SummerHill Secrets, Volume 2 (27 page)

“There,” Nancy said, stepping back to have a look at me. “Don’t you look perty…and Amish.”

I curtsied comically, and she laughed. Glancing around, I looked for Susie, the youngest Zook.

“If it’s Susie ya want, she’s kneading dough over there.” Nancy motioned for me to follow her to the long wooden table.

Little Susie, now seven but still quite petite, was squeezing and punching at a big mound of dough. “Come and take a poke, Merry,” she said, eyes sparkling.

I noticed her pretty blond hair, wound around her head in braids, and her long rose-colored dress and white smock-style apron. She was the cutest young Amish girl in all of Lancaster County!

I rolled up my sweater sleeves and folded Susie’s piece of dough over and over. “How am I doing?”

She giggled sweetly. “Ya must’ve remembered from last year.”

“Guess you’re right,” I said, looking up.

Across the enormous kitchen, Rachel was chattering in Pennsylvania Dutch. When she caught my eye, she waved at me, wiggling her fingers in midair.

“Have ya heard anything from Levi lately?” Susie asked.

I didn’t respond immediately, thinking what I should say about her big brother’s most recent letters. “He’s been writing me every now and then. You have to remember, your brother keeps very busy with his classes during the semester.”

She nodded. “I miss him around here. Wish he’d come home for
gut
.”

“I know you do.”

“Maybe if ya say you’ll marry him someday…maybe then he’ll come back to SummerHill and stay put.”

I had to chuckle. What she didn’t know was that no amount of pleading from me or anyone could bring Levi Zook back to SummerHill. He was right where he believed God wanted him to be—in Virginia, attending a Mennonite Bible college.

Besides, Levi and I had sort of come to an agreement about our friendship. That didn’t mean he wasn’t still “sweet” on me, as he would say, but we knew where we stood as far as dating. At sixteen, I was in no way ready to be thinking of settling on a steady boyfriend. Especially one who was bound and determined to be either a preacher or a missionary.

Sure, someday that could change if I received a “call” to be a minister’s wife. I was open to it. That is, if the Lord had something like that planned for my future. Still, I had all the time in the world—one of my mother’s all-time favorite expressions when it came to guys and romance. None of that kept me from answering Levi’s wonderful letters.

“When’s my brother coming home for a visit next?” Susie asked.

“He hasn’t said,” I replied. “Honestly, I think you’ll hear about that long before I do.”

I sighed, thankful that Rachel was heading our way in time to interrupt this awkward conversation.

She and her sisters and the other women began shaping the dough for frying, but nobody felt the need to stop talking. No, the chatter and the work seemed to flow effortlessly, as smooth and easy as the feel of the dough beneath my fingers.

In a matter of minutes, the deep-frying stage was complete. The youngest Zook girls were called on to create the creamy, rich frosting that would fill up the doughnut holes.

Susie and Ella Mae squealed with delight. They’d been given the honor of having the first taste test. I watched them smack their lips and lick their fingers.

“It’s Merry’s turn,” Susie said. The adorable little girl stood in the middle of the kitchen, waiting for me to have a sample.

“Oh, it melts in your mouth,” I said after my initial bite. And it did, literally. The deep-fried doughy treat and the gooey filling dissolved on my tongue.

Rachel came up behind me and whispered in my ear. “Still keeping our secret?”

“My lips are sealed,” I replied.

“Gut, then. If ya keep that secret, there’s another one forthcoming.”

I turned to face her. “About you-know-who?” I was referring to Joseph Lapp.

“No.” She shook her head. “I’ll tell ya later.”

Her eyes shone, not so much with excitement as with a hint of apprehension. About what, I had no idea.

I was still wondering about Rachel’s comment as I hurried home around noon, arms laden with a box of delicious homemade doughnuts. “You won’t believe how truly amazing these are,” I boasted to my mother.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” she said with a grin, opening the box lid.

I watched her munch on the first bite, her brown eyes popping. “What do you think?”

“Mm-m. Out of this world!”

