Katy's New World

by Kim Vogel Sawyer

  Annika grinned. “Good. Wanna sit with me?”

  “Sure!” They linked arms and entered the meeting room together. Katy waggled her fingers at Gramma Ruthie, who sat in one of the benches toward the front. Gramma waved back and then turned to visit with a lady on her right. Katy frowned in curiosity. She’d never seen that woman in Schellberg before. She started to ask Annika if she knew who the woman was, but Deacon Knepp stepped to the front of the worship hall and opened his Bible, signaling the start of service.

  When the service was over, Katy and Annika wandered out into the yard. November had arrived, and the trees were absent of leaves, but the day was pleasant and comfortable. People lingered, enjoying the sunshine and soft breeze. Annika tugged Katy to a small circle of young people that included Caleb. Of course…

  Caleb gave Katy a smirk. “Hey, Katydid, are you still under lock and key, or has your dad let you loose?”

  The other boys snickered softly, and Katy’s ears went hot. “Why do you need to know?”

  “There’s a corn shucking at the Stenzel place this coming Friday. Wondered if you’d be there. But maybe you’re not allowed to go to parties again just yet…”

  Katy flicked a glance at Annika. She’d finally regained her friendship with Annika—would Caleb mess things up again?

  To her surprise, Annika scowled at Caleb and propped her fist on her hip. “Not that it’s your business, Caleb Penner, but Katy went to a party last night. In Salina. So if she wants to go to Andy Stenzel’s party she can. And if she doesn’t want to, she won’t. Either way, it has nothing to do with you.” She stuck her nose in the air and flounced away, dragging Katy with her.

  Well away from the group, Katy released a giggle. “Annika! What was that all about?”

  Annika sniffed. “Oh, that Caleb. He’s just too full of himself sometimes. It aggravates me.” She glanced over her shoulder at Caleb and the other boys. Caleb gawked across the grass at them. Annika gave a satisfied grin. “And I’m pretty sure he talks to you to try to make me jealous.” She flipped her head, making her ribbons dance. “Well, it isn’t going to work.”

  Katy laughed out loud.

  “Katy-girl?” Dad called from the edge of the churchyard. “Dinner time. Let’s go.”

  “Okay, Dad!”

  Annika grabbed her arm. “See if you can walk over this afternoon. This nice weather won’t last. While it’s so pretty, we should go down by the creek and sit and talk.”

  “I’ll ask,” Katy promised.

  “Katy!” Dad sounded impatient.

  “Coming!” Katy raced to Dad’s side. “Where are we going for dinner today? Gramma Ruthie’s?”

  Dad scratched his chin. “Yes. And…”

  Apprehension made Katy’s scalp tingle. “And?”

  Dad put his hand on Katy’s shoulder. “We won’t be the only ones there.”

  On most Sundays, Gramma Ruthie invited several people to dinner. Katy couldn’t understand why Dad looked so serious. “Who else is coming?”

  “Gramma invited a…cousin’s friend. From Meade County.”

  Katy remembered the lady sitting with Gramma in service. Her stomach seemed to turn a somersault in her midsection. “Oh?”

  Dad nodded. His ears glowed bright red. “Yes. Gramma thought this friend and you and I should…meet.”

  And Katy understood. Gramma was playing matchmaker!

  “Can Annika come too?” Katy blurted the request.

  Dad froze for a moment but then gave a quick nod. “Go see if it’s all right with her mom.”

  Katy dashed off. Please let it be all right! Please! Please! Between spending more time with Annika and getting ready for Jewel’s party, Katy had completely forgotten Dad’s comment about her needing a mother. She couldn’t believe Gramma Ruthie was acting on Dad’s words so quickly. Katy’s mother had come from a community in Ohio to marry Dad, but things hadn’t worked so well. Would Dad really take a chance on courting another woman from a different community?

  Katy came to a halt beside Annika’s mom. “Mrs. Gehring, Dad says it’s all right if Annika comes to dinner at Gramma Ruthie’s today. Can she come?” The words flew out, her heart pounding. If she had to sit at the table and look at the woman who might become her stepmother, she needed the support of a friend. To her great relief, Annika’s mother agreed. Katy looped her hand through Annika’s elbow. “Stay close. Don’t leave my side!”

