Chapter 12
SUNDAY EVENING, SHORTLY BEFORE FOUR thirty, Emma entered the living room where her grandparents were settled in their favorite chairs.
Grandpa’s eyes were closed, so she figured he was snoozing, and Grandma was reading a book.
She looked up when Emma approached and tilted her head.
“I see you’re wearing a different dress than what you wore to church this morning, but it’s not the dress you made. ”
“I know, Grandma, but I wanted to wear this frack instead.” Emma touched the sides of her navy-blue dress.
“It shouldn’t matter what you wear, as long as you like it,” Grandpa spoke up from his chair across the room. Apparently, he hadn’t been sleeping at all. Either that, or Emma’s and Grandma’s voices had awakened him.
“You’re right, Marlin,” Grandma agreed. “I just thought … Oh, never mind.” She reached for Emma’s hand and gave it a tender squeeze. “I hope you have a good time at the singing.”
Emma smiled. “Danki, Grandma. I hope so too.”
Although she kept it to herself, Emma was a bit nervous about going, but she also enjoyed Ivan’s company and looked forward to spending the evening with him and his sisters.
Ivan guided his horse, King, up the driveway leading to the Herschbergers’ home and then over to the hitching rail.
Before getting out, he handed the reins to Jane and said, “After I secure King to the rail, I’ll go up to the house to get Emma.
When we come out to the buggy, would you mind getting in the back seat with Norma? ”
“How come?” she asked, eyeing him with a smirk.
Ivan’s cheeks warmed. “Um … so Emma can sit up front with me.”
Jane gave Ivan’s arm a poke. “I figured as much. Just wanted to hear you say it.”
“You like Emma, don’t you?” Norma questioned from the rear seat.
“It’s none of your business, but jah, I do. She’s nice, and we have a few things in common.”
“You gonna start courting her?”
Ivan looked over his shoulder at Norma. “I might, but you’d better not say anything to Emma about it.
” He turned face-front again and peered at Jane.
“That goes for you too. If I should decide to ask Emma if I can see her again, I don’t need either of you saying anything to her about it. Okay? Do I have your word?”
“Of course, Ivan. We would never say anything to Emma or anyone else. Right, Norma?” Jane glanced back at their sister.
“That’s correct,” Norma responded. “But we might be able to pave the way for you, Ivan. We can point out all your best qualities to Emma.”
Ivan rolled his eyes while shrugging his shoulders. “Please, don’t bother. If there’s any paving of the way, it’ll be done by me. Is that understood?”
“Of course, dear brother Ivan,” the girls said in unison. Then they both snickered.
Ivan got out and sidestepped a few mud puddles as he made his way to the house. He knew his sisters were just funning with him, and he wasn’t really worried about them saying anything out of line to Emma. Norma and Jane just enjoyed trying to get under his skin.
Once at the front door, Ivan gave three good knocks. He was pleased when the door opened and Emma greeted him with a welcoming smile. “I’m ready to go,” she said. “But would you like to come inside and say hello to my grandparents?”
He bobbed his head. “Good idea, Emma. I’d be pleased to do that.”
Ivan stepped in and followed Emma down the hall and into the living room. He shook Luellen’s hand first, then Marlin’s.
“Are your sisters with you?” Marlin asked.
“Jah, they’re waiting for us in my carriage.”
“That’s good.”
Is that a look of relief I see on Marlin’s face? Ivan wondered. Could he be worried about the possibility of me being alone with his granddaughter? I said I would bring Jane and Norma. Did he not believe me?
“So how are you coming with that clock of mine?” Marlin questioned.
“I’m glad you brought it up.” Ivan fanned his face with the brim of the hat he held in his hand. “The clock is running pretty well now, but so far I haven’t been able to get it to chime. If you’re not in a hurry to get it back, I’d like to keep working on it for a while.”
“Nope, I’m not in a hurry. Take all the time you need. If you can’t get the chimes working, though, I’ll understand.”
“I believe I can. It’s just a matter of spending a little more time on it.”
“Husband,” Luellen spoke up. “You are taking up these young folks’ time. I’m sure they would like to be on their way to the singing now.”
Marlin’s ears reddened. “Jah, of course. We can talk about the clock some other time.” He motioned to Emma, who stood off to one side with her arms folded. “You two go on now and have a good time.”
