without coming into the room, honoring their privacy. They rose and walked into the kitchen just as Joannaâs father was entering the back door.
May this supper go well , prayed Joanna.
She could hardly wait to share her meal with Eben. But then the back door opened once again, and Cora Jane stepped inside, as if sheâd never gone anywhere at all.
Suddenly realizing that Mamma had set the table with only four plates, Joanna scrambled quickly to the cupboard and pulled out another for Cora Jane. It would never do for her sister to think she wasnât wanted, not after spending all day with Mammi Sadie next door, undoubtedly stewing.
But Cora Jane caught her eye just then and saw what Joanna was doing. She raised an eyebrow as Joanna placed the plate and an extra set of utensils on the table. This is sure to set her off again!
By the time Dat came into the kitchen after washing up, Joanna didnât know whom to introduce to Eben first. But it was her sister who looked the most interested, standing in the middle of the room and trying not to be conspicuous in her scrutiny of Joannaâs beau.
âCora Jane, Iâd like you to meet Eben Troyer from Shipshewana,â Joanna said, finding her voice. âEben, this is my sister Cora Jane.â
âHullo.â Eben offered to shake her hand, which she did with a pleasant enough smile. âItâs nice to finally meet you and your family . . . put faces to names, ya know.â
âWillkumm to Hickory Hollow,â Cora Jane said, eyeing the table again. She went to her regular spot to the left of Dat, whoâd dried his hands and was moseying around Ebenâs duffel bag to the head of the table now without stopping to speak.
âDat, this is my friend . . . Eben Troyer,â Joanna said, holding her breath for what he might say.
Her father said hullo agreeably, then stuck out his hand to shake Ebenâs.
âGut to meet ya.â
âPlease call me Nate,â Dat said as he took his seat. âThatâll be just fine.â
Cora Jane attempted to squelch the smirk that appeared at this but failed. Joanna was on pins and needles as she went around the table to the right of Mamma, where she sat with Eben on her opposite side.
So the suppertime setting was lopsided, instead of the way Joanna had envisioned things earlier, without her sister present. At least Cora Jane had shown some respect and come home to meet Eben. Yet Joanna still wasnât convinced that was such a good thing.
âââ
Eben found the unspoken interplay between Joanna and her younger sister curious. There was certainly an undercurrent of tension between them, yet Joanna hadnât referred much in her letters to Cora Jane or to her older, married siblings, all of whom had two or more children of their own. She had written mostly about the sister named Salina and her three Sâs , as Joanna liked to call her young nephew and two nieces. And Joanna had also told of an English friend named Amelia, who played the fiddle, as well as an elderly woman nicknamed the Wise Woman and other folk who lived there in the hollow.
Eben listened as Rhoda Kurtz praised Joannaâs cooking skills, finding it somewhat humorous. After all, his taste buds were definitely in the know, and right this very minute, too.
âJoanna cooks and bakes near everything from scratch,â Rhoda added.
â âCept for her pizzas,â Cora Jane said, leaping into the conversation, her eyes sparkling mischief.
Eben felt Joanna stiffen on the wooden bench next to him.
âOh jah, the store-bought tomato sauce,â Rhoda defended Joanna. âWell, all the womenfolk use it.â
Eben glanced at Nate Kurtz, a seeming caricature with a healthy appetite. His graying beard had somehow managed to grow in the shape of a V, something Eben hadnât seen before. It almost looked as though someone had taken a scissors and trimmed it, and in a
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