Free The River by Beverly Lewis Page B

dipping into the whipped cream, a mischievous look on his round face. “Be sure an’ put plenty on your pie.” He glanced at Naomi. “Cut her a nice big piece, won’t ya, dear?”
    “Oh, all right,” Tilly replied at last. “Anything to chase the heebie-jeebies away.”
    “A little pie with whipped cream is gut for what ails ya,” Uncle Abner said with a grin.
    But Tilly knew better, thinking again of her father’s poor health.

Chapter 12
    T he sky had turned silvery white as dusk began to fall over the landscape, the sun a large pearled onion. It was as if the very countryside was Ruth’s companion, familiar as it still was to her. Familiar and foreboding . While she dried dishes for her mother across from the windows, she noticed the trees were beginning to cast shadows in the waning light.
    She stacked another white plate in the cupboard, and the little cow-shaped creamer caught her eye—its handle the tail. Mamm’s birthday gift from Tilly, she recalled, startled to see Mamm had kept it, considering everything.
    Ruth turned and let her gaze roam to her father’s chair at the head of the table and recalled their conversation during the meal earlier. She assumed the unexpected pleasantness was due to Tilly’s absence. Daed had been more relaxed than Ruth anticipated—he’d seemed pleased to see her. Talkative too. Presently, he’d gone out to check on two new calves even as Mamm scoured a large pan in the sink.
    Nothing had been said about Tilly’s disappearance prior to supper, though since her parents hadn’t mentioned it, Ruthsuspected they were relieved, which made her feel uneasy. Even sad.
    Mamm broke the tranquility. “Besides the family get-together, is there another reason why you and Tilly wanted to visit after all this time away?” Her eyes probed Ruthie’s.
    “I felt the Lord nudging me.”
    “The Lord ?” Mamm turned swiftly. “Oh, Ruthie, are ya thinkin’ of changing your mind and—”
    “No, Mamma. I didn’t mean that.”
    Her mother’s face drooped; she looked terribly disappointed. “ Ach , I can still pray, ain’t so?”
    Ruth groaned inwardly. Mamm’s remark had put Ruth’s stomach in knots. She held her breath, and when her mother leaned down to rinse out the sink, Ruth closed her eyes. In the space of less than a minute, her mother’s demeanor had changed to one of misery.

    Tilly was especially lonesome for Kris and the twins as she unpacked in the main level guest room at her uncle and aunt’s. The kitchen had been long since redded up, and she and her aunt and uncle had sat awhile at the table as Tilly got caught up on various folk, including Mammi Lantz. Mammi, it turned out, currently resided in the small Dawdi Haus attached to the main farmhouse where her oldest son, Tilly’s uncle Hank, lived with his wife.
    Uncle Abner urged Tilly to go over and pay a visit to her grandmother. “How about before you head home Monday?” he’d said with a serious look. “At her age, ya never know . . .”
    Tilly closed the bedroom door but saw no way to lock it for complete privacy. Even so, she felt secure enough to removeAnna’s Kapp from its wrapping. After all, her aunt and uncle had retired to their room.
    As she held her little sister’s delicate white head covering, Tilly bowed her head and asked for divine guidance in approaching her mother. “Help me know the right way to do this—the best way to honor You, Lord,” she prayed.
    Later, when she had returned the Kapp to her suitcase and was ready for bed, Tilly felt she should be as forthright as possible. As plainspoken as Mamm will allow me to be . She reached over to extinguish the lantern on the small table next to the bed, but instead of settling into bed, she stepped to the window and raised the dark green shade to peer out in the direction of her parents’ home. She could not see the farmhouse, but she imagined a golden flicker of light in one of the upstairs windows.
    She prayed for her sister,