Shelby’s jaw hung open. “Kathleen! That guy…he might have…” She flicked a glance right and left and then lowered her voice. “He doesn’t keep his hands to himself, Kathleen. Don’t ever go with Jewel again, okay? It’s not…safe.”
Katy frowned. Since when did Shelby tell her what to do? Besides, she had no desire to return to Jewel’s smelly house where Hugo lived.
“And you need to tell the office where you’ve been this morning.”
Katy licked her dry lips. “They know I was gone?”
“Of course they do. The teachers take attendance and turn it in.”
Katy nearly groaned. Why hadn’t she remembered taking attendance when Jewel asked her to leave? The school handbook explained how the attendance secretary checked each teacher’s report against her list of call-in absentees. Anyone who was missing but wasn’t on her list got a follow-up call.
Shelby tipped forward, her brow puckering in concern. “They give you an unexcused absence if your parents don’t call to say you’ll be gone, and you can end up in detention. So you better go let them know where you were.”
“A detention?” That meant staying after school. Katy swallowed. Dad would be very upset if she missed the bus and he had to drive clear in to Salina and get her.
Shelby’s face twisted in sympathy. “Yeah, it could happen. But the principal is pretty nice. He might not give you a detention if you ’fess up. Especially since it’s your first offense.”
Katy sucked in a hopeful breath.
“But they will have called your dad by now.”
Katy’s breath whooshed out. She’d pushed Gramma Ruthie’s reminder about choosing wisely right out of her mind when she’d taken off with Jewel. But now she’d be in trouble with the principal and with her dad. Her choices might mean having to withdraw from school if the deacons found out she’d left the campus without permission. Tears pricked her eyes, and she blinked several times to send them away.
She put her tray on the table, her appetite gone. “I better go talk to the principal now.”
“Want me to come with you?”
Despite her worry, Katy smiled at Shelby’s concern. “Thanks, but I need to do this alone.”
“Okay. Good luck.” Shelby squeezed Katy’s shoulder and then headed for the lunch line.
Squaring her shoulders, Katy turned toward the office.
“I’m disappointed in you, Katy.”
Katy swallowed the tears that gathered in her throat. It cut her to the core to hear the anger in his voice. She’d known by the look on his face when she climbed into the truck that the principal had managed to reach Dad through the telephone at the grocery store. How many other people in Schellberg knew what she’d done?
She clasped her hands in her lap and stared at her linked fingers. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry isn’t enough.” Dad gripped the steering wheel as the truck bounced over a rut. “You could have come to all kinds of harm wandering away from the school and going to a strange neighborhood.”
Katy, remembering Hugo, knew Dad was right. She gave him a pleading look. “But I couldn’t let Jewel go alone, could I?” Her conscience pricked. She hadn’t left with Jewel to give the girl company; she’d gone out of curiosity. But Dad would never accept an excuse like that.
Dad sent her a quick frown before focusing on the road again. “She might not have gone at all if you’d said no to her request.”
Katy nibbled her lip. She doubted that Jewel would have followed her lead, but she decided not to argue. She was in enough trouble.
Dad continued. “Or you could have gone in to the office and told them the girl was leaving. Then the principal would have taken care of it.” He shook his head. “I expect you to use better judgment.”
“I am sorry, Dad. I know it was wrong. I won’t do it again—I promise!”
“No, you certainly won’t do it again.” Dad’s lips formed a grim line.
Katy’s heart pounded. What did Dad mean? Had the deacons already met and decided she should be withdrawn from school? Had one foolish decision ruined her chance to finish high school? “D-Dad?”
Dad’s eyes flicked toward her. “What?”
His gruff tone didn’t invite questions, but she couldn’t hold it back. “Are you going to make me stop going to school?”
Dad didn’t answer. They drove in silence until they reached the farm. Dad steered the truck to its spot beside the barn and turned off the ignition. He turned sideways in the seat and faced Katy.
