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Show Nettie, page 4 In the midst of food preparations for the reunion, Nettie ran to greet Frank, Brigham, and Henry, three more brothers, returning from work. Frank was sixteen, big-boned and tall, a younger version of Papa, and Nettie adored them both. Frank was already at work in the coal mines which employed much of the small community of Almy, Wyoming in the late 1890's. Brig at 22 was a strapping young man, too, but shy and quiet. Because of a stutter he didn't talk much. Henry, not as husky as his brothers, more like his mother's Boer ancestors, was the oldest of the three at 24 and actively courting pretty Annie Easton. "Frank, come see the fat lady! She's really big and she jiggles when she laughs, but Mama says I should call her Grandma," Nettie chattered as she grabbed Frank's hand and danced along beside him. "She's nice, and Clarence loves her already." "Well, then, Sissy, let's go and see," and Frank swung his delighted sister up on his shoulders and galloped his way around the house to the rest of the Peterson clan. When the evening meal was blessed, eaten, enjoyed and cleaned up, the family spread themselves out around the yard and talked quietly while darkness crept upon them. Nettie's constant motion slowed gradually until at last she was content to sit curled next to Frank, her eyelids at half-mast, as the family chatted and caught up with all the news. "Tell us about you and Grandpa in Arizona, Grandma," Will prompted. "That will have to wait for another day, son," Papa interrupted. "It's time to have our family prayers and get some rest." |
