A Sister's Test (20 page)

“Mama, is it all right if I spend the night at Esta’s?” Anna asked as she tugged on Grace’s dress sleeve.

“Jah, sure, that’ll be fine,” Cleon said before his wife could respond.

Grace turned in her chair and gave him an icy stare. “Don’t I have anything to say about this?”

“I figured you’d be okay with the idea,” Cleon said. “It’ll be nice for us to have a quiet evening alone with Daniel.”

Grace’s eyes narrowed into tiny slits. Cleon knew she wasn’t happy about what he’d said—but didn’t she realize how important it was for them to have quality time with the baby without Anna being there asking questions and begging to hold her little brother?

“Is it all right if I go home with Esta?” Anna asked, giving Grace’s sleeve another tug.

“Does Esta’s daed know about this?” Grace questioned.

Anna nodded. “He said it’s fine with him, and so did Esta’s aunt Sue.”

“All right, you may go.” Grace squeezed her daughter’s shoulder. “Grandma Schrock’s holding baby Daniel right now, so I’m free to walk you home to get your nightgown and a change of clothes for tomorrow.”

Cleon shook his head. “You look tired, Grace. I think we should go home now. You can pack Anna’s things, and I’ll bring her back over here so she’s ready whenever Abe says it’s time for his brood to go.”

Grace didn’t argue, and he felt relief. She did look done in.

Cleon pushed his chair aside and stood. “I’ll get the boppli from my mamm, and we’ll be on our way.”

“Everything’s going well today, wouldn’t you say?” Martin asked Ruth as they sat at their special corner table eating a piece of wedding cake.

She smiled. “All our guests seem to be having a good time.”

He thumped his stomach and grinned. “Can’t remember the last time I ate this much food.”

Ruth nodded. “There’s so much chicken, mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, salads, and vegetables, not to mention all the desserts and cakes. This morning I felt so nervous I could barely eat breakfast. But I’ve more than made up for it this afternoon.”

Martin glanced across the room and spotted Abe sitting at a table with his boys. His shoulders were slumped, and he wore a forlorn expression, making Martin wonder if the man wasn’t having a good time. Poor Abe still missed Alma and was probably thinking about their wedding day. It had to have been hard for him to come here today. Abe was not only Martin’s boss, but a good friend. Martin was sure Abe had come to the wedding to let him know that he approved of his marriage.

Martin was about to excuse himself to speak with Abe when—
kaboom!
—an explosion sounded from outside, causing the windows to vibrate.

“Wh–what was that?” Ruth’s eyes widened, and her mouth hung slightly open.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”

Martin, along with several other men, rushed outside. A quick glance around the yard revealed that one of the portable outhouses set up to accommodate the guests had been blown up.

“Talk about starting your marriage off with a bang.” Toby slapped Martin’s back. “Looks like some of our
yuchend
thought it would be fun to shake things up a bit.”

Everyone laughed, and someone pointed to what was left of the outhouse. Martin was fairly certain it had been blown up by one of his youthful buddies as a prank. Well, he wasn’t going to let it rile him. With a chuckle and a shrug, he headed back inside to carry on with the wedding meal. Someone else could clean up the mess.

R
uth’s heart hammered so hard she feared it might burst open. “What was it?” she asked when Martin returned to the house. “What caused that horrible noise?”

“It’s nothing to worry about,” he said, taking a seat beside her. “Someone blew up one of the outhouses.”

“What?” Ruth touched his arm. “Oh, Martin, have the attacks on my family begun again?”

“I don’t think so. Some of the fellows were outside snickering, so I’m pretty sure they had something to do with the outhouse blowing up.”

“How can you be so sure? I mean, with all the other things that have gone on—”

He smiled and took her hand. “It wasn’t an attack—just some tomfoolery going on with some of the single fellows who wanted to be sure we remembered our special day.”

“I’ll always remember our wedding day.” Ruth’s voice was thick with emotion. “We sure didn’t need some
verhuddelt
friends of yours blowing up an outhouse in order to make this day special.”

“Someday when we’re old and gray, we’ll look back on our wedding day and laugh about what those mixed-up friends of mine did.” Martin chuckled. “Just think what a fun time we’ll have telling our kinner and
kinskinner
about it.”

