“Not really.” Violet took a bite of stew and chewed slowly.
“How do you find working with Delia’s sons?” he asked.
She shrugged.
Elias sighed. She wasn’t going to say much, it seemed. But she’d been like this for the last year—freezing him out. People said it was normal for that age, but he didn’t think it was all just about being a thirteen-year-old girl. Call that a daet instinct.
“Those are nice boys,” his mother said. “They used to work with their daet after school and in the summers, but then Zeke died and they stepped up for their mamm. They’re hardworking and as polite as I ever saw. They always stop to say hello when they see us, and they’re always looking after their mamm.”
“I’ve heard that they can be pretty protective of her,” Elias said.
“Oh! And that they are!” his father cut in. “Do you know Adel Knussli? She used to be Adel Draschel. Then her husband passed away—Mark, the deacon. You remember him.”
“Mark was a few years older than me,” Elias said. “But I do remember him being very well-respected, and I was sad to hear of his death. I remember Jacob better, though. We were closer to the same age.”
“Yah, of course,” his father said. “Anyway, Adel was just starting out in matchmaking after Mark’s passing and Jacob Knussli needed a wife. There was an inheritance coming, and his uncle had included a stipulation that he be married to get the farm. He had two weeks left before the deadline, and Adel brought him to Delia to meet her and the boys. Even with all that money on the line, it took the boys exactly one visit to chase him off for good!”
Elias’s parents exchanged a look and chuckled.
“Adel ended up marrying Jacob herself,” his mother added for Violet’s benefit. “That’s why it’s funny.”
“Oh.” Violet smiled. “Well, good for her.”
“And it was for love, might I add,” his mother said. “Adel was in knots about it. Jacob was too rebellious for her taste, but she did like him.”
“But the money softened her up?” Violet asked.
“No, it did not!” Judith retorted. “Marriage is for life—it’s a very serious decision. She had to think hard before that commitment. But it worked out. And we’re all happy for them.”
Elias cast his daughter a rueful smile. She didn’t return it.
“Is Adel looking for a match for Delia?” Elias asked, turning to his parents.
“Oh, she’s always got her finger in some pie or other,” his mother said. “But what her plans are, I don’t know. But you could do worse than to go sit down with Adel Knussli, son. She has matched quite a few couples.”
“She’d very likely set up a date with Delia,” his father added, not taking his eyes off his bowl of stew.
“Yah, she likely would,” his mother said. “I’ve pointed it out before, Elias, but Delia is not only a lovely woman—she’s your age and a mamm already...”
Violet stopped chewing, but she didn’t look up.
“We know Delia well,” his father added. “She’s got good character. And she’s a decent cook.”
“Not a terrific cook, but middling to good,” his mother said with a nod. “You could do worse.”
“Is that what we look for in marriage?” Violet asked, looking up. “How well she cooks and if she’s already got children? What about feelings?”
“First things first,” his mother replied. “You’ve got to have a foundation.”
“On her cooking and children?” Violet shook her head. “Or maybe an inheritance? What about love? What about romance? What about feeling—” she waved a hand in front of her “—I don’t know, swept away?”
Elias looked at his daughter in surprise. “Swept away?”
Where had she gotten that from?
“Life is about more than duty and meals put on the table!” Violet’s voice was taut.
“And you know what life is about?” Elias’s father asked gently.
Violet seemed to sense the trap, because she shut her mouth then and looked away.
“Violet, your mammi and dawdie are just doing what parents do,” Elias said. “They’re trying to arrange a marriage.”
“Is this how you met my mamm?” Violet demanded.
He’d told her this story over and over again when Wanda had passed away. It had made him feel better to bring it up and remember how they’d started.
“No, I met her at hymn sing. And we talked a little and I asked to drive her home,” he said. “You know the story.”
“And you asked her to marry you three weeks later, and you got married that fall,” Violet finished the story. “But didn’t you feel anything, Daet? Didn’t you fall in love with her and think that you couldn’t go another day without her?”
“Yah, but I was a much younger man then,” he said with a teasing smile. “Now, I’m just tired.”
Violet huffed out a sigh. “You’re joking, but I’m not, Daet. I don’t want someone to marry me because I work hard and I have a good reputation.”
“There are worse reasons,” Elias’s mother murmured.
“This is why I won’t marry an Amish man!”
