I have to get my mind off this, she decided, needing to return to sleep. She had a busy day tomorrow, redding up her room, doing some mending, and making the noon meal for Glen, too, while Sadie was gone to market. And then there was the outing with Gabe tomorrow afternoon.

Anna sipped the cold milk and wished she knew what Mart was thinking, because if she had to be a member of his church for them to seriously date, she had better think carefully about his invitation.

If it’s God’s will, she thought, determined to know for sure.

———

Sadie sat up in bed at the sound of footsteps in the kitchen. Anna must be restless, she thought, getting up to pull on her robe.

She wandered out to the kitchen, where she could see a stream of light coming from the table. Spotting the flashlight, she said quietly, “’Tis all right to turn on the lamp, Anna.”

“I was trying to be quiet,” Anna replied from her place at the table. She looked like she was carrying a weight on her shoulders.

“Well, if neither of us can sleep, we may as well keep each other company.” Sadie reached for the switch for the battery-powered lamp overhead. “There now, that’s better,” she said, squinting over at Anna. “You feelin’ all right?”

Anna’s slender shoulders rose, then lowered. “Ach, I hardly know what to think.”

Sadie sat down in Glen’s chair at the head of the table, hoping Anna might share what was on her mind. “I’ve felt like that sometimes, too,” she said.

Slowly, Anna began to open up and talk about “her predicament,” as she put it, the words coming quickly now, as though she’d been holding this in for too long. Her Mennonite friend Mart had invited her to attend church with him this Sunday, and, of all things, Gabe had asked to take her to the Harvest Days Festival tomorrow afternoon. “Supposedly that’s just as friends, but I suspect that’s only because I suggested it should be that way.” She shook her head. “Even so, Mart’s the fella I should be interested in,” Anna admitted. “I’ve known him longer, for one thing, and . . . his upbringing is more similar to mine.” She traced a finger around the rim of her empty glass. “Honestly, though, I feel something very different when I’m with Gabe, which seems odd to me.”

Sadie studied her and wondered if she ought to say what she was thinking. She took her time, though, not jumping into the conversation till Anna stared down at the table, like she was beside herself. “Is it odd, really?” Sadie ventured. “I mean, havin’ an attraction to a wunnerbaar young man like Gabe?”

“Truth is, I never expected it.” Anna sat up straighter now.