Plain Paradise Read Online Free PDF Page A

suddenly Abe found comfort in that thought. For the past few months, he hadn’t wanted to hear talk about his daughter and Stephen. He wasn’t ready to let her go just yet and hoped that Linda and Stephen would date for another year before mentioning wedding plans. Now, though, he found himself hoping Stephen would take that next step soon.
    “Abe, do you need anything else before I sit down?” Mary Ellen’s eyes were heavy with worry, and Abe wished he was able to mask his own emotions better.
    “No. Danki , though.” He forced a smile in Mary Ellen’s direction.
    Once Mary Ellen and Linda were seated, they bowed their heads in prayer. Luke, Matthew, and Linda filled their plates and, between bites, discussed their plans for the day. Linda was planning to ask Barbie to take her and Stephen to see Jonas after she finished her morning chores, and Luke and Matthew were going to start painting the barn a fresh shade of white, a job that would take them most of the week.
    Abe watched his wife trying to keep face in front of her children, smiling when called for, and commenting when appropriate.
    But he’d been married to Mary Ellen for a long time, and Abe knew it was taking all her effort to keep herself together.
    After breakfast, Mary Ellen waited until the children were out of earshot before she spoke of the situation.
    “Are you going to call her first thing this morning?” She clutched her apron with both hands. A moment later, she shook her head and paced the wooden floor. “No, no. Maybe I should do it. Maybe I should call her.” She stopped walking, then spun to face him. “Abe, let’s just don’t call her.”
    Abe got up from the table and walked to his wife. “You know we must call her.” He reached for his hat on the rack, placed it on his head, then embraced Mary Ellen. “But I reckon she wouldn’t be up this time of morning.” Abe eased Mary Ellen out of his arms and nodded toward the window. Only a hint of daylight was visible as the sun began to creep over the horizon. “I have some things to tend to in the barn, and when the daylight is full, I will call her.”
    Abe was thankful the bishop had started allowing phones in the barns a few years back. Otherwise, he would have to trek over to the Lapp’s shanty, and he didn’t feel like bumping into anyone right now. He needed time to think.
    Mary Ellen folded her hands in front of her and stood a little taller. “I will meet you in the barn after I finish a few things indoors. I should be there when you call her.”
    Abe nodded. Offering to make the call was the manly thing to do as head of the household, but he’d be glad to have his wife with him when he confronted this woman who threatened to cause much upheaval in their world. P

    Josie threw her arm across Robert’s side of the bed. Empty. She wiped sleep from her eyes, blinked the alarm clock into focus, and forced herself to sit up when she saw that it was almost nine o’clock. She rarely slept that late unless it was a weekend and Robert was by her side. Normally, she got up when Robert left for work during the week, around seven o’clock. Then she recalled the sleeping pill she took the night before, an old prescription that she held on to for nights when she couldn’t sleep. She knew sleep wouldn’t come, and her doctor had already told her that the pills were compatible with her other medications, if she needed them.
    She couldn’t help but wonder if Mary Ellen would call today, even though Robert warned her that it might be a couple of days.
    She eased her way out of bed and into her robe. It took her a few moments to recognize the faint beep she was hearing from downstairs. When she realized it was her answering machine, she was suddenly alert and bolted down the stairs. She maneuvered around the maze of boxes in the living room and headed toward the kitchen, her favorite room in the house. She needed its light and cheery atmosphere, with white cabinets and powder blue