Free A Place of His Own by Kathleen Fuller Page A

used to be.”
    â€œOf course he is, Amanda. You are too. The last time you saw each other you were barely teenagers. Now you’re both adults. You can’t expect him to be the same bu he was back then.”
    â€œI don’t. But I don’t expect him to be a stranger, either.”
    Katharine dropped two more chicken pieces into the large pot. The cooking oil bubbled and splattered. When she didn’t say anything, Amanda took the opportunity to explain.
    â€œI’ve missed him, Mamm . A lot. I didn’t realize how much until he came back.” She turned the heat down under the corn and faced her mother. “He never said good-bye, you know. I want to know why he left so suddenly. And what he’s been doing over the past ten years.” She frowned. “But he’s built this shell around himself. Like a turtle. And just when I think we’re to the point where we can have a real conversation, he ducks inside.”
    â€œMaybe he feels threatened.”
    â€œBut why?” Amanda held up her hands. “How can he feel threatened by his best friend?”
    â€œ Former best friend. Don’t forget that.” Katharine checked on the chicken, then placed one hand behind her on the small of her back.
    â€œHere, Mamm . Let me finish the chicken. You sit down.” Amanda led her to a chair by the kitchen table.
    Her mother plopped down. “ Danki , Amanda. Really, I’m fine. Just a twinge in my back.”
    â€œAll the more reason for me to finish supper. There’re only a few pieces left anyway. You go ahead and rest.”
    Amanda returned to the stove and dredged the last three chicken legs in flour and dropped them in the oil. Wiping her floured hands on a towel, she turned to her mother, picking up the thread of their conversation. She couldn’t let it go just yet. “Do you know why Josiah and his daed left so abruptly?”
    â€œEven if I did, it’s not my place to say, Amanda. I don’t indulge in gossip, and neither should you.”
    â€œBut this isn’t idle gossip, Mamm . I can tell there’s something really wrong with Josiah, but he won’t talk to me.”
    â€œDid you stop to think he has his reasons?” Mamm looked at her again. “Amanda, I know you care for him. You two were so close when you were young, so it makes sense that you would be curious. But even though you shared that closeness at one time, a lot has happened, in both your lives. Maybe you weren’t meant to be friends beyond your childhood.”
    Amanda shook her head. “I don’t believe that. I can’t.” She paused. “I think God brought him back to Paradise for a reason, and not just to fix up his house.”
    Katharine looked skeptical. “Do you really believe that? Or is it wishful thinking?” She rose from her chair and walked over to Amanda, putting her hand on her shoulder. “You have such a beautiful heart, kind . You want to solve everyone’s problems because you care so much. But there are some things in this world you can’t fix. You might have to accept that this is one of them.”
    A couple of hours later, after they finished eating supper and washing the dishes, the rest of the family gathered in the living room to listen to Daed read from the Bible, something they did at least one night a week. Although Amanda usually joined them, she didn’t this time, and instead grabbed her jacket from the peg by the back door and slipped outside to the swing set.
    The sun had dipped beneath the horizon, cloaking the sky in dusky gray. She sat down on a swing. Stretching her legs in front of her, she dug her toe into the cold dirt and gently pushed the swing back and forth as she stared out at Josiah’s house. She didn’t see his buggy near the barn.
    She thought about her mother’s words. Normally she followed her counsel, but she couldn’t shake the niggling thought that her