watch to keep your strength up. You must be hungry.”
“Thank you, Rachelle. You’ve been a good friend. I’m in your debt.” Abby unwrapped the ham-and-cheese sandwich.
“It’s not much, but when this is all over with, maybe you can teach me how to knit someday. I always wanted to learn that.”
“It would be my pleasure.” Abby took a bite and then ate ravenously, her appetite returning.
The two women kept their own vigil by the window for almost an hour. Abby’s spirits soared hearing the voices lifted in song and prayer. When the assembly finally blew out the candles and began to disperse, she waved her hand frantically, despite Rachelle’s comment that no one could see inside.
Folks came from Shreve to Wooster…for me.
She felt unworthy of their support and yet so grateful. The tall man with floppy hat brim had been in the last group to leave. He didn’t extinguish his candle while on the sidewalk, but had walked away with it still burning. Abby stared at the small yellow glow until it disappeared around the corner.
That night after lights-out, she lay in bed with a sense of peace and sent prayers of thanks to the Great Physician, who knows our needs even before we do. She had a lot to be grateful for and much to contemplate. Before she drifted back to sleep, her path at last became clear.
Of all the days for Daniel to finish work in the fields early, this had to be the worst. Catherine couldn’t believe it when she spotted him walking toward the porch from the pump house. He had rolled up his sleeves, and his arms, face, and hair were dripping wet. That could only mean he’d finished for the day. She was elbow-deep in cornmeal, battering chicken to fry. The green beans still needed to be cleaned and potatoes boiled for potato salad. At least she’d washed fresh greens and chopped garden vegetables for a tossed salad. She sighed while moving the coffeepot onto the burner to reheat.
“Guder nachmittag,” he said upon entering the kitchen. Daniel grabbed the towel to dry his face and hands.
“Good afternoon to you. I saw you in Abby’s flower garden earlier. What were you doing out there? I thought you once said that flowers were women’s business.” She glanced up while pouring oil into her skillet.
“I wanted to cut back her rhododendrons and azaleas. It needed to be done before they set buds for next year. My fraa sets great store by those flowers.” He tossed the towel down on the counter.
“If there’s still more work in the garden, we have plenty of time before dinner. It won’t be ready for another hour.”
“No, I’m done for the day. I’ll just relax for a while, maybe read to my kinner in the front room.” He offered her a pleasant smile.
She pondered the best way to approach a delicate subject. “Were you still moving hay bales today?”
“Jah. Isaiah and I stored what we could fit in the barn loft. The rest we lined up close to the pasture gate and covered with plastic.”
Catherine arranged breaded chicken pieces in the frying pan and then turned up the burner. “Isaiah works hard for you? He has no problems understanding the chores?”
Daniel poured coffee into a mug. “He does just fine. You only have to show him a task once and he remembers. People don’t give that boy enough credit.” He added a splash of milk and sipped with appreciation.
“He’s not really a boy anymore, is he?”
“I s’pose not. He must be twenty-four or thereabouts.” Daniel pulled sagely on his beard. Plenty of gray peppered his shade of dark brown.
“But I’m sure there are some chores you don’t dare allow him to do alone, like feeding cornstalks into the grinder for silage, for instance. That could be dangerous. A person could lose a hand if they didn’t understand the machinery.” She continued coating pieces of chicken without meeting his gaze.
“Isaiah comprehends as well as anybody else. Accidents can happen to anybody, but there’s nothing slow-witted about that man’s mind. Offhand, I can’t think of any job I wouldn’t trust him with. Some just require two people.”
She looked him in the eye. “So Isaiah has learned everything he needs to about farming?”
“He knows enough to get by.”
“And he obviously understands construction.”
“His cabin isn’t exactly a five-bedroom house with attached dawdi haus, but jah, he knows how to put…and fix…the roof over his head.” Daniel rubbed his chin. “What’s on your mind, Catherine? If you have