Roberta: Bride of Wisconsin (American Mail-Order Bride 30) by Kirsten Osbourne Page B
Book: Roberta: Bride of Wisconsin (American Mail-Order Bride 30) by Kirsten Osbourne
Read Free Book Online
Authors: Kirsten Osbourne
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical, Saga, Family Life, Western, Short-Story, Religious, Christian, Inspirational, Bachelor, matchmaker, Marriage of Convenience, Wisconsin, Faith, widower, victorian era, independence, Forever Love, Single Woman, Fifty-Books, Forty-Five Authors, Newspaper Ad, American Mail-Order Bride, Factory Burned, Pioneer, Single Father, Deceased Wife, Thirtieth In Series, Problems, Two Boys, Differences, Loveless Marriage
Ads: Link
to help you," the woman said. "You see, I'm Erna's sister, Dagmar, and I understand you don't know how to cook good German food. Why don't I teach you?"
Bobbie frowned. "How do you know what I can or can't cook?"
"Jakob was complaining to my mutter yesterday that you cook strange things he and the boys have never seen before. He misses good German food like Erna and his mutter used to make. I will show you." She didn't wait for an invitation, she simply pushed the door wider and walked into the house.
"Are the canned goods still stored in the basement?" she asked, walking straight through to the kitchen like she owned the place. She didn't wait for a response, immediately heading down the stairs. "I was supposed to marry Jakob, you know. After Erna died, he was supposed to marry me."
"Why do you think that?" Bobbie asked, wondering what the woman was looking for.
"Because that's what Erna would have wanted. Why else?" She looked through the shelves of canned goods. "Where's the sauerkraut?"
Bobbie shrugged. "We don't have any to my knowledge."
"You didn't make sauerkraut as soon as you arrived? That should have been the first thing you did! No good German household is without a fresh supply of sauerkraut in the autumn. Shame on you!"
Bobbie was ready to strangle the other woman, and they hadn't been together for more than ten minutes. "What is sauerkraut anyway?"
The woman turned to her in shock. "You don't even know what sauerkraut is? Are you English or something?"
"Why yes, I am. My family is one of the oldest families in this country."
Dagmar shook her head as if disgusted. "Sauerkraut is fermented cabbage. You must make it every fall. No good German man likes to eat without sauerkraut." She sighed heavily. "I see we have much work to do. I will teach you to make schupfnudeln today."
Bobbie made a face. "I can't even say that. What is it?"
"It's a type of German dumpling. Goes perfectly with sauerkraut. You can make it as a side dish, though. You do have flour, I hope?"
"Of course, I have flour. Look, I'm going to cook what I know to cook. I don't need you here telling me I do everything wrong."
"I never said you do everything wrong. I said you don't know how to cook German foods, and that's obviously true, or Jakob wouldn't have felt the need to complain to Mutter about your cooking, now would he?"
She trudged back up the stairs, obviously expecting Bobbie to just follow her meekly. When they got to the kitchen though, Bobbie took a deep breath to calm herself before saying, "I'll thank you to get out of my house. I do not need your help cooking and I find your attitude condescending. If I thought you really wanted to help me, it would be different, but that is obviously not the case. Please go."
"How dare you speak to me this way? No, I will not go. It is my duty to my sister to teach you to cook the way she would have wanted her family to eat. The boys need to know how to eat the right things for their German heritage. And Jakob could never be satisfied without German food. Why, I hear you don't even sleep in the same room with him. You will never be good enough for a real German man like Jakob."
Bobbie had enough of the other woman. She reached out and grabbed her by the upper arm. The girl was stout, but Bobbie was tall and strong from years of hard work. She dragged the woman to her front door, opened it, and pushed her out, not even caring when she landed on her backside in the snow. "Please don't bother yourself to come back. I don't want you here."
"Jakob will hear about this!" the woman screeched.
"I'm sure he will. I'll tell him myself." She shut the door, locking it in case the other woman thought she had a right to come in on her own.
She leaned against the door, brushing away the tears that she had only allowed to fall since the older woman was no longer in her sight. Why Jakob had thought it was all right to complain about her cooking to his former in-laws she didn't know. She did know
Bobbie frowned. "How do you know what I can or can't cook?"
"Jakob was complaining to my mutter yesterday that you cook strange things he and the boys have never seen before. He misses good German food like Erna and his mutter used to make. I will show you." She didn't wait for an invitation, she simply pushed the door wider and walked into the house.
"Are the canned goods still stored in the basement?" she asked, walking straight through to the kitchen like she owned the place. She didn't wait for a response, immediately heading down the stairs. "I was supposed to marry Jakob, you know. After Erna died, he was supposed to marry me."
"Why do you think that?" Bobbie asked, wondering what the woman was looking for.
"Because that's what Erna would have wanted. Why else?" She looked through the shelves of canned goods. "Where's the sauerkraut?"
Bobbie shrugged. "We don't have any to my knowledge."
"You didn't make sauerkraut as soon as you arrived? That should have been the first thing you did! No good German household is without a fresh supply of sauerkraut in the autumn. Shame on you!"
Bobbie was ready to strangle the other woman, and they hadn't been together for more than ten minutes. "What is sauerkraut anyway?"
The woman turned to her in shock. "You don't even know what sauerkraut is? Are you English or something?"
"Why yes, I am. My family is one of the oldest families in this country."
Dagmar shook her head as if disgusted. "Sauerkraut is fermented cabbage. You must make it every fall. No good German man likes to eat without sauerkraut." She sighed heavily. "I see we have much work to do. I will teach you to make schupfnudeln today."
Bobbie made a face. "I can't even say that. What is it?"
"It's a type of German dumpling. Goes perfectly with sauerkraut. You can make it as a side dish, though. You do have flour, I hope?"
"Of course, I have flour. Look, I'm going to cook what I know to cook. I don't need you here telling me I do everything wrong."
"I never said you do everything wrong. I said you don't know how to cook German foods, and that's obviously true, or Jakob wouldn't have felt the need to complain to Mutter about your cooking, now would he?"
She trudged back up the stairs, obviously expecting Bobbie to just follow her meekly. When they got to the kitchen though, Bobbie took a deep breath to calm herself before saying, "I'll thank you to get out of my house. I do not need your help cooking and I find your attitude condescending. If I thought you really wanted to help me, it would be different, but that is obviously not the case. Please go."
"How dare you speak to me this way? No, I will not go. It is my duty to my sister to teach you to cook the way she would have wanted her family to eat. The boys need to know how to eat the right things for their German heritage. And Jakob could never be satisfied without German food. Why, I hear you don't even sleep in the same room with him. You will never be good enough for a real German man like Jakob."
Bobbie had enough of the other woman. She reached out and grabbed her by the upper arm. The girl was stout, but Bobbie was tall and strong from years of hard work. She dragged the woman to her front door, opened it, and pushed her out, not even caring when she landed on her backside in the snow. "Please don't bother yourself to come back. I don't want you here."
"Jakob will hear about this!" the woman screeched.
"I'm sure he will. I'll tell him myself." She shut the door, locking it in case the other woman thought she had a right to come in on her own.
She leaned against the door, brushing away the tears that she had only allowed to fall since the older woman was no longer in her sight. Why Jakob had thought it was all right to complain about her cooking to his former in-laws she didn't know. She did know
Similar Books
