“I let her stay up to see ya and said maybe you would tuck her in, too.” Gabe’s eyes shone with affection.

“Did ya visit your Aendi Barbara today?” Anna asked Emmie.

She smiled and went to get her doll from upstairs.

Anna wondered if now was a good time to talk to Gabe. “I honestly don’t know how to tell you this,” she said. “But I must say that our Lord sometimes works in the strangest ways.” Her voice broke, and she could not speak for a moment.

“Anna? What is it?”

She paused and searched his face. “What are you hoping I’ll say?”

“That you belong here . . . with my People,” he said. “With me.”

She placed her hand on her chest and breathed several times. “Well then, I’m ready to accept your invitation to court.”

Gabe’s face broke into a smile, and as she rose from her chair, he got up from his seat and came over to her. “Thank the dear Lord! This is a wunnerbaar answer to my prayers,” he said, reaching for her hands. The only sound in the kitchen was the tick-tock-tick of the wall clock and Bootsie’s rumbling purr beneath the table. “I couldn’t be happier, Anna,” he whispered.

The sound of Emmie’s muffled footsteps was on the stairs, and Gabe and Anna stepped apart, still beaming at each other.

Anna turned to sit down, an all-encompassing peace flowing over her. I’ve never felt more certain about anything, she thought.

Emmie made a beeline to Anna and placed her dolly on her lap, standing next to Anna’s knee.

Gabe crouched near, on the other side of Anna’s chair. “We’re going to be seein’ Anna more often now, honey,” he told Emmie, whose eyes sparkled with delight.

Anna nodded. “That’s right.” She reached to stroke the top of Emmie’s head, her golden hair in long braids. “And I’m looking forward to that.”

After some ice cream, Anna tucked Emmie into bed and prayed the Lord’s Prayer aloud, wondering what bedtime rituals her mother may have had.

“Sweet dreams, Emmie,” she said, standing in the doorway.

Emmie grinned up at her, looking adorable with her pretty quilt tucked under her chin, her doll’s little head sticking out of the covers next to her.

“Gut Nacht, sweetie,” Anna whispered, leaving the door open just more than a crack, her heart filled with plentiful joy.

Downstairs, Anna was surprised to see Gabe making coffee. “I really shouldn’t be out too late,” she said, eyeing the mug he’d placed on the table for her. “And coffee keeps me awake at night if I drink it after noon . . . very sorry.”