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T HE FOLLOWING MORNING , A NTHONY AWOKE to the sound of a blaring rooster’s crow and a sore, stiff back. Every muscle in his body ached from having slept on the floor. The thin foam beneath his body had done little to offer comfort and give him a good night’s sleep.

He groaned, sat up, and glanced at the bed.

It was empty and appeared to have been neatly made, with the top end of the colorful quilt pulled perfectly over the pillow.

There was no sign of Rosa, and he figured she must either be in the bathroom or have gone downstairs.

Despite the uncomfortable makeshift bed he’d slept upon, Anthony assumed that he must have been so tired he’d slept through whatever noise Rosa had made when she’d gotten up, made the bed, and left the room.

He stood and stepped into his jeans. After opening the door, Anthony was greeted with the familiar aroma of coffee brewing.

Ahh … at least something in this house seemed familiar to him.

During his childhood years, Anthony recalled that the first thing his mother had done every morning was to get a pot of coffee going.

Pop always said that he couldn’t start his day without a kick start of caffeine.

Mom liked coffee too, but she never drank more than one cup each morning.

Anthony and his sisters had begun drinking coffee when they were teenagers, so Mom had increased the size of her coffeepot to accommodate the family.

Anthony pushed his thoughts aside and padded down the hall in his bare feet to the bathroom.

At least this old-fashioned home had running water with indoor plumbing.

He’d half expected he’d have to carry water in from outside and heat it on the stove to wash up, or worse, take a bath in some galvanized tub, like the ones he had seen in some of the old western films.

As Anthony stood at the bathroom sink washing his face, he thought about his motorcycle, sitting in the parking garage of the building where his one-bedroom apartment was located.

He had rented the place after moving out of his parents’ house a few years ago and paid a steep price for the two parking spaces he needed to accommodate both of his vehicles.

Without that, he would have stayed put at Mom and Pop’s place, where they could scrutinize everything he said or did.

Anthony pulled a comb through the thick curly hair that fell across his forehead.

He’d definitely been blessed with his mother’s full head of dark hair.

Pop, on the other hand, was nearly bald.

He claimed it was heredity, from his grandfather, but Anthony figured his father’s loss of hair might have more to do with the stress he put himself under, always shouting orders and worrying about who was doing what in the kitchen and dining room of the restaurant.

Sometimes the place felt like a three-ring circus.

For that reason alone, it was nice to be away for a couple of weeks.

Maybe by the time Anthony returned, Pop would be more appreciative and stop asking Anthony to wait on tables or fill in for the busboy.

Sure wish I had a restaurant of my own, Anthony mused. I could be the head cook, serve whatever I wanted, and make all the decisions about hiring, firing, and decorating the place.

He set his comb down on the counter and frowned at his reflection in the small mirror above the sink. Guess that’s not likely to happen, though. It’s probably nothing but a pipe dream, or as Mom would call it, “wishful thinking.”

“This ham is real tasty,” Anthony commented as he forked another succulent bite into his mouth. “Do you raise the hogs here on your property?” He directed his question to Rosa’s father, who sat at the end of the kitchen table.

“No, I don’t,” Mahlon said after he’d eaten the remainder of his scrambled eggs. “We get our pork from a local Amish farmer and sell it in my Meat and Cheese Store.”

“Oh, I see.” Anthony was pleased with the man’s response, because it was the first full sentence he’d uttered since the Petersheim family had sat down to eat breakfast. Anthony figured either Rosa’s dad was a man of few words or he clearly didn’t care much for him, because he rarely looked Anthony in the eye.

“Where’s your store located?” Anthony questioned, hoping to continue the conversation. “Do you sell from a building here on your property or do you have a store someplace else?”

“Nope, it’s not here.” Mahlon gave a quick shake of his head.

“My place of business is in town, where it’s visible and more people come through on a daily basis.

Our property here is too far from town, and in my opinion, it’s too out of the way for a business to flourish.

