And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8
When she could stay away no longer, she wandered home right when her mother and Marlene were cleaning up after the midday meal.
“You were gone for a long time,” her mother said to her in a stern tone.
“Jah, it took a long time to apologize to Adam.”
“What did he say?” her mother asked.
“In payment for the damages to his buggy, I have to clean his haus and do chores.”
Her mother nodded. “You can go outside with the broom. Marlene, you go with her. There are some cobwebs around the side of the house and they look untidy.”
“Follow me,” Marlene said. “I know where everything is kept. I’ve been reorganizing things.”
Once they were outside, Marlene said, “Denke so much for taking the blame for that, Grace. Now everyone’s so mad at you they’re being nice to me. It’s a nice change.”
Grace rolled her eyes. “That's hardly fair, Marlene. You should tell them that it was you. It's not fair that I get the blame.”
Marlene pouted. “I'll tell everybody I did it, but can I just wait a little longer? I feel like such an outsider around your familye, and this is the only time I’ve felt that I belong. And even Matthew’s been nice to me. He hasn't been nice to me for a long time.” Marlene leaned in and whispered, “We’re trying to have a baby, and that’s not going to happen if Matthew’s not happy with me, if you know what I mean.”
Grace put her hands over her ears. “Ohhh, Marlene, I don't need to hear things like that.”
Marlene giggled. “You've been married – you should know about these things.”
Grace shook her head. “I don't want to hear about them, things like that.”
“Here!” Marlene said as she handed Grace the broom. “Get those cobwebs down.”
“Gladly, if you'll change the topic of conversation.”
Marlene giggled again. “When do you have to start doing jobs for Adam?”
“He's picking me up tomorrow just before eleven.”
“Can’t you walk? It only takes five or ten minutes to walk to his house.”
“I think he said that he's coming back from somewhere and then he's collecting me on his way home.”
“I see. Well, I’ve done you a favor then, haven't I? You like Adam, and now you’ll be seeing a lot more of him. You should thank me.”
“What makes you think I like him?”
“I can tell you still like him, and he still likes you. He kept looking at you all the way through dinner last night.”
Grace stopped sweeping the cobwebs off the house. She leaned on the broom. “Do you really think so?”
“Jah. I do. I know about love.”
“Then you will know how important it is that you tell everyone that it was you and not me who damaged his buggy.”
“I don't see what you mean. Isn't it better that everyone thinks it was you? No one in your familye will be mad at you for long and Adam adores you, so he'll forgive you. Matthew would be mad at me, and I can tell that your parents don’t think highly of me. They’re nice enough to my face, but they don’t treat me as nicely as they treat their other dochder-in-laws.”
“That’s not true at all. They treat everyone the same. I do know that Adam wouldn’t be interested in a woman who stole his good horse and buggy to gallop it away and then crash it. I’m already so far away from what he wants in a fraa.”
“Nee, that’s not true.”
“It is. I left the community for years, married someone else, and now…” her voice trailed away.
“And now what?”
Grace shook her head and turned away from Marlene. “It's nothing.”
“I can tell it’s something. What were you about to say?”
Grace turned back and faced the sidewall of the house. She’d already gotten rid of the cobwebs so she started sweeping away some imaginary ones.
Marlene grabbed Grace’s arm. “Grace, tell me what's going on.” She swung Grace around to face her.
“You're hurting me, Marlene.”
“Tell me what's going on; I know that there’s something. If you don't tell me, I'll tell your mudder and vadder you're hiding something from them. They don’t like secrets being kept.”
“I don't know if there's anything to tell, yet.”
Marlene tipped her head to the side and screwed up her round face. “What are you talking about, Grace? You're not making any sense at all.”
“If I tell you something, you must keep it a secret. And if it turns out to be true, I must be the one to tell my family first, and not you. Okay?”
Marlene nodded and her eyes grew wide.
“And if you do tell everyone before I tell them, I’ll tell everyone that it was you who drove Adam’s buggy off the road. Fair enough?”
“All right, just tell me.”
Normally Grace would not have shared anything with Marlene, but maybe sharing something so personal could turn things around for their friendship. “I think I might be pregnant.”
