His Hope

6 - Adjustment to Country Life

Hope was jerked awake by inaudible sounds. Reaching for her cell phone that she'd set on the ground beside her bed, she barely made out the time in the pre-dawn light. Her screen read twenty minutes after four o’clock.

Wow. They really wake up before the c***k of dawn in this part of the world, she thought.

She was used to rising at six o’clock when she worked as a teacher, and at eight thirty when her school had closed down. So to be awoken before five o’clock in the morning was unheard of. Groaning, she sat up, threw her feet over the side of the bed and stretched. If she wanted to make a good impression, she figured she might as well join the rest of the family. After all, she would not be able to go back to sleep.

Sending up a silent prayer that today would be a better day, she tidied herself by the light of her kerosene lamp. Retrieving a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from her suitcase she got dressed for the day ahead. Gathering her wild kinky curls with her hands she smoothed it as best she could, by using her Shea Moisture leave-in conditioner. She wasn’t sure when she’d be able to get another shipment in of her hair care products, so she used as little as possible. Years of repetition made it relatively easy for her to put her hair into a bun without the use of a mirror or light.

When she was finished, it was definitely time to go outside, as her body screamed that she needed to make a trip to the outhouse soon. She'd been holding her bladder most of the night because she didn't want to use the adult potty she’d found under her bed.

Hesitantly opening her door to the smell of fresh coffee, she looked around it to see Dexter, Junior, and Daneka sitting at the table, cups in hand and talking. She was more of a tea drinker herself, but the strong smell of coffee was addictive. She stepped past her door.

"Good morning, Miss Hope," Daneka said cheerily.

"Mornin', Ma'am," Junior said solemnly after his father nudged him.

Dexter smiled. "Good morning, Hope. We weren’t expecting you to be up so early. You had a long tiring trip. Don’t feel compelled to rise as early as us until you are fully rested."

"Hello everyone. Good morning. I'd much prefer to jump right in so I'd like to rise when you do. My body will adjust to the change." She said, stifling a yawn before glimpsing that barely visible quirk of Dexter's mouth.

"In that case, join us for coffee. The kids are having milo tea, but they like to pretend as if they are drinking coffee with me, while we talk about our day ahead. Since the kids are currently not attending school, we work for about three hours or so in the morning, while Daneka collects eggs and makes breakfast. After breakfast, we work until midday, eat lunch, and then work until around five in the afternoon, before cleaning up and having dinner around six."

Hope motioned to the door barely controlling herself from doing a slight jiggle. "I need to uh use the uh…"

"Oh, sure; nature's call," Dexter said easily.

Hope stepped onto the porch and inhaled the cold air. Dew was lightly falling as the dawn broke the horizon casting a mystic glow all around. For the briefest of moments she felt happy and carefree. Following the path to the outdoor latrine that Daneka had shown her the evening before, she longed for an indoor bathroom like the one she'd had in Chicago. Resigning herself to her chosen path, she opened the door to the tiny and smelly enclosure and did her business.

Returning to the house, Dexter motioned toward the coffee pot. "Would you like me to pour you some coffee?"

"No, thank you. I’ll get it as I’m already standing."

She walked to the sink to rinse her hands and then reached into the open cupboard for a coffee mug. Picking up a tattered pot holder, she grasped the metal pot from off the stove and poured the blackest coffee she'd ever seen. Returning to the table she sat beside Dexter when he patted the spot next to him on the bench. The brush of his shoulder sent tingles down her spine. "What time do the babies usually wake up?" she asked.

"Oh, they usually sleep well into the morning. We normally wake them up around breakfast time. Do you like sugar in your coffee?"

"I do."

He scooted a half full mason jar and a spoon encrusted with sugar toward her. Not seeing another, clean spoon, she hesitated and then stirred a little sugar in her drink and sipped the steaming brew. It was so bitter she almost gagged. Everyone was watching her so she murmured, "Delightful coffee."

This time the quirk of Dexter's lips was unmistakable. "Did you sleep well?"

"Um, yes. Thank you."

Daneka saved the awkwardness everyone was obviously feeling by chattering about the fairytale Hope had begun the night before. "I can't wait to hear how it ends. Too bad David and Daniel fell asleep and missed it, but I'll fill them in on what happened."

Dexter smiled at Hope over Daneka's head and the simple gesture made her breathless. He was so handsome and rugged, not like the men she was accustomed seeing in Chicago. He stood and stretched. "Why don’t we get started on our chores Junior and leave the women to make breakfast."

Junior gave him a defiant glance, as he seemed engrossed in the book he was reading, but he nevertheless walked to the mantle and dropped his book on it. Dexter paused at the door and reached for his hat hanging on a peg. "We'll be back in a few hours." He settled his hat on his head and tipped the brim with his index finger. The innocent motion started Hope's heart hammering again. Junior grabbed his own hat and scurried after his father. To cover her flusters, she said, "Daneka, what do you need help with?"

Daneka reached for the coffee mugs and started clearing them off the table. "After I get these washed the place should be bright enough for us to go to the hen house. We can make biscuits and fried eggs with bacon for dad and Junior."

Hope assisted Daneka by drying the cups and putting them away. An appreciation of the difficult position Dexter was in, and his need for a wife in a marriage of convenience, wedged itself into her heart. She remembered him expressing in his first letter his desire that his children return to school. Was money so tight he couldn't afford to hire help and that's why Junior was home? As for Daneka, caring for her baby brothers was a full time job. Besides being a mother to his children, perhaps Hope could help financially. Maybe Dexter would allow her to repay him for the plane ticket and passage to the Rupununi Savannahs he'd insisted on paying. She didn’t consider herself wealthy, but she did have a handsome savings account she’d furthered enriched with the sale of her family home.

Hope smiled, feeling proud of the fact she was already making plans to support her new family.

Daneka reached and grabbed a basket off the shelf. "Let's go see how many eggs we got today."

"What about the twins? Should we wake them?"

"Nope. They will be handfuls when they’re up as it is. This is our quiet time. Besides, I blocked the door so they can't get out of the bedroom if they awake before we return. They most likely won't wake up until we get back anyway."

Hope glanced at Daneka's bedroom door and noticed a leather strap wrapped around the handle and stretched to a hook on the frame. She smiled at the child's resourcefulness.