Silent Promises 4/5

Both Mr. and Mrs. Oleson are behind the counter at the Mercantile as Laura and Daniel arrive. After greetings are exchanged, Laura asks Daniel what he would like. Daniel signs that he would like candy, but he wants to know how much it costs. Laura double checks the price of gumballs with Mrs. Oleson, who is taken aback that any sort of information has been exchanged. Nels is obviously quite impressed while Harriet is bewildered. Daniel signs “see you later”, which Laura translates for the Olesons. Mrs. Oleson does a weird thing with her hands before settling on waving goodbye. Daniel waves back with a “what’s her problem?” look on his face. The kid picks up on nuance rather quickly, I’ll give him that. After the kids leave, Harriet tells Nels that all the finger-wriggling was making her nervous and that it is not natural. Y’know, that wouldn’t make me so angry if it wasn’t for the fact that in 2009 that line of thinking still exists in the world. Not necessarily about sign language (I don’t recall ever hearing complaints), but about…ok, this isn’t the forum for this discussion. Anyway, Harriet says as she leaves the room “if God had wanted me to talk with my hands, he wouldn’t have given me a mouth.” Nels’ response: “even God can make a mistake.” Eh, half-a-point Mr. Oleson.

Laura and Daniel are walking by a stream and set to work on their next lesson. As she opens the manual, Daniel places his hands on it to get her attention. He reaches into his shirt and pulls out a chain with a ring on it and hands it to Laura. The ring belonged to his mother and Laura remarks that it is beautiful and that Daniel shouldn’t lose it. He signs that it is a gift, but Laura politely refuses. Daniel insists, but Laura says it should be a gift for the woman he marries. He signs “I love you”. Laura: “I love you too, but…” Daniel stops Laura and then kisses her. She has a bit of a conniption. I don’t think she was leading him on, but throwing around “I love yous” a little too loosely is going to get you into trouble, half-pint. Daniel freaks and runs away.

Nathan returns home and sees Daniel staring into the fireplace instead of studying. Nathan tells his son it is important to study, but he slaps the book away and goes to his bedroom. Nathan looks on in wonder.

Almanzo sees Laura moping around town and asks what’s up. Okay, I didn’t realize how much of an age difference there was between these two characters until this scene. She wants him so badly…the girl’s an open page. Anyway, he notices the necklace and thinks it must be related to whatever problem Laura is having. Eventually Sarah, Almanzo’s ladyfriend, comes up and says hi to the two of them. Laura gets a brief Flavor of Love look in her eyes and her smile gets a little sadder. I’ve been there, honey. She signs “I love you” towards Almanzo as he and Sarah are walking away.

Nathan is working outside as Laura arrives at the house. She asks if Daniel is home, but Nathan says she might as well just burn the books. This guy really needs to tone down the extremism in his reactions to everyday obstacles. There’s just something eerie about the calmness in his voice when he suggests book burning. Nathan asks what happened but Laura is purposely vague. He directs her to the pasture where Daniel is sitting next to a tree. He notices Laura then looks away. She removes the necklace, takes off the ring strung on the line, and puts it on her finger. Daniel hugs her in appreciation. Aw.