Marlene's jaw dropped open and she stared at Grace in disbelief without saying a word.
Grace went on to explain, “Of course, it'll be Jeremy's baby.”
Marlene stared at her for a few more seconds before she grabbed the broom from Grace’s hands, threw it into the garden, and stomped away from her without saying a word. When Grace picked up the broom, she heard a door slam from inside the house. It was then that Grace recalled that Marlene had been upset with Grace’s mother recently for making a comment about her not having a baby.
I’m so stupid. I shouldn’t have said anything. She’s been trying to have one, and if I am having one that will make her feel even worse.
She knew she had to talk to Marlene. Grace propped the broom up, and headed inside to come face-to-face with her mother.
“I can’t leave you two alone for five minutes. Why is she upset now?”
“I said something thoughtless. I’m going right upstairs to apologize to her now.”
Her mother gave a sharp nod of her head. “And so you should. And then you can both come down and help me with dinner.”
“Yes, Mamm.”
Grace climbed the stairs and made her way to Marlene’s door. She raised her hand and knocked quietly.
A couple seconds later. Marlene opened the door a crack. “Jah?”
“Can we talk for a minute?”
Marlene opened the door wider, and then sat back down on the bed. Grace walked in and sat down on the bed next to her.
“I'm sorry, Marlene. I forgot for a moment that you are upset about not having a boppli yet.”
Marlene swallowed hard and nodded.
Grace added, “I might not be.”
“What makes you think that you are?”
“I did a test, but maybe it's not accurate. I suppose there's a chance it might not be.”
“I think those things are pretty accurate these days, Grace.”
Grace noticed more tears brimming in Marlene's eyes.
“I'm so selfish, Grace. I should be happy for you, but I'm just sad for myself.” Marlene sniffed and sat straighter.
“I understand how it must feel.” Grace tried to comfort Marlene by rubbing her on her shoulder. She wanted to tell Marlene that she didn't get pregnant deliberately, but that might have just made Marlene feel worse. She searched her mind for something that would give her sister-in-law comfort.
“You will be pregnant. Everything always works out for you, Grace.”
Grace’s mouth dropped open. “It does not. It’s just the opposite. I lost Adam, and then I married Jeremy, and that was a terrible mistake.” Grace bit her lip. She was supposed to be comforting Marlene and not going over her woes again. “Everything will work out for you. You married my bruder, and he's a wunderbaar man.
“Jah, he is, but he's not happy with me.”
“Of course he is. He loves you.”
“Things aren’t the same as when we first married.”
“It's probably because you’re living here; it can’t be easy. Things will get much better when you get your own home.”
“And when will that be? Matthew said it would be another two years.”
Grace recalled that Matthew had said he was annoyed with Marlene for not getting a job to help them save money. “It'll be quicker if you get a job away from the home.”
“I didn't get married to work outside the home. I help Mamm look after the haus and I look after Matthew.”
“That’s good, but that doesn’t bring in any money. I’m here now to help Mamm, so why not look for a job, even a part-time job? It’ll help you get your own home faster. Doesn't that sound good?”
“You'll be living the life that I want to live, Grace. Can't you see that? You'll be home here with Mamm doing the cooking and you’ll have a boppli. That’s what I want; I don’t want a job. That's not like the kind of life I wanted.”
“It'll only be for a while. If you get a job, you might be in your own home in under a year and then you can have your boppli in your own home.” Grace did her best to make it sound an exciting thing to do.
“What kind of job would I get? I don't know how to do anything. I don’t have any particular skills.”
“You can cook. Why don’t you set up a roadside stall like many people in the community do? You can sell jams and preserves. Mamm used to do that a few years ago. That way, you'll have your own business and can work your own hours. I'm sure Mamm will let you use the kitchen for that.”
Immediately, Marlene’s face brightened. “Jah. I think that is something that I’d like to do. Would you help me?”
“Of course I'll help you. Let's go down now and ask Mamm if we can use her kitchen.”
The two girls went down and discussed the idea of a roadside stall with Grace's mother who was excited by the idea. They set about planning what they would make.