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D AD LOWERED HIMSELF INTO AN overstuffed chair and folded his arms. Meanwhile Mom, with her mouth quivering slightly, took a seat in her rocker, while Alvin stood close by. Susan and Tena filled up the space on one end of the couch, and Rosa and Anthony sat together on the opposite end.

“Well, let’s have it,” Dad said, looking at Rosa with his nose scrunched up. “Where have you been all this time, and why haven’t you contacted any of us until now?”

Rosa cleared her throat and glanced around the room at each of the solemn faces looking at her. “Where’s Norman?” she questioned. “I would like for him to hear this too.”

“Your bruder and Salina’s wedding took place a few weeks ago, and they are currently living at her parents’ place until the home they have rented is ready for them to move into,” Mom was quick to say.

“Oh, I see. Well, I always figured they’d end up getting married.

” Rosa glanced at Anthony as he removed his leather jacket and laid it across his knees.

She wondered if he felt as uncomfortable as she did right now.

It would not be easy for her to divulge all the information her folks sought, but she had to begin somewhere, so she plunged ahead.

“As I’m sure you must know, I left a note in my room explaining why I had decided to leave home. ”

Dad shook his head vigorously, and Mom emitted a strangled-sounding squeak.

“You did find the note, didn’t you? I put it on my nightstand so it wouldn’t be missed.”

Mom looked at Rosa’s sisters. “Did either of you girls find a note in Rosa’s room?”

With solemn expressions, they both shook their heads.

Dad pointed to Alvin. “What about you, Son?”

“No, Dad.” Alvin lifted his chin. “I’d never go into Rosa’s room without her permission, and I don’t go in now that it’s Susan’s room either.”

So Susan did take over my room after I took off.

Rosa’s fingers clenched, and she winced when her nails bit into the flesh.

I wonder if she found the note and won’t own up to it.

If so, would Susan do such a thing? Rosa decided that the first time she had a chance to speak with Susan alone, she would get to the bottom of this.

In the meantime, she had some explaining of her own to do.

“So if there really was a note, what did it say?” Dad asked, pulling Rosa’s thoughts back to their discussion.

“It said that I couldn’t live here anymore because of all the pressure being placed upon me to join the church. I also stated that I wanted to explore some things in the English world and would let you know when I got settled somewhere.”

Dad’s face reddened, and he pointed a shaky finger at her. “Which you did not! In all the time you’ve been gone, we haven’t heard one single word from you!”

“I did call a couple of times and left messages, plus I sent a few postcards and letters, but no one ever responded. So I figured you did not want to hear anything from me.” Rosa’s voice quivered, and she felt a sense of comfort when Anthony took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

It seemed as though someone in this room was on her side.

Or at least she hoped he was. After Anthony’s reaction when she’d come clean with him about her true identity, Rosa couldn’t be sure of anything right now.

“As far as I know, there were no messages from you, Rosa.” Mom looked at the girls once more, with her head tilted slightly. “Did either of you discover any messages from your sister on our answering machine or in the mailbox?”

They both shook their heads again.

“Well, there you have it!” Dad shouted. “You’re lying, just like you have done often in the past.”

Rosa’s internal temperature rose. “No, Dad, I am telling you the truth. I really did leave a note, and I made those calls.” I can’t believe they never received my phone messages.

She glanced at Susan, who now sat with her head down.

Could Susan have heard those few messages I left on our folks’ answering machine to let them know I was okay, but then not told them about the calls?

If so, I would like to know why. I’ll add that to the list of questions to ask her.

Dad’s eyes seemed to bulge as he glared at Rosa.

“Do you have any idea how your disappearance has affected this family? We didn’t know if you were alive or dead, and at the risk of his relationship with Salina, Norman spent many hours trying to find you.

” His voice rose even higher. “And your poor mamm was so distraught and filled with grief that she became physically ill.”

