Hopeful by Shelley Shepard Gray Page A

empty table by the back porch of the main house. After she took a seat, she looked behind her, certain to see Mary Kate and Junior bringing up the rear.
    Now that they’d all met each other, Miriam felt a true sense of relief. At last her obligation to Junior was over.
    But to her surprise, only Junior had returned to the table.
    The girls and Randall looked just as confused.
    “Where’s Mary Kate?” she asked.
    “She said she wasn’t hungry,” he murmured with a frown. “Miriam, she said to tell ya that she’ll walk over to your haus later.”
    “I see.”
    “Do you? Because I sure don’t.”
    Well, Junior was irritated. But what could she say that wouldn’t either give away Mary Kate’s secrets or make Junior feel worse than he already did?
    When Junior still stood there, looking shell-shocked, Randall patted an empty chair. “Have a seat, bruder , so we can say prayers and give thanks for this meal. I’m so hungry I’m about to eat this plate.”
    Junior rolled his eyes but sat down.
    After they bowed their heads in silent prayer, they dove into the sandwiches and pasta salad.
    It was a delicious meal. As usual, Miriam enjoyed eating someone else’s cooking. The girls and Randall seemed to feel the same way, hardly saying much between bites.
    Junior, on the other hand, looked completely disinterested. He kept moving his pasta around his plate and staring off in the direction where Mary Kate must have left from.
    “What happened, Miriam?” he asked after a few moments. “I thought you were going to set everything up.”
    She noticed that his tone was faintly accusing. Okay, maybe it was accusing. “I asked her to eat with us. I thought she was going through the line with you.”
    “The moment you walked away with Randall, she said she was going to leave. Where did she have to go?”
    “I don’t know. Maybe she had to go home?”
    “You aren’t sure?”
    “No, I am not. She’s my friend, not my responsibility.” Now she had a feeling that she sounded irritated, too.
    “Junior, it’s not Miriam’s fault that Mary Kate didn’t want to stay for lunch,” Claire said.
    “It’s likely she had papers to grade or something,” Beverly said.
    “I doubt it.” Junior forked a bit of macaroni salad in his mouth.
    “When I see her later, I’ll ask her what happened,” Miriam soothed. “I’m sure she has a good explanation.”
    “Maybe.”
    With a teasing wink in her direction, Randall said, “At least we got Miriam to join us. Of the two, she’s much easier to talk to.”
    “ Danke ,” she said lightly as the girls agreed.
    They continued chatting, chuckling about a couple of their mutual friends who had just returned from a poorly organized camping trip to the Hocking Hills. Everything that could have gone wrong did.
    When Junior didn’t join in, Miriam had had enough. Though she felt bad that Mary Kate hadn’t wanted to stay, her departure certainly hadn’t been Miriam’s fault. Carefully, she folded her napkin and then stood up. “Um, I told my parents I’d leave with them today. I’d better go find them.”
    “If you feel like canning applesauce on Wednesday afternoon, stop over,” Beverly said.
    “ Danke . I just might do that.”
    “See if Mary Kate can come, too,” Junior ordered.
    “I’ll ask . . . but I’m not sure if she’s much of a cook.”
    “Just ask, would you?”
    Only Junior seemed to not realize he was being rude. While Randall scowled at his brother, Miriam knew it was time to leave.
    Grabbing her plate and trash, she said good-bye, then walked over to her parents, who just happened to be looking at her like she was the best daughter in the whole world.
    Sidling up to her, her mother said, “If you wanted to visit with Junior a little bit longer, we don’t mind waiting, dear.”
    “I was ready to go.”
    “All right. But as soon as we get in the buggy, I want to hear all about what you two had to say to each other. Isn’t this the most exciting