Britta nodded. “She wants me to be older when she tells me.”

“Ah, so ya must be patient, then.”

“It’s awful hard.”

“Just keep yourself busy, and the time’ll pass.” Henry smiled at her. “You can trust your Mamma to know what’s best.” He started up the chainsaw again and walked over near the gazebo, where a sugar maple branch was bent and dangling.

Britta, shivering and still needing to eat breakfast before school, walked stiffly toward the house, disappointed.

Susie was delighted when Aendi Emmalyn arrived after breakfast Christmas Eve morning with a pecan pie in her quilted carrier. It was as if Mamma had told her how much Susie wanted to go sledding while Britta was babysitting for the Ebersols’. Surely Mamma knew Susie would have opted to stay home with her otherwise. But, realizing she was free to go, Susie hurried upstairs and pulled on warm leggings beneath her dress and a long apron, and then two heavy pairs of socks, too.

“Have yourself a nice time,” Mamma said when Susie returned to the kitchen to put on her snow boots.

Susie gave her a mischievous look. “Just curious, Mamma. How’d ya know I wanted to go sledding?”

Mamma’s face turned pink. “A little bird . . .”

Who could’ve known? Susie wondered, quickly zipping up her boots.

Emmalyn was grinning now. “Kate Yoder mentioned the other day that the youth were havin’ a sledding get-together.” She raised her eyebrows and continued. “And since Obie’s home to visit, well . . . I figured you might wanna go, and your Mamma might just need someone to have some pie and coffee with before we head to market.”

Susie opened her mouth to explain that Obie was only a friend, but she reckoned it wouldn’t make any difference, not the way Mamma and Emmalyn were smiling at her.

All these December snows will make for good sledding, Susie thought. And by the time she arrived at the slope, quite a few of the youth had already gone down with snow saucers and a couple of toboggans, too, packing the sled run shiny slick in the sunshine.

Cousins Verena and Marnie were walking up to the crest of the hill, where Susie stood, all three wearing dark-colored bandannas and woolen neck scarves. Marnie towed their older brother’s big sled behind them.

Verena waved to Susie, trudging through the snow to greet her. “Obie’s here, did ya know?” Her breath crystallized in midair.

Susie nodded, glad she hadn’t called to her loudly.

“I’m glad you came,” Verena said, grabbing her arm to go down the hill with her. “Marnie wants to ride down with Jerome,” she said conspiratorially once they got on the sled.

Susie chuckled. “Okay, you’ve got yourself a sledding partner.”