Catherine and Johns Saga, Ch. 23 Labor Day Weekend

Mama opened her eyes and saw sunshine just peaking in the bedroom windows. It’s that time again. I’m going to lay here for a few minutes. It’s good to have Catherine and John here at the farm. I sure like that girl.

Mama washes her face and hands. She will shower later on. Mama brushes her teeth and combs her hair. My hair is getting gray and grayer. She puts on her dress and apron and goes down stairs to the kitchen.

I’ll make coffee first. Then she gets out eggs and bread. I think I’ll make French toast and strawberries.

Papa comes downstairs and gets a cup of coffee. He says he slept very well, only woke up once.

John woke up when he hears voices in the kitchen. May as well get up and get to work. He takes a shower and gets dressed. He goes to the kitchen and has a cup of coffee.

Mama says, “Don’t wake Catherine.”

She must be tired or she would be here by now. Let her sleep.

Jack comes into the kitchen yawning.

John says, “As young as you are, you shouldn’t be tired and yawning.”

Jack says, “You haven’t been here for the last couple of weeks. It’s been nonstop work. Another week and then the worst will be over. I’m hungry as a bear.” He gives Mama a hug.

Mama says, “Don’t try to butter me up. You will have to wait until we all sit down at the table. You can put plates, silverware, glasses, milk and juice on the table.”

Papa is already sitting down at the table. He feels good today. He wants to get to work and get crop into market.

Mama says, “Breakfast is ready.”

They sit down and say grace. John loves French toast, especially with strawberries.

Mama saved a couple of pieces of French toast for Catherine. “Papa, will you be working on Sunday?” she asked.

Papa says, “I think we can work till noon. Take off Monday also. We have to go to the BBQ on Sunday. Well boys, let’s get going. The sooner we go the sooner we get done. Good breakfast, Mama.”

The boys thanked Mama for breakfast.

John says, “You better wake up Sleeping Beauty. She may sleep all day.”

Mama says, “I’ll wake her after I clear the table.” She takes things out of the refrigerator and puts the dishes in the dishwasher. She wipes down the counters and table. Mama thinks to herself she better rap on Catherine’s door.

Catherine says she’s sorry about sleeping so long. “I feel well rested.”

Mama says, “You must have been tired.”

Catherine says, “I feel foolish. I wanted to help you with things around here.”

Mama says, “You will have plenty of time for that. I thought we could go over to the neighbor’s house. They are having a sale. They had to clean out their father’s home.”

Catherine says, “I love going to sales.”

Mama says, “There will be a lot of furniture. I’m looking for a small end table, preferably a light oak one.”

Catherine says, “I’ll be ready in just a minute. She goes to the bathroom and gets dressed. “I’ll take a shower tonight. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Mama says, “I’ll have a cup of coffee and some French toast for you. Don’t be late or it will be cold. We will take pickles.” Catherine ate her toast and drank coffee. When they arrived at the neighbors’, there was a large crowd there. Mama looked at the small furniture. There was a table that she liked. She got out her tape measure and measured it. I think I’ll hang on to it and look some more. She saw a fruit bowl that would make a nice gift.

Catherine found a small water color picture that would look nice in the entry way.

Mama decided to get the table and a bowl. Catherine got the picture. They took their purchases to the truck. “We got some nice treasures, didn’t we? We better get going as we have to make lunch for the family.

Mama had taken some chili out of the freezer last night and had put it in the refrigerator. She put chili in the kettle and put the burner on low. It will heat up nicely. We have some cookies and a blueberry cobbler. That should fill them up.

The men came and ate lunch. John was happy. Chili was one of his favorite.

Papa says, “We will finish up today. We may be late coming in for supper. Don’t worry about us.”

Catherine and Mama started to do the dishes and clean up the kitchen. We will have pizza for supper. That way it doesn’t matter when they come in. It will only take a couple of minutes to heat it up. I like making my own pizza crusts. We’ve got the vegetables from the garden. I’ll take some sausage from the freezer. It will be fine.

