Somebody must, because I do. Katy held the comment inside and focused on Shelby.
“Sure.” Shelby beckoned Katy with her finger to follow her. “Our laundry room’s back here.” Katy trailed Shelby down a short hallway to a small room that smelled clean and soapy. A cute wallpaper border of a clothesline strung with tiny shirts, aprons, and pants lined the walls right below the ceiling line. Katy eyed the automatic washer and dryer that sat side by side beneath a shelf and battled a wave of jealousy. Wouldn’t she love to use something like that in place of the old wringer washer in her farm’s washhouse?
Shelby opened a narrow door and pointed to an ironing board that hung on the wall. “It just folds down, and the iron is over there.” She pointed to the shelf above the washer. “Feel free to use it whenever you want to.” Then she lowered her voice to a whisper. “And don’t tell Jewel, but Mom irons everything—sheets, shirts…even Dad’s handkerchiefs for Sunday.” She winked.
Katy giggled and followed Shelby back to the rec room. Jewel’s eyes were closed, but she held her arms stiffly across her chest, feigning sleep.
“Cora, Trisha, and Bridget will be here between five thirty and six, as soon as Cora’s mom gets off work and can pick them all up,” Shelby said as she tossed bed pillows on top of the sleeping bags. The floor turned into a giant, puffy patchwork quilt. “Mom’s planning on ordering pizzas, so I hope that’s okay with you.”
“I love pizza.” Katy sat in an overstuffed chair and crossed her ankles. “Aunt Rebecca makes the best cheese and mushroom pizza. Whenever we have a family birthday party, she always brings it, and she says the birthday person gets the first slice.” She giggled. “Usually that ends up being his only slice, because people snatch it right up.”
“Why don’t you buy pizza instead of making it?” The lazy question came from Jewel, who didn’t bother to sit up or open her eyes.
Katy glanced at her. “Because there isn’t any place to buy pizza in Schellberg. You either make it or go without.”
Jewel snorted. “I’d just go without. Or buy frozen.”
Katy made a face. “Frozen pizza? I bet it tastes like cardboard.”
“Better than having to make it.” Jewel yawned and rolled to her side, pointing her backside at Katy.
Shelby caught Katy’s eye and made a funny face. Katy covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Jewel was annoying, there was no doubt about that, but if Shelby could laugh about it, so could she.
When Shelby finished arranging the sleeping bags to her satisfaction, she and Katy played a board game. The Nusses had a large selection of games on a shelf in the corner of the basement room, many of which Katy had played before. But Katy chose one she’d never seen because of its funny name. Jewel gave up on pretending to sleep when Katy and Shelby got too noisy in rolling dice, giggling, and sending the other one’s game piece back to its home base.
A little before six, footsteps pounded on the basement stairs, alerting them to the arrival of Cora, Trisha, and Bridget. A round of squeals erupted when they burst into the room. Shelby and the three newcomers linked elbows and bounced in a circle on top of the sleeping bags, giggling like a bunch of ten-year-olds.
Katy sat in the chair and watched them. How would it feel to grab hold and bounce with them? She glanced at Jewel, who also observed the noisy quartet. Even though Jewel’s eyes were narrowed and her lips set in a familiar sneer, Katy believed that Jewel also wanted to be a part of the circle.
Shelby dropped to the floor, pulling the others with her. She panted and laughed at the same time. “Okay, now that we’re all here, let’s plan our evening.”
Cora unzipped a brown and pink polka-dotted duffle bag. “I brought the longest, most romantic movies from my mom’s collection.”
Jewel sat up and plucked one of the slim cases from Cora’s hands. “Oh, yeah, I saw this in the theater when it came out. It’s good. Let’s watch it first.”
Shelby took the case from Jewel and pulled her lips to the side. “Sorry, gang. No movies this time.” She flicked a glance at Katy. “Kathleen’s not allowed to watch TV.”
Jewel gawked at Katy. “Are you kidding?”
All five girls looked at Katy. Her ears began to burn. She uncrossed her ankles and crossed them the opposite way. “In our fellowship, we don’t watch television.”
“But why?” Jewel sounded horrified.