“How’d we get them down here?” I teased, parroting one of the fun-loving phrases my father liked to say.

She went to rinse her sticky fingers at the sink while I placed the box of doughnuts on the kitchen counter. “Save some for Dad, okay?” I said.

“If we don’t, we’ll never hear the end of it,” Mom said with a twinkle in her eyes. She reminded me that Dad had already been informed of today’s Amish get-together. “He’ll be thinking ‘doughnut heaven’ all day long, most likely.”

“You’re right,” I said, pitying the poor emergency-room patients who might have to put up with his distraction.

Mom went to tend her African violets in the sunny corner of the kitchen. She pinched off an occasional leaf, commenting on the special plans I had for the afternoon and evening. “What time are your girl friends coming for the Valentine’s sleepover?” she asked.

“Around four. But don’t worry, we won’t need a meal or entertainment.”

“No supper?” She looked startled. “How can that possibly be?”

“Oh, we’ll eat later on, for sure. It’s just that Ashley and I have an agenda.”

“I see,” she said, without inquiring as to our plans.

Relieved, I picked up Lily White, my smallest cat, and carried her upstairs to my bedroom. As usual, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego followed on my heels.

“What have you been doing all morning, little boys?” I asked as the male cat trio made themselves at home on my bed.

Abednego had something to say. His eyes did the talking, and it seemed to me that he wasn’t one bit pleased. Disgruntled was more like it.

“Okay, okay, I confess I enjoyed myself over at the Zooks’ making doughnuts, but you know you’re not supposed to be eating fattening, icky sweet things. S’not good for your health.”

That didn’t cut it. Shadrach got up and went over, plopping himself down next to Abednego. As if to say,
We’re united on this sweets thing
.

“What can I say?” I shot back. “Cats as fat and sassy as you have to cut back somewhere.”

Nobody was listening. Especially not Abednego, the fattest of the group.

Lily White, petite and demure, seemed to agree with me, however. But that was par for the course—she was always taking my side when it came to ganging up on the masculine animals in the Hanson household.

“Okay, if that’s all there is to it, I’ve got work to do.” I told them about the sleepover. “There’ll be four young ladies here in this room tonight, so it will be a bit cramped with all of you hanging out. I want everyone on his best behavior. Hear?”

Abednego, the feistiest cat God ever made, closed his eyes slowly, deliberately.
We’ll see about that
, I could almost hear him say.

“Better get a grip on your attitude,” I shot back. To which he merely snoozed.

I set about cleaning my room, dusting and vacuuming. I wanted the floor especially spotless because we were going to roll out all of our sleeping bags so we could be together. It was time for the women of SummerHill to unite.

The English ones, that is. I honestly couldn’t see inviting the Zook girls over here. No chance they’d be allowed to come, anyway. Abe Zook was a very strict father, following Amish church rules to a tee.

Ashley Horton, our pastor’s daughter, and I had been planning this overnight event since right around New Year’s. Thank goodness Lissa Vyner and Chelsea Davis had agreed to come, too.

There was only one slight concern—Jonathan Klein—the reigning Alliteration Wizard. The boy I’d had a crush on forever and ever. He’d decided now that it didn’t really matter
who
he partnered with for his word games. Not anymore. So my idea to teach my girl friends how to speak alliteration-eze was a way to show him that our game didn’t matter much to me, either. Besides, I wouldn’t have to let Jon in on our secret plans. He’d find out soon enough….

Four o’clock, on the dot, the girls arrived.

“Listen to this,” Chelsea said as we settled in to my bedroom. “Like lions, lizards lick their lips.”

Ashley frowned. “Is that true? Do lizards have lips?”

All of us burst out laughing.

“That’s not the point,” I explained. “Chelsea just used mostly
l
words in her sentence. That’s what alliteration-eze is all about.”

Ashley nodded, her eyes wide with embarrassment. I could see that getting through to her might be a chore.

“Does Jon have any idea that we’re meeting like this?” Lissa asked. She’d perched herself on my bed, cross-legged as usual.

