An Amish Country Christmas by Naomi Charlotte; King Hubbard

brother, seeing’s
     how neither of us came home real happy Friday night.”
    Bram glanced at Amos and Nell, but saw no sign that they knew about Uncle Abe’s visit
     to the stable. “I had a hand in the way things turned out that night,” he hedged,
     “and neither of us brothers intended for Friday evening to go sour, believe me. We
     were both real tickled that you asked us to stay over.”
    Had he overstated his case? Correctly interpreted the twins’ disappointment? It was
     his experience that girls had their romantic expectations about dates and guys had
     totally different ones. If a man wanted to make any progress with a special young
     lady he sometimes had to kiss up. But if he overdid it, he’d be in worse trouble than
     if he’d not admitted his perceived mistakes. Girls were complicated creatures . .
     .
    But at least their parents seemed to think the issue had been settled for now. Amos
     bowed his head, a signal that they should begin their meal with silent prayer. Then
     the food passing began, and Bram filled his plate with an egg casserole loaded with
     cheese and chunks of sausage, along with baked pineapple and a couple of those glazed
     buns that Martha—no, Mary —had baked yesterday. The table talk still felt strained but everyone was making the
     best of the situation.
    “I’d be happy to do the horse chores for you this morning,” Bram offered. “It’ll be
     my Christmas gift, for the way you’ve fed me and heard me out.”
    “Well, that’d be a fine thing,” Amos replied, and Owen nodded happily as he helped
     himself to more food.
    “We’ll help,” Mary insisted with a glance at her sister. “It’ll go faster with the
     three of us.”
    “Can’t expect you to do that by yourself,” Martha agreed. “Especially not on this
     special day when we keep the work to a minimum.”
    Bram grinned, as this was the reaction he’d hoped for. After the twins scraped and
     stacked the dishes—and declared that Joanna could help their mamm wash and dry them because it was their birthday—he and the two girls headed for the
     barn. When a snowball hit his back, Bram laughed out loud and returned the favor,
     tossing loosely packed handfuls of snow at Mary and Martha. The way he saw it, Nate
     had left the party too soon . . . so now it was his mission to keep both Coblentz
     sisters entertained. There could be worse ways to spend a Christmas morning before
     they went inside for the traditional Bible reading from Luke, and then quietly pondered
     the meaning of Jesus’ birth in their lives.
    “ Denki for seein’ my side of things after my brother left,” Bram said as they entered the
     dim barn. “Glad we got things aired out so as not to spoil your birthday. And I’m
     hopin’ it’ll be the happiest one you’ve ever had, too.”
    “We’re working on that,” Martha said as she grabbed a bucket for hauling water.
    “ Jah , I thought we were in for a big lecture and maybe getting sent to our room,” Mary
     added. “Dat would’ve been a lot tougher on us if you’d left with Nate.”
    Bram grabbed a shovel and started scooping the piles of manure that had accumulated
     since yesterday. It seemed like a fine time to discuss another subject that had been
     on his mind, while it was just the three of them . . . perhaps a topic these girls
     might consider if they got tired of thinking about religion today. “We can still enjoy
     each other’s company even with my brother gone—if you’ve a mind to,” he said playfully.
    Mary and Martha glanced at each other and then back at him, looking hopeful. “What’d
     you have in mind, Bram?” one of them asked.
    “Maybe a ride this afternoon, to get out of the house for a while?” the other twin
     chimed in. “We could all fit in your buggy.”
    “Oh, I had something more . . . permanent in mind.” He would have to be careful, because
     he still couldn’t tell them apart . . . and he didn’t want to ruin his chances