Sophie's Dilemma by Lauraine Snelling Read Free Book Online Page A

nice Norwegian girls. Then, what her parents didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. Or so the old saw went.
    Grace did not see things the same way she did.
    Sophie studied her sister’s profile. Of the two of them, Grace was growing into a real beauty, while she . . . There was a wide river of difference between the two sisters. Grace lived up to her name, beautiful deep down like their mother. Once Sophie had looked up the meaning of her own name, and when she discovered it meant wisdom she’d laughed for weeks.
    If Hamre came and tossed rocks at her window, would she go down and walk with him in the moonlight? She made herself roll over and close her eyes. She knew both Grace and her mother would say she needed to pray about her feelings for Hamre. She thought about what to say. Dear God, make him love me? That wasn’t it. Dear God, keep him from going back to Seattle until I can go with him? No. Dear God, help . At the thought of real help, she matched the rhythm of Grace’s breathing that led her into sleep of her own. Better not to ask if one didn’t want to hear the answer.

    The next day at school she took the teasing of her friends with a flip of her hair and a saucy look. Let them think what they wanted. But she could tell Grace was still upset with her, and that let in a niggle of fear that tormented her far more than she’d ever thought it would. What if she really was on the wrong track? So she plied her books with more concentration than usual and even raised her hand to answer a question, bringing an astonished look from both her sister and Pastor Solberg. Astrid gave her a secret smile of congratulations. Little did they know that her mind answered every question with Hamre.
    On the wagon ride home she wrapped her new navy serge skirt around her bent knees and laid her cheek on her knees. Let Hamre be at our house. Let me see him today . Was it a prayer if she didn’t say ‘‘Please God’’ first or ‘‘Our Father’’?
    No Hamre. No, he hadn’t been there. No, no one had heard from him. He was probably visiting the rest of his relatives, Ilse suggested. Sophie thought up reasons to go visit Tante Ingeborg.
    When she cleaned the schoolrooms, she checked the windows to see if Hamre was coming. Sitting out on the porch peeling potatoes, she had a clear view of the road and lane. No Hamre, and she hated peeling potatoes anyway, along with most other homemaking things like cooking, sewing, knitting, cleaning. Although she did them at her mother’s insistence, she always dreamed of adventures far away from Blessing.
    By bedtime she’d still not seen Hamre.
    The next afternoon when the wagon stopped at their house, she saw a familiar figure talking with her pa at the machine shed. Her heart picked up a beat and her feet a skip. ‘‘He’s here,’’ she signed to Grace, nodding toward the men.
    ‘‘I can see even if I can’t hear.’’ Grace didn’t bother to speak, just signed back, her fingers flashing.
    Sophie stomped up the porch steps and into the house. Why couldn’t Grace be happy for her?
    ‘‘Hamre will be staying for supper, so set an extra place,’’ Kaaren said. She glanced over to see Sophie staring out the window toward the barn. ‘‘Perhaps you should milk all the cows. All by yourself tonight. In an hour.’’
    Grace rolled her lips together to keep from laughing.
    The banter between Grace and Mor laid a background as Sophie’s thoughts ranged far afield. Mrs. Hamre Bjorklund. Sophie Marie Bjork-lund. We will own ships instead of farmland. Hamre will be a fine father, teaching his sons about the sea . She leaned against the window frame. Hurry up, Hamre .
    ‘‘Sophie!’’
    Returning from her dreaming, Sophie turned at the insistent tone of her mother’s voice. ‘‘What?’’ She knew her voice was not the most pleasant, and the raising of her mother’s eyebrows said she recognized that too. ‘‘Sorry.’’
    ‘‘You have your good dress on?’’
    ‘‘I . .