Isabelle watched the brothers crack their skulls trying to figure out how to write the words they chose.
To give arithmetic and numbers a rest, she planned to practice writing the following days. The day before, she had tried her very hardest to teach them how to form simple words according to the sounds of the syllables. It was a night full off confusion for the guys, but they made great progress.
So, she thought it was time they started writing things on their own to build up their confidence.
"Choose a sentence. Anything is fine. And come write it on the board. For example, the sun is very warm today." Isabelle said as she wrote the sentence right on top with letters they could easily read.
"Me!" Felix was the first to jump to the challenge. "I wanna write 'Isabelle is very beautiful'."
Gosh, this kid, why is he so cute?
Isabelle wanted to kiss him then and there, but they had to focus on their education first, pleasure would come later.
"If you write it correctly, there will be a prize." She winked at the brothers who got pumped up, all excited. Reality was that they needed more writing practice. Disregarding their still wonky letters a bit, they had forgotten many of the things she had taught them.
Felix wrote: 'Isabel is bery beutiful'. It was kind of close if one only considered the pronunciation. Joseph started great, but quickly gave up once he realized the difficulty of the task and carelessly wrote: 'I warer de pach'; which translated to 'I water the patch'. At least he tried.
Lucas and Ethan were more careful in their chosen words and really thought up how to write them.
They still had a few mistakes though. Lucas tried to write 'I like Belle's food', but ended up writing: 'I like Bels food'. It was very sweet of him to praise her food even if he got her name and the possessive wrong. It was yet another topic Isabelle had to teach them.
Ethan was the best of the four. As the one who was in desperate need of learning how to write, he had been more receptive to writing than numbers.
'I have a very beutiful teacher.' That was the sentence Ethan had written, quite beautifully she had to say. He had stopped trying to imitate her looping writing and came up with a way of his own. His O's and A's were very round while the L's and E's were a bit loopy. It was quite pleasing to read.
At least, compared to the others.
Though, given enough time, each would get their own writing style. She knew.
"Unfortunately, none of you could write their sentences correctly." Isabelle announced the results to the sad brothers, who would obviously not receive their prize. "Let us review each sentence and each mistake so you can improve in the future."
Their disappointment disappeared, and they paid close attention on the corrections. At least they had not given up. Not even the lazy Joseph.
Night deepened, the lesson ended, yet the candles were not blown off yet.
They moved back outside, to the table, with one candle illuminating their faces. They had to talk about their near-future plans since Ethan lost his job. Isabelle did not think it was a very pressing matter for him to get another job so soon. In fact, she thought that gave them the chance to think of other income ventures they could implement since he was free.
"First, I think you should give yourself some days to rest, Ethan." She quickly opened up the discussion, looking at the surprised oldest brother. "If you go tomorrow to look for a job, you will end up working for the first person that is willing to hire you. Most likely, it will also end up being a low-paid job." She explained so he would not think she did not want him to work.
They really could not afford to lose an income provider. The more they could earn, the more they could also save in the case of emergencies or another expense they wanted to add. Like those soaps and oils Ethan liked to buy despite being told they were not necessary.
But! Isabelle also wanted for him to search for a place with a healthy work environment with nice enough coworkers. As long as they were not like the brother of the owner of that workshop, she would be happy.
"Those are the only jobs he can do, anyway." Joseph shrugged, reeling Isabelle back to the conversation. Although his words sounded mean, deep down they all knew it was true. With their education level, random jobs were all any of them could do.
However… "That is why I am telling him to wait." Isabelle retorted. "I can give him extra lessons during the day, so he can have a wider range of options of jobs he can look for at town once he knows how to better write and count. Even a store attendant job could be in his reach!"
The notion extremely excited the brothers, Ethan more so. After all, that meant having a real job, with a stable salary and even bonuses. It was something none of them could have dreamed about.
"We'll still need to look for 'nother way to get money if I won't be working so soon." Ethan nodded to her plan, but also pointed out yet another concerning matter.
"The patch's not ready to harvest for selling." Joseph said. They have gotten some vegetables from the patch these days. They just were not in great quantity. Not enough to consider which ones they could keep, and which ones they could sell. Then again, she was not considering profiting from the patch.
Not until they got a bigger and better one.
"I can hunt." Lucas suddenly spoke up.
"Oh, yeah! Wild pig meat sells well in the market!" Felix excitedly added.
