the STRUGGLE (11 page)

“Maybe I should ask her to have a little talk with Lucy and Jean. They might be more inclined to listen to their aunt than they are to me.”

“I know what you mean. Someone else usually has a better chance of getting through to our kinner than we do ourselves. And that doesn’t change, even when they’re grown with families of their own.” Fannie motioned to the variety of vegetables on the table. “Would you like me to make a salad from those?”

“I’d appreciate that.” Leona placed the cut-up potatoes in a kettle of water and set it on the stove. “Now that I’ve finished that chore, I can help you cut up the vegetables. Have you heard anything from Timothy lately? I was wondering what he and Hannah will be doing for Thanksgiving.”

“I talked to him a few days ago,” Fannie replied, reaching for a head of lettuce. “He said they’d be having dinner at Titus and Suzanne’s place today.”

“Who else will be there?”

“Samuel and his kinner and Esther, as well as Suzanne’s mother, grandfather, brothers, and sisters.”

“None of Suzanne’s siblings are married yet, right?”

Fannie shook her head. “Nelson’s the oldest, and from what Titus has said, Nelson used to court a young woman from their community, but they broke up some time ago because they weren’t compatible.”

Leona reached for a tomato and cubed it into several small pieces. “If he was thinking about marriage at all, then it’s good that he realized before it was too late that she wasn’t the right girl for him.”

Fannie sighed deeply. “I worry about Timothy, because I don’t think he and Hannah are compatible. They’ve struggled in their marriage almost from the beginning.”

“A lot of that has to do with Hannah’s mamm, don’t you think?”

“I’m afraid so. Sally King is a very possessive woman, and she’s clung to Hannah ever since she was born. Hannah’s always turned to her mamm when she should’ve been turning to her husband.”

“Moving to Kentucky has put some distance between mother and daughter, so maybe things will improve for Hannah and Timothy with Sally out of the picture.”

“I certainly hope so.” Fannie stopped talking long enough to shred some purple cabbage. “I saw Sally at the health food store the other day, and she was really depressed because Johnny said they couldn’t go to Kentucky for Thanksgiving.”

“Did he give a reason?”

“Said he thought it was too soon—that they needed to give Hannah and Timothy some time to adjust to their new surroundings before making a trip there.”

“Did Sally accept his decision?” Leona asked.

“I guess so. She said they’d be having Thanksgiving at one of their son’s homes, but I could see that she was pining for Hannah.”

Leona reached for a stalk of celery. “I hope I never interfere in my girls’ lives once they get married. I wouldn’t want my future son-in-law to move away because he felt that I was coming between him and his wife.”

Fannie shook her head. “I doubt that would ever happen, Leona. You and Zach are raising your kinner well, and you’re not clingy with them the way Sally is to Hannah.”

Leona smiled. “Danki. I appreciate hearing that.”

The sounds of horses’ hooves and buggy wheels crunching on the gravel interrupted their conversation.

“Looks like more of the family has arrived,” Leona said, looking out the window. “I see Naomi and Caleb’s buggy pulling in, and behind them is Nancy and Mark’s rig.”

Fannie smiled. It would be good to spend the holiday with some of their family. The only thing that would make it any better would be if Samuel, Titus, Timothy, and their families could join them.

Maybe next year we can all be together
, she thought.
And when Esther and Samuel get married, I’m sure most of us will go for the wedding, so that’s something to look forward to
.

Pembroke, Kentucky

“If everything tastes as good as it smells, I think we’re in for a real treat,” Timothy said as he and the rest of the family gathered around the two tables that had been set up in Suzanne and Titus’s living room. Even though their double-wide manufactured home was short on space, Suzanne had wanted to host the meal, and it was kind of cozy being together in such a crowded room. Fortunately, it was a crisp but sunny fall day, and the kids could go outside to play after the meal. That would leave enough room for the adults to sit around visiting or playing board games.

“You’re right about everything smelling good,” Titus said. “I think the women who prepared all this food should be thanked in advance.”

All the men bobbed their heads in agreement.

“And now, let us thank the Lord for this food so we can eat,” Suzanne’s grandfather said.

The room became quiet as everyone bowed their heads for silent prayer. Timothy recited the Lord’s Prayer; then he thanked God for the meal they were about to eat and for all his family in Kentucky, as well as in Pennsylvania.

When the prayers were finished and all of the food had been passed, everyone dug in.

“Yum. This turkey is so moist and flavorful,” Suzanne’s mother, Verna, said. She smiled at Esther. “You did a good job teaching my daughter to cook, and we all thank you for it.”

Suzanne’s cheeks colored, and Titus chuckled as he nudged her arm. “That’s right, and my fraa feeds me so well I have to work twice as hard in the woodshop to keep from getting fat.”

Everyone laughed—everyone but Hannah. She sat staring at the food on her plate with a placid look on her face. Timothy was tempted to say something to her but decided it would be best not to draw attention to his wife’s sullen mood. No doubt she was upset that her folks didn’t come for Thanksgiving, but she should have put on a happy face today, if only for the sake of appearances. It embarrassed Timothy to have Hannah pouting so much of the time. Just when he thought she might begin to adjust, something would happen, and she’d be fretful again. He worried that some people might think he wasn’t a good husband because he couldn’t make his wife happy. Well, it wasn’t because he hadn’t tried, but nothing he did ever seemed to be good enough for Hannah. He worried that it never would. What if he’d made a mistake forcing her to move? What if she never adjusted to living in Kentucky and remained angry and out of sorts? Was moving back to Pennsylvania the only way to make his wife happy?

But if we did that, we’d be right back where we were before we left. Hannah would be over at her mamm’s all the time, and I’d be fending for myself. If we could just find a place of our own, maybe that would make a difference. Hannah might be happier if we weren’t living at Samuel’s, and if we weren’t taking up space in Samuel’s house, he and Esther could get married and start a life of their own
.

