Avery's Island by Josiah Thomas

Author:Josiah Thomas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Josiah Thomas
Published: 2021-04-06T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“This turtle stew is delicious!” Avery bragged, smiling at Abigail as she beamed with pride that he had enjoyed her efforts.

“We all want to fix your supper,” she explained. “We’re going to work out a schedule for taking turns so everyone gets to from now on.”

“Nice! Great to be me, with four wonderful wives doing that. I’ll probably end up getting fat!”

“Won’t be any chance of that happening,” Robin smiled. “You’ll keep it worked off . . . at least we plan for you to.”

Avery and the others laughed.

Maggie approached him shyly, then sidled onto his leg when Avery smiled and extended his hands.

“Liking you sitting on my lap pretty girl,” he told her, and she gave him a bright little, brown-eyed smile.

Ben saw what was going on and quickly clambered onto his other leg, then Ann, tentative at first, with his urging joined the others—getting right in the middle as he encircled them with both arms.

“Got me a lap full of sweet here,” he said as the women all smiled. “Get any rides today?”

“We jus’ got rides cause Robin and Mommy and Liz pulled,” Ben told him how it had gone down. “Cause we jus’ went far on the beach.”

“Great! We’ll get you lots more rides all the time. Always needing to check the beach out and see if anything good washed up.”

Ben nodded.

“The air is almost all gone out of the raft now,” Robin told him.

“Ok, I’ll take a look at it tomorrow,” he promised.

The little girls were still shy, especially Maggie, who seemed to be somewhat self-conscious, but he was able to draw them out by asking questions about what they had done that day and spent some time doing so until Abigail and Rachel agreed it was bedtime.

“See you tomorrow. Sweet dreams,” Avery told them after getting hugs and syrupy cheekie kisses from them all.

“Night. Love you,” Ben voiced their now routine evening exchange, and the girls echoed him for the first time.

“Love you guys! Get rest and we’ll do something fun tomorrow,” he promised as their mother’s took them in.

Liz re-filled his drink and he nodded thanks, then made small talk with her and Robin as he sipped.

Rachel and Abigail quickly returned from getting the children settled and sat close on either side of him.

“I’m so thrilled about the chickens!” Liz told him, initiating the conversation when they had. “We were able to find a few stray eggs from time to time, but having a steady supply is going to be great.”

“Plenty of milk too. The goats are small, but from what I saw of that one little mommy’s milk bag they make a goodly amount. She probably had more than a quart . . . maybe half a gallon.”

“And that’s every day?”

He nodded. “Don’t know a lot about goats, but they’re pretty much like cows, I think. Keep them bred and birthing and the milk production is pretty steady. They dry up when it’s weaning time for the little ones. If they are being milked that time stretches out, then let the ram get at ‘em, and go again.

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