She sat at the table and picked up her pencil, but somehow she couldn’t concentrate on biology. Images of those neatly written pages kept flashing in front of her eyes. Gramma liked to write! Why hadn’t she ever said anything? Gramma knew how much Katy liked writing…But then she remembered how she often waited until Dad was asleep to take out her journal so he wouldn’t walk in and accidentally see what she scribbled onto the page. Writing was personal.
Maybe Gramma didn’t want anyone to know. Or maybe Gramma had sent Katy to that notebook so Katy could discover the secret. It didn’t matter. Just knowing Gramma liked words and writing made Katy’s heart patter. Someone in Schellberg understood her desire to write. The realization excited her, and instantly Katy felt less alone—and less weird—than she ever had before.
Chapter Twelve
Katy clipped the last dress onto the clothesline that ran behind the washhouse and a tall fence to keep the clothes concealed from anyone passing on the road. The late September breeze felt crisp and carried a hint of moisture. She’d already washed these clothes—they didn’t need a second rinsing from nature. How much simpler life would be if she could toss the wet clothes into an automatic dryer, like the one in Shelby’s basement. She pushed that thought aside and scanned the sky for signs of rain.
A few clouds clustered near the horizon in the east, forming a stack of cottonballs. At the sight, her mind began stringing lines together. Cottonball clouds of snowy white / Set in a cerulean sky / Stretch across vast grassy fields / The colors of Kansas painted high. Then she shook her head, releasing a little snort. The grassy fields weren’t painted high! They hugged the ground. But the poem held promise. She’d have to play with it in her journal tonight.
She picked up the empty wicker basket and headed toward the house. Just as she reached the back stoop, she heard Dad call for her. She put the basket down and ran to the barn. Dad met her in the doorway with a pitchfork in his hand. She took a step backward to avoid running into him.
“Katy, there you are.” He glanced at the clothes flapping in the stout breeze. “Laundry all done?”
“Yes, sir. I’m going in now to put supper in the oven. I know I’m starting supper a little late, but—”
Dad shook his head. “Whenever it’s ready is fine. I wondered—”
The sound of blasting water intruded, drowning out Dad’s words. Caleb Penner was hosing down the floor and walls of the milking room. The high-powered stream pounding against unyielding concrete in the small space resembled an engine’s roar. Dad pointed to the yard, and they stepped outside where the racket seemed muffled.
“Why didn’t you tell me about Caleb’s corn shucking party tonight? He said his mother invited you.” A slight scowl creased Dad’s face. “I felt embarrassed when Caleb asked if you were coming and I didn’t know about it.”
She swallowed a frustrated growl. Of course Caleb would ask if she were coming. Who else would he torment if she wasn’t there? Katy bit her lower lip. She’d thought about the corn shucking party off and on all week. Being invited was a big deal—it would be her very first party with the community’s young people. If only it weren’t hosted by Caleb…A part of her wanted to go, but most of her wanted to avoid time in Caleb Penner’s presence, so she hadn’t mentioned it to Dad.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I kind of forgot she asked me.”
Dad raised one eyebrow. “How can you ‘kind of’ forget?”
“I’d remember when I wasn’t with you, and then…” Even to her ears, the excuse sounded untruthful. She could hear Jewel’s voice: That’s so lame…She repeated, “I’m sorry.”
“Well, he’s a good worker for me, Katy-girl, and he’ll be disappointed if you don’t go. All the other young people from Schellberg will be there.” Dad stuck the pitchfork’s tines against the ground and wrapped both fists around the handle. “It would do you good to spend some time with the Schellberg young people.”
Katy knew he meant he preferred she not spend so much time with the kids from school. But she couldn’t help it—she was in class with them all day long! She pointed to the lines of shirts, trousers, and dresses. “I need to finish the laundry.”
“They’ll dry just fine without you here, and I can take the things off the line and put them in the kitchen for you.”
She couldn’t think of any other excuses. She sighed. “All right. I’ll go. But I need to get supper in the oven first.”
“What are you making?”
“Baked pork chops and stuffing. I thought I’d heat those leftover green beans from yesterday too.”
Dad lifted the pitchfork and gave a nod. “Sounds good. Make plenty of stuffing, though. Caleb’s going to eat with us, and then you can ride to his house with him.”