“Goodbye, Grandpa and Grandma,” Emma said. “I don’t know how long the singing will last, so if you two get tired feel free to head for bed. When I get home, I can let myself in.”
“Not a problem,” Luellen was quick to say. “I’m going to fix us a batch of popcorn and get out a board game to play, so I’m pretty sure we’ll be awake when you get here.”
“All right then, guess we’d best be on our way.” Ivan swiveled around and followed Emma out the door.
When they got to the buggy and Jane climbed down, Emma smiled and said hello. But after the brief hug they shared, Jane climbed into the back of the carriage. Emma glanced around, as if looking for answers.
“Our bruder wants you to sit up front by him,” Norma stated, leaning close to the open buggy door.
Emma blinked several times, and Ivan reached around to rub the back of his sweaty neck. He forced himself to meet Emma’s steady gaze and mumbled, “Figured we could talk to each other without shouting if you rode up front.”
“Guess you’re right about that.” Emma got into the left side of the carriage and took the passenger’s seat.
Ivan guided King down the driveway and out onto the road.
He was glad Emma had agreed to sit up front but wished Norma had not blurted out what she did.
Now Emma knew it was his idea for her to sit up front with him.
He couldn’t help wondering if she’d wanted that too.
As they headed down the road toward the home where the singing would take place, Ivan tried to make conversation with Emma, but one or the other of his sisters kept butting in with questions of their own to ask Emma.
Ivan was getting irritated and wished he could tell them to be quiet without being rude.
What was the point in asking Jane to sit in the back with Norma if they were going to take up all of his time with Emma?
Were they doing it on purpose to aggravate him, or could they be that interested in getting to know Emma better?
Ivan ground his teeth together as he held tight to the reins, making sure King didn’t do anything stupid. Normally he was a cooperative horse, but occasionally, King decided to do something unexpected, like take off on a gallop when Ivan wanted to keep him at a slower pace.
Sure wish Emma and I were alone in the buggy, Ivan thought with regret. Of course, I’m equally sure that her grandparents would object to that, since Emma and I are not officially courting and have only known each other a short time.
Ivan glanced over his shoulder at Norma, who seemed to be doing the most talking, hoping she would look at him and he could give some kind of signal to let her know that he didn’t appreciate her not giving him a chance to visit with Emma.
Norma didn’t glance his way, however. She kept jabbering on and on, talking about the weather and asking Emma about her siblings and what kind of things she liked to do for fun.
At this rate, I’ll never get the chance to say a single thing to Emma, and it’ll probably be just as bad on the way back to her grandparents’ house after the singing, Ivan fumed.
Jane, Norma, or both will most likely be jabbering like magpies about what they had enjoyed during the singing and asking Emma more questions that I had wanted to ask.
Attempting to focus on something positive, Ivan realized that even though he hadn’t been able to get a word in edgewise, through listening to the answers Emma was giving his sisters, he was learning some things about her that he hadn’t known before—like the fact that she had an older sister named Rachel, not married and still living at home, and three older brothers, Benjamin, Harvey, and Jacob, who were all married with children.
So Emma is the youngest child in her family, Ivan thought. I wonder how she feels about that. He was about to ask, when Jane chimed in with another question.
“How do you like it here in Illinois? Is it quite different from your home in Indiana?”
“Not too much. We live in the country, like you do, and it’s flatland, same as here,” Emma replied. She glanced over at Ivan and opened her mouth, like she might say something else, but Norma was ready with her next question.
“So how do you like quilting, Emma?”
“I’m fascinated with it,” she responded. “Someday, I hope to be able to make a really nice quilt for my bed at home.”
“Our mamm says you have a knack for it, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you succeed at quilting.
” Norma made a little grunting sound. “I think Mama was hoping either me or Jane would take an interest in quilting, but we both have other interests, so even though we’ve learned the basics, we’ve never done much with that knowledge. ”
“Norma’s right,” Jane interjected. “Quilting’s really not my thing, but maybe our younger sister, Bertha, might show an interest when she gets a little older. I think Mama would be real pleased about that.”
At this point, Ivan decided to give up on even trying to talk to Emma. He would wait, hoping he might have a better chance when they arrived at the singing. If that didn’t work, his last hope would be on the trip home. Maybe by then Jane and Norma would be all talked out.