Amish Circle Letters II: The Second Circle of Letters by Sarah Price Read Free Book Online Page A

shoulders.
    “I suppose this is another adventure, ja ?” she quipped with sarcasm.
    The only bathroom in the grossdaadihaus was on the first floor and that was not in too bad of a shape as the last tenants had only recently added it. Upstairs were two small bedrooms and those were in as much disrepair as the other bedroom on the first floor.
    “You might as well wait until the tenants in the main house leave,” Mimi sighed as they walked back toward Steve ’s parents’ house. “That grossdaadihaus will never get fixed up!”
    Steve looked at her, surprised by her defeatist attitude. They had really no choice other than to fix it up. After all, he told himself, one day they would live in that grossdaadihaus when their own children would be married and needed the main house to raise their families. But he didn’t point this out to her.
    “Now, now,” he said, trying to reassure her with his upbeat and positive perspective. “ Have faith, my fraa . I can have the downstairs fixed up by Christmas! It will just take a lot of time and extra hard work on all of our parts.”
    The expression on her face told him what he needed to know: She didn ’t believe him.
    When they returned to the Fisher farm, Steve sat down at the table with a pen and paper, eager to draft out his plan for fixing up the grossdaadihaus in order to live with his wife, rather than only see her on the weekends.
    His father joined him at the table, drinking a cup of coffee while listening to Steve ’s plans. He had happily volunteered to assist in the project, given that November and December were slow months on the farm. Miriam also listened as she bustled about the kitchen, preparing the dinner meal.
    “We ’ll measure the windows today after dinner,” Steve said to his father.
    “You say there ’s mold, ja ?” Elias glanced up at Miriam. “Good scrubbing with bleach would take care of that.”
    “ Nee ,” Steve said as he shook his head. “Need to tear down the plaster and replace the insulation, I’m sure. Don’t want to take any chances.”
    Elias nodded his head in agreement with his son ’s decision.
    “Mayhaps I could tear some down after the two o’clock milking,” Steve wondered aloud.
    Elias raised an eyebrow. “By the time you finish, it will be time for the evening milking over here, ja ?”
    No one seemed to notice Mimi ’s discomfort with the subject and her reluctance to participate in the discussion. She watched the exchange, her eyes darting from Elias to Steve and back again. She felt as if she were watching a volleyball game. She felt out of place, listening to their conversation while Miriam bustled about the kitchen preparing the meal. She had offered to help her mother-in-law but Miriam seemed to have it all under control.
    “Mayhaps after the milking then,” Steve said.
    Miriam glanced up. “Won’t you be visiting, then? You know you have so many people to see.” It was, after all, a tradition to visit family after getting married.
    Again, Steve shook his head. “ Nee , not this weekend.” He glanced down at the list on his paper. “Reckon I’ll have time tonight to rip down that plaster and see what’s behind the wall.” He glanced at Mimi and smiled. “We’ll do it together, ja ? Start building our first home.”
    She forced a smile in response. However, deep down, she wished that he would take her for a buggy ride instead. Working on such a taxing project wasn ’t exactly how she had anticipated spending their first weekend of their marriage.
     
     
    Melvin shuffled through the desk in the kitchen. He kept glancing over his shoulder, anticipating someone walking in and asking him what he was looking for. It was simple, really: a plain envelope, a pen, and a stamp. Yet, his heart raced as he sorted through papers and opened drawers, trying to locate those three items.
    When he finally found the three items, in the bottom drawer of all places, he quickly took his bounty upstairs to his bedroom.