As Rose and Jack walked back to the house, they noticed Anders and Amanda sitting on the floor of the porch laughing. They seemed to be watching something, but Rose and Jack could not see what it was.

Finally Anders stood up and they saw him reach down. He picked up a baby.

"Oh, you're back. That is good," said Anders. "You must meet the other member of our family. This is Oscar. He is eight months old."

"Oh, Amanda," exclaimed Rose, "he is beautiful.

The baby boy had whitish blond hair and blue eyes. Anders held him against his shoulder. Oscar looked at the strangers coming and hid his head in his father's neck.

Anders laughed. "He doesn't see many people. But he'll warm up."

As they came to the steps of the porch, Jack said, "Anders, Amanda, I want to thank you for taking care of things up there."

He inclined his head toward the hill.

"Oh, it's nothing," they said in unison. "It's an honor."

"It's means a lot to me," Jack told them. Not wanting to continue on this sad subject any longer, Jack told them, "Your home is beautiful. May I see the inside?"

"You must come in now," said Anders. "You are taking a sandwich with us."

Jack, Rose, Anders and Amanda, who was carrying Oscar all went inside the house. Jack looked around and like Rose was impressed by the elegant simplicity of what he saw. The clean white look with the small touches of color pleased his artistic eye.

They went into the dining room. The table was covered with food. There were thin open face sandwiches, some with beef, others with cheese or liver sausage. There was a big bowl of boiled potatoes, another plate with sliced cucumbers and a small dish with herring.

When they sat down to eat, Jack asked Anders about the farm.

"How many animals do you have now?"

Anders told him that they had about 12 milk cows, 2 plow horses, and 30 chickens.

"That's about the same as we had," commented Jack. "And what about crops?"

"As you know, the farm is about 80 acres, and I farm 70 of that in feed corn."

Jack asked Anders if they were doing alright. His family had always gotten by with the money produced from the farm.

"It could be better," answered Anders. "But it's only been a few years now. I have help four days a week from a young man who lives in town. Then there is the money from the eggs. Between that and Amanda's sewing, baking and canning, we do well enough."

As Jack and Anders became more deeply engrossed in talk about the farm, Rose was admiring Oscar.

"Is he a good baby?" she asked Amanda.

"Oh, he is pretty good. That is as long as he gets to be active. He wants to crawl around all the time and as long as I let him do that, he takes a nice long nap. I have a 12 year old girl from the next farm come two afternoons a week, after school. She watches him while I do my sewing and baking. Otherwise I wouldn't get a thing done."

Before she thought about what she was saying, Rose asked, "Did you have a hard time having him?"

Amanda looked at Rose, as if reading her mind.

"Well, I won't say it didn't hurt. But yaw, it all went well. And I felt so happy afterward. Don't worry, Rose. I think I understand."

Amanda patted the top of Rose's hand. Rose felt some relief. If a tiny person like Amanda could have a baby with no trouble, then so could she.

Quietly Amanda asked her, "So are you still sick in the morning?"

She was looking at Rose's half touched plate.

"Very," said Rose. "It's only about a month now. And it seems to be getting worse."

"You just wait another eight weeks or so and you'll feel better," advised Amanda.

Rose jerked her head up and looked at Amanda.

"Eight weeks?" cried Rose, softly. "How will I last that long?"

Amanda smiled and said gently, "Don't worry, you'll make it."

Amanda had held Oscar on her lap all through lunch, but as she got up to clear the table, she handed the baby to Rose. It was hard to tell who was more surprised, Oscar, who was suddenly being held by a stranger, or Rose, who had never held a baby before. Oscar squirmed a little and reached out to his mother, until he discovered Rose's long hair and necklace. Then he sat contentedly, cooing, playing with Rose's hair and jewelry.

"You must have many children one day," said Anders. "You look like you will make a good mother."

"Thank you," said Rose, blushing.

Jack watched her from across the table. He thought about how beautiful Rose would look with a child of their own.

Amanda brought out a pan filled with a white substance. To Jack it looked like some cultured yogurt he had eaten in the mountains in Italy. To Rose it looked absolutely disgusting.

Anders pointed to the dish that Amanda set down.

"You must eat some of Amanda's ostkakka."

"What," said Rose and Jack at the same time.

"Ostkakka, cheesecake," laughed Amanda.

She cut four pieces and then passed around a glass bowl filled with something that looked like raspberry jam.

"What's that?" asked Rose cautiously.

"That's just some raspberry jam," said Amanda.

Anders looked at Rose who seemed to be hesitant about trying the dessert.

"Go ahead," he urged. "I know it doesn't always look so good, but just wait until you taste it."

Rose looked suspiciously at the cake. Finally she took a forkful. She expected to taste something very sour. Instead her taste buds were awakened to a wonderful combination of almond, sugar, lemon and raspberries. She had never had anything so delicious.

Oscar had escaped during dessert and was crawling on the floor. Suddenly, he found himself at Jack's feet. Jack felt a tug at his pants and looked down at the smiling baby.