“I sure hope not,” I said. “But so what if he does?”

“Yeah, I’m with Mer,” said Ashley. “What’s it matter if he finds out?”

“He thinks he’s so good at his little word game,” Chelsea remarked. “Better than anyone around.”

The girls looked at me. “Maybe Merry’s the only marvelous mind,” said Chelsea.

“Hey, you’re getting the hang of it. Been practicing?” I asked.

She nodded. “My mother and I have been talking in alliterated sentences for fun around the house.”

I was thrilled to hear it. Chelsea’s mom was coming around, it seemed, and it was about time, too. She’d recently been through excruciating experiences after being brainwashed by a bunch of weirdos—a cult group, to be exact. The nightmare had left her disoriented and shattered emotionally and spiritually.

“Good,” I said. “Sounds like your mom’s having fun again.”

“Finally,” Chelsea said.

We settled down to the task at hand. I gave out index cards and sharpened pencils to each girl. “Let’s write ten words, either adjectives or nouns, using the first letter of your first name.” I glanced at my watch.

“No time limit, please,” Chelsea pleaded. “This isn’t school.”

Lissa nodded in agreement, her blond hair brushing against her chin. “You’ve been doing this lots longer than any of us, Mer,” she said softly. “We need time to catch up.”

I figured they’d need plenty of practice. Guess this sort of thing came easy to some and hard to others.

Abednego and his brothers nosed their way either into my lap or close by. Lily White snoozed high on my desk top.

Good
, I thought.
They’re on their best behavior
.

Watching the girls scribble down their word lists, I wondered if I was doing the right thing, letting them in on
my
thing with Jon. For the first time since Ashley and I had dreamed up this secret study session, I felt a twinge of regret. Was I really ready to kiss this game between Jon and me good-bye? Of course, he was the one who’d nudged that door open—to Ashley, at least.

Chelsea’s hand was in the air. “Oh…oh, teacher,” she joked. “I’m ready.”

I leaned back against the bed, pulling my knees up to my chin. “Read away.”

She glanced around almost sheepishly. “Here goes. ‘Charming, cheery, chief, chicken, chime, chop, cheese, church, chum, chasten.’ ”

“It’s genius,” I said.

Ashley was nodding her head, eyes wide with near terror. “I can’t do that…not so quickly.”

“Okay, just keep working,” I said, and we listened to Lissa’s list next.

“Do I have to?” she asked, almost in a whisper.

I leaned forward. “Only if you want to.”

She took in our circle of four. “Okay, but nobody laugh, promise?”

We promised, and she read, “ ‘Light, long, laugh, limit, lash, Lord, lavender, loss, lanky, life.’ ”

Everyone clapped. “Truly terrific,” I said.

She blushed pink. “Thank you.”

Just then Lily White rolled off my desk, landing—
ker-plop
. in Lissa’s lap.

“Oh!” she shouted.

Quickly, amidst loud giggling, I ran to rescue my too-relaxed kitty. “Say sorry,” I said in her ear.

Lissa grinned. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

“It’s the cat Mer’s worried about,” Chelsea joked.

I placed Lily White on my bed. “That’s not even close to being true,” I reprimanded Chelsea. All three of the girls giggled gleefully.

Now…for the biggest challenge. Ashley Horton’s word list. I was worried sick for her—about what she would or wouldn’t come up with.

“Are you ready?” I asked her.

“I’ll give it a shot.” She touched her hair, laughing nervously.

“I’ve got ‘ashen, azure, alphabet, amazing, animal, accordion…’ ”

She stopped.

“Good start,” I told her.

“That’s all for now,” she said, covering her index card with her hands.

I knew she was struggling. “Okay, the next thing we’ll do is create sentences out of the words on your list.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding,” Ashley said.

Chelsea, on the other hand, went right to work. Lissa thought for a moment and then began to write.

“I’ll help you,” I said, sliding over next to Ashley.

“Thanks,” she said, offering a smile. “You’re a lifesaver.”