Warmth burned in Rebekah’s chest. Future Mrs. Graber. “Certainly.” Her words were little more than a whisper. “Thank you.”
The woman’s cart squeaked to a halt. “Mister Graber? Miss Stoll?”
Joseph and Rebekah shared a wide-eyed look. “That’s us.”
“Compliments of Peter O’Leary.”
Rebekah’s face fell. Since coming to find her in Gasthof Village, Indiana, Peter went by the name of his adopted Amish family’s name of Wagler. She sank back into her seat, her appetite vanishing as quickly as it was realized.
“Danke.” Joseph accepted the breakfast goods and drinks. “Where might this Peter be now?”
“Mr. O’Leary is riding on the platform on the caboose.” She offered a bright smile. “Enjoying some fresh air, I’m sure.”
She gave them a nod before unlocking the cart’s wheels and continuing down the aisle.
“That was kind of Peter...” Rebekah let the sentence hang there, unfinished and unanswered. “Shall we wait for him?”
Joseph sank down beside her. “I don’t think he sent anything for himself. Besides, since he ordered breakfast for us, surely he got something for himself already.”
“That makes sense.”
Joseph extended his hand. “Let’s bless this meal, then enjoy.” His blue eyes twinkled. “Would you like to lead, Rebekah?”
Her eyebrows shot skyward. “Um...” Typically, the head man of the Amish household led the family’s prayers. “Well...”
Joseph chuckled. “I’ll do it.”
Rebekah took his proffered hand.
“Father, we come before you today, Rebekah and I, to give you thanks for our many, many blessings. We thank you for the ability to come on this journey, for the pleasure of each other’s company. Thank you for Rebekah, my wife-to-be.”
Rebekah’s fingers tightened around Joseph’s.
“Thank you for Peter, and his loyal love for Katie. And, we ask that You keep Katie in Your hands. Keep her safe, and please, if it be Your will, help us find her and bring her home to Indiana.”
Joseph sucked in a breath. “We also humbly ask for Your loving care of Samuel and all the Stoll family. Help us accept Your will and help us know how best to care for Samuel in this, this time of need. Father God, remember us, your humble and obedient servants. In Jesus Christ’s Most Holy Name.”
Joseph opened his eyes and looked at Rebekah. She returned his loving gaze with a semblance of a smile. “Amen,” he said.
“Amen,” Rebekah whispered.
“Amen,” came a voice from behind them. Peter, blond hair askew, stood in the aisle. His clear green eyes were puffy and red, and his tan face, tear-streaked and sullen. “Thank you for the prayer.”
Rebekah pushed herself to her feet and flung her arms around his neck. There were no words. So when Peter ducked his head and cried into her shoulder, she did what every good sister would do. She held her brother as he cried, all the way to the Central Station.
***
“We’re here.” Rebekah stood at the open train door and glanced back at Peter and Joseph. They’d all taken the opportunity to freshen up in the train’s rest car, complete with water and chamber pot. Rebekah had never seen its equal, and was certainly, for modesty’s sake, glad to have gone last. Regardless, it was a welcome feeling to wash her face with fresh water and scrub her teeth with the mint leaves she kept in her quilting bag. “Ready to go find Katie?”
“Ready,” Peter said.
“Ready,” Joseph agreed.
Rebekah straightened her gauzy white covering and stepped onto the train platform. What she saw brought her to an immediate stop. Peter and Joseph clattered into her. The three of them gasped in unison at the sight before them.
Roads spread out in all directions. People filled them. Women in fancy dresses and tall, feathered hats. Horse-drawn carriages, much fancier than the ones in Gasthof Village. Even fancier than Mr. Williams’s, who ordered wheels from Pa. Men in top hats and long coats. Tall, glowing lamps lined the streets, but didn’t have candles in them. Rubbish blew this way and that, flittering in the streets like oversized, lifeless butterflies. Buildings, ten or more stories tall, rose up all around them.
Icy stones fell into the pit of Rebekah’s stomach. “How are we going to find Katie in all this?” She felt small. Small, useless, and hopeless.
“So much happening all at once.” Joseph sucked in a breath and held it. Then, let it out with a slow whistle. “How can anyone live like this?”
“Well, this looks like Katie, all right.” Peter stepped past them and clomped down the stairs. “Guess we best get started.” He glanced over his shoulder at Rebekah. “Didn’t come all this way for nothin’, did we?”
Rebekah forced a smile. “We came to find Katie, and that’s what we’ll do.” She knotted her hands at her middle and stepped down the stairs behind her brother.
“Extra, extra!”
“Well what have we here?” Joseph smiled down at the young boy in the flat cap. He held a stack of New York World newspapers, emblazoned with large words. Extra! He wore a little brown apron that jingled when he moved. “Selling newspapers, son?”
The little gap-toothed boy spoke with a pronounced lisp. “Yeth thir. Thelling theth newthpaperth for ten thenth each.”
A top-hatted man bumped into Peter with a grunt. “Sir, I’ll thank you to move out of my way.”
Peter faked a bow and stepped out of the way. “Excuse me to you too, sir.”
“Well now.” Rebekah squatted down the little boy’s level. “What have we here?”
“Thelling paperth, Mith. Nellie Bly, the’th hot newth.” He held out a copy to Rebekah. “Only ten thenth each. Thath a dime, you know.”
