Shattered Moments by Irina Shapiro

threw a grateful smile at Sam as he cleared the table after breakfast and covered the leftover bread with a cloth to keep it from getting stale.  They could have it for breakfast tomorrow, perhaps with some cheese, so she could get a few extra minutes of sleep instead of cooking porridge.  Sam peered into the pot from last night’s stew, the bottom badly burned with pieces of potato and meat gristle stuck to the metal like an impenetrable suit of armor.
    “Sorry I burnt it,” Susanna mumbled apologetically.  “Ben was crying, and I forgot to stir the pot.”  She’d also forgotten to let it soak, so the pot would need some vigorous scrubbing to get it clean again.
    “Nothing to worry about.  I’ll just take it down to the creek and wash it out,” Sam offered, eager to help.
    “No, it needs to soak first.  Just pour some hot water into it and then fill this basin for me.  I need to wash Ben’s clouts and gown.  He goes through them so quickly.”  She was too tired to wash anything, not having slept well at all, but if she didn’t do it, Ben wouldn’t have enough clouts to last till noon.  Susanna sighed and rolled up her sleeves, ready to attack the smelly pile. 
    “I’d offer to do it, but I promised Pa I would muck out the barn.  I would have done it yesterday, but with all the excitement of Diana’s arrival I never got to it.  Best do it now.”  Sam reached for his boots, clearly reluctant to go.  He looked as tired as Susanna felt.
    Susanna leveled her gaze at Sam.  He seemed awfully jumpy since coming back from his parents ’ house yesterday evening, and strangely upset about the arrival of their unexpected guest.  Susanna had heard of the part Diana played in Abbie’s rescue, so she was a little perplexed as to Sam’s reaction.  She supposed no one expected Diana to arrive with a child, especially Jonah’s child, and the situation this created was awkward, to say the least, but the family owed a debt of gratitude to Diana which couldn’t be denied, and this made things even more complicated.
    Even if Jon ah had relations with Diana, he certainly wasn’t the first or the last.  Diana’s bold move implied that she expected Jonah to marry her, but as of yet, no one knew how Jonah felt about any of this, or if he even knew of the child’s existence.  The Mallorys, of course, were less than pleased; finding out their son sired a child on a prostitute, and now might have to make an honest woman out of her simply out of obligation.  No one entertained the idea that the boy might have fallen in love, but it wasn’t unlikely, Susanna thought. 
    Jonah held a soft spot in Susanna’s heart, for he reminded her of herself.  He was sensitive and shy, desperate to love and be loved, but not brave enough to put his heart at risk.  Maybe loving Diana had been easy since he wasn’t afraid of rejection.  She made him feel ten feet tall, and he in turn, might have made promises that he didn’t keep, but meant wholeheartedly at the time. 
    Susanna smiled as she suddenly thought of Sam’s sister, Martha.  She would have a mouthful regarding this situation.  Martha always had a mouthful.  Sue had to admit that she admired her spirit.  Martha wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, and often voiced that which everyone else was thinking, but too afraid to say.  She’d have to make sure to be there when Martha came over with baby Joe.  Her husband, Gil, was off with the Militia, so Martha liked to come over at least twice a week to visit her parents and siblings and give Joe a chance to play with his cousins.
    “Sam, what will your parents do?” Susanna asked, the dirty clouts steaming in the basin and filling the house with an unpleasant aroma.
    “About what?”  
    “This situation with Diana. Do you think Jonah was one of her clients, or they really had some type of relationship?”
    “I couldn’t say.  Jonah never gave any indication that he was interested.  He introduced us in