Plus, if I’d chosen to locate it here, I would have needed to build a separate building on a section of land that’s closer to the road so people driving by could see it. ”

“I see. I’ll have to stop by there sometime and check it out.” Anthony was pleased that Mahlon had not only answered his question but also given some details. It was a start, at least. Anthony hoped that from this point on, Rosa’s dad might be a little more cordial toward him.

“We can go there today,” Rosa spoke up. “I would like to show you a few other things in our area, and a stop at my dad’s store will give me a chance to see my brother Norman and introduce him to you.

” She smiled at Anthony and then looked at her dad.

“I know you’re closed every other Saturday, but will the store be open today? ”

“Jah,” Mahlon responded. “Norman and Susan will be working there, as usual, but I’ll be staying home today to study for Sunday’s sermon if I’m the one chosen to preach.”

“Lucky me.” Susan looked at Rosa with a slight scowl. “You want your old job back? If so, I’d be happy to step aside and look for something that suits me better.”

Rosa opened her mouth like she was about to offer a response, but her mother spoke first.

“Your sister’s in a family way, Susan. If she continues to suffer with nausea, like she did earlier this morning, there’s no way she’ll want to work outside the home, much less at the Meat and Cheese Store with all the pungent cheese and meat odors that might make her feel even worse.”

Susan gestured to Rosa with her index finger. “Well, if you’re feeling so grank , maybe you oughta spend the day in bed instead of showing your husband around town.”

Anthony couldn’t miss the sneer on Susan’s face. She obviously had a grudge against her older sister. Not like my two sisters, who have always gotten along so well with each other—and with me as well. I wonder what Susan has against Rosa.

“So what do you think of our little town of Belleville?” Rosa asked as Anthony pulled his car out of the parking lot at the grocery store, where they’d picked up a few nonperishable items for her mother.

“It’s small,” he responded, “but there seems to be enough places of business here for a person to survive.”

“Yeah, but we lack exciting entertainment, and there aren’t a whole lot of restaurants to choose from.”

“No Italian cuisine I’ll bet.”

“Just a pizza place. They also sell sandwiches as well as a few other items on their menu. It’s nothing like your mom and dad’s place in New York, though.”

“I suppose not.” Anthony tapped the steering wheel with the knuckles on his left hand. “What else is there to see of interest in this town?”

Rosa was tempted to direct him to the greenhouse so she could see if Ada still worked there, but she wasn’t ready to see her friend yet, so she changed her mind.

On the other hand, Rosa realized that after her fake breakup with Anthony took place in a couple of weeks and he left town, if she chose to remain in her parents’ home, then she would be forced to see others in their community and provide an explanation as to where she’d been all this time.

Simply put, there was no way she could remain in Belleville and hide out indefinitely.

Even so, today she was not up to facing Ada and hearing about her upcoming wedding to Ephraim.

Rosa did want to go see Norman, however, so she gave Anthony directions to the Meat and Cheese Store.

“I thought you weren’t coming to work today, Dad,” Norman commented when his father entered the store with Susan.

“I won’t be here long,” Dad responded. “Just came to do a little paperwork and give you some surprising news.”

“Oh? What news is that?”

“The prodigal daughter came home,” Susan blurted before their father could respond.

Norman’s brows lifted high on his forehead. “Huh?”

Susan leaned against the front of the checkout counter with her arms folded. “Rosa showed up last evening with some leather-jacket-wearing English fellow she said was her husband.”

Norman blinked in succession as he stared at his sister in disbelief. “Is this some kind of a joke?”

Susan shook her head, and then Dad stepped forward and put his hand on Norman’s shoulder. “It’s true, Son. Your wayward sister, who you spent so long trying to locate, showed up right out of the blue.”

“Wh–where’s Rosa been all this time, and why hasn’t she ever contacted any of us to let us know she was okay?”

“I don’t know all the places she’s been since she ran off that night over two years ago, but she did say she had left a note for us before she left for the young people’s gathering,” Dad responded.

“She also said she left messages on our phone’s answering machine so we would know she was okay.

” He paused and gave his full beard a good tug.

“I don’t believe her, of course, because if there had been any kind of note, someone would surely have found it.

And if Rosa had left messages, one of us would have heard them and shared the news with the rest of the family. ”