I stayed there, sitting on the mattress for several seconds as I debated if I wanted to open my eyes and officially wake up, or if I wanted to lay down and try to go back to sleep.  My head hit the pillow.  However, lying on my back wasn’t comfortable.  I rolled to my side.  My shoulder hurt a little, and I guessed I’d spent a lot of time on my side last night.

Fingers gently dug into the muscles of my lower back and startled my eyes open.  I twisted in bed and saw Thomas sitting on the edge of the mattress.

“You slept a long time,” he said, keeping his eyes on my exposed back.

I glanced at the window and noted early morning light.  I felt his concern.  This time it was my turn to send out some reassurance.  If only I could figure out how.  I settled for words.

“I’m thinking about sleeping longer,” I said, relaxing my head against the pillow.  “Especially if you keep doing that.”

With my face pressed against the pillow, I smelled marsh and wrinkled my nose.  On top of an already sore back, I would need to do laundry.

“Hmm.  Does that mean I should tell the new family what room to pick?”

I sat up quickly, dislodging his attentive fingers.  “New family?”

“Yes.  A Mated pair and their cub.  A little boy about two.”

I was up, out of bed, and frantically searching for clothes.  A family.  It was a start to what I saw this place could be.  Hope and excitement filled me, along with Thomas’ amusement.

“They’re eating oatmeal in the main room.  Come down when you’re ready,” he said, standing.

I nodded and with clean clothes in my arms, shooed him out the door.

*    *    *    *

Mary and I showed Rilla the rooms on the first floor and the clothes in the entry.  Her adorable son ran around us in his fur.  It was really hard not to play with him like he was a frisky puppy, which was totally how he acted.

They picked a room near the back of the house that Mary and I hadn’t yet swept.  It also had no glass in the window.  But Rilla didn’t seem to mind at all.  She set the clothes they’d taken just inside the door, then she and the cub went off to find her husband.  Thomas had offered to show the man the rest of the buildings.

As Mary and I walked to the common room, I thought of what we had to offer new families.

“It just doesn’t seem like clothes are enough,” I said, thinking aloud.  “The men only wear pants because I asked.  Would you be wearing clothes if Winifred hadn’t said something?”

“It’s getting cooler out at night, so probably.”

“Funny,” I said, knowing she was just being smart.  “How can we make this place more comfortable for those who aren’t sure if they want to be a part of it or not?  I know you were willing to sleep on the floor, but that’s going to be hard and cold in the winter.”  But no worse than snow and frozen ground, I supposed.

“I like my bed.  But if I had to choose what I like best about it, it would be the pillow.  I could go back to sleeping on the floor if I had a pillow.”

“Then, we have our project for the day,” I said with a smile.  “We’ll see if we can come up with a way to make some pillows.”

“Just so we don’t have to weed.”

When we pushed our way through the main room doors, the room was empty and the breakfast dishes waited.  It had been a hectic morning.  I didn’t know who to thank for getting up early to make the oatmeal.  It wasn’t Mary.  I’d pulled her from her bed so she could come with me to greet the new family.

I went to the stove and saw someone had been kind enough to put a pot of water there.  It was already boiling.  Mary and I got to work.  Before we had half the dishes clean, Rilla and Ann joined us with their children.  Together, we finished the dishes quickly.

Leif walked in from outside as we stacked the dried plates and bowls.  In his arms, he carried a bunch of the reeds.

“If you’re finished with the trough, can I use it?  Weaving works better if we keep this soft,” he said.

I nodded and watched him set them in the trough.  He pumped some water and poured it over them.

“Ready?” he said with a smile.

“What are you doing?” Rilla asked, curiously eyeing the leaves.

“Leif is going to teach us how to make baskets so we can store things,” Mary said.

“I would love to learn that, too,” she said.  Leif handed her several of the leaves and took a few more himself.  They brought them over to the table.

“We’ll need to spread out to have enough space to work, but let me show you how to start.”

Before I could join the rest at the table and watch Leif, Gregory came in from outside.

“Not you two,” he said looking at Mary and me.  “We’re going back to the marsh.”

Mary and I both groaned.

“What you brought back was a good start,” Leif said.  “But we’ll need more to make enough baskets to store what’s in that garden.  If you pick enough, we can make mats for the floor, too.  And bring back whatever tops you can.  It makes a soft stuffing.”

Gregory held the door, waiting while Mary and I shared a look.  We’d both slept deeply because of the day before.  I hadn’t asked her how her back felt, but the idea of spending another day doing the same thing made me want to run for my room.  I was willing to bet she felt the same way.

Yet, going back to the marsh meant mats for people to sleep on and possibly stuffing for the pillows she and I had just talked about—Leif had probably overheard us.  Making this place into a home would take some work, back-breaking, sweat-inducing work.

“Come on,” I said with a sigh.

Together, we walked out the door.

On the ground just outside, I saw two finished baskets.  One was the baby’s and the other Leif must have made the night before.  Mary picked up both and started following Gregory across the clearing.

I took two steps, then I found myself swept up from behind.  I squealed and automatically wrapped my arms around Thomas’ neck.  My pulse jumped as he grinned down at me.

His boyish smile and the amusement pouring from him warmed me.

“Ready?” he asked.

In his arms, I felt like I was ready for anything.  I nodded, and he ran.

*    *    *    *

When I would have kicked off my shoes and stepped into the cattails, Thomas stopped me.

“It’s getting too cold for you to do that.  You stay here and stack what we pick.”

Stacking the fronds the three of them pitched onto dry ground wasn’t very hard; but within an hour, my back wanted to quit.  I stretched, twisting this way and that, in an effort to relieve the ache.

“Ready to stop?” Thomas asked.  Mud smeared his arms up to his elbows as he stood calf-deep in cold water.  His pants were rolled up to his knees.

“We were never ready to start,” Mary grumbled.  She and Gregory were similarly dirty and standing in the water.  Gregory moved over to her and gently rubbed her shoulders.  I watched her sag against him.

“Yes, I think we have enough for today,” I said.

Cattail tops filled both baskets, and a very large stack of leaves waited beside them.  If Thomas carried me, it would leave more for Gregory and Mary to carry.

“I know I’m slow, but I think I’d like to walk back,” I said.  Hopefully the walk would loosen up my back muscles.

No one argued with me, and we worked together to tie the leaves into bundles.  Gregory and Thomas carried the majority.  I managed the last two bundles while Mary carried the baskets.  When we had everything in our arms, Mary and Gregory took off, running ahead.  Thomas and I walked through the trees.

Again, I wondered if I was doing enough to make the buildings into a place where people would want to live.  Were pillows, mats, and clothes enough?  Would it sway the rest of the pack when they returned?

“Have you heard from them?” I asked.  He didn’t ask who I meant.

“They don’t contact me.  But I did let them know about Ann and Leif’s daughter.  I think they sent the new family, too, by sharing that news.”