A line appearing between his eyebrows was the only sign that he had heard her.
“Vernon must have gone home an hour ago.”
Matthias straightened, wiping the new inlay with a rag, then he stared at her. “It isn’t really six o’clock already, is it?”
When she nodded, he glanced out the dark window, then at the work on his bench.
“I was supposed to milk the cow at five.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “But at least all four legs are inlaid.”
While Matthias switched off his work light and took his coat from the hook next to the workshop door, Ada got her plate from the lunch table. She wrapped the three remaining cookies in a napkin and handed them to Matthias.
“You should take these with you.”
He grinned as he put the cookies in his coat pocket. “Denki. I might even eat them on the way home.”
“Did you ride your bicycle again today?”
Matthias nodded as he fastened his coat.
Ada glanced at the window. The sun had already set. “It’s dark outside, and cold. Why didn’t you drive to work this morning?”
He pulled his knit cap over his ears. “We don’t have a buggy yet.” He grinned at her. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be careful riding home.”
Wintry air swept into the workshop as Matthias left, making Ada shiver. She hoped he didn’t live too far away.
CHAPTER FOUR
Matthias wished he could start work earlier on Saturday morning, but with Leroy and his wife gone for the day, he would have to wait until Ada and Rose arrived at the store at eight o’clock before he could go to the workshop. So, he spent extra time cleaning the cow’s stall and putting down fresh bedding.
He was eating breakfast when he heard a buggy in the driveway.
“Who could that be?” Mamm asked, peering out the window. “It looks like Deacon Weaver.”
Matthias joined Mamm at the window. She was right. Leroy stopped a strange horse at the rail at the end of the sidewalk. The Weavers’ buggy, driven by Franny Weaver, stopped beside him.
“I told Franny not to bother with a horse and buggy for us.” Mamm turned away from the window and stomped back to the sink. “She said we needed one, but I told her I didn’t want one. We’re getting along fine without it.”
“And I told Leroy we would be happy to have it.” Matthias cleared the table before Leroy and Franny came to the door. “We need better transportation for the winter. My bicycle won’t go on the roads when the snow gets deep.”
Mamm looked at him, her eyebrows raised. “It wasn’t your place to tell them such a thing. You’re only a boy.”
“I am a man, with a man’s job and a man’s responsibilities.” Matthias’s stomach quivered as he faced his mother. “It’s my decision to make, for the good of our family.”
Mamm turned back to the sink full of dishes. “We don’t have a family. Not anymore.”
Matthias had no answer to that comment. He crossed the room to let Leroy and Franny in.
“I didn’t expect you to come by today,” Matthias said.
Leroy glanced at Mamm, still standing at the sink with her back to them. “One of the older couples from the church are heading down to Pinecraft for the winter. They usually leave their horse with their son while they’re gone, but they agreed that you could take care of her just as well. She’s yours until spring.”
“We don’t need a horse and buggy,” Mamm said, turning around and drying her hands on a dish towel. “I told Franny yesterday. We don’t want it.”
“Matthias needs a way to get to work,” Leroy said. “He can’t ride his bicycle all through the winter.”
Mamm sank into a chair at the table. “I promised myself that he would never drive a buggy. Not after what happened to Ervin.”
Leroy pulled out one of the chairs and sat across from Mamm. “Ervin was in an accident. The horse isn’t to blame, or the buggy. A careless driver, a rainy night, and a slippery road were all factors. But that is in the past.”
“I’m not going to let my boy drive a buggy.”
Franny sat down next to Leroy. “But, Essie, he has to be able to go to work.”
Mamm’s lower lip trembled. “He can call a driver or ride his bicycle.”
Matthias sat next to Mamm and took her hand in his. “We need a buggy, and Leroy has arranged for one. We’re going to accept it with gratitude and humility.”
Mamm clung to his hand. “I won’t have you driving after dark.”
“That isn’t possible.” Matthias kept his voice gentle, remembering how dark it had been on that terrible night last spring. “It will be after sunset when I come home from work this winter. But I will follow the laws and use the safety precautions allowed by the church.”
Mamm’s mouth trembled.
“Essie,” Leroy said, “this is up to Matthias. He’s the one who needs to make the decision.”
“He’s a boy. It’s my place to decide for our family.”
Franny shook her head. “He is a man, Essie. Not your little boy anymore. He needs to take his father’s place.”
“I don’t want him to have to grow up too fast.” Mamm laid her hands in her lap, twisting them together. “I’ll ask Sally’s Simon. He’ll know what to do.”
Matthias resisted the urge to argue with Mamm. Simon had stepped into Dat’s role as soon as he heard about the accident. He was the one who had advised Mamm to sell the farm in Wisconsin and come back to Indiana. He was the one who had found this house for them. But was Mamm right to depend on him so much?
Leroy leaned over the table. “Simon has his own family. He’s responsible for his family’s dairy and his position as deacon in his own G’may. He shouldn’t also be expected to be the head of his wife’s family, not when you have a grown son to help you. Matthias is old enough and
