CHAPTER 1.
Hope sat alone at the kitchen table, slowly buttering her toast so she didn't miss any spots. She didn't like biting into dry toast at all. Once the butter had melted nicely, she dolloped on a big spoonful of honey. Then she took her knife and spread the honey into a thick layer that completely covered the toast. All the while, she was deep in thought about the first time she ever saw Fairfax. He had literally knocked on the door of her family’s home. He’d been looking for Florence for some reason or other. It had been love at first sight for her, and he’d said later it had been the same for him.
Hope had been the last into the kitchen this morning. Everyone had finished breakfast and now they were huddled around the fireplace in the living room keeping warm. All of them, that was, except for Bliss, who was making clattering sounds while she washed up.
The noises didn’t bother Hope; she barely noticed them. What she did notice was the smell of baking bread, and that was odd for a Sunday when cooking was to be kept to a minimum. That meant Hope was now eating the last of the bread, and her mother, whose job was the bread-making, had been unorganized in the last couple of days.
Perhaps it wasn’t Mamm’s fault. Maybe someone had suddenly eaten a lot more bread than normal.
For Hope, Sunday was the day of the week she looked forward to. Not only was it their day of rest, it was when she got to spend the most time with Fairfax.
Today there was no meeting, so she could spend the whole afternoon with him and she hoped he’d talk more about their future. There were so many things to decide upon. When they would marry, where they would live, and where he would work.
Lately, he hadn’t talked about such things and Hope feared there was a reason for that.
Was it possible he was having second thoughts? She hadn’t wanted to let that fearful thought take hold of her, but it had increased with every passing day.
He’d finished the instructions, and been baptized, so why was he still living and working with the Millers?
If only the bishop hadn’t placed him with a family that owned a dairy farm. It hadn’t been easy for him. Working the dairy was not an easy task and everyone knew it. She could tell when she looked at Fairfax that he was sleep-deprived and exhausted most of the time. No one made good choices or thought properly when they lacked sleep.
Although the Millers had told Fairfax they’d like him to stay on permanently, he’d politely declined and informed them he would prefer to return to orchard work. Yet, after he’d said that he was still with the Millers—living and working with them.
Hope hadn’t asked Florence and Carter yet, but she was certain they’d have work for him. They’d purchased Fairfax’s parents’ orchard that was on one side of the Baker Apple Orchard, and they were creating a new orchard on their land on the other side of the Baker Orchard. They were always employing people to do things around the place, so why not employ Fairfax instead? He already knew what was necessary and how to do what needed doing to run the place.
It made sense to Hope and she knew it would make sense to her half-sister, Florence, too.
The only thing was, she didn’t want to be the one to ask them and it disappointed her that Fairfax hadn’t made any inquiries.
Hope continued to eat her toast and thought some more.
She’d often wondered if she should whisper a hint to Florence, but each time she’d decided against it. Fairfax should be bold enough to do that himself. How could he support himself and her after they married if he had no job and nowhere to live?
It had become an ongoing worry for her. Fairfax wasn’t a planner like she was, and she found that frustrating.
Life had to be planned.
Weddings had to be organized, and their life together had to be thought out.
It wasn’t just going to tumble together with no thought and no effort.
No one was going to knock on Fairfax’s door and give him a job and a place to live. If he stayed with the Millers, she’d never see him, and their lives would never go ahead. It would make no sense to marry if he was still working with the Millers. There was no room for her in the quarters he shared with another of the dairy’s workers. It would be an awful way to begin their married life.
“Hope.”
Hope looked up to see Bliss leaning over her. “What is it?” Hope asked.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Fairfax.”
“Oh, it’s so good to be in love, isn’t it?”
She looked up at Bliss, envying her for the very first time. Adam Wengerd was the man Bliss loved. He was someone to admire, and he was a planner. He’d started his own business when he couldn’t find permanent work, and had moved communities to be close to Bliss. By the time Bliss and Adam married, they’d have a house and a plan for their lives. Hope was certain of that because Adam was someone who followed through with the decisions he made.
All Hope wanted was some idea of the path she and Fairfax were taking.
Bliss had none of the worries that she was having right now. Maybe Fairfax was like this because he was concentrating on doing the right thing in the right way, community-wise. Or it might have been because that was just the way he was.
“Jah, Bliss. Love is good,” Hope finally said.