When they finished their chores they went out to the lawn chairs that were in the yard. They took their iced tea with them and had cookies with it.

Catherine says “Isn’t there something we should be doing?”

Mama says, “We have plenty of time to do things. I want to show you something I made last winter. When we go in the house, I’ll show it to you.”

Catherine says, “I don’t mean to be pushy, but I would like to make you some cookies. I find baking very restful.”

Mama says, “If you really want to, it would be nice if you would. I’m not too fond of it myself. I’d rather make pies. It’s so much different . What do you do for recreation in the winter?”

Catherine says, “I like to do cross country skiing. It’s good exercise. I’ve been talking to John about going along with me. I’ve been talking to John about going along with me. It will all depend on how his leg is. He’s having trouble tiring out early in the day. I hope it’s nothing permanent.”

Mama says, “Let’s go into the house. If you like, you can make cookies. First, I want to show you my prize quilt. I made it with help from the neighbors. We get together and have a quilting bee. It’s a good way to know everybody.”

Catherine says, “What a beautiful quilt!”

Mama says, “Too bad you don’t live closer. We could make one for you.”

They went to the kitchen and Catherine stirred up some cookie dough. “This is a recipe from my grandmother. She came to America when she was a small girl. My mother made these cookies whenever she had new neighbors or when there was a function of some kind,” Catherine says, “I shouldn’t need too much space to work in.”

Mama says, “Don’t worry, I’ll work around you. I think I’m going to start making pizza dough. John’s brother has a date tonight. He may come in early from the orchard.”

Catherine says, “I finished baking cookies. What would you like me to do?”

Mama says, “We need to get vegetables ready for the pizza. If we need more, I’ll go out to the garden and pick more. I’ll let the dough rest and then I’ll fry sausage. Did you want to eat now or wait for the men?”

Catherine says, “I’ll wait for John and Papa to come in the kitchen. I see John’s brother coming up the walk. It must be an important date because he is walking fast.

Mama says, “Hi Son. Do you want to eat before you go on your date?”

Brother says, “I’ll have a couple of slices. We are going to eat later in the evening.”

Here comes Papa and John. They have to wash, comb their hair and have to take their overalls off. They were slow in walking up to the house.

The men came in the kitchen door and they said they had worked too long. They were exhausted and that they’ll rest tomorrow.

The four of them sat down at the table. They were hungry. John says, “Catherine must have baked cookies.” They are very good. Papa ate a cookie and said, “You better keep her for she can bake.” Papa was silent while they were eating. John talked about his work. They were getting new clients every day.

Brother came to say good night. He would see them in the morning. Papa thought about working tomorrow but he decided not to work. They needed a rest.

It was getting near bedtime when they finished cleaning up the kitchen. Maybe we can watch a movie. They found a movie called “Elorado”. It was a John Wayne one. John fell asleep and Catherine woke him up and suggested he go to bed. Papa says, “I’m going also.” They said their good nights. That left Mama and Catherine. They weren’t so tired so they watched the movie until the end. They told each other good night. “See you in the morning.”

Catherine says, “Wake me if I don’t awaken.”

They had a late breakfast. Everyone slept late.

Mama made scrambled eggs and toast and American friends. She had a bowl of cut fruit on the table. Being they are in season, we may as well enjoy. They ate in silence. After breakfast, the men went to the porch and lounged in the porch swing.

John asked Papa if he still though about buying more land.

Papa says, “Now that I’m laid up, I wonder if it’s such a good idea. There is a nice piece of land just down the road from here. I’ll have to think on that.” Brother wants him to buy it.

Mama and Catherine come out to the porch. “I think we’ll skip lunch and have mashed potatoes, green beans, corn on the cob, and beef roast. How does that sound?” All of them said it sounded good.

John says to Catherine, “How about we go for a walk after a while. Temperature-wise it’s good walking weather. Did you bring your walking shoes?”

Catherine says, “I did. Did you bring yours?”

John says, “I keep a change of clothes here in my room. Clothes for every occasion!”

