Katy's New World

by Kim Vogel Sawyer

  When she ran downstairs, she found Dad at the table eating a bowl of cereal. She retrieved her own bowl and spoon and poured corn flakes. She prayed and then ate under Dad’s disapproving silence. He remained silent all the way to church, and he sent her to her bench without his customary smile.

  Katy sat amongst the women, her back straight, with her Bible open in her lap. On the other side of the church, Dad sat with the men. She sensed his irritation with her from across the aisle, and she had a hard time concentrating on the singing and sermon. At the close of the service, she knelt to pray with the others, and she asked God’s forgiveness for her lazy behavior this morning. She vowed never again to shirk her duties.

  Out in the yard, she ambled up beside Annika, who stood talking with Katy’s twin cousins. As soon as she joined them, Annika spun on her. “Lori and Lola agree with me. You shouldn’t have brought that girl to stay the night.”

  Katy bit down on the end of her tongue. Of course Lori and Lola would side with Annika. Although they were Katy’s only girl cousins near her age, she’d never been particularly close to them. Because they had each other, they didn’t seem to need anyone else.

  Forcing a calm tone, Katy said, “That girl’s name is Shelby, and she came for the festival just like hundreds of other people come each year. She had a right to be here.”

  “The others don’t come because you invited them,” Lola said.

  “And the others didn’t stay overnight in your house,” Lori added. She leaned close, her green eyes snapping. “Mom says you’re looking for trouble, Katy, spending so much time with worldly girls. She’s watching you to make sure you don’t pick up bad habits.”

  Katy wanted to tell her cousins that Shelby was kinder and easier to get along with than Aunt Rebecca. What would they say if she told them that by attacking her they weren’t following the Bible teachings of avoiding conflict? She imagined their surprised faces if she managed to speak the words aloud, and a giggle escaped.

  “It isn’t funny, Katy!” Lola crossed her arms and glared at Katy. “Romans twelve, verse two says, ‘And be not conformed to this world.’”

  “‘…But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God,’” Katy finished automatically.

  Then she tipped her head. “Maybe it would be good for you”—she glanced across all three scowling faces—“and Aunt Rebecca to remember your behavior is supposed to be acceptable to God. Would He approve of you rejecting Shelby just because she isn’t of Mennonite faith?”

  Lori gasped. “In Ezra, the Israelites were told to separate themselves from the foreign people around them. We’re not supposed to mix, Katy!”

  “Why do you suppose we form our own communities, away from worldly people?” Lola stared at Katy, wide-eyed. “So that we can keep ourselves separate and follow our faith without distractions.”

  Katy resisted rolling her eyes. She was older than the twins; she didn’t need them explaining the Mennonite ways to her.

  “Lola’s right,” Annika chimed in, her arms folded so tight against her stomach that her skirt poofed out below her arms. “In the gospel of John, Jesus tells His followers they are not of the world.”

  Katy blew out a frustrated breath. “And in Mark, the disciples are instructed to go into all the world and preach the gospel. How can you do that if you never enter the world?” Several people turned to look the girls’ direction, and Katy realized she was raising her voice. She swallowed more angry words before they could leave her lips.

  Annika tossed her ribbons over her shoulders and looked down her nose at Katy. “But you aren’t a disciple, and you aren’t preaching the gospel at that school. You’re just a foolish girl getting pulled in by worldly ways. And you’ll be sorry, Katy!” The trio whirled and stormed away, leaving Katy alone.

  Annika’s words haunted Katy the remainder of the day and continued to play around the fringes of her mind on Monday as she left the bus and walked through the groups of students. She leaned against the door, waiting for the bell, while troubling thoughts plagued her.

  As much as she didn’t want to consider any truth in her friend’s exclamation, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was displeasing God by walking among the worldly. And since she was here, shouldn’t she be sharing Him with those she encountered rather than living her faith quietly? Deep in thought, she didn’t notice anyone approach, and she jumped when someone touched her arm.

  Shelby grinned. “Hi! I didn’t mean to scare you. You were miles away.” Her forehead puckered. “Are you okay? You look kind of…I don’t know…really sad.”

