Healing Faith Read Free Page B

laid my fidgeting hands in my lap,
suddenly nervous that anything I did now would be construed as
"outsider" or English as I had learned they called people like me.
Jonah had filled me in a little of his community on the buggy ride
in from town. I was an outsider, and would raise suspicion if I
acted as such. I would pose as someone from another community
visiting their home.
    It was just for a couple of days, but I wanted to pay
my way to this family, however I could. A few days dressed up like
a pioneer wouldn’t be so bad if it kept me hidden long enough for
Sean to give up and go home. I needed all the help I could in order
to blend in and live by their rules judging by the man, Nathan’s,
reaction to me.
    I let my gaze wander as I felt the sisters regard me,
until finally Fannie, Jonah's wife portioned out our supper. Fannie
was pretty, in a plain sort of way, tall with long dark hair that
plaited and wrapped neatly beneath her hair covering, and large
warm eyes that seemed to observe every detail. She was very
welcoming with her warm smile and soft voice. I knew immediately
that she was a kind and gentle person. I couldn’t explain the sense
of security I felt every time she looked towards me.
    She was what I remembered my mother was like when I
was a child, before politics got in the way of the family. Before
the alcohol that slowly consumed my mother and left her a shell.
Before everything that distanced our parents from one another and
their daughters. Fannie and Jonah Berger were nothing like my
parents. They seemed interested in their daughters’ lives based on
Jonah’s conversation.
    "Is Mark coming for supper tonight, Hannah? The
wedding is a couple of weeks away. There is much to plan still," he
asked, a blush blossoming across the tall girl’s cheeks.
    "No, Father. With the sick mares, he has to work
later than he wished to get the field cleared," she replied, her
voice somewhat aloof as she spoke to her father, glancing at me
briefly before returning her eyes out towards the window once
more.
    “Abigail, do not stare so,” Fannie admonished quietly
when the youngest of the daughters continued to watch me. She
blushed and looked down at her lap as her father recited meal
prayers, and I found myself copying her movements, only raising my
eyes when he had finished.
    We were quiet as we ate, Fannie smiling at me and
offering more food than I could possibly indulge in, and Emma and
Abigail hid their smiles every time I glanced their way. Jonah
remained silent for most of the meal, breaking the silence only
when he complimented his wife on a good supper. I felt terribly out
of place and awkward as I ate, unsure of where to put my hands,
whether to eat the leg of chicken I had on my plate with a fork or
with my hand, whether to butter my bread with my own knife or use a
communal knife that seemed to have disappeared from the butter
dish.
    When the meal was done, the girls stood to clear away
the table, and out of fear I moved to do the same. Fannie stopped
me with a smile and a light touch on my shoulder.
    "It is your first night with us, Katherine. You can
help with the drying of the dishes so you can find your way around
the kitchen. Do you like to cook?" she asked as she moved me
towards the deep wash sink.
    "I do, actually. I don't know if anything I cook will
be acceptable though," I murmured nervously. My father had never
been very complimentary on my dishes.
    She hugged me around the shoulders and handed me a
dishtowel.
    "Well then, tomorrow you can spend the day with me
and I will show you the ways we cook. We will be busy in the next
few days, and your able hands will be most welcome. We have a
Frolic to prepare for!" she said happily and turned to the dishes,
washing and handing them to me as she finished.
    "What's a Frolic?" I asked, feeling dumber by the
moment.
    Emma moved in close and took the dishes from my hand
to put them away.
    "A Frolic is a social gathering in our community. The
men help