Angela had been pushing up, trying her best to get up on all fours. She will be soon, thought Marlena. She fingered through the mail and found mostly letters for Mammi—three from her older sisters in Hickory Hollow and Strasburg, and a couple of circle letters. But there were two for Marlena—one from her sister Katie and the other from Nat Zimmerman. Smiling, she had to decide which to open first. At the sound of a buggy, Marlena spotted one of the neighbors coming down the hill in a gray family carriage and waved. She decided to read her sister’s letter first, because she wanted to savor Nat’s later, when she had plenty of time to read it slowly. Dear Marlena, How are you? Thank goodness you got to come for Luella’s funeral. Even though it was a hard day for all of us, it made me happy to see you and Angela Rose. Oh, that little one brings a smile to my face! I loved holding her in the parking lot when we first got there.
