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run with it, practically telling the whole world that Junior had finally come courting. Why couldn’t she have kept her big mouth shut?
    “Joe said I shouldn’t bother you about Mary Kate, but I didn’t know who else to ask. Since she only moved to Sugarcreek recently, not too many people know her well. Except you.”
    Oh, but this was horrible. Now they both knew that she was disappointed. She needed to say something and soon!
    “I . . . ah, am surprised about your interest in Mary Kate,” she allowed. Then paused. Was so, so tempted to tell him to go get his own girlfriends.
    But where Junior Beiler was concerned, it seemed she couldn’t do anything but abuse herself. “But, of course, I’ll be happy to help you get to know her if I can.”
    The tense lines on his forehead relaxed. “You will? That’s great.” Leaning forward, he asked, “What do you think we should do?”
    Carefully pushing aside her misery, she said, “Maybe the three of us could sit together at lunch after church one day?”
    “She wouldn’t find that strange?”
    It wasn’t any stranger than him coming over to ask for her help with Mary Kate! “ Nee . . . not if she thought we were friends.”
    “You’re right. And we are friends. Maybe even better friends now.” Looking like he’d just won a million dollars, he hopped to his feet. “ Danke , Miriam,” he said as he gave her a little awkward pat on the shoulder. “I knew coming over here to talk to you about this was the right decision.”
    “I’m glad you came over,” she lied. Actually, at the moment, she couldn’t wait for him to leave. She needed space. Watching his hand hover over the plate of cookies, she handed him a napkin. “Please, take a couple of cookies home with you.”
    “You wouldn’t mind?”
    “Not at all.” She’d give him the plate if she could. Anything to move him on. “I, ah, bake a lot of cookies.”
    He grabbed three, folded them in the napkin, then strode to the door. “See you Sunndawk ,” he said with a smile. “I’ll find you after the service.”
    She forced herself to return the happy look. “Yes! Sunday!”
    She kept the smile on her face as she closed the door behind him, while she dimmed the lights in the front room, and as she carried the two glasses back to the kitchen.
    Her mother was hovering by the kitchen counter when she entered. “I heard, Miriam,” she said excitedly, practically pouncing on her. “He wants to see you on Sunday! I’m so thrilled for you. Junior is such a nice boy. Not every young man could take charge of a family the way he has.”
    There were two choices she could make. Either admit that Junior had no use for her, other than as a way to get her best friend’s attention.
    Or she could keep the bad news to herself.
    Only one of those options was going to give her any peace. “ Jah . We are going to sit together for a bit after church.”
    “I’m so happy for you, daughter,” her father said. “I told your mother that it was only a matter of time before you had a caller. You were just a late bloomer, that’s all.”
    A headache was coming on. Due, no doubt, to the enormous effort it was taking to lie and conceal her true thoughts. “You were right, Daed. It was just a matter of time.”
    “Tomorrow, I’m going to call Teresa and let her know your news. Your sister’s been so worried about your lack of callers.” With a wry chuckle, her mother added, “Believe it or not, Teresa was actually starting to think something was wrong with you.”
    “There’s nothing wrong with me.”
    “Of course not. That little bit of extra weight you’ve been carrying hasn’t done you a bit of harm. Now that handsome Junior Beiler has set his sights on you, nothing is wrong at all!” Her mother pressed a slim, cool hand on her bare arm. “This is your time now, dear. Your time.”
    Miriam tried to smile. When she walked back into the front room, she saw the plate of cookies. Thought about her