An Amish Gift Read Online Free Page B

already had. Despite the fact that she hadn’t invited a single friend over toher house since elementary school, they somehow all knew about her parents. Knew that her father had rarely been around when she and her older sister, Hope, were little, and that he had finally disappeared altogether. Knew that her mother, Tess, was an alcoholic who once got by on whatever money her husband sent her, and when it stopped coming, she depended on the men she dated to cover her liquor and expenses. Hope and Jennie had seen a parade of men over the years, most of whom lasted fewer than six months. They didn’t understand how their mother worked it out, but she always had enough money for their food and her alcohol, plus a new dress now and then. She was typically asleep during the day, so they would see her for a few hours in the early evening. That was Jennie’s favorite part of the day, because her mother would start out sober, able to converse with them. Some days, she would be interested in chatting with Jennie about her day, or encouraging her to talk about her biggest dreams in life; she could be cheerful, even funny. Most days, though, she would complain bitterly about her husband and the rotten hand that life had dealt her. Either way, as the hours passed, she would drink more and get less lucid, finally waving Jennie away altogether. Eventually, she would fall asleep on the living room couch, the television on.
    Jennie never stopped hoping that her mother would quit drinking one day, and they would be a happy family again, like when her father used to come home and stay for a week or two. Each visit started out the same way: her mother laughing and happy, singing in the kitchen and nicely dressed. Jennie was always certain that, this time, things were going to get better.The problem was the way the visits ended. Sooner or later, Tess would start getting drunk again every evening. From her bed, Jennie could hear her parents arguing late into the night, Tess accusing her husband of having girlfriends on the road, and not caring about her or their children. Both of them yelled, and when they started throwing things, Jennie buried her head beneath her pillow. After a few days of this, he invariably left. What puzzled Jennie was that, if he actually did care for them as he claimed, why did he disappear for months on end, and then, finally, forever? Jennie’s sister, Hope, told her she was a fool to think things would ever change, that their lives would stay miserable as long as they were there. Hope was furious at their mother for drinking and, as she saw it, driving their father away. She and Tess fought constantly. When Jennie was little, she would try to get in between them, hugging her mother’s legs, crying and begging the two of them to stop shouting.
    As Hope got older, the screaming matches usually led to her disappearing for long stretches, sometimes days at a time. The day she turned sixteen, she disappeared for good. After that, Tess retreated full-time to her bed. She lost all interest in how she and her remaining daughter would survive. Knowing her mother would only spend it on vodka, Jennie never told her about the cash she got in the mail every month, a hundred dollars, sometimes two hundred. She knew it was from Hope, although there was never a note or return address, just envelopes with postmarks from towns and cities all over the country, so many places that Jennie lost count. With that money and the income from after-school jobs, Jennie kept their tiny householdafloat. She prayed Hope would come home, or at least allow Jennie to contact her, but neither ever happened. Equally upsetting was that she realized Hope was somehow getting news about them: The money stopped coming the month after Tess died of cancer, just before Jennie and Shep got married.
    When Jennie started dating Shep, they discovered that they both lived without mothers, although for different reasons, and that they were the ones in charge at