Sarah's Orphans (17 page)

When Brian handed it to them, he traced the top words with his finger, slowly sounding them out, “Na-tion-al…”

“Geographic!” Isaac high-fived his teacher. “These books are cool.”

“They are. When you finish, we'll talk about what you've read.”

“We have to read it during lunch?” Isaac asked.

“You have to do it during part of lunch. Come inside when I do, about ten minutes before everyone else, which will also ensure you're not late again.”

Isaac acted as if this was a terrible punishment, but Mateo thought it was pretty fair. And it would keep them out of future trouble.

They were almost at the door when Brian called out to them.

“And Isaac? Tell Sarah about the frogs.”

“Okay.”

Mateo almost laughed. Isaac sounded as if his frog home was doomed.

“She'll
comprende
…I mean, understand,” Mateo said. “Sarah's cool.”

“You don't know how much she hates frogs.”

CHAPTER 32

S
arah suspected that Bishop Levi had pulled some strings.

Her application to be a Bridge parent was proceeding at lightning speed. She had been able to finish her twenty-seven hours of training in record time. The background checks on her and Andy had been sent and were due back any day, and everyone had passed their physical. The bishop had stopped by earlier that afternoon to tell Sarah that her in-home study would happen within the next forty-eight hours.

“They don't give you the exact time so that it's a surprise, but they give you a window.” He'd popped his gum and assured her she had nothing to worry about.

Nothing to worry about?

She'd separated the dirty laundry into piles, but she hadn't had time to wash it. She'd gone to Tulsa the day before to finish up her training, and so she had missed her regular wash day. It wasn't a big problem as everyone had extra clothes, but it made for some large piles.

The dinner she made had been a disaster—not only had she burned the casserole, but dishes were piled everywhere. She'd sent Isaac upstairs to take his bath, and asked Henry and Luke to clean up the kitchen. From the sounds coming from the next room, she suspected they were playing more than washing. Andy came inside grumbling about the tractor and had forgotten to stomp the dirt off his boots. The result was a smudged track of large boot prints from the back door up to his room.

At least she'd have tomorrow to clean before Tommy Cronin, their social worker, arrived.

The thought had barely crossed her mind when there was a knock on the front door. At six thirty in the evening? Who…

Her hand flew to her mouth, and she thought about not answering the door.

But it could be that something had happened to Mateo and Mia, or maybe their mother had been found.

When she opened the door, though, it was only Tommy standing there, holding a clipboard. “I'm here for your home visit.”

She nodded, momentarily speechless, and motioned for him to come inside.

If he was surprised to see the chaos that was their living room, he didn't say anything.

Instead, he waited while she cleared a place for him to sit by moving a pile of dirty laundry off the couch.

“Would you like some hot tea?” she asked.

“That would be great. Thank you.” He pushed up on the large glasses he wore. Tommy was probably her age, maybe a little older. He had black hair that looked as if it could use a trim. He was also terribly thin.

Sarah rushed into the kitchen, thinking she would bring him some of the cookies Rebecca had sent over. And that was when she caught Henry and Luke throwing dish suds at one another. Water was puddled on the floor, and no one had yet cleared the dirty dishes from the table.

“Start cleaning,” she hissed. “The social worker is here. What if he sees this mess?”

Henry shrugged and Luke patted her shoulder, leaving a wet handprint. “It'll be okay, Sarah.”

“Just clean this up!”

She set the kettle on the stove, found the tea bags, and turned to look for the cookies.

“Where are they?”

“What?” Henry asked. He at least had his hands in the soapy water now, though she didn't see any dishes there.

“The cookies Rebecca brought us.”

“Umm. I think we ate those.”

Sarah closed her eyes in disbelief. There had been two dozen.

“Dinner was pretty bad,” Henry pointed out.

“Not that is was your fault,” Luke said. “We know you're busy, and we don't mind eating cookies for dinner.”

“Stop talking!” What if Tommy was listening? Would he think she always fed them dessert for supper?

She hurried out of the room.

Tommy was sitting on the couch, making notations on a notepad.

“I didn't realize you'd be here so soon,” she admitted, sitting across from him. “Should I call Andy?”

“I'd love to speak to your brother before I leave, but we can start without him.”

There was the obvious noise of a shower running, and then Andy hollered something at Isaac. It sounded like, “I mean it! Get those out of here.” But she couldn't be certain.

“Tell me about your family, Sarah. How did you come to be in charge of raising your brothers?”

She wasn't sure if what had happened in the last year would count against them or for them, but neither could she lie. So she explained about her father's death, skirting around the subject of his bipolar disorder.

“And your mother?”

“She's gone…for now.”

“Do you have any idea when she'll be back?”

“
Nein
. I mean no. I don't think…that is to say, it doesn't seem as if she will be back anytime soon.” In truth, they didn't actually know where their mother was. She'd told Sarah she was going to Florida. An aunt had sent a letter that she'd stopped by and quickly moved on. Where would she have moved on to? Another state? Or a different community in Florida? What, exactly, was she looking for? Sarah pushed those questions from her mind and attempted to focus on the man sitting across from her.

“All right. How do you feel about all of this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, some young women might be bitter or resentful.” When she didn't answer he added, “Maybe you had other plans for your life, something other than taking care of your siblings.”