  “I’m just tired.” Katy hadn’t lied. She’d fallen asleep very late on Saturday, and she had gotten little sleep Sunday night. She straightened and faced Shelby. “Shelby, I want to apologize for—”

  Shelby held up her hand. “Don’t even start. You didn’t do anything wrong, so you don’t have reason to apologize.” She laughed softly. “One thing my dad preaches a lot is that we can’t control what someone else does—we can only control ourselves. Annika is who she is. You can’t change it, and you’re not responsible for her actions.”

  Katy nodded slowly. She’d have to give Shelby’s words some thought.

  Shelby went on, “Besides, I came over to say thanks for letting me stay at your house. I really did have a good time in spite of Annika. I hope sometime you’ll let me come back, because I’d like to ride your horse.” Another laugh trickled out. “And I’d like to, you know, return the favor.”

  Katy gave Shelby a bewildered look. “Return the favor? What does that mean?”

  “I’m having a slumber party next Friday night—the whole gang, kind of as a way of welcoming Jewel into the family.”

  Now Katy shook her head. “Jewel? You mean—” She clamped her jaw closed. She wouldn’t say something unkind, and she couldn’t think of anything kind to say about Jewel. The girl had a way of looking at Katy, with her lips curled into a little snarl and her eyes squinty, that made Katy want to crawl under a desk and hide.

  “Yep, Jewel.” Shelby’s expression turned serious. “She’s staying with us as a foster child. My parents have always done foster parenting, but Jewel’s the first one we’ve taken in since Dad and Mom got certified for Saline County. She’s not real thrilled about being placed with a preacher’s family, but when you’re a foster kid, you don’t have any choice. You go where they put you.”

  Katy knew about fostering. A single lady from Schellberg kept children whose parents couldn’t care for them. But she only took babies and little kids, not teenagers. “But why is she with you? Isn’t she big enough to take care of herself?”

  Shelby made a face. “I’m not allowed to say much—it’s supposed to stay private. But just let me say that Jewel’s home life is pretty bad. Her mom has all these boyfriends coming and going, and things go on that could be, well, dangerous for Jewel. She needs a safe place to stay. So she’s with us.”

  Katy’s heart twisted in sympathy for Jewel. She didn’t want anything bad to happen to the girl. But she couldn’t imagine sharing her home with someone like her. Jewel was so…hard.

  “But anyway,” Shelby continued, “Mom and Dad said it would be good to have some kids over and include Jewel so she feels like part of the family. So…can you come to my slumber party? If you do, it’ll be me, you, Bridget, Cora, Trisha, and Jewel. We’ll make popcorn and drink pop and stay up all night. It’ll be fun.”

  Katy held her breath for a moment. Oh, how she wanted to go! But Annika’s comments about being separate and Dad’s irritation with her for oversleeping on Sunday jumbled up to create a huge roadblock in her mind. “I don’t know if I can. I—I’ll have to ask Dad.”

  Shelby grinned. “That’s fine. Ask him tonight and let me know tomorrow. That’ll give you time to notify the bus driver that you won’t be riding Friday afternoon—you can just come home with me after school. My dad said he’d run you back to Schellb
erg Saturday afternoon when we finally wake up.” She grinned. “Trisha is staying the whole weekend, but I know you’d rather go home and go to your own church.”

  Katy’s heart warmed at Shelby’s understanding. She thought about the sour looks on Annika, Lola, and Lori’s faces yesterday. Sadly, she realized she felt more comfortable with Shelby—a worldly girl—than with her cousins and lifelong friend. Shouldn’t it be the opposite?

  “Let me know, okay?” Shelby grazed Katy’s shoulder with her hand. “I’m gonna go walk in with Jewel. See you in class, Kathleen.”

  Chapter Nine

  “Grampa Ben!” Katy quickly waved good-bye to the bus kids and then skipped to her grandfather’s truck. She curled her hands over the driver’s side windowsill. “Why are you picking me up?” Joy at seeing her grandfather melted as a fear attacked. Her heart skipped a beat. “Did something happen to Dad?”

