A Simple Song by Melody Carlson Page A

cream and honey and just a sprinkle of cinnamon.” She dipped a spoonful and held it in front of him enticingly. “Come on, just a few bites.”
    He kept his lips tightly closed, reminding her of some of the toddlers she babysat for occasionally.
    â€œCome on, Daed,” Cal said from where he was standing in the doorway. “You know what will happen if you don’t eat.”
    â€œThat’s right,” Katrina said. “You will get sick to your stomach, and you’ll vomit, and then you’ll be in even more pain.”
    Daed’s pale blue eyes flickered as if he was remembering, and then he opened his mouth, allowing Katrina to spoon-feed him about six bites before he shut his mouth, closed his eyes, and leaned back with a long, sad moan.
    Satisfied that there was not much more they could do for him, Katrina picked up the tray and went out to the hallway where Cal was waiting with a creased brow. “He seems really bad,” Cal whispered.
    â€œI know,” she said quietly as she continued to the stairs. Cal followed her back to the kitchen, lingering as she scraped the leftover oatmeal into the slop bucket for the pigs and then set the bowl with the other dishes that needed to be washed. She turned on the tap, waiting for the water to get warm and hoping that the propane tank had enough gas to run the water heater long enough to finish these. She had heard Mamm saying it was low.
    â€œDid you notice how gray his face looked?” Cal was hovering near the sink.
    She nodded, pouring in soap. “He needs to see the doctor.”
    â€œHe needs that surgery.”
    â€œI know.”
    â€œWhat about what Bekka was talking about last night?” Cal put a hand on her shoulder. “What if you could do what she said? Win all that money?”
    She pushed up her sleeves, wishing she’d thought to change from her Sunday dress before starting in on these chores. “Can you hand me that apron?” she asked.
    He got Mamm’s big blue apron and even helped to pin it on her.
    â€œKatrina, you might have the power to make Daed well. That’s not something you take lightly.”
    â€œDo you know what Daed would say if I told him I was going to go sing on a television show, Cal? You heard him screeching in pain this morning. Well, I’m sure he’d be hollering even louder if his daughter went out with the English and sang to win money.”
    Cal frowned, then slowly nodded. “ Ja , you’re probably right.”
    She began to wash a glass, shaking her head.
    â€œBut it’s still rumspringa for you,” he reminded her. “You’re allowed to do wild things.”
    â€œNot that wild.”
    â€œI don’t know. I’ve heard of districts where the youth do all kinds of things.”
    â€œNot our district.” Suddenly she was thinking about Mammi—considering the things she had done and how she came back. “Unless . . .”
    â€œUnless what?” he said eagerly.
    â€œOh, I was just thinking.” She waved a soapy hand at him.
    â€œWhat if we asked Daed?” Cal said hopefully. “We could tell him about this opportunity, and we could remind him that it’s your rumspringa time, and tell him that this is something you need to do before you commit yourself to the church and get baptized.”
    She considered this. At least it was honest.
    â€œYou love to sing, Katrina. It seems to me this is something you need to get out of your system. Don’t you?”
    She turned to peer at Cal. Only sixteen months apart in age, she and Cal had always been close. Of everyone in the family, Cal seemed to know her best. Many times she had secretly prayed that he would fall in love with her best friend and marry her—and that would certainly please Bekka too. “You’re right, Cal,” she said slowly. “I do love to sing. But I feel guilty about it.”
    â€œThat’s only