to good use as she had made tablecloths for every table and matching curtains for the windows.She’d also carefully painted a large sign to hang in front that simply read “Bakery”.
They opened within a week of the last nail being pounded in, and there was a line out the door on the Saturday morning they chose for their grand opening.
Josie ran all day, filling coffee cups, bringing pie and soup, as well as bread.They planned to only be open Monday through Friday, but they wanted the men to be off work for their grand opening, and it worked well for them.
When Josie finally locked the door at the end of the day, she and Myrtle collapsed into chairs at one of the tables.“I can’t believe today was such a success!”Myrtle said.
“We both knew it would go well.With all the men who used to meet you in this exact spot to buy your baked goods, it’s not surprising at all that they would be here to buy everything they could when we opened.”Josie shook her head.“You could not have done this alone.Aaron was right to make you wait for a partner.”
Myrtle nodded.“He was.How are you feeling?Was this too much?”
Josie shook her head.“My mother worked up until she went into labor with all of her children.I have seven months to go!”
“I don’t know how I’ll manage when you have to take some time off.”
“Someone else will be here by then, and they’ll take my place.Simple.”
“You can’t be replaced that easily!”Myrtle said.
“I think we did well money-wise,” Josie said.“Is there soup left for me to take home for supper?”With as badly as her feet hurt, she really didn’t want to have to cook that evening.
“There isn’t.They ate it all!”Toward the end of the day, Myrtle had started ladling the soup into bowls to make things go faster.
“I’ll figure something out for Jack then,” Josie rubbed her hand over her eyes.“I wish there was time for a nap, but I’m sure Jack expects supper any minute.Is there bread for sandwiches?”
Myrtle shook her head.“There isn’t a speck of food left.”
“All right.”Josie got to her feet.“I’ll see you at Bible study tomorrow.”Thankfully, Josie had cleaned as the day progressed, so the only thing left to do was take the soiled tablecloths home to wash.
When Josie got home, Jack was sitting at the table reading.“I expected you home an hour ago!”he said.
“I’m sorry!We were busier than we thought we’d be.We had to wait for the last table to finish eating before we could close.I’ll find something for supper.”
Jack watched the slow way she moved.“I’m not sure I want you to keep working in the bakery.You look tired.”
“I am tired, but I worked just as hard at the hotel.”
“But you came here so you wouldn’t have to work at the hotel anymore!”Jack got to his feet and walked to her.“You’re expecting.You shouldn’t be working so hard.”
“I came here so I could start a new life.My problem with the hotel wasn’t how hard I worked.I wanted to work hard for myself, not for someone else.”
“Still,” he said.“I don’t like it.”
“You agreed to it months ago,” she said, surprising herself as she dared to argue with him.
He frowned, reaching for her.Josie ducked away from him, backing all the way into the stove to get away from him.Thankfully, it wasn’t on.
“I’m not going to hurt you.I was just going to hold you for a minute.”Jack was hurt at her reaction.Surely, she knew him well enough by now to know he wouldn’t hit her.