“Katy, there will be a punishment for what you did today. I don’t know yet what it will be. I don’t know if it will be removing you from school. I need to think about it. If going to that school leads you to behave in ways that could be dangerous, then making you stay home would probably be best.”
Katy’s heart sank. Tears flooded her eyes. “But, Dad, I—”
He held up his hand. “I said I need to think about it, Katy. For now, go in the house and get supper started. We’ll talk again before bedtime.”
Katy scuttled out of the truck and ran to the house.
Chapter Seventeen
Katy considered preparing Dad’s favorite meal—fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn with lots of butter. She meant it as an apology. But she feared he’d see it as a way of softening him up. So instead she made her own favorite—homemade macaroni and cheese. If Dad was going to tell her she couldn’t return to school, she deserved a good meal beforehand.
But when Dad finished the milking and came in for dinner, she couldn’t eat. Worry and guilt filled her stomach, making it impossible for her to swallow. She pushed the cheesy elbow noodles around on her plate instead of eating. Dad ate two hearty servings, but he didn’t say a word while he ate, adding to Katy’s tension. She could hardly wait to get the meal over so they could have their talk, Dad could give whatever punishment he’d chosen, and things could return to normal.
Whatever normal is.
Dad used a piece of bread to sop up the puddles of cheese on his plate and then wiped his mouth with a napkin. He rose. “Get the dishes done, Katy, and then homework.”
Hope flickered in Katy’s heart. If he expected her to do homework, surely that meant he wasn’t going to pull her out of school!
“Gramma Ruthie and Grampa Ben will be over around eight. You need to have everything done by then so we can talk.”
Although Dad’s voice was calm and even, apprehension seized Katy. Why did Gramma Ruthie and Grampa Ben need to be involved? Wasn’t it enough to have Dad disappointed in her? Gramma, especially, would be sad to learn Katy had behaved so foolishly after their talk about making good decisions.
Katy sniffed hard. “Yes, Dad.” She rushed through kitchen clean up and escaped to her bedroom. She spread her homework across her desk, but she couldn’t concentrate. So she pulled out her journal, opened it, and turned to a fresh page. Her pencil flew across the lines, pouring out her worry about what Dad would do, her unsettling time with Jewel, and her regret for leaving school that morning.
If I could do it over again, she wrote, I’d tell Jewel no. But then she wondered, would she? She’d been given a glimpse of another kind of life—a glimpse that helped her understand Jewel. After seeing Jewel’s house and the man her mother called her “boyfriend,” Katy now held sympathy for Jewel that overrode any feelings of dislike or frustration. Although she wished she had gained the insight a different way, she was glad she understood Jewel better. Her understanding would make dealing with Jewel easier. And now that Jewel knew she and Katy had something in common—a neglectful mother—maybe Jewel wouldn’t be so critical of Katy.
She could hope, couldn’t she?
“Katy!” Dad called from downstairs. “Come down, please.”
Gramma and Grampa must have arrived. Katy drew in a big breath. Sending a quick glance toward the ceiling, she implored God, “Please don’t let them be toooo mad…”
Katy entered the living room and found Dad sitting in
his big overstuffed chair. He still wore a somber look, but the deep furrows in his forehead were smoothed out. The anger from earlier had apparently dissolved. She looked at Gramma and Grampa, who sat on the sofa. They appeared serious too. Katy missed their usual welcoming smiles.
“Here, Katy-girl.” Gramma Ruthie patted the spot of sofa between her and Grampa Ben. “Come sit here and let’s talk a little bit.”
Katy clasped her hands in front of her and sat on the edge of the cushion. She glanced around at each of the adults and blew out a little breath. “Okay. I’m ready for my punishment.”
Dad cleared his throat. He sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees and fitting his thumbnails together. Katy called the position his “thoughtful pose.” She swallowed and waited for him to speak. But then he just sat staring at his thumbs without saying anything. Katy squirmed.
Gramma Ruthie finally patted Katy’s knee. “Katy-girl, I think it’s best if we let you talk first. Tell us why it wasn’t a good idea to leave school today without asking.”
