“It’s the middle of summer, so I guess we can’t really complain, jah?” Anna said, smiling.

Sadie chuckled, glad she’d let Anna convince her to come. After the recent visit with Eva and Molly here at the house, Glen had gone to the phone shanty that very evening to contact each of Eva’s sisters and sisters-in-law. Based on what Glen had lined up, Sadie made a chart to keep track of who would be helping Molly every other day. Glen had even asked Sadie why they’d waited so long to do this. But thinking about it now, Sadie didn’t want to spoil her peaceful walk with Anna. Besides, she felt sure that Anna was noodling on something. “You all right?” she finally asked.

“Oh, it’s just that Mammi Eliza brought up that stone wall once again. It’s supposedly somewhere round here. So I actually drove past three after work today.”

“So you’re certain she’s remembering a real wall?”

“It might be a partial memory, but she’s not able to talk about it fully,” Anna said, mentioning the diary entry.

Sadie whistled her fascination, thinking that if Eliza’s memory was as poor as Eva’s, there wasn’t a whole lot that made sense.

Anna stopped walking to wipe her forehead with the back of her hand. “How long do pin oaks live, do you know?”

“Well, a hundred and twenty years or so, compared to white oaks that can live for centuries. Pin oaks put down more shallow roots,” Sadie said.

“I guessed you might know.”

“But does it change anything, really?” Sadie asked, the tree house coming into view.

Anna began walking again, not saying anything, as though contemplating this. “I don’t like to think I might never find the stone wall . . . not when Mammi’s so fixated on it.” She sounded a bit sad. “Mammi supposedly exchanged love letters in a stone wall.”

Though Sadie was surprised, she felt for her. “I don’t usually pray ’bout such things, but if it’s on your heart . . .”

Anna nodded. They walked to the tree house, and Anna sat down on the third step, sliding over to make room for Sadie. “One thing’s for sure.” Anna raised her face to the patches of sky visible through the thick canopy above. “I’m at peace here,” she said softly, her hands folded on her lap. “Have you ever felt so calm as when you’re spending time in the woods?”

Sadie hadn’t really thought about it. “I feel like that when I’m sewing or quilting, or pinning the washing to the clothesline . . . doin’ what I’m called to.”

Anna glanced at her and leaned back, her face tilted up again. “Just listen.”