I Remember Nothing, But I Have Four Husbands

Inside the house, two candles were lit up on both sides of the board to illuminate it so the brothers could see what it was written on it. They used the room's table and the partition to prop the board while the brothers sat on the bed as they had no more chairs.

Isabelle, as the teacher, obviously had to stand. She just made sure to stand where she would not cover the light from the candles.

The Chief had been kind enough to not only lend the board, but also chalk to write. Otherwise, the first lesson would not have happened that night.

That was what Isabelle used to stylishly draw the basic letters. And, since the brothers had nowhere to copy the letters, most paid close special attention to what she was doing. They even wrote on their legs or their palms with their fingers to imitate the way she wrote.

Ethan remembered his parents talking about sending him to school, him alone, as they did not have the resources to send all their kids. What they did plan was for Ethan to teach his brothers once he learned. It was something he clearly recalled as he had been very excited to go to school.

However, that went all down the drain when both his parents passed away. He had not thought about learning how to write and read for so many years until a chance presented once again. And he would not let it go.

Lucas thought it was fine if he could read or not. For a long time, he had been planning to send Felix to school but all the money they saved for their youngest brother's education was spent on his medicine. Years went by and as Felix continued growing, the farther that plan seemed from coming to fruition. 

Lucas had already given up on Felix's education, yet seeing how Ethan had already thought up a way to get their own education made him realize that he was still lacking as an older brother. Paying attention to the way Isabelle wrote, he let his bitter thoughts run wild.

Joseph felt extremely uncomfortable in the sudden quiet and serious atmosphere. He cared not about reading or writing. As a farmer, as long as he could eat, could dress himself and had a roof above him, then he was fine. What else did he need for? They were not scholars, so what good was it to know how to read and write?

Whatever his brothers did with their education had nothing to do with him. He had hidden it for a long time, but he actually disliked those 'educated' people. Those were the ones that always looked down on them poor brothers. They thought themselves superior.

What were they bragging about? That they were able to write some letters? Well, they had to depend on others to subsist, to eat! If unlearned farmers like him did not exist, would they have food on their tables? That they could understand more matters in the world? Excuse Joseph, but the only thing that mattered was to live and live well.

If they did not have riches, fine; if they had them, fine.

However, seeing the serious Felix who even used his fingers to write the letters on his leg, Joseph kept silent and just watched.

Felix was the most enthusiastic about learning. It was something new to him!

Isabelle's letters were really beautiful and he could not get enough. He could not wait to do the same! He had thought that only Ethan was going to learn due to the job he wanted to apply for, but when his eldest brother said everybody was going to learn, Felix almost hugged and kissed him. He was really happy!

Isabelle noticed the different attitudes the brothers had regarding their education. She could not fully understand their mentality; however, with her around, they liked it or not, they had to learn how to read, and how to write their names.

She did not mind if their writing was lacking or ugly; at least, they would not be deceived by anyone who wanted to harm them. Especially Ethan who wanted a more professional job. He would need to know what he was signing up for.

"Alright. These are the basic letters in the alphabet. You will first learn to identify them and their sound. Now, repeat after me…" She indicated after she wrote all the letters.

It was funny to hear their grave voices repeating after her soft voice. Felix was too into it that he was even yelling out, earning himself a rap from Joseph who in turned was kicked by Lucas. Only for the three to be glared at by Ethan.

Kids were like sponges who absorbed everything; however, they would easily lose focus and forget what they learned. Adults instead had a hard time learning something new, but, in a way, they learned quicker as they could spend a long time focused on a task.

After a series of repeats, in which Isabelle even let them pronounce the letters alone while she pointed at them, she erased everything. The brothers were confused at first, thinking that it was over, but then she wrote something else on the board. Their names.

"E-T-H-A-N… That is Ethan." She said, pointing at the name of the eldest brother. "L-U-C-A-S… This is Lucas. J-O-S-E-P-H… This one is Joseph. And finally: F-E-L-I-X, Felix."

The interest in the brother's face was obvious at wanting to see how their names were written. Usually, her writing style was very elegant and full of loops; yet, when teaching them, she tried to go for a more neutral style. Which was still a bit loopy, but a hundred times less loopy than her actual writing. And it was all for a reason.

