The Photograph Read online

  Eva loved to get up early in the morning and dream up new recipes, or sometimes she would make her confections for the next day after supper. Often she shivered with excitement as she took the very first bite, curious how her latest effort might turn out.

  ———

  Eva dashed to the cupboard for Mamma’s best white dessert plates, conscious of Menno’s horse and carriage clattering into the lane. She stacked them nearest their father’s former spot at the table. Where Menno will likely sit, she thought, recalling his last visit.

  That done, she headed for the back screen door and there spotted Frona by the rusted-out old pump, no longer in use. Lily was also outside beneath the stable overhang with their dog. “What could be wrong? She looks downright guilty,” Eva whispered as she went to rest against the porch banister to await their brother.

  Menno waved at Frona, and Eva could hear him suggest they set up a roadside stand once the berries started coming on. Eva wondered why he’d brought that up.

  “Wie geht’s, Eva?” Menno asked, spotting her as he came up the steps. He paused a moment to remove his straw hat.

  “Wunnerbaar-gut, and you?”

  Menno pressed his lips together. “Word’s spread clear beyond Eden Valley ’bout your candy sales,” he said with a smile. “Heard it again this afternoon.”

  “Some days I can scarcely keep up.”

  He nodded. “It’s been a gut little hobby, I’ll say.”

  Eva noticed his smile had faded, and she couldn’t help wondering what he meant by hobby. “Frona’s real pleased with the extra income. She handles all the money.” It wasn’t really necessary to say that when Menno was aware Frona held the purse strings. But Eva suddenly felt nervous and wondered if Frona and Lily’s worries were inching into her.

  Menno waved her into the house with his hat, so she led the way, and Frona followed soon after, tramping up the porch steps and inside. As for Lily, Eva hoped she might oblige and not make them have to seek her out. Lily knows better than to be standoffish, Eva thought, watching Menno reach for their father’s chair and sit down. She had correctly anticipated his choice. Now it would be a relief if Menno simply relaxed and enjoyed the peanut butter balls, chatting brotherly-like, with no agenda.

  Proving my sisters wrong.

  When Naomi was but a girl, she’d stumbled onto crocheting after watching her mother make placemats and sweaters, and was quickly hooked. Now that supper dishes were all put away, she’d gone out to the side porch, taking her crocheting with her to sit and pray while she worked on a set of white booties for one of her grandbabies. And while she prayed silently, she looked up to see if Lily Esch was still out by the stable.

  Lord God in heaven, soften dear Lily’s heart toward Thee, she prayed, hoping Dottie’s youngest would bring honor to her family’s name and parents’ memory. Dottie’s youngest had always seemed more bent on having a good time than on matters of faith.

  Naomi watched a patch of thin clouds float past the sinking sun, veiling it for a moment. Across from the barnyard, a row of mature cottonwood trees moved gently with the breeze, their pale trunks fissured from livestock rubbing up against the bark.

  Over at the Esch farm, a young Amishwoman clad in a blue dress and matching cape apron practically marched into the lane, barefoot. The girl scurried to Lily, who was leaning against the stable door, arms folded. Naomi watched as the visitor greeted Lily with a brief hug, her back to Naomi, as Max barked and wagged his long, bushy tail. Then the young woman handed Lily what looked like a white envelope, gave her a wave, and turned back toward Eden Road.

  Getting a better look now, Naomi recognized Fannie Ebersol, Lily’s former school friend and distant relative. “’Tis nice she has such a companion, what with her parents and grandparents all gone to Jesus,” Naomi murmured.

  Naomi somehow felt better as Lily opened the envelope and peered at whatever was enclosed before clasping the envelope to her heart. With a glance toward the house, Lily spotted Naomi and waved. Feeling a bit sheepish, Naomi waved back.

  Lily hurried toward the house and headed inside.

  All will be fine, by the looks of it, Naomi assured herself, focusing again on crocheting the booties. “Ach, I trust so.”

  “Gut of you to join us, Lily,” said Menno when she took her place on the wooden bench next to Eva.

  Lily bobbed her head but didn’t speak, and Eva inched over to give her some space. “You haven’t missed anything a’tall,” she reassured her as Frona eyed Lily across the table.

