“He doesn’t know you like I do. Remember, you are the woman who taught me to cook for a crowd. If you can do that, you can handle this.”
“I’m glad you have so much faith in me.” Turning back to the beautiful quilt fabric in front of her, Katie said, “But for now I want to spend some time on this quilt. That is important, too.”
They both started organizing the fabric. It was almost impossible to sit still when there was quilting to do. Anna eyed Katie a little more closely. “So are you going to tell me how things are going?”
“You heard what I said.”
“And, I also heard what you did not say. Come on Katie, this is me.”
Anna was right. Maybe her ear really was what Katie needed. A friendly person to listen objectively. “All right,” she said haltingly. “Things have been…more difficult than I had imagined.”
“How so?”
“I don’t rightly know. Things have been awkward in so many ways. I’m having trouble finding my place here. I had hoped that Jonathan and I might have some time together, but that seems like it will never happen.”
“It’s only been a few weeks.”
But what an isolated time it had been! “That is true.”
“How are the girls?”
“Confused. Hannah is a dear, but Mary harbors a lot of anger, I tell you. She doesn’t trust me.”
“It must be hard, losing her mother.”
“I’m sure it is. There’s been lots of other changes, too. Jonathan’s working at the lumberyard has been a hard adjustment, I’m thinkin’. The girls were used to knowing he was close by even if they didn’t see him.”
After hesitating about whether to divulge more information, Katie decided to add some more. “And, then there’s everything going on with Winnie.”
Anna leaned forward. “I’ve been thinking a bit about her trip and that first meeting with Malcolm. Have you heard from her? Was Malcolm everything she’d thought he was going to be? Is she happy?”
“Anna! You sure you’ve only been thinking about her trip a ‘bit’?”
“Okay. Maybe more than a little bit. Though we don’t know each other too well, I do hope the best for her. I know how hard it is to jump into a new situation. So, what have you heard?”
Thinking back to the sound of Winnie’s voice, Katie hedged. “Well, she called Jonathan at the lumberyard to let us know she arrived safe and sound. The Troyers have a phone booth at the end of their road to use for emergencies and such.”
“I’m pleased to hear that, but I’m more curious as to how she’s finding Malcolm. Did she say? How are they getting along, face to face?”
Katie looked at her friend with a new awareness. “I’m now realizing that you are not terribly hopeful about Winnie’s trip.”
This time it was obvious that Anna was the one who was choosing her words carefully. “I’m hopeful that she finds happiness.”
“But you don’t think Winnie will?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“It’s what you are not saying that interests me. Truly, Anna, you don’t sound as if you hold out much hope for a happy ending for Malcolm and Winnie.”
“I don’t, not exactly. Before she left, Winnie seemed so eager to find Malcolm as everything she wanted. I’m afraid that she will either not see his faults or not take the time to really get to know him,” Anna said, not looking away. “This sounds obvious, but people are hard to really know. Sometimes it takes weeks or months to see who the real person is. Sometimes first impressions can be so misleading.”
“You are speaking of Rob, aren’t you?”
Anna looked away. “It’s hard for me not to think of Rob when I hear about Winnie’s excitement to meet the man behind his letters. I mean, on the surface Rob looked polished and handsome and successful. He was running for a seat in the House of Representatives. It was only after we’d become serious that I realized how controlling and abusive he was. It’s easy to only look at the surface of people. Far harder when you dig deeper. We all have so many layers on for reasons.”
“Even Henry?”
Anna grinned. “Most especially Henry. He’d been hurt when Rachel left him for the Englischer. When we first started talking, I was sure he was just a sour, glum man.”
“And he thought you were simply a spoiled, flighty fancy girl.”
Anna looked serious again. “We were lucky, because we found out that our hearts matched and complimented each other. That isn’t always the case, though.”
“No, I imagine not.”