Seasons of Sugarcreek 02. Spring's Renewal Read Free Page B

right now.”
    Though the restaurant was full, Lilly leaned against the counter and gazed at the newlywed. Just a few weeks ago, she’d attended her very first Amish wedding. It had been amazing to watch Gretta and Lilly’s next-door neighbor Joshua Graber exchange vows. “Married life is agreeing with you, isn’t it?”
    “Oh, indeed.”
    “And you don’t mind living above the Graber’s store?”
    “Oh, not at all. The Graber Country Store is a cavernous place. Our little apartment above the storage area is a right cozy spot for Joshua and me. One day, when we’re in a family way, I suppose we’ll have to think about getting a home of our own,” she mused as she sliced neat portions of the chocolate pie and deftly slid them onto the plates. “A better place to raise our kinner . But for right now, I’m appreciating the privacy. If we weren’t above the store, we’d be living with one of our families.”
    Lilly winked Miriam’s way. “Who knows? With all that privacy, Gretta might be in a family way sooner than we think.”
    Miriam chuckled as Gretta turned bright red. “I think I’ll go see if anyone would like some coffee.”
    “I’ll be right behind you,” Lilly said. After putting the four dessert plates on a tray, she lifted it, then put it right down in alarm. She’d felt a tightening around her middle.
    “Lilly, are you all right?” Hands covered in flour, Miriam scurried around the stainless steel counter. “I heard you gasp.”
    She rubbed her side. “I guess I am. When I lifted the tray I felt a strange pull, but maybe it’s just a muscle.”
    “Or maybe it’s the baby moving?” Miriam mused.
    “I…I bet that’s it.” She didn’t think so, though. The pregnancy books described a baby’s movement as a flutter. Not a sharp twinge.
    Forgoing the tray, she decided to carry out the plates in her hands. It might take two trips, but at least she wouldn’t be lifting so much weight. “I’ll just deliver them this way.”
    “Don’t overdo it, Lilly,” Miriam warned. “You don’t want to hurt yourself.”
    “I’ll be careful. Thanks.” Quickly, she carried two dishes out, then turned around and brought the next two out as well.
    She was just considering a break when two women entered the restaurant. On the surface, they looked as different as night and day. One woman was dressed in a gray dress, black tennis shoes, and black apron. A delicately pressed white kapp covered neatly arranged hair. Next to her, was another woman, about the same age. Earrings and a gold wedding band decorated her ears and fingers. A periwinkle blue sweater complemented neatly pressed khakis and navy flats. Light makeup accented her hazel eyes.
    “Hi, Mrs. Graber! Hi, Mom. This is a nice surprise.”
    The two women looked at each other and grinned. “We’ve been out at the sales in Berlin this morning and decided we needed sustenance,” Mrs. Graber said. “There was no place better for us than here.”
    Grabbing a pair of menus, Lilly led them to a table at the back of the dining area, right next to the kitchen door. “How about this table? That way Gretta will be able to come out and say hello, too.”
    “That’s a fine idea,” her mom said.
    Just as the front door rang again, Lilly turned on her heel and then was brought up short. It was a man. An Amish man. Hat in hand, he examined the bright, cheery restaurant with a frown.
    She rushed over. “May I help you?”
    “I came for lunch,” he said, obviously ill at ease in the crowd of women. “Do you serve lunch?”
    “We do.” She led him to a table by the window. It was a little apart from the rest of the restaurant, and neither near the kitchen nor many of the other customers. Lilly had an idea that he had no need to advertise his presence there.
    He sat without a smile and opened his menu without a word of thanks.
    Too busy to wonder why he was so grumpy, Lilly went to check on her mom and Elsa. “Do you know what you’d