  Menno placed his straw hat on the knob of his chair and remarked cheerfully about the tasty goodies while reaching for another peanut butter ball, eyes alight.

  The more he eats, thought Eva, the better.

  A small stack of periodicals caught her eye over on the floor near the pantry, and she wished they’d spent more time redding up. Thankfully Menno hadn’t seemed to notice. Not yet anyway.

  Her brother drew a long sigh, sat back in the chair, and studied the ceiling. “Has there been any trouble lately with the spring rains seepin’ through?” he asked no one in particular.

  Frona leaned forward and folded her fleshy hands on the table. “Not once has the roof leaked since Dat had it patched.”

  “Des gut.” Menno got up suddenly and left the kitchen.

  Eva and her sisters exchanged glances.

  “Told ya this could get thorny,” Frona whispered. “Somethin’s up.”

  “Wish he would just say what’s on his mind.” Lily slumped forward, fingering an envelope.

  The day clock tick-tocked the minutes away, and as was her way when she was stewing, Frona abruptly rose to make herself busy, putting some water on the stove to boil.

  Eva wished Menno might return. This was no time for mystery, not the way Frona and Lily were fussing.

  “Does either of yous want coffee or tea?” Frona asked over her shoulder. She yanked the utensil drawer open, rattling the teaspoons.

  “Kumme, hock dich naah!” Lily spouted, slapping the bench with her book.

  “I can’t sit down just now.” Frona peered toward the hallway and the front room. She squinted her eyes behind Mamma’s spectacles. “Well, for pity’s sake.”

  “What?” Lily practically leapt off the bench.

  “Menno’s in there measurin’ the floor,” Frona said.

  Eva scarcely knew what to think.

  “With his feet or a measuring tape?” Lily said sarcastically.

  Frona wrung her hands. “He’s walking and counting from one end to the other. Maybe he’s planning to build an addition onto the house.”

  “Wunnerbaar,” Lily said, shaking her head as she went to sit again. “Just what we need—more space for the three of us.”

  Eva caught Lily’s eye, but she looked away, evidently as put out with Menno’s strange game as Frona, who opened the cupboard and began to remove several coffee mugs.

  And there they sat, waiting for Menno, who was taking his sweet time, as far as Eva could tell. Truly, she felt like a caged cat.

  Chapter Five

  EVA WAS RELIEVED when Menno finally returned to the kitchen, yet Frona looked to be holding her breath as their brother took his place at the head of the table.

  “Doubtless you’re wonderin’ why I’m here,” Menno said.

  Across the table, Frona stirred uneasily.

  Menno continued. “Not livin’ on the premises is becoming a challenge with all the time I spend working round here, so I plan to take full possession of the farm and the house. I’ll be movin’ my family in as soon as I can manage it.” He paused and sighed. “There might not be room here for all of yous.”

  Eva’s mouth dropped open, but none of them spoke.

  Menno cleared his throat and expounded further on his plans. When he was finished, he looked first at Frona, then at Eva. “Why are ya surprised? Surely you knew this time would come.”

  Eva swallowed. They were surprised, thinking since Menno hadn’t moved in right after Mam
ma’s passing, maybe he’d wait awhile longer. At least till some of us marry . . .

  “It’ll be a tight fit for all of us,” Lily said, bless her heart—she didn’t seem to grasp what Menno meant.

  Frona turned toward Lily and shook her head. “That’s not what Menno’s sayin’.”

  We’ll be divided up, Eva thought sadly.

  “Well, yous might have to stay with Rufus or Emmanuel instead of here. But it wouldn’t be the worst thing,” Menno said.

  Living with this brother would be! Eva thought dolefully.

  “Of course, if only one of you is still single by then, you’ll have a place here as a live-in mother’s helper for Bena,” added Menno. “At least one of you must have a beau.”

  Surely he’ll wait to move here till wedding season, or after, Eva thought.

  Lily asked, “What ’bout Eva’s candy shop? Dat built it for her.”

  Menno bowed his head, and for a moment Eva thought he might just come up with something to soften this disappointment. But Menno was true to form. “Eva can’t expect she’ll spend the rest of her days making candy,” he said.

