"They were my father's clothes," she said quietly.
"I'll be careful with them," I said taking the pile.
"Oh no, it's not that! Dat wore these to do the farm work in as well as to Sunday services," she smiled. "I was just reminded of him and how much he loved Corner Grove and our family."
"Then I'll try to do a good job cleaning," I said with a smile. Verity laughed again and left the room. I quickly pulled off the dress clothes and hung them on the pegs in the corner of the room so they wouldn't wrinkle. I pulled on the big, white shirt first and was surprised to find it had buttons. It was slightly large on me, so I rolled up the sleeves before pulling on the pants. They fit me better than I expected, but I struggled to figure out how to attach the suspenders that seemed to stand in for a belt. I decided to go barefoot since that seemed be what everyone who stayed around the house did, and then I walked into the kitchen to show Verity.
"Did I do this right?" I said as I entered the room. Verity turned and began laughing. She laughed so hard that tears rolled down her cheeks as she came toward me and began fixing the suspenders and pulling the shirt down so that it actually fit my body.
"I'm sorry, but you look so foreign in this!" she laughed. "If we get you a hat, you'll pass for Amish!"
"Oh no, you're not cutting my hair using a bowl!" I said backing away from her warily. "I've seen the way the men around here look and I'm not doing that!"
"No, no, we wouldn't ask you to," she laughed harder as she looked at me.
"You're picturing me with the bowl cut, aren't you?"
"I am!" she said as she dissolved into another fit of giggles. I smiled as I realized that this was the first time I'd seen Verity laugh. She looked sweet when she smiled, and I understood what Levi found attractive about her. She was a softer version of Grace. Once Verity had straightened me out and stopped laughing about the imagined haircut, I grabbed the broom, mop, and bucket, and headed into the living room to clean.
In my entire upbringing, I'd never had done anything more than toss my towels on the bathroom floor knowing that they'd be picked up, laundered, and replaced after the cleaning staff came through every day. There was something oddly satisfying about sweeping and mopping, and even though it took me four times longer than it probably would have taken any other of the Miller children, I finished the task without incident.
When I limped into the kitchen and went to dump the bucket out back, I caught a glimpse of Danny struggling to pull a bale of hay into the barn. I looked around and didn't see Honor anywhere, so I headed out to help him.
"Want some help?" I asked as he huffed and puffed pulling the bale toward the end stall. He nodded, so I bent down and pushed. Together we moved the hay quickly and then Danny snipped the rope holding the bale together and began tossing it into the stall.
"Wow, you've really cleaned this place up quickly, haven't you?" I said looking around and marveling at how clean the barn was. He nodded and signed something that I didn't understand. I shook my head, "I don't speak sign language, buddy."
Danny thought for a moment, and then grabbed my sleeve and pulled me over to the milking pen where he pointed at the cow, the bucket, and then me.
"Me? Milk the cow?" I said looking confused. "You're out of your mind!"
Danny laughed silently and then pushed me toward the pen. The pain in my chest sent a jolt down one side of my body and I backed up shaking my head. Danny's face formed a question, and I replied, "I can't sit down like that, it'll hurt too much."
He nodded and signed something that, combined with his sheepish look, I took as an apology.
"Hey, no problem, big guy!" I said patting his shoulder. "Maybe in a few days, when I feel a bit better, I'll have a go at it."
Danny nodded happily and then sat down, thrust the bucket under the cow's udders, and began quickly milking her. Watching him, I marveled at how easy he made it look and how at ease he seemed doing it. I felt bad that I couldn't speak sign language and carry on an actual conversation with him, but when I thought about the fact that I wasn't going to be here for much longer, I decided there wasn't much I could do about it aside from helping him in the barn as best I could. It wasn't easy and I knew I was going to pay for it later, but I helped Danny clean out the stalls and then carry the dirty hay out to the compost bin until Verity told us to come in and get cleaned up for supper.
Both Grace and Honor were missing, but when I asked Verity where they were, she shrugged and said, "Probably at the store. They'll be home later."
After dinner, I tried to help with the dishes, but Verity shooed me out on to the front porch, saying that I'd done more than enough for one day and that I should rest. She said she'd come check my head and chest after she finished in the kitchen. Out on the porch, I suddenly remembered the phone that had been charging all day, but decided that I'd wait to grab it before I went to bed. Somehow bringing technology out on the porch felt wrong.
"God, look at me," I muttered. "I'm going over to the dark side now."
I looked up as Danny tapped me on the shoulder and handed me the phone, excitedly signing something I understood as, "Hurry up and turn it on." I laughed as I hit the power switch and waited for the phone to power up. Danny watched the screen light up and then clapped when the phone glowed in my hand. I quickly tapped the screen and set it up with my old phone number, and after a few minutes, the small device was up and running. I saw that there were numerous messages from Bugsy, but when Danny looked at me, pointed to the phone and then pointed to himself. I shrugged and handed it over saying, "Have at it kid!"
For the next hour, while I sat quietly watching the sky shift from twilight to a shade of inky purple I'd never seen before, Danny played with the phone. It wasn't until Verity came out and told us it was getting late that he handed the phone over and went inside. She quickly checked my injuries and put some salve on the bruises before bidding me goodnight. I waited up as long as I could, but soon the work I'd done hit me and I headed in to bed.
I woke up late the next morning wanting to talk to Grace before she left for the store, but she'd been quick to grab her things and head out to the barn. By the time I made it to the front porch, she and Titan were already half way down the road toward town.
"We're going to talk at some point, Grace Miller!" I shouted as I watched her crest the hill and disappear.
I quickly dialed Bugsy, but his phone went straight to voicemail, so I left a message telling him to call me back. I figured
he was probably making connections with investors or something, and hoped he'd get back to me quickly. There were two messages in my voicemail from my mother telling me to call her immediately. I deleted them both and then put the messages out of my mind before heading back into the house.
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