After Gabe returned to his work across the yard, Anna sat on the wooden bench and read aloud to Emmie several children’s poems she’d found at the library, trying to ignore that her stomach was in knots. What does Gabe want to talk about?

Emmie continued to play on the floor, and Anna hoped the gentle rhymes and the sound of her voice might somehow instill in her a desire to speak. Just a single word would be wonderful, she thought.

When Anna paused in her reading, she listened to see if there were any small peeps or sounds coming from Emmie while she engaged with her dolls and teddy bear, but Emmie remained as silent as ever.

Eventually, Emmie got up and carried her newly dressed doll over to the back door, making her doll peek out of the window.

She wants to go outside, thought Anna, so she suggested they go and collect some pretty leaves together. Emmie smiled, and they slipped on sweaters and headed outdoors, where, while collecting orange and red leaves, Anna began to tell Emmie stories about her own childhood with her sister, Wanita. “We made a special place in the attic,” she said, describing the cozy spot and remembering finding Mammi’s little diary in an attic not so long ago. “Maybe we could make the tree house cozier, too. Would ya like that?”

Emmie frowned and shrugged with her dolly nestled in her little arms.

“Cooler days are here already, and in not too many weeks, winter will come, and it’ll be real cold,” Anna said, thinking out loud. “But what if we took some old blankets up there for story time next week, if it’s not too chilly . . . and a blanket for your dolly, too?” She paused. “I wish I knew her name.”

Emmie smiled, nodding her head and looking at the tree house, then down at her doll.

“I’ll bring the blankets, and you bring your baby, okay?” Anna asked, delighted at all the immediate responses she was getting today. Yet she still yearned to hear little Emmie’s voice—she’d even daydreamed about it. What did it sound like?

Does Gabe even remember?

Putting on her coat, Anna hugged Emmie good-bye and noticed the noontime temperature had dropped quite a lot. She stepped onto the porch, where she saw Gabe hurrying this way.

Together, they walked to her car.

“If you’d like to go with me to the Harvest Days Festival tomorrow afternoon, I’ll ask Barbara to watch Emmie for a few hours. One of the drivers I use can take us.”

This has nothing to do with Emmie, realized Anna with a start. Gabe’s asking me out on a date.