  Mindful of Sunday morning’s mishaps and Dad’s aggravation with her, Katy had climbed on the bus that morning without wishing her father a good day. If she’d wasted her last chance to give him a kind word, she’d never forgive herself. Her heart pounded while she waited for her grandfather’s answer.

  “No, no, he just got hung up at the Feed and Seed, waiting for Mr. Bornholdt to finish tallying his bill. So he asked if I’d come get you. He didn’t want you standing alongside the highway.”

  Katy nearly collapsed with relief.

  “But there you are, standing alongside the highway anyhow.” Grampa Ben grinned, his faded gray eyes crinkling. “So step off the road an’ get in the truck, Katy-girl.”

  With a giggle, Katy ran around the hood and climbed in. Grampa Ben’s truck was even older than Dad’s, and the gears ground out a complaint when he put it into drive. The truck bucked twice, like a horse trying to dislodge its rider, and then smoothed out as they headed toward Katy’s home.

  “Well, Katy-girl…” Grampa hollered over the truck’s engine noise. “Is that school goin’ good for you? Learnin’ what you want to?”

  Katy could have said she was learning things she hadn’t expected, but she didn’t want to explain her meaning. “Yes, sir.” She told him about her favorite class—English, where they examined the purpose of each part of speech and ways to put words together for maximum impact. “Our teacher says we’ll be reading novels and dissecting them the second nine weeks—examining characters and plot and motivation—and then we’ll start writing our own stories. I’m excited about it!”

  Grampa chuckled. “Ah, Katy-girl, you and your words…”

  Katy held her breath, wondering if Grampa would call her weird. But instead he asked about her other classes, and time slipped by quickly. They pulled onto Katy’s lane, and Dad’s pickup sat in front of the barn. Katy waited until Grampa coasted to a stop, then she leaned across the seat and gave his soft cheek a quick peck. “Thanks for the ride, Grampa! I’ll see you in service Sunday.”

  “Sure thing, Katy-girl. Bye, now.”

  Katy ran to the house and left her backpack right inside the back door, then darted out to the barn. Dad was busy heaving bales of hay into a stack along the north wall. She paused for a moment, watching him and marveling. Dad was getting old. He’d celebrated his forty-seventh birthday over the summer, just three days after her sixteenth. But he still worked as hard as men half his age.

  Love for Dad welled up inside of her, and before she could stop herself she ran across the barn and threw her arms around his middle, pressing her cheek against his firm back.

  His movements stilled, his arms held outward from his body. After a moment, he gently tugged loose of her grip and turned to face her. Puzzlement showed on his face. “Katy? You okay?”

  She laughed. Apparently it had been far too long since she’d hugged him if he thought there was something wrong. “I’m okay. I just wanted…” She hung her head and played with one ribbon. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you good-bye this morning. And I’m sorry about yesterday. I won’t sleep through my chores on Sunday again. I know it made the morning stressful for you.” She stared at his feet and waited for a lecture on responsibility.

  He put his hands on his hips and looked toward the barn doors instead of at her. Finally he sighed. “A person’s entitled to a late morning of sleep now and then. You work hard, and I suppose you earned those extra hours of rest.”

  She peeked at him. He wasn’t smiling, but he wasn’t frowning either. “So you forgive me?”

  “I forgive you. And I’m sorry if I was cross with you. Sometimes I worry…” His voice drifted off for a moment, his brows low. He finished, “Sometimes I worry that I expect too much from you between taking care of the house and working with the cows. And now with you in school, and needing study time…”

  Guilt pricked again. “Dad, I—”

  He removed his hat and bounced it against his trouser leg. “There’s gonna be some changes around here, Katy-girl. I talked to Mort Penner, and he said his boy Caleb could use some extra money. So he’ll be driving out twice a day to help with the milking. That way you don’t have to worry about it. You’ll still have to do the housekeeping, but you’ll have more time for your studies.”

  Katy held her breath. Caleb Penner at her house twice a day?

  “Come summer,” Dad went on, “we’ll go back to you helping. But for now, having Caleb here ought to make things a little easier for you.”

