Ellie had always enjoyed the process of thinning out the apples once they were about the size of a dime, which they were now that it was May. She reached to cut off all but one tiny fruitlet in each cluster, taking note of the amount of space this created for the remaining apples to grow larger. More air flow and sunlight for each branch, she thought, appreciating how this process also made the tree healthier.

Nearly every afternoon, rain showers came for an hour or so. Heaven’s blessings. Sometimes Ellie continued working through them under the tree canopy, wearing the raincoat and rain hat Dat had purchased for her several years ago. But whenever lightning appeared, she and the other workers immediately headed into the barn, staying till the storm blew over.

Evan loves thunderstorms, she recalled, wondering how he was. If only someone would hear from him.

The Saturday nearly three weeks after his attack, Sol showed up at work wearing a splint, his right hand still wrapped. Dat greeted him, shaking his left hand, and so did everyone else. Ellie hung back a little even though she and Dat, and sometimes Mamm, had visited him every few days during his recuperation. Somehow, each time they’d been able to talk alone for a while.

Still, Sol seemed a little bashful around her, like he sometimes was whenever they were around others. So she simply said, “Willkumm back, Sol,” and he smiled.

Having visited Sol with Dat a couple of days ago, she knew Sol was still struggling with his hearing loss and doing everything with his left hand. But he’d also told them he was sleeping through the night, at last, which was making a big difference in his overall health.

Dat urged Sol not to use a ladder to thin apples just yet, and Ellie was glad of that. Dat really is fond of him, she thought, trying not to think too far ahead. We must court first! She wondered if Sol would attend Sunday Singing on the twenty-third.

That evening, Ellie slipped away to her room and wrote to Evan yet again.

It’s a little complicated, but you might be happy to know that Sol wants to court me. I didn’t tell you that Menno and I broke up back in January, but it was definitely for the best. Sol and I have been good friends for a long time, so I’m curious how it will be as we move into a serious relationship.

After she signed off, she searched both the newspaper ads and Lancaster Farming ads for land sales, her pen, as always, poised to mark one or two that stood out. So far, nothing had seemed quite right.