The Postcard Read Online Free Page A

flyswatter now, hunting down the pesky, germ-ridden insects. How she hated them!
    Still amazed that Benjamin hadn’t nixed her idea of having a house pet, she freshened the puppy’s water dish, chattering with pleasure as he lapped up the cool refreshment. She’d grown up believing that animals—wild animals and farm animals alike, as well as dogs and cats—were meant to live outside in a barn or some other such place. Never in the house. So when she’d spotted the beautiful pup at the pet store, she didn’t quite know why she changed her mind, wanting to raise an animal indoors. Maybe it was the dejected, yet adorable way the puppy had cocked his head to one side, as if to say, “Won’tcha please take me home?”
    In the end, Benjamin was more than generous about purchasing the sad-eyed thing, giving Susanna full sway with the decision. Maybe he was softening in his old age, though he was just in his mid-sixties. Still, she assumed the purchase of a pet was somehow a joint retirement present to each other, possibly for optional companionship should one of them die in the next few years. How very strange such a house pet might seem to any of the People, especially when a host of cats and dogs were multiplying themselves monthly back on the farm they’d left to Noah and Joseph, their youngest sons, and their wives.
    “Copper, baby, come here to Mamma,” she cooed down at the shining eyes and wagging tail. “You want a treat now, don’tcha?”
    The dog seemed to agree that a midday snack was quite appropriate and followed her across the commodious kitchen, complete with all the modern conveniences, and stood near the refrigerator, wagging his bushy tail, eager for his treat.
    She was secretly glad they’d bought a house with electricity already installed. And the modern kitchen—what would her sisters and cousins give to live like this! Thank goodness Bishop Seth had given special permission to conduct their B&B business this way. Only one requirement: She and Benjamin were not allowed the use of electricity in their private quarters, and, of course, there was to be no television or radio anywhere in the house, which was quite all right with Susanna. Such worldly gadgets made too much racket for overnight guests anyway.
    She heard her husband and his friend chatting on the upstairs landing. Gut , she thought. They must be finished with the weighty chore.
    “Here we are, pooch.” She handed Copper a pale green treat in the shape of a miniature bone. Leaving the kitchen and rounding the corner, she hurried through the breakfast room, situated in the center of a plant-filled conservatory, then through the formal dining room. There, she met up with the men.
    “Your writing desk looks mighty nice,” Ben said, jerking his head toward the stairs. “I daresay, if I hadn’t seen it squeeze past the doorjambs, I wouldn’t have believed it myself.”
    “ Denki , Ben.” She included her husband’s friend in her thanks, offering him hot coffee and a sticky bun and inviting him to stay and sit a spell. But the man declined, shaking both his head and his hands, backing away toward the front door.
    Ben stood there with a silly grin on his face. “Well, go on now, Susie. You know you’re just achin’ to have a looksee.”
    She was eager. “Jah, I’ll get up for a peek at it.” And with that, she hastened up the stairs to the well-appointed guest room. Her eyes found the desk immediately, and she stood a moment, admiring the central placement on the long, papered wall. “It’s lieblich —lovely,” she whispered, heading for the linen closet in the hall where she kept cleaning supplies.
    Before she set about dusting the desk, she pulled up a chair. After sitting down, she proceeded to roll back the rounded wooden covering, peering into every nook and cranny. Each little drawer and opening was just as she’d remembered, and she thrilled at the opportunity to own such a magnificent piece. “I will not be