ready to burst.”
Jenny smiled from ear to ear. “I got picked to be in the community Christmas play. I’m going to be the aerator.”
Bethany looked at Michael. He returned her questioning gaze and shook his head slightly. Jenny was bouncing up and down with happiness.
Bethany smiled at her. “That is wunderbar. What does the aerator do?”
“I get to tell everyone the Christmas story in English and in Pennsylvania Dutch while the other kids act out the scenes. Ivan is going to sing a song by himself.”
From the corner of her eye, Bethany saw Michael rub a hand across his mouth to hide a grin. Bethany was afraid she’d start laughing if she looked at him again. Learning English as a second language was difficult for many Amish children who spoke only Pennsylvania Dutch until they started school. “I’m sure you will make a goot narrator if you practice hard.”
“I’ll practice lots and lots if you help me.”
“You know I will.”
“I need to have an angel costume, too. I’m going to be an angel aerator.”
“Angel narrator,” Michael corrected her in a gentle tone.
“Narrator,” Jenny replied slowly. He nodded and she grinned at him.
Bethany patted her sister’s head. “We’ll talk about it when you come home from school this evening.”
“Okay.” Jenny took off to rejoin her friends.
“Cute kid,” Michael said, still grinning. “How many siblings do you have?”
“Just Jenny and Ivan. Excuse me while I check on him.” Bethany headed through the front doors of the school. She found the eighth-grade room and looked in through the open door. Ivan wasn’t in his seat. His best friend, Jeffrey, was missing, too.
A bell sounded in the empty hall, startling her. The boys and girls in the room filed to the back to gather their coats, mittens and hats from hooks before rushing past her to get outside. After the last child exited the room Bethany stepped inside. “Ms. Kenworthy, may I have a word with you?”
The teacher looked up from her desk. “Miss Martin, of course. Do come in. I was just getting ready to write a note to you.”
“About Ivan?”
“Yes. I hope he is feeling better. He’s missed almost an entire week of school. I have a list of homework assignments for him to complete and hand in when he returns.”
Bethany’s heart sank. “My brother is not sick at home.”
“I see.” Ms. Kenworthy opened a desk drawer and pulled out a sheet of notebook paper. “Then I assume you did not write this note?”
Bethany removed her gloves, took the note and quickly scanned it. It informed Ms. Kenworthy that Ivan would be out of school for a week due to his illness. It was signed with her name. Bethany sighed heavily and handed the letter back. “I did not write this. It is not my signature.”
Ms. Kenworthy took the letter and replaced it in the drawer. “I thought it was odd that Jeffrey was the one who delivered it to me and not your sister. Do you know what Ivan has been doing instead of coming to school?”
“I wish I did. He doesn’t confide in me these days.”
“He was close to his grandfather, wasn’t he?”
The understanding in the teacher’s eyes allowed Bethany to unburden herself. “They were very close. Since Elijah’s death Ivan has refused to talk to me about what’s troubling him. He’s changed so much. I was hoping he might have confided in you.”
“I am deeply sorry for your loss. Elijah was well liked in this community.”
“Thank you.”
“Your brother’s grades were not the best before your grandfather passed away. Since that time, he has earned nothing but Fs for incomplete work. Even when he is here he seems withdrawn until someone speaks to him. Then he’s ready to start a fight over nothing. Unless he does extra-credit work and turns in his missing assignments, I’m afraid he is going to flunk the semester. I know that according to your religion this is his last year of education, but I still have to follow state guidelines. That puts me between a rock and a hard place. If he flunks the semester, he’ll have to attend summer school.”
Bethany shook her head. “Ivan will be needed on the farm this summer. I don’t see how we could spare him even a few hours a day.”
“In that case he will have to repeat this grade next year. Talk to him. Try to make him see what’s at stake.” She removed a folder from another drawer. “Give these assignments to him. Hopefully he can finish most of them over the weekend.”
“I will. Thank you.” Bethany was angry with Ivan for his deceit, but she was more disappointed in herself. Where had she gone wrong? How had she failed him? She tried to be a parent to her siblings but without her grandfather’s help she didn’t know how to reach Ivan. Maybe letting him return to Pennsylvania would be for the best.
Except that it didn’t feel like the right solution. She loved her brother. She couldn’t imagine life without his annoying habits, constant teasing and his hearty laugh. She had to make him see that his actions were tearing the family apart.
But she needed to find him first. Clearly Jeffrey was in on whatever Ivan was up to. His parents lived a mile farther up into the woods from her home.
Bethany left the school building and saw Michael sitting on the buggy step. She’d forgotten him. A thin yellow hound lay a few feet away from him. The dog wagged its tail tentatively as it watched him. Michael pulled his gloves off and took something from his pocket. He held it toward the dog. The animal crept a few inches closer.
“Good girl,” Michael said, tossing the item at the dog’s feet. She snapped it up. At the sound of Bethany approaching, the dog darted for cover between two nearby parked cars.
Bethany stopped beside Michael. The dog grew bold enough to peek out from between the cars but didn’t approach. “I see you made a new friend.”
He rose to his feet. “She was sniffing at the trash cans and trying to get them open. I could see she was looking for a meal. I had a little leftover jerky I picked up on the bus ride here. She appears to need it more than I do. Is your brother at school?”
“Nee, but that doesn’t prove he stole provisions from Jedidiah.”
“You’re still giving him the benefit of the doubt?”
“Of course. He’s my brother.”
“I hope your confidence isn’t misplaced.”
“I pray it’s not but I will admit I’m at my wit’s end. His teacher says he hasn’t been to school all week. His friend gave the teacher a note that was signed with my name that said he was sick at home. I have to find out what’s going on. He’s left each morning to catch the school bus with his sister and he’s walked home with her each evening, yet he hasn’t been in