She opened her mouth to protest.
“It will save me a trip.”
She closed her mouth. She wouldn’t inconvenience Dad. But she’d make it clear to Caleb the only reason she was going was to please Dad. It had nothing to do with wanting to spend time with him.
Caleb pulled the car between the Penners’ house and the barn. He hadn’t spoken a word on the drive from Katy’s farm to his parents’ place, which suited Katy fine. She’d had enough trouble being hospitable at the dinner table with Dad looking on. She would please Dad by being a friendly hostess in her own kitchen, but she didn’t see any reason to talk to Caleb when Dad wasn’t there.
Caleb turned off the ignition and Katy reached for the door handle. She glanced across the grounds. No other cars filled the yard. Nervousness attacked her midsection. She forgot all about not talking to Caleb. “Where is everybody? I thought this was supposed to be a party.”
Caleb cleared his throat. “It was. I mean, it is. The others, they’ll be comin’.”
Katy huffed an irritated breath. Caleb had made it all the way through the ninth grade. Couldn’t he form an intelligent sentence? What did Annika see in the dimwitted, freckle-faced boy? “When will they be here?”
“Around eight.”
“Eight?” Katy yelped the word. “But that’s almost an hour away!”
A sly grin lifted one corner of Caleb’s mouth. “I know.”
Katy yanked the door handle and swung the door wide. She bounded out of the car, and Caleb scrambled out the other side. Katy crossed her arms and glared at him across the car’s roof. “Why didn’t you tell my dad that the party starts at eight? He wouldn’t have sent me so early if he’d known.”
Caleb held his hands outward. His innocent pose didn’t fool Katy. The stupid grin gave him away. “I thought he knew. Corn shuckings always start at eight.”
Did they? Katy wasn’t sure. She huffed again. “Well, what am I supposed to do here by myself for a whole hour?”
Caleb raised one shoulder in a shrug that matched his lopsided grin. “Help my mom with the refreshments?”
Katy rolled her eyes. “Oh, doesn’t that sound like fun…” Suddenly she realized she was behaving just like Jewel at school. Her ears started to burn with embarrassment. She didn’t like Caleb—he annoyed her more than anyone else she knew—but being mean to him wasn’t right either. She started to apologize, but he gestured to his dirty clothes.
“I gotta get cleaned up. Mom’s probably in the kitchen. Go on in, Katydid.”
She swallowed her apology when he called her the irritating nickname from school. Spinning on her heel, she charged to the house with Caleb behind her. The Penners’ brick ranch-style house looked modern and fancy compared to Katy’s century-old two-story house. Mr. Penner had built the house when Caleb and Katy were second-graders. Katy recalled Caleb bragging about his new house until Miss Yoder made him memorize Scripture about humility. She’d thought it a well-deserved punishment back then. She wished she had the authority to make Caleb memorize Scripture about not teasing people.
Caleb opened the back door, and they entered a bright, cheerful kitchen. He raced past her and slipped through a doorway on the opposite side of the room. His mother turned from th
e sink where she was washing her hands. A surprised smile lit her face.
“Why, it’s Katy Lambright! I’m so glad you came!” She glanced at a ticking clock that hung on the wall. “You’re early.”
Katy wrung her hands. “I know. I rode over with Caleb. He thought I might be able to help you with the refreshments.”
Mrs. Penner laughed, shaking her head. The black ribbons of her cap swayed beneath her chin, and she shot a tender look toward the doorway where Caleb had disappeared. “Oh, that boy…Putting one of his guests to work! What is he thinking?” But her tone indicated she wasn’t upset at all. She caught Katy’s arm and drew her fully into the room. “I suppose I could use the help, if you don’t mind.”
Katy discovered she didn’t mind. Mrs. Penner was such a kind woman. Why couldn’t Caleb be more like his mom? “What can I do?”
“Would you get started on the popcorn?” Mrs. Penner pointed to a small appliance with a hooded top that sat in the middle of the kitchen table.
“What is that?” Katy peeked inside the hood.
Mrs. Penner laughed. “Why, that’s a popcorn popper, Katy. Caleb and his father bought it for me for my birthday.”