  Eva watched Menno closely. The shop’s my last connection to Dat.

  “I can’t believe this,” Frona said.

  Seeing her older sister’s burning expression, Eva expected her to press Menno for more information, but she merely rose to offer him some hot tea or coffee.

  “Is it instant coffee?” Menno frowned.

  Frona nodded. “That’s all we have.”

  “Well then, I’ll have one more peanut butter ball and be on my way,” he said with a faint smile.

  “We might all end up with Great-Aunt Mary Girod clear out in Berne, Indiana,” Frona worried aloud. “According to her circle letters, she has plenty of room.”

  Menno rolled his eyes, but Eva cringed at the thought of living so far from home. Menno’s upset the fruit basket!

  ———

  “Honestly, what’d ya think of all that?” Frona asked Eva and Lily once Menno was gone.

  “I’m tryin’ to get used to the notion of leavin’ here.” Eva considered Frona’s comment about Indiana. “Why’d ya bring up Aunt Mary Girod?”

  “Well, she’s hinted that one or more of us could go out there, is all. Says she wouldn’t mind some company.”

  Mamma and Frona had kept in close touch with Aunt Mary through the years and learned of the differences between this Plain community and their own.

  “One thing ’bout living with Aunt Mary, we’d have to learn sign language,” Frona added, wrinkling her nose.

  Lily looked aghast. “Aendi Mary’s gone deaf?”

  “Jah, happened just over the past couple of years,” Frona told them.

  Eva couldn’t imagine being unable to communicate verbally with a woman they’d never met—another rather gloomy thought.

  “Aunt Mary’s also written that the average age for baptism there is seventeen. So you know what that means.” Frona looked Lily’s way, but she was staring out the window, seemingly unaware.

  Clenching her teeth, Eva felt embarrassed by what Frona had inferred. And her heart went out to their only sibling yet to be baptized. Lily didn’t need this added pressure right now. It won’t sit well with her.

  Suddenly Lily announced that she must write a quick letter and rushed upstairs.

  Eva stayed put at the kitchen table, feeling numb. “Why do ya think Menno’s bringing this up now? I mean, why didn’t he take over the farm after Dat died?”

  Frona paced the length of the kitchen and back. “Honestly, I’d thought Menno might let us stay put for as long as need be. Guess I was wrong.”

  Eva found it curious Frona hadn’t spoken up to him as other times in the past, particularly over farm-related issues. Not only to Menno, but also to their brother Emmanuel, who helped Menno work Dat’s land each day. Frona was never unkind, but she did have a way of expressing what she thought was right and good . . . and what was best for Eva and Lily, too. She thought of herself as the head of this particular house.

  Frona stopped in her tracks. “You know, it’s been the longest time since I attended a Sunday Singing. I figure you’ve got a beau, Eva, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Lily does, too, considering how secretive she’s been lately.”

  Eva nodded but didn’t correct her assumption. It was obvious Frona was thinking ahead to their future. Sadly, she was the least likely to marry, considering her age. And, too, Frona had a way about her that seemed to set some folks on edge.

  Forcing a smile, Frona said, “I’m inclined to march over to Menno’s place and give him an earful.”

  “You all right?” Eva asked quietly.

  “Well, like Menno said, we weren’t gonna live here forever.” Trudging to the table, Frona sat in Mamma’s former chair and folded her ample arms, like their mother sometimes had at that very spot. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think he just wants an excuse to get us out of his hair.”

  Eva’s head hurt. She wished Menno had stayed home with his family tonight, hadn’t stirred things up. Truth be told, she felt downright glum and as miserable as Frona looked. “I think one of us should go and check on Lily.”

  “I have work to do,” Frona murmured, then leaned her face into her hands. “Besides, you’re closer to her.”

  Eva had always been able to get through to that sister, and the whole family knew it. She and Lily had shared a room when their brothers were still single and living at home. Yet even after the boys married and there was extra space, Lily disliked the idea of having her own bedroom. Eva didn’t mind sharing if it made Lily more comfortable and at peace.