Katy hunched her shoulders and pressed her sweaty palms flat on her knees. “Well, no one at the school knew where Jewel and I were, so that wasn’t very smart. We got in a taxi with a stranger, and we went to a neighborhood where I…” Unpleasant images filled Katy’s head. She licked her lips. “Where I could have been hurt.” Katy hung her head. “It was a stupid thing to do.”
“Then why did you do it?” Gramma’s soft voice held no recrimination.
Katy sent a quick glance at Dad before facing Gramma Ruthie. “Because Jewel asked me to. And Jewel…I didn’t want her to think I was weird. And I guess I wanted her to like me. To be my friend.”
Dad’s head shot up. “If she was really your friend, she wouldn’t encourage you to break the school’s rules.”
Gramma clicked her tongue on her teeth. “Samuel…”
Dad went back to examining his thumbs.
Gramma gave Katy’s knee another pat. “Katy-girl, God put a good brain in your head. You know right from wrong, and you know your choices today put you in what could have been a dangerous situation. Not only did you put yourself in danger, but you worried your dad and your grampa and me.”
Gramma’s words, though kindly spoken, pierced Katy’s heart. “I’m sorry, Gramma Ruthie. I didn’t mean to worry anyone.”
“I know that. I believe if you’d thought it all through, you would have stayed at school.”
Gramma had more confidence in Katy than she had in herself. Katy kept silent.
“But now we aren’t sure we can trust you. And that’s an uncomfortable feeling.”
Remorse sat heavily on Katy’s shoulders. How much change could come from one unwise decision? She wanted to apologize, but her tongue felt thick and stiff. She couldn’t speak.
“The thing is, Katy-girl, none of us expect you to grow up without making mistakes.” Gramma slipped her arm around Katy’s shoulders and tugged. Katy rested her head in the curve of Gramma’s neck. “But we also expect you to learn from your mistakes and not make the same ones again and again. You know the school rules, and you know what you did today was against the school’s rules, as well as foolish and reckless. What did you learn from it?”
Still nestled against Gramma’s shoulder, Katy thought about the different sights and sounds of Jewel’s neighborhood. She’d always known worldly people lived differently than those who resided in the little Mennonite community of Schellberg. But for the first time, she’d been exposed to ugly living. She felt as though she’d lost a little bit of her innocence while standing in Jewel’s foul-smelling, filthy kitchen with Hugo looking her up and down. But how could she explain all of that to Gramma, Grampa, and Dad without giving them another reason to worry?
She chose her words carefully. “I learned that I need to follow my conscience instead of trying to fit in with people who might not care as much as we do about pleasing God. And that includes obeying the rules no matter what other people are doing.” From the way Dad nodded, she knew she’d said the right thing. She sat up. “And from now on, that’s what I’ll do. I won’t worry you again. I’ll earn back your trust. I promise.”
Grampa gave Katy’s shoulders a squeeze. “I think we should pray for Katy. We sent her to that school where she’s with kids who weren’t raised like she was. She needs more of our support, I think.”
“That’s a good idea,” Gramma agreed. “Samuel, you start.”
Without hesitation, Dad closed his eyes and began to pray. “Dear Heavenly Father…”
Katy scrunched her eyes closed and listened to Dad lift her to his Lord. Tears built up behind her closed eyelids and leaked out. His concern for her and his desire for her to be a godly woman came through in his voice. No punishment would have affected her as deeply as her father’s heartfelt request for God to strengthen her and guide her on a righteous pathway.
Both Grampa and Gramma prayed too. By the time they were finished, Katy’s cheeks were warm and moist from tears. She cleaned her face with her sleeve and stood. Dad rose too, his face tired and stern.
“Katy, as a consequence for your behavior today, you will spend two weeks doing extra chores. If I can’t keep you busy here, then Aunt Rebecca can use you at the fabric shop after school.”
Katy nearly groaned. She’d expected a punishment—she even believed she deserved one—but hours with Aunt Rebecca? Surely she didn’t deserve that!