Wild pigs… "Are those dangerous to hunt?" Isabelle worriedly asked Lucas.
"Sometimes, we've to take risks, Isabelle. We can't hide just 'cuz it's dangerous. He's done it many times now. He'll be fine." Joseph flippantly said.
Her previous anger from that matter in the market surged with a vengeance due to his tone. She was even ready to yell at him. Yet, she managed to stop herself on time. It was not the right time and moment to take out unrelated matters into such an important conversation.
Luckily, Lucas understood her concern and amended the situation by saying: "There're also pheasants and chickens. Easier to hunt and I can bring more."
Isabelle remained silent to completely calm down and better analyze the situation. A question suddenly popped in her mind. "Are there big expenses we need to make soon? Like, are there things we urgently need to buy right now?"
The brothers were stumped and immediately started to think. Isabelle had basically recently arrived at their house, so she was not completely aware of the usual expenses they had. The patch and the casual hunting could provide them with enough sustenance for the time being in her opinion.
Furthermore, she had money to buy some things for cooking if needed. And, although she was thinking of buying fabric to make new clothes for herself and the brothers, it would not cost her a fortune, right? Nice and resistant fabric would not be so expensive. It could also be bargained if bought in great quantity.
"I can't come up with anythin'. New seeds or saplings, maybe?" Joseph uncertainly inquired, glancing at his brothers. Lucas shook his head because he also could not list out things they needed to buy.
"Maybe some medicine. We've used the little we had." Ethan pointed out. Isabelle nodded because that made sense. More so because it was her who had used that medicine. Which she could also buy from the money she earned. Meaning, there was no use of a high sum of money in the near future.
"So, Ethan doesn't have to work to get money?" Felix suddenly asked. He had come to the same conclusion she did. He was very smart!
"At least, not for the time being." Isabelle told the teen. "What I am trying to say is that not only Ethan, we all do not need to rush things. We have vegetables from the patch. We only have to search for ways to preserve them. Meat could be gotten from Lucas hunting casually. After all, we are trying to breed and raise rabbits and chickens. With chickens, we can also get eggs. There are more important things to settle and prepare here at home than Ethan looking for a job."
"And once we're done those things, I can go back to work." Ethan concluded. She nodded. She was not going to stop him from earning his own money anyway.
With nothing more to add to that conversation, they concluded it.
It was time to wash and sleep.
Isabelle looked up to the kitchen's ceiling. Her eyes blearily opened and closed as Lucas washed her hair. He had actually been the one to come up with the idea. It was as if they were connected because she was thinking of washing her hair that night. For him to volunteer… Isabelle needed to take good care of the silent yet sensible man!
"Lucas..." Isabelle called out. Before rewarding him for his thoughtfulness, there was something she needed to ask him.
"Hm?" His short response made her smile. His fingers were carefully combing through her wet hair, pouring more water to the top of her head and making sure no water splashed on her face.
"Is hunting really that dangerous?" Joseph's words had angered her, but also reminded her of the hazard of facing wild animals in their natural habitat.
Lucas paused his ministrations, then started toweling her hair. It seemed washing time was over. They had agreed on sharing the bath's water to hurry. It was quite late; the other brothers having washed by the well instead of the river. Sadly, they could not share because Lucas was too big.
Isabelle got out of the tub and wrapped herself in another towel. She paused. Was that not his towel? The one on her head was hers. She used his so naturally that she was embarrassed for a moment. She turned to apologize to him, yet her words got stuck in her throat when she saw his naked form entering the tub.
Unlike his lanky brothers, Lucas boasted a broad body ripped with muscles and some scars. Perhaps from hunting. That thought cooled down her excitement and slowed down her beating heart. He uncaringly scooped some water and splashed it all over his head. Not really bothered that she was watching all his actions.
"It sometimes is." He resumed the conversation. His gaze held all the sincerity of the world. He was not trying to downplay the actual dangers hunting brought, nor was he hiding them. "But, it's necessary." He said with finality. Isabelle was drawn to his drive and show of strength. He was basically saying that he would do anything for his family, even if that put him in danger.
"I understand." She nodded. She only had to trust he knew what he was doing when hunting.
Isabelle waited for him to finish washing while she kept toweling her hair. It was quite long, so it took some time. The sound of water splashing told her he was done. When she looked up, he was planted in front of her, his eyes silently gazing.
It was immediate. The air suddenly charged, and going to bed whas the last of their thoughts.