"Now, each one of you will come and write your name according to what you see here."

The brothers were stumped for a moment before reacting. Felix was the first to jump at the opportunity to learn how to write his name. So, taking the chalk from Isabelle's hand, he walked up to the board and started to copy his name's letters. He took his sweet time only for the result to be less than stellar. But it was normal as he did not even know how to grab the chalk correctly.

And, of course, the other brothers were the same. She spent a moment to explain them how to best hold the chalk, and assured them that once they had paper and pencil, then she would teach them how to use those.

Because of the job Ethan was aiming for, he tried his best to follow the letters' traces, but they came out a bit crooked. Lucas broke the chalk as he put too much pressure on it while making the first line of the L. After apologizing, he tried again with less strength but the letters still came out with thick lopsided or inverted lines. Joseph's scratches were illegible and Isabelle barely saw the O and the H.

It had to be said that for a first time, they did fine. But they still needed some work.

"Repeat your names ten more times, and pay attention to the form of the letters instead of how I did it." It was not productive for them to copy her. "Also, try to make it legible. As in, we should be able to read it." That was said directly to Joseph who shrugged unapologetic; but when his turn came, he was more careful.

By the time they finished, their letters were better. At least, she could understand what it was written. They were not bad students as they were motivated, they just needed practice. Practice required time, time they did not have as they had other things to do. So, things had to be crammed together.

That was what Isabelle decided. If they wanted to see progress, then she had to teach everything she knew as soon as possible. 

"Well done, you four. Now, let us move on and learn some numbers." They were important so they could read prices in the market and even do math.

When the lesson was over, the table returned to its original position and the brothers went out to clean themselves. Isabelle also wanted to wash, but she felt coldness and fatigue quickly crept all over her. She just changed her pad and mulled whether she had to put two as she would not have the chance to change it while asleep.

Right, it was better to be safe than sorry, so she put the second pad. Then, she changed into her sleeping garments: Lucas' old shirt.

She was sad to know the sleeping garments she made were ruined due to the blood. Thankfully, she still had something she could still use as her pajamas.

Maybe I should make pants to wear on these days.

She pondered as she climbed into the bed and started to throw the sheets over her. But then, she froze. Those were not her sheets and she should not be on that bed. She had been really comfortable the whole day, laying on the bed, that she had forgotten it was not her actual bed. Just when she wanted to get down, the door opened to let Ethan in.

He saw her all snuggled up on the bed and smiled. "Ye can sleep here from now on. That board's too hard and cold. We'll turn it into firewood tomorrow." He told her as he moved towards the cabinet.

"Will I not take up space?" The bed was huge indeed, but with five people in it... Besides, she was neither small nor thin.

"It's fine. Here. We got new sheets for ya." He handed her the thick linen sheet Lucas bought in the morning.

As soon as he had returned with the purchases, Felix had immediately asked for them to be washed and hung to dry while the sun was still up.

She remembered hearing Felix come into the house and put things away in the cabinet right before dinner, but she was too focused in her embroidery that she did not pay much attention to his actions.

She lamented the fact that because of her they had to buy new sheets. She was not going to ask how much they cost because she would be told not to worry about it, so she decided to compensate them in a different way.

"Isabelle's finally joinin' us on the bed?" Joseph asked from the door. His words sounded careless, but the way he said them were so suggestive that she sent an exasperated glare at him.

"That's right." Ethan nodded, taking the sheet she had used to wrap herself after she accepted the ones he handed her. "Lucas's going to sleep beside her, then it's gonna be me, then Felix and you will be sleeping in the other corner." He easily arranged for the positions.

"Hey, not fair! I don't wanna sleep beside Felix, his feet stink!" Joseph cried out.

Felix, who had been snickering at his brother's misfortune, stopped and complained to his brother's claims. However, before it could descend into yet another fight, Ethan sent them to sleep.

Isabelle scooted over the edge of the bed to give space to Lucas' big frame as he laid beside her. She thought it would be strange to share the bed with someone, but she soon realized it was not so bad; specially since she felt cold. Once the light was snuffed out, she moved closer to Lucas and let him hug her body.

Soon, she was in dreamland.