you doing?â Rose asked.
âJosiah Yoder wouldnât know the difference between a sink and a snake even if one bit him. The sink is still clogged. Iâm going to fix it myself.â
âYou should have told him. He would have kept trying.â
Aunt Bitsy swatted that suggestion away as she slid the bucket under the pipe. âWe would have had a flood that even Noah would have envied. Besides, I didnât want to hurt his feelings.â
âDidnât want to hurt his feelings? Aunt Bitsy, you told him you werenât glad to see him.â
Aunt Bitsy grunted as she knelt down beside the open cupboard. âWell, I have to keep them humble or they get too confident. I donât like a boy whoâs too sure of himself. Thatâs Luke Bontragerâs problem.â She unscrewed the washer that Josiah had loosened and then the washer on the other end of the elbow-shaped pipe. The elbow piece fell into Aunt Bitsyâs bucket. Aunt Bitsy got up and ran some tap water through the elbow-shaped pipe. Water splashed from the pipe into the bucket below. She took her yellow-gloved fingers, pulled a plastic fork covered with black scum out of the elbow pipe, and held it up for Rose to see. âWe should watch Dan Kanagy very closely when heâs in the kitchen. All sorts of things fly when that boy does dishes.â
She let water run down the sink into the bucket, then reattached the elbow pipe by tightening the washers. âGood as new,â she said, âand Josiah never needs to know. We wouldnât want him to think he got a soaking for nothing.â Aunt Bitsy snapped off her gloves and washed her hands at the now-unclogged sink. âNow, baby sister,â she said, wiping her hands. âWe need to have a talk.â
Roseâs heart sank. Aunt Bitsy only called her âbaby sisterâ when it was serious. âAbout what?â
Aunt Bitsy motioned for Rose to sit at the table, and she pulled a chair out next to her. That close, Rose got a good look at the spider tattoo on her neck. Aunt Bitsy loved trying out temporary tattoos. The spider had a pink bow on its head and was smiling and waving. The tattoo was friendlier than Aunt Bitsy.
âWhen you came in here,â Aunt Bitsy said, âyou looked like youâd seen a ghost. Or a zombie. But since you donât know what a zombie is, it was either you saw a ghost or Josiah did something to upset you. And if he upset you, Iâm not afraid to give him a good look at my shotgun the next time he comes over.â
Of course Josiah had upset her. But he didnât deserve the shotgun. âHe wants something from me.â
Aunt Bitsy narrowed her eyes. âWhat does he want?â
Roseâs sigh went all the way down to her toes. âI donât know, but whatever it is, Iâll be a disappointment like I always am.â
Aunt Bitsy pinched Roseâs earlobe between her finger and thumb. âBaby sister, you have never, not for one day, been a disappointment.â
âI was in the honey house, and a strange boy passed by my window. I thought it was the one who had tried to burn it down. I couldnât even move I was so scared. Josiah chased after him and brought him back to the honey house. He was just cutting through our fields on the way home. I embarrassed myself because I was so frightened. Then I didnât dare walk back to the house by myself. I practically begged Josiah to come with me.â
âItâs nothing to be ashamed of,â Aunt Bitsy said. âIt was a frightening thing.â
âAre you frightened about the troublemaker, Aunt Bitsy?â
Aunt Bitsy shook her head. âIâm annoyed.â
A tear escaped from Roseâs eye. âEverything frightens me. I canât even go to a gathering without one of my sisters. You all have to bend over backward because Iâm too afraid to do anything.â
Aunt Bitsy frowned. âYouâve been
Tim Lahaye, Jerry B. Jenkins