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A LVIN HAD BEEN HOME FROM the hospital for three days, and Elsie was having a hard time keeping him down.

The head injury had been a little worse than previously thought, so the doctor had sent explicit discharge orders that Alvin should stay home from school until he returned to the hospital for further testing in two weeks.

Elsie had sent Tena to the schoolhouse to fetch whatever assignments Alvin would be expected to do, as she didn’t want him to get behind.

It was hard to keep the boy from becoming bored, however, because other than his arm hurting, Alvin said he felt fine.

But he wasn’t fine yet, and the fact that the doctor wanted them to bring Alvin back in two weeks for more tests was proof of that.

“I won’t worry, Lord. I’ll trust,” Elsie murmured as she moved about the living room, washing the windows that faced their front yard.

Today was another snowy day, and even though the snowflakes looked like delicate crystals dropping from the sky, she felt no joy in watching them.

Elsie was eager for sunshine, blue skies, and warm spring days, when the trees and flowers would awaken from their winter sleep.

She yearned to be on her knees in the garden again, turning over the dirt and planting seeds.

What happiness it always brought when new shoots started popping through the soil, with the hope of becoming a strong, healthy plant.

The sense of satisfaction that toiling in the garden brought to Elsie was beyond description.

While others might have seen it as backbreaking, dirty labor, gardening brought her great pleasure.

Elsie leaned closer to the window she’d finished cleaning and craned her neck to gain a partial view of her spacious vegetable garden plot.

Caring for it involved a lot of work, but she looked forward to the abundance of produce it would eventually bring.

Hours of canning and freezing done in her kitchen during the summer months would be worth every hour spent when winter came again and the family could enjoy the fruits of Elsie’s and her daughters’ labor.

Elsie thought about Rosa and how she planned to have her baby here at home, with the help of the midwife Ida who lived a ways down the road.

The middle-aged woman had come by a few times to see Rosa, and Elsie was glad that her daughter felt comfortable with the idea of having the baby here, rather than in a hospital.

Elsie’s musings came to a halt when Alvin approached, touching her elbow with his good arm. “I’m hungerich, Mom. Will you have lunch ready for me to eat soon?”

“Tena and Rosa are in the kitchen, Son. They offered to fix the noon meal without my help today, so I could get the windows done.”

He pointed at one glass pane and then the other. “They both look pretty clean to me.”

“That’s true, because I just finished washing them, but I have more windows to do yet in some of the other downstairs rooms.”

Alvin looked up at her and said, “I’d help ya, but I can’t do much with my broken aarem .”

She patted his shoulder. “I know, and I don’t expect you to do any work. There will be plenty of chores for you to do once your arm and head injury have healed.”

“I hate bein’ laid up right now. I’m bored, and I’d rather be in school or out playin’ in the schnee. “ His youthful facial features sagged.

“As you may recall, Alvin, it was playing in the snow that sent you to the hospital.”

He bobbed his head. “I know, but I wasn’t playing, Mom. I was ridin’ on a sled.”

“Same difference.” Elsie gestured to the kitchen door. “Now why don’t you go see if your sisters have lunch ready?”

“Okay, Mom. I’ll make sure they save you something to eat, ‘cause I’m sure you’ll be plenty hungerich by the time you’re done with the windows.”

“Jah, I’m sure that’s true.” Elsie smiled as she watched Alvin exit the room. He was a thoughtful boy, and someday she hoped he would grow up to be an equally considerate man.

New York City

Anthony unlocked the door to his apartment and was about to step inside when a familiar voice called out to him. He turned and saw the tall, shapely blond who lived a few doors down from him heading his way. He shifted the grocery sack he held into the other hand and waited for her.

“It’s nice to see you again, Anthony.” She batted the long lashes above her sky-blue eyes and smiled.

“I haven’t seen you around for some time.

A few days ago, I stopped by the Italian restaurant where you work as a cook, and the woman who waited on me said you had taken an extended vacation. Is that true?”

“Yeah, Cindy, it was something like that. Oh, and to set the record straight, I don’t work at that restaurant anymore. The owner of the place—who happens to be my father—fired me and hired someone to take my position.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep.”

“What made him do that? I mean, if you were on vacation, he had to know you’d be coming back.”

Anthony didn’t feel like going into detail about the length of his so-called vacation. So he replied with a shrug, “Guess things were busy, and my dad couldn’t wait for me to get back.” Anthony entered his apartment and was surprised when Cindy followed.

“Even so, I would think your dad would give your job back to you and let the other guy he hired go.” Cindy joined Anthony in the kitchen, where he placed the sack on the counter near the sink.

“Yeah, that’s what I figured too, but I’ve been known to be wrong, especially where my dad is concerned.”

“What are you going to do now, Anthony? Will you look for another chef’s position?”

“Yeah, and I found one this morning.” He pulled a few canned items from the bag. “Well, it’s not actually a chef’s position, but I will be cooking.”

“What’s the name of the restaurant where you’ve been hired?”

“It’s that fast food place on the corner of Thirteenth and Main.”

Cindy’s pale eyebrows shot up. “That’s a big step down from the kind of cooking you’re used to doing, wouldn’t you say?”

“True, but it’s better than no job at all.” Anthony deliberately avoided looking at her as he unloaded his groceries. He hoped Cindy would take the hint and head on back to her own apartment or wherever she’d been going to when she spotted him.

“Are you low on money? Is that why you took a job beneath your abilities? If so, maybe I could give you a loan.”

