I know him. Thatâs my brother, Reuben. Heâs nearly eighteen, and taking baptism instruction with Bishop. Heâll treat Waneta well, donât worry.â
âI thought Reuben had a special girl already,â Annie said.
âHe did. He was taking Sarah Yoder home from Singings last summer, but this fall she decided sheâd rather ride with a new boy from the Shipshewana district who has been coming.â
â Ach, poor Reuben.â Annie leaned over and jiggled the babyâs foot.
âHe was fine with the way it turned out. They had been friends since they were little, but he told me the spark just wasnât there.â
Annie grinned at Ellie. âYou mean the spark he sees when Bram looks at you.â
Ellie blushed like a new bride, and Ruthy remembered that Ellie and Bram had only been married a couple of months before. âThe way Wanetaâs looking at Reuben, Iâd say he found it with her.â
âHow about you, Ruthy? Did you ever look at a boy like that?â
âAch, ja,â Ruthy said with a smile on her face, but it was hard to get the words past the lump in her throat. âHasnât everyone?â
âWeâll just need to get busy and find a husband for you here in Eden Township,â Ellie said.
â Ach, Ellie,â said Annie, âthe only single men are Roman Nafziger and Levi Zook, unless you count Bishop Yoder.â
Ruthy saw the elderly bishopâs shaking hands in her mind. Annie had to be joking.
âAnd you can hardly count Roman Nafziger, either,â Ellie said. âHeâs older than Dat. â
âThen that leaves Levi.â Annie nodded and leaned toward Ellie with a conspiratorial whisper. âWe have our work cut out for us, there.â
âWhy?â Ruthy asked. âLevi seems like a nice enough man.â
âHeâs nice enough, but...â
âBut nice,â Ellie said, finishing Annieâs sentence. She gave Annie a glance that looked like a warning. âHeâs a nice man who needs a wife. Who knows? Ruthy may be just what he needs.â
âJa,â Annie said. She regarded Ruthy thoughtfully, as if seeing her for the first time. â Ja, she may be just what Levi needs.â
âNow donât start getting any ideas. Iâm not going to get married.â
âYouâre too young to settle for being a maidle, â Ellie said.
âI just donât plan to get married.â Ruthy bit her lip. God had made that clear when Elam picked Laurette over her.
She was relieved when Ellieâs and Annieâs husbands chose that moment to gather their families for the trip home. She wasnât ready to explain her reasons yet, and wasnât sure if she ever would be.
* * *
Ruthy shivered as the family got out of the buggy when they reached the farm later that afternoon. The wind had turned to the northwest and it had a bite. She hurried into the house with the children and Levi, while the older boys took the horse and buggy to the barn. Once in the shelter of the back porch she was part of the friendly jostling as the children removed their coats and boots.
â Dat, can we make popcorn?â James asked.
âPopcorn sounds wonderful-gut! â said Nancy.
Ruthy waited until she saw Levi Zookâs nod, and then said, âIâll make the popcorn, James, if youâll go into the Dawdi Haus and start a fire in the stove for me.â
Sam took her hand as they went into the kitchen together. âDonât go to the Dawdi Haus yet. Stay with us. Dat always reads to us on Sunday afternoon, and you can sit with me.â
Ruthy glanced at Levi. He had avoided meeting her eye during the trip home from the Stoltzfusesâ, and hadnât joined in any conversations. She didnât want to intrude on the familyâs routine if he was uncomfortable with it.
Sam saw her glance and turned to Levi. âPlease, Dat, Ruthy can stay with