Second Chances Read Free Page B

sixteen, they went to their first youth singing, standing awkwardly at the back
of the barn. It was only natural that, as best friends from childhood, the two young
women remained just as close when Anne and her new husband moved to the small town
of Charm, just ten miles away.
    Since long before Anna’s birth, Lydia Rothberger had been a constant presence in
the Eicher family in births, baptisms, and deaths. Her own husband, Edward, had died
only one year after their marriage, a union that resulted in no children but left
Lydia with a small dry goods store in the outskirts of Charm, only a mile or so from
the Eichers’ home. Over the years, she had continued to operate it, and despite
the initial speculation from the community and her deceased husband’s family, she
had managed to become an impressive business owner in her own right.
    After Anne passed away, Lydia stepped in to provide a maternal presence to her best
friend’s three daughters, especially to Anna, the middle daughter who was named after
her mother. Even at the young age of fourteen, Anna resembled her mother, after whom
she had been named, in temperament as well as presence. Quiet and giving, she wanted
nothing more than to please the people she loved. For the past ten years, while it
was most often Anna who sought out Lydia for advice, Lydia’s sensibility guided the
daughters and, on occasion, their father.
    Today was one of those days.
    “It’s time to consider alternatives. You simply cannot maintain it, William, and
you have spent your savings. There is no money left to hire young men.” She hesitated,
glancing at Anna with a sympathetic look in her eyes. “Barely enough to even make
it through the winter, I fear. You might consider selling the haus . Since it’s paid
off, you could invest the proceeds from the sale and live off the interest for a
while. You’d fetch a good enough sum for that.”
    He stood up and began pacing the room, twisting his hands in front of him. “This haus has been in the family for generations!” His feet shuffled across the perfectly
waxed and shiny linoleum floor, Anna having worked hard to ensure that it was never
dull or filmy. “Selling it is not an option, Lydia!”
    “I’m afraid your options are few, William,” Lydia said with a sigh.
    But Anna’s father appeared determined. With a fierce look of unshakable insistence,
he stopped pacing and turned toward Lydia. “There are always options! What about
taking out a mortgage?”
    Anna glanced up in time to see Lydia shake her head. “I don’t see that as being very
wise. You still must pay it back. Besides, with no real income, I’m not even certain
you could get one, William.”
    Exhaling sharply, William continued pacing. “I could sell that Florida property.”
He lifted his eyebrow as if this was the solution. “I haven’t been down there in
years anyway.”
    Even Anna knew that this was another futile idea. The small house in Pinecraft, Florida,
had been left to her parents in the will of her maternal grandmother. Only twice
had the family traveled to the house, and as far as Anna was concerned, that was
twice too often. The place was no more than a two-bedroom trailer house situated
on a very small lot in a community of elderly Amish and Mennonites. With only one
flower bed for gardening, Anna felt far too confined there. She much preferred the
open fields, rolling hills, and winding roads of Holmes County, Ohio, that was for
sure and certain.
    “Now, William,” Lydia replied gently. “You know that place is barely worth five percent
of this property. That wouldn’t do you much good.”
    “Such a sorry state of affairs!” he declared before adding, “If Anne were here .
. . ” under his breath.
    At that statement, Anna shifted her eyes back to the baby quilt. She knew that the
absence of her mother continued to haunt her father. After all, it was her mother,
Anne, who had managed the finances and kept William on a strict budget.