  Eva excused herself and headed upstairs. She paused in the open doorway of their bedroom and looked in on Lily sitting at the corner desk, pen in hand. A white envelope was propped against the gas lantern, and Eva couldn’t help but see the sad face. Thanks to Menno. Yet, in his defense, Menno had given them time together in their parents’ house following Mamma’s death, and now he’d given them fair warning. Surely he’ll wait till after harvest. . . .

  Eva stepped inside the room. “You’re upset, ain’t so?”

  Lily turned and forced a smile. “Just thinkin’.”

  Eva went to sit at the foot of the bed.

  “For one thing, I kinda feel sorry for Frona.” Lily placed her pen on the stationery and moved the chair to face Eva. “It hasn’t been easy for her, ya know . . . with fellas, I mean.”

  Lily’s sad over that? Eva realized she evidently hadn’t paid close attention to Menno’s remarks. “Frona ain’t en alt Maidel yet.”

  Lily rose and went to stand in front of the dresser mirror for the longest time. “She’s not unattractive, but she does seem to hold a young man at arm’s length.”

  “Frona has her nice qualities, though.” Eva disliked saying negative things about anyone.

  “You, on the other hand, could have Alfred Dienner,” Lily said, moving to sit beside Eva. “Though I doubt you’ll marry someone you don’t love. Remember what Amy March says in Little Women? ‘You don’t need scores of suitors. You need only one . . . if he’s the right one.’”

  “But no one has seriously courted me, not even Alfred, though he’d like to.”

  “Jah, well . . .” Lily paused as if lost in thought. Then her voice changed to wistful. “There are always other alternatives, Eva.”

  “Surely ya don’t mean someone from the outside?” Eva was startled. “An Englischer . . .”

  Again, Lily seemed distracted. “If you’re determined to marry for the right reason, why would ya even think of settling for Alfred?” Her sister had never spoken so pointedly about a fellow.

  Lily rose and went back to the dresser. She opened the lid to the box of hairpins and removed one after another from her bun till her blond hair tumbled over her shoulders and down her slender back.

  “Ach, Lily, what’re ya doin’? We haven’t had evening prayers yet.”

  “I’m goin’ to bed early.” The mirror re
flected Lily’s pained expression.

  Eva shifted, troubled. They never let their hair down before evening family worship.

  Yet Lily began to brush her long tresses, making dramatic sweeps as she went to sit on the opposite side of the bed, away from the door. She hadn’t ever slept on the side nearest the hallway. Eva suspected she was afraid of the dark as a child. In the spring and summer, when they kept their door and windows open for ventilation, Lily seemed quite content to sleep on the opposite side of the bed, with Eva as a buffer of sorts.

  “Honestly, sister, you’re too tired for Scripture reading?”

  “I am,” Lily admitted. “And for much of anything else round here, too.”

  Their eyes locked and held for a moment. Lily was the first to look away.

  “What’s really botherin’ ya?” Eva got up and stood near the dresser.

  “My heart pains me.” Lily continued brushing. “Somethin’ terrible.”

  “Missin’ Mamma?”

  Lily placed her brush on the dresser. “We keep losing the people we love . . . and now the house where we grew up. Where does it end, Eva?”

  “You won’t lose me,” Eva reassured her.

  Lily teared up.

  “Is something else worrying ya?” Eva asked gently.

  Lily was silent for a moment.

  “Sister?”

  “If only you knew.” Lily was staring now at the wooden quilt hanger across the room, where their mother’s prettiest quilt was on display, the most beautiful Dahlia pattern Eva had seen in all of Eden Valley, or anywhere in Lancaster County, for that matter. It was the last quilt Lily and Mamma had made together, just the two of them, before Mamma took sick.

  “It’s Mamma, ain’t so?”

  “I miss her all the time.” Lily leaned her head gently on Eva’s shoulder and began to cry like a child.

  “I understand. I truly do.” Eva slipped her arm around her. “Go ahead, sister. The Lord sees and knows your heart.” Such were the very words Naomi used when Eva couldn’t keep back her own tears.

  “Why’d Dat and Mamma both have to die?” Lily’s pitiful sobs filled the room, and Eva guessed there were many more whys in her sister’s mind, simmering just below the surface.