"And now we will talk no more of it," Dat said, focusing a stern eye on Aaron. "What's done is done. Our Kate is home."

A knock at the back door interrupted Dat's lecture. Mamma jumped from her chair and opened the door to a little boy no bigger than a peanut.

"Well, bless my soul, if it isn't Daniel Herschberger," Mamma said, ushering the boy inside as she did every other visitor to the Weaver home. "What can we do for you, Danny?"

Daniel looked around the overflowing table and suddenly became shy. He sidled next to Mamma and nibbled on his fingernail.

"Where's your dat?" Zeb asked.

"He's with Lolly," Danny squeaked.

"Your cow?" Dat said.

Danny nodded. "Jah. Dat is wondering if you could help with the calf."

"Too stubborn to come without a fight, is she?" Dat said, smiling. Even though poor Dat had taken only two bites of his supper, he was more than willing to help at a moment's notice. He quickly rose from the table and lifted his coat from the hook. "Lead the way, Danny," he said as he opened the door and followed the boy into the chilly spring evening. He left a full plate of food and took his empty stomach.

It seemed as if Aaron had been eagerly awaiting Dat's departure so he could deliver a much-needed lecture to his disobedient sister. "This is what comes of seeking the world, Katie," he said. "The Englisch are ungodly and violent. You belong here in the community."

Anna, Zeb's wife, looked uncomfortably at Aaron and promptly changed the subject. "Tell us what you have learned at school, Kate. You are so brave to go to such a big place all by yourself."

Dear Anna. So considerate of people's feelings-noticing what others would not.

"It has been very difficult in some ways, especially at first," Kate said. "I am still so far behind the other students. Luckily, the academy emphasizes performance rather than academics, so someone with my background isn't completely lost."

Aaron's wife, Ada, sat next to her husband, her nose turned up ever so slightly. "And what have you learned in your fancy new school?" she said.

Kate ignored the petulance in Ada's tone. "I have heard such beautiful music that sends my heart to God," she said, glancing in Aaron's direction instead. Then she turned her attention to Anna. "There are oratorios that soar to the high ceiling of the cathedral and operas that would make you weep."

"Life is full of enough sorrows. What need have we to go looking for them in the theater?" Zeb said.

"Because of the stories they teach. They reveal evil and good so you may learn the difference and love the good. They show compassion and cruelty so you may choose the good way. The stories can point you to God."

Aaron shook his head. The others at the table hung onto every word she said, some uncertain, others enthralled.

Kate put down her fork and folded her hands in her lap. "Our opera workshop just performed an opera about a girl, Angelica, who lives as a nun in a convent because her family has rejected her."

"She is Catholic?" Ada said.

"Yes, and when she was young and unmarried, she gave birth to a boy, and her family took him from her and never allowed her to visit."

"What happens to her?" Mary said.

"When she learns her son is dead, she takes her own life. It is very, very sad."

There was a long pause at the table. "And when it is all done," Zeb said, "how does it bring you to God?"

"Angelica," Kate stuttered, "longs for acceptance from her family. But they are unforgiving. In the opera, you see the pain her family has caused her. You ache for their forgiveness, for Angelica. And you say to yourself-Who must I forgive today? Who is in pain and needs my love?"

Mamma wiped a tear from her cheek. "Jah, we all must ask God every day."

The spell broke when Ike's five-year-old son, Elias, came to the table with plate in hand, asking for more potatoes. No one was eager to return to the subject of Kate's schooling, especially Kate. Ike asked Zeb about the corn he was planting this year, and the conversation moved safely to other topics. Kate had neglected to mention that she sang the role of Angelica, and every performance she could not keep the tears from flowing when the little boy ran into her arms to greet Angelica in heaven.

Better not to tell. Better that Aaron and Ada not have one more reason to chastise her. Kate scolded herself again for being so petty. Why did she feel threatened by Aaron and Ada? They loved her and only had her best interests at heart. Didn't they?

With supper nearly over, Aaron, who must have thought it a great burden to remain quiet, started in on Kate again. And since he was the eldest, no one but Dat would tell him to hold his tongue. To make matters worse, Ada's father was the bishop of two districts, and this seemed to make Aaron believe he held some sort of authority over his siblings.

"Are you home for good this time, Katie?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"You will never get a husband if you keep going away," Aaron said.

"You don't know what you're saying, Aaron," Zeb said. "Kate is very pretty. The boys take to her like bees to honey. We older brothers could never keep them away before."

"But now is different," Aaron said. "I've heard talk."

Mamma lifted her head. "What talk have you heard about my madle?"

