April

Steam rose in Abram’s face as he stood over the grill, bacon sizzling on one side and six buttermilk pancakes cooking on the other. Martha was beside him, scrambling eggs and making toast. He glanced out the pass-through, seeing the new help as well as three of his sisters—Ariana, Skylar, and Susie—hustling to keep up with the Saturday crowd. Cilla was somewhere nearby, but he couldn’t see her.

It was hard to believe that Ariana and Rudy had broken up more than a year ago. But after a couple of months, she’d seemed perfectly fine with it.

The low rumble of the café made him smile. It had closed for a week last month while a construction crew tore down a wall to the building next door and connected the two spaces. Ariana had bought that building too. That area now had seven couches, eight love seats, and three coffee tables scattered throughout, along with a dozen regular café tables with four chairs each.

He worked only on Saturdays now and on snowy or rainy days when roofing was at a standstill. Other than that, he and Jax were a team again, working long, productive hours on construction sites.

The café had become like an extension of the family’s home, a place where they gathered to have special meals or to sample Ariana’s newest recipes. Sometimes Ariana made anniversary dinners for their siblings and served only that one couple. Tonight she was serving Mamm and Daed a special meal here, but since it wasn’t their anniversary or either of their birthdays, Abram wasn’t sure why.

Cilla came through the swinging door, giggling about something. “Is the newest batch of chocolate croissants almost done?”

Martha put scrambled eggs on two plates that already had toast and bacon. She set them on the line. “Table two, please.” She seized the pot holders. “I’ll check the croissants, but the timer says they need three more minutes.”

Cilla grabbed the plates, paused in front of Abram, and winked. September, the month they would marry, could not come soon enough for them. Every person who intended to join the faith would begin instruction classes next month. Abram returned the wink, and Cilla left the kitchen, causing the swinging door to swoosh back and forth.

He gripped two warm plates and set them on the counter and then stacked three pancakes and three pieces of bacon on each. “Table four. Order up.” He moved the plates to the line.

Susie came into the kitchen, looking content and confident. She was still seeing Levi, the young Amish man she’d begun dating about nine months ago. He was really nice, two years older than Susie, and lived a few districts outside of Summer Grove. “Denki.” She wasted no time taking the plates to table four.

All the café work would draw to a close for Abram and Cilla come fall. Once they were married, they would spend their Saturdays going through the process to become foster parents, and after they were licensed, they’d be busy caring for the foster children given to them. It had taken Cilla only a few weeks to be absolutely sure that she and Abram were meant to marry and, after talking with a nearby foster family, that they were meant to provide a home for foster children. Maybe one day God would allow them to become the forever parents to a few of those children.

Skylar’s understanding of the foster-care system had been very helpful in getting them started.

Ariana swooshed into the kitchen just as the timer rang.

“How do you do that?” Abram asked. “You always waltz into the kitchen the moment the timer is going off for the croissants.”

She grabbed pot holders. “Could be because it takes two days of prep to get them just right, and every part of me knows when they’re ready.” She removed the large pan from the oven and set it on the cooling counter. “Or it could be because I keep a timer in my apron pocket set one minute earlier than this one.” She held up the timer from her pocket, chuckling.

“How did I not know that?” Abram looked at the orders on the rail to see what he needed to fix next.

“Guys.” Skylar walked into the kitchen, hair in a ponytail, wearing jeans and a lacey pink tunic and holding a pot of coffee. “The hot plate for the coffee is cold. The generator seems to have cut out again.”

Abram passed Skylar his white apron. “I’ll see what’s going on.”

Skylar put the apron on and took over his place behind the grill. He grabbed his toolbox and went outside.

Ariana put on a sweater and walked out with him. “I refilled the tank before we opened.”

“Ya, I know.” Abram jiggled things, checked the tank, and tried to start it. The engine didn’t turn. He got a Phillips screwdriver out of the toolbox. “There is no reason for this thing to act up. It’s April, decent weather and everything,” he mumbled while removing screws. “You know what you need, Ari? An Englisch partner so we can get approval to have electricity in the café. Skylar would agree to be that person, so why not ask her?”

Ariana moved to the small set of steps that led to the back door of the café. “I don’t want to put her in an awkward position. She’s here now, living in the loft and working at will, but if she becomes a partner, it would come with responsibilities and some weird dynamics to be DNA Amish and lifestyle Englisch. Besides, I…I have a plan to solve the issue. I just need a little more time.”

“Ya?” He removed the cover. “Sounds good. What kind of plan?”

When she didn’t answer, he set the cover aside and took a seat next to her. “Want to talk about it?”

“Ya. I’ve wanted to for a while, but it seemed right to talk to Mamm and Daed first.”

“Ah, the reason you’ve made plans for just them to come here for dinner tonight, a private place to talk openly.”

She stared out across the field. “Everyone did so much to get this café running while I was away, and you’ve never wavered in your love and respect, but…”

“You aren’t joining the faith.”

“I’m sorry.”

He put his arm around her shoulders. He’d been fairly sure this was coming, but there weren’t any words to describe the feeling. He was both disappointed for the loss it would mean and elated that she would be true to her heart and not follow the expectations others placed on her. “Mamm and Daed won’t be as shocked or as hurt as you think.”

She turned to look at him, and her eyes reflected hope that he was right. “I thought it was the right thing, the only thing, to remain Amish. I’ve been convinced God’s purpose for me is that I use my knowledge of the worlds I know—Englisch and Amish, atheists and believers—to open minds and usher in truth and faith on all sides. But…”

“Now you’re choosing not to go through instruction to join the faith.”

She nodded.

Abram rubbed her shoulder. “I’m behind you, Ari. No one can fix all the ramifications of your decision, but I think with some time most of the Brennemans will learn to respect your decision, and I know Mamm and Daed will.”