Chapter 49

I watched the brothers crack their skulls trying to figure out how to write the words they chose. 

To give math and numbers a rest, I planned to practice writing the following days. Yesterday, I had tried my very hardest to teach them how to form simple words according to the sounds of the syllables.

It was a night full off confusion for them, but they made great progress. 

So, I thought it was time they started writing things on their own to build up their confidence. 

"Choose a sentence. Anything is fine. And come write it on the board. For example, the sun is very warm today." I said as I wrote the sentence right on top with letters they could easily read. 

"Me!" Felix was the first to jump to the challenge. "I want to write 'Isabelle is very beautiful'." Gosh, this kid, why could he not be less cute? I wanted to kiss him then and there, but we had to focus on education first, pleasure later.

"If you write it correctly, there will be a prize." I winked at the brothers who got pumped up, all excited.

Reality was that they needed more writing practice. Disregarding a bit about their still wonky letters, they had forgotten many of the things I had taught them yesterday. 

Felix wrote: 'Isabel is bery beutiful'. It was kind of close if one only counted the pronunciation. Joseph, once again, did not try that hard once he noticed the difficulty of the task and carelessly wrote: 'I warer de pach'; which translated to 'I water the patch'. At least he tried. 

Lucas and Ethan were more careful in their chosen words and really thought up how to write them. 

They still had a few mistakes though. Lucas tried to write 'I like Belle's food', but ended up writing: 'I like Bels food'. It was very sweet of him to praise my food even if he got my name and the possessive wrong.

Well, there was another topic I had to teach them. 

Ethan was the best of the four. As the one who was in desperate need of learning how to write, he had been the most receptive to writing more than numbers. 

'I have a very beutiful teacher.' That was the sentence Ethan had written, quite beautifully I must say. He had stopped trying to imitate my looping writing and came up with a way of his own. His O's and A's were very round while the L's and E's were a bit loopy.

It was quite pleasing to read. 

At least, compared to the others. 

Though, given enough time, each would get their own writing style. 

"Unfortunately, none could write their sentences correctly." I announced the results to the sad brothers who would not receive their prize. "Let us review each sentence and each mistake so you can improve in the future." 

Their disappointment disappeared, and they paid close attention on the corrections. At least they had not given up. Not even the lazy Joseph. 

Night deepened, the lesson ended, yet the candles were not blew off yet. 

We moved back outside to the table with one candle illuminating our faces. We had to talk about our near plans after Ethan lost his job. I did not think it was a very pressing matter, for him to get another job so soon.

In fact, it gave us the chance to think of other income ventures that we could implement since he was free.

"First, I think you should give yourself some days to rest, Ethan." I opened up the discussion, looking at the surprised oldest brother. "If you go tomorrow to look for a job, you will end up working for the first person that is willing to hire you. Most likely, it will also end up being a low-paid job." I explained so he would not think I did not want him to work. 

We really could not afford to lose an income provider. The more we could earn, the more we could also save in the case of emergencies or another expense we wanted to add. Like those soaps and oils Ethan liked to buy despite being told they were not necessary. 

But!

I also would like for him to search for a place with a healthy work environment with nice enough coworkers. As long as they were not like the brother of the owner of that workshop, I would be happy. 

"Those are the only jobs he can do, anyway." Joseph shrugged, reeling me back to the conversation. Although his words sounded mean, deep down we all knew it was true. With their education level, random jobs was all any of them could do. 

However… "That is why I am telling him to wait." I retorted. "I can give him extra lessons during the day, so he can have a wider range of options of jobs he can look for at town once he knows how to better write and count. Even a store attendant job could be in his reach!" 

The notion extremely excited the brothers, Ethan more so. After all, that meant having a real job, with a stable salary and even bonuses. It was something none of them could have dreamed about. I was delighted to know I could help in giving them this chance to improve their lifestyle.

"We'll still need to look for 'nother way to get money if I won't be working so soon." Ethan nodded to my plan, but also pointed out yet another concerning matter. 

"The patch's not ready to harvest for selling." Joseph said.

We had gotten some vegetables from the patch these days. They just were not in great quantity. Not enough to consider which ones we could keep, and which ones we could sell. Then again, I was not considering profiting from the patch. 

Not until we got a bigger and better one. 

"I can hunt." Lucas suddenly spoke up. 

