Free The Atonement by Beverly Lewis Page A

retrieve it. When Ray gave the nod, Jesse scrambled down off his stool. Jabbering in Deitsch, he happily retrieved the toy beneath the table and returned to his seat, all smiles once more.
    I wonder when he’ll stop insisting on bringing it to the table , Martie thought with a sigh. Carries that truck nearly everywhere!

    Things had been much too quiet in the kitchen, yet Mamm and the twins were surely busy preparing supper downstairs as Lucy still stood at the largest window at the far end of her room. Earlier, she’d crept all the way down the two flights of stairs only to see that Dat was sitting on the back porch with the stranger. She’d also snatched up the Intelligencer Journal, hoping to look through the ads to find some work options for Kiana.
    Silently, ever so cautiously now, she raised her bedroom window, impatient to overhear the conversation below. She couldn’t remember feeling this nosy, not since she’d overheard the bishop’s wife telling about their driving horses falling through the stable floor into the cellar below. Miraculously, the mares had survived.
    Her body tense, Lucy leaned near the windowsill, careful not to bump the screen.
    Dat’s voice floated right up to her. “Oh, there’s still a Bann on getting electric from the public grid. On radios and televisions, too.”
    â€œI noticed gas grills on a few Amish properties as I drove through the neighborhood to get here,” the young man said, his voice smooth. “Is that common?”
    â€œPerty much.”
    â€œI’ve also seen some Amish teens around town with cell phones. May I ask what your church’s view is on that?”
    â€œPlenty of unbaptized teens have ’em. And some contractors and businesspeople use ’em—folk whose livelihoods need a quick way for customers to reach them.” Dat sighed. “It’s a sore point with our ministerial brethren. I mean, how can we expect to keep anyone away from the Internet with a device ready in hand, twenty-four hours a day? Temptation’s all wrapped up in a schmaert phone!”
    Lucy certainly hoped her father wasn’t getting too familiar with this man. She held her breath. How much longer would Dat linger? She must get out to the hen house soon . . . gather the late-afternoon eggs.
    â€œCome again tomorrow, Dale, if you’d like,” she heard Dat say. “I’ll show ya how to raise chickens and goats, and take ya over to see my brother’s shop, if you’re still interested.”
    â€œWouldn’t want to be a bother.”
    â€œ Ach , don’t think thataway.”
    â€œThanks again, Christian. I appreciate your time.”
    â€œGlad to help settle all this in your mind.”
    Lucy frowned. Settle what?
    She stepped away from the window and went to sit at her corner writing desk, leaving the window open for now. She felt the air cooling the room and could hear the shuffle of feet as Dale Something took himself off to his truck and started it up with an unexpected roar.

    After supper that evening, Christian sat longer than usual at the table, waiting for Lucy and the twins to redd things up. He occupied himself by reading Martie’s column in The Budget, getting a kick out of how she was progressing these days as a scribe for the newspaper.
    As Sarah returned for the last of the serving dishes, he leaned toward her. “Put your jacket on, love. Take a walk with me.”
    Sarah nodded and carried the dishes over to the counter, then made her way without delay to the enclosed porch adjoining the large kitchen. He slid back his chair and rose to meet her there. Reaching for his old work coat, he motioned to the back door, letting her step out first.
    The sun’s fading rays felt light on Christian’s shoulders, and he chose to take the field lanes instead of the main road. The trees along the way were black with crows perched among the branches. He’d seen