Sarah's Orphans (11 page)

Andy had stopped pacing and was staring at her as if she'd sprouted rooster feathers and was about to start crowing. “There are two of them?”

Sarah suppressed a sigh with great difficulty. “For the third time. Yes. There are two children. Mateo is in Isaac and Luke's room. I made him a pallet on the floor, which is a big improvement over the box he was living in. I'd rather have a bed for him, but—”

“Sarah, what are you talking about? Surely you're not thinking about them staying here. We can't possibly take in two homeless kids.”

She glanced down at the child in her arms. After another dose of medicine, little Mia was finally sleeping and her fever had definitely broken. Perhaps it was merely a cold. Maybe she'd simply needed some hot food and dry clothes. Sarah thought about arguing with her brother. She almost reminded him of the sermon from that very morning. She very nearly told him that they, more than anyone else, understood how it felt to be abandoned.

Instead, she said, “Hold her for a minute. I need to make some tea.”

Andy sank onto the couch. She gently placed Mia in his arms. Though she wanted to look back to be sure they were both okay, she didn't. Instead, she set the kettle on the stove and dropped two bags of herbal tea into two mugs. As she waited for the water to boil, she pulled out the peanut butter bars she'd made the afternoon before. Just one wouldn't keep them awake. The sugar would give them a temporary burst of energy, perhaps enough to talk this through, and then they would all sleep.

She set everything on a tray. By the time she carried it into the sitting room, Andy had laid Mia on the far end of the couch and covered her with a lap quilt.

“She's a small thing.”

“That she is.”

“And they were living in the old trailer? In a cardboard box?”

Sarah nodded and handed him one of the mugs of tea.

Andy accepted it and a peanut butter bar. “You'd better start at the beginning.”

So she told him about the storm, taking the longer route, and seeing the boy dart in front of their buggy.

“That must have scared you.”

“
Ya
. I was sure and certain that Dusty would run right over him.”

“But he didn't.”

“
Nein
. Dusty still has plenty of stopping power.”

She described walking into the barn, observing the state of disrepair they found there, following the footprints to the trailer, and seeing the fort of boxes.

“Supposing we could keep them, and I'm not saying that we could or even that we should. But supposing we could, how do we know that their parents aren't looking for them?”

“You think they're runaways?”

“If it were just the boy, maybe, but most runaways don't take their baby sister with them.” He finished the peanut butter bar. “You say he's Isaac's age?”

“Looks to be.”

“Makes no sense. At nine years old boys are thinking about playing ball and catching frogs.” He ran a hand up and down his jawline.

Sarah realized as she watched him in the dimness of the lantern light that her brother was no longer a boy. Somewhere along the difficult road of the past few years, he'd become a man.

“We're going to have to tell the police and the bishop, and get a translator.”

Sarah nodded as if she agreed with him. “But he left a note on one of the boxes. Maybe their mother will come back. Maybe she's just been away for a few hours.”

“You think she was living in the trailer too?”

There had been no sign of a mother, but it was possible. Sarah shrugged. “I'm only saying that maybe we should give it a day or two.”

“I don't know if that's legal.” Andy stood and stretched. “I could sleep on the couch, but I suppose it's best to drag myself upstairs.”

“Carry her for me?”

“Sure.”

As Sarah followed her brother up the stairs, she prayed that Mia's health would improve, that Mateo would be less frightened in the morning, and that somehow they could learn what had happened to the children's mother. One thing she knew for certain. Though a language and probably a faith separated them, her family had more in common with these two children than they did with any other Amish family in their district. They were all abandoned. Perhaps they could look after one another.

CHAPTER 21

M
ateo's first thought on waking was that he was still dreaming. His head was on a pillow, he was under a blanket, and he could smell biscuits cooking. His second thought was of Mia.

He bounded out of his cover, causing Isaac to laugh.

“No need to run. We still have a couple of minutes.”

“Mia?”

“She's okay.” Isaac exaggerated the last word exactly as Mateo had the night before.

Mateo sank back onto his makeshift bed. He'd lied to Sarah the night before. He'd told her that he didn't understand English, but he did. He'd been to school before, and he'd lived in the U.S. all of his life. It was only that he didn't speak it very well. He understood most of the words he heard, but his thoughts were in Spanish. By the time he came up with the English word for something, the conversation had usually moved on. He'd found it was best to keep quiet.

He had somehow lost track of what day of the week it was, but as he saw Isaac getting ready, he figured it must be Monday. There wasn't any doubt that his new friend was getting ready for school. What would that be like? To live in the same place year after year and go to the same school the entire time?

Mateo was trying to imagine that when Isaac squatted down beside his bed and pulled out a shoe box.

“Come look.”

At first Mateo thought it might be a trick, but these people had been nice to him. They had cared for Mia and given both of them food. Hesitantly he moved closer to Isaac, and then he was right next to him, their heads touching as they peered into the box.

“I'm thinking of starting a colony of them.”

Mateo laughed when Isaac picked up one of the frogs and it peed on him. He'd filled the box with grass and rocks and even a small dish, which held water.

“I found them out by the water pump next to the barn.”

Luke stuck his head in the door. “Better hurry before she burns the oatmeal again. And don't even think of bringing that box to school with you.”

“Remember, it's a secret.” Isaac closed the box, and then he held up his hand for Mateo to high-five.

Some things were the same, whether English or Spanish—like frogs and secrets and high fives.