Katy shrugged. “It’s…not appropriate.” Annika’s snide reminder that Katy wasn’t in the world trying to teach people floated through her memory, so she added, “We’re to fill our minds with whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, or of good report. The television brings too many worldly ideas into a person’s head, so we don’t watch it.”
“Not even cartoons or a how-to show?” Cora raised her eyebrows. “I mean, there’s some really cool stuff on TV that isn’t, like, crude or sexy or whatever.” She turned a hopeful look on Shelby. “Maybe we could watch one of those cooking shows and make what they’re cooking. That’d be fun!”
Shelby shook her head. “Nope. Kathleen’s dad said no TV.”
“Well, how would he know? I mean, it’s not like he’s here to see.” Jewel’s tone turned belligerent. She grabbed the movie case from Shelby and opened it. “I want to watch this movie.”
“Not tonight.” Shelby wrestled the case and disc from Jewel’s grasp and handed it to Cora. “Put ’em away. We can spend a fun night without turning on the television.”
Jewel flumped back on the couch and folded her arms. “Yeah, right…”
“How about giving each other manicures and pedicures?” Bridget flipped her hands outward. “I have nail polish in my bag.”
“Ooh, great idea!” Cora bounced up and down. “We could do full makeovers! Hair, makeup, nails…the whole works!”
Shelby tilted her head to the side. “Um…not so sure that’s a good idea.”
Cora looked at Katy. Katy offered an apologetic grimace. Cora sighed. “Okay.”
“Well…” Trisha puckered her lips and stared at the ceiling for a moment. “Oh! I know! Let’s do a scavenger hunt. We’ve got enough people to divide into two teams, and we can separate and scour the neighborhood for weird stuff like used toothbrushes or an empty Kleenex box, and whoever finds everything on the list first—”
Shelby held up both hands and waved them back and forth. “Wait, wait…”
Trisha jutted her chin forward. “What?”
“Kathleen’s dad said she’s supposed to stay here at the house. So we can’t go running around the neighborhood.”
Jewel huffed loudly. “Oh, for…” She glared at Katy. “Why do you have to be such a—”
“Jewel!” Shelby jumped to her feet. “Look…” Her gaze swept across all of the girls. “We are six intelligent, creative, free-thinking females. Surely we can fill one evening in my house doing activities that won’t get Kathleen into trouble with her dad. Now, c’mon, you guys…think!”
Silence fell. And lengthened. Katy grew more uncomfortable by the minute. Should she ask Shelby’s dad to take her home so the others could have fun without her? Just as she was ready to ask the question, Trisha sat up, her face brightening.
“How about a Ping-Pong tournament?”
Jewel crinkled her face. “Ping-Pong…? That’s so lame.”
But Cora squealed. “Oh, that was a blast at summer youth night at church! Yeah, let’s do it!”
Shelby turned to Katy. “Have you ever played Ping-Pong?”
Katy shook her head.
“Do you think your dad would mind?”
Jewel huffed again, but everyone ignored her.
Katy offered a slow shrug. “It’s just a game, right? I don’t think he’d mind.”
“We do have to go over to the church,” Shelby said, “but it’s right next door. That won’t get you in trouble, will it?”
Jewel threw her arms wide. “Hell-o. C’mon, people, her dad’s nowhere around. Why are we all so worried about what he thinks?
We could strip naked and dance in the street and he’d never know!”
Cora, Bridget, and Trisha gawked at Jewel. Shelby’s jaw dropped, and she exclaimed, “Jewel!”
Before she could stop herself, Katy said, “If we dance naked in the street, he’ll know. We Mennonites do read the newspaper, and something that spectacular would definitely make the news.”
Dead silence reigned for a moment, and then the room erupted with screams of laughter. Shelby captured Katy in a hug. Cora laughed so hard tears ran from her eyes. Trisha and Bridget sagged into each other’s arms. Everyone roared, except for Jewel, who gave Katy the snootiest, most squinty-eyed look she’d ever seen.
But those few minutes of shared frivolity were worth being glared at by Jewel. Because in those laughter-filled moments, Katy belonged.
Chapter Eleven
“Good-bye, Mr. Nuss. Thank you for the ride.”
“You’re very welcome, Kathleen.” Shelby’s dad smiled broadly, his eyes warm. “You feel free to visit our house anytime.”
