murmured, switching to Pennsylvania Dutch.
“Tough enough to catch more fish than you,” she answered in the same dialect.
“I guess we’ll just have to see about that.” He didn’t move away, and they stood there, watching as the dock grew smaller and smaller in the wake of the Gone Fishin’ IV.
Three middle-aged Amish men from one of the other church districts had taken spots on the deck a few yards away. She knew them by name, but not well. One man owned a greenhouse, and the other two, she thought, worked as masons. Johanna couldn’t see her sister or Charley. They were probably hiding out on the other side of the boat, as well they should.
A black-and-white osprey soared overhead on powerful wings, with a fish caught in its talons. She watched it until the beautiful bird was out of sight. Already, the sky was growing much brighter, and the rising sun painted a wide swath of the rippling water orange-gold. Other boats passed them, motors roaring, and a buoy bobbed as the Gone Fishin’s captain went around it. A family on a pontoon boat in the distance had already anchored, and Johanna could see a boy Jonah’s age lowering a crab line over the side while a woman dipped a long-handled net into the waves.
Johanna stared at the churning surface of the water, inhaling deeply. She’d always loved the smell of the salt air. It took her back to all the times Dat had taken them fishing, crabbing and wading in the ocean when she was a child. They’d gone every summer since she’d been born...until he died. Her father had been a good swimmer, and he’d taught them all to swim, including Mam and Susanna. Susanna was still awkward, but she’d become an expert at floating and could keep her head above water as well as any of them.
It had been important to Dat that they all learned to swim because of a boating tragedy that happened when he was a teenager. An Amish youth group had gone out on an excursion boat somewhere on one of the Great Lakes. There had been an accident, and the boat had gone down, taking far too many of the children with it because none of them could swim. Dat had promised himself that it would never happen to his family, if he could prevent it. Have faith in God, he would say. But God doesn’t expect us to be foolish servants.
It hit Johanna that her father would be upset with her if he knew that she hadn’t yet taught Katy and Jonah to swim. This summer, she’d have to do something about that.
Wilmer hadn’t been able to swim a lick, and he had forbidden her to teach their children. He hadn’t liked boats or the beach, and he had never eaten fish or seafood of any kind. It troubled Johanna that her own little ones had missed the joys of hunting for seashells, digging clams and watching long-legged water birds foraging in the marsh grass. Wilmer had forbidden her to even wade in the water, saying that it wasn’t decent for a woman.
But Wilmer was gone. She couldn’t use him as an excuse for neglecting her children’s safety anymore. She was the one to decide what was best for her children. “Have you taught J.J. to swim?” she asked Roland.
He nodded solemnly. “I have. I wasn’t satisfied until he could jump into our pond fully clothed with his shoes on and swim from one end to the other.”
She considered that. “Maybe,” she ventured, “if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, you could find time to teach my Jonah this summer.”
“I would be pleased to,” Roland said. “And what of Katy?”
“ Ne ,” she said. “You know how shy she is. I can give her lessons myself.” Roland wasn’t her father...wasn’t her uncle or brother. It wouldn’t be fitting for her to ask him to perform such an intimate thing for her little girl. Of course he could, she thought. If they married and Roland became her children’s father. If only things weren’t so complicated between them.
Maybe Roland wasn’t really the problem. Maybe the problem was her. Maybe it was the thought of
“Tough enough to catch more fish than you,” she answered in the same dialect.
“I guess we’ll just have to see about that.” He didn’t move away, and they stood there, watching as the dock grew smaller and smaller in the wake of the Gone Fishin’ IV.
Three middle-aged Amish men from one of the other church districts had taken spots on the deck a few yards away. She knew them by name, but not well. One man owned a greenhouse, and the other two, she thought, worked as masons. Johanna couldn’t see her sister or Charley. They were probably hiding out on the other side of the boat, as well they should.
A black-and-white osprey soared overhead on powerful wings, with a fish caught in its talons. She watched it until the beautiful bird was out of sight. Already, the sky was growing much brighter, and the rising sun painted a wide swath of the rippling water orange-gold. Other boats passed them, motors roaring, and a buoy bobbed as the Gone Fishin’s captain went around it. A family on a pontoon boat in the distance had already anchored, and Johanna could see a boy Jonah’s age lowering a crab line over the side while a woman dipped a long-handled net into the waves.
Johanna stared at the churning surface of the water, inhaling deeply. She’d always loved the smell of the salt air. It took her back to all the times Dat had taken them fishing, crabbing and wading in the ocean when she was a child. They’d gone every summer since she’d been born...until he died. Her father had been a good swimmer, and he’d taught them all to swim, including Mam and Susanna. Susanna was still awkward, but she’d become an expert at floating and could keep her head above water as well as any of them.
It had been important to Dat that they all learned to swim because of a boating tragedy that happened when he was a teenager. An Amish youth group had gone out on an excursion boat somewhere on one of the Great Lakes. There had been an accident, and the boat had gone down, taking far too many of the children with it because none of them could swim. Dat had promised himself that it would never happen to his family, if he could prevent it. Have faith in God, he would say. But God doesn’t expect us to be foolish servants.
It hit Johanna that her father would be upset with her if he knew that she hadn’t yet taught Katy and Jonah to swim. This summer, she’d have to do something about that.
Wilmer hadn’t been able to swim a lick, and he had forbidden her to teach their children. He hadn’t liked boats or the beach, and he had never eaten fish or seafood of any kind. It troubled Johanna that her own little ones had missed the joys of hunting for seashells, digging clams and watching long-legged water birds foraging in the marsh grass. Wilmer had forbidden her to even wade in the water, saying that it wasn’t decent for a woman.
But Wilmer was gone. She couldn’t use him as an excuse for neglecting her children’s safety anymore. She was the one to decide what was best for her children. “Have you taught J.J. to swim?” she asked Roland.
He nodded solemnly. “I have. I wasn’t satisfied until he could jump into our pond fully clothed with his shoes on and swim from one end to the other.”
She considered that. “Maybe,” she ventured, “if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, you could find time to teach my Jonah this summer.”
“I would be pleased to,” Roland said. “And what of Katy?”
“ Ne ,” she said. “You know how shy she is. I can give her lessons myself.” Roland wasn’t her father...wasn’t her uncle or brother. It wouldn’t be fitting for her to ask him to perform such an intimate thing for her little girl. Of course he could, she thought. If they married and Roland became her children’s father. If only things weren’t so complicated between them.
Maybe Roland wasn’t really the problem. Maybe the problem was her. Maybe it was the thought of
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