“I would certainly hope so. We will do everything we can to keep this little one.” Sarah leaned over to plant a kiss on Mollie’s head.
“I feel like running off somewhere with her and hiding.”
“You can’t do that. They would surely take her away if you did that.”
“I know. I wouldn’t do anything so foolish, Mamm. I love her so much. She is my boppli.”
“I’m well aware of how much you love her, dear. We all love her. She’s one of the family. We will pray the Lord Gott will see fit to leave her with us.”
Chapter Twenty-One
A skim of snow covered the grass and frosted the tree limbs early on Christmas morning. Fat, fluffy flakes continued to drift earthward as Rosanna gazed out the kitchen window after adding wood to the stove. She stood staring for a few moments, enjoying the peace and solitude. Once her younger siblings awoke, there wouldn’t be any more silence for the rest of the day, except at prayer times.
How fitting that it should snow for Mollie’s first Christmas. Just because the calendar said December did not mean there would be snow. Rosanna remembered many Christmases where the temperature in Southern Maryland rose upward of sixty degrees. She welcomed this cold, snowy Christmas. She couldn’t wait to show Mollie the scene that looked like the little plastic snow globe she had shaken in the dollar store a few weeks ago. She hoped to make Mollie’s day extra special, even though the boppli would not remember it. She prayed this wouldn’t be Mollie’s only Christmas with them.
Enough! This was the Lord Jesus’ birthday. She would be joyful. Easier said than done, but she would give it her best effort. Rosanna lifted the heavy black skillet to the stove and removed a slab of bacon from the propane-powered refrigerator. Kaffi already perked in the silver pot on the back stove burner. Daed, Tobias, and Joseph were already outside caring for the animals and performing only necessary chores. Surely the smell of bacon frying would draw everyone else out from beneath their warm blankets.
Ordinarily Mamm would be working right along beside her, but a nervous new daed had fetched her late the previous evening. It had been a false alarm, but Mamm had stayed with the frightened young couple until the wee hours of the morning. Rosanna had just finished checking on Mollie when she heard her mamm trudge up the steps. Even if Mollie slept through the night, Rosanna didn’t. She kept getting up to check on her, lightly touching her little chest to make sure it rose and fell with her breaths. Mamm told her most other mudders did the very same thing, so Rosanna didn’t feel so peculiar.
“Ach, Rosanna! I didn’t mean to oversleep.” Sarah bustled into the kitchen, weariness still written on her face.
“It’s okay, Mamm. You could have slept longer. You got home so late.”
“Or early, depending on how you look at it.”
Rosanna laughed. “I guess you’re right. I can fix breakfast. Why don’t you pour a cup of kaffi and relax for a few minutes.”
“Have you ever known me to do that?”
“Well, nee, I can’t think of a single instance.”
“Then I won’t start doing that now.” Sarah reached for the large ceramic mixing bowl. “Pancakes to go with the bacon?”
“That sounds gut. We could have banana bread and muffins—or would you prefer oatmeal?”
“The bread and muffins are fine. We have plenty to use up.”
“I’m sure they won’t go to waste around here.”
“Pancakes, yum! Can I help?” Sadie shuffled into the kitchen rubbing her eyes.
“Sure, but wash your hands first,” Sarah replied.
“I washed my hands.”
“Last night doesn’t count, Sadie.” Rosanna wagged a finger at her youngest sibling.
“How do you know I didn’t wash them this morning, smarty?”
“Because I know you!”
Sarah pointed to the doorway. “Wash—with soap. Then you can help.”
Rosanna laughed. She loved all her siblings, but Sadie was so loving, sweet, and funny. Adam and Roman, Rosanna’s two oldest bruders, and their fraas would be arriving later for dinner. Both women recently announced they were expecting their first bopplin, so next Christmas there would be three little ones. Today would be a nice family day. They would exchange presents later and enjoy one another’s company. Tomorrow, Second Christmas, they would go visiting or receive visitors. The day after that, Rosanna would make sure Mollie was legally hers and that she stayed that way.