Katy scratched her head. At home, she made popcorn in a kettle on the stove. “I don’t know how this thing works.”
“Well, let me show you. It’s very easy.”
After receiving instructions on how to operate the popcorn machine, Katy began popping batches of corn. The smell of fresh popcorn, even though she’d eaten a good supper, made her mouth water. She sneaked a few nibbles between batches, earning a grin from Mrs. Penner. When she’d filled four big bowls with white, puffy kernels, she turned off the machine. Her ears continued to ring in the silence that followed.
Mrs. Penner added melted butter and salt to each big bowl while Katy stirred the kernels with a wooden spoon. Katy glanced over to the counter. Plates of cookies, homemade candies, and finger sandwiches formed a neat line. On another countertop, the biggest platter Katy had ever seen held artfully arranged fresh vegetables circling a bowl of speckled dip. Mrs. Penner had gone to a lot of trouble to make sure the young people who attended Caleb’s corn shucking were well fed.
Katy carried the wooden spoon to the sink and rinsed it. She looked again at the mountain of food and shook her head. “You sure have plenty for us to eat!”
Mrs. Penner laughed softly. She arranged the four bowls into a square at the edge of the table. “Caleb informed me the food is important for a successful corn shucking party.” Her brow crinkled as she looked at Katy. “Do you think there’s enough? What’s been served at other parties?”
Katy wiped her hands on a towel beside the sink and shrugged. “I don’t know. This is my first party.”
Mrs. Penner’s eyes flew wide. “It is? You haven’t been to other shucking parties?”
“No, ma’am.” Katy toyed with a ribbon from her cap. “Dad wanted me to wait until I was sixteen before I started attending any of the gatherings. So…” She flipped her hands outward and grinned. “This is my first.”
“Well, now…” Mrs. Penner stepped close and fluffed the attached cape on Katy’s dress. Warmth filled Katy’s chest at the unexpected, motherly touch. “How nice that your first party is Caleb’s party.” She tipped forward, lowering her voice. “You probably already know this, but he’s rather sweet on you.”
Caleb? Sweet on her? The pleasant warmth of moments ago fired from her chest to her ears, becoming an uncomfortable fire. Katy fidgeted.
The woman chuckled. “I’ve taken you by surprise, haven’t I? But rest assured, if Caleb finds a red ear of corn in that pile tonight, he’ll probably try to steal a kiss from you.”
“Mom!”
At the startled outburst, both Katy and Mrs. Penner turned around. Caleb stood in the kitchen’s doorway. His face was as red as Katy’s ears had ever been.
Chapter Thirteen
The sound of rubber tires on gravel, slamming car doors, and voices carried through the open window. Katy gestured toward the door, thankful for the distraction. “Caleb’s guests are arriving. Do you want the food carried out to the barn?”
Caleb charged past them and out the door. The screen banged hard behind him. Mrs. Penner scowled after him for a moment, then fixed Katy with a smile. “Yes, Katy, we do want the food out in the barn. Thank you for helping.”
Katy circled her arms around two bowls of popcorn and headed outside. In the Penners’ yard, Schellberg’s unmarried youth from late teens to early twenties poured out of pickups and sedans. They stood in groups and laughed and talked, the boys shoving one another’s shoulders in fun and the girls leaning close to chat. In some ways, the scene reminded Katy of the high school yard before the bell rang. But the abundance of dresses, little white caps, and flat-brimmed black hats made it clear that this was a Mennonites-only party.
Katy spotted Annika and her sister Taryn with Taryn’s beau, Ron Knepp. Katy’s feet slowed. She hadn’t talked to Annika since the Sunday after Annika and Shelby had spent the night. Her stomach did a funny flip-flop. Would Annika ignore her or spend time with her this evening?
Suddenly Annika turned and her eyes collided with Katy’s. Her shoulders jerked, as if someone poked her, and then she walked slowly to meet Katy. “I didn’t see your dad’s pickup. When did you get here?” Annika took one of the popcorn bowls and together they moved toward the barn.
How should Katy respond? It seemed Annika was willing to forget their disagreement. But if she confessed Caleb had driven her to his house, would Annika’s friendliness disappear again? “I got here early,” she said. Even though she hadn’t lied, her conscience still pricked. “Mrs. Penner has lots of food to carry out. Would you help me?”
