The Divine Proverb of Streusel by Sara Brunsvold

Author:Sara Brunsvold
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian Fiction;Novel;FIC042100;FIC044000;FIC066000
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2023-11-09T00:00:00+00:00

nineteen

Aunt Emma was back to answering his morning calls within two rings and with the usual cut to the chase. “My bones hurt today.”

He set his bowl in the sink and rested against the counter. “You took a pretty nasty fall.”

“Oh, that. No, I’m over that. It’s all the jumping and whooping yesterday.”

“Do I dare ask?”

“The bocce game!”

“Right. How could I forget. You did well?”

“The LLLs cleaned up. It was like no one else even showed up to the court. Boom diggity, as my grandson would say.” She chuckled, bringing a smile to his lips too.

“The intimidation worked, I take it,” he said.

“Like a charm. I wore my hair slightly ruffled for a little added effect. You should have seen the looks on the other teams’ faces.”

“I can only imagine.”

“So, what’s new up there?”

He gave her a quick update on the house, the new flooring arriving that week, the plans to install a new toilet and faucets. But it was the supper, specifically the story Joyce told, that he zeroed in on.

“Aunt Emma, I need to ask you something.”

“I’m all ears and eagerness.”

He gathered air into his lungs. “Joyce joined us for supper, and she claimed my parents eloped in Kentucky. Is she right?”

A short silence on the other end. Finally she answered, “You probably should have known before your fifties.”

He straightened. “It’s true?”

“I’m not surprised Ann never told you. It wasn’t something she was particularly proud of. I think if she had to do it all over again, she would have taken a different path.”

“What does that mean? Not marry Dad?”

“Oh, I think she would have married him, but in a different way, and maybe at a different time. They were both so rarin’ to get out of Eddner. Your dad because he wanted to prove himself but felt he had no place there—only the oldest son got the farm and fortune. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?”

He tucked his chin to his chest. “Yes.”

“That hard edge you knew in him was there from a young age, because it had to be. Meanwhile, Ann would have left home as soon as she turned eighteen if she could have. She had no suitor, though, and our father would not dream of letting her live alone. That’s not something girls did back then. It nurtured a good amount of angst in her to break free. Though I was five years younger, even I could sense it.”

Chris had always carried a similar angst as a kid, in spades. No small thanks to the favored-older-son mentality, the very thing their father had chafed against. History repeated itself, even one generation later.

Aunt Emma continued. “When Henry Werner and his determination caught Ann’s attention, she took it as destiny knocking. They were together about six months before they left, and yes, they did leave suddenly without telling anyone.”

“Why?” he asked. “Did your parents forbid them to marry?”

“Not outright, but they did express great concern about her rush into the relationship. Our mother in particular. In those early days, Ann loved the idea of Henry.

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