Free Johanna's Bridegroom by Emma Miller Page A

ceiling.”
    “Why would they do that?” Susanna asked, poking at a dumpling with her fork. “I want them to stay on my plate so that I can eat them.” Everyone smiled at that, and Susanna laughed.
    I am truly blessed, Johanna thought. To be born into this family and faith. She promised herself that she would try harder to be worthy of them.
    “So,” Mam said to Aunt Jezzy, “the girls say you have an admirer. Nip Hilty. Isn’t he a bachelor?”
    Aunt Jezzy flushed a bright pink and giggled like a teenager.
    “Maybe he’s the reason you’re so eager to tend the table on sale days,” Mam suggested.
    Aunt Jezzy peeked up through her lashes and spun her water glass exactly three rotations. “He bought me ice cream,” she said. “Strawberry.” She smiled. “And that’s all I’ll say about Nip tonight.”
    * * *
    The following morning, Johanna and Katy followed the winding path that led across the field from Mam’s house to Ruth and Eli’s. It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining and last night’s shower made the world smell new and fresh in a way that brought tears to Johanna’s eyes. I couldn’t imagine not living close to the earth . How do people in cities breathe, let alone thrive?
    Bees buzzed around the honeysuckle in the hedgerow, and the clover was soft under their bare feet. Johanna paused and knelt down to catch Katy in her arms and hug her tightly. “I love you,” she murmured. “I love you so much.”
    “I love you, too, Mam, ” the child echoed in her sweet voice. “I love you more than the moon.”
    Off to her left she saw Charley digging post holes for his new fence line. “Morning, sister,” he called to her. Johanna waved back. Secretly, she was glad that Charley was busy and wasn’t at the house. Charley was as close as a brother to her, and it certainly wasn’t his fault that Roland had proven to be so difficult, but making small talk with him this morning would have been awkward.
    Since Ruth had gotten so large with the coming twins, Johanna and Rebecca tried to come over at least one day a week to help her with the housework. Miriam and her husband, Charley, lived upstairs, but Miriam—always happier outside than in—spent her days working the farm beside her husband.
    As they entered the house, Johanna could smell Ruth’s coffee. Katy ran to her and gave her a hug. “Wait until you see what I have,” Ruth said. She opened the pantry door, and there in a laundry basket, Johanna saw her sister’s orange tabby with three tiny kittens.
    “Ooh,” Katy said. “Can I hold one?”
    Ruth squatted awkwardly and picked up a fuzzy black kitten with white paws and a white spot on its chest. “You can touch it. Gently,” she instructed. “But they are too young for you to hold yet. Next week you can hold them.” Ruth glanced back. Johanna nodded. “And, if you do just as I tell you, if you are very, very responsible, you can have one of the kittens as soon as it’s old enough to leave the mother.”
    “I can? For my own?” Katy wiggled with joy. “ Mam? Can I?”
    “You heard your aunt Ruth. You must show her that you know how to take care of a bussli. A kitten is a big responsibility. You must feed it and take it outside and keep it safe until it’s large enough to take care of itself.”
    “She’s a sensible child,” Ruth said after they’d left Katy to admire the kittens and gone out to sit on Ruth’s screened-in porch with their coffee. “You’ve done a wonderful job with her. You’re a fine mother. I only hope I can do as well.”
    “You?” Johanna chuckled. “You’ll be a far better mother than me.”
    Ruth rubbed the front of her apron. “I can’t wait. It doesn’t seem possible. Eli and I...after we lost...” She sighed. “I worry that everything will be all right, Johanna. I don’t know how I’d bear it if something went wrong.”
    “We must trust in God. You’re healthy. The babies have strong heartbeats.” Johanna had gone to the