  Annika’s face reflected confusion, but Katy didn’t have time to explain. When they reached Grampa and Gramma’s house, Gramma welcomed the girls with hugs. Then she took Katy’s hand and led her over to the woman from church, who stood stirring a pot of corn at Gramma’s stove.

  “Katy, this is Mrs. Rosemary Graber from Meschke, Kansas. She’s a good friend of my cousin Lavinia—you know Lavinia and her husband, Fred. We visited them a few Christmases ago at their farm near Meade. Remember? Well, Mrs. Graber has been staying with Lavinia for the past several months, and Lavinia thought she would enjoy visiting here.”

  Why? Did Lavinia get tired of having Mrs. Graber underfoot? Fortunately, Katy’s tongue stuck to the roof her mouth, holding the snide remark inside.

  Gramma squeezed Katy’s hand. “Rosemary, this is my granddaughter Katy—Samuel’s girl.”

  Mrs. Graber smiled and wiped her hands on her apron—one Katy had sewn for Gramma for Christmas last year, she noted. “It’s very nice to meet you, Katy.”

  “Kathleen,” Katy corrected.

  The woman’s eyebrows rose.

  “My family calls me Katy, but I prefer Kathleen.”

  Gramma’s eyebrows shot up.

  Mrs. Graber smiled and nodded. “Kathleen. Your grandmother speaks of you often and fondly.”

  Katy looked into the woman’s face. She wouldn’t call Mrs. Graber beautiful, but she was handsome with a square jaw and strong features. Her eyes—brown on the outer edge of her irises with green at the center—were easily her most appealing feature. What little of her hair Katy could see from beneath the brim of her hat appeared red with strands of silver. She looked nothing like Katy’s mother.

  Gramma tugged on Katy’s hand, and Katy realized she’d been staring silently for several seconds. She cleared her throat. “Thank you.” But she didn’t say it was nice to meet the woman. She wasn’t sure about that yet, and she wouldn’t lie.

  Gramma introduced Annika to Mrs. Graber, and the pair shook hands. Mrs. Graber said, “I’m glad to meet Kathleen’s best friend. I imagine you girls have lots of fun together.”

  Annika shrugged, shooting Katy a wide-eyed look of what should I say?

  Gramma cleared her throat. “Go set the table, girls.” She shooed them from the kitchen.

  They set the table for six while Gramma’s and Mrs. Graber’s voices carried from the kitchen. The two women chatted and laughed softly as if they’d been friends for a long time. Katy’s hands shook as the placed forks, spoons, and knives beside the plates.

  Annika scurried to her side and whispered, “Is it what I think it is? They’re trying to match your dad with this lady?”

  Katy nodded and whispered back. “Just when I thought things were settling down, Gramma has to go and play matchmaker.” She sent a quick glance toward the kitchen doorway. “What do you think of her?”

  “I’m not sure. She seems nice—really smiley. But it’s hard to tell.”

  A funny feeling filled Katy’s chest—a protective, jealous, uncomfortable feeling she didn’t quite understand. She hissed, “Dad and I have been just fine all these years. We don’t need anybody else.”

  Annika shook her head, blowing out a long breath. “Oh, boy…”

  Oh, boy, indeed!

  Grampa and Dad came from the living room as Gramma and Mrs. Graber carried out platters and bowls of food. Grampa plopped into his customary seat at the head of the table, and Gramma moved to the foot. Normally Katy would sit beside Annika on one side, but today she darted forward and grabbed Dad’s elbow. “Sit by me, Dad.”


  Grampa Ben offered thanks for the meal and then reached for the platter of pork chops. “You’re in for a treat, Rosemary. These chops come from hogs Samuel raises and we butcher ourselves—best meat you’ll ever eat.” He forked a thick chop onto his plate and passed the platter to Annika.

  Gramma picked up the bowl of corn. She smiled brightly at Dad. “Samuel, Rosemary brought this canned sweet corn with her. Comes from her garden back in Meschke. She tells me she cans all sorts of fruits and vegetables every summer.”

  Katy took the bowl of corn from Gramma. Instead of taking any of the corn swimming in some sort of creamy sauce, she stretched her arms past Dad to thrust the bowl at Grampa. Dad scowled and plucked the bowl from her hands. He put two big spoonfuls on his plate.

