Free A Simple Christmas Wish by Melody Carlson Page B

clear blue eyes but a confused expression. “We always pin our clothes like this.” She turned around to show Rachel her own apron and cape. “See?”
    “But don’t the pins poke you?”
    “No.” Sarah made a tolerant smile, as if she were reassuring a child. “If you pin them right, you are fine.” She showed her how it was done, but Rachel still felt skeptical. She’d never heard of pinning clothing on to a child like that.
    “Sarah,” Rachel said firmly, “I do not want Holly to get hurt by these ridiculous pins. What if a pin slips out and stabs her?”
    “That will not happen.” Lydia’s figure shadowed the doorway. “Sarah knows how to pin clothes properly. You need not trouble yourself, Rachel.”
    Rachel frowned at her. “But it seems unsafe.”
    “It is how we do it here. It is how we have done it forgenerations.” Lydia, predictably, was dressed identically to Sarah and Holly. Even her dress was blue, although it was darker.
    “But why?”
    Lydia gave her an exasperated expression. “We do not have time for this now.” Lydia looked carefully at Holly as if inspecting her. “The dress is good on her,” she told Sarah. “And it is good that Holly’s shoes are black, but they are not plain enough.”
    Rachel wanted to ask why everything had to be so doggoned plain but knew she wouldn’t get an answer.
    “Come, come,” Lydia said. “Hurry and be ready, maed. It is time for breakfast and then we go to church.”
    Rachel watched as Sarah continued with Holly, brushing her hair back and struggling to put it into a very short ponytail. “I don’t think there’s enough here yet to make a bun,” Sarah told her. “But it will grow . . . in time.” She made a tsk-tsk sound. “A girl should never cut her hair.” She reached to the dresser for a white bonnet that looked just like the one she was wearing. “Now, for your kapp .”
    “My cap?” Holly tilted her head to one side.
    “Hold still,” Sarah insisted as she secured the kapp to Holly’s head. Thankfully she did not use straight pins to do this. Instead, she used four large bobby pins and seemed to know exactly how to do it. “There,” she said proudly. “You are ready.”
    Holly looked at Rachel now. “What about you?”
    Rachel held up her hands. “What do you mean—what about me?”
    “Where’s your Amish dress, Aunt Rachel? Sarah says that to go to Amish church you must wear an Amish dress.”

    Rachel shrugged. “Then I guess I won’t be going to church today.”
    Holly frowned. “But you have to go.”
    Rachel shook her head but was secretly relieved. Some alone time was sounding good right now. “I’m sorry, Holly. I just don’t see how I can go without a dress. You’ll have to go without me, but when you get back you must promise to tell me all about it. Okay?”
    “Okay.” Holly nodded with uncertainty.
    “Now we must hurry to eat breakfast,” Sarah instructed, and taking Holly’s hand, she hurried out of the room and down the stairs.
    Rachel grabbed up Holly’s fur-trimmed scarlet hood and headed downstairs too. She chuckled at the bright coat. At least that would show some of Holly’s individuality!
    Breakfast was oatmeal, but thankfully there was coffee too. Without saying anything to Lydia, Rachel helped herself to a cup, then almost wished she hadn’t. Did they really drink this stuff? After doctoring it with cream and sugar, which she normally wouldn’t do, she went to the table and sat down next to Holly. Sarah was nearly done with her oatmeal, but Holly was picking at hers, and Rachel knew it wasn’t the kind Holly was used to.
    “Daniel and the boys have gone next door to set up the benches,” Lydia told Rachel as she set a bowl of oatmeal in front of her.
    “The benches?” Rachel looked down at the clumpy oatmeal and wondered if she was really hungry.
    “For church,” Sarah explained. “It’s at Mammi’s barn today.”

    “Mammi’s barn?” Holly questioned. “Who is Mammi