A Simple Autumn: A Seasons of Lancaster Novel by Rosalind Lauer Page B

Elsie said.
    “I know that. But let’s talk about your day first.”
    This was their usual evening routine: Elsie washed and Emma dried. Their stepmother,
     Fanny, got the rest of the brood bathed and up to bed, while Dat drove back into town
     to help brother Caleb close up the Country Store, the small shop the family owned.
     Emma liked the patterns of her life. She enjoyed morning coffee with Fannyand Dat before anyone else got up. She looked forward to seeing her students’ smiling
     faces each day. And there was something to be savored in the quiet classroom at the
     end of the day.
    But there was truly something special about this time of day, when she and her sister
     had a chance to talk. Sixteen-year-old Elsie was a good storyteller as well as a good
     listener. A wonderful sister, and a best friend, too.
    “Rachel King stopped by the store today.” Elsie ran the sponge over a plate. “She
     said she’s got four paintings finished, and three more in the works.”
    “She’s been busy.” Gabe’s cousin was a gifted artist. One day when church was held
     at her parents’ dairy farm she had taken the girls to a storage shed that she’d been
     using to paint. She had covered canvases with beautiful golden hills, red barns, and
     patchwork quilts flapping in the breeze. The artwork showed Amish life, though Rachel
     had been careful not to include any Amish folk. That would be against the Ordnung,
     as the Bible cautioned against making a graven image.
    “I told her I would ask Dat about it. I know he doesn’t want to sell Amish things,
     but when he sees the paintings, I think he’ll change his mind.”
    “Mmm.” Emma hoped her sister was right. Their shop, the Country Store, had once sold
     novelty items, but Dat had taken all the crafts out of the store when the bishop told
     him he couldn’t sell some plaques carved by an Amish artist. Bishop Samuel had said
     that they violated the Ordnung because they showed Amish children.
    “Rachel’s paintings really touch the heart,” Emma said. “I’m sure they’d sell quickly.
     But I think you might be stepping into a marsh of trouble here.”
    “The bishop?”
    Emma nodded. “Do you think he’ll allow it?”
    Elsie shrugged. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
    “My brave sister.” Emma took a plate from the rinse water and began drying.
    “Brave or foolish, I’m not sure which one.” She added more hot water to the sink,
     a lacy swirl of steam rising before her face. “Tell me about the singing last night.
     Who was there?”
    “It was a good turnout.” Elsie didn’t care to attend the youth events, but she always
     enjoyed hearing details of the night from her sister. Emma gave her an overview, including
     the story of Annie Stoltzfus colliding with Jonah King on the volleyball court and
     Mary Fisher breaking off her courtship with Abe King.
    “That’s too bad about Mary and Abe,” she said. “But I don’t think they were a very
     good match. He’s going to need a wife who knows farming, and she grew up helping her
     family run the bakery. I don’t think she’d be happy on a farm.”
    Emma smiled at her sister’s gift for observation. “Listen to you, missy matchmaker.
     You figured that out from just seeing them at church?”
    Elsie shrugged. “I have good eyes. When I’m at the shop, I get to watch people all
     day long. When you watch and listen, you learn their stories, and you know I love
     a good story.”
    “I know that.” Emma sighed, staring at the bowl she was drying.
    It was time to tell her sister.
    “I have a story of my own to tell you.” She went to the wide doorway and looked out
     to be sure no one was in the living room. Empty. Dat was still in town, and Fanny
     was upstairs supervising baths. She could hear the water running through pipes to
     the bathroom.
    “So much mystery!” Elsie’s mouth dropped open as she watched her sister creep close
     again. “I’m all ears!”
    “The