  “Yes, sir,” Grampa said as if agreeing with someone. “Samuel here keeps us all in milk, pork, and beef. Don’t know what we’d do without him.”

  Mrs. Graber smiled shyly at Dad. Dad smiled back shyly, his ears all red.

  Katy snatched the bowl of rice from the middle of the table. “We just buy this at the grocery.”

  Dad bumped Katy with his elbow. She wished she could bump him back. She smacked a spoonful of rice onto her plate and passed the bowl to Dad. Gramma handed her the gravy, and she smothered her rice and pork chop. Mrs. Graber took a small portion of rice and ignored the gravy. For reasons she couldn’t explain, Katy felt embarrassed by the hearty portions on her own plate.

  Talk fell away while everyone dug into their food. Katy exchanged looks with Annika, her gaze flitting between Mrs. Graber and Dad to be sure they weren’t paying too much attention to each other. She knew she was acting childish, but the mere thought of that woman with her father was too much. Just as Katy lifted her fork to put a bite of pork chop in her mouth, Mrs. Graber said, “Kathleen?”

  Katy clanked her teeth with the fork.

  “Your grandparents tell me you attend the public high school in Salina.”

  Katy held the bite of pork in her mouth without chewing.

  “I would imagine that’s been very interesting. What do you like best about high school?”

  Everyone stared at Katy, waiting for her to answer. She gave the piece of meat two big chomps and tried to swallow. It caught at the back of her throat. She tried again to swallow, but it wouldn’t go down. She grabbed up her glass of water and chugged. The water chased the meat down her esophagus. She put down her glass and released a breath of relief that she hadn’t choked.

  Mrs. Graber still sat, her fork poised in her hand and her eyes on Katy. Gramma, Grampa, Dad, and Annika also sat motionless. They reminded Katy of a still-life painting from her history book. She gave their picture a title: Family at Impasse. She giggled. High-pitched. Hysterical.

  Mrs. Graber’s eyebrows shot up.

  “Katy?” Dad’s voice boomed in the quiet room. “Mrs. Graber asked you a question.”

  “Oh. Yes.” Katy traced a curlycue in the gravy in her plate with her fork. She offered what she hoped was an innocent look. “I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten. What was the question again?”

  “Your favorite part of high school…?”

  Katy wasn’t about to share her joy in attending English class. She flipped her fingers, as if shooing away a fly. “Oh, I couldn’t say…” She ignored Dad’s warning frown, lifted a forkful of rice, and chewed with great concentration.

  Mrs. Graber smiled sweetly. “Never mind, Kathleen. Go ahead and eat.”

  Katy bent over her plate and focused on her dinner. How she hoped Mrs. Graber got the message. She didn’t want to be friends. And Dad was not up for grabs.

  That evening, Dad and Katy sat in the living room for their customary time of Bible reading and prayer before retiring. Katy expected Dad to scold her for her behavior at Gramma’s dinner table, but he never said a word about the way she’d treated Mrs. Graber. He read a passage from Psalms, his voice deep and soothing and calm. His prayers didn’t carry even a hint of irritation with her. She bowed her head and prayed that Dad hadn’t fallen for Gramma and Grampa’s scheme to match him with the woman who grew and canned her own vegetables. They didn’t need a woman around here. They were fine on their own.

  “Bed now, Katy-girl,” Dad said at the close of his prayer.

  “Good-night, Dad.”

  Katy dressed in her gown and then sat at her desk. She pulled out her journal and recorded the events of the past two days—Jewel’s party, Annika putting Caleb in his place, and her time with Annika at the pond that afternoon. She carefully avoided any mention of Mrs. Graber.

  Her recording complete, she began idly flipping pages. The journal fell open to the poem she’d written about the leaf. She read it again, frowning a bit. Then slowly, deliberately, she drew a line through the last two lines. With careful strokes, she crafted a different ending.

  The wind comes stronger, pulling hard…

  The last leaf falls upon the yard.

  Although the wind pulls very hard,

  The last leaf clings without regard;

  And at the close of winter chill,

  Finds its joy in remaining there still.

  Joyfully remains there still.

  She smiled, closed the book, and turned off her lamp.

  “Kathleen, your essay is one of the best I’ve read in all my years of teaching.” Mr. Gorsky folded his arms on the edge of the desk.

