A Plain Love Song by Kelly Irvin Read Free Book Online Page B

took her own bite and almost moaned. Delicious. They chewed in companionable silence. Molly pulled a thermos from the seemingly bottomless pit of the paper bag and filled the plastic lid with tea. “This we’ll have to share. I forgot to bring an extra cup.”
    “I don’t mind.”
    “Gut.” Molly laid her sandwich on the plastic wrap and wiped her mouth with her napkin. “Were you writing a song?”
    The straightforward question caught Adah off guard. “Sort of. Until you put the words to music it’s really just a poem.”
    Molly wrinkled her nose. “It looked like English. It’s not a hymn, is it?”
    “Nee.”
    “What’s it about then?”
    Adah wished she knew. If she couldn’t explain it to herself how could she explain it to a simple, plainspoken woman like Molly. “It’s about…feelings…and trying to figure them out.”
    “Feelings for my brother?”
    Not so simple, but definitely plainspoken. Her appetite gone, Adah pinched off a piece of the thick homemade bread and rolled it around between her thumb and forefinger until it formed a ball. “My feelings are all mixed up, I guess. That’s what the poem is about. Being mixed up.”
    “My mudder says the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.”
    “Mine too.” Adah popped the bread in her mouth, chewed, and swallowed, giving herself time to think. She needed to move the conversation away from her, somehow. “Do you think you’ll get married?”
    “If it’s Gott’s will.”
    The standard answer. It should be enough for Adah. “How does a person know if it’s Gott’s will?”
    “I wish I knew.” A sudden sadness heaped itself on Molly’s face. She leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper. “I’ve been patient. I’ve waited. I don’t understand why I’m the only one who hasn’t found a special friend. I got baptized over a year ago. And here I sit.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “I didn’t mean it that way.” Molly’s hands flew to cheeks that stained red. “I’m enjoying eating lunch with you.”
    “I knew what you meant.”
    “I shouldn’t complain. It’s wrong. I’ve been blessed. I love working here and helping Mudder around the house and taking care of the kinner.”
    “But you want your own house and your own kinner.”
    “I do. Is that selfish?”
    “It’s natural.”
    “It’s what every Plain girl wants, isn’t it?”
    Adah struggled to keep her face neutral. Every Plain girl except her, it seemed. She did want to be a fraa; she wanted kinner. But she also wanted to make music. Which was more important?
    Family, of course. “Jah, it’s what we all want.”
    They finished their sandwiches and chips in silence. Molly dumped her apple and her cookie into the bag and brushed crumbs from her hands. “I think I’d rather have ice cream for dessert. What do you say?” Her tone sounded determinedly cheerful. “Come with me to the soda shop at the drugstore. They have a scoop on a waffle cone for a dollar.”
    “Jah, we can drown our sorrows together.” If she didn’t allow herself to write, she might as well console herself with an ice cream cone. “Or smother them in ice cream, in this case. My treat since you brought the sandwiches.”
    “That’s what I don’t understand.” Molly tossed the rest of the tea in the grass and screwed the lid back on the thermos. “What sorrow do you have? Matthew never looks at anyone but you.”
    “I really don’t think we should talk about this.”
    “I would never tell Matthew anything. That’s a promise.” Her tone crisp, even bordering on sharp, Molly paused, her forehead wrinkled as she stared at Adah. She stood and picked up the bag. “You know why? I would never do anything to hurt my brother. Can you say the same?”
    “I haven’t hurt him.” Again, not true. She strode after Molly. “I haven’t done anything.”
    Molly stopped and Adah nearly ran into her. “Why does Matthew seem so sad when he looks at you? I know my bruder well.