Chapter 18
Rhoda sat at the kitchen table of the cottage she and Hiram had retired to, wishing she was back on the family land with Nehemiah and his family.
She had good memories from the farm, but there was so much she’d do over if she could, such as helping her daughter-in-law, Suzanna, more.
And she would have encouraged more upgrades to Nehemiah and Suzanna’s house too. And a chimney inspection now and then.
She often blamed the end of that time on the fire, but Nehemiah had always been restless. He’d been itching to move, yet Rhoda believed they were safe from his dreaming until he visited a friend who had moved to Maine.
Rhoda pulled the box of stationery she’d purchased at the discount store closer and took off the lid. Here she was living in the township she’d grown up in, without a single offspring still in Lancaster County except for her one granddaughter, Joanna, whom she’d never been particularly close to.
Rhoda had assumed that once she moved back to Strasburg, the two of them would become close.
She should have known better. Not once when Joanna lived across the road had Rhoda thought of spending time with just her.
Now people talked about “nurturing the young” and “developing relationships,” but when Rhoda was growing up there was no such talk.
Not once had she thought of who Joanna would be as an adult and what kind of relationship Rhoda wanted to have with her.
Joanna hadn’t been an easy child to be around.
She was quiet. A bit of a loner. She always had her nose in a book.
It wasn’t that she was shy or timid. Joanna was as capable as any of her brothers, and more than most. She was always ready to acquire a new skill and focus on a task.
Always learning. Always working for the family.
She could prepare an entire supper by the time she was eight.
By the time she was nine she could harness a horse to a buggy and run errands for Suzanna.
For Rhoda too. She was doing the laundry by the time she was ten.
She was tall and lean, like Rhoda, and strong. And she had been from a young age.
But to be honest, Rhoda had always found Joanna a little boring. Rhoda was much more interested in the antics of the two sets of twins. They couldn’t walk across the yard without racing each other or wrestling or playing leapfrog. Rhoda smiled at the memory.
She’d always been so proud—so pleased—with all of those strapping grandsons that reminded her so much of her own sons that she’d hardly noticed her granddaughter. She regretted that now.
The cuckoo clock struck nine. Rhoda yawned.
Her father had left the cottage to her in his will.
She’d rented it out for years but finally decided to move to Strasburg Township after they grew too lonely with Nehemiah and his family gone and farming the land they had left became too taxing for Hiram.
Rhoda took out her favorite pen from her stationery box.
She wouldn’t write to Becky. She’d write to Elaine.
Why shouldn’t the bishop’s wife be included?
And she wouldn’t follow Lu’s example of keeping the request for Joanna anonymous.
Becky, Lu, Elaine, and she had been friends since they were girls.
Why the secrecy? Elaine cared about Joanna.
Elaine needed to be part of the circle letter too.
Becky started the circle letter so they could all share family prayer requests without saying them out loud during their quilting time.
Elaine had concerns about her own family.
Mandy was childless. Miriam was back in Lancaster County, unmarried.
Veronica was old enough to start courting.
Caleb had been working for Ike for several years now.
Shouldn’t he be focusing on his farm instead?
Jah, Elaine needed prayer for her family as much as any of them.
The next morning, Hiram went out to harness the horse and hitch it to the buggy. They planned to do a little visiting, starting at Elaine and Daniel’s. Rhoda plucked the envelope addressed to Elaine off the table and slipped it into her apron pocket.
One of the reasons she’d agreed to move back to Strasburg Township was because of her three childhood friends.
They’d welcomed her, but it wasn’t the same as it had been all those years ago.
The three of them had raised their kids together and volunteered at the district school and held frolics and comforted each other in times of sorrow over the years.
Rhoda hadn’t been a part of any of that, at least not more than making an appearance now and then.
The back door opened and Hiram said, “I’m ready when you are.”
“Coming.” She grabbed her black bonnet from the hook by the back door and positioned it over her Kapp.
Maybe it would be better if Lu and Joanna weren’t at Elaine and Daniel’s. That would give Rhoda more of a chance to interact with Elaine. She was more apt to have time for Rhoda than Becky, who was busy with work and now with Ike. And Lu had always had her head in the clouds.
Hiram waited for her by the buggy and offered her his hand. She accepted and climbed up onto the seat. Almost forty-seven years of marriage. They’d met at a livestock auction she’d gone to with her Dat when she was nineteen. It didn’t seem that long ago they’d married in her parents’ living room.
