Blue Shadows Farm: A Novel

17. Kitchen Stove—January 1867

103 January 1867 The arrangement worked well. Sophia continued going to school each day, spent the weekday evenings working and sleeping at the Starkweather cabin, and walked home to help her mother on Saturdays and Sundays. She returned each Sunday afternoon to the little log cabin that she had come to like. Silas wasn’t always in agreement with Sophia’s ideas, but he seldom argued with her. She made curtains for the cabin windows; with her mother’s help she made a beautiful quilt for his bed and turned the cabin loft into a pleasant sleeping area for herself. It wasn’t long before she said, “When will you buy cookstove, Silas? I bake bread, pies, cakes, cookies for you if you have stove.” Without telling Sophia, Silas had stopped by the mercantile on his last trip to Link Lake and had ordered a new cookstove. Mercantile owner Owen Davies said he expected a shipment of new stoves any day. In mid-January it arrived. When Sophia entered the cabin one afternoon, she opened the door and immediately saw the new appliance standing off to the side of the fireplace, with its black stovepipe stuck into the fireplace chimney. 17 Kitchen Stove “You got new stove,” Sophia said, her blue eyes wide with excitement . “Pretty stove, so shiny.” She walked up and began inspecting it. “Be careful, it’s hot,” Silas said. “I am careful. I know stoves. Ours at home is like this, but not so shiny. This stove is so shiny.” She pulled open the doors on the warming oven above the stove’s cooking surface. She lifted the door of the hot-water reservoir on the right side of the stove. It was filled with steaming water. She pulled open the oven door and looked inside. A blast of warm air struck her in the face. “Is good,” she said. “Is very good. I now do better cooking for you, Silas.” She ran up, wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek.” He immediately turned a bright red. “You blush,” Sophia said, smiling. She turned, hung up her coat on the wooden peg that had become hers, and began preparing supper . She sang a little song in German; Silas didn’t know the words. “Thank you for the new stove. My work easier now.” Soon the smells of supper cooking filled the little cabin. When they had finished eating their evening meal, Sophia cleared and washed the dishes, using the warm water from the new stove’s reservoir. “Now I bake bread for you, Silas,” Sophia said. “I make good bread. Mama say my bread nearly as good as hers.” That night when Sophia climbed the cabin stairs to her room in the loft, three freshly baked loaves of bread stood on the cabin table, cooling. The smell of fresh bread filled the room. Silas’s head was filled with thoughts of Sophia. How she had changed in just the few months he had known her. She was becoming a beautiful young woman. Every day she seemed more attractive. And always smiling and laughing. He couldn’t remember ever seeing her sad, and if she was, she hid it well. He was pleased with his decision to hire her as his housekeeper. He knew that her help would be even more appreciated 104 Kitchen Stove—January 1867 105 Kitchen Stove—January 1867 when he could return to working in his fields and doing what he had come to Link Lake to do. So what if some of the neighbors talked. It was none of their business. January 8, 1867 I have fresh-baked bread cooling in front of me. Bought a new cookstove. Sophia baked bread tonight. She’s a good cook. I didn’t know she could bake bread. Wonder what Thoreau would have thought about this. Having someone do your cooking for you. Seemed like he was against that sort of thing. Bet he didn’t have a blonde German girl sleeping in his cabin’s loft. He never even mentioned having a loft in his cabin. Silas fell asleep that night and dreamed of eating fresh bread his mother had just pulled from the oven. And then his mother left and a beautiful young woman came into the room. She had curly blonde hair and striking blue eyes, and she offered him a slice of homemade bread, covered...