for the first time in months, so excited that she saw ya.”
Nora eased away from the embrace that felt so welcoming. “She knew me?”
“For sure and for certain.” Miriam’s face creased with her smile. “You’ll always be her little girl, Nora. And your little girl is the spittin’ image of ya when ya went away.”
While that information formed a sweet, sentimental picture in her mind, it didn’t make her situation any easier. “What’ll I do?” Nora whispered. “How can I tell Millie about why I left her with Atlee and Lizzie? And what if she won’t have anything to do with me, or—”
“One thing at a time,” Miriam murmured. “If God has brought ya to this situation, He’ll get ya through it. Ya believe that, don’t ya?”
Nora sensed she was being tested, yet hadn’t she known she would have to deal with the Old Order faith if she was to reconcile with her family? “He’s about the only chance I’ve got left, ain’t so?”
The words sounded lame as they tumbled from her mouth, yet Miriam’s lips lifted. “Most of us find ourselves in that position at some time in our lives. But when you’ve landed at the bottom of the pit, the only way to go is up .” She glanced toward the back window. “Ben just went into the smithy. Let’s go introduce ya.”
Nora wasn’t all that comfortable with spilling her story to a total stranger, but she didn’t argue. “Ben’s your husband now—Luke and Ira’s brother, right?” she asked as they stepped out into the pale daylight. “Some of the stuff those guys told me yesterday might not have sunk in. I was pretty tired by the time the moving van pulled out.”
“Being Luke and Ira’s brother doesn’t mean Ben’ll have any control over what they say this morning,” Miriam added with a short laugh. “He’s a gut man, though. He’s a preacher now, on account of how your dat ’s retired because of his failin’ health—”
Nora sighed as they approached the small white smithy she remembered from her childhood. “I had no idea he and Mamma were doing so poorly,” she remarked. “I wondered about them and Millie the whole time I was away, but one thing and another kept me from getting here any sooner.”
“That’s a story best saved for another day,” Miriam said as she swung open the smithy door. “Bennie, this is the Nora that the Glicks were buzzin’ about yesterday,” she said as she approached the man at the forge. “She’s come back to make peace with her folks, and we’re hopin’ you’ll keep Luke and Ira quiet during breakfast at the bakery so she can meet up with Gabe. She’s bought Hiram’s place, ya see, so they’ve been over to meet their new neighbor.” Miriam smiled at Nora. “This is my husband of seven months, Ben Hooley.” “Nora,” Ben said with a cautious nod. He looked somewhat younger than Miriam, as vibrant as his brothers. The sandy-brown hair and open smile he had in common with Luke looked more compelling on a face framed by a beard. “And ya want to speak with your dat at the café? Why not over at the house?”
Miriam fitted herself against Ben as he slipped an arm around her shoulders. It was an affectionate gesture Nora had never seen her parents share—nor did she recall Miriam getting this cozy with her first husband, Jesse Lantz. It gave her hope that maybe things in Willow Ridge had loosened up since she was a kid.
“When Dat sent me away from home sixteen years ago, he told me I was never to show my face there again,” she explained. “When your brothers told me he often eats breakfast at the café, I was hoping that if I met him in a public place—” Nora crossed her arms, hugging herself as though to hold body and soul together. “It’s probably another one of my bad ideas.”
“Well, you’ve got grit, facin’ him in front of everybody,” Ben remarked. “And Tom Hostetler, our bishop, usually sits with your dat , so—”
“Why do they eat in the café?” Nora
Nora eased away from the embrace that felt so welcoming. “She knew me?”
“For sure and for certain.” Miriam’s face creased with her smile. “You’ll always be her little girl, Nora. And your little girl is the spittin’ image of ya when ya went away.”
While that information formed a sweet, sentimental picture in her mind, it didn’t make her situation any easier. “What’ll I do?” Nora whispered. “How can I tell Millie about why I left her with Atlee and Lizzie? And what if she won’t have anything to do with me, or—”
“One thing at a time,” Miriam murmured. “If God has brought ya to this situation, He’ll get ya through it. Ya believe that, don’t ya?”
Nora sensed she was being tested, yet hadn’t she known she would have to deal with the Old Order faith if she was to reconcile with her family? “He’s about the only chance I’ve got left, ain’t so?”
The words sounded lame as they tumbled from her mouth, yet Miriam’s lips lifted. “Most of us find ourselves in that position at some time in our lives. But when you’ve landed at the bottom of the pit, the only way to go is up .” She glanced toward the back window. “Ben just went into the smithy. Let’s go introduce ya.”
Nora wasn’t all that comfortable with spilling her story to a total stranger, but she didn’t argue. “Ben’s your husband now—Luke and Ira’s brother, right?” she asked as they stepped out into the pale daylight. “Some of the stuff those guys told me yesterday might not have sunk in. I was pretty tired by the time the moving van pulled out.”
“Being Luke and Ira’s brother doesn’t mean Ben’ll have any control over what they say this morning,” Miriam added with a short laugh. “He’s a gut man, though. He’s a preacher now, on account of how your dat ’s retired because of his failin’ health—”
Nora sighed as they approached the small white smithy she remembered from her childhood. “I had no idea he and Mamma were doing so poorly,” she remarked. “I wondered about them and Millie the whole time I was away, but one thing and another kept me from getting here any sooner.”
“That’s a story best saved for another day,” Miriam said as she swung open the smithy door. “Bennie, this is the Nora that the Glicks were buzzin’ about yesterday,” she said as she approached the man at the forge. “She’s come back to make peace with her folks, and we’re hopin’ you’ll keep Luke and Ira quiet during breakfast at the bakery so she can meet up with Gabe. She’s bought Hiram’s place, ya see, so they’ve been over to meet their new neighbor.” Miriam smiled at Nora. “This is my husband of seven months, Ben Hooley.” “Nora,” Ben said with a cautious nod. He looked somewhat younger than Miriam, as vibrant as his brothers. The sandy-brown hair and open smile he had in common with Luke looked more compelling on a face framed by a beard. “And ya want to speak with your dat at the café? Why not over at the house?”
Miriam fitted herself against Ben as he slipped an arm around her shoulders. It was an affectionate gesture Nora had never seen her parents share—nor did she recall Miriam getting this cozy with her first husband, Jesse Lantz. It gave her hope that maybe things in Willow Ridge had loosened up since she was a kid.
“When Dat sent me away from home sixteen years ago, he told me I was never to show my face there again,” she explained. “When your brothers told me he often eats breakfast at the café, I was hoping that if I met him in a public place—” Nora crossed her arms, hugging herself as though to hold body and soul together. “It’s probably another one of my bad ideas.”
“Well, you’ve got grit, facin’ him in front of everybody,” Ben remarked. “And Tom Hostetler, our bishop, usually sits with your dat , so—”
“Why do they eat in the café?” Nora
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