Mamm didn’t look at any of them. Leroy signaled for Matthias to follow him outside.
“We’ll let Franny talk to her,” he said as he stepped off the porch.
“Have I done something wrong?” Matthias asked, following Leroy as he walked over to the borrowed horse and buggy. “Should I have been making the decisions all along instead of letting Simon take over?”
Leroy adjusted the horse’s blanket as Matthias stood close, letting the mare take in his scent.
“It’s a difficult situation, especially since your Mamm still considers you to be too young to take on your family responsibilities. Simon is quite a bit older than you, isn’t he?”
“He’s almost fourteen years older.”
Leroy nodded. “On top of that, he’s one of those fellows who takes charge whenever there’s a need.” He patted the horse’s neck again. “That isn’t a bad quality, but it’s time for you to step up and take care of your Mamm. It’s a hard thing to do, I know. I was the oldest of thirteen children when my Dat passed on. At eighteen, I needed to take care of the farm and my younger siblings. My mother was overwhelmed. I know you can understand that.”
Matthias nodded.
“Do you agree with the decisions Simon made?”
“I would have bought a bigger place and farther from town.” Matthias said, looking at the small frame house. “This is fine for the two of us, and it’s what we could afford. But I don’t think Simon was considering that I might marry one day.”
“It only has two bedrooms?”
“One. I sleep in the attic while Mamm has the bedroom.”
“And it would be hard to bring a wife home, let alone try to raise young ones here.”
The thought of Ada’s smile startled Matthias. A girl like Ada would make a wonderful wife.
He grinned at Leroy. “If I ever find the right girl to marry, we’ll have to sort that out.”
The older man chuckled as Franny came out the door. “I’m sure you’ll come up with a solution. We need to get going. I told the girls you’d be coming to work in the shop this morning.”
“I’ll leave soon. I want to make sure Mamm is all right before I go.”
“By the way,” Leroy said as he picked up the reins, “the mare’s name is Nellie Belle.”
Matthias waved as Leroy and Franny left. Nellie Belle? That was a different name for a horse.
But then, almost everything was different since they moved back to Shipshewana. Leroy was right. Mamm would get used to him being the man of the family eventually, but it would be a long time before it felt right to him.
The store was busy on Saturday morning from the moment Ada flipped the sign to Open. The bell above the door tinkled constantly as customers entered and left, most of them carrying their purchases of Christmas ornaments or other goods from the store. In addition, nearly all of them purchased a cupcake or two, or a dozen cookies. Rose kept busy in the showroom, taking orders for furniture.
The weather was warm and sunny, so Ada propped the door open at the end of the hall leading to the workshop. Matthias was at his workbench, but he was concentrating on his task and didn’t look up when she waved.
When the morning rush was over, Rose came back from the showroom and collapsed into the rocking chair they kept for customers. “You know I love it when the store is busy, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many people at once.”
“It’s getting close to Christmas.” Ada was replenishing the bakery display while she had a chance. “Vernon and Amos will have a lot of deliveries to make on Monday.”
“That will make Dat happy,” Rose said. She yawned.
“Were you out late again last night?”
“Johnny and I spent the evening at his brother’s house, playing games with his family. We had a lot of fun.”
“That wouldn’t keep you out late.”
Rose smiled. “We took the long way home.” She sighed. “There’s nothing like having a beau to make the days wonderful.”
“I think you’re in love.” Ada leaned on the counter, enjoying her sister’s happiness. If only Amos would ask to take her home from next week’s Singing or come by this evening to spend some time with her, if he wasn’t still sick. No matter what Rose had said, Ada trusted Amos. If he had told Dat he was ill, then he was.
The line of grandfather clocks started chiming the hour.
“It’s noon already?” Rose asked. “We should take our lunch break while the store is quiet. You go first. But eat in the workshop so I can call you if we get busy again.”
Ada grabbed her paper lunch bag and walked down the hall to the workshop. Sunlight streamed in the windows at both ends of the big room. She set her lunch on the break table and walked over to Matthias’s workbench.
“I’m taking a few minutes to eat my lunch, now that the morning rush is done. Are you ready for a break? You can join me.”
Matthias released the clamps from the table leg he was working on. “That’s a good idea, although I hate to stop working.”
She sat at the table and took her sandwich from the bag. “Everyone needs to take a short rest once in a while.” Ada took out an apple and put it next to her sandwich. “Bring your lunch over and we’ll keep each other company.”
When Matthias opened his lunch box, a small round piece of wood was on top of his lunch.
“What is that? Another farm animal for your nephews?”
“Not this one.” He handed it to her. “This is a present for my Mamm.”
The bird was shaped, but only partly carved. Ada turned it in her hands. It was about four inches long and looked as if the little creature was struggling to emerge from the wood like a chick