The girls made several trips along with Caleb’s mother to deliver all of the plates, platters, and bowls of food to a long table set up in the barn. At the end of the table on the dirt floor, bottles of root beer and lemonade floated in a big iron tub of ice. Annika pulled out a bottle of root beer and wiped the glass on her skirt before opening the top. She took a long swig and grinned. “All this food looks great, doesn’t it? I wonder what activities Caleb has planned.”
Katy shrugged. “What do they usually do at corn shuckings?”
Annika laughed. “Shuck corn! And sing. And eat.” She looked again at the table of food. “Think it would be okay to get started? Those little sandwiches look really good.”
Katy stifled a giggle. Annika and food…When she was eating, she was happy. “Might want to grab them before the boys start filling their plates. The food will be gone in no time!”
Annika picked up a plate. Apparently her action signaled that it was time to eat, because the guests swarmed the table. Mrs. Penner’s beautifully arranged plates and platters held only crumbs by the time the older boys cleared away from the table. Katy managed to snag two finger sandwiches, several carrot sticks, and a cookie. Ron Knepp stepped past Katy to retrieve a bottle of root beer.
She looked longingly at his overflowing plate of goodies and sighed. “I guess there’s a good reason not to invite boys to a party. They eat too much.”
Annika giggled, throwing a smile at three boys who dug through the ice for bottles of root beer. “But what’s a party without boys?”
Katy nearly rolled her eyes. She steered Annika a few feet away from the ravaged table. “Sometimes it can be fun to have just girls. At Shelby’s house, we—”
Annika’s eyes narrowed.
Katy clacked her teeth together to hold back any other words. After a moment of tense silence, she said, “Looks like the boys are getting ready to start shucking. Should we go watch? I think Lucas Bornholdt will shuck the most ears.” Annika didn’t move. Katy added impulsively, “Caleb will come in last.”
Annika jerked to life. “Caleb won’t come in last! I think he’ll keep up ear-for-ear with the older boys.”
Katy grinned. “Let’s go find out.”
The two girls cheered and giggled along wit
h the older girls as the boys zipped through bushels of dry ears of corn. Shucks flew, raising dust, and Katy sneezed repeatedly, but she refused to leave the barn. Being elbow to elbow with the other girls in her fellowship, laughing and calling out words of encouragement, filled Katy with a feeling of oneness she didn’t want to lose.
Ron Knepp suddenly yelped and held up a red ear of corn. The wild shucking came to a halt. Some boys groaned. Others slapped Ron on the back and congratulated him. The two girls behind Katy and Annika sucked in their breath, and those on Katy’s left clapped wildly and pushed Annika’s sister Taryn forward.
Katy knew what the red ear meant—the boy could give a kiss to the girl of his choice. Since Ron and Taryn were published to be married, Ron would surely kiss Taryn. Three years ago, Taryn had come home from a shucking party, pink-faced from receiving her first kiss from Ron. She’d shared every detail with Annika, who in turn had shared every detail with Katy. Annika had seemed enthralled with the idea of being kissed, but Katy had been more appalled than intrigued. Shouldn’t kissing be private? She didn’t want her first kiss to be in front of a bunch of people in a barn with corn shucks under her feet and dust filling the air. And she didn’t want to watch Ron kiss Taryn either.
She turned to move to the back of the group, but a commotion in the circle of boys caught her attention. Two older boys grabbed Caleb and threw him to the center of the shuckers. Ron bowed and handed the red ear of corn to Caleb. “Here ya go, Caleb. It’s all yours. Your first party—your first kiss.” A whoop rose from the other boys, accompanied by congratulatory slaps on the back. Apparently they’d had this all planned out.
Caleb’s freckled face broke into a smug grin. He took the ear and scanned the group of girls. His eyes locked on Katy’s. Katy’s pulse began to pound. She wanted to flee, but Annika gripped Katy’s elbow. Her fingers dug in deep, and Katy couldn’t move.
Caleb tapped the air with the red ear and advanced slowly toward the girls, his gaze flitting back and forth between Annika and Katy. Mrs. Penner’s words ran through Katy’s mind: He’s sweet on you, you know.
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