I successfully halted the horses in front of the house. No sooner had I gotten Josephine out than both Shannon and Nora barreled out of the house.
“Is it done already?” Nora asked.
“It didn’t take as long as I thought,” I said. “Is it all right that we brought it out here?”
“Yes, yes,” Nora said.
“We’ll give it to Mam early. We’ll have it for the holiday preparations, Nora.”
Nora squealed. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
A woman with a shawl wrapped around her shoulders came out to the porch. “What have you done, girls?”
“Mam, we have a present for you,” Nora said, squealing again. “A new kitchen table.”
“You’ve brought it on the sleigh?” Mrs. Cassidy came down the steps and moved toward us.
“Yes, the legs aren’t attached yet,” Josephine said. “Shall we bring it into the kitchen?”
“Yes, please,” Shannon said.
I wasn’t sure how to get it inside with only these small women, but I had underestimated Josephine. She was small but mighty, as was Shannon. They each took an end. We carried it inside with a blanket covering the top. I would need to turn it over to put on the legs and didn’t want to scratch the top. Nora and Mrs. Cassidy followed, each with two of the tapered legs.
We eased it through the front door and down the hallway to the kitchen. “What do we do with the old one?” Josephine asked.
“We’ll set this one aside and I’ll get the other one out of here.”
We gently set the tabletop against the hallway wall. I rushed back outside to get my tools and then took the legs off the old table. It was so thin and light that I was able to take it out to their shed with little effort. The girls were helpful by following with the legs.
“Dad never liked to toss anything,” Shannon said. “So we should probably save this in case we want to do something with the old wood.”
“I’ll think about what I could make with it, if you’d like,” I said. “I might be able to make end tables for you. But for now, just keep it dry.”
I followed them back into the house. Mrs. Cassidy had put on a pot of coffee and was huddled with Josephine near the stove.
“Yes, I’m having a good day,” Mrs. Cassidy said as I came in. “The headaches come suddenly and without warning, but usually only last a day.”
Josephine formally introduced me to Mrs. Cassidy. I plucked my hat from my head. So focused on the table, I’d almost forgotten. “Nice to meet you.”
“You as well.”
We brought the tabletop into the kitchen, and I assembled the legs using the screws. I had it all put together in less than ten minutes. The girls helped me turned it over as Josephine snatched the blanket out of the way.
Mrs. Cassidy’s hands covered her mouth as she exclaimed, “Oh my, it’s pretty.” She held out her arms. “Girls, how did you pay for this?”
Josephine shook her head. “Never you mind that. Consider it a gift from the Barnes family and our new, very talented friend.”
After embracing her girls, Mrs. Cassidy dropped into one of the chairs. “This is such a thoughtful thing you’ve done, but I don’t know how we can possibly stay here on the farm. Without my husband, we don’t have much chance for survival.” She turned to Josephine and me. “Years ago, my husband decided to add cattle that we could sell to the butcher shop in addition to our milkers. Right before he died, we lost five of them to a disease. I don’t know how or why they got sick. Or how to save the rest if it comes to that. Without the sale of that beef, we didn’t have any meat to sell to the Higgins brothers for their shop. I couldn’t pay our farmhand, so he left. The barn roof partially collapsed after the last snowfall, and I’ve nothing for the repairs.” She wiped under her eyes with one of her apron strings. “I’ve sent a letter home to Ireland. I have a brother who might be able to take us in.”
“Mam, no,” Shannon said. “This is our home.”
“Even before we lost your dad, I wasn’t sure we’d make it. Without him, I’m sure we can’t.” Mrs. Cassidy’s weary tone told me how defeat had rendered her incapable of seeing any hope. “And I’m not well. There’s debt.” She placed her hands over her face. “So much debt, just piling higher and higher.” She dropped her hands and directed her gaze once more at us. “We lost our bull last year and Dorrin had to take out a loan to replace him, which put us behind. That’s been our story for years. We’re always on the brink of losing everything. Your dad believed in taking risks. But he didn’t foresee dying on us at age forty-five. I can’t do it without him. These girls have worked tirelessly to save everything, but it’s not fair to them. They’re bright and should be at school learning how to get out of this kind of life. I’ve failed them.”
“Mam, no. You’re brave and good,” Nora said. “We’ve done what we had to do to keep the farm. That’s all we want.”
“We can’t go to Ireland without Alma,” Shannon said. “When she’s done with her nursing school, she’ll be able to help with money.”
“Not enough to run a farm,” Mrs. Cassidy said. “Anyway, she promised Alexander Barnes that she would come back here and be a nurse for the town. That was the agreement we made with him when we took the tuition money.”