John and Catherine walk hand-in-hand along the path of the avocado trees and sit down under a tree.

John says, “I know you haven’t said anything about the other night, but I would like to apologize for asking you to stay the night. I don’t know what I was thinking. I love you and don’t want to lose you.”

Catherine says, “I was very upset when I left your apartment. The more I thought about it, I decided to forgive. I love you too. Just don’t do it again! Excuse me but I have to find a bush.”

John says, “That sounds like a good idea. You can have that one over there.”

Catherine says, “Maybe we should start walking back. We’ve been gone for a long time. I want to help your Mama with supper and we need to pick vegetables in the garden.”

John says, “You and I can do that.”

As John and Catherine walked back to the house, John says, “Why so quiet?”

Catherine says, “I’m thinking about us. Wondering what our future is going to be.”

John says, “It will be a good future. Trust me.”

“Come, let’s go to the garden and pick the vegetables. Mama always has a dish pan by the garden path.” When they were almost finished, John threw a spoiled tomato at Catherine. She was so surprised she didn’t know what to do. She picked the hard green ones to throw at John. They kept it up until Catherine surrendered.

They cleaned themselves up as good as possible. John says, “You have pretty good aim and so hard they hurt.” Catherine says, “I was star pitcher in college.”

Mama needed someone to set the table. John’s brother said he could do that. He was hungry, which was not a surprise. They sat down and said grace and ate. Everything was so tasteful. Mama says, “Thank you.”

Brother says, “Catherine, why do you have tomato seeds in your hair? Did you have a tomato fight? I hope you used the hard green ones.”

John says, “She’s better at it than I am, so don’t get her mad at you. Let’s play dominos this evening. I need to win at something today.” John was right, he won every game. They went to bed early.

Today was the BBQ at the neighbor house. They all wanted a light breakfast, yogurt, and fruit would be fine.

Catherine and Mama were on the porch swing. It was quite comfortable.

Catherine asks Mama if she did crocheting or knitting. She says, “I do a little knitting like scarves and mittens and caps. The church sends them to wherever they can be used. Quilting is my passion. Maybe the next time we get together I will have another quilt on the frame. Then you will see if you like it.”

Mama says, “Catherine, will you go find Papa and John. Maybe they are gathering eggs. Tell them we have to be at the BBQ at two o’clock. I’ll go in and put my fruit in the bowl to take along. I’m wearing what I have on. It’s going to be very casual.”

As they arrive at the neighbor’s, John says, “Oh no! There is Tess. She had the hots for me in the 10^th grade. She was like a shadow glued to me. I took her to a movie and all she wanted to do was hold hands. Didn’t talk, just hold hands.”

Brother came with a girlfriend. John says, “Well, well. What’s up?”

Brother says, “Just want you to know I can find a pretty girl too.”

John introduced Catherine to everybody. They seemed like nice people. When you got to know them, you will find out how nice they are.

They all had a nice time. Food was excellent and the company was special. By eight o’clock, everyone headed for home. They would be going home early in the morning. They want to go before the mad rush for the city.

The next morning, Catherine woke up early. She took shower and brushed teeth and fixed hair in a ponytail. She got dressed and went down to the kitchen. Mama had the coffee made already. She got a cup and poured herself a cup. She wished she didn’t have to go home already. She was having a wonderful time. John’s parents were such nice people.

John came out to the kitchen. He got a cup of coffee. Boy, it sure tastes good. Just what I needed!

Mama says, “Did you all sleep well last night? Papa rolled around all night. His ankle and foot were quite painful. He must have overdone it.”

Catherine says, “John, will you go to the car and get the cooler? We’ll put ice and some things to eat on the way home.”

Papa comes into the kitchen and gets coffee. He sits down on a chair and says he didn’t sleep very well. “I’ll have to try and sleep after lunch. It is better now, doesn’t hurt so much.

John and Catherine said they will skip breakfast as both said they ate too much yesterday. After giving everyone hugs and kisses, they got in the car and drove away.