Hearing this, Ellie fished for a hankie in her pocket. “I hope he’s still home, Mamm,” she said. “But will he even attend if he is?”

Her mother reached to hold her, soothing her.

Lyle had settled into bed, pillows behind him as he sat listening to Elisabeth talk about Ellie’s upcoming baptism. It was clear his wife was concerned about their daughter’s sadness as she missed Leah and fretted about the possibility Evan wouldn’t even go if he was still home by then.

“Ellie has reason to worry ’bout Evan,” Elisabeth said while brushing out her long hair. “My sister Miriam saw him walking along the road with the young Herr girl the other evening.”

Lyle groaned. It goes from bad to worse.

Elisabeth looked away, tearing up as worry seemed to consume her.

It pained him to see his wife like this. Her concerns about Evan kept her up at night, causing her to toss about in bed. Sometimes she even got up and went downstairs for a few hours.

“Evan’s like a branch in the wind, swept about in all directions,” Lyle said, struggling to say the right thing. “And mighty confused, too, is what I think.”

Elisabeth slipped on her bathrobe and then sat in one of the chairs near their window.

“Not tired yet, dear?” Lyle asked.

“Think I’ll sit a while and look out at the stars and pray.”

“Want some company?” he asked, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

She murmured and shook her head.

Sighing, he got back under the sheet. He would comfort her later, when she was ready. “We’ll get through this with God’s help,” he said softly, closing his eyes in prayer.

14

At their father’s request, Ellie went with Evan to make peach deliveries in the market wagon. These trips were one of her brother’s regular responsibilities, and though he didn’t say, Ellie imagined Dat was thinking she might be able to make them once Evan was gone. Maybe Evan thought so, too. It was already the twentieth of August, so it probably wouldn’t be much longer before he had to leave.

This was the first she’d done this, though, so at each location Evan introduced her as his sister.

“Do ya ever wish we could purchase more land to expand the orchard?” she asked him between two of their stops.

“Can’t say I have.” Her twin glanced at her from the driver’s seat, the reins practically resting on his knees as he held on. “Why do ya ask?”

“I’ve been thinkin’ how nice it’d be to plant plum and cherry trees . . . if some land became available.”

“All our surrounding neighbors are Amish farmers.”

Which means they’ll pass the land down to their children, she thought, still wishing Evan might toss the idea around with her. But he remained silent, his mind apparently on other things.