"Oh, yeah! Boar meet sells well in the market!" Felix excitedly added.

Boar… "Are not those dangerous to hunt?" I worriedly asked Lucas.

"Sometimes, we've to take risks, Isabelle. We can't hide just 'cuz it's dangerous. He's done it many times now. He'll be fine." Joseph said, admonishing. 

My previous anger due to that matter in the market surged with a vengeance due to his tone. I was even ready to yell at him. Yet, I managed to stop myself on time. It was not the right time and moment to take out unrelated matters into this important conversation. 

Luckily, Lucas understood my concern and amended the situation by saying: "There're also pheasants and chickens. Easier to hunt and I can bring more." 

I remained silent to completely calm down and better analyze the situation. A question suddenly popped in my mind. "Are there big expenses we need to make soon? Like, are there things we urgently need to buy right now?"

The brothers were stumped and immediately started to think. I had basically just arrived at their house, so I was not completely aware of the usual expenses they had.

The patch and the casual hunting could provide us with enough sustenance for the time being in my opinion. 

Furthermore, I had money to buy some things needed for cooking if needed. And, although I was thinking of buying fabric to make new clothes for myself and the brothers, it would not cost me a fortune, right? Nice and resistant fabric would not be so expensive.

It could also be bargained if bought in great quantity. 

"I can't come up with anything. New seeds or saplings, maybe?" Joseph uncertainly said. Lucas shook his head because he also could not list out things that we needed to buy.

"Maybe some medicine. We've used the one we had." Ethan pointed out. I nodded because that made sense. More so because it was me who had used that medicine. Which I could also buy from the money I earned.

Meaning, there was no use of a high sum of money in the near future.

"So, Ethan doesn't have to work to get money?" Felix suddenly asked. He had come to the same conclusion I did. He was very smart!

"At least, not for the time being." I told the teen. "What I am trying to say is that not only Ethan, we all do not need to rush things. We have vegetables from the patch. We only have to search for ways to preserve them."

"Meat could be gotten from Lucas hunting casually. After all, we are trying to breed rabbits and chickens. With chickens, we can also get eggs. There are more important things to settle and prepare here at home than Ethan looking for a job."

"And once we do those things, I can go back to work." Ethan concluded. I nodded, agreeing with him. I was not going to stop him from earning his own money anyway. 

With nothing more to add to that conversation, we concluded it. 

It was time to wash and sleep. 

I looked up at the kitchen's ceiling. My eyes blearily opened and closed as Lucas washed my hair. He had actually been the one to come up with the idea. It was as if we were connected because I was thinking of washing my hair that night.

For him to volunteer…

I needed to take good care of this silent yet sensible man!

"Lucas..." I called out. Before rewarding him for his thoughtfulness, there was something I needed to ask him.

"Hm?" His short response made me smile. His fingers were carefully combing through my wet hair, pouring more water to the top of my head and making sure no water splashed on my face. 

"Is hunting really that dangerous?" Joseph's words had angered me, but also reminded me of the hazard of facing wild animals in their natural habitat.

Lucas paused his ministrations, then started toweling my hair. It seemed my washing time was over. We had agreed on sharing the bath's water. It was quite late; the other brothers having washed at the well instead of the river. 

I got out of the tub and wrapped myself in another towel. I, then, paused. Was this not his towel? The one on my head was mine. I used his so naturally I was embarrassed for a moment.

I turned to apologize to him, yet my words got stuck in my throat when I saw his naked form entering the tub. 

Unlike his lanky brothers, Lucas boasted a broad body ripped with muscles and some scars. Perhaps from hunting.

That thought cooled down my excitement and slowed down my beating heart. He uncaringly scooped some water and splashed it all over his head. Not really bothered that I was watching all his actions.

"It sometimes is." He resumed the conversation. His gaze held all the sincerity of the world. He was not trying to downplay the actual dangers hunting brought, nor was he hiding them. "But, it's necessary." He said with finality.

I was drawn to his drive and show of strength. He was basically saying that he would do anything for his family, even if that put him in danger. 

"I understand." I nodded. I only had to trust he knew what he was doing when hunting.

I waited for him to finish washing while I kept toweling my hair. It was quite long, so it took me some time. The sound of water splashing told me he was done.

When I looked up, he was planted in front of me, his eyes silently gazing.

It was immediate.

The air suddenly charged, and I just knew what to do.