The Decision Read Online Free Page A

“I guess you’re right; I am awfully tired. Danki for sitting here so patiently while I rambled on and on about the past.”
    Elaine placed her hand over Grandma’s. “It’s all right. You needed to talk, and I hope you’ll share things about Grandpa with me whenever you want, because I enjoy hearing them.”
    Tears welled in Grandma’s eyes. “We who grieve will never forget the ones we’ve lost, but we can be thankful for the years we had with your
grossdaadi
, for he filled our lives with love and laughter and gave me a sense of joy beyond compare.” She squeezed Elaine’s fingers. “And if I’m not mistaken, someday soon you’ll find that same kind of love, laughter, and joy with Jonah Miller.”
    “I hope so,” Elaine said in a near whisper. Truth was, she wasn’t sure Jonah would be willing to wait until she felt ready for marriage. And if he wasn’t, she wouldn’t blame him for that.

CHAPTER 3
    W hen Elaine entered the kitchen the following morning, she found a stack of Grandma’s good dishes sitting on the table, and Grandma was at the sink, washing glasses.
    “
Guder mariye
, Grandma.”
    “Good morning.”
    “Why do you have the good dishes out?” Elaine questioned.
    “Have you forgotten that we have a group of tourists coming here on Friday?”
    “Well, no, but…”
    “Thought I would get a jump on the dishes while I have some time to clean them. That way, they’ll be ready for our guests. Then I’ll take them out to the dining-room table.” Grandma turned and offered Elaine a weak smile. Dark circles rimmed her pale blue eyes, and Elaine was sure she hadn’t slept well, if at all, last night.
    “Oh, Grandma, I think it’s too soon for that. I had planned on calling the tour group director this morning and canceling our Friday-night dinner.”
    Grandma shook her head determinedly. “We made a commitment, Elaine, and we need to stick to it. Besides, we could sure use the money.”
    Elaine couldn’t argue with that, but she wasn’t up to cooking a big meal for fifty people, and she didn’t think Grandma was, either. “Maybe we can reschedule it for another time,” Elaine suggested, moving closer to the sink.
    “No, we can’t.” Grandma reached for another glass to wash, carefully immersing it in the soapy water. “The people who’ll be coming are from out of town, not to mention that they’ve paid for their meal in advance.”
    Elaine sighed deeply, picking up the dish towel to dry what Grandma had washed. “We can refund their money, Grandma, and I’m sure once I explain the circumstances to the tour director, she’ll understand.”
    “We need the money,” Grandma repeated.
    “There will be other tour groups, and we’re not going to starve.” Elaine’s frustration mounted. Didn’t Grandma realize that neither of them was up to hosting a big dinner right now? Not only would they have the meal to prepare, but while the tourists were eating, Elaine and Grandma would be expected to say a few words and answer any questions they were asked about the Amish way of life. They’d both be exhausted by the end of the evening.
    “I know you’re worried that I’m not up to this,” Grandma said, “but keeping busy will help me not to think so much about missing your grossdaadi. I think it would be good for you, too. Maybe we’ll both get a good night’s sleep after entertaining the group.”
    “Okay, we’ll do the dinner,” Elaine finally conceded. “Guess I’d better head over to Rockome Garden Foods and pick up a few things that we still need for the dinner.”

    Soon after Elaine left, Edna carried her good dishes out to the room where she and Elaine hosted their dinners. She wouldn’t set the table today, but wanted to have everything here and ready to put in place on Friday morning. As Edna covered the stack of dinnerware with one of the embroidered cloth napkins to keep the dishes free of dust, she thought about what else she could do before Friday’s