Wonderful Lonesome by Olivia Newport Page B

of green instead of unending brown dirt. Abbie still did not know the names of all the odd vegetation of the Colorado plain.
    She had used an empty fruit bushel to hold the picnic food. It had seemed like plenty in the kitchen, but out here it appeared sparse. Gratitude , she reminded herself. At the bottom of the bushel basket were two plates, and she handed one to Willem. They paused for a silent prayer. Abbie asked for the assurance her heart craved. Of Willem’s love for her. Of his faithfulness to the church. Of the only choice she could bear to hear him voice. She waited until she heard Willem moving before she opened her eyes.
    “Eat!” she urged.
    “This is quite a feast for a simple bachelor’s lunch.” Willem laid two slices of pork on his plate.
    Abbie let her breath out. Willem did not require fancy food. Why had she let herself fuss? She spooned egg salad onto his plate, and he selected a thick slice of bread.
    “I suppose I must eat my lunch before I can have cake,” he said.
    Abbie chuckled. Her own plate was still empty.
    “Aren’t you going to eat?” Willem set his plate on the quilt and reached for the jar of apples and twisted off the cap.
    “Yes, I will.” She made no move to serve herself any food.
    Willem set down the apples. “Abigail Weaver, something is on your mind.”
    She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “There’s plenty of time to talk. I want you to enjoy your lunch.”
    “I thought the purpose was to enjoy lunch together.”
    “It is.” Abbie reached for the egg salad and a slice of bread. “How long have you been thinking of making a road?”
    “It has always been in the plan, when I found the time. I might get started on it this year, but soon we will all have to start laying in coal for the winter, and that’s a lot of work.”
    “Will we have a harsh winter, do you think?” Abbie used a fork to spread egg salad around on her plate without moving any to her mouth.
    “ Gottes wille .” Willem put a piece of bread in his mouth, chewed slowly, and swallowed. “Perhaps we should talk about whatever is on your mind.”
    “All right.” Abbie set her plate down and looked Willem in the eye. “If you had to choose between making your farm successful and staying with the church, which would you choose?”
    Willem did not shift position, but Abbie could see that he was moving his tongue over his teeth, first the bottom then the top.
    “Come with me,” he whispered.

Come with you where?” Abbie felt her heart skipping beats.
    “Think of the life we can have together.” Willem put one elbow down on the quilt and leaned toward Abbie.
    “I don’t understand. Do you want to follow the Chupps to Nebraska?”
    He shook his head. “I want to make my farm work. We may be peaceable people, but I am going to fight for my land. Everything I have is invested there.”
    Abbie moistened her lips and set her untouched plate aside. “Then what are you saying?”
    Willem held her gaze with his green eyes as her breaths grew shallow. Finally he turned his head and looked to the horizon.
    “Would it be so awful to be Mennonite?” he said.
    “So you’ve made up your mind?” Abbie’s heart pounded. She had waited all this time for Willem because she never doubted they would one day be together—not until now.
    “I haven’t decided anything,” Willem said, his voice thick with earnest conviction, “except that I want this farm to work more than anything I’ve ever wanted.”
    More than you want me . The truth clanged in her mind like English church bells. “What has that got to do with turning Mennonite?” Abbie asked.
    Willem picked up a twig, snapped it, and flicked half of it away. “Noah Chupp’s decision to move away was disheartening to some of the other men.”
    “To the women as well.”
    “Noah did not think the settlement will succeed. What if he’s right?”
    “He will be right if we allow ourselves to think that way.” Abbie stood up, unable