They’d only met once before, for all of two minutes, when James delivered the loom.
What if Matthew started questioning her in front of their folks? Worrying them unnecessarily was a bad idea, especially since she didn’t know how she felt. James was much too flirtatious to be friends with a Plain girl.
“Emma, mind what you’re doing. You’re slopping dishwater on my clean floor.” Her mother put an end to her daydreaming as Emma scrubbed the morning’s baking pans.
“May I go to Aunt Hannah’s this afternoon?” she asked.
Julia, who’d been trying to let down Henry’s trouser legs, slanted her an odd look. “Now that you’ve got your own spinning wheel and loom, I would think you’d have enough to keep busy here.” Her poor bent fingers dropped the needle yet again. In exasperation, she pushed the garment away.
“ Jah , I do,” Emma agreed. “But it’s questions I need to ask. I want to pick Aunt Hannah’s brain.”
Julia looked aghast. “I don’t care for that expression, daughter. Where did you hear it? At that volleyball party?”
“Yes’m.” Emma set the last pan in the rack to dry.
“Don’t use it again,” Julia said. Then in a softer tone she added, “You may go to Hannah’s when your chores are done. Take that extra apple crumb pie on the windowsill. It’s Seth’s favorite. Be home in enough time to give Leah a hand with supper.”
Emma nodded and flew out the door to get the laundry off the line. If she hurried through her ironing, she’d have plenty of time with her aunt. Hannah would know what she should do. She had straightened out a hornet’s nest of problems with Uncle Seth before they were hitched last fall. If anyone could explain these strange feelings she had for an inappropriate match, it would be Aunt Hannah.
After all, she and Uncle Seth were still like two sweet lovebirds, roosting in the eaves, after almost a year.
Hannah lifted bedsheets off the line to fold, careful not to let them touch the ground. She was surprised a sudden storm hadn’t undone her hard work, considering how the rest of her day had gone. First, there was her monthly onset, reminding her once more she was not in a family way. Would she ever know the thrill and joy of a baby growing inside her? Would she one day be able to present Seth with another precious daughter like Phoebe, or his first son? An Amish farmer needed sons to help when backs grew stiff and eyesight faltered. Who would take over Seth’s farm and tend it with the same loving care?
Hannah sometimes felt selfish praying for a baby that might never come. Perhaps she should accept God’s will and devote herself to the family she’d been given. Then she remembered Elizabeth in the Bible, barren for years and finally becoming pregnant when very old. If it be Your will, Lord, please don’t make me wait that long.
Second, the unexpected visit from her niece hadn’t set well with her. Emma had come asking questions about the new lambs, but Hannah quickly suspected another matter had motivated the girl to hike the mile between the farms. Emma had just attended her first social event. At first her amusing tales had reminded Hannah of her youth when everything seemed to conspire against a young woman. Emma had lost her new tennis shoes and had to come home in a worn, ill-fitting pair. She had dribbled mustard down her dress in front of her girlfriends. And she had to leave the party early since Simon feared the old horse might become confused after dark. But when Emma mentioned that the sheep farmer from Charm had been there with his Amish friend, Hannah had grown uneasy.
Emma was obviously looking for some sort of guidance or advice without asking specific questions. Emma needed to talk to her mother about these things. Yet Hannah knew Julia could sometimes be close-minded.
“Talk to your mamm about running around barefoot,” Hannah had directed. “Ask your daed if Old Order members are allowed to court New Order
What if Matthew started questioning her in front of their folks? Worrying them unnecessarily was a bad idea, especially since she didn’t know how she felt. James was much too flirtatious to be friends with a Plain girl.
“Emma, mind what you’re doing. You’re slopping dishwater on my clean floor.” Her mother put an end to her daydreaming as Emma scrubbed the morning’s baking pans.
“May I go to Aunt Hannah’s this afternoon?” she asked.
Julia, who’d been trying to let down Henry’s trouser legs, slanted her an odd look. “Now that you’ve got your own spinning wheel and loom, I would think you’d have enough to keep busy here.” Her poor bent fingers dropped the needle yet again. In exasperation, she pushed the garment away.
“ Jah , I do,” Emma agreed. “But it’s questions I need to ask. I want to pick Aunt Hannah’s brain.”
Julia looked aghast. “I don’t care for that expression, daughter. Where did you hear it? At that volleyball party?”
“Yes’m.” Emma set the last pan in the rack to dry.
“Don’t use it again,” Julia said. Then in a softer tone she added, “You may go to Hannah’s when your chores are done. Take that extra apple crumb pie on the windowsill. It’s Seth’s favorite. Be home in enough time to give Leah a hand with supper.”
Emma nodded and flew out the door to get the laundry off the line. If she hurried through her ironing, she’d have plenty of time with her aunt. Hannah would know what she should do. She had straightened out a hornet’s nest of problems with Uncle Seth before they were hitched last fall. If anyone could explain these strange feelings she had for an inappropriate match, it would be Aunt Hannah.
After all, she and Uncle Seth were still like two sweet lovebirds, roosting in the eaves, after almost a year.
Hannah lifted bedsheets off the line to fold, careful not to let them touch the ground. She was surprised a sudden storm hadn’t undone her hard work, considering how the rest of her day had gone. First, there was her monthly onset, reminding her once more she was not in a family way. Would she ever know the thrill and joy of a baby growing inside her? Would she one day be able to present Seth with another precious daughter like Phoebe, or his first son? An Amish farmer needed sons to help when backs grew stiff and eyesight faltered. Who would take over Seth’s farm and tend it with the same loving care?
Hannah sometimes felt selfish praying for a baby that might never come. Perhaps she should accept God’s will and devote herself to the family she’d been given. Then she remembered Elizabeth in the Bible, barren for years and finally becoming pregnant when very old. If it be Your will, Lord, please don’t make me wait that long.
Second, the unexpected visit from her niece hadn’t set well with her. Emma had come asking questions about the new lambs, but Hannah quickly suspected another matter had motivated the girl to hike the mile between the farms. Emma had just attended her first social event. At first her amusing tales had reminded Hannah of her youth when everything seemed to conspire against a young woman. Emma had lost her new tennis shoes and had to come home in a worn, ill-fitting pair. She had dribbled mustard down her dress in front of her girlfriends. And she had to leave the party early since Simon feared the old horse might become confused after dark. But when Emma mentioned that the sheep farmer from Charm had been there with his Amish friend, Hannah had grown uneasy.
Emma was obviously looking for some sort of guidance or advice without asking specific questions. Emma needed to talk to her mother about these things. Yet Hannah knew Julia could sometimes be close-minded.
“Talk to your mamm about running around barefoot,” Hannah had directed. “Ask your daed if Old Order members are allowed to court New Order
Similar Books
