other, sometimes nodding in agreement, sometimes shrugging his shoulders in confusion. But he was smiling.
Catherine approached on legs barely capable of holding her weight. When she stood behind Isaiah, Sam Miller touched his arm and gestured for him to turn around. As he did, her heart attack symptoms ratcheted up a notch.
His expression grew into a full-blown grin. “Hullo, Cat.” He winked without the least bit of shyness.
“Hello, Isaiah,” she said. “Can I talk to you?” She used the sign language he had learned during their brief, happy times together.
He nodded to his compatriots and then took her arm. As they walked toward the pasture, away from hearing ears, her confidence drained away like water from a bathtub. How can I explain? How can I say how sorry I am for shaming him?
They stopped at the fence, overgrown with wild grapes. Plump purple berries still clung in bunches to the vines. Isaiah tipped up her chin with one finger.
She gasped from his touch and blurted, “How’s Boots?” She used his gesture for calf-high footwear for the dog’s name.
“Gut,” he answered and indicated the dog still slept most of the day.
“What do you think about today’s weather?” She mimed that she thought it neither too hot nor too cold.
Isaiah laughed at her, agreeing that the temperature was just right.
In a soft voice she enunciated slowly, “Why did you come today?” Then Catherine gazed across the rolling fields, feeling like an idiot.
He took hold of her chin to turn her face. “For you, Cat. I came for you.”
Then using verbal words and nonverbal articulations, he expressed that he wished to learn to read lips better and communicate more. In fact, his pantomimes were so concise and easily interpreted she knew he must have been practicing them…maybe since the evening of the volleyball party, or perhaps the night of the hornet emergency. But either way, Catherine clapped her hands as though a children’s program had just concluded.
Isaiah didn’t clap. He didn’t even try to use words or gestures to make his heart’s desire known. Instead he leaned down and kissed her as though he had all the time in the world and didn’t care a fig if anyone saw them.
His meaning was crystal clear, in the age-old language of love.
Abby nibbled on a piece of corn on the cob and sampled some of the local fresh sausage. Delicious though it might be, she had little appetite once she sat down with her lunch. All around her, people were eating, visiting, and enjoying the Sabbath. Even her sister looked far different from the sullen woman who had stared blankly over Jake’s head at scenery she’d viewed a hundred times before. And the reason for her change in attitude was sitting across from her at the long table reserved for single folks.
Isaiah worked on a plate of food that could have fed an average English family of four. Yet he ate without paying much attention to the meal. His eyes were glued on Catherine. He sat on the very end of the bench while she seemed to be talking for both of them. Seeing those two communicating was the only thing lifting Abby’s spirits. Nathan Fisher’s visit later that afternoon weighed heavily on her mind.
When Daniel pushed away his plate, he met her gaze with a grin. “Why did I eat so much, fraa? My stomach feels like it might explode.”
“Because everything tastes better on a day as fine as this.” Abby forced herself to finish her sausage and not be wasteful.
“Your sliced beef was a crowd-pleaser. There’s barely enough left in the roaster for cold sandwiches tonight.” He lowered his voice so no one would overhear him.
“Worry not, ehemann. I saved a bowlful at home so my dear one wouldn’t go hungry.”
“You are the best wife in the world!” he announced. Everyone around them laughed, while a few elderly matrons rolled their eyes.
“Enjoy the appreciation while you can get it, Abigail,” called one woman midway down the table.
“True. Soon enough I’ll return to my normal status—somewhere between peach pie à la mode and day-old white bread,” answered Abby to the woman’s delight.
Daniel clamped his hand over hers. “Never day-old. Always freshly baked in my book.”
She smiled, wishing they could remain carefree with their friends for the rest of the day. “If you’ll have nothing more to eat, please hitch up the buggy. I’ll go look for Laura and Jake.”
His brow furrowed. “What’s the hurry? Evening milking is hours away.”