CHAPTER 22

S
arah hadn't burned the oatmeal, but she had cooked it a little too long. It resembled paste more than breakfast. Fortunately, no one complained, at least not to her face. For many months, there had been one empty place at the kitchen table—their father's. Then their mother had left. Two empty places to remind Sarah that her family was crumbling into pieces.

With Mia and Mateo, all of the chairs were once again full.

Sarah scrubbed a hand over her face, trying to throw off the weariness she felt. Three times during the night, Mia had woken up. Once, she'd been crying. Twice, she had snuck out of the bed and hidden—the first time under the bed and the second time behind the opened door. What would possess the child to do such a thing? Probably she'd simply had a nightmare, but who knew? Perhaps she missed her mother.

Andy and Henry stomped their boots clean in the mudroom. When they walked in, they stopped to stare at Mateo and Mia.

Henry raised a hand in greeting.

Andy walked over to the boy, squatted down by him, and said, “We're glad you and your sister are here, Mateo.”

He didn't make him any promises, and he didn't try to pump the kid for information. That was Andy's way, honest and straightforward. He washed his hands at the sink, they all bowed their head to pray, and then they were eating.

Sarah had peeked at Mateo while they silently gave thanks. The boy was showing Mia how to put her hands together to pray. That image remained on Sarah's heart as she prepared the boys' lunches, talked to Andy of spring crops, and cleaned up the spills which seemed to occur with every meal.

Soon Luke and Isaac were out the door on their way to school. Sarah thought she saw something akin to longing in Mateo's eyes, but when he noticed her watching, he stared down at his hands.

“Henry and I hope to get the tractor working today. The part is supposed to be in, so we'll go to town first thing this morning to get it. Do you need anything while we're there?”

“Nein.”
There were a hundred things she needed, especially if she was serious about the two children staying in their home. Mia couldn't exactly walk around in a boy's shirt all the time, and Mateo kept tugging at Isaac's clothes. No doubt the child was accustomed to T-shirts. Could they even adjust to Amish life? Would they want to?

“We'll talk after lunch. All of us.” He smiled at Mateo and went outside.

Belatedly, Sarah remembered what she wanted Andy to do. “I'll be right back,” she assured Mateo and Mia, and then she hurried out the door after her brother.

“You'll go by the old trailer? I promised Mateo that we would check to see if his mother had returned.”

“I can check, but I'd be surprised to find her there.”

“So would I.”

“Sarah, we have to go to the police with this.”

“I know we do, but maybe check the trailer first. Give me a few hours to think of how to handle their situation.”

“They're not our children to keep—”

“You're right. I know you are.” Why did she feel so strongly about this? How had they claimed her heart so quickly? “All I'm asking for is one day to figure out what to do next.”

“What we do is contact the police.” Andy shook his head, and then he reached out to tug on her
kapp
string. “You can have one day. The children would have been hiding in that cold trailer if it weren't for your quick thinking and kind heart.”

“
Danki
.” When she came back inside, her cheeks stinging from the cold air of the early morning, she sat beside Mateo and waited for him to look at her. When he did, she began talking, slowly and with an effort to mitigate her German accent. She felt a little silly. After all, she didn't know if he understood a word she was saying.

“My
bruder
Andy will stop by the trailer. He'll check inside, in your fort, to see if your mother has been there.”

The boy only shrugged, but it seemed that a little of the worry left his eyes.

She found some paper and crayons and set them on the table for Mateo and Mia. Sarah could clearly remember Isaac at three years old. She'd been seventeen at the time, and her parents had claimed she couldn't get a job because she was needed at home. They depended on her to tend to her little brother. At first she'd been upset about that, but she'd found it impossible to stay angry around Isaac. He'd been a sponge, soaking up everything from how to color to his ABCs to the names of different animals and what sort of habitat they preferred. Which might explain the critters in his pocket at church.

Sarah cleaned the breakfast dishes and prepared a chicken casserole for dinner. She needed to wash clothes, but that would require spending most of the morning in the mudroom and much of the afternoon hanging wet clothes on the back porch. She didn't want Mateo or Mia to feel alone or scared or worried, but then again she needed to take care of the dirty laundry.

She compromised by asking Mateo to help. You would have thought she'd handed him the moon.

“What should we do with Mia while we work?”

“Un momento.”
He dashed back into the living room and returned with an old Amish doll that Mia had picked up from Sarah's room. Taking his sister by the hand, he led her into the mudroom, made her a pallet in the corner with an old blanket he found on a bottom shelf, and handed her the doll. He stooped and kissed the top of her head.

Sarah blinked back the tears that pricked her eyes. “You take good care of Mia. You're a good
bruder
.”

Whether he understood her words or just her tone, Mateo smiled hugely. Within minutes, they were knee-deep in dirty laundry. Mateo ran up to each room and retrieved bundles from the clothes baskets, something that always wore Sarah out. She showed him how to separate the dark colors from the light. Her brothers made for a lot of dirty laundry. It wasn't that they had many sets of extra clothes, but with five in the house, plus Mia and Mateo, the piles were high. Sarah also washed sheets every other week in the winter, so she pantomimed pulling sheets off a bed, and Mateo dashed off to retrieve them.

The mudroom was actually fairly large, accommodating the hot water heater, the washing machine, a wringer machine, and a large sink. Across the outer wall were cubbies for each person's shoes and various items such as umbrellas and baseball bats. Above each cubby was a peg for hats or
kapps
.