Second Chances Read Online Free

William had
simply adored his petite wife and yielded to all of her advice. Once she died, he
seemed incapable of budgeting his money. Lydia had tried to help him, as had Anna,
but when it came to money he refused to listen to either one of them.
    “You need to observe the practicality of moving to a smaller house, William,” Lydia
offered, clearly not offended by his comment that insinuated his deceased wife might
have offered a better solution than Lydia. In truth, if Anna had not passed away,
she would not have let her husband become such a spendthrift.
    Anna looked up in time to see her father stop short and turn to face the three women.
“Sell the house and move to a smaller one?” He shook his head and continued pacing.
“People will say I cannot provide for my family! Humiliating!” With stooped shoulders
and glazed eyes, he paused to consider this thought. “ Nee ! Disastrous!”
    “Scandalous, indeed!” Elizabeth added, always the one to follow her father’s concern
over what others might think of their good family name.
    Anna studied her older sister. Ever since their mother died, Elizabeth had assumed
the position of the female head of house, helping their father make decisions. But
it was Lydia who provided a maternal presence, at least to Anna. On most occasions,
Elizabeth deferred to Lydia. However, if Lydia was not around, there was simply no
reasoning with her father and elder sister: they seemed to agree on anything and
everything as long as it maintained their image within the community. And that left
out Anna.
    As for Mary . . .
    Anna looked at her other schwester , the prettiest of the three and, being married
to Cris Musser, Mary was the only one who wore a white prayer kapp at worship service.
Her waist, while not quite as thick as Elizabeth’s, still showed the extra weight
that went with bearing children, although Anna wondered if she might be expecting
another baby already.
    Unlike Elizabeth, who worried about the family reputation, Mary tended to fret over
having to support her destitute father and two unmarried sisters. Being the only
married member of the family, and with a husband’s family that lived quite nicely,
Mary frequently expressed her anxiety of shouldering such a burden. “If you sold
your house, where would you live?”
    Once again, Anna lifted her head and stared first at her father and then at Elizabeth.
Neither one spoke. She knew what they were thinking, so with a soft smile, Anna spoke
for them. “We could stay with you, Mary.”
    This idea flustered Mary. The color rose to her cheeks and she responded with a quick
excuse. “You know that our haus is already too small! Salome Musser refuses to give
up the larger one!” She pursed her lips and sighed.
“Imagine that! Putting us into the grossdawdihaus with two small kinner !” She clicked
her tongue three times as she shook her head, clearly disapproving of her mother-in-law’s
decision. “Her own son, me, and two grandchildren! Living in such cramped quarters!
Why, it’s a wonder the bishop doesn’t interfere with Salome for being so selfish!”
    No one responded to her complaints. Nor did anyone point out that she still had a
spare bedroom, given that the two young boys shared one. However, the Eicher family
all knew what was required when Mary went on a self-indulgent rampage: a proper moment’s
hesitation, as if permitting a respectful silence to acknowledge Mary’s complaint,
before continuing to address the real situation at hand—finances.
    At last, Elizabeth broke the compulsory silence. With her hands folded together and
resting so primly on her lap, she appeared almost like an austere schoolteacher reprimanding
rambunctious young children. Only she wasn’t: she was scolding her father. “I dare
say that selling the house would raise eyebrows, Daed .” She paused, hesitating as
if mulling over her own words. “But there must be something we can do. Why, the Hostetlers
kept their family place