Going Home by Wanda E. Brunstetter Read Free Book Online

out for you and your daughter.”
    “Things are a little strained for us right now. It’s going to be a difficult adjustment, I’m sure.”
    “Soon it will go better.”
    “I hope so.”
    Faith walked off toward the house, and Noah headed over to see Isaac. He knew if he didn’t, the nosy fellow would most likely seek him out.
    “Who was that woman you were talking to?” Isaac asked as soon as Noah stepped up beside him. “You two looked pretty cozylike, but I didn’t recognize her.”
    “It was Faith Stutzman, and we weren’t being cozy.”
    Isaac’s dark eyebrows shot up. “Faith Stutzman? Menno and Wilma’s wayward daughter?”
    “Jah. Her husband died awhile ago, and she and her daughter have moved back home. Her last name’s Andrews now.”
    Isaac reached up to scratch the back of his head. In the process, he nearly knocked his black felt hat to the ground, but he righted it in time. “So how’d you happen to strike up a conversation with her?”
    “We sort of bumped into each other.”
    “Did you get all tongue-tied and turn red in the face?”
    Noah clenched his teeth. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t feel quite as nervous or shy in Faith’s presence as I usually do when I’m talking to a young, single woman.”
    “Right. And pigs can fly,” Isaac said with a snicker. He motioned toward the house, where several people were filing in through the open doorway. “Guess we’d better get in there now.”
    As Noah and his friend moved toward the house, Noah made a decision. He knew now who should get that lemon sponge cake he had brought today. The scripture verse he’d attachedwas about having faith in God, so it seemed appropriate to give it to a woman whose name was Faith. It would be like a welcome-home gift to someone who reminded him of the prodigal son in the Bible.

    As Wilma approached a group of women who had gathered outside the Troyers’ home to visit, she glanced across the yard and noticed Faith standing under a leafy maple tree by herself. Faith’s arms were folded, her shoulders were slumped, and she stared at the ground as though she might be looking at something.
    There’s no mistaking it , Wilma thought ruefully. My daughter isn’t happy about being here today. Is it because she doesn’t want to be home, or could she be feeling nervous about seeing all the people from our community and having to explain why she’s come back to Webster County with her daughter?
    “I hear your oldest daughter has come home,” Annie Yoder, one of the minister’s wives, said as she stepped up to Wilma.
    Wilma nodded, realizing how fast the news of Faith’s arrival must have traveled. Maybe Bishop Martin had spread the news as he’d gone from house to house last night, letting everyone know about the change in plans concerning where church would be held today. “Yesterday evening, Faith arrived home with her daughter, Melinda,” Wilma said, trying to make her voice sound casual.
    “Is she here for a visit, or is she planning to stay?”
    “Her husband recently died, and she says she’s home forgood.” Even as the words slipped from Wilma’s tongue, she wondered if they were true. Did Faith plan to give up her modern ways and join the Amish church, or would she soon tire of things and head back on the road?

    No matter how hard Faith tried, she couldn’t find a comfortable position. She’d forgotten how hard the backless wooden benches the people sat on during church could be. She glanced at Melinda, who sat on a bench beside Susie and some other young girls about their age. How well would her daughter manage during the long service, most of which was spoken in a language she couldn’t understand? Faith was glad she had thought to bring a basket filled with some snack foods along, in case her daughter got hungry.
    As the service continued, Faith’s mind began to wander, taking her back in time, back to when she was a little girl trying not to fidget during one of the