Shelby gave Katy a quick hug. “Yeah, anytime—I had a blast. Who would’ve guessed you’d be such a pro at Ping-Pong? We stomped Jewel and Cora.”
Katy grinned. She wouldn’t have imagined picking up the game so quickly either, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun. She’d go to Shelby’s every Friday night if her dad would let her. With reluctance, she opened the door and tugged her backpack out with her. “I’ll see you at school Monday, Shelby.”
“Sure thing, Kathleen! See ya!” Shelby waved through the window as the car pulled away.
Katy’s backpack bounced against her knees as she crossed the sidewalk and entered Aunt Rebecca’s shop. Two Mennonite women stood with Aunt Rebecca at the fabric-cutting table, and they glanced back when the little bell above the door tinkled. Katy recognized Caleb Penner’s mother and aunt. His mother smiled.
“Well, Katy, we were just talking about you. Your aunt says you’re making friends at that school in Salina.”
Aunt Rebecca probably made the comment as an admonition, but Mrs. Penner’s tone carried no reprimand. Katy offered a shy smile. “Yes, ma’am. With some very nice girls. I stayed with them last night. That’s why I’m late.”
“And there’s plenty to do.” Aunt Rebecca looked at Katy over her glasses, which perched on the end of her nose. “We nearly sold out on quilt kits during the festival, so I’d like to start restocking.”
“Okay. I’ll put my backpack away and get started.” She headed for the storage room, but Mrs. Penner stopped her.
“Katy, next weekend there will be a corn shucking and singing in our barn.” Mrs. Penner smiled, hiding a few freckles with her dimples. “You’re more than welcome to come.”
Katy swung her backpack, heat building in her ears. A shucking party held a dual purpose—it gave the young people of the community a chance to get together and socialize, and it readied the dry ears to be shelled for animal feed. Annika and Katy had looked forward to the day they were old enough to be invited to one of the young people’s gatherings. But now that the chance was offered, dread settled like a stone in her stomach. She didn’t know what to say.
Mrs. Penner added in a hopeful tone, “I know Caleb would like you to come, but he’s too bashful to ask you himself.”
How could Katy gracefully tell this kind woman she had no desire to spend time in her son’s company? “Oh. Well. Thank you, Mrs. Penner. I’ll ask Dad.” Or maybe I’ll forget. Sometimes I forget…“Excuse me, now. I have work to do.” She hurried into the back room.
Katy placed the last plate on the shelf in Gramma Ruthie’s cupboard and closed the door with a sigh of relief. Task done! Gramma Ruthie, Grampa Ben, and their widowed neighbor, Mrs. Stoltzfus, still sat at the dining room table, sipping coffee and visiting. Even though Katy wasn’t a child anymore—graduating from the Schellberg school meant she could sit at the adult table and participate in adult conversation—she had chosen to wash dishes instead of visit.
Whenever she spent time in the company of any of the town’s widows, she couldn’t help but wonder whether her father might someday court the woman. Dad had been alone a long time—twelve years. She didn’t know of any other widows or widowers who had waited so long to remarry. Now that Katy was older, she understood how badly Dad had been hurt when her mother left, so his aching heart probably kept him from wanting to marry again. Or maybe he was just too busy with the cows to court a woman. Either way, being around any of the widows left her feeling edgy, so she didn’t mind washing dishes.
But now that the dishes were done, she could get started on her homework. Spending the night at Shelby’s and working at Aunt Rebecca’s hadn’t left much time for class assignments. Dad didn’t complain when she did homework on Sunday, but she knew he preferred she honor the Sabbath as a day of rest, just as the Bible advised. So she needed to get as much done before bedtime as possible.
Katy pulled out her books and scattered them across the small table in the middle of Gramma’s neat kitchen. Voices filtered in from the dining room, the tones light and cheerful. Katy smiled. With just her and Dad at their house, she was accustomed to mooing cows and whistling wind in the background instead of voices. She found it comforting, listening to the soft hum of conversation.