* * *
The dinner table had been nearly overflowing with large platters of sliced ham and turkey, heaping bowls of creamy mashed potatoes, green beans from last summer’s garden, creamed corn, a variety of pickles and relishes, and baskets of golden-brown biscuits. They had squeezed four more chairs around the long oak table and enjoyed feast and fellowship.
The adults visited and played board games while the younger kinner enjoyed their new toys. Mollie had been passed around from person to person, each one cooing to her and playing with her. Rosanna tucked the exhausted infant into her crib shortly after evening fell. Not much later, Rosanna succumbed to her weariness and dropped into bed herself. The next day would be another busy one, but maybe there wouldn’t be such a mountain of dishes to wash.
A little more snow fell on Christmas night, so that when Rosanna awoke on Second Christmas, a couple of inches of new fluffiness covered the ground. Katie awoke with a sore throat and sniffles, so Rosanna volunteered to stay home with her while the rest of the family visited freinden and neighbors. Secretly, Rosanna was relieved that she and Mollie would have a quieter day at home.
The family hadn’t been gone long when Christmas bells jingled in the driveway. Katie had been coloring in her new coloring book when she wasn’t sipping hot tea with honey or napping on the couch. She was the first to hear the bells. “Someone came to visit,” she called to Rosanna, who had just crept up the stairs to check on Mollie.
Satisfied the infant still napped peacefully, Rosanna bounded down the stairs to peek out the window. “I wonder who is visiting us.”
Katie had dragged a chair over to the kitchen window, climbed onto it, and leaned over the sink to peer outside. “It looks like Paul Hertzler.”
“I wonder what . . . Katie Mast, get down off that chair before you fall and break your neck!”
“Aw, Rosanna, I climb on stuff all the time.”
“That doesn’t make it okay. How would I ever explain to Mamm and Daed that you broke your neck while you were supposed to be resting?”
Katie giggled. “You’re silly. I’m not going to fall. I’ve never fallen out of any of the trees I climbed.”
Rosanna clucked her tongue. Just then, Katie leaned a little too far, causing the chair to slide. Rosanna raced across the room to grab Katie before she hit the floor. “Whew! That was close.” She set the little girl on her feet. “What were you saying about never falling?”
“I almost never fall. Why don’t you let Paul inside?”
“And why don’t you go back to coloring or some other safe activity?” Rosanna hurried to the back door to let Paul in, since she figured, being a single fellow visiting alone, he might feel uneasy simply walking inside as most Amish freinden and neighbors did. She pulled open the heavy outer door just as Paul mounted the cement steps. “Merry Christmas, Paul.”
“Merry Christmas. I hope it’s okay for me to stop by.”
“Of course it is. Kumm in out of the cold.”
“Jah, it has turned much colder.”
“Is your family well? Did you have a nice Christmas?”
“Jah to both questions. The family has headed to my oldest bruder’s house. John’s family spent yesterday with his fraa’s family, so we’ll visit with them today. I’m on my way there but wanted to stop by here first.”
Rosanna assumed it was okay to invite Paul into the kitchen since Katie could serve as a chaperone of sorts. “Would you like kaffi, tea, or cocoa?”
“I don’t want to put you to any trouble.”
&
nbsp; “The water is already warm. I’ve been plying Katie with hot tea and honey all day.”
“Is she sick?”
“She has a sore throat and a bit of a cough. I volunteered to stay home with her so the rest of the family could make their visits as planned.”
“That was nice of you.”
“I kind of wanted to keep Mollie in out of the cold anyway.”
“She isn’t sick, too, is she?”
“Nee, but she had a busy day yesterday, and I thought it best to keep her calm and warm today.”
“I’m glad she’s okay. Maybe I can see her in a little while.”
“Sure. Now, what would you like to drink?” Rosanna led the way into the kitchen.
“I’ll take some cocoa, if that’s okay.”
“That’s fine.”
“Can I have cocoa, too?” Katie laid down her crayon to turn a pleading look in Rosanna’s direction. “With marshmallows?”
Rosanna laughed. “There certainly isn’t anything wrong with your appetite.”
“Mamm always says I have a healthy one.”