  Katy couldn’t deny the rush of pleasure her teacher’s words brought. When he’d asked her to come in before lunch and visit with him, she had worried she’d done something wrong. She stared at her neatly written essay lying on top of the stack of typed papers on his desk. She owned no computer, so her work was always handwritten. Mr. Gorsky never complained. She’d worked long and hard on the assigned topic, A Recent Epiphany.

  She’d savored the word epiphany and its meaning—a leap of understanding. Her deepest thoughts spilled onto the page as she recorded her realization that she could be a public school student while maintaining the standards of her Mennonite faith. The realization hadn’t come easily, and writing about it had been harder than writing a poem, but Mr. Gorsky’s affirmation verified her hard work had paid off.

  He continued, “There’s a Young Writers contest sponsored by Journalistic Pursuits magazine, and I would like you to enter it. I believe it stands a good chance of winning.”

  Katy’s ears burned red hot. Published in a magazine? “Th-thank you, sir, but I better ask my dad before I say yes.”

  Mr. Gorsky smiled. “That’s fine. The deadline is December one, so don’t wait too long, all right?”

  “No, sir, I won’t.” She’d ask Dad the minute he met the bus. Katy started to leave.

  “Kathleen?”

  She turned back.

  The teacher rose and rounded the desk. “Would you also ask your dad for permission to join the yearbook staff? With your writing abilities, you’d be an excellent addition to the staff. You might also consider joining the debate and forensics squads. I’m sure your excellent ability to communicate in written form would extend to communicating verbally.”

  Katy gulped. Mr. Gorsky’s confidence in her abilities put a lump in her throat that refused to be swallowed. She nodded.

  “Good. I’ll see you on Monday, Kathleen.”

  Katy stepped into the hallway and leaned against the door for a moment. Her heart pounded. Maybe being published! Writing for the yearbook! Joining the debate team! The thoughts made her giddy. Don’t get carried away. Dad might say no. Then she followed the thought with a prayer; God, if You want me to step through these doors, then put a “yes” in Dad’s mouth.

  Smiling, she headed to her locker and deposited her backpack. Then she hurried to the cafeteria. Laughter and voices—by now a familiar sound—guided her to the large room. Her lunch period was half over, and only a few kids stood in line at the serving counter. She darted forward and grabbed a tray. The servers scooped a chicken-fried steak patty, mashed potatoes, shriveled peas, and a peach half onto her plate
, and she thanked each of them in turn. She added a small carton of milk and then scanned the crowded lunchroom for Shelby and the others.

  “Kathleen!” The word carried over the noise. “Over here!”

  Katy spotted Shelby waving her arm. An empty seat waited between Shelby and Bridget. Katy scurried over.

  “There you are,” Bridget said, shaking her head. “We thought you got lost.”

  “Mr. Gorsky needed to talk to me.”

  Cora giggled. “You in trouble?”

  Jewel rolled her eyes. “We’re talking about Kathleen. As if she’d be in trouble…”

  Shelby scooted her chair over a little bit. “We saved you a seat. Sit down.”

  Katy placed her tray on the table and slipped into the open chair.

  Cora leaned forward. “Hey, Kathleen, did you—”

  “Hush!” Trisha scowled at the always chattering Cora. “You know Kathleen prays before she eats. Leave her alone for a minute.”

  Something—something good—welled up inside of Katy. She bowed her head to say grace, adding a “Thank You, Lord,” that had nothing to do with food. She whispered, “Amen,” and lifted her head.

  Picking up her fork, she pointed it at Cora. “Before you say anything else, there’s something you should know…” She glanced around the circle of girls. A smile grew on her face, and she bestowed it by turn on Shelby, Bridget, Cora, Trisha, and even Jewel. “My friends call me Katy.”

  Discussion Questions for Katy’s New World

  1. Katy was given the unique opportunity of attending public high school, which put her in a situation far different than anything she’d experienced previously. Was she prepared to face the challenges of being a part of the “world”? How might Katy have better prepared herself prior to attending high school?

  2. Katy felt set apart from her classmates in Schellberg because of her strong desire to learn, and she felt set apart from her classmates at the high school because of her Mennonite clothing and beliefs. In what ways did she try to find her “fit”? Were these appropriate or inappropriate choices? How important is it to you to find a place of belonging among your peers?