Free A Merry Heart by Wanda E. Brunstetter

don’t have phones in their homes, and those who do have phones for business reasons keep them in an outside building. It’s not likely that Miriam has a phone, and if someone else in her family does, I’m sure they wouldn’t appreciate her receiving calls from a nosy English reporter.
    The phone on Nick’s desk rang, rousing him from his musings, and he quickly reached for it. “Nick McCormick here.”
    “Hi, Nicky. It’s Aunt Nora.”
    “Hey there. How are you doing?” Nick was always glad to hear from his aunt. She was his only relative living in the area, and since he had moved here six months ago, he’d gotten to know her pretty well.
    “I’m doing fine. All but one of my rooms is filled with boarders right now,” she said. “I’d be happy to give that one to you if you’d like somewhere more peaceful and quiet to live.”
    “I appreciate the offer, but I like having an apartment in Lancaster because it puts me closer to the newspaper office.”
    “I understand.” There was a short pause. “If you don’thave a date for next Friday evening, how would you like to come over for supper?”
    “Are you fishing for information about my love life, Auntie?”
    “Of course not. I’d never do something like that.”
    He snickered. “Yeah, right, and frogs walk on their hind legs, too.”
    “You would tell me if there was someone special, wouldn’t you, Nicky?”
    “Sure I would, but there’s nothing to tell. I’m a contented bachelor and plan to stay one for as long as possible.”
    “You’ll change your tune one of these days when the right woman comes along.”
    A vision of Miriam Stoltzfus leaped into Nick’s mind, and he blinked several times, trying to dispel it. She wasn’t the right woman for him; he knew that much. She couldn’t be, because they were worlds apart.

I t was hard to believe it was August already and that today was the first day of school. Every year, the first day seemed a little hectic and unorganized, and today was certainly no exception. There were several new children in Miriam’s class, and since they were first graders and knew only their Pennsylvania Dutch language, they needed to be taught English. This took extra time on the teacher’s part, and it meant the older students must do more work on their own.
    Mary Ellen Hilty was in the second grade and already knew her English fairly well, but she still lacked the discipline and attention span to work on her own for long. From her seat in the second row, the child raised her hand and called out, “Teacher Mim, I need your help.”
    Miriam tapped her foot impatiently and frowned. She was busy helping Joanna and Nancy with the letters of the alphabet and didn’t want to be disturbed.
    “Teacher!” Mary Ellen called again.
    Miriam put her finger to her lips. “One minute, Mary Ellen. I’ll be with you in a minute.”
    Mary Ellen nodded, folded her hands, and placed them on top of her desk.
    When Miriam finished with her explanation to the younger girls, she moved across the room and squatted beside Mary Ellen’s desk. “What is it you need?”
    “I don’t know what this word is.” The child pointed to the open primer in front of her.
    “That word is
grandfather
,” Miriam answered. “You must learn to sound it out. Gr–and–fa–ther.”
    Mary Ellen looked up at Miriam, her hazel eyes round and large. “My grandpa and grandma Zeeman live far away. Grandpa and Grandma Hilty live in heaven with Jesus. So does Mama.”
    Miriam saw a look of sadness on the child’s face she’d never seen before. Usually there was a light in Mary Ellen’s eyes and a sweet smile on her lips. She felt pity for the little girl, knowing she had no one but Amos to look after her. No one but him to love.
    The light came back to Mary Ellen’s eyes as quickly as it had faded. “Danki—I mean, thank you for helping me, Teacher Mim.”
    Miriam gently touched the child’s arm, pleased that she had remembered to use only English