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Authors: Charlotte Hubbard
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is no
big deal to me.”
“Well, I was mighty relieved to see ya step in that way,” Mamma assured her again.
“Poor Hannah was tryin’ her best, but she works better in the kitchen with her mamm .”
“She’s young yet,” Rebecca noted. “It’s mind-boggling to juggle all those little waitressing
tasks, until you’re used to it.”
“ Jah , and I bet her older brothers Seth and Aaron, not to mention our cousins Nate and
Bram Kanagy, were givin’ her a hard time, too.” Rhoda emptied a quart jar of home-canned
green beans into a pan and sliced an onion into it. “They’ve got no idea how long
they take—or how much they eat! And their chatter about their dates gets irritatin’
when they go on and on as though I’m not in the room, too!”
“That sounds infuriating.” Rebecca watched her sister’s expressions as she vented.
“So who does that?”
“Are ya talkin’ about Ben’s brothers?” Mamma gazed earnestly at her other daughter.
“Ira and Luke’ve been gettin’ nervy that way when they’ve come to the house, too.
I was ready to say something to them on Thanksgivin’, so I’ll bring it up to Ben—”
“It’s no bother, Mamma,” Rhoda assured her quickly. “They can brag all they want about
takin’ Annie Mae Knepp and Millie Glick out. I’ve got bigger fish to fry!”
Rebecca laughed as she set three plates on the small table in the apartment’s tidy
kitchen. Rhoda had a freer sense of humor than their sister Rachel, and her spirit
seemed more mischievous than Rebecca had expected of an Amish girl, too. “So how’s
your new job? Was it scary to work with a lady who’d had a stroke? Did the kids help
you around the house, or were they a pain in the butt?”
Rhoda’s smile defied description: a pinch of mystery and a dash of satisfaction mixed
with a heaping helping of happiness. “Oh, Betty—Andy’s mamm —is such a sweet lady, even if half her face is droopy,” she said with a little shrug.
“After I washed and combed her hair today, you’d have thought I made her face muscles
snap back into place.”
“No matter how hard Andy might try, it’s not the same as havin’ your hair fixed by
somebody who halfway knows how.” Mamma looked up from the platter of fried chicken
she was about to warm in the oven. “The two kids are probably glad to have somebody
lookin’ after them, too, seein’s how their mamm ’s not around.”
“ Jah , I can’t imagine how any woman could leave them.” Rhoda shook her head. “They were
so excited when I made pancakes in the shapes of their initials, like nobody had ever
done that for them.”
Rebecca considered that . . . because it was a clever idea that Rhoda had carried
out as second nature. Nobody had ever made alphabet pancakes for her , either. It was her sister’s kitty-cat grin that made her speculate, however: Rhoda
seemed very happy about working in that English household, not to mention surprisingly
tolerant of the way Ben’s brothers had bragged about their conquests. “So what’s the
dad like? Did you say he was a nurse?”
“Almost finished with his schoolin’, jah ,” Rhoda replied. “I’ll have to ask him not to go on and on about the gut work I do for him, though. It’s just not our way to get caught up in so many compliments,
you see.”
Oh, but Rhoda’s grin was shining like a clean windowpane, at the mention of the man
who had hired her. Rebecca filled their glasses with water. Whether she knew it or
not, Rhoda was showing all the signs of a crush like the ones she’d had on a couple
of her better-looking teachers in high school. Rebecca could well imagine what Hiram
Knepp, the taut-jawed bishop, would say if he caught a hint of this . . . just as
he would raise some pointed questions about her own private plan to return to Willow
Ridge.
“I liked Andy, though,” Mamma continued matter-of-factly. “Busy as he is, tryin’
big deal to me.”
“Well, I was mighty relieved to see ya step in that way,” Mamma assured her again.
“Poor Hannah was tryin’ her best, but she works better in the kitchen with her mamm .”
“She’s young yet,” Rebecca noted. “It’s mind-boggling to juggle all those little waitressing
tasks, until you’re used to it.”
“ Jah , and I bet her older brothers Seth and Aaron, not to mention our cousins Nate and
Bram Kanagy, were givin’ her a hard time, too.” Rhoda emptied a quart jar of home-canned
green beans into a pan and sliced an onion into it. “They’ve got no idea how long
they take—or how much they eat! And their chatter about their dates gets irritatin’
when they go on and on as though I’m not in the room, too!”
“That sounds infuriating.” Rebecca watched her sister’s expressions as she vented.
“So who does that?”
“Are ya talkin’ about Ben’s brothers?” Mamma gazed earnestly at her other daughter.
“Ira and Luke’ve been gettin’ nervy that way when they’ve come to the house, too.
I was ready to say something to them on Thanksgivin’, so I’ll bring it up to Ben—”
“It’s no bother, Mamma,” Rhoda assured her quickly. “They can brag all they want about
takin’ Annie Mae Knepp and Millie Glick out. I’ve got bigger fish to fry!”
Rebecca laughed as she set three plates on the small table in the apartment’s tidy
kitchen. Rhoda had a freer sense of humor than their sister Rachel, and her spirit
seemed more mischievous than Rebecca had expected of an Amish girl, too. “So how’s
your new job? Was it scary to work with a lady who’d had a stroke? Did the kids help
you around the house, or were they a pain in the butt?”
Rhoda’s smile defied description: a pinch of mystery and a dash of satisfaction mixed
with a heaping helping of happiness. “Oh, Betty—Andy’s mamm —is such a sweet lady, even if half her face is droopy,” she said with a little shrug.
“After I washed and combed her hair today, you’d have thought I made her face muscles
snap back into place.”
“No matter how hard Andy might try, it’s not the same as havin’ your hair fixed by
somebody who halfway knows how.” Mamma looked up from the platter of fried chicken
she was about to warm in the oven. “The two kids are probably glad to have somebody
lookin’ after them, too, seein’s how their mamm ’s not around.”
“ Jah , I can’t imagine how any woman could leave them.” Rhoda shook her head. “They were
so excited when I made pancakes in the shapes of their initials, like nobody had ever
done that for them.”
Rebecca considered that . . . because it was a clever idea that Rhoda had carried
out as second nature. Nobody had ever made alphabet pancakes for her , either. It was her sister’s kitty-cat grin that made her speculate, however: Rhoda
seemed very happy about working in that English household, not to mention surprisingly
tolerant of the way Ben’s brothers had bragged about their conquests. “So what’s the
dad like? Did you say he was a nurse?”
“Almost finished with his schoolin’, jah ,” Rhoda replied. “I’ll have to ask him not to go on and on about the gut work I do for him, though. It’s just not our way to get caught up in so many compliments,
you see.”
Oh, but Rhoda’s grin was shining like a clean windowpane, at the mention of the man
who had hired her. Rebecca filled their glasses with water. Whether she knew it or
not, Rhoda was showing all the signs of a crush like the ones she’d had on a couple
of her better-looking teachers in high school. Rebecca could well imagine what Hiram
Knepp, the taut-jawed bishop, would say if he caught a hint of this . . . just as
he would raise some pointed questions about her own private plan to return to Willow
Ridge.
“I liked Andy, though,” Mamma continued matter-of-factly. “Busy as he is, tryin’
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