  Katy thought about Annika’s infatuation with Caleb. She wasn’t sure that having Caleb here would improve things in her rocky friendship with Annika. But she nodded. “Thanks, Dad. It’ll be nice not to have to worry about the cows.”

  “But you still have to worry about supper.” Dad’s lips twitched into a sideways grin that made him look years younger. “So head into the house and get started. I brought home a fresh chicken from the market. I was thinking we could have fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy.”

  “Yes, sir!”

  The rumble of an engine reached their ears, and Dad moved to the barn opening. Katy followed and peeked out. Caleb Penner’s black sedan pulled onto the property. Dad glanced at his wristwatch and gave a satisfied nod. “Five o’clock, just as his dad promised.” He strode forward to meet Caleb.

  “I’m going on in to start supper, Dad.” Katy ignored Caleb’s freckled grin and scurried into the house. She was already on shaky ground with Annika over her friendship with Shelby; she wouldn’t add being friendly with Caleb to Annika’s list of grievances.

  Dad closed his Bible and bowed his head. Katy followed suit. She listened to him offer his evening prayer, thanking God for the day of honest toil and asking for protection through the night. For as far back as she could remember, her day had ended just this way—listening to Dad pray. Security and peace wrapped around her, as warm and cozy as a quilt on a winter night.

  “Amen,” Dad said solemnly, then looked at her with a tired smile. She knew what he’d say even before his lips formed the words. “Good-night now, Katy-girl. Sweet dreams.” He rose.

  Katy bounced up and held out her hand. “Dad, before you go up to bed, can I ask you about something?”

  “What’s that?” He covered a yawn with his hand.

  “Shelby Nuss asked if I could spend the night at her house this coming Friday…kind of a turnabout-is-fairplay invitation. I’d go home with her after school, and then her dad would bring me back Saturday afternoon.” Katy raised her shoulders and held them there, waiting for Dad’s response.

  Dad crunched his face into a thoughtful scowl. “Saturday afternoon? But what will Aunt Rebecca do if you aren’t there to help her on Saturday?”

  Katy slowly lowered her shoulders. “Um, there’s probably not much to do since the festival was last week. Just clean-up stuff. Maybe I could work through the evening—Mr. Nuss could drop me off at Aunt Rebecca’s shop when he brings me to Schellberg. And then I could just stay in town with Gramma Ruthie and Grampa Ben and go to church with them in the morning. That way you wouldn’t have to come get me.”r />
  The plan made perfect sense to her, but Dad frowned. “I know I said you wouldn’t have to do milking anymore, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have other responsibilities here.”

  “I know, Dad.” Katy nibbled her lower lip while he worked his jaw back and forth in silence.

  Finally Dad sighed. “You talk to your aunt, and if she says she doesn’t need you all day on Saturday, then you can go.”

  Katy sucked in a happy breath.

  “But,” Dad added, his voice stern, “staying in Salina with Shelby doesn’t mean you can do all of the things Shelby can do. Even at Shelby’s house, you follow our rules.”

  “Yes, Dad!”

  Dad headed upstairs to bed. Katy zipped around the house and turned out all the lights then went to her room. She slid into her desk chair and pulled out her journal and a pencil. If Aunt Rebecca says no, it will be very hard not to be disrespectful. Even though Jewel will be there too, I really want to see what worldly girls do at a sleepover…

  Chapter Ten

  Aunt Rebecca had said yes. Katy unzipped her backpack and removed her clean dress, socks, and underwear. The clothes were wrinkled from spending the day crowded next to her books, but there’d been no other way to transport her items from home to Shelby’s. She shook out her dress, crunching her lips into a scowl. Aunt Rebecca would certainly complain if she showed up at the shop looking rumpled.

  She turned to Shelby, who was unrolling fat sleeping bags across the basement’s carpeted floor. “Do you have an iron and ironing board I could use in the morning?”

  Jewel lounged on the lumpy sofa that stretched along the back wall of what Shelby called a “rec room.” She rolled her eyes. “Ironing? Nobody irons anymore.”