A Wedding Quilt for Ella by Jerry S. Eicher Read Free Book Online

If she could just solve her pi problem… No wonder the preachers said the Englisha didn’t know what was important in the world. This something that looked like a curvy road on top of two posts that leaned sideways would never be studied at all if she had anything to say about it.
    It then occurred to Clara to see if Paul, from his seat behind her, was staring at her again. She turned her head just slightly, searching with the edges of her vision. Yah, he was. Her heart jumped, and she wondered how it could be that his look could cause such feeling in her heart? But what about Ella and what happened to Aden? Wasn’t this how such things started and could lead to such sorrow?
    Carefully Clara kept her eyes straight ahead. Think about the math problem, keep a clear head, and ignore him. Stay focused, and this will go away. She pulled the drawing from yesterday out of her tablet and stared at it. This is the drawing Ella said she would use in her wedding quilt. What now? Ella’s lost her love. Is she going to complete her quilt? The work is almost done except for the edges. What would happen if Ella didn’t finish it? Would someone else finish it and claim the quilt as their own after Ella has designed most of the pieces herself? Is this drawing now to be wasted? Surely no one else would want to use this in their quilt.
    Clara looked at the page more carefully. Against her better judgment, she had to admit it was beautiful and well done. It would look so wonderful on the quilt. Nee, Ella must complete the work. If not, perhaps Mamm could finish it, and they could keep the quilt in a closet until Ella healed. Perhaps she would eventually find another boy to marry. Yes, surely Ella would soon have someone else. After all, she had been snatched up quickly the first time.
    Ella was too gut a girl to be without a wonderful man. Who would the boy be this time? All the older boys were already dating someone, but Ella would find someone, and then the quilt would be needed.
    Clara placed the drawing of the house back in her tablet and returned her attention to the troublesome pi problem.
    At recess time, she carefully transferred the picture to her lunch pail. She wouldn’t let Ella see it just yet, but she wanted it at home where she could keep it safe and sound until it was needed.
    Ella would not be home tonight. She would be over at Aden’s house to sit with the body. Clara shivered. Poor Ella. What a dreadful thing to happen to so gut a sister.
    After recess, Katie called the eighth-grade students forward for math. They all moved to the front of the classroom. Clara took her completed pi problems but kept the paper inside her tablet. They are too scary to look at. What if my answers are all wrong?
    “So how’s everyone doing with their pi problems?” Katie asked as if she suspected the truth.
    Clara raised her hand. “I don’t understand it, really. Do we have to learn things like this?”
    “Yah,” Katie said with a sympathetic smile. “Perhaps if I explained it again, it would help. And maybe we can do some practice on the chalkboard.”
    “I’d like that,” Clara admitted, glancing at the others when no one else said anything. “Well, I do need the help even if no one else does.”
    “It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Katie said. “How about the rest of you? Can I assume, then, that you all understood it perfectly?”
    Paul grunted but didn’t say anything as he and the rest of the class took their places at the chalkboard. The students worked under Katie’s direction until their frowns turned into smiles of comprehension. On the way back to the bench, Clara glanced up and caught Paul’s eye. He smiled a mischievous warm smile that sent thrills around her heart.
    Thinking of Ella and Aden, she quickly caught herself. Nee, I don’t want this. She slid into her seat and kept her head straight forward, but her mind couldn’t forget that glance. Several long moments passed when nothing on her desk would