“Hey, brother, did ya hear what I said?”

Timothy jumped at the sound of Titus’s voice. “Huh? What was that?”

“I asked you to pass me the gravy.”

“Oh, sure.” Timothy took a little gravy for himself and then handed it over to Titus.

“I thought about inviting Bonnie to join us for dinner,” Suzanne spoke up, “but Esther said Bonnie had invited Allen to eat at her place today.”

“Allen could have joined us here, too,” Titus said. “He knows he’s always welcome in our home.”

Samuel cleared his throat. “Well, I probably shouldn’t be broadcasting this, but I happen to know that Allen had plans to propose to Bonnie today.”

“Oh, that’s wunderbaar,” Esther said. “I can hardly wait until I see Bonnie tomorrow morning and find out what she said.”

“She’ll say yes, of course.” Titus grinned. “I mean, why wouldn’t she want to marry a nice guy like Allen?”

“Speaking of Allen,” Samuel said, looking at Timothy, “did he say anything to you about the house that’s for sale over in Trigg County, near Cadiz?”

Timothy shook his head. “What house is that?”

“It’s a small one, but I think it could be added on to. Allen went over to look at it the other day because the owners were thinking of remodeling the kitchen before they put it up for sale, and they wanted him to give them a bid.”

Timothy looked at Hannah. “What do you think? Should we talk to Allen about this and see if he can arrange for us to look at the place?”

Hannah shrugged, although he did notice a glimmer of interest in her eyes. Maybe this was God’s answer to his prayers. While he wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of living thirty-seven miles from his brothers, he was anxious for them to find a place they could call home.

“All right, then,” Timothy said. “Tomorrow morning I’ll talk to Allen about showing us the house.”

Hannah said nothing, but she did pick up her fork and eat a piece of meat, and that made Timothy feel much better about the day.

C
HAPTER
14

E
sther woke up early on Friday morning and hurried to get dressed so she could get up to the main house and speak to Bonnie. She found her friend sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea.

“I wasn’t sure if I’d see you this morning,” Bonnie said, looking up at Esther. “Since I don’t have any guests checking into the B&B until tomorrow, I figured I wouldn’t see you until this evening.”

“I wanted to find out how your Thanksgiving dinner with Allen went.”

Bonnie smiled. “It was nice. At least I didn’t burn anything.”

“I didn’t think you would. You’ve gotten pretty efficient in the kitchen.”

“Yes, but I’ll probably never be as good a cook as you.” Bonnie’s face sobered. “The pumpkin pie I made got ruined.”

“Oh no! What happened?”

“Cody was outside barking, and when Allen opened the door to see what the dog was yapping about, Cody came running in.” Bonnie chuckled. “After that, it was like watching a comedy act. I tripped, the pie went flying, and the can of whipped cream rolled across the room and landed at Allen’s feet. Afterward, we just stood there, laughing like fools. Fortunately, I’d also made an apple pie, or we wouldn’t have had any dessert at all.”

“Oh my. I can almost picture it.” Esther laughed. “That sounds terrible and funny at the same time.”

Bonnie nodded. “But the day ended on a good note, because Allen asked me to marry him.”

Esther clapped her hands. “Oh, that’s such good news. I hope you said yes.”

Bonnie shook her head. “I told him I needed to think about it for a few weeks.”

“What’s there to think about? You love Allen, and he loves you. I think you’ll be very happy together.”

“I still haven’t told him about my past, and I’m not sure I can do it.”

“Of course you can. Allen’s a good man; he’ll understand.”

“Maybe, but I’m afraid to take the chance.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m not sure. I told Allen I’d have an answer for him by Christmas Eve, so if I’m going to tell him about the baby I adopted out when I was a teenager, I’ll need to do it before I agree to marry him.” She groaned. “It wouldn’t be right to wait until after we’re married and then spring the truth on him.”

“No, and it wouldn’t be right to keep the truth from him indefinitely either.”

“Guess I need to pray a little more about this and ask the Lord to give me the courage to tell Allen the truth,” Bonnie said, while warming her hands on the teacup.

Esther smiled. “I’ll be praying for you, too.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.” Bonnie motioned to the teapot. “I don’t know where my manners are. Would you like to have a cup of tea?”

“That sounds nice. Since we don’t have to do any baking this morning, there’s plenty of time for me to sit and visit awhile.”

“How was your Thanksgiving?” Bonnie asked after Esther had poured herself a cup of tea and taken a seat.

“The food was delicious.” Esther frowned. “But Hannah was in a sullen mood most of the day, and that made us all a bit uncomfortable.”

“I’m not surprised,” Bonnie said. “With this being the first holiday she’s spent away from her family, she probably felt sad.”

“I suppose so, but I dread going over to Samuel’s today, because Hannah might still be in a bad mood. I realize that she misses her family in Pennsylvania, but I wonder if the family she has right here will ever be good enough for her.”

“I’m sure she’ll adjust eventually,” Bonnie said. “Time heals all wounds, and it will help if we all try to make her feel welcome. Right now I think what Hannah needs most is friends.”

Esther nodded. “That’s what I think, too, and I’ve been trying, but I don’t think Hannah likes me. Even though she seems to have accepted the idea of me coming over every day to watch Samuel’s children and cook supper every other evening, I think she still resents me. It’s like she’s turned this into some sort of competition or something.”

“Just give her a bit more time, Esther. Once Hannah gets to know you better, she’ll come to love you and treasure your friendship as much as I do.”

Esther forced a smile. “I hope you’re right, because if we’re going to be sisters-in-law, I wouldn’t want any hard feelings between us.”