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worldly women for their men.” Darla shook her head. “You’d be smart to nip this in the bud before it goes any further.”
    Laura remained silent. She didn’t need Darla’s unwanted advice, and she knew exactly what she was doing.
    ***
    “Say, Mom, I have a favor to ask,” Eli said, when he stepped into the kitchen and headed toward the table where Mary Ellen sat tearing lettuce leaves into a bowl.
    She smiled, thinking her oldest boy looked happier than usual this evening. “Oh? What favor is that?”
    “I’m going on a picnic to the lake next Saturday, and I was wondering if you’d mind packing a picnic lunch for me to take along.”
    “How much food did you need?”
    He grinned. “As much as you want to fix, I guess.”
    “For how many people, Eli?” she asked with a groan. Johnny’s silly ways must be rubbing off on our son. He thinks he’s a practical joker now.
    “Uh ... there will be two of us, Mom,” Eli mumbled, his face turning red.
    She nodded, feeling quite pleased with that bit of news. Eli obviously had a date, and she figured it was probably Pauline, since he’d gone to lunch with her awhile ago when they’d met at the farmers’ market. “Anything special you’d like me to fix?”
    He shrugged. “Just the usual picnic things, I guess.”
    “All right, then. I’ll put together something that I’m sure both you and your date will like.”
    The color in Eli’s face deepened, and he looked away. “Danki, Mom. I really appreciate that.”
    ***
    When Wesley Meade entered the living room, he found his wife curled up on the couch, reading a book. “Hi, hon. How was your day?” He bent down to kiss her forehead.
    “It was all right, I suppose,” Irene replied without looking up from her novel.
    He set his briefcase on the coffee table and took a seat in the recliner across from her. “Did you do anything special?”
    “Helen and I went shopping at the mall, got our nails done, and had lunch at Roberto’s. Then on the way home, I stopped at our favorite catering place and ordered the food for the hospital guild’s annual charity dinner.”
    Wesley’s gaze went to the ceiling. It seemed all his wife did anymore was shop for new clothes she didn’t need and flit from one charity organization to another, planning dinners, parties, and elaborate balls. Not that there was anything wrong with charities. He knew that most of the organizations she was involved with did a lot of good for those in need. However, Irene’s emphasis seemed to be more on the social side of things rather than on meeting the needs of people who were hurting or required financial or physical help.
    “I got an e-mail from Laura today,” he said, changing the subject to something he hoped might interest her.
    “Really? What did she have to say?”
    “So you didn’t check your e-mail?”
    Irene’s hand fluttered as if she was swatting a fly. “Wesley, you know I rarely use the computer you bought me for Christmas last year.”
    “Why not? It’s got all the whistles and bells anyone could want.”
    “Maybe so, but every time I go online, I end up either getting booted off or everything freezes on me.” She sighed. “I don’t think that computer likes me.”
    He chuckled. “You just need to go on it more. Practice makes—”
    “I know. I know. If I practiced more, I’d have it mastered.” She swung her legs over the sofa and sat up. “So tell me ... what did our daughter have to say in her e-mail?”
    “She said she’s getting settled in at the school and thinks she’s going to like it in Lancaster County, where she can study the interesting Amish people.”
    Irene’s perfectly shaped eyebrows drew together, and she reached up to fluff the sides of her shoulder-length auburn hair. “Amish people? Our daughter didn’t go to Lancaster to study Amish people; she went to learn how to be an interior designer.”
    “Laura thinks she can get some design ideas from the Plain People.”
    She clicked