“Y-YOU’RE AB IM KOPP.” AMOS SHOOK HIS HEAD. “YOU kn-know what gut parties the Lapps throw, and I—I ain’t missing one, no matter what you try to promise me.”
Elias stood over his brother, who once again had his head buried in one of his dumb magazines. He snatched the magazine away from his brother.
“Hey!” Amos jumped up and grabbed the book back from Elias. “I—I said I ain’t d-doin’ it, so just leave me alone.” He cut his eyes at Elias before he settled back down on his bed.
Elias eased onto his own bed and sighed. “All right, then. I’ll give you fifty dollars instead of twenty-five if you’ll let me go in your place. You know Mammi and Daadi can’t tell us apart.”
Amos chuckled. “You don’t even have fifty dollars.”
“Ya, I do. I’ve been saving. Unlike you, mei bruder, I don’t spend my money on expensive Englisch magazines.” He paused, shaking his head. “You’re not ever gonna own a car, so why do you like looking at them so much, anyway?” Before Amos could answer, Elias said, “Come on. Just think of all the books and magazines you can buy with fifty dollars.”
There was silence for a few moments before Amos said anything. Then his brother lifted his eyes over the top of the magazine. “Maybe—maybe Elizabeth doesn’t want to see you or talk to you.”
Elias had thought of that plenty of times, and he was sure the notion was what kept his stomach tied in knots. “What makes you say that?”
“You ain’t talked to her. There’s been no sneaking out to see her, and you can’t even reach her by phone.” Amos shrugged. “Sounds to me like she’s trying to end it.”
Elias clenched his hands into fists and took a deep breath. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m going to ask Elizabeth to marry me. I wouldn’t do that if I wasn’t sure about the two of us.”
Amos chuckled. “Well, you won’t be asking her at the Lapps’ party, will ya?”
Elias glared at his brother and decided to ask him something that had been rooting around in his mind. “Who’d you sneak out to go see?”
“I told you. N-None of your b-business.” Amos didn’t look up as he flipped another page.
Elias shook his head, then got his nightclothes out of the dresser. He was moving out of the room when he turned around, feeling the need to jab at his brother. “Ever find that stupid lizard of yours?”
“No.” Amos sighed, not looking up again.
Elias regretted poking fun about the lizard. He knew how much his brother cared for George.
He wished Amos knew how much he cared for Elizabeth. If he did, he would swap places with Elias so that Elias could see her.
Shuffling down the hall to the bathroom, Elias’s mind was still whirling. There had to be a way to get to that party.
Rosemary sat on the side of the bed brushing out her thinning gray hair while Joseph was all tucked in on his side reading a book.
“Did you see how a little bit of influence from us made a difference tonight?” She smiled, recalling all the stories she’d told the boys about the old days, before modern ways invaded their lives. “I bet it won’t be long before those boys give up some of those unnecessary gadgets.”
Joseph grunted. “Ach, I’m sure they’ll be tossing those cell phones and radio plugs right into the trash first thing in the morning.”
Rosemary twisted to face him. “Why do you speak to me like that, Joseph? You’re poking fun about a serious situation. If we don’t do our part to straighten those boys out, they are going to end up fleeing to the outside world, and that will break everyone’s heart, especially Eve’s and Benjamin’s.”
Joseph closed his book and pushed his glasses up on his nose. “Mei lieb, those boys are fine. Eve and Big Ben have done a gut enough job raising them up. They’ll make the right choices.”
“I hope you’re right, but I have a couple more days to try to talk some sense into them through the Scriptures.” Rosemary stowed her brush in the top drawer of the nightstand, then crawled in beside Joseph. “Tomorrow, during devotions, I want us to spend some time on respecting your parents and elders.” She poked him on the arm. “And you speak up and say something about not betraying our parents. Maybe they’ll take heed and not keep up that sneaking out.”
“Yes, dear.”
Rosemary huffed. “You are patronizing me, Joseph. When instead you should be thinking about how we can make a difference in those boys’ lives.” She grasped her hand when it started to shake and quickly stuffed it beneath the quilt as she leaned back against the headboard. Her head started to spin a bit, so she closed her eyes.
“Yes, dear.” Joseph eased himself down into the covers, popping his pillow with his fist a few times. He snuffed out the lantern on his side of the bed. “Go to sleep.”
“I’ll go to sleep after I finish tending to Minnie. Momma gave her another lashing. I’ll be right back.” Rosemary sat straight up, ready to go tend to her sister. She picked up the lantern on her nightstand, but Joseph quickly caught her by the arm.
“Rosie, Minnie ain’t here. You know that. She’s playing with the good Lord in heaven. You’re thinking in the past again.” Joseph held tight to her arm, and Rosemary struggled to organize the thoughts in her head. She stared at the gray streaks running through her husband’s beard. If Joseph is old, Minnie can’t still be here.
“But . . . but I heard her cries.” Rosemary grasped her shaking hand and eased the lantern back down. She turned to Joseph, tears in her eyes. “I’m losing my mind.”
He pulled her into his arms, running a hand through her damp hair. “You need to go see Dr. Knepp, lieb.”
She melted into the comfort of his arms and buried her face in his chest. “I’m too afraid. He’ll tell me that I’m goin’ crazy, and they’ll lock me up somewhere.”
“That’s not what they do, Rosie. They’ll give you some medicine to help you, that’s all.”
Rosemary squeezed her eyes closed and fought the visions of Minnie crying, along with the moaning she could hear in her head.
This isn’t real.
But sleep didn’t come for a while.
Elias was glad that they stopped work on the house early Saturday afternoon. The party at the Lapps’ started at four o’clock, and he had to figure out a way to be there. He’d been trying to call Elizabeth, but still no answer. And no calls from her.
He’d caught Amos sneaking back into the house last night, and once again his brother refused to tell Elias what he was up to. It must be a girl after all. He resented the fact that Amos hadn’t gotten caught, that Elias himself had taken the blame for him once, and mostly he resented Amos’s smug attitude.
I’m going to that party.
Elias was having a cup of hot cocoa with his grandfather when Amos came marching into the kitchen wearing his Sunday clothes and a smile as wide as it was irritating.
“Off to the birthday party?” Daadi took a sip of his cocoa, and Amos nodded. Elias resisted the urge to tackle Amos to the ground. His nostrils flared as Amos grinned on his way out the door.
“I know you’re fretting about not being able to go,” Daadi said to Elias after Amos was gone. “But the Lord always has a plan, and . . .” His grandfather shrugged. “It’s just not in the plan for you to go today.”
Elias nodded and fought the urge to tell his grandfather that Amos had been sneaking out. It wouldn’t make a difference right now, though, and Elias wasn’t a tattler.
As he sipped on his cocoa, he thought about Elizabeth. Her parents must have taken her phone away for some reason. That had to be it.
Daadi stood up, gulped the rest of his cocoa, then put his glass on the table. He pulled his hat and jacket from the rack near the kitchen door. “Tell your mammi that I’m going to town for a few supplies for the haus. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“Yes, sir.”
Elias tapped his fingers on the table, thinking. It wasn’t long before an idea came to mind. He jumped from the table and ran upstairs.