Outside, Mamma repeated her good-byes as the van arrived, and Susie and Britta stood at the end of the driveway waving as the Mennonite driver took the bag and helped their mother inside.

Lord, be with Mamma, Susie prayed while she and Britta walked slowly toward the house afterward. She didn’t voice her concern to her sister, but she felt it with everything in her.

For the rest of that morning, Susie poured her energy into the start of fall cleaning. The enormous chore began with washing all the windows inside and out, using the extension ladder. Susie and Britta worked together, each of them pointing to streaks or spots missed on either side of the window before moving on to the next.

When the windows were spotless, Susie and Britta scrubbed down the walls and floors. Susie only stopped working at mealtime. Britta was eager to cook, insisting Susie not skip eating just because Mamma wasn’t around. But their mother’s health and well-being weighed on Susie’s mind, especially the little cough she’d had that morning, and she glanced frequently at the wall clock.

After evening prayers, Susie worked on her current family tree, recalling how Eli would often linger in the front room with her parents, sometimes asking questions about Dat’s evening Scripture reading. My brother’s heart was preparing for heaven. . . .

Eventually, Susie headed upstairs to bed. Long after midnight, she awoke from deep slumber and couldn’t find a comfortable position and had a difficult time returning to sleep. She thought of going to the stable to check for Allen’s voice mail—surely Mamma had arrived by now. But she made herself stay put, thinking she should try to sleep and simply listen to the phone message in the morning.

But the idea rolled around in her head till she finally dragged herself out of bed, fumbled for her bathrobe, and found the flashlight on her bedside table. Yawning, she made her way out into the dark night and to the stable.

Inside, she shone the light on the old wall phone and listened to the short message from Allen saying that Mamma had arrived. “I’m afraid she sounds a little rough—has a bit of a rasp in her voice and is running a low fever. Hopefully she’ll be doing better after some rest, but I’ll be in touch to let ya know.”

Susie groaned and hung up the phone, then trudged back toward the house. I shouldn’t’ve let her go. . . .

The sky was pitch-black, and frogs croaked eerily in the nearby pond. She turned off the flashlight and stared into the darkness, feeling even more responsible for Britta and the upkeep of the house and livestock.

I must trust God to care for Mamma, she thought, suddenly aware of the night’s penetrating chill.