Aaron waved his fork in Kate's direction. "The longer she stays away, the more influence the world has over her. She will find it too hard to pull back and be baptized. Who will want to marry her?"

Ada nodded, all too eager to share the gossip. "To be honest, I am surprised she chose to return to us at all. They say Kate is worldly. And too old."

"That is idle talk," Mary said. "Kate is only twenty-two years yet."

"Jah," Aaron said. "Exactly. Her rumschpringe has gone on for six years. Most boys and girls choose baptism after two or, at most, three years. People start to wonder whether she will join the Church at all."

"Let them wonder," said Ike.

"The boys want Plain girls," Aaron said, putting a stop to any disagreement. "Not the worldly, vain sort. There might be a widower to take a fancy to her, if he's not picky. But a man who wants to be the bishop or a minister someday will not come near her."

A dull ache settled in Kate's stomach. Could Aaron be right? Most of the boys who had once offered to drive her home after Sunday-night singings and youth gatherings were married or courting.

A knock at the back door interrupted the conversation. "Who now?" Mamma said as she rose. She opened the door and then threw out her arms in welcome. "Look who is here," she exclaimed as she pulled a smiling Nathaniel King into the room.

Kate's heart did a single somersault before settling into a rapid thudding in her chest. Remembering how he was once the boy with cooties who'd kissed her on the playground, she felt her face get hot. Remembering the feel of his hand on her cheek earlier in the day, she felt her face get even hotter.

"Ach, I am sorry to interrupt," Nathaniel said, removing his hat and still grinning widely. "I thought supper would be over."

"Do not be uneasy, Nathaniel," Mamma said. "With all the goings-on today, we started supper almost an hour late."

"I brought some tea and ointment for Kate," Nathaniel said. Looking at her, he seemed to flush as red as Kate imagined herself to be. "How are you feeling?"

Kate brought her hand to her cheek self-consciously. "I am better."

Mamma pulled Nathaniel farther into the kitchen and removed the sack slung over his shoulder. "Cum, cum. You must have some snitz pie with us. It is from the last of the dried apples. You'd think with fifty acres of apple trees I would have dried more fruit last fall."

"No, denki. I do not want to pester you."

"You don't like my snitz pie?" Mamma said with a pout and a twinkle in her eye.

"Jah, of course, Emma. You are the best cook in Wisconsin," Nathaniel said.

"Then cum, sit," Mamma insisted, pulling another chair up to the already crowded table and directing Nathaniel to it. Sheepishly, Nathaniel slipped into the chair at the corner of the table across from Kate, crammed nicely next to Zeb and Anna.

In unison, Kate, Mary, and Mamma went to the long counter to cut and serve the pie. Kate gave her mother a meaningful look and pointed silently to her lip. Mamma only giggled and plopped a dollop of whipped cream onto one of the pie slices.

Once they served the pie, Mary, Mamma, and Kate sat down again to eat. Kate's return to the table seemed to remind Aaron of his duty to call her to repentance. And Nathaniel's presence did not deter him.

"Nathaniel," Aaron said, "you are of marriageable age. What do you seek in a worthy wife?"

Never losing that enchanting smile, Nathaniel said, "Do you know someone you want me to meet?"

Kate pulled her eyes from him and stared faithfully at the piece of pie in front of her. Why did Aaron have to stir things up?

"I have been telling Kate that a man does not want a wife who flirts with the temptations of the world," Aaron said.

Ada fixed her gaze on Nathaniel as if he were the only person at the table. "My sister Sarah would never dream of turning her back on our ways. She is nothing but completely faithful."

Embarrassed that Nathaniel should be witness to such a kerfuffle, Kate tried to defend herself and put the matter to rest. "You know that I have always tried to understand and follow God's will."

"You cannot just do what you want and call it God's will," Aaron said. "Every time you go back to Milwaukee, you pull yourself further and further from us. Soon you will think we are too plain, and you will look to the world for your salvation. It is not the way, Kate."

Kate fell silent and let Aaron sermonize to his heart's content. She dared a look at Nathaniel. He ate his snitz pie, but the smile had disappeared from his face.

Aaron was just getting started. "'Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate.' That is our way. 'Touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.'"

"You are quick to judge, Aaron," Ike said. "Kate knows all that. She is not yet baptized. She is searching. That is what rumschpringe is for."

"And when will she be baptized?" Aaron asked. "The rumschpringe cannot go on indefinitely. It is high time she makes her covenant to the Church and God."

