Thirteenth Child Read Free

for Charlie, I’d really only ever seen them on special occasions.
    A formal Family Council was special enough for anybody. Papa hardly ever called for one; the last time, Rennie told me, was when she and Hugh were seven and Papa and Mama found out that their thirteenth child was going to be another set of twins. So, trouble though it was, everyone made the effort to come. Sharl brought cherry pie, Julie brought fritters, and Diane brought butter fudge from the candy store. Mama and Rennie and Nan made a dinner nearly as big as Harvest Feasting, and everyone ate until they nearly burst.
    Even so, you could just tell that it wasn’t an ordinary family sit-down. Everyone was twitchy, wondering what the news would be this time. But Papa didn’t believe in doing business at the dinner table, so we all had to wait.
    When the last of the plates had been removed and all the crumbs wiped up, everyone looked at Papa. “I told you all this was a Family Council,” he began, “but this is more in the way of an announcement than a discussion. Your mother and I wanted you all to hear this from us, and this was the only way we could think of to be sure no one would be left out. I have been asked to take a position at one of the new land-grant colleges out in the North Plains Territory, and I’ve accepted. We’ll be moving at the end of next month.”
    Papa said that as if it was a settled thing, but he couldn’t have thought that that would be the end of it. Discussion there was, and plenty. I was surprised that most of the objecting and complaining came from the older ones. You’d think that Sharl and Julie would be satisfied running their own homes, but it seems they didn’t like the notion of Mama being so far away, just in case they might have an unexpected need to run home for something. Frank and Charlie were put out by the suddenness of it; Frank especially thought Papa might have given him a hint. Hugh thought moving out West would be a great adventure, and the younger boys were just as excited, but Diane and Rennie were more than upset enough for all of them. Rennie didn’t want to leave her friends, and Diane was sure that if she had to move out West, she’d never be able to come back for the music schooling she had her heart set on.
    We younger ones didn’t say much. Well, Jack and Robbie did, but that was mostly about how much fun it would be. Lan was quiet, but he had a gleam in his eye that meant he was of much the same opinion. Nan sat and chewed on her lower lip like she was thinking real hard, until Allie poked her and made her giggle.
    Patiently, Mama and Papa laid out the whole plan. The oldest ones were grown and gone, so moving mainly affected how often we’d see each other. And while it was true that no one could drop in for a chat, it wasn’t as if the North Plains Territory was a three-week trip in a horse-drawn wagon, the way it used to be. The overnight train only took two days and a night, Papa said, so we could still visit, and Mama could certainly come back for a week or two if there was a “special reason.” Sharl blushed when he said that, and looked down at her waistline and told him it was a great comfort to know that.
    Charlie and Diane would stay with Uncle Stephen until Charlie went off to the university in the fall and Diane finished earning her music school money. Papa gave Rennie and Hugh the choice, whether to stay as well or come West with us younger ones.
    “That’s easy!” Hugh declared immediately. “I’m coming. How about you, Rennie?”
    “I don’t know,” Rennie said.
    “What?” Hugh stared at her. “How can you not know? Why would you want to stay here?”
    “I need to think about it,” Rennie told him. She sounded cross.
    “Oh, come on, Rennie!” Hugh said. “It’ll be an adventure! Like the first settlers from the Old Continent.”
    Robbie frowned. “I don’t want to live in a big forest full of monsters,” he objected.
    “There is no forest where