outside. I think there are some paper cups on the picnic table.”
John stared at the plate of sticky buns sitting on the table. “You wouldn’t happen to have enough of those so we could have some, would you, Aunt Sarah?”
She laughed. “There’s more on the counter behind you. Help yourself and take some out to the other workers, as well.”
The boys piled some of the cinnamon rolls onto a plate, grabbed some jugs of iced tea, and headed back outside.
As soon as Rebekah finished eating her breakfast, she rolled her wheelchair over to the sink, where her mother stood washing dishes. “What can I do to help?”
“Why don’t you and Mary Ellen shell some peas for the salads we’ll be having with our noon meal? You can go outside on the porch to do it, if you like.”
“Okay,” Rebekah said with a nod.
Mary Ellen gathered up two hefty pans and a paper sack full of plump peas, and Rebekah followed her out the back door.
***
Mary Ellen found a metal folding chair that had been propped against the side of the house near the door and pulled it up next to Rebekah’s wheelchair. She placed one of the pans in Rebekah’s lap and put the other in her own. Then she distributed the peas equally between them.
“How’s the courtship with Johnny going?” Rebekah asked as she picked up a handful of pea pods and began to shell them lickety-split.
Mary Ellen’s face broke into a wide smile. “It’s going real good. He’s been over to our place to see me nearly every night for the past week.”
“Do you like him a lot?”
“Jah, I do. He’s so much fun and pretty good-looking, too, don’t you think?”
Rebekah wrinkled her nose and emitted a noise that sounded something like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. “That’s not for me to be saying. Johnny might not take kindly to me making eyes at him.”
“I’m not asking you to make eyes at him, silly. I only wondered if you think he’s good-looking or not.”
Rebekah shrugged her slim shoulders and grabbed another handful of pea pods. “I suppose he’s all right. He’s just not my type, that’s all.”
“Who is your type, might I ask? Is there something you’re not telling me? Do you have your heart set on anyone special?”
Rebekah shook her head.
“I’ll bet it’s Daniel Beachy. I’ve seen the way you steal looks in his direction whenever you think no one’s paying any attention.”
Rebekah’s face turned crimson. “I have no interest in any man, and none have interest in me.”
“Maybe they do have an interest, and you’re just too blind to see it.”
“Don’t you think I would know if someone cared for me?”
“Maybe so. Maybe not.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you might not be paying close enough attention.”
Rebekah made no further comment on the subject, and Mary Ellen decided it was probably best to drop the subject. No point in embarrassing her cousin any further; she had enough to deal with.
***
“Sure is a hot one today,” Rebekah complained. “I don’t envy those poor men working out there in the sweltering sun all day.”
“Jah, but I’m sure they—” Mary Ellen’s sentence was interrupted when a man’s heavy boots thudded up the porch steps.
“
Wie geht’s,
you two?” Daniel asked with a nod in their direction.
Rebekah waited to see if Mary Ellen would respond, but when her cousin made no comment, she smiled up at him and said, “I’m doing okay. How’s the work on my daed’s barn coming along?”
Daniel yanked off his straw hat and wiped the perspiration from his forehead with the back of his hand. “It’s going well enough. Whew! Today’s sure hot and humid, don’t you think?” His question was directed at Rebekah, and she swallowed hard as his serious dark eyes seemed to bore straight into her soul.
“Jah, I was just saying that to Mary Ellen before you showed up,” she murmured, feeling another flush of warmth, but excusing it as coming from the
John stared at the plate of sticky buns sitting on the table. “You wouldn’t happen to have enough of those so we could have some, would you, Aunt Sarah?”
She laughed. “There’s more on the counter behind you. Help yourself and take some out to the other workers, as well.”
The boys piled some of the cinnamon rolls onto a plate, grabbed some jugs of iced tea, and headed back outside.
As soon as Rebekah finished eating her breakfast, she rolled her wheelchair over to the sink, where her mother stood washing dishes. “What can I do to help?”
“Why don’t you and Mary Ellen shell some peas for the salads we’ll be having with our noon meal? You can go outside on the porch to do it, if you like.”
“Okay,” Rebekah said with a nod.
Mary Ellen gathered up two hefty pans and a paper sack full of plump peas, and Rebekah followed her out the back door.
***
Mary Ellen found a metal folding chair that had been propped against the side of the house near the door and pulled it up next to Rebekah’s wheelchair. She placed one of the pans in Rebekah’s lap and put the other in her own. Then she distributed the peas equally between them.
“How’s the courtship with Johnny going?” Rebekah asked as she picked up a handful of pea pods and began to shell them lickety-split.
Mary Ellen’s face broke into a wide smile. “It’s going real good. He’s been over to our place to see me nearly every night for the past week.”
“Do you like him a lot?”
“Jah, I do. He’s so much fun and pretty good-looking, too, don’t you think?”
Rebekah wrinkled her nose and emitted a noise that sounded something like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. “That’s not for me to be saying. Johnny might not take kindly to me making eyes at him.”
“I’m not asking you to make eyes at him, silly. I only wondered if you think he’s good-looking or not.”
Rebekah shrugged her slim shoulders and grabbed another handful of pea pods. “I suppose he’s all right. He’s just not my type, that’s all.”
“Who is your type, might I ask? Is there something you’re not telling me? Do you have your heart set on anyone special?”
Rebekah shook her head.
“I’ll bet it’s Daniel Beachy. I’ve seen the way you steal looks in his direction whenever you think no one’s paying any attention.”
Rebekah’s face turned crimson. “I have no interest in any man, and none have interest in me.”
“Maybe they do have an interest, and you’re just too blind to see it.”
“Don’t you think I would know if someone cared for me?”
“Maybe so. Maybe not.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you might not be paying close enough attention.”
Rebekah made no further comment on the subject, and Mary Ellen decided it was probably best to drop the subject. No point in embarrassing her cousin any further; she had enough to deal with.
***
“Sure is a hot one today,” Rebekah complained. “I don’t envy those poor men working out there in the sweltering sun all day.”
“Jah, but I’m sure they—” Mary Ellen’s sentence was interrupted when a man’s heavy boots thudded up the porch steps.
“
Wie geht’s,
you two?” Daniel asked with a nod in their direction.
Rebekah waited to see if Mary Ellen would respond, but when her cousin made no comment, she smiled up at him and said, “I’m doing okay. How’s the work on my daed’s barn coming along?”
Daniel yanked off his straw hat and wiped the perspiration from his forehead with the back of his hand. “It’s going well enough. Whew! Today’s sure hot and humid, don’t you think?” His question was directed at Rebekah, and she swallowed hard as his serious dark eyes seemed to bore straight into her soul.
“Jah, I was just saying that to Mary Ellen before you showed up,” she murmured, feeling another flush of warmth, but excusing it as coming from the
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