“I’ll head home now,” she announced to Levy. Late-evening sunshine poured into his office window.
He looked up from a scattering of papers, pen in hand. “Vielen Dank for everything you did today, Jane.”
“I’ll be here around seven o’clock tomorrow morning. But since tomorrow is Friday, I should let you know I was invited to attend a barbeque tomorrow evening. It would be a good chance for me to get to know some of the young people around here.”
He frowned. “Fridays are busy for me, since that’s the day I prepare for the farmer’s market.”
“Well, I’ll be here all day. I’ll just be leaving a bit early, is all.”
He looked doubtful. “All right, then. Good night.”
Why would Levy seem unhappy that she had a social event planned? Jane wondered at his odd reaction. She walked back to her aunt and uncle’s house and found them relaxing with hot cocoa and the Budget newspapers on the front porch.
“How did your first full day of work go?” asked Catherine.
“Fine.” Jane plopped down in a spare rocking chair and sighed. “And I got a raise, so to speak. Levy’s house was a mess, so he offered me extra pay to add cooking and housekeeping duties in addition to watching the baby.”
Catherine chuckled. “He’s had his hands full, no doubt.”
“Why isn’t anyone else helping him?”
“I think it just hadn’t gotten to that point yet,” her aunt replied. “He was obviously going to need help the moment Eliza sent the baby to him, but I think he had a crazy idea he could do it all himself. Now he’s finding he can’t, and that’s just when you arrived.”
“I think Levy doesn’t believe me when I say she’s easy to care for, though my arms got a little tired with carrying her so much.”
“Would you like a baby sling?” Catherine asked. “I still have one tucked away.”
“Ja, I’d forgotten about those! That would be wonderful.”
Catherine disappeared for a few minutes, then came back out to the porch carrying a soft cotton garment. “You remember how to wear this, right?”
“I think so.” Jane slipped the sling over her shoulder and mimed cradling an infant in it. “I’m surprised you still have this.”
“It’s been a while since I used it, but with three grandchildren so far, I still use it occasionally. Remember, until she’s old enough to sit up, you carry the baby either like this, or like this.” Catherine demonstrated infant positions.
Jane nodded and copied her actions. “This will help a lot, since it means I can carry Mercy while working around the house. Levy did tell me I was free to bring her here, or go anywhere I want with her too.”
“Then that sling will be useful everywhere.”
Jane winced at the term useful but didn’t say anything. Instead, she looked over the peaceful lawn illuminated by late-evening sun and sighed. Overall she was glad to be here in Grand Creek. But was this the best place for her? Only time would tell.
* * *
When she arrived at Levy’s the next morning, she found him outside near the barn constructing something. Mercy was strapped into her bouncy seat nearby.
“Guder mariye.” Without asking, Jane removed the infant from the seat and lifted her into her arms.
“Guder mariye.” Levy stopped working and fished out a red bandanna to wipe a trickle of sweat from beneath his straw hat. “Ach, it’s going to be a hot day. Already the sun is warm.”
“What are you building?”
“Remember those boxes I picked up at the train station? It’s a new booth for the farmer’s market.” He pocketed the bandanna. “Just confirming, you said you can work on Saturdays, ja?”
His eyes had dark circles around them, and Jane wondered how many times he’d gotten up with the baby. But she frowned. Just how much time was this job going to entail? Would she ever have a day off?
“I can work Saturday,” she assured him. “And perhaps in exchange I can take a day off during the week.” She paused as he looked unhappy. “Levy, I can’t work here every day, all day. I have a life too.”
“Ja, I know.” The strain increased on his face. “Though I work every day, and I don’t know what I’ll do without you.”
“You may have to hire someone else for the days I take off.”
“Maybe.” He didn’t look happy as he glanced upward at his construction project. “This is almost finished. I’ll spend the rest of the day picking and crating up the produce I’ll sell tomorrow.”
“What will you sell?”
“Corn, onions, garlic, some late strawberries, raspberries—lots of raspberries, they’re peaking now—tomatoes, lettuce, spinach…” he continued, ticking down the list of foods.
“Definitely sounds like you have a full day ahead of you.” Jane glanced at the baby. “Will it be convenient for me to leave by six o’clock tonight so I can make it to the barbecue?”
He shoved a crate. “Why are you going to that?”
She arched her eyebrows at the question. “That’s kind of rude. Why shouldn’t I go? I think it’s important to meet others in the community.”
He frowned. “Seems a very frivolous thing to do.”
“Fortunately, it’s not your place to dictate what I can and cannot do.” Jane’s voice was tart.
He scrubbed a hand over his face, but remained silent.
Jane knew he was tired. “I can work tomorrow, don’t worry.”
Levy just nodded and went back to his work.
She didn’t see him until lunchtime. She caught glimpses of him outside, picking corn or gathering tomatoes or plucking raspberries.
“Do you need help?” she asked, as he wolfed down the grilled cheese sandwiches she’d made for lunch. “It’s an awful lot of work for one man to do alone.”
“You’re helping enough, trust me.” He wiped his mouth and gulped the milk from his glass. He glanced at the clock. “Back