Sarah almost laughed. “Amish girls are raised waiting for the moment when they can care for a family.”

Glancing around, she had a sudden urge to apologize, but why? This was their life, and if it wasn't perfect…well, what life was?

“I'm not the best housekeeper,” she confessed, waving a hand at the pile of laundry. “But I'm usually better than this.”

“All I see is laundry that you're about to wash, Sarah. We're not concerned about that. We just want to know that you can provide a safe and loving home for Mateo and Mia.”

At that moment, Luke walked in carrying a tray with two mugs of hot tea, a stack of crackers, and some freshly cut cheese. She could have hopped up and kissed him.

“You're Isaac, right?”

“Nope, I'm Luke. Isaac's the baby of the family…though I guess he won't be anymore when Mateo and Mia come back.” Luke grinned at the thought and sauntered off toward the kitchen.

Tommy sampled some of the cheese and crackers. “This is great cheese.”

“
Ya
, it's fresh from one of the members of our church. Henry sometimes helps the neighbor with his cows. In exchange, we receive cheese.”

“Do you have animals on your farm?”

“Only the buggy horse, Dusty, a donkey who keeps him company, and a few laying hens. When I was younger we had goats and also a rooster…”

“Who crowed hours before sunrise,” Henry hollered from the kitchen.

Tommy seemed to find that funny. He added another note on his pad of paper.

Was a crowing rooster good or bad?

They spoke for a few more minutes about Sarah's goals and hobbies, things she hadn't spent much time thinking about. Finally, Tommy said he'd like to speak with Andy.

Sarah had just stood and started toward the stairs when Isaac came barreling down. He was holding a box in his hands, and Andy was yelling after him, “The barn, Isaac. Take them to the barn.”

Isaac stopped, apparently unsure whether to continue down or turn and go back up.

And that was when Sarah saw the box bounce in his hands.

CHAPTER 33

S
arah didn't have very many fears. She could kill or relocate a snake as fast as her brothers. Storms didn't bother her, in spite of the fact that her father had died during one. Spiders weren't a problem. But when Isaac dropped the box and three frogs hopped out, she nearly fainted.

“Oh. Oh!” She jumped to the left and to the right, and then she turned and went to the front door.

Isaac was saying, “I've got them, Sarah.”

Andy was calling out, “What did you do now?”

And Henry and Luke were standing in the kitchen doorway laughing.

Without even thinking, Sarah ran out the door and hollered, “Get those out of my house this minute, Isaac Yoder!”

Standing on the front porch, shivering and wondering what her brother was doing with frogs in the house, she suddenly remembered Tommy.

She'd left the social worker in the living room in the midst of a plague of frogs.

Gathering all of her courage, she pulled up the skirt of her dress—maybe she could see the green monsters before they jumped on her—and marched back into the living room.

Henry was holding on to his sides, howling with laugher.

Luke had his head under the couch. “I see him.”

And Tommy was holding one of the frogs in his hands.

Andy appeared in the room, assessed the situation in seconds, and managed to get all of the frogs back into the box. “You can explain all this to Sarah later. Now take them to the barn.”

Isaac walked off, shoulders slumped.

Tommy stood and shook hands with Andy.

“You have an active household.”

“
Ya
, we do. But that's to be expected with three younger brothers. I'm not sure they could do anything to surprise me, but Sarah? They are no doubt hard on her.”

Sarah could feel her face radiating heat, but she sat down and tried to look like a grown-up. “I wasn't expecting that,” she admitted.

Tommy looked amused, but he quickly returned to business. He asked Andy about his future plans, his goals, and his hobbies. Andy answered much more succinctly than she had, but that was her brother's way. Life was not complicated for him.

“Are you bothered by the thought of being responsible for two more children?” he asked Sarah.

“
Nein
. Children are a blessing from the Lord—always.”

Tommy seemed to consider that for a minute and wrote something else on his form. Finally, he closed his folder, put everything back in the messenger bag he carried, and leaned forward, his arms on his knees and fingers steepled together.

“This is a bit of a unique situation for us. Of course we have Amish Bridge parents. Levi and Mary Beth are a fine example. We've also had single women and single men approved to provide a temporary home for children in need. What we haven't had, at least as far as I can tell, is a single Amish woman apply to participate in our program.”

Andy sat back and crossed his right leg over his left knee. “Not surprising. We don't have that many single Amish women in a Plain community.”

“It's true,” Sarah said. “Though I might seem young by
Englisch
standards, most Amish women my age are married and beginning their own family.”

“So you see why this is an unusual state of affairs.” Tommy pushed up on his glasses. “I want to be clear that it is Sarah who is applying for certification. Andy, we're interviewing you because you will have daily contact with the children, and also because you provide the means of support.”

“
Ya
, and I'm happy to do so.”

“Would you have applied for certification if Sarah hadn't?”

Andy wasn't offended by the question. “Hard to say. I'm not the one who found Mateo and Mia. I don't have the connection to them that my sister does, but I can see they are in need, and I'm happy to help where I can.”

“So you're supportive of what Sarah is doing?”

“Sure I am.”

Tommy seemed to be struggling with a question, or how to ask it, or whether he should ask it.

Sarah's impatience won out over her initial nervousness. After all, he'd seen their home at its absolute worst. If the man was still here, and he had a question on his mind, she was more than willing to answer it.