If Dad were married, would he talk to his wife more than he talked to Katy? Dad was always so quiet. Mrs. Stoltzfus wasn’t quiet, though—she’d had plenty to say during dinner, and it didn’t sound like she was going to stop talking any time soon. A long time ago, Katy wondered if Dad would court Mrs. Stoltzfus. The woman’s husband had passed away shortly after Katy’s mother died. She had two sons, both a few years older than Katy, and the community had murmured about how much the boys needed a father. So Katy had asked her dad if he wanted to marry Mrs. Stoltzfus and be a father to Curtis and Steven. She could still see the surprise on Dad’s face. He’d spluttered, “Katy-girl, marrying is a subject best left to grown-ups.”
Looking back, she was glad Dad hadn’t married Mrs. Stoltzfus. It hadn’t occurred to her until much later that if Dad was a father to her boys, Mrs. Stoltzfus would be a mother to Katy. And Katy didn’t want to call Mrs. Stoltzfus Mom. She frowned, realizing she couldn’t even remember calling her own mother Mom; she’d left when Katy was so young. If she couldn’t call her real mother by that name, then she didn’t want to use it on anyone else.
A burst of laughter carried through the dining room door, and Katy glanced over her shoulder. For a moment she considered pouring herself a cup of coffee and joining her grandparents, but then she looked again at the stack of books. This homework won’t finish itself. Stop daydreaming and get busy.
Sucking in a big breath, she picked up her assignment sheet. She always did her least favorite subject—biology—first to get it out of the way. She groaned when she saw Chapter review on the list. That would take at least an hour! With a sigh, she reached into her backpack for notebook paper. Another groan left her lips when she realized her packet of notebook paper was empty. She had lots of paper at home, but that didn’t help her at Gramma’s house. She needed to write on something.
“Gramma must have writing paper in the house…” She checked each of the drawers in the kitchen, but the only paper she found was a small pad with an advertisement for chicken feed across the top. Stepping into the dining room doorway, she waited until Mrs. Stoltzfus finished talking before calling, “Gramma Ruthie?”
“What is it, Katy-girl?”
Katy offered an apologetic smile for interrupting the conversation. “I need some paper for my homework. Do you have something I could use?”
Mrs. Stoltzfus’s eyebrows shot up. “Homework…That school keeps you busy, hmm?”
Katy didn’t particularly care for the way the woman said that school, as if it was a place Katy shouldn’t go. And why would it be Mrs. Stoltzfus’s business anyway? She swallowed her protest and said, “Yes, ma’am, it does.”
Mrs. Stoltzfus looked at Gramma a
nd shook her head. “I don’t know what Samuel was thinking, sending his daughter to a public high school. Heaven only knows what kinds of habits she’ll pick up there. I’d think he’d have more sense, considering what happened with—”
Grampa Ben cleared his throat.
Mrs. Stoltzfus frowned, but she picked up her coffee cup and sipped instead of finishing her sentence. But she didn’t need to finish it. Katy knew what she planned to say. My school isn’t any of your business, and neither is my mother! She wished she could say the words out loud, but being disrespectful would only prove the woman right—that somehow Katy was picking up bad habits. So she bit down on the tip of her tongue and remained silent.
Gramma Ruthie said kindly, “Katy, there’s some paper in the drawer in my bedside table. Take what you need.”
“Thank you.” Katy scuttled through the dining room and into Gramma and Grampa’s bedroom. The voices picked up again at the table, but Katy didn’t find the sound soothing anymore. She muttered, “I’m really glad Dad didn’t marry that woman…” Frowning, she yanked open the drawer and lifted out a black spiral-bound notebook. The first half of the book was filled with Gramma Ruthie’s slanted handwriting, so she flipped clear to the back and removed several pages.
She started to put it back in the drawer, but suddenly curiosity got the better of her. Why did Gramma keep this notebook beside the bed? Almost feeling like a burglar, she cracked it open and peeked at a page.
Summer lilacs, scented and bright,
Fill my heart with pure delight…
Katy hugged the book to her chest, her heart thudding. Poems! Gramma writes poems! She glanced over her shoulder to be certain no one watched her, then she opened the book again. She began to read, smiling at Gramma’s written remembrance of fishing with her father when she was a little girl.
“Katy-girl, did you find it?” Gramma’s voice called.
Katy jerked. “Yes, ma’am! Thank you!” She slammed the book back in the drawer then snatched up the blank sheets of paper and headed for the kitchen. As she passed through the dining room, she flashed Gramma a smile of thanks. Gramma winked in reply.
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