Chapter Nine

DILLARD BEACH MYSTERY UPDATE

You can add your comments/suggestions on this work at the bottom of this page…

Dillard, November 5, 1678

The early days of their union were awkward for both Rebekah and John. They each had certain ways of living and working and patterns of comings and goings and it took some small time to settle in with ease. But each was eager to find a way. They talked about such things in the evenings sitting before the hearth.
“You are up and gone long before the sun rises most days, husband.” Rebekah noted. “Is there any morsel I can pack in your kit to help your day along?”
“You can come along for the ride, sweet wife. That would make the day go well enough.”
She gave him a playful shove. “You tease. I speak of apples and nuts to keep your strength up.”
“And so do I speak,” he grinned. “As you are the apple of my eye!”
He reached for her arm. “Come along with me on the morrow, and make this fisherman’s day a happy one.”
“Get on with you, husband. I have more to do than sail away with you. There are two babes soon to be born and I wager one will face the sun before the week is passed. Mistress Boswell sent her oldest child this afternoon to tell me she is close to her time and I must go there first thing. You should know it may take more than a day to see her delivered.”
“And you must be there all the while?” John queried.
“It is what I do. It is not unlike your waiting for one of your cod to take the bait at the end of a line or have a fish swim into your nets. Patience is required.”
He leaned over and lightly kissed her cheek. “I know. I am teasing you.” He brushed away a lock of loose hair that had escaped her bonnet. “I miss you when you are away.”
“Then we are equal on these terms. You spend most of your days on the water or digging in the shallows. If I am not in my garden I am away with a woman giving birth, or a child with a fever. It all takes time away from the one thing we both cherish.” She reached forward and stirred the fading ashes in the hearth. Sparks flew and a small flame ran the length of a narrow piece of pine. “But, if given a choice, would you choose to follow a different path? Are you not happy with this life?”
“I am most happy with my life, dear Bekah. The happiest of men. Most especially now that you are here by my side. And I have ambitions. I may be poor, but I am determined to better myself.
“I am sure you will.”
“I have acquired the plans for building a second dory this winter. But I must ask your permission first.”
“There is no need to ask my favor, John. You are quite capable of making the decision on your own.”
“To build a second dory I need wood. And some of the trees on your property are perfect for the task though I would never fell one without your blessing.”
“How many trees would be needed? What type? Pine? Hemlock? You have my blessing three times over if you can clear the land of all the old pine and give my land the sunshine it needs for another garden.”
Her enthusiasm for the idea gave John all the incentive he needed. “I will need to take over your shed for the work. We can move some of your herbs and hangings in here to the main cottage.”
She gave John a worried look.
“Do not fret. I will help you set everything up in both the shed and cottage. The cottage is perfect though we might have to open a window on the south side to bring in more light for your plantings. But that is easily solved.”
Rebekah had doubts about her husband’s plans but was willing to give him his head to test his ideas. “If you can clear the land, build a bigger shed, save my plantings and fashion yourself a new dory before spring, then I say you have more than my blessing.”
“One thing in your favor, John. As it is nearly mid-November, the harvest is all but done and my herbs are in and drying on their racks.” She looked around the cottage and wondered how they might manage the space. “Perhaps we should move the corner bed to the loft. That would free up a great deal of floor space.”
John considered her idea. “The loft would have to be reinforced with a second set of beams. Just in case we get to tumbling a bit in the night.” He grinned at her. “And… if you begin to blossom with a child? The beams have to be able to hold tremendous weight, after all.” His grin broadened as Rebekah pretended to toss a cast-iron skillet his way.