“Yah...” Patience wasn’t adding much to the conversation. She didn’t know any more than Hannah did—that Rachel had arrived, Thomas had most certainly seen her, and then...silence.
“Rachel was a good woman,” Hannah went on, her voice softening. “I didn’t see the tendency to jump the fence in her. She seemed so...proper. But there is no saying how grief will affect some people, I suppose.”
“She had a more complicated situation, though,” Patience added.
“Yah. We found that out too late, didn’t we?” Hannah shook her head. “And if we all just abandoned our faith and our kinner when we faced loss, what would be the point of even having our community? What is your faith if it crumbles at the point of testing? There are vows we take in marriage, and they are similar to the vows we take at baptism—we vow to be faithful. She broke hers.”
“Not in her marriage,” Patience qualified. She felt the need to defend Thomas’s mother, if she could. She was his mamm, after all.
Samuel pulled the buggy up to the side door, and Patience heard the nicker of horses. She’d be attending service this morning with her landlords, but she wasn’t sure if she’d even see Thomas today. Would he skip service Sunday? Samuel came inside, and Hannah looked up at her husband with a smile.
“Carry that, would you, Daet?” Hannah said, gesturing to a cloth bag filled with vegetables for salad.
Samuel took the bag, and a stack of treat-filled plastic containers, too. He tramped back out to the buggy, and Patience and Hannah grabbed the last of the food and followed him out.
Service Sunday—the time when everyone gathered together, worshipped Gott as a community and got to see everyone after two weeks. Patience had always looked forward to it, but this Sunday seemed to be a reminder that she needed to keep an emotional distance from Thomas and Rue. There was no future there for her with the handsome carpenter—and he needed a wife.
The services were being held at the bishop’s farm, and when they arrived, the buggy field was already nearly filled. A large tent had been erected for the service, and the young men were busy arranging the benches beneath it from the Sunday service wagon. Every Amish community did things in a similar way, but each gathering of a community felt a little different. These were new families with new challenges, and her mamm had asked her rather pointedly to keep her eyes open for any single men with kinner. Mamm was absolutely convinced that a happy marriage was possible for Patience, and she dearly wished that she shared her mother’s optimism there.
After helping Hannah to carry the food to the refrigerated wagon—a community investment that came in handy when keeping food from spoiling during weddings and church services—Patience scanned the unfamiliar faces for a familiar one. She spotted Thomas over by the horse corral in a pair of black pants, a white shirt rolled up to his elbows and his black suspenders and hat. Rue clung to the side of a fence, and Thomas leaned against the top rail, both of them looking out at the horses.
“Yah, he’s over there,” Hannah said with a knowing look.
“It isn’t like that,” Patience said.
“No?” Hannah’s eyebrows went up, but she didn’t look convinced.
“I should go say hello,” Patience said.
“Yah... But don’t be locking yourself to one man in the public eye just yet, my dear,” Hannah said meaningfully. “You’re young and attractive. We have a few single men who will want to meet you.”
Patience forced a smile. “I’m more concerned about how Rue is doing after seeing her Englisher grandmother.”
“Ah.” Hannah sobered. “That’s understandable.”
Patience nodded to a few different families as she made her way across the farmyard and toward the horses. Thomas seemed to be deep in thought; neither he nor Rue heard her approach until she was right behind them, and then Thomas startled and turned.
“Hi,” she said with a hesitant smile.
“Hi.” Thomas relaxed at the sight of her. “How are you?”
Rue grinned up at Patience. “Patience, there’s horses. But you can’t hug them. That’s very dangerous.”
Patience chuckled. “It is very dangerous. I see you’ve been listening to your daet.”
“I want a horse,” Rue said seriously.
“You have horses. Your daet has horses that pull the buggy,” Patience replied.
“No, I want a horse of my own,” she said.
Patience looked over at Thomas and he gave a tired shrug. “Another battle for another day.”
“Is everything okay?” Patience asked. “With your mamm, I mean. Samuel saw her waiting on a cab, so we know she left, but...”
Thomas licked his lips. “She...says she wants to return to the community.”
Patience started to smile. “That’s good news!” But when he didn’t match her smile, she let it fall. “Isn’t it?”
“Rue, do you see those girls at the pump?” Thomas said, pointing. “Why don’t you go get some water to drink? I’m sure they’d help you.”
Rue ambled off in the direction her father had indicated, and Thomas stood there, his eyes glued to the back of his daughter. She got to the pump and the older girls looked down at her in stunned curiosity—they’d likely just realized this little girl was speaking English, not German. There would be many, many introductions just like that one for little Rue. She’d get used to the initial shock she caused.
“What happened?” Patience asked. “And I won’t tell anyone what you tell me, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“No, I trust you,” he said, his gaze flickering down toward her. “The problem is, I don’t know what’s a good outcome anymore. Two weeks ago, I
