Days, not months or years so her grief was recent. “Were you here in the winter when it snowed?”
“Nope. The snow was mostly gone when we came. Willis says we will see a lot of snow before Christmas. Maybe even before Thanksgiving. It can snow up to the roof sometimes. I like the snow, don’t you? I like to catch snowflakes on my tongue.”
“I do like the snow.” Eva wasn’t so sure about snow that was roof high. She would have to invest in a good snow shovel.
“Otto says he hates school. I won’t hate school. I think it will be wonderful.”
“Maybe Otto won’t hate it if I’m his teacher.” Or maybe he would. How would she know if she was doing an adequate job or not?
“Will you tell Otto he’s stupid if he gets something wrong?”
“Oh, nee. That wouldn’t be nice.”
“Otto’s last teacher told him he was stupid. Daed and Mamm were mighty upset.”
Eva filed that piece of information away. It sounded as if Otto’s former teacher wasn’t patient or kind, but it was possible Maddie had misunderstood. “What does Harley think of school?”
“He says it’s okay as long as he gets to play baseball.”
“I’m sure we will play lots of ball.” That was something she hadn’t done since she was fourteen. Even then she wasn’t good at it. She’d spent most of her recesses reading.
“My brothers don’t help Willis much. He works and works all the time. He never has time to put shoes on my pony so I can go riding. Otto is always mad that he had to leave his friends in Ohio, and Harley disappears into the woods for hours without telling me where he is going. Bubble gets mighty put out with them sometimes.” Maddie gave a long-suffering sigh.
“I can see why.” Eva was tempted to laugh but managed to keep a straight face.
“You do?” Maddie smiled brightly.
“Absolutely. Bubble is very perceptive for someone so young.”
“I don’t know what that means. Bubble says Willis needs a wife to help him.”
Eva laughed. “Bubble may be right. Especially if Willis is a bad cook.”
The outside door opened and Willis came in. Maddie jumped off the bench. “I have to go.” She darted past her brother and ran outside.
He shook his head and crossed the room to where Eva was sitting. “How’s the bump?”
“Much better. Danki for the ice.” She handed the bag and towel to him. “Your little sister is delightful.”
His expression grew wary. “She is an unusual kid.”
Eva chuckled as she got to her feet. “She is that. I met Bubble and I enjoyed talking to her. She’s a fountain of information.”
His eyes narrowed. “About what?”
“Oh, everything. I really must be going. I have a lot to do before school starts next month. Goodbye.” She pinned her kapp to her hair as she headed for the door.
“I’ll get that chair fixed for you,” he called after her.
Eva went down the steps and chuckled all the way to her new house a few hundred feet south of the school. Poor Willis Gingrich had his hands full with his siblings if Maddie was to be believed. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Willis standing on the steps of the school, watching her. An odd little rush of happiness made her smile. She raised a hand and waved but he was already striding toward his workshop and didn’t wave back.
She went into her new house that had been sparsely furnished by the school board and church members. Eva had arrived in New Covenant by bus two days ago. Bishop Schultz and his wife had graciously allowed Eva to stay in the teacher’s home until after her interview. Now she wouldn’t have to repack her things. She was home.
At a small cherrywood desk she pulled out a sheet of paper and sat down to write to her brother. She tapped the pen against her teeth as she decided what to say.
Giggling, she dictated to herself as she wrote. “Dearest Gene. I got the job. Send my books. Your loving sister, Eva.”
Willis thought he had enough time to fix the new teacher’s chair, put four shoes on Jesse Crump’s buggy horse and get supper on the table by six o’clock. It was seven-thirty by the time he came in to find his family gathered around the kitchen table with a scowl on every face. Thankfully, he couldn’t see Bubble but he was sure she was scowling, too.
“I know I’m late. One of Jesse’s horses had a problem hoof and I had to make special shoes for him. I’ll fix us something to eat right away.”
He went to the refrigerator and opened the door. There wasn’t much to see. “I meant to set some hamburger out of the freezer to thaw this morning but forgot to do it.”
“You should leave yourself a note,” Harley said. He was paging through a magazine about horses. He was always reading. Willis fought down the stab of envy.
If Willis could write a note, then he’d be able to read one. He couldn’t do either. The most he could manage was to write his name. No one in New Covenant knew his shameful secret. Children as young as Maddie learned to read every day but he couldn’t. No matter how hard he’d tried. There was something wrong with him.
He hid his deficiency from everyone although it wasn’t easy. He’d been made a laughingstock by the one person he’d confided in years ago. He’d never been able to trust another person with his secret. The bitter memory wormed its way to the front of his mind.
He’d been twenty at the time and hopelessly in love with a non-Amish girl. She was the only person he had told that he couldn’t read. He hadn’t wanted to keep secrets from her. She claimed to love him, too. He had trusted her.
Later, when they were out with a bunch of her friends, she told everyone. They all laughed. He laughed, too, and pretended it didn’t matter but the hurt and shame had gone bone deep. He didn’t think anything could hurt worse than Dalene’s betrayal, but he’d been wrong. She and her friends had much more humiliation in store for him.
He pushed those memories back into the dark corner of his mind where they belonged. He had to find something to feed the children gathered at his table. “I guess I can scramble us some eggs.”
“Again?” Otto wrinkled his nose.
“Bubble says to be thankful we have chickens.” Maddie beamed a bright smile at Otto.
“Bubble can’t say anything because she isn’t real, stupid.” Otto pushed his plate away.
Willis rounded on him. “Never call your sister or anyone else stupid, Otto. You know better than that. Apologize or go to bed without supper.”
“Sorry,” Otto
