A Heart Once Broken by Eicher Jerry S

Author:Eicher, Jerry S. [Eicher, Jerry S.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780736965880
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Two weeks later after the Sunday morning church service, Lydia waited toward the back of the kitchen until the girls serving the unmarried men’s table had been assigned. At least Rosemary hadn’t volunteered today. The girl had shown great discretion and wisdom in the past few weeks, so Lydia shouldn’t be surprised. Rosemary had always been a decent girl, and ever since Ezra had taken Rosemary home from the hymn singing, the girl had blossomed like a rose.

Lydia forced herself to smile and stepped closer in the crowded kitchen to lay her hand on Rosemary’s arm. “You look a little woozy. Did Ezra just walk past?” she teased.

A hint of a smile crossed Rosemary’s face, while she fanned herself with both hands. “No, I’m just a little weak, that’s all. Food—even the sight of it—seems to do that to me lately.”

“Well, congratulations on your success with Ezra.” Lydia pressed Rosemary’s arm and turned to go.

Rosemary reached out to clutch Lydia’s hand, and whispered in her ear, “Thanks for not being angry with me about Ezra. And I know Sandra isn’t either. She just spoke with me today. The two of you couldn’t be nicer about it.”

“Hey, you caught him fair and square.” Lydia forced another smile. “How can we complain?”

“Well, thanks anyway,” Rosemary whispered as Lydia moved away.

Lydia stepped to the counter where Sandra was filling the peanut butter bowls. “Let me help you,” Lydia suggested.

She took several bowls off the counter to set them on a tray before Sandra could answer. She hurried to the married women’s table. Several of the women at the table smiled and nodded their thanks as she served them.

Once the tray was empty and Lydia had stepped back, Sandra said, “I figured you’d be down with the unmarried men, scrounging up prospects.”

Lydia frowned and said, “What about yourself at the service today? Clyde would welcome your attentions, I’m sure.”

A troubled look crossed Sandra’s face. “Lydia, can I go home with you this afternoon and talk? I need someone to pour out my troubles to.”

“Of course!” Lydia didn’t hesitate. “The truth is, I need someone to talk to too!”

“What’s wrong?” Sandra whispered.

“Mamm and Daett and Rudy.”

Sandra squeezed Lydia’s arm. “Then we must speak at the first opportunity.”

Lydia left again with her arms loaded with bread and red beet bowls. When those had been delivered, they returned to the women’s table with coffeepots, which were quickly emptied.

“It’s cold weather today,” Lena offered with an apologetic smile.

“We’ll be right back with more,” Lydia responded, and headed back to the kitchen for refills. She was soon at the table again pouring coffee until Bishop Henry called for another prayer of thanksgiving. After the “amen” Lydia filled a final few cups while the older women lingered to visit. The younger girls arrived with their bowls of dishwater to clean the utensils for the next serving.

Lena chuckled as she and the others stood up without further objection. “Looks like we’re getting chased right off the table.” Lydia returned the coffeepots to the kitchen and brought Sandra with her on crutches to sit at a clean table.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.