“That’s a polite way of saying you eat a lot. You can sure pack away a lot of food for a thin little girl. You must burn off your food with all your climbing, ain’t so?”
Katie shrugged. “Can I have cocoa?”
“You may have cocoa.”
“You sound like my teacher.”
“Hey, I like your picture.” Paul moved to stand behind Katie’s chair at the big kitchen table.
“Danki. I like to color.”
Rosanna prepared three mugs of cocoa and added a little cold water to Katie’s mug. Knowing her little schweschder, she’d probably try to gulp the whole mug down and end up scalding her throat. Rosanna plopped a small handful of miniature marshmallows into Katie’s mug and set it on the table.
“I could have put in my own marshmallows, you know.”
“Uh-huh. You would have dumped in half the bag.”
Katie wrinkled up her nose at Rosanna before trying to sink her marshmallows with a spoon.
Rosanna shook her head. “Would you like to add your own marshmallows, Paul?”
“Hey, you asked him but not me,” Katie whined.
“Because he’s an adult.”
“I trust you to give me the right amount.” Paul winked at Rosanna.
She turned back to her task, hoping to hide her burning cheeks. Why did that little wink affect her so? She stirred the cocoa, added marshmallows, and carried the mugs to the table. She set her mug beside Katie’s and set Paul’s directly across the table. She returned to the counter to retrieve the big ceramic cookie jar.
“Yum. Cookies.” Katie looked up from dunking marshmallows.
“I thought your throat hurt.” Rosanna set the jar out of Katie’s reach.
“The cocoa will make it feel better, so the cookies will go down fine.”
Rosanna rolled her eyes.
“I like your thinking, Katie.” Paul sipped his cocoa before shrugging out of his jacket.
“I think she’s a little manipulator.” Rosanna passed the cookie jar to Paul. “You’d better help yourself to cookies first before this little piggy gets hold of the jar.”
Paul reached into the jar and withdrew cookies. “Ah! Chocolate chip. My very favorite.”
“Mine, too.” Katie leaned as far as possible to slide the jar toward herself.
“I thought peanut butter cookies were your favorite.” Rosanna passed paper napkins to the other two.
“They’re my favorite, too, but chocolate chip are my most favorite.”
Rosanna laughed. “Like I said, she’s a piggy.” She pulled the cookie jar from Katie’s grasp and handed her two small cookies.
“I could have gotten my own.”
“I don’t know where your hands have been.”
“I only get two?” Katie glanced at Paul’s cookies and then at her own. “Two teensy-weensy ones?”
“We don’t want to tax your poor sore throat too much.”
Katie made a face, drawing more laughter from Rosanna and Paul. She devoured her cookies and slurped her cocoa while the adults talked. When she started playing with the crumbs and her spoon, Rosanna sent her to the living room to rest. “Put your mug in the sink on your way.”
“All right. I guess I am kind of tired.”
When Katie left the room, Paul reached down and lifted a paper bag to the table. “I have a little Christmas present for Mollie.”
“You do?”
“With it being her first Christmas, I wanted to do something for her.”
“That’s so nice of you, Paul.”
“It isn’t much.” He pushed the bag across the table.
Rosanna gasped when she pulled a wooden puzzle out of the bag. The base was shaped like a barn and had duck, horse, cow, pig, sheep, and chicken puzzle pieces. “This is wunderbaar!”
“I know she’s not old enough for this yet, by my younger bruders and I all liked puzzles, so I thought . . .”
“It’s perfect. We all loved puzzles, too. Did you make this?”
“I did.”
“I never knew you were so talented and so artistic. These animals look so real.” Rosanna glanced up into Paul’s hazel eyes. The flush in his cheeks warmed her heart.
He shrugged. “I don’t know how artistic I am, but I like making things.”
“You could certainly sell these to Englisch and Amish customers. Mollie will love playing with the puzzle. I just know it!”
Rosanna removed the animal pieces from their slots in the puzzle base. Paul had even painted the inside to look like a real barn.
“I have something for you, too.”
“For me?”
“It’s your first Christmas as a mudder, and, well, I had the wood, so I made this.” He set a smaller bag on the table.
