“He’s just getting used to things.” Ellie didn’t want to paint a rosy picture, but she certainly wasn’t going to upset Mamm with details about all the strenuous activities, or the part about learning to carry and shoot a gun, which Evan had also mentioned close to the end of the letter. It would never do to bring that up.

“I’ll write him again,” Mamm said.

“So will I.”

Later, while making a tossed salad, it struck her that Evan had never been one to complain. Not that she could remember. Yet this letter seemed to be all about complaints. She wondered if he’d just been out of sorts or if everything he’d described was starting to affect him negatively.

He’s not even halfway through boot camp.

At supper, Ellie told her father about the two restaurant managers she’d visited.

“What a schmaert thing to do,” he replied, grinning and glancing at Mamm. “Denki, Ellie.”

Mamm nodded approvingly. “You are truly your father’s daughter.”

Ellie was happy to hear it, since working hard, especially for the orchard, made her happy. “I’m glad to help wherever I can.”

“I’ll say,” her father replied. He looked at Dawdi Hezekiah, whose smile lines deepened as he grinned, too.

They kept the cider press busy even as the late apple varieties began to come at the end of October and into November. Ellie, Mamm, and Rudy worked together, using three hand-cranked apple peelers, while Jonah, Dat, Titus, and some of the crew turned to spreading the fall fertilizer. Sol, Menno, and others continued with the apple harvest, and whenever they could, she and Menno stood and talked together.

It wouldn’t be long until Thanksgiving, after which the enormous process of pruning the fruit trees would begin, encompassing all the months till April. As was their usual tradition, Dat, Dawdi, and her brothers took a day off to go bow hunting for wild turkeys in Gobbler’s Knob southeast of Strasburg, and Ellie couldn’t help wondering how strange it must be for them with Evan absent.

To Ellie’s surprise, Sol occasionally sought her out, as if keeping an eye on her, and she had to wonder if Evan had anything to do with that. Sol mentioned Leah at times and her upcoming visit for Thanksgiving. She, too, could hardly wait to see Leah again, though the visit would be short. At every opportunity, Ellie slipped in a comment about Ruthann, wanting Sol to know she fully understood how fond he and her cousin were of each other, though Ruthann had been rather mum on that lately.

Very early Thanksgiving morning, Ellie helped Mamm set the table and make side dishes while Dat brought in some firewood for the cookstove. Since Jonah and his family were the only relatives coming for the noontime feast this year, the turkey Dat had bagged recently was just right.