"Okay, Oscar," said Jack, as he lifted the smiling baby and settled him on his lap. "How about you and I having some dessert together?" He looked to Amanda for approval before offering a tiny forkful of the cake to Oscar.

Apparently it tasted fine to Oscar who put his hands together and laughed. Then he pulled himself up and grabbed Jack's shoulders and started bouncing up and down. Jack put his fork down and concentrated on entertaining Oscar who seemed to have adopted Jack as his new toy.

Rose felt somewhat envious as she looked at Jack and Oscar. He looked so at ease with the baby. Would she ever feel that relaxed with a small child?

When lunch was done and the dishes were cleared away, Anders invited them to come out and see the rest of the farm. Jack remembered all the nooks and crannies of his childhood. The barn, except for a new coat of paint looked and smelled the same. The cows were out in the pasture, but the chickens in the chicken coop were squawking, not too pleased that their usual quiet was being disturbed by some visitors.

Rose had never been in a barn, let alone on a farm. Her nose was being assaulted by the usual barnyard smells. She was trying hard not to show that she thought it was somewhat unpleasant. It was hard for her to understand why Anders, Amanda and Jack seemed unaffected by it all.

As they walked a little further away from the house, Anders showed them two more buildings, the corn crib and a large implement shed. Both of these had been there when Jack grew up.

Jack's thoughts went back to his childhood there. He remembered one winter storm that was so bad, his dad had to hook up a rope line from the house to the barn. That was so he wouldn't get lost in the storm when he went to milk the cows. He recalled the day that the barn cat gave birth to 6 kittens in the hayloft. After watching and helping his mom make a place for them to sleep, he felt so important. As if he had been personally responsible for those little balls of fur.

One time his mom had sent him out to collect the eggs. On the way back to the house, he had decided he would test gravity. He thought that if he swung the basket over really fast, the eggs would stay in. He had lost all three dozen eggs, plus dessert for a week. He had to smile to himself. Those days were gone, but he certainly had some wonderful memories.

Jack took out his watch and looked at the time. Almost 3 o' clock.

"I think we need to head back, Rose," he said.

"Alright," she answered.

He could see that she was reluctant to leave this place and these wonderful people.

"How did you get out here?" asked Anders.

"That railroad fellow, Calvert, had his truck," Jack replied.

"Yaw, I know him. He sometimes stops to get a pie to take home," said Anders. "But now I have to go into town. I must take Amanda's pies to the bakery. I will take you back, if you don't mind riding in the wagon."

Jack told him that would be fine.

"Just a minute. I almost forget. I have something that is yours. I always hoped you would come back so I could give it to you."

While Rose stood admiring Oscar and thanking Amanda for the wonderful day, Jack wondered just what Anders could have that belonged to him. Everything had been destroyed.

He watched as Anders returned carrying a blackened metal box.

"What's that?" asked Jack.

"It belongs to you Jack. When we built this house, we started from the beginning. We took out the old stone foundation and built a new one. When we were pulling it apart, I found this hidden away. I really didn't look at the inside, only to see that all the papers in there have the name Dawson on them."

Jack looked at the box in disbelief. He vaguely remembered hearing his mother once ask his dad if he had put something in the safe box. But he had no idea what she meant. This must be it.

With one hand he accepted the box from Anders and shook hands with the other.

Amanda and Oscar gave Rose a hug.

"You musta komma tillbakka igen," she said in Swedish.

"Oh, we will. We will," Rose answered earnestly, getting the general idea of what Amanda meant. "Thanks for you everything. Thanks for the wonderful day," said Rose.

Jack hugged Amanda and Oscar and he told her once more how much he appreciated the care she was giving his parent's grave.

A few minutes later, as they sat on the bench of the wagon, next to Anders, Jack and Rose, gave one more wave to Amanda. Rose turned her head back and spoke to Anders. But Jack wanted one more look at his boyhood home.

He would always remember the colors of this day. The red house, the purple flowers, the white fence and the blue sky. He would hear the lilting Swedish accent of Amanda and Anders and feel the warmth of their hospitality. Jack would no longer think of the charred ruin of his home. From now on, he would see the memories of his past, irrevocably intertwined with these kind people and the promise of their tomorrows.

Later

Rose and Jack had returned to the hotel in time for dinner. The food was delicious.

"This pie is wonderful, isn't it?" asked Jack.

He was pleased to see that Rose had eaten a little better tonight. Perhaps it was because she was more relaxed now that they were away from all the memories of the past weeks.

"Mmmmm, it is and I know why too," she answered. "This looks like one of the pies that Anders brought to town."

"You're right, Rose," he said smiling at her. "That baby was cute wasn't he?"

"Oh yes, but I was really nervous. I had never held a baby before," she said.

"Well, you certainly looked comfortable with him. It looks like someday, you'll make a great mother."

Rose looked down and blushed, mentally making some calculations. It seemed more likely everyday.

Jack kept his thoughts to himself and wondered how much longer he would have to wait.