Rosanna’s heart skipped a beat. Her bruders had been the only fellows who had ever given her gifts. She was touched by Paul’s thoughtfulness. How many young men would buy a boppli and her mamm gifts, much less make them? She willed her fingers not to tremble as she reached into the bag.
“Ach, Paul, it’s beautiful!” Rosanna drew out a polished wooden box with a hinged lid. The word “Recipes” had been carved on top. Her name was etched in one lower corner, and a flower in the opposite one. Rosanna ran her hands over the smooth wood. She lifted the lid and inhaled the scent of the wood. He had even thought to include the perfect size of index cards. “I’ve been collecting recipes for when I . . . for later. I will cherish this gift always. Danki, Paul. You are so thoughtful.” She stretched her hand across the table to squeeze his. Now her face probably glowed as bright as his.
Rosanna withdrew her hand and glanced down at the recipe box. Did Paul have any ulterior motive for giving her this box? Did he misconstrue her impromptu gesture just now? What should she say now to defuse the charged atmosphere that swirled around them?
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Rosanna! I think Mollie is awake. Do you want me to get her?” Katie hollered like her throat had never hurt at all.
“Nee, I don’t need you breathing your germs all over her. I’ll get her.” Rosanna scooted her chair back and set the recipe box down on the table. Mollie awoke at precisely the right moment.
“Great, I will get to see her after all.” Paul started to push back from the table.
“Please feel free to have more cookies. I’ll run up and get Mollie and be right back.” Rosanna scooted the cookie jar closer to Paul before dashing from the room.
She tickled the cooing, smiling boppli before changing her. “You’re always such a happy girl. You have a visitor downstairs who brought you a special gift.” She lifted Mollie from the crib and carried her downstairs.
“Hi, Mollie,” Katie called from her makeshift bed on the couch. “I wouldn’t have sneezed on her or anything.”
Rosanna smiled. “I know you wouldn’t, but you need to rest so you’ll feel better to go back to school.”
/> “Ugh!”
“You know you like school.”
“Sometimes.”
Rosanna laughed. She knew it must be hard for Katie to sit still all day in school when her body wanted to jump around and keep moving. She understood. She liked to keep busy herself. Upon entering the kitchen, she turned Mollie around so she faced the table. “Look who has kumm to see you.”
“Hey, Mollie.” Paul stood and crossed the room in two giant steps. “Don’t you look all bright-eyed after your nap.” He tickled her under her chin and smiled when she smiled at him.
“You sure are at ease with little ones for having none in your house.”
“I guess I inherited that from Mamm.”
“Would you like to hold her while I prepare her bottle?”
“Sure.” He expertly lifted Mollie from Rosanna’s arms as if he’d been handling infants regularly.
Rosanna scooped powdered formula into a bottle, added water and a nipple, and shook the bottle to mix the ingredients. Paul sure would make a great daed one day. How many times had that thought run through her head? When she turned back around, she found Paul had dropped onto a chair and was cuddling Mollie in his arms.
“Can I feed her? Do you think she’ll take the bottle from me?”
“I don’t see why she wouldn’t. She certainly seems to like you.” Rosanna gave the bottle a final shake before handing it to Paul.
“Let’s see if I can maneuver this.”
“Here.” Rosanna bent down to help re-situate Mollie in Paul’s arms. A little tingle shot up her own arm and raced straight to her heart when he looked up at her with eyes full of concern and . . . what? She inhaled his scent of soap, slightly spicy shaving cream, and wood smoke. The combination provided a pleasing aroma that she wouldn’t mind smelling daily. Whoa! She’d better back up right now. “All you have to do is put the bottle to her lips, and she’ll take it from there.” Rosanna gave a nervous little laugh and backed up a bit farther.
When Mollie opened her mouth and started sucking the bottle, Rosanna plunked down on a nearby chair. The scene in front of her looked so natural that it nearly stole her breath away. Would Mollie ever know a daed’s love? Goodness knows, she loved the little girl enough for a hundred people, and she knew her whole family adored Mollie. Would that make up for not having a daed? Would she even have Mollie much longer?
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