Rhoda had wanted to move to Maine with Nehemiah and Suzanna and their grandsons, but Hiram said the winters would be too hard on his arthritis.
She missed Nehemiah more than she missed her other sons, who were all younger.
The other five had left years ago and moved far away.
Two to Tennessee. One to Ohio. And the last two to Wisconsin.
She’d seen them and their families only a handful of times over the years.
Nehemiah had always been her favorite.
When they arrived at Daniel and Elaine’s, Hiram jumped down and tied the reins to the hitching post. Then he came around to help Rhoda.
“Looks like Lu is here,” Hiram said as they walked behind the other buggies. Rhoda wasn’t sure if she hoped Joanna was with her or not. It pained her to see them together. They seemed so natural with each other.
They headed to the back door, which was open to let in the cool morning air. Through the screen, Elaine called out, “Come on in!”
Rhoda patted her apron pocket, wondering if she should give Elaine the letter now or wait until before they left. As she stepped into the kitchen, she saw Lu at the table, sitting next to Daniel. Mandy and Caleb sat on the other side. Rhoda squinted against the light coming through the windows.
“Hallo, Mammi Rhoda. Hallo, Dawdi Hiram.”
“Oh, Joanna.” Rhoda stepped closer. “I didn’t see you there.”
Joanna stood. “Sit here. I’ll get you each a cup of coffee.”
Elaine stepped away from the stove with a platter of doughnuts. “These are fresh.” She handed the platter to Daniel, who took one and put it on a napkin. He passed it to Mandy, who did the same.
Joanna returned with full mugs.
“Where’s Miriam?” Rhoda asked Mandy as she took the coffee.
“She’s visiting a friend.” Mandy glanced at Joanna as she spoke.
Rhoda thought that seemed a little odd but didn’t say anything. “I thought our frolic at Becky’s went well.” Rhoda directed her comment at Elaine.
She laughed. “I was just going to say that.”
The conversation shifted to another family in their district who needed help. After a while Caleb and Mandy readied to leave, saying they needed to stop by Caleb’s grandparents’ house in the next district over. His grandmother had been ill.
As Lu and Joanna stood and started saying their goodbyes, a middle-aged man opened the back door. “Hallo, Dat!” He was looking straight at Daniel. He stepped inside. A woman followed him and then Veronica entered. “We brought our girl.”
Elaine stood. “You’re early.”
“Jah. A little bit.”
Veronica held a suitcase in her hands. She smiled at her grandmother and then glanced around the room. Her smile faded as her eyes landed on Joanna.
“We were just leaving.” Lu stepped toward the man. “It’s good to see you, Jonathan.”
Jonathan. Elaine’s middle child. Veronica was working as a mother’s helper for the Paul Byer family, and Rhoda was under the impression that Veronica had been living there. But now she was moving in with her grandparents. Had she left her job?
Interesting that Veronica moved right after Miriam came home from Berks County. There were a lot of changes going on in Elaine’s family.
Hiram nudged Rhoda and whispered, “We should get going too.” He stood and in a normal voice repeated what he’d just said to her.
Rhoda wasn’t ready to go, but she stood anyway.
Then she remembered the letter in her apron pocket.
Elaine definitely needed to be part of the prayer letter.
She pulled it out and extended it toward her friend.
“We’re doing a circle letter. Becky came up with the idea at our last meeting—the one you missed. It’s all explained in the letter.”
“Oh.” Elaine seemed surprised as she took the letter. “Denki.”
Joanna stepped toward the door with a puzzled expression directed toward Lu. Had Lu told Joanna about the circle letter?
Flustered, Rhoda said, “Elaine is part of our group.”
Lu smiled in her warm way. “Jah, of course she is.”
Rhoda wasn’t going to exclude Elaine just because Becky thought she might gossip about Adam.
Their way was to include everyone. But maybe they’d excluded Rhoda at different times too for whatever reason.
Maybe Becky, who adored Joanna, had figured out how unengaged Rhoda had been in Joanna’s life.
Maybe Lu had figured out how critical Rhoda had always been of Suzanna. Rhoda’s face grew warm.
Becky and Lu had always been the decision makers for their group when they were young. Apparently nothing had changed. They were old now—there was no reason for Becky and Lu to still be in charge.