Rebekah hunkered down next to Joseph and rinsed her hands in the lake. “Not one regret. I couldn’t wait to get home.” She patted them dry on the grass. “Everyone was so shocked when we showed up early.”
She sucked in a breath and basked in the warmth of that golden memory. How wonderful it had been to sleep in her own bed, in her own house, with her own people the night after she and Joseph had hitched a ride back to Gasthof Village with a west-bound family in a Conestoga wagon. “Do you have any regrets?
Joseph dried his hands on the seat of his britches. “Only one, but it isn’t important.” He picked up both poles and balanced them on his shoulder before turning back to face her. “I think I hear cinnamon cake calling. Shall we try to fish another time?”
Thoughts swirled in her mind like a thunderstorm as she matched her pace to his.
Even with regrets, he still consented to baptism?
She tried out each theory on the walk across the meadow.
What could he regret…coming back early?
Before they reached the house, the smells of baked goods permeated the air.
“Looks like everyone is already here,” Joseph mused as they approached the packed Stoll homestead.
He stopped short and waited for Rebekah to catch up.
“Happy birthday, Rebekah. Your birth is definitely worth celebrating.”
Something in his voice caused her heartbeat to quicken.
Everything feels so different with Joseph today. Different in a good, grown-up sort of way.
She smoothed imaginary wrinkles from the skirt of her dress.
Joseph placed the poles gently on the ground. “Here, your covering is a bit—” He raised his still slightly grubby hands and leaned in close.
Rebekah ran her tongue over her suddenly-dry lips as he tugged lightly on the white strings. His hands hovered there alongside her neck, close and warm, as his lips cocked into a half-smile only inches from hers. He seemed to be in no hurry to move. “A bit crooked.”
His breath was sweet, like honey, as it caressed her cheek. Tingles rushed down her spine as she struggled to make her mouth form words, but her breath hung in her throat.
Joseph didn’t speak; he simply stood and stared. The closeness of his fingertips to her neck made her heart pound all the more.
He inhaled slowly and opened his mouth but closed it again. Dropping the strings, Joseph plucked the pair of fishing poles up instead and started off in the direction of the Stoll homestead without looking back.
***
“Hallo, Rebekah! Hallo, Joseph!” Simon Wagler’s chipper voice bounced off the trees that surrounded her home.
Rebekah saw Joseph offer a slight wave to Simon and Sarah, Elijah’s parents, as they exited their buggy. She stepped past the line of buggies to catch up.
It looks like everyone from Gasthof Village is here.
The Yoders’ fluffy puppy ran through the grass. With each bound, the tiny fur ball would disappear between the blades, only to bounce back up again. The Odons and Rabers sat on the porch visiting, while the Knepps were just pulling in. Joseph stopped to help the Knepp twins, Katie and Annie, out of the buggy.
I wonder if Katie has gotten over her crush on Joseph. Rebekah quickened her step. It certainly doesn’t appear so.
Katie, in a floor-length gray dress, stood closer to him than Rebekah thought proper in the short walk up to the house. A heat surged in her belly and rippled outward, leaving her insides on a slow burn. Color crept back into her cheeks, but she was powerless to stop it.
“Happy birthday, Rebekah!” Annie Knepp’s lively voice melted away the swell of emotions that had surged only moments before. She held out a quart jar tied with ribbon. “Apple butter. I hope you enjoy it.”
“Danke, Annie. You remembered my favorite.” She slipped her arm through the other girl’s and they walked up the steps together. When the front door opened, a barrage of mouth-watering smells washed over them. Rebekah tried to discern each aroma as she greeted her guests amid the buzz of gentle visiting and laughter.
“Good evening, Mrs. Yoder.” Mmm, chicken pot pie, fresh from the oven.
“Mr. Raber, Mrs. Raber, thank you for coming.” Rhubarb pie, the crust no doubt stuffed with the extra filling.
“I smell cinnamon cake, our favorite,” Annie whispered as the kitchen door opened and a burst of new smells was released.
Rebekah eyed her best friend and pretended to wipe the sides of her mouth.
***
“Danke! Thank you for coming and for my wonderful gifts,” Rebekah called. Annie waved as she, Katie, and their parents climbed into their buggy. They were the last of the guests to leave, besides Joseph, and the sun had long since set. Joseph gave a half-hearted wave from Rebekah’s side before he turned his full attention to her.
Did Katie just huff?
“You made a haul. You may well be the most loved girl in Gasthof Village.”
Love?
A sparky feeling, like lightning, coursed through her veins at the mention of the word.
He lifted the last bite of rhubarb pie to his mouth. “Stuffed crust, my favorite.” He tipped his head back and the morsel disappeared.
Rebekah placed one hand on her horribly full stomach. “Mine too. But if I never eat it again, it will be too soon.”
