A Choice to Forgive by Beth Wiseman

Author:Beth Wiseman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, ebook, book
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2012-07-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Lydia’s delusional state of calm left her when she saw Anna Marie in the doorway. She’d assumed it would be Lena or Gideon, and she could have handled either of their reactions. But Anna Marie was another story. She braced herself for a harsh lashing from her daughter as she and Daniel stood side by side in the middle of his bedroom, looking like they’d been caught doing something they surely hadn’t.

“Sarah and Miriam are looking for you,” Anna Marie said with an air of unexpected composure, and even amusement. “I reckon they need your help serving dessert.”

Lydia recalled the way Anna Marie had referred to Daniel as her uncle this morning, with a fondness in her voice. And now she seemed tolerant of Daniel and Lydia being alone in Daniel’s bedroom together.

Lydia walked to where her daughter was standing in the doorway, and they both started down the hallway. Daniel followed.

When all three reached the bottom of the stairs, Lena gave Lydia a puzzled look. Lydia widened her eyes, mirroring her mother-in-law’s expression.

“The sweater?” Lena asked.

“Ach! I forgot.” Lydia twirled around to head back up the stairs, but Daniel gently touched her arm.

“I forgot to get something for Pop. I’ll grab the sweater for Mamm while I’m up there.” He stepped past her and took the stairs two at a time. Lena merely shook her head and walked back to the kitchen.

Anna Marie stood before her. Lydia was having trouble reading her daughter’s expression.

“Daniel and I went upstairs together—I mean not together,” Lydia stumbled. “We went upstairs because we needed to—No, ach. What I mean is, we—well, I reckon I was coming for a sweater for Mammi, and Daniel was, uh . . .”

“And Mammi’s sweater was in Daniel’s room, no?” Anna Marie smiled sagely at Lydia.

This was role reversal at its worst. And Lydia had done nothing wrong. Frustration swept over her in a blanket of confused thoughts, and she shrugged and said, “I have to go help Miriam and Sarah.” She shook her head and stormed away, embarrassed that she was behaving like someone Anna Marie’s age.

When she entered the kitchen, the cleanup process was underway. Several women were lined up at the sink, one washing dishes, another drying, and a third putting the dishes where they belonged in the cabinets. The young girls were hauling the dirty plates in from the other rooms and stacking them in a pile by the sink. It was almost too crowded for Lydia to maneuver through the room, and she wasn’t sure where she was needed. Then she spotted Miriam and Sarah in the corner.

“What do you need help with?” Lydia glanced back and forth between her sister and her friend. Miriam wasn’t much older than her own daughter. And Sarah was also considerably younger than Lydia. All of a sudden Lydia felt old and even more ridiculous about her behavior in Daniel’s bedroom.

“We just wanted to make sure you were all right,” Miriam said. She looked toward her shoes for a moment, her glasses slipping down her nose.

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