Page 35 of Married By Midnight
Ian was invaluable in helping to clear her parent’s room. When she couldn’t decide, he decided for her. When she mentioned she was thinking of selling off all the furniture, he convinced her to keep it in case she decided to move into that room.It was her house now.
When he said things like that Sarah couldn’t help but think that he might be leaving soon. Even though every action Ian took said otherwise, Sarah couldn’t help but think that eventually she would be alone in the farmhouse.
The only room she didn’t want Ian’s help in was the office. Sarah was still processing her grief and she spent many hours sitting at her father’s desk, looking out the window or talking to the painting on the wall.
If she wasn’t inside working or sitting in the office, Sarah was making plans for her garden. Her father started the seeds in the barn and the young plants were about ready to be put in the ground.
Every year, her family would rotate where the garden was placed in the yard. This way it allowed the soil to heal from the garden the year before. There were three such garden plots that were used to grow vegetables for the farm.
Sarah knew that she was only going to have to grow for three people, not the normal dozen that lived at the farm. Still, she couldn’t help but make the garden patch as large as normal.Maybe she could either can up the extra or sell it in town.
That is if the tax assessor decided to accept a deferment until she could raise the money. They should hear something any day now. Sarah walked to the barn to collect the plants. Ian and Dell were fixing a post in the barn yard. Sarah waved to them as she went by. They waved back.
As she carried the first few plants towards the garden plot, her thoughts drifted back to Ian.
She decided to move the garden this year to the far side of the house. It would get more sun there, and there was a pump for water. It would be easier for Sarah to water the plants on that side of the house.
Ian broke the soil with an axe before he headed out to work with Dell. He was learning quite a bit about wheat, but he wasn’t convinced it would bring in what Sarah needed when they sold it at market. She was nearly done turning the soil with a pitchfork, bringing the rich dark soil below to the top layer when she hit something.
The soil wasn’t too rocky in this portion of the farm but occasionally, they would hit a rock when working. Sarah picked up the shovel and tried to lift the rock from the soil. It wouldn’t budge. She moved the shovel all around the object. Whatever it was, it was bigger than the small rocks that they normally uncovered.
Sarah stepped back and slid the shovel back in the dirt at a different angle. Whatever was there didn’t budge. She needed to take a different approach. She dug around the object, feeling her way with the shovel. The dirt was piling up next to her.
As she cleared more of the dirt, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “Ian! Dell!” she cried, falling to her knees to move the dirt from around the object.
Ian got to her first. “Are you alright?” He knelt on the ground next to her.
“Look,” she said breathlessly. Peeking from beneath the dirt was a terracotta jug.
“What’s going on?” Dell said coming up behind them.
“We found a jug.” She watched as Dell rubbed his chest. “You need to go to the doctor, Dell.”
“I’ll do it next week when I go to town.” Sarah raised her eyebrow at him. “I promise.”
“Move over, Sarah,” Ian said. He picked up the shovel and started loosening the rest of the dirt around the jug. Soon the jug was wiggling in the dirt as Ian rocked it back and forth.
“Grab the mouth, Sarah. I’m going to see if I can pry it up.”
Sarah reached down and held onto the mouth of the jug, holding it in place as Ian grunted. He put all his weight on the shovel and with one final grunt the jar was released from the soil.
Sarah nearly fell backwards, but she managed to keep her balance. “That is extremely heavy,” she said.
“You need to break it open.” Dell looked around. “Use the shovel to crack it. Just like an egg,” he told Ian.
“Let’s move it out here so the stoneware doesn’t break in the garden.” Ian picked up the jug and dragged it further into the yard. “That is heavier than I thought. I can hear something clinking inside.”
Sarah was so excited. “Open it, Ian. Open it!”
Ian took the shovel and put the tip against the side of the jar. He lifted the shovel and brought it swiftly down where he had marked the spot. After three attempts, the jug cracked open, revealing the treasure inside.
“There must be close to a hundred dollars in there,” Dell said.
“More than that,” Ian replied. Silver coins captured the sunlight, nearly blinding Sarah. She could also see some paper bills mixed in with the coins.
Ian picked up one of the silver dollars and handed it to her. “I estimate there is probably two to three hundred of these in that jar.”
“No wonder we had trouble getting it out of the dirt.”