“No, I’m fine. I accepted the job offer so I’d have something to do.

” Something other than think about Rosa and how much I miss her.

Anthony kept that thought to himself. Cindy didn’t know anything about Rosa, and he planned to keep it that way.

He’d been on a few dates with the attractive blond, but he didn’t know her well enough to share the story about how he’d gone to the Big Valley with a waitress who had worked at his folks’ restaurant and posed as her husband.

Now wouldn’t that make a juicy piece of gossip to get going around the apartment complex, and who knows where else it could spread?

Anthony glanced at his watch then back at Cindy. “I’d like to chat more,” he said, “but I have a ton of things to get done before the day is over.” He gestured to the grocery items sitting on the counter. “Including figuring out what I’m going to have for supper.”

“I can solve that problem for you,” she said, moving closer to him.

“Why don’t you come over to my place for the evening?

I’ll fix you a nice big juicy steak with some baked potatoes and a tossed green salad.

I’ll even serve some spumoni ice cream, if you’re hungry enough to eat dessert after the meal. ”

Anthony’s mouth watered at the mention of steak, and spumoni was one of his favorite ice cream flavors.

But he wasn’t in the mood for idle chitchat this evening, much less with a young woman whose interest in him seemed to go further than simply being apartment neighbors.

The last thing Anthony needed was a romantic involvement with any woman right now.

“I appreciate the offer, Cindy,” he stated, choosing his words carefully. “But as I said, I have a lot I need to do here this evening, so can I take a rain check?”

Her mouth opened slightly as she lowered her head a bit. “Sure. We’ll get together another time. Just let me know when you’re not so busy.” Cindy turned and rushed out the door before Anthony could say anything more.

“Whew!” he exclaimed as a feeling of relief rushed over him. “I’m just not up to spending a few hours this evening with Cindy Duncan … or anyone else, for that matter.”

Anthony pulled out a package of noodles and was about to put a kettle of water on the stove when his cell phone rang.

He clasped his hands under his chin in a prayerlike gesture, although he didn’t know why, because he wasn’t a praying man.

Maybe it’s Rosa, calling to give me an update on how she’s doing.

He eagerly pulled the phone out of his pocket, but when he saw his mother was calling, he let it go to voicemail.

Anthony was in no mood for another pep talk from Mom, and he wasn’t ready to tell her that he’d found a job cooking at a fast food restaurant either.

The only person he wanted to speak with was Rosa, but unless she was, by some chance, sitting in the phone shed right now, it wasn’t going to happen.

Guess I could call anyhow and leave a message for Rosa, asking her to give me a call. It would sure be nice to hear her voice.

Anthony punched in the Petersheims’ number, and when their voicemail came on, he left a message asking Rosa to give him a call.

He figured she probably wouldn’t get the message until sometime later today or maybe not even until tomorrow morning.

Either way, at least she would know that he was thinking of her and hopefully would call him back.

Anthony felt sure that even a few minutes of talking to Rosa would make him feel better, and maybe she might enjoy visiting with him too.

Belleville

When their driver dropped Susan and her father off from work that afternoon, while Dad went to the barn to check on the horses, Susan headed straight for the phone shed to see if there were any important messages.

Upon entering the frigid shack and seeing the light blinking on the answering machine, she discovered a message for Rosa from Anthony, which she promptly deleted.

“That guy left here after pretending to be someone he wasn’t, for goodness’ sake! Why is he bothering to keep in touch with my sister now?”

Then another idea hit Susan like a bolt of lightning. Maybe Anthony’s developed feelings for Rosa. He might even believe that he’s in love with her. Well, if he is, that’s just too bad. Rosa left home once, and it could have cost our mother her life. My sister doesn’t deserve to be happy.

Susan remained stiffly in place on the cold wooden chair, pondering things a few minutes, until tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

Why does everyone love Rosa, and no one care about me?

If Ben had truly loved me the way he’d said he did, he wouldn’t have done something so horrible that it sent him to prison.

Now we can never be together, and even if it were possible, I wouldn’t want to be with someone like him, who I could never trust.

After what Ben had pulled, by burning down numerous barns in Mifflin County, Susan didn’t think she could ever trust another man not to betray her.

Of course, no one has shown an interest in me since Ben left , Susan reminded herself.

So I guess I have nothing to worry about.

I just wish I could come up with some way to make my life more fulfilling, because I’m bored out of my mind and can’t imagine any kind of a happy future.

I will certainly never get married or have children.

At least Rosa has the birth of her baby to look forward to.

I, on the other hand, have no hope of becoming a mother.

Tears coursed down Susan’s cheeks and dripped onto her woolen jacket. Maybe I should start reading the Bible on my own and stop tuning out the verses Dad reads to us after breakfast every morning. Who knows? Maybe I’ll find some answers from God’s Word.

Rosa woke up the following morning, and when she pulled her covers aside, she was shocked to discover several blood spots in her bed. She rushed out of the room, hollering, “Mom, I need you right now. Please hurry, and come schnell !”

“What is it, Rosa?” Mom questioned after hurrying up the stairs.

On the brink of tears, Rosa heard her voice tremble as she exclaimed, “Mom, I’m bleeding, and I’m afraid I may lose the baby.”

Mom gasped, and she covered her mouth with one hand. “Let’s get you back to bed and off your feet, and I’ll send your daed out to call for a driver. We need to get you to the hospital right away!”

Rosa quivered as she made her way back to her room and crawled into bed. Heavenly Father , she prayed fervently, please don’t let me lose this baby.