A Plain Love Song Read Online Free PDF Page A

joy was in the company and the quiet time when no words were needed.
    Even as they discussed the weather and the pros and cons of line fishing versus pole fishing, Matthew’s mind raced. He managed a sedate walk next to Daed all the way to the house, up the steps, and into the kitchen where he washed his hands and face, all the while thinking of sharing his news with Adah. Tomorrow night, he would slip out after dark and shine his flashlight in her window. No doubt she would be as thrilled as he about the land. Now she would see that only the baptism classes stood in their way. She had been slow to embrace the idea that this was the summer. They needed to take the classes now. She’d found excuses to put it off. Now she would see. The crush of people at his house meant it was time for him to get his own place. Their own place.
    His place with Adah.
    Adah, with her fair skin and blue eyes and her sweet voice. She would give up the music to be his wife. He was sure of that. Every Plain woman wanted to be a fraa . This Plain woman seemed to want to be his fraa. At least he thought she did. Adah was a mystery to him. He sat down at the table between Rueben and the twins, his sisters across from them, bowed his head, and prayed.
    Gott, let Adah be the one.

Chapter 5
    A dah leaned her head against the wooden frame of the window, longing for a hint of a breeze to freshen the stifling air in her bedroom. The June night lay like a thick shawl on her shoulders. Her neck ached and her head throbbed. She’d spent the day cleaning the Stevens’ house, with their three preschoolers and two dogs and four cats. The place smelled of litter box and the furniture was covered with cat hair.
    Not that any of that mattered. The harder she worked with her body, the more time her mind had to form words into songs. She couldn’t make it stop. The physical work didn’t engage her mind. What was she supposed to do about that?
    The tears that sear my face can’t erase these feelings
    My heart hurts every time I think about the days ahead
    It’s foolishness I know, but I can’t erase the words you said
    When I told you I had to go. It’s foolishness I know…
    Mudder hadn’t just taken her stash of songs, she’d taken the pencil and the notebook. Her writing utensils. It didn’t matter. The words wouldn’t go away until she wrote them down. Tonight, she would sleep and tomorrow would be another day. When she went into town to clean the Johnsons’ house, she’d stop at the Five and Dime, where nothing cost a nickel or a dime, and buy a new supply of paper andpencils. She’d go to the library in the afternoon, sit in the lovely, air-conditioned reading room, and write her song. If Molly Troyer wasn’t working. Matthew’s sister was sweet and kind—everyone loved her—but she wouldn’t understand about the songs. She might tell Matthew.
    Adah should tell Matthew. She shouldn’t be hiding things from the man courting her. Tomorrow. She’d think about it tomorrow. She snatched her nightgown from the hook on the wall and laid it on the bed. Tomorrow was another day. This one had been long. Time to put it in the past, dust off her hands, and look forward to a better day.
    A light flashed and danced on the wall behind the bed. It dipped and bobbed. She closed her eyes, opened them, sighed, and went to the window. Matthew stood, long legs apart, dusty work boots planted, looking up at her window, the flashlight tilted in her direction. He flapped his straw hat in a wide come-on-down motion, giving her a full view of the thick wheat-colored hair on top of his head. She waved back and withdrew from the window.
    Weariness weighted her entire body. Still, she couldn’t leave him standing down there. Matthew deserved better. He’d been nothing but a good friend for as long as she could remember. And he had the nicest smile this side of the Mississippi. His kaffi - brown eyes warmed her with every good-natured grin full of even, white teeth.