Chapter 10 #2
“I’m glad, because we love having you.” Luellen picked up a brownie and took a bite. “You know, Emma, these turned out quite well. This brownie is moist and flavorful, just as it should be.”
“Danki. I’m glad it’s at least edible.” Emma grabbed one and bit a piece off. “Yum … This isn’t half bad.”
“It’s not bad at all,” Luellen said. “And you know what, Emma?”
Emma shook her head.
“If you can bake a batch of brownies that tastes this good, then I can’t help but believe you will soon be making all kinds of tasty treats and even good-tasting full-fledged meals.”
“I—I hope so, but success with those quick and easy brownies could be a one-time thing for me. The next thing I make might turn into a disaster.”
“You must have positive thoughts, Emma dear, and always keep trying.” Luellen reached over and patted Emma’s knee. “It’s never good to give up.”
Emma nodded. “I know, Grandma, and I will keep trying.”
Shipshewana
Dianna stood at the kitchen counter, looking through some of her favorite recipes. Today had been so hot and humid, and she needed to fix something for supper that wouldn’t heat up the kitchen.
After finally deciding on a fresh fruit salad to go with meat and cheese slices for sandwiches, Dianna poured herself a glass of lemonade and took a seat at the table to look through today’s mail.
She’d hoped to find a letter from Emma, or even a postcard, but all there was were several catalogs and a few bills.
Dianna released a deep sigh. “Sure wish I’d hear something from Emma,” she murmured.
“Who are you talking to, Mom?”
Dianna swiveled her head to the right. “Oh, Rachel, I didn’t hear you come in. How was work today? Did everything go okay?”
“About the same as usual.” Rachel sat in a chair across from Dianna and hunched forward with both elbows on the table. After a few seconds of sitting in that position, she began stroking her forehead.
“Do you have a koppweh?” Dianna questioned.
Rachel pulled her hands away and gave a slow shake of her head. “I don’t have a headache. I’m just tired and worried.”
“About what?”
“David hasn’t asked me to go with him to the young people’s singing this Sunday.” She drew in some air and blew it out quickly. “I have this horrible feeling that he’s planning to go with someone else.”
“Oh, Rachel, no—you must not think such a thought. As long as you and David have been going out, I’m almost certain that he wouldn’t get involved with anyone else.”
“I want to believe that, Mom, I really do. But remember, I did see him talking to my friend Alice at the last singing, and …” Rachel’s chin trembled as tears filled her eyes.
“It hurts me to think that he would break things off with me after all this time, but I can’t shake the feeling that he doesn’t love me.
I mean, if he did, wouldn’t he have asked me to marry him by now?
” She paused a moment and drummed her knuckles on the tabletop.
“I’m not getting any younger, Mom. I bet most people already see me as an old maad.
” She sniffed. “At the rate things are going, Emma will be married long before me. If I get married at all, that is.”
“You’re not an old maid, Rachel. And as far as your sister goes, Emma doesn’t even have a boyfriend, much less have been proposed to.”
“Maybe not now, but I’m sure it’s not in the distant future.” Rachel rose from her chair. “I really don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’m going upstairs to change my clothes, and then I’ll be back to help you with supper preparations.”
“Take all the time you want,” Dianna said. “I’m just planning on sandwiches and a fruit salad for supper this evening. It’s too hot to heat up the kitchen by turning on the stove.”
“Jah, okay. I’ll still help in any way I can when I return to the kitchen.”
Rachel hurried from the room.
Dianna sipped some of her lemonade and then set the glass down. I would very much like to see Emma happily married, but not before Rachel receives a proposal. This isn’t fair for my second-eldest daughter to have her relationship ruined by a man who can’t seem to commit to her.
Arthur
“The radishes should be ready to harvest from the garden very soon.”
Emma knelt beside her grandmother, sweeping her gaze over the rows of vegetable plants. “How can you tell? I mean, all you can see are the leaves poking out of the soil, so how do you know for sure when they’re ready to harvest?”
“With just that, Emma. The leaves. It’s likely that not much is occurring beneath the soil if there isn’t much growth above where they sprout from the ground.
Though, even when I did see leaves not long after I first started growing them, I wound up plucking them out of the ground when they weren’t ready.
Seeing the shoulder of the radishes emerge out of the soil is the best way to determine when to harvest them.
No shoulder means more time getting a dirt bath. ”
When the tranquil June air was disturbed by the distant rattle of buggy wheels, Emma rose up and turned to face the graveled path that led to the house.
Emma’s grandmother followed suit, wiping the filth of the earth onto her apron, and they wandered to the spot where Grandpa arrived near the hitching post. To Emma’s amazement, there was a puppy beside him.
She rushed over to the side of her grandfather’s rig and picked the dog up.
“Aren’t you the most adorable puppy ever?” Emma giggled as she cradled the pup in her arms. After she elicited a little bark, the dog licked the tip of Emma’s fingers.
“Marlin, where in the world did you find that hund?” Grandma asked, crossing her arms.
“I discovered the little critter by the side of the road, whimpering. At first, I thought the pup had been injured, but then after checking her over, I realized that the poor thing was just scared. I couldn’t leave her there and ride off, knowing she could get hit by a car or worse, so I brought the dog home. ”
Grandma wagged her finger at him and said, “Now, Marlin—really? Just what are we supposed to do with that hund? You know I don’t like dogs, much less a scraggly little puppy to care for. And you also know that I’ll be the one stuck caring for it, right?”
“Not just you.” Grandpa grinned from ear to ear. “You have Emma, and it looks like she’s already taken a liking to the pup.”
“That’s what I mean. Emma won’t be around our home forever, Marlin, and I doubt Dianna would appreciate her daughter taking a puppy back home with her at the end of the summer.”
Emma’s grandparents continued to bicker, while Emma peered down at the timid little baby.
Wondering what breed the pup was, she ran her fingers through the matted fur close to its teddy bear muzzle.
She was clearly not a purebred, but rather a cross between a terrier and something else Emma couldn’t discern.
Regardless, Emma acknowledged that having a puppy around would keep things interesting, and she looked forward to helping care for the cute pup.
Hopefully, the rightful owner of the dog wouldn’t show up.