“Sometimes Mr. Renville stopped by, as he had promised, often bringing a treat of beets, or Indian rice from the marsh.”
“On Christmas Eve I served goose with turnips and potatoes, then tea and julekake. We opened the Bible and took turns reading the Christmas story.”
“The prairie had a strange, ethereal beauty, but there was also a silence as deep, vast and indifferent as the sea.”
“The green hills glowed in the dusky haze. Norway, at its most beguiling. Those who had hungered to emigrate were now nostalgic for the land they were leaving behind.”
“And somewhere in that city were my own children. Unknowing, innocent, and now motherless.”
“I bundled up my mourning gowns, corset and veiled hat, and took them to my friend the America widow, with a fond farewell.”
“Birgitte sat with her brothers on a cot, entertaining the baby with a carved wooden horse. I suddenly sensed how much I was intruding on their privacy.”
“My heart ached to think these rosemaled chests were the immigrants’ only link back to their Oppland farms.”
“I pulled out the little cakes the America widow gave me in exchange for my corset and veiled hat, then offered them to the children.”
“They used scissors first, cutting close to my head, then brought a basin of water and a razor. When it was over, I was as bald as a baby bird.”
“I stood there and my heart split in two. At my feet lay the stone, Ivar’s stone, smooth and round. I felt the welt on my cheek. Dear God, how had it come to this?”
“The landlady brought a bowl of vegetable soup, and someone passed me bread and nokkelost, the cheese so common and cheap.”
“Anders handed me two small packets: cinnamon and raisins. ‘Can you make a julecake for the children?’ We shared a conspiratorial smile; warmth flooded through me.”
“For Christmas, Tobias brought me a bit of holly tied with red yarn he pulled from a sock. I hung the holly in my room.”
“Everything disappeared beneath a shawl – hair, carriage, class. I hunched my way down to the pawnbrokers’ alley.”
“I unwrapped the bundle the maid had given me. Hunks of bread, cheese and dried apple dropped out, along with five of our silver pickle forks, the ones we never used. She thought I came begging.”
“Kristine’s note said she now had a marriage of equals. I felt as if she had reached out with a knitting needle and pricked my soul.”
“Please,” Dr. Rank said. “Be the old Nora. But some macaroons in your pocket!”
“I wanted something, something to remember my old home. I crossed to the piano and snatched my book of Chopin Mazurkas.”
“I planned to sell Torvald’s wedding ring but, instead, had it refitted for my own hand. No widow would be seen without her wedding ring, after all.”
“I pressed my face to Ivar’s head, filling my lungs with him; then let him go. ‘Have Aagot show you the church; it has big brass doors!’
“My aunt appeared with the coffee tray, but when she saw my friend had gone, she took it away. It wasn’t meant for me.”
“My chest arrived. I dragged it upstairs eagerly, but it was only half full.”
“I ached for home—the boys playing with their tin soldiers on the rug, Cook calling us to dinner…”
“When he pulled his handkerchief away from his mouth, my world tilted.”
“I barely felt the weight of my bag, as I had taken so little-just a few clothes, my lotions, my pearls.”
“I slammed the door because I wanted to shake the gossips from their beds…”
“I would finger the package of macaroons in my pocket even as I denied eating them.”
“He played with me, just as I played with my dolls.”
“So here I sit, pen in hand, a virgin notebook before me.”
