“He’s prob’ly hungry again,” Tessa said as she hung up her coat. “And I nursed him before we left the house.”
“Well, he’s a growin’ boy. Ain’t ya, sweetie?” Mimi cooed and walked the length of the kitchen with Joey, then back toward Tessa and Lena. “Are ya spendin’ the day, then?” Mimi asked, hope in her eyes.
Tessa removed her black outer bonnet and placed it on a wooden peg next to her coat. “We’ll just see how Joey does.”
“He’ll be fine,” Mimi replied. “Just fine.”
She’d love for them to stay into the afternoon, thought Lena Rose, her heart going out to the woman.
“There’s plenty of food for the noon meal,” Lena said, hoping to pave the way. “It’s really no trouble.”
“No trouble a’tall,” Mimi echoed.
For a moment, Tessa’s eyes locked with Lena’s. Then at last she nodded, agreeing to stay for the meal as she sat down in the nearby rocking chair.
“I’d be happy to hold the baby later while you eat,” Lena offered.
“Oh, he’ll prob’ly sleep through dinner,” Tessa said hastily.
Lena nodded, and Mimi gave Lena a thoughtful glance, but Tessa quickly changed the topic, saying that three of the milk cows her husband was in charge of had escaped from the barnyard yesterday morning.
“Did Manny manage to round ’em up?” Mimi asked, cuddling the baby as she sat on the long wooden bench.
“He did, but it took a few hours, and by then their udders were awfully full. It was terrible, really.” Tessa shook her head. “Oh, Mamm, Manny despises workin’ as a farmhand. He just isn’t a dairyman, and to top it off, there’s been mastitis in the herd—bacteria in the milk are makin’ it impossible to pass inspection. Ach, there’ve been all kinds of troubles lately.” She stared out the nearby window. “Manny’s even talked ’bout quitting his job and doing something else. In fact, he’s thinking of partnering with a would-be cabinetmaker up here—a younger fella he met through Eli.”
“You’d move back to Leacock Township?” There was a look of expectancy on Mimi’s round face.
“Honestly, I don’t know. But I feel cut off from everyone I grew up with,” she said softly. Going silent for a time, her gaze shifted to Lena, who held her breath, thinking this was just what Mimi needed to hear.
Mimi raised Joey so she could kiss his tiny face. “Well, it’d be wunnerbaar-gut to have yous closer.”
“Believe me, Manny’s not happy workin’ for his uncle, so no one can talk him into stayin’ put doin’ what he’s doing now. But as to whether or not we’ll move here . . . well, there’s a catch, I’m afraid.” Tessa glanced up at the ceiling, then down quickly at her hands in her lap. “Manny worries that his potential partner’s father might oppose the plan, since . . . well, Abram Mast just assumes Arden’ll take over the farm in a year or so.” The light had gone out of Tessa’s pretty blue eyes, and she untied her black neck scarf and slid it off.
Arden? Lena thought, surprised to hear his name in this conversation. He doesn’t want to go on with his father’s farm?
“Well, running a dairy farm’s exhausting work,” Mimi said, shifting Joey in her arms. “I know that for truth, and so do you, dear.”
Tessa nodded emphatically. “I remember helpin’ Dat and my brothers till they left home to marry,” she said. “I was never so thrilled as when Dat hired farmhands.” She paused a moment. “Sometimes I really wonder what Eli’s thinking, stayin’ round here and getting up at four every morning all year long.”
“Undoubtedly, he’ll take over the operation someday. And I say bless him for that.” Mimi smiled.
“Better Eli than Manny,” Tessa said. She reached to rub the back of her neck. “Eli seems better suited for it than Aaron, Caleb, or Will, don’t you think?”
Mimi nodded. “Eli enjoys bein’ around the cows . . . he’s cut from the same cloth as your father.”
Tessa glanced at Lena Rose. “It’s nice you don’t have to be out there before the crack of dawn.”
“Oh, I would if necessary . . . but I’m content to work indoors with your Mamm.” Lena looked over at Mimi. Lena had said something similar about Mimi the first time she’d met Tessa in late September.
“We’re a gut team,” Mimi said of Lena, then smiled down at the baby, making little sounds with her lips.
This made Lena Rose feel good, but she worried what Tessa might be thinking, since Lena had taken her former place in Mimi’s business.
But Tessa’s mind was clearly elsewhere. “You have a way with your grandson, Mamm,” Tessa said, observing her mother with the baby.
“Ach, I’d spoil him if I could. Wouldn’t I, darlin’?” she cooed at the infant.
Tessa seemed to sigh and looked toward the farmland calendar on the wall, staring at it for a moment. “Arden Mast wants to present his and Manny’s plan to Abram the day after Christmas.”
“Sounds like they’ve thought this through,” Mimi said.
“For sure. But Manny’s holdin’ his breath and moving forward cautiously, in case the whole thing ends up fallin’ apart.” Tessa reached for Joey when he started to cry.
“What’ll happen if Abram disapproves?” Mimi asked.
Tessa shrugged and opened the bodice of her dress to nurse her son. “I really don’t know.”
Rising, Mimi went to boil water for tea.
Meanwhile, Lena got up to fetch the teacups and saucers from the corner china closet, finding it very interesting to think that Arden Mast wanted to do something other than dairy farm. She remembered the day before Thanksgiving, when Eli had brought Arden along to supper after their hunting trip. Arden doesn’t seem like a fellow who’d want to swim against the current, she thought. Or disappoint his father . . .
Whether it was due to Lydia’s friendly urging or to Lena’s loneliness, on Sunday evening at twilight, Lena found herself being driven by her cousin Eli to the Singing, where quite a few open black buggies and several enclosed family carriages were already lined up
