It was an early snow that blanketed the farms of Oldtown and caught some folks unprepared for the cold snap. Hedekiah had a small farm up by the old cemetery on the hill. He had a couple of cows and a couple of sheep and some laying hens and 12 acres and 5 children to feed without a mother, who died in childbirth just last spring. So his oldest, Orpah had to take care of the baby, and do the household chores. She was only 12. The older boys, 10 and 8 had already been put to work with the farm chores. And the 5 year old was more than a nuisance than a help to Orpah around the house.
When Hedekiah saw the first snowflakes fly, he summoned the boys out to the ramshackle barn, to move some bales around and to stack the wood he had been splitting that was strewn all over the ground in front of the barn. "You boys gotta help me get this wood stacked. Now that your mama is gone, you gotta do more work around here."
The sadness in their spirits was like the snow falling down and covering everything with a thick layer of grief. The laughter had gone out of their home. So much died when Mama died. The baby was the only one who laughed, and maybe little Ben, the 5 year old, when he forgot himself. He would catch himself when Papa gave him that look, that look that made him feel ashamed and guilty for having any fun. He would forget that the world had changed when Mama died. But the others would remind him, just with a look, that the world would never be the same as when Mama was there to sing songs and read stories and tell jokes - oh how he loved mama's jokes - they were just silly jokes, but she would tell a joke as they sat down to dinner - just before grace, so that when Hedekiah prayed, they all would be trying to stifle a giggle before he got to the Amen. And as soon as he said Amen, they would all burst out laughing at the most ridiculous punchline, and Hedekiah would give a scowl to Louisa, that wasn't really serious, just teasing.
But Hedekiah's scowls these days were real, and there were no more jokes, and Hedekiah no longer prayed over the meals. It was hard enough for them to get a meal on the table. Orpah did the best she could, but the pantry was running low on all the cans and preserves Louisa had put up, and then this fall, hardly any canning was done.
As the November skies got grayer, Hedekiah became more worried about what he would do, how he would hold the family together.
One day a hobo came by the farm. He said he was looking for work. He had a thin jacket and holes in his shoes, a scruffy beard, and crooked teeth. Said his name was Jacob and he was willing to work for a place to stay and some food. Hedekiah thought some and then offered him a corner of the barn, where he could make a bed. "We're simple folk, and we ain't got much but I sure could use your help getting more wood split and finishin' the tater harvest." "It's a deal, then," said Jacob, "but I'll only stay awhile. I've always had sand in my shoes."
So Jacob started working on the farm, and Orpah set an extra place for the hobo. Jacob would bring her the eggs in the morning and the milk and she would make breakfast for everyone. At night, Jacob would bring in some potatoes and more milk, and Orpah was very good at making a potato stew.
The first time Jacob told a joke, all the children looked nervously at Papa to see what he would say, but he didn't say anything, just got up from the table to get some more soup from the stove, and hide the tears beginning to fall. Jacob wondered why no one seemed to like his jokes, but he went ahead and told them anyway - one joke every night before the meal, just like Mama did. It was after about a week that their polite smiles turned to a bit of a giggle. "Ok," said Jacob, "I'm going to have you laughing at one of my jokes by Thanksgiving - I just gotta find the right joke!"
Thanksgiving was only a week away, and frankly Hedekiah had forgotten all about it. That was Louisa's favorite holiday, besides Christmas, that is. She loved to fix a big meal with at least 3 different vegetables, and then there was the tradition of the turkey. Where was Hedekiah going to get a turkey? He didn't have time to go hunting this year.
Little Ben asked if they were going to go to church this year on Thanksgiving Eve, like they used to do? Louisa would always take them down to the village at Oldtown where the little white church stood, all lit with candles and the pumpkins and gourds on the altar. It was so beautiful. They hadn't been back to the church since Mama's funeral. "I don't think this year," said Hedekiah, "I don't feel thankful for very much."
It was on Wednesday morning that little Ben had the accident. He had been playing up in the hayloft in the rickety barn, when a floorboard gave way and down he went through the floor, landing on the hay bed that Jacob had made for himself. It's just that his arm got twisted and yanked and so it was dislocated. Jacob heard his screaming and rushed in to find Ben and his crooked little arm. He set the arm back in the socket and took part of the old sheet Hedekiah had given him for his bed and made a sling out of it.
Just then, some folks from Oldtown church were coming up the road with baskets full of food. Hedekiah greeted them and they explained that the food was for their Thanksgiving dinner. Ben came running out of the barn still crying. Old nurse Nonnie Smith from two farms over was among the visitors. She helped deliver the Baby last Spring. And she delivered Ben and all the children. "Why Ben, what have you done? Let me see that." She looked at his arm and saw that it was back in its socket just right. "Whoever set this did a mighty-fine job." – "Jacob did it." - "Who is Jacob," Nonnie asked. "Oh," said Hedekiah, "just a hobo who's staying with us for awhile and helping out." – "Well young man, I guess you have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, don't you?"
One of the other ladies was helping Orpah with the baskets of food and telling her how to cook the turkey and sharing a dressing recipe with her.
That night, Hedekiah took his family down to the little white church for the Thanksgiving Eve service. There were prayers of Thanksgiving for the bounty of the earth. Hedekiah began to see more than what he had lost. He looked at his children and saw the gift and blessing they were - each and everyone. And while he was praying, he had a sense of Louisa's presence. He felt that she was there with him in their pew, assuring him that everything would be all right. Orpah was holding the baby and as he looked at his girls, he saw their mother's eyes and felt their mother's love looking right back at him.
When they got back home, Orpah started to work on dinner. And when she got up the next day, there was Jacob with the eggs and milk. What a feast they had that day. And Jacob came with the best joke ever. Everyone laughed and laughed, even through Papa's attempt to pray. It ended up being a very short prayer - something like, "Dear God, Thank you for this food and for everything." And before he could say "Amen," everyone was laughing out loud at Jacob's silly joke about a chicken, a rooster and a pig.
That evening, Orpah called to Papa to let him know that Jacob had not come with the second milking. Little Ben went running out to the barn ahead of Hedekiah. – "Papa, he’s gone!" Sure enough, the barn looked just as it had before Jacob came. There was no hay bed in the corner, no kerosene lamp on the hook, no blankets or sheets around. It was as if he had never been there.
"That's odd," said Hedekiah. "I know he said he would be here for just a little while, but to disappear so completely. I don’t understand." – "Oh he was here, Papa," said Little Ben. "He fixed my arm, remember?"
Hedekiah went back to the house and to the linen closet. There were all the blankets he had given Jacob, piled up just the way Louisa had left them. He looked at the sheets and pulled the one on the top out to inspect it. Sure enough, a square was torn out of it - the square that was used to make Ben's sling. But otherwise it was just the way Louisa had left it.
As Hedekiah tucked Ben into Bed that night, Ben said, "I know he was real, Papa. Mama sent him to us, to make us laugh again." - "That's right Son, Mama sent him to us. She'll always be here for us, thank God."
And that's exactly what Hedekiah did for the rest of his life. He thanked God for Louisa and his children and the farmers who came to his aid and the mysterious hobo who spent a fortnight with the family that November of the early snow and taught them all how to laugh again and celebrate Thanksgiving with joy.
It was Orpah who found the white feather under the table at the place were Jacob sat that Thanksgiving. She put it in her diary and wrote about the angel Jacob who visited them and woke Papa from his grief and filled the house with Mama's love and laughter once again.
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