Rosa blinked back the tears burning her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Mom. I had no idea you never received any of my messages or that you had taken ill. If there was some way I could make it up to you, I surely would.”

“It’s too late for that now,” Dad said without giving Mom a chance to respond. “What’s done is done, and there’s no going back.”

“I realize that, but—”

“There are no buts about it,” Dad cut Rosa off. “You messed up our lives and now you come waltzing back in here like nothing ever happened at all.”

“That’s not true, Mr. Petersheim,” Anthony spoke up. “Eileen—I mean, Rosa—wanted to see her family.”

Once more, Rosa appreciated her friend Anthony’s support.

Dad grunted like a grizzly bear as he folded his arms. “Well, she’s seen us now so she can move on with whatever life she has created without us.”

Mom practically jumped out of her chair and hurried over to Dad. “No, Mahlon. Rosa and her husband are welcome to stay here for as long as they want. There’s plenty of room for them in Rosa’s old room, and Susan can move across the hall with Tena again.”

“But Mom, that’s not fair,” Susan argued. “After Rosa disappeared, you said I could have her room.”

“I also stated that if Rosa came back, that room would be hers again, so please go upstairs and change the sheets on the bed and remove your clothes and personal items. Then after we’ve all had supper, Rosa and Anthony can bring their things inside and get settled in.”

Susan’s lips curled as she plucked at her apron band, but she gave no argument and ended up stomping out of the room like a sullen child.

Rosa also stood and said to her mother, “I’d be happy to help you get supper going.”

“Susan and I have the meal in the oven,” Tena said, “but you can help Alvin by setting the table.”

“Sure, no problem.” Rosa followed her mother, sister, and young brother out of the room. She hoped Anthony would be okay staying alone with her father.

The icy stare he’d received from Rosa’s father since she, along with her mother and younger sister and brother, had left the room was enough to freeze a tray of water in less than a minute.

“What do you do for a living, Mr. Petersheim?” Anthony asked, hoping to break the ice and get a nice conversation going.

Mahlon sat several seconds before opening his mouth to speak. “I own the Meat and Cheese Store here in Belleville. My son Norman and daughter Susan work there with me.” He reached around and rubbed the back of his neck. “Rosa used to be an employee before she went missing.”

Anthony’s lips compressed. Hmm … one more thing Miss Rosa never told me about.

I wonder how much more there is that I don’t know concerning her past. Maybe it doesn’t matter.

Once my two weeks’ vacation is over, and Rosa and I have had our separation blowup, I’ll be heading back to Mom and Pop’s restaurant in New York.

Then I can put all thoughts of Rosa Petersheim to rest and move on with my life.

“So what kind of work do you do?”

Mahlon’s question pushed Anthony’s contemplations to the back of his mind.

“I’m a chef at my parents’ Italian restaurant in New York City.” At least I cook until Pop decides I need to do something else. Anthony saw no reason to voice his most recent thoughts.

“So your parents are Italian?”

“Only Mom. My dad has a British heritage, but he likes Italian food real well, and my mother’s a great cook, which might be why he married her.

” Anthony chuckled, hoping to bring some lightheartedness into the room.

It didn’t work. Rosa’s father sat slouched in his chair with his eyelids half closed.

Surely there had to be some topic they could find to talk easily about.

Anthony perused the sparsely decorated room.

With the exception of the couch, chairs, two small end tables, fireplace, and gas lamps overhead, there wasn’t much to look at.

The wooden floors were bare, without even any throw rugs covering them, and there wasn’t a single picture on the wall.

Anthony didn’t know much about Amish rules, other than what he’d heard on a few reality shows that he figured were probably not all that accurate.

He was full of questions and wanted to ask about several things, but he didn’t want his curiosity to be seen as prying into someone’s life that was none of his business.

Even so, he needed to find something to talk about until they were called to the supper table.

If Anthony had been a praying man, he would have sought guidance. Instead, he threaded his fingers through the front of his thick, curly hair and blurted, “How many horses do you have?”

