sheâd be at home baking cookies for the school Christmas program or delivering Christmas fudge to her neighbors and friends. Instead, she was standing at the bottom of a daunting hill contemplating the miserable task before her.
Get a proposal from Adam Wengerd by Christmastime or die an old maedle, Mamm had warned.
The thought of dying an old maid had been enough to get Katie out of Augusta and back to Bonduel. She wasnât brave enough by half to try to get a husband, but she didnât want to end up an old maedle, either. In her Amish community, old maids lived off of the kindness of their brothers and sisters, never having a home of their own or respect from their neighbors. Old maids ended up keeping house and taking care of other peopleâs children. Katie would do just about anything to keep from becoming an old maid.
Even marry Adam Wengerd.
It wasnât that Katie was against Adam Wengerd as a husband, but she didnât know him that well. They had been friends in sixth and seventh grade, before Katie had moved away. All Katie could remember was that Adam had been handsome and tall and that he liked to talk about softball and hunting. Now she had to make him fall in love with her.
What if he didnât? What if he found her boring and awkward? He might decide she was too quiet. Her brothers scolded her constantly for being mousy and shy. âWhat boy will try for a date if you wonât talk to him, Katie?â her brother Mahlon had said.
But what of her feelings? She didnât want to be an old maid, but that didnât mean she should settle for just anyone, did it? What if Adam turned out to be mean or lazy? How could she even know such a thing before she married him?
Maybe there was still time to find someone in Augusta.
She shook her head. She was twenty-four years old, timid, and quiet. Adam Wengerd was the boy who could save her from dreaded spinsterhood, but the thought of trying to convince him to marry her made her sick.
Being the seventh of ten children, Katie had been all but ignored by her parents. Mamm had always been too busy running the house to give Katie or her siblings much attention, but Katie didnât mind being insignificant. As long as Mamm would let her cook for the family and try out new recipes, she was perfectly content. The thought of trying to win a husband terrified her. Sheâd cried all night the night before sheâd left home. How could she bear the embarrassment of it all? Cooking all her best dishes to wheedle a proposal out of Adam, trying to come up with interesting things to say, and Adam all the while knowing she was so desperate that she had to come all the way to Bonduel to find a husband.
Maybe being an old maid wouldnât be so bad.
Katie exhaled slowly and picked up her bag and her suitcase. Sheâd better get going. Mamm said Adam would arrive at Huckleberry Hill in time for dinner, and Katie was expected to cook for him. Thatâs how Mamm said Katie would win Adamâs heartâwith her cooking. What boy could resist Katieâs sour cream apple pie?
Her suitcase clattered as she hefted it in her hand and began her journey up the hill. She certainly hoped Anna Helmuth was expecting her. What would she do if she showed up and Anna had no place to put her? Katie imagined trudging back down the hill and going from house to house in search of a job as a cook or a maid. What would Mamm think if she walked all the way back to Augusta?
The suitcase got heavier and heavier as she hiked up Huckleberry Hill. Katie almost regretted bringing it, but she had to impress Adam with her cooking skills. For sure and certain, she wouldnât win Adamâs heart with clever conversation. Her mater had made that perfectly clear.
With her arms shaking and her legs feeling like jelly, Katie finally made it to the top of the hill. A friendly white clapboard house with a big front window stood to her left, and a red barn with white
Get a proposal from Adam Wengerd by Christmastime or die an old maedle, Mamm had warned.
The thought of dying an old maid had been enough to get Katie out of Augusta and back to Bonduel. She wasnât brave enough by half to try to get a husband, but she didnât want to end up an old maedle, either. In her Amish community, old maids lived off of the kindness of their brothers and sisters, never having a home of their own or respect from their neighbors. Old maids ended up keeping house and taking care of other peopleâs children. Katie would do just about anything to keep from becoming an old maid.
Even marry Adam Wengerd.
It wasnât that Katie was against Adam Wengerd as a husband, but she didnât know him that well. They had been friends in sixth and seventh grade, before Katie had moved away. All Katie could remember was that Adam had been handsome and tall and that he liked to talk about softball and hunting. Now she had to make him fall in love with her.
What if he didnât? What if he found her boring and awkward? He might decide she was too quiet. Her brothers scolded her constantly for being mousy and shy. âWhat boy will try for a date if you wonât talk to him, Katie?â her brother Mahlon had said.
But what of her feelings? She didnât want to be an old maid, but that didnât mean she should settle for just anyone, did it? What if Adam turned out to be mean or lazy? How could she even know such a thing before she married him?
Maybe there was still time to find someone in Augusta.
She shook her head. She was twenty-four years old, timid, and quiet. Adam Wengerd was the boy who could save her from dreaded spinsterhood, but the thought of trying to convince him to marry her made her sick.
Being the seventh of ten children, Katie had been all but ignored by her parents. Mamm had always been too busy running the house to give Katie or her siblings much attention, but Katie didnât mind being insignificant. As long as Mamm would let her cook for the family and try out new recipes, she was perfectly content. The thought of trying to win a husband terrified her. Sheâd cried all night the night before sheâd left home. How could she bear the embarrassment of it all? Cooking all her best dishes to wheedle a proposal out of Adam, trying to come up with interesting things to say, and Adam all the while knowing she was so desperate that she had to come all the way to Bonduel to find a husband.
Maybe being an old maid wouldnât be so bad.
Katie exhaled slowly and picked up her bag and her suitcase. Sheâd better get going. Mamm said Adam would arrive at Huckleberry Hill in time for dinner, and Katie was expected to cook for him. Thatâs how Mamm said Katie would win Adamâs heartâwith her cooking. What boy could resist Katieâs sour cream apple pie?
Her suitcase clattered as she hefted it in her hand and began her journey up the hill. She certainly hoped Anna Helmuth was expecting her. What would she do if she showed up and Anna had no place to put her? Katie imagined trudging back down the hill and going from house to house in search of a job as a cook or a maid. What would Mamm think if she walked all the way back to Augusta?
The suitcase got heavier and heavier as she hiked up Huckleberry Hill. Katie almost regretted bringing it, but she had to impress Adam with her cooking skills. For sure and certain, she wouldnât win Adamâs heart with clever conversation. Her mater had made that perfectly clear.
With her arms shaking and her legs feeling like jelly, Katie finally made it to the top of the hill. A friendly white clapboard house with a big front window stood to her left, and a red barn with white
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