She nudged him in the ribs. “You might have fun telling that story, but I sure won’t. I don’t think it’s one bit funny.”

“I agree with Ruth,” Martha said as she took her seat again. “What
if someone had been using that outhouse when it blew up? They could have been seriously hurt.”

“I wonder what Dad has to say about all this.” Ruth glanced around the room, trying to locate her parents. “I don’t see him or Mom anywhere.”

“Mom’s in the kitchen making sure everything’s going okay,” Martha said. “Dad’s out on the porch, talking to Bishop King.”

“I think they’re discussing the outhouse incident,” Toby put in as he joined the group at the table. “I told my daed that I’d seen Luke hanging around the outhouses when I went outside for some fresh air. Makes me wonder if he wasn’t the one responsible for the explosion.”

Martin’s forehead wrinkled. “Why would Luke do something like that?”

“You don’t know?” Toby asked.

He shook his head.

Toby motioned to Ruth. “You stole his girl. Maybe he’s trying to get even.”

Ruth shook her head. “Martin didn’t
steal
me. I broke up with Luke before Martin asked if he could court me.”

“Well, there you go. Luke’s probably mad because you dumped him.” Toby grunted. “That fellow’s been acting strange for some time now. I wouldn’t put anything past him.”

Martha glared at Toby. “You have no proof that Luke blew up the outhouse or that he wants to get even with Ruth for breaking up with him.” She breathed in deeply. “Besides, it’s not your place to judge.”

Toby squinted at her and dropped into a chair. “That may be true, but my daed’s the bishop, and if he thinks Luke needs to be questioned, then he’ll do it.”

“So what do you think about that outhouse being blown apart? Do you think it’s another attack on our family?” Roman asked the bishop as they took seats in wicker chairs on the porch.

Bishop King folded his arms and stared out at the yard. “From what Toby said, it appeared to be a prank. Probably done by some of Martin’s friends, hoping to make him remember this day.”

“Humph!” Roman said with a huff. “I can think of better ways to help a friend remember his wedding than to scare all the guests half out of their wits.”

The bishop pulled his fingers through the ends of his lengthy beard. “I remember on my wedding day, some of my friends took the wheels off my buggy and then set the rig on wooden blocks. I soon discovered that they’d also stuffed a bunch of straw inside.” He chuckled. “Peggy and I were plucking straw out of our clothes for weeks after that.”

Roman smiled despite his concerns over the outhouse incident. Maybe it had just been a prank. He certainly hoped that was all it was.

As Abe headed down the road with his children and Anna in tow, he felt a sense of relief. He had decided to leave the Hostettlers’ right after he’d finished eating the meal. It had been hard enough to sit through the wedding and watch Martin and Ruth say their vows, and he had no desire to stay all afternoon and into the evening as many other folks probably would do.

“Danki for letting Anna come home with us,” Esta said as she snuggled against Abe’s side. “We’re gonna play with Winkie as soon as we get home. Right, Anna?”

Anna, who sat beside Esta, lifted the faceless doll in her lap. “I’d like to play with our dolls, too.”

“Okay,” Esta said with an agreeable nod.

Abe smiled. It was good to see his daughter smiling again. Abe hoped Martin realized how fortunate he was to be getting such a fine woman for his wife. Ruth had a heart full of love; she’d shown that the day of Alma’s funeral, when she’d comforted Esta, and then later when she’d given Esta the puppy.

Abe heard a grunt and glanced over his shoulder. Gideon sat in the backseat with his shoulders slumped and his head down. He hadn’t said a word since they’d left the Hostettlers’ place. Josh sat next to Gideon, leaning against the seat with his eyes closed. It was obvious that he’d fallen asleep. Abe’s other three children had ridden in another buggy with Abe’s sister, since there wasn’t room for them all in one rig.

“Say, Gideon,” Abe called over his shoulder, “how would you like to go fishing with me and Martin soon?”

No response.

“We’ve been talking about taking next Saturday off, since work’s slowed up a bit. We’ll do some fishing at the pond. What do you say?”

Gideon grunted.

“Would you like to go or not?”

“Maybe.”

Abe smiled and shook the reins as the horse took them up a small hill. A day of fishing might do him and Gideon both some good.