Treasuring Emma Read Online Free PDF Page B

wouldn’t do anything else. Why he wouldn’t at least check the want ads in the paper. Or tell other people in the community that he needed work.
    God will provide , he said. Sounded a lot like a holy handout to Clara. What her dim-witted husband didn’t understand was that God helps those who help themselves, not the ones who sit around and wait for good fortune to happen.
    Guilt assaulted her, but the feeling didn’t last long. What did she have to feel guilty about? If she were a man, she’d be able to find work. Maybe even start her own business.
    Start my own business . . .
    Peter came back into the kitchen. “The buggy’s ready. Junior and Melvin went down the street to play with the Keims’ buwe . Fraa Keim said she didn’t mind watching them while we’re gone.”
    “I’ll be ready right away.”
    She slipped a light purple dress over Magdalena’s chubby body, a sudden idea churning in her mind. It could work. And someone had to think about the future—not only her family’s, but her sister’s and grandmother’s.
    If she didn’t, no one else would.
    “Let’s geh .” Magdalena in her arms, Clara hurried past Peter and walked out the door.
    He followed behind. “Now you’re eager to get going? Just a minute ago you weren’t in that much of a hurry.”
    “The day’s wasting.” Clara clutched her daughter and climbed into the buggy. Peter joined her and they were on their way.
    Within ten minutes, they pulled up in front of the farmhouse. Clara handed the baby to Peter. “Can you watch her for a while? I need to talk to Emma. Privately.”
    “About what?”
    “Things.”
    Doubt entered his eyes. “What kind of things?”
    “Just . . . things.”
    “I don’t like the idea of keeping secrets from each other, Clara.”
    “Like you asking Emma to move in with us?”
    His gaze narrowed. “That wasn’t a secret. I was trying to help our familye .” He tucked Magdalena into the crook of his arm. “Guess I’ll visit Dave Fisher a few doors down.”
    But Clara didn’t respond. She had already jumped out of the buggy and was heading to her grandparents’ house. She kept her back turned until she heard Peter leave. Then she knocked on the door.
    Emma answered it.
    “I need to talk to you.”
    “ Gude mariye to you too.” Emma opened the door a little wider. “Do you want to come in, or do we have to stand on the porch?”
    “I’ll come in.” Clara couldn’t keep the impatience from her voice. The more she thought about her plan, the more it made sense. She had to convince Emma of that.
    She followed her sister into the kitchen. Emma walked to the sink and turned on the water. The ends of the strands of her white kapp were twisted together and hung down her back. “I’ve got to finish the breakfast dishes.”
    “Can’t you do that later? I want you to listen to what I have to say.” She paused. “It’s important.”
    “Fine.” Emma walked over to the table and sat down. “But make it quick; I have a lot of work to do around here.”
    “I know you do.” Clara sat across from her. She folded her hands and put them on the table, her thin fingers intertwining with each other. Emma placed one stubby hand on the table.
    Clara leaned forward. “Now that the funeral is over, we need to talk about your future.”
    “Can’t this wait? We just buried Mammi yesterday.”
    “Emma, I don’t mean to sound unfeeling about Mammi , but we all knew this would happen. We should be grateful that God took her when He did so she didn’t have to suffer long.”
    Emma clenched her fists on the tabletop. “She suffered enough. You weren’t here, Clara. You didn’t have to force her to eat, or sponge the sweat off her body, or listen to her cry out in the middle of night, her body filled with pain.”
    “I would have helped if I could. I had to take care of my familye .”
    “And since I don’t have a family e, I had to take care of her.”
    “If you resented it so much, you should have