Victoria inhaled deeply, enjoying the morning air as she stoked the cookfire. Simone emerged from their tent, stretching the aches from her bones. It had been days on the road now, and neither woman was used to sleeping on bedrolls, but they were slowly getting used to it.
"This morning's lesson is oatmeal!" She declared cheerfully. Simone nodded with some trepidation.
Victoria smothered a giggle. The lessons had not gone particularly well so far. Simone didn't possess a natural affinity for food preparation, and Victoria was having to adjust her teaching style to match her friend's abilities… but no one could mess up oatmeal!
"It's very simple, really. I set the oats needed in water before we went to bed last night to soak." She began.
"What does the soaking do?" Simone peered into the pot with a studious look on her face. She looked as if she were preparing to take an exam rather than cook a meal.
"I'm… not sure, actually. I think it makes them softer, easier to eat. They definitely cook faster after soaking!" Victoria cringed as she recalled a time when she'd forgotten to set beans to soak before cooking them into a soup. She'd thought if she stoked the fire hotter then that would make up for the missed step. That meal had been completely inedible.
Oats, at least, were a little more forgiving than that. She was confident Simone couldn't mess them up.
"We heat the water until it boils, stirring the oats and adding what we want to flavor them with." She explained as Simone nodded and took the spoon from her.
"I just stir like this? What do you mean flavor it? Doesn't it already come with flavor?" She asked.
"I suppose, but not much. I like mine with a touch of salt and a glob of honey. We also can add the rest of those blueberries we stopped to pick yesterday." Victoria added helpfully.
Simone concentrated on stirring, and the younger woman pressed her lips together to avoid laughing. She'd never seen someone so entirely focused on stirring oatmeal! Then again, after last night's dinner got singed, she could understand Simone's determination to do better this time.
"That's perfect. Once it's fully bubbling, you take it away from the heat and begin to let it cool. If we had some fresh milk, we could add it now to help speed that along." Victoria tried to think of any other information that would be helpful.
"Do we add cold water, then?" Simone dared a glance at her teacher, momentarily breaking her concentration. The simmering oatmeal popped in the pan, sending a piping hot bit of oats onto Simone's stirring hand. "Ow!!"
"That happens sometimes. Take it completely away from the heat, like over here on this rock, while I look at your hand." Victoria coached. "You don't need to add any more water unless the mixture looks too thick."
"All right," Simone complied, a little embarrassed over the matter. "Why am I so terrible at this?"
"You're not terrible, you're learning," Victoria smiled.
"She can be both terrible and learning at the same time," Shayn exited the men's tent a short distance away with a yawn.
"That's not terribly kind," The doctor's daughter gave him a sharp look as she put a cool cloth dipped in water on Simone's hand.
"But it is true," Simone shrugged, keeping her eyes down.
Victoria glared at Shayn. He didn't need to go making her first student feel like a failure!
"Don't listen to him, I know you can do this," She encouraged. "Now you just add a bit of salt, honey, and the blueberries last. Give it a final stir, and it's ready to serve!"
Simone appeared dubious, but complied with the instructions. "Thank you for being so patient with me, Victoria. I had hoped to be better at this."
"A lot of people struggle at first, but since most start learning when they are little, others are more understanding of the little hiccups and occasional failures," The young woman shot another meaningful look at Shayn, who had taken a seat comfortably by the fire to watch the cooking demonstration.
"Shayn and I had to teach ourselves out in the wilderness," Kyler emerged from the men's tent as well. "Now there was a steep learning curve. It's a miracle we didn't starve to death."
The younger brother picked up a twig and tossed it playfully at Kyler. "I seem to recall a distinct lack of complaints about my fry bread."
"That was edible," Kyler nodded seriously.
"How many things weren't?" Victoria grinned.
"Most of the rest, for the first year at least." Kyler chuckled.
"How did you survive?" She shook her head, serving the oatmeal into bowls and passing them out.
"Excellent question." Kyler laughed, then took a bite. "Hey, good job, Simone! This is at least as edible as Shayn's fry bread, if not moreso!"
"She had help," The younger brother protested around a mouthful. "That's not a fair comparison."
Walter approached from the forest where he'd been taking a personal moment, and devoured his own bowl with a mumbled compliment.
"It seems you were a success this morning!" Victoria beamed at Simone, taking another bite of her own bowl. A smidge too much salt, but a distinct improvement over the woman's previous efforts.
"And all it took was burning myself with boiling oats," Simone said with an ironic twist to her mouth.
"It's a small burn, and it will heal quickly," Victoria assured her. "The important thing is, you're getting better! You'll be a fine chef in no time at all."
"Thank you for teaching me," Simone replied.
"Speaking of healing, sweet Bessie should be healed up and ready to ride today!" The younger woman cried. "The wagon has been getting a bit cramped, don't you think?"
Simone remained silent but pursed her lips and nodded in agreement. Shayn and Kyler had taken turns driving the wagon and riding the other horse, and the tension when one versus the other was around was nothing short of remarkable.
Victoria usually sat between them as a buffer, but then Shayn often wound up leaning forward to argue around her. They were worse than when the triplets bickered!
She couldn't stand another session of it. Kyler gave the pair sly smiles as if he knew something Victoria didn't understand. All Victoria knew was that she didn't want to be in the middle of them until they worked out whatever strange irritation lurked between them.
"Bessie is a name for a cow, not a horse," Walter gruffly replied.
"None of you knew the poor horse's name, so I gave her one!" Victoria defended her decision against the older man. He could be very grumpy in the mornings. She could see why he'd done his surveying journey alone rather than as part of a team like Shayn and Kyler.
It had to be a long, lonely road, to go all by yourself.
She was beginning to miss home, if she were honest. It had only been days, but the rest of the journey stretched out before them. Everyone scraped their bowls clean, then Simone and Victoria cleaned the pot and put out the fire while the men packed up the tents. Each took their turn heading into the woods for a moment of privacy.
The morning routine was becoming familiar and comfortable to all of them, and they were making better time than they expected.
"May I ride first?" Victoria asked Simone. "Just to make sure the wound isn't aggravated by the increased exercise."
She ducked her head slightly. The request was more selfish than she had just implied, but Simone laughed, to her relief.
"That's fine, Victoria. I don't mind... much." Simone's hand twitched backwards, and Victoria had to smother her own laughter.
"My backside is sore, too," She confided. "I'm going to start sewing a cushion for the wagon seat. It's far too hard to sit on for so long!"
"That's a great idea." Simone agreed. "A cushion would make it far more bearable."
Shayn came up behind them, putting Kyler's steps into the back of the wagon. Simone's eyes widened, and Victoria quickly pulled Bessie away to mount her before the other woman could protest. She'd already agreed!
The veiled expression of betrayal pricked her conscience, but Victoria really was sick of being on the wagon. She longed to ride more. It made her feel adventurous, and free. On a horse, she could kick her heels and be off into the great unknown!
In the wagon, she was merely a passenger on a long and arduous journey. She cast an apologetic look at Simone.
"If Bessie does well this morning, we'll switch after the noon break, all right?" Victoria promised.
Behind Simone, Shayn was realizing who he would be stuck with for the morning. Victoria ducked her head and turned away. Suddenly the forest was fascinating to look at!
She didn't want to stick around much longer. "I'll ride ahead with Kyler to make sure everything is smooth for the wagon!"
With that flimsy excuse, she was off. The beginnings of an argument were already sounding behind her.