ELIAS TURNED UP THE PROPANE HEATER IN THE bedroom, set the lantern on the end table between his and Amos’s beds, then crawled under the covers and waited for his brother to come in after taking a bath.
Amos’s hair was wet and sticking straight up when he walked in towel-drying it, barefoot, wearing blue pajama bottoms and a white T-shirt. “Ach, it’s cold in here.”
Elias rolled his eyes. “Put some shoes on, you dummkopp.” He looked at his cell phone. One bar left, but no word from Elizabeth yet. He scratched his chin. He’d been trying to reach her for an hour and no answer.
Amos got into bed shivering and tucked himself beneath the covers.
Elias turned on his side to face his brother. “So where’d you go last night?” It seemed unlikely that Amos would have a girlfriend, but Elias couldn’t think of any other reason for a man to trek into this weather.
“N-None of your business.” Amos reached over the side of the bed and between the mattresses, pulling out a magazine with bent edges and a shiny red car on the front.
Elias glared at his brother. “It ain’t, huh?” He sat taller. “I’m the one who took the blame for you. Mammi saw you last night, and she and Daadi think it was me who snuck out.”
“Sorry a-about that.” Amos flipped through the pages of the magazine.
“You don’t seem too sorry.” Elias glared at his brother, then grinned. “Find that lizard of yours?”
Amos’s jaw dropped and he sat taller, tossing the magazine to the side. “Ach! I forgot!” He jumped out of the bed, grabbed the lantern, and began searching the room. “Help me look for George.”
Elias yawned as he snuggled into his covers. “I think one gut deed for the day is enough for me.”
Amos grumbled under his breath, and he was still shuffling around the room when Elias drifted off to sleep.
Eve carried the lantern down the stairs, tiptoeing, knowing she was early for breakfast. She could smell sausage and biscuits already going, but she didn’t realize her father was up also until she heard her name.
“Eve and Benjamin give those kinner too much freedom. I could hardly sleep last night, worrying one of them young’uns would be wandering around out in this wedder.” Eve’s mother paused. “And all over a maedel.”
Eve slowed her step, gently turning the lantern down as she listened to her mother go on. “I hope you told Elias that we don’t allow such doings in our home.”
“Ya, ya.”
Eve came to a complete stop, still listening.
“Eve and Benjamin will be lucky if those twins don’t end up in trouble or living out in the Englisch world.” Another pause. “I don’t think they had those types of troubles with Leroy. Or maybe they did, and we just didn’t know about it.”
Eve heard her father’s chair scoot from the table, and Eve picked up the pace, not wanting to get caught eavesdropping. She came face-to-face with her father in the middle of the den.
“Guder mariye, Daed.” She scooted around him as he smiled and nodded.
“I’m gonna go milk the cows. Send those boys when they get up.”
“It’s still early. I’m sure they’ll be down shortly.” Eve edged into the kitchen, kept her head high, and poured herself a cup of coffee.
“Guder mariye, Eve.”
Eve returned the sentiment but couldn’t look at her mother. Her thoughts assailed her, but she bit her tongue. For a moment. Then she swirled around, leaned up against the kitchen counter, and glared at her mother as Mamm pulled biscuits from the oven.
“We live in different times, Mamm. We don’t allow our kinner to do anything that other parents in the district don’t let theirs do.” She bit her bottom lip, wondering why she had never been good enough in her mother’s eyes.
“Were you eavesdropping?” Mamm set down the oven mitt and raised an eyebrow in Eve’s direction.
Eve folded her arms across her chest. “Nee. I just happened to hear the end of your conversation with Daed.”
Her mother sighed as she walked to the refrigerator and pulled out two jars of jam. “I just don’t think you know what’s going on with your own kinner, that’s all.” She shrugged, putting the jars on the table.
Eve took a deep breath, remembering to respect her parents no matter what. “At least I love my children. And they know that.” She glared at her mother and trudged across the kitchen. “I’m going to go help Daed in the barn.”
“Eve, wait.” Rosemary watched her daughter stomp out to the barn, pouting as if she were a small child. Rosemary knew she shouldn’t have said anything about Eve’s child rearing, even if it had been the truth. Eve and Benjamin were going to lose control of those twins if they didn’t do something. If Rosemary had those boys under her roof for a while, she could teach them a thing or two about the old ways. They’d get rid of all that modern technology—and no one would be sneaking out of the house. And twice now, Eve had mentioned how her boys knew she loved them.
But did Eve just insinuate that Rosemary didn’t love her?
Rosemary shuffled across the kitchen, grasping her right hand as it began to shake. She’d hoped that she and Eve would get closer while Eve was here, but instead, she was just pushing Eve further away.
With a heavy heart Rosemary finished cooking breakfast, hoping Eve would come in before everyone else so that maybe she could make amends with her daughter. When that didn’t happen, she turned to the Lord. She’d been praying that God would show her the way to get closer to Eve, but she also wondered if God was talking and she just wasn’t hearing Him.
Ten minutes later everyone was seated at the kitchen table. After they’d prayed, Benjamin spoke up.
“Eve and I have something to ask you both.” He reached for a biscuit, glancing back and forth between Rosemary and Joseph.
Rosemary briefly looked at Eve, but her daughter was picking at her scrambled eggs and didn’t look up as Benjamin went on.
“Cousin Mary Mae has fallen seriously ill, and Eve and I feel it would be gut to pay her a visit.” Benjamin sighed. “The timing is bad with the haus and all, but it would be a gut chance to also pick up some supplies. I’m having trouble finding some of the hardware we need for the old door in our kitchen and a few other small things we could cart back in the van with us.”
Joseph pushed up his glasses. “How long would you be away?”
“We’d like to stay for a week.” Benjamin took a bite of his biscuit and swallowed. “The boys could still help you on the haus while we are away.” He glanced at Eve. “Mary Mae and Eve write letters and are close. Eve feels we should make the trip, and I do too.”
“She’s got the cancer, huh?” Leroy scooped up the last of his eggs and quickly reached for the bowl in the middle of the table.
“Ya.” Eve kept her head hung low, and Rosemary wondered how much of her sadness was due to Mary Mae . . . or how much of if it was from this morning’s scuffle.
“It’s no problem.” Joseph sat taller as he spoke directly to Benjamin. “You go, take the time you need to be with Mary Mae. We will keep working on your haus, and all will be well.”
As the others chatted, Rosemary grew quiet, thinking. She and Joseph would have these three teenagers to tend to on their own. Could she maybe show them some of the old ways? Tell the boys stories about how things used to be, before all this modern technology invaded their world? And would they listen, maybe even get rid of some of their gadgets?
Rosemary glanced around the table. Leroy was a good boy. He kept busy and seemed to stay on task. He seemed mostly interested in spending his free time with Lena.
She looked at the twins. Elias was making a move for the last piece of bacon when Amos reached for it too, beating his brother to it. Rosemary was pretty sure that the slight bump under the table was one of the boys kicking the other. She’d seen the twins picking at each other continuously, more so than normal. She’d never raised any boys, and these two seemed a bit of a handful.
Well, she had hoped for this. A chance to have some say in her grandchildren’s lives.
She took a deep breath as Benjamin sat up taller and firmly told the twins to mind their manners.
Careful what you wish for.