Mahlon’s eyes opened fully, and he muttered, “With the exception of Alvin, everyone in this family has their own horse.”

“Did Rosa have one when she lived here?”

“Of course, and her mare is still with us.” He looked toward the ceiling with a shake of his head.

“My wife, Elsie, insisted that we keep the horse in case Rosa ever returned. Rosa’s sisters took turns using the mare, but it’s doubtful that Rosa will ever really take possession of the horse again.

” He flapped a hand. “I mean, she’d look pretty silly drivin’ a horse and buggy wearing jeans and a sweatshirt.

Besides, you have a car, so what use would Rosa have for our slow mode of transportation? ”

Anthony wondered what Rosa’s dad would have to say if he knew about their plan to split up in a couple of weeks.

Would it give Mahlon some hope that his wayward daughter might return to the Amish way of life and join the church?

If Rosa was planning to stay with her parents and expected them to help her raise the baby, wouldn’t it make sense that she would become a church member and dress in Amish clothes, accordingly?

Anthony felt relief when Rosa’s mother came into the living room and announced that supper was on the table. She also stated that Susan had come downstairs and Rosa’s room was now ready for Anthony and Rosa to occupy the space.

Anthony said, “Thank you,” got up, and followed Rosa’s father out of the room. He could hardly wait to see how the conversation around the table would go as he shared a meal with this Amish family.

Susan took her seat at the table next to Tena and closed her eyes for silent prayer.

She had quit praying after her boyfriend, Ben Ebersol, went to prison for setting fire to several barns in the area.

Susan had known Ben was on the wild side, and she’d been attracted to his good looks and carefree personality.

If she had known from the beginning of their relationship that he would be capable of destroying someone’s property and animals and nearly causing Ephraim Peight to perish in a fire, Susan would have broken things off with Ben and never allowed herself to fall in love with him.

And now, she just went through the motions of praying to keep up appearances where her dad was concerned.

Nothing ever works out well for me, Susan thought bitterly as she waited for Dad to signal, by the rustle of silverware, that his prayer was over.

Rosa has always been Mom’s favorite daughter, and now she’s back with a good-looking husband and a baby on the way, and I have nothing, not even her old room anymore.

It’s not fair that I’m stuck sharing a bedroom with Tena again.

I wish Rosa had never come back so Mom would still depend on me.

Susan’s eyes snapped open when she heard Dad clear his throat.

If he’d rustled his silverware, she must not have heard the familiar sound.

Now she had to force herself to eat the meat loaf she and Tena had prepared, as if nothing was wrong and her appetite was hearty, which was anything but the truth.

From his place at the head of the table, Dad began dishing up from the platter and bowls closest to him and passing them along to Mom, who sat to his left.

“Everything sure smells and looks delicious,” Anthony commented when the meat loaf had been handed to him.

“My husband is a chef,” Rosa said, “so he appreciates good food.”

The sappy look on her sister’s face was enough to make Susan’s stomach churn.

Is she really as happy as she looks, or is Rosa merely putting on an act for Mom and Dad’s sake?

Maybe she and Anthony have no place else to go, and she wants to make a good impression so Dad won’t kick them out of our house.

Susan dished up a few peas and rolled them around on her plate.

One small slice of meat loaf and a blob of potatoes filled out what Susan thought was all she could manage to get down.

She hoped that no one would notice or comment about it.

Everyone except for Dad seemed to enjoy asking Anthony about his job as a cook and questioning him, as well as Rosa, concerning what it was like to live in New York.

Susan wished she could take off for someplace like that, or even the big city of Philadelphia—anywhere but here.

Maybe someday, when I have enough money saved up, I’ll leave Mifflin County and start a new life somewhere else, like Rosa did.

Only, I would not look back once, and I sure wouldn’t return home and expect my Amish family, who don’t care about me anyway, to take me in.