Seasons in Paradise. Barbara Cameron

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      “It’s warm today,” she said as she held out the plate of cookies to him.

      “Hey, do I get some tea?” John demanded as he stepped up to the table.

      “Schur,” Mary Elizabeth said, handing him a glass with barely a glance.

      “Talk about making a guy feel welcome,” he muttered when she continued to look at Sam.

      “What?” Mary Elizabeth turned to John.

      “Nothing.”

      The three bruders looked so much alike they could have been triplets—tall, square-jawed, with dark blue eyes so often serious. Sam and John wore their brown, almost black hair in an Englisch cut because they still lived in that world.

      “Where’s Rose Anna?” John asked.

      Mary Elizabeth tore her gaze from Sam and gave John a chilly glance. “She wasn’t feeling well,” she said shortly.

      He set the empty glass down on the tray. “Well, that was cooling,” he said. He picked up one of the cookies and walked over to sit on the back porch.

      Mary Elizabeth couldn’t help it. The three Zook schweschders had always loved the three Stoltzfus bruders. So far only one of the schweschders had married one of them.

      When she glanced back at Sam, she was surprised by a look of sadness in his eyes before he set the glass down. “Danki.”

      He glanced up at the sky, beginning to cloud over and turned to David. “Ready?”

      David nodded. “I’ll be in soon,” he told Lavina and set his glass on the tray.

      Lavina glanced at the sky. “Watch for lightning.”

      “I will.”

      Lavina picked up the tray and they walked back to the haus. “Do you want to stay for supper? Sam and John are eating with us before they go home. It’s the least I can do when they’re helping David.”

      Mary Elizabeth bit her lip. “It might give me a chance to talk to him for a few minutes afterward.” She took a deep breath. “I’m just thinking that it’s time we either got back together or . . .” she trailed off.

      “Or?”

      “Or I need to move on and find someone else. I want what you have, Lavina. Oh, I’m not coveting what you have,” she rushed to say. “You know that. I just want to be with a man I love. Make a home, a family.”

      “I know. And I understand. Maybe we can find a way for the two of you to have a moment alone to talk.”

      Mary Elizabeth grinned at her. “Playing matchmaker?”

      Lavina returned her grin. “Just returning the favor, dear schweschder. Just returning the favor.”

      “You’re welcome,” Mary Elizabeth said.

      She set the tray on the kitchen table. “Why don’t you help me make supper?”

      “Schur. What do you need me to do?”

      “The men will be hot from working in the field. Let’s find something that will be lighter. Maybe something cold. I already made two pies for dessert. Peach.”

      “Sam’s favorite.”

      “David’s, too.”

      Mary Elizabeth walked over to the refrigerator and perused its contents, perfectly at home in her schweschder’s kitchen.

      “We could make a big bowl of potato salad and add cubes of this leftover ham and maybe some cheddar cheese,” she said. “Add some rolls and the pies and that’s a nice meal.”

      “You’re right. Get the potatoes and we’ll start boiling them.”

      The two of them made fast work of chopping celery, onion, ham, and cheese. Lavina swayed when she turned from washing the potatoes at the sink. Mary Elizabeth grasped her shoulders and pushed her down into a chair.

      “Are you allrecht?”

      “Fine, fine.” Lavina took a deep breath. “Just moved too quickly.”

      “Maybe I should get David.” She didn’t like how pale her schweschder’s face had gotten.

      “Nee, it’s nothing. I mean it, I don’t want him to worry.”

      “You stay put,” Mary Elizabeth insisted when Lavina started to rise. “If you don’t sit and rest for a few minutes, I’ll call David.”

      “Allrecht, allrecht. Get the potatoes and let’s get them peeled.”

      They peeled the potatoes and cubed them. Mary Elizabeth put them in a pan filled with water and set it on the stove.

      She sat down at the table. “Lavina?”

      “Ya?”

      “Are you—?”

      “Am I what?”

      “You know.”

      “Nee, I don’t know.” She looked innocently at Mary Elizabeth.

      “Having a boppli!” Mary Elizabeth hissed. Honestly, how dense could someone be?

      “Sssh,” Lavina said, glancing at the door of the dawdi haus. She frowned and looked thoughtful. “Oh my, do you think . . . ?” she trailed off.

      “I don’t know. Do you think?”

      A smile bloomed on Lavina’s face. “Oh my,” she breathed. “Maybe.”

      They sat there for a long time grinning at each other until they heard the rumble of thunder. Mary Elizabeth jumped up and poked at the potatoes. Done. She drained them and put them in a bowl over another filled with ice to quickly cool them. Once they were cool enough, she added mayonnaise, the chopped vegetables, ham, and cheese. A quick stir and it went into the refrigerator to chill.

      She looked out the kitchen window. The men were still working in the fields, casting glances up at the sky as they did. She set the table and made sure they had two pitchers of iced tea waiting in the refrigerator.

      She couldn’t wait until supper was finished and she could talk to Sam.

      One way or another, she’d know what to do after this evening.

      Chapter 2

      2

      Sam didn’t want to run into Mary Elizabeth again, but there was no avoiding it.

      He opened the screen door and sure enough, there she was sitting at the kitchen table talking with Lavina.

      She glanced at the clock. “Finished for the day?”

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