Amish Christmas Twins. Shelley Shepard Gray
don’t . . . truly?”
“It’s my fault,” Jemima blurted. “I told him about your secret.”
“What secret is that?”
“The secret about how you and Mrs. Kurtz are going to be having twins.”
“How did you hear that?”
“I was standing outside the living room and heard you two talking.”
“Were you eavesdropping on purpose?”
“No. I was going to ask you something. I mean, was gonna ask Mrs. Kurtz. But then you two sounded so serious, I didn’t think I should interrupt.”
“And then?”
Sounding defeated, she answered, “And then I heard what you said.”
“Help me understand what I said that made you so upset. What did I say that was so bad that it made you both want to leave?” When they both remained silent, Will took a stab in the dark. “Is it the twins? Is that it? Do you two really not like babies?”
Roy’s eyes got as big as saucers. “Nee!”
“What is it then? I’m not a mind reader.”
“I heard how you were going to change things. How you and Mrs. Kurtz were going to move us the day after Christmas.”
“Maybe not that soon, but yes.”
“But I don’t want to do that!” Roy blurted as he started crying.
Will could hear E.A. walking down the stairs. No doubt their children’s commotion had woken her up. He knew he should probably be upset with himself, but he was secretly glad.
“I know you like your room, Roy, but your next one will be all right.”
“I like my night-light.”
“I do, too,” Will said patiently. “Roy, I’m not going to take it away from you. You can put it in your next room right beside your bed.”
“But what if they won’t let me have it?”
Will stared at Roy. “They?”
“Who are you speaking of?” E.A. asked as she joined them.
“The new people,” Jemima said.
E.A. sent a puzzled look Will’s way. “Honey, what new people?”
“The people you’re gonna make us go to.”
“You’re going to make us leave and we won’t have our things and the next people might be mean,” Roy said—seconds before he burst into loud, messy tears.
Opening her arms, E.A. pulled him onto her lap. The six-year-old threw his arms around her, buried his face in her neck, and then cried even harder.
It broke Will’s heart.
“I came late to this conversation, but I have to admit to being really confused,” E.A. said. “Where are you two going?”
“To the next people. I heard you say you were going to send us away.”
Will shook his head. “We aren’t taking you anywhere.”
“I heard you!” Jemima cried. “You said that we would adjust to our new place!”
“Did you hear the rest of the conversation?” E.A. asked. When Jemima shook her head, she added, “If you had, you would have heard the part about how the babies are going to need their own room. You would have heard how worried I was about making the two of you share a room again until we can afford to add another bedroom in the house.”
“That’s what you were talking about?”
“To be sure, Jemima,” Will said. “I know you don’t know us well yet, but I hope you will start learning to trust us. If we only wanted you to live with us until Christmas Day, we would have made that plain from the beginning.”
“You want us forever?” Roy asked.
E.A. opened her arms. “Oh, jah, Roy. We want you and Jemima for a long time. Forever and forever.”
Chapter 15
Thirty minutes later, with her arms firmly around little Roy, E.A. looked over at Jemima. Sitting across from them in her dress and cloak, she looked as serious as ever.
And, E.A. thought, twice as sad.
“What’s wrong, Jemima?” E.A. asked softly.
“I feel embarrassed because I misunderstood everything. I’m sorry that I made everyone get up out of bed in the middle of the night.”
“Hey now. Don’t start making things worse than they are. I was awake already, remember?” Will asked.
“I remember.”
“That takes care of that. Now, let’s talk about something else.”
“What?”
“Do you think it’s possible for you to begin to trust us?”
“Jah.”
“Are you sure?”
“Well, I want to trust you both.” Her voice drifted off.
“But you’ve learned to protect yourself, haven’t you?” E.A. said gently.
“Jah. Not everything I want to happen does.”
“Nothing happens like that for anyone,” Will said. “Trust and faith are a lot alike. Both mean believing in something without knowing for sure about the facts. And you can set yourself up for disappointment.”
“But think about Mary when the angels and the Lord told her that her baby was special. Or when the Wise Men were encouraged to ride a great distance to see the future King. Or all the times since when miracles have happened and blessings have occurred to people who might not even have deserved them.”
“You’re talking about Christmas Day,” Roy said.
“I am. Faith is hard. Learning to trust after one has been betrayed before is hard, too. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it.”
Will studied them for a long moment before standing up. “I’ll be right back,” he said before disappearing down the hall.
Jemima looked at E.A. “Is he upset?”
“Nee. Will doesn’t get upset about much. And especially not about things like this.” Already having a pretty good idea about what her husband was doing, E.A. folded her hands neatly on the table. “I guess we’ll just have to sit tight until he returns.”
When Will came back, he was holding a manila folder filled with papers. “I guess I should have been listening to my own advice about having faith and trust,” he said in a quiet tone. “E.A. and I have been filling out this paperwork and have been in close contact with Melanie and the lawyers, but it all takes time.”
“Will, tell them what you’re holding,” E.A. prompted.
“Oh. Of course.” He set the papers on the table. “This is the adoption paperwork we’ve been working on.” Opening up the packet, he flipped through the papers until he came to E.A.’s favorite piece. “Look at this, you two. What do you see?”
Jemima and Roy got on their feet and studied the official-looking document. After one or two seconds, Jemima’s eyes widened. “There’s our names.”
E.A. smiled. “That’s right,” she agreed, running a finger along their printed names. “Here are Jemima Mary Clark and Roland Irwin Clark.”
Roy giggled. “No one calls me Roland Irwin.”
“I think it’s a mighty fine name,