“Do you want another cup of coffee? I’m having one.”
“Okay, denke.”
Minutes later, Bliss passed her a cup and sat down opposite her. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.” Hope traced her fingertip along the wood grain in the table. “Why do you think something’s the matter?”
“You look sad and gloomy.”
“I’m not. I’ve just got a lot on my mind.” She wouldn’t share her fears with Bliss. Not when Bliss looked up to her as the older sister. They’d all had too much uncertainty in their lives of late, with Levi’s illness and the ongoing uncertainty that surrounded the orchard. Hope didn’t want to add another layer of worry, no matter how small.
“Are you seeing Fairfax today?” Bliss asked.
“Jah. He said he’d be here about lunchtime and then we’d do something together. I’m not sure what.”
“I’m not seeing Adam until he comes for dinner tonight.”
“I’ll invite Fairfax for dinner too. Oh, sorry about you not seeing him this morning or this afternoon. I know you haven’t seen him much lately.”
“Jah, he’s been working long hours.” Bliss sighed, just as Cherish walked into the kitchen and sat down heavily next to Bliss.
Then Cherish got back to her feet and headed to Timmy in his cage. “Who’s a pretty boy? Who’s a pretty boy?”
It was impossible to talk while Cherish was around.
“Oh, he’s not talking now.” Cherish swung around. “It’s because you two are here.”
Bliss asked, “Does he talk when no one’s around?”
“A little. He makes noises like he’s trying to say the words, but it’s not very clear. I was sure he’d be able to talk by now.” She turned around to face Timmy. “Pretty boy, pretty boy.” She gave up and sat down next to Bliss. Then she put her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands. “I’m so bored. There’s nothing to do.” Her head lowered to the table. “Why is life so boring? Sundays are always like this.”
Today, Hope was in no mood to put up with Cherish and her dramatics.
Once Hope had finished her toast and coffee, she headed up to her room, and there she’d stay until Fairfax arrived.
Cherish asked Bliss, “What’s wrong with her? She didn’t even look at me.”
“I don’t know. She seems a little odd today.”
“Did I do something to upset her?”
Bliss leaned back in the chair. “I don’t think you did anything, but you were a bit noisy when we were having a conversation. What are you doing today?”
Cherish ignored her and stared at Bliss’s coffee cup. “Oh, you’ve got coffee.”
Bliss jumped to her feet. “Want me to make you one?”
“Jah. That would be good.”
As Bliss poured the coffee out of the carafe, she said, “Why didn’t you get one at breakfast?”
“I don’t know. I don’t normally have much, but it feels like a coffee-drinking day today. I have nothing planned. I have no one to visit and no one to visit me. All my friends told me they’re busy today and all of my sisters have boyfriends except for Favor.” Cherish heaved another sigh. “But Favor has her time all taken up by Caroline. I mean, why is she still even here? No one can give me an answer.” Cherish pouted. “I should tell Levi the truth about her house. Tell him it didn’t burn down at all and that she’s a liar. Everyone knows it. Except for Levi and of course Mamm.”
“Wunderbaar.”
Cherish looked at Bliss in surprise. “It’s wunderbaar that we have a liar as a guest?”
“Nee, it’s wunderbaar that we can do something together today. Just the two of us.”
Cherish thought about that. She’d rather do something with Favor than with Bliss, but Favor and Caroline had disappeared after breakfast and she wasn’t even sure where they were. “Jah, okay. What did you have in mind?” At this stage, doing something was better than doing nothing.
“I don’t know. I want to put Cottonball in her enclosure for a while. She loves to chew on the grass and nuzzle around in the dirt. It’s too cold this morning. I’ll wait until this afternoon. She doesn’t even notice the cold with all that fur. I like to watch her while she’s in there to make sure she’s okay.”
“If you want to do something this morning, I’ll watch Cottonball with you this afternoon.”
“Okay. What do you want to do?” Bliss brought the cup of coffee back to the table and placed it in front of Cherish.
Cherish opened her mouth to answer but was distracted by loud voices coming from the living room. It was Mamm and Levi. “What are they talking about?”
Bliss shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t like the sound of it. Dat seems upset and when he was at the hospital, they said he wasn’t to get stressed.”
“I know—he has to remain calm.”
Mamm was the culprit. It sounded like she was arguing with him.