Kate could feel the discomfort growing. Mary and Mamma kept glancing at each other in dismay. And Anna, while never taking her eyes off her plate, seemed genuinely distressed.

Ike and Aaron continued to trade Scriptures and debate Kate's readiness for baptism, but Kate hardly listened. Instead, she ate her pie, intensely aware of Nathaniel sitting a few feet from her. As Aaron continued to preach, Ike's boy, Elias, came to the table wanting a cup of water. Nathaniel grabbed the pitcher, took Elias's empty cup, and set it on the table. "Say when," he instructed.

When the cup was half full, Elias said, "That is all, denki." Nathaniel kept pouring.

"Stop," Elias said a little louder. Still Nathaniel poured water into his cup.

The giggles bubbled from Elias throat. "Stop!" he repeated, almost yelling but not loud enough to interrupt Onkel Aaron.

Nathaniel smiled mischievously. "You didn't say 'when.'"

Just as the water reached the lip of the cup, Elias screamed, "When!"

The noise stalled Aaron for a second, but he simply glanced Elias's way and went right on talking.

Nathaniel set the pitcher on the table, and Elias laughed with glee. Taking it carefully by the handle, Elias sucked some water from the brimming cup and slowly carried it back to his chair. Passing two of his cousins, he showed them his cup. "I didn't say 'when,'" he said, beaming. "I didn't say 'when.'"

After the children finished with their dessert, they took turns at the sink washing their dishes and then clomped up the steep stairs to play. Without a word, Mary's three-year-old daughter, Sadie, came close to Nathaniel and held out her arms to him. Nathaniel bent over and slipped Sadie onto his lap. Sitting on her perch like she were the most important person in the world, Sadie patted Nathaniel's face and played with one of his ears.

Giddy, one of Aaron's little boys, sidled up beside Nathaniel and patted his leg. Nathaniel steadied Sadie with one arm, and then, making a fist, he gently squeezed Giddy's nose between his index and middle knuckles. He pulled his hand away and put his thumb between his fingers where Giddy's nose had been.

"I've got your nose," Nathaniel said.

Giddy opened his mouth as wide as a fish's and felt his face.

Nathaniel touched his thumb to Giddy's nose and opened his hand. "Don't worry, now. I put it back."

Kate grinned at little Giddy's puzzled expression. He lifted his arms to Nathaniel, who scooped up the boy and sat him next to Sadie in his lap.

"Look how sweet," Mary whispered. But Kate was already charmed by the sight.

As Sadie traced her small fingers around Nathaniel's palm, his eyes caught Kate's. She smiled and then looked away, embarrassed to have been caught staring.

Aaron then spoke directly to her, and she couldn't very well ignore him. "I always knew, Katie, that your vanity would be your stumbling block. You have a beautiful voice to sing praises to God, but you are proud. You want to show off. This is false pride. Am I not right, Zeb?"

Zeb shook his head. "You weary us with too much talking."

Aaron grunted and pushed his plate away. "You know I am right. If Katie will do as I say, she will walk with the Lord in heaven. Humble yourself, Katie, and quit these foolish, worldly ways." Sensing the tension in the room, he wound down. "I only say this because I am your brother and I am concerned for your salvation," he murmured resentfully.

Nathaniel lifted the two children off his lap and set them on their feet. He stood and looked Aaron squarely in the eye. "I have learned much from you this evening, Aaron," he said stiffly. "I can tell you have spent a great deal of time perfecting your doctrine. But I trust that Kate will follow God's way and not Aaron's way."

Aaron stared at Nathaniel in surprise. "Of course," he sputtered. "I do not follow my own way. Only God's."

Kate's heart all but burst with gratitude. She nodded a silent thankyou to Nathaniel. He smiled back.

"May we all do so," Ike said.

"I will go now," Nathaniel said, addressing Mamma. "Thank you for the pie. Manna from heaven could not have tasted better."

Mamma stood and wiped her hands on her apron. "Ach, no flattery. You tempt me to be prideful."

Elmer sat at the otherwise-empty children's table, eating his third piece of pie. "Good-bye, Nathaniel," he said. "Come see us again."

Donning his hat, Nathaniel looked once more in Kate's direction. "I will, Lord willing. No doubt about it."

Nathaniel bounded off the Weavers' front porch so light he thought he might fly home. Someone called his name, and he turned to see Aaron standing with both hands on the railing, staring at him.

"You like my sister?" Aaron said, more an accusation than a question.

"Why do you ask?" Nathaniel said.

"Do not hope for much. When September comes, she will go back to the school. Just wait and see if she doesn't."

"Then I have almost five months to change her mind."