smiled. “First time a man ever brought me flowers. They’re not romantic, though.”
“When a man gives you flowers, it’s not romantic?”
“He brought them because he heard I’d been hurt.”
“Still, he didn’t have to. He cared enough to come see you and bring you flowers.”
Rosie thought about that. “Ya.”
“You kind of like him, don’t you?”
She smiled. “Ya.” Then her smile faded. “But he’s probably just being friendly. He doesn’t know many people here yet.”
“Don’t do that. Don’t put yourself down like that. Why shouldn’t he be interested in an attractive woman like you?”
Rosie stared at her for a long moment and then she laughed. “Do you realize what you’re saying? Since we look alike you’re saying that you’re attractive.”
Katie nodded. “Ya, so? It’s true.”
She giggled. “You’re incorrigible.” The timer on the stove buzzed. “Supper’s ready.” She got up and started for the kitchen.
“So when are you going to see him again?” Katie picked up the vase of daisies and carried it into the kitchen. She set it in the middle of the table.
Katie had never been subtle.
“He didn’t make a date with me if that’s what you mean.” She got the spinach and strawberry salad and the dressing she’d made from the refrigerator and placed it on the table. Drawing on oven mitts, she lifted the casserole from the oven and set it on a hot pad next to the salad.
Katie sniffed the casserole. “Mmm, smells good. You know, you could ask him out.”
Rosie sat down. “I couldn’t do that.” She poured the dressing over the salad, tossed it, and served them each a bowl. She paused and studied Katie. “Have you ever done that?”
“Sure.”
She sighed. “That sort of thing is easier for you.”
“It’s not that hard once you do it. Just ask him if he’d like to go for a drive after church, maybe have lunch.”
“Oh, I don’t think I could do that.” She ate a bite of salad.
“Give it a try. All the man can do is say nee. It won’t kill you, I promise.”
Maybe it wouldn’t kill Katie, but Rosie wasn’t sure she could handle the rejection. Especially from Jacob.
“This is really good. Even if I don’t like strawberries as much as you.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“The casserole is delicious, too. Why aren’t you eating yours?”
Rosie pushed it around on her plate. “I’m not very hungry.”
“Your head is hurting, isn’t it? I can see it in your eyes.”
“It’s not as bad as yesterday.”
“I felt it that night, you know. Your head hurting. That’s how I knew to come home. Daniel acted like he didn’t believe me, but Rachel Ann said I should come home.”
“I’m sorry you had to come home early. And had to sit in the emergency room with me.”
“You’re my schweschder. Where else would I be but with you?”
Katie rose and got the prescription bottle and a glass of water. “Here, take a pill and maybe by the time you finish supper you’ll start to feel better.”
Rosie hated taking pills, but the pain was building so she gave in and swallowed one with the water. “I feel like a big baby.”
“You’re not a big baby. Doctors don’t give you pain pills if they don’t think you need them. Speaking of babies, Lovina brought Anna to the store today. She’s getting so big.”
“I’d love to have seen her.”
“She loved the cookie Elizabeth said I could give her.” Katie pushed her plate aside and took a sip of her iced tea. “Wonder if Jacob ate the zucchini bread we sent home with him today?”
Rosie felt warmth rush to her cheeks. “I don’t know.” She stabbed a bite of chicken with her fork and ate it.
“So what are you going to do to thank him for the flowers?”
“I should do something?”
Katie grinned. “Well, it’s a nice thing to do and a way to see him again. Then you can decide if you want to ask him out if he doesn’t ask you first.”
“You never stop, do you?”
“If you’re interested in him, you need to act. There are other maedels who won’t be shy about showing up on his doorstep to welcome him to the community.”
Rosie ate the last of the casserole on her plate and got to her feet to begin clearing the table. She knew Katie was right but she just wasn’t sure she could be so . . . bold. She’d have to think about it.
Katie took her dishes to the sink, filled it with warm water, and squirted in some dish soap.
“Let me do them. You worked today.”
“I want you to rest and get better. Go lie down.”
She wasn’t tired, so instead she fixed herself a cup of tea and sat at the kitchen table to keep Katie company. “I wish I could have gone into work today. I was so bored.”
“You’ll get to go back soon enough. If you take care of yourself.”
“I’ll go to bed in a minute.” She propped her elbow on the table, rested her chin in her hand, and stared into her tea. “Katie, sometimes I wonder if I’ll become an old maid.”
Chapter 5
5
Long after Rosie went upstairs to lie down Katie thought about what she’d said.
Rosie was afraid of becoming an old maid? Where on earth had that come from? She and Rosie had just celebrated their
twenty-third birthday. They certainly didn’t need to think they were going to become old maids because they hadn’t gotten married yet. Amish women—just like Englisch women—were getting married later these days.
Her eyes went to the daisies. She dried her hands on a dish towel and sat at the table to study them. Rosie thought Jacob had brought them because she’d been injured. But Katie wondered if that was really true. She’d seen the way the two of them looked at each other. Why didn’t Rosie see that he was expressing interest in her? She knew that Rosie had always seemed less self-confident than