“Now go on up to bed.”
Katy’s shoulders drooped. “Yes, sir.” She started for the stairs then turned back. She looked directly into her dad’s eyes. “Dad, I really am sorry I worried you.”
Dad nodded. “I know, Katy. Go on now.”
She obediently went around the corner to the staircase. As her foot met the first riser, she heard Dad speak.
“Thanks, Mom and Dad, for being here. I didn’t know what to say to her.”
The frustration in his tone froze Katy in place. She knew she should go on up instead of listening, but she couldn’t seem to make her feet move.
“You underestimate yourself, Son.” Grampa spoke.
“No. I was so mad at her…” A huge sigh sounded, and Katy envisioned Dad clenching his fists. “If it had been up to me, she’d be out of that school, away from those kids.”
Katy held her breath.
“But that wouldn’t be fair,” Dad went on. “Not based on one mistake. I can’t expect her to be perfect.”
“No, you can’t,” Gramma’s voice countered, “but you can expect her to learn from her mistakes. I think she learned from this one.”
“I hope so…”
Katy waited a few more seconds, but when no one else spoke, she started to climb the stairs. Then Dad’s voice came again.
“Raising her would be so much easier if I had a wife to help me. A woman knows what to say to a girl. Katy needs a mother.”
Grampa’s chuckle reached Katy’s ears. “We’ve been telling you that for the last five years.”
“I know.” Dad nearly growled the agreement. “But maybe for the first time I realize you’re right. It’s time for me to let Kate go for good and move on…for both of our sakes.”
Katy raced up the stairs.
Chapter Eighteen
The two weeks of Katy’s punishment seemed to drag on forever. As Katy had feared, Dad couldn’t keep her busy enough at the farm, so he dropped her off at Aunt Rebecca’s shop every afternoon. And her time there became torture. Her aunt exhorted Katy on the virtues of following the guidelines of the fellowship and quoted Scripture after Scripture as a means of proving her points. Katy bit the end of her tongue to keep quiet and prayed for God to help her never again do something so awful that she earned another punishment like this one!
She counted down the days of her punishment by crossing them off on the calendar that hung in her bedroom. Finally October 21—the last day—arrived. She nearly jumped up and down for happiness when she realized the two weeks had reached their end. Only one more day of listeni
ng to Aunt Rebecca’s diatribes! She tapped the numbered square on the calendar, savoring the word diatribe. She’d encountered it in her English book a few days ago and decided it was a perfect word for Aunt Rebecca’s endless criticism. She’d even taken to chanting it inside her head—Diatribe, diatribe, diatribe—to drown out her aunt’s scolding voice.
“One more day…I can handle one more day,” she whispered to encourage herself. But maybe she wouldn’t have to go. If she rounded up all the dirty laundry, Dad might let her come home and wash clothes instead of taking her to Aunt Rebecca’s shop. She dressed quickly and dashed out of her room in search of dirty clothes.
When Dad came in from milking, he almost tripped over the mountain of dresses, pants, shirts, and towels Katy had dumped beside the back door. He pointed. “What’s all this?”
“Laundry.” Katy flipped the eggs in the skillet. “I thought I’d get it done after school today. If that’s okay with you.”
A lopsided smile formed on Dad’s face, but then he cleared his throat and the smile disappeared. “I suppose. But don’t leave it here. It’ll be in my way.”
“Yes, sir!”
While they were eating, Dad suddenly lowered his eyebrows and sighed. “I wish there was a way to get you to school earlier on Wednesday.”
Katy paused in taking a bite of toast. “Why?”
“That Bible study Reverend Nuss mentioned…I think it would be good for you to meet with other students who are Christians.”
Katy nodded. “I’d like that. But the bus doesn’t get there in time.”
“I know.” Dad forked up a bite of eggs and chewed slowly. “Maybe Grampa Ben would take you in early on Wednesdays…I’ll ask him.”
Katy dropped her toast and flew around the table to hug her dad’s neck. “Thank you, Dad!”
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