“You don’t say! When was this?”

“This morning, just after she checked in. Wherever she’s from, don’t you think that get-up of hers is a little over the top? By the way, I can tell you right now that the ladies don’t much like her.”

“Oh?” After returning to the inn to check in Surimanda Baikal, I’d hurried straight over to Yoder ’s Corner Market to engage in a little of what I call “good gossip,” and so had missed out on whatever might have gone on back here at the PennDutch.

I know, there are those who probably frown on “good gossip,” but frankly, I see the dissemination of good gossip as my civic duty. After all, a timely and accurate dispersal of facts may well prevent the spread of erroneous commentary that could hurt both the feelings and reputation of the subject. Better to defuse the malicious gossip vendors with the truth, I always say.

Peewee laughed happily. It was Cowabunga who snorted now.

“Yeah,” Peewee said, “at least I can speak for Tiny. I tell you, Miss Yoder, she got her nose out of joint the second she laid eyes on that woman. ‘A phony,’ that’s what she called her.”

“A phony what?”

“A phony Russian, of course.”

“But you hadn’t spoken to her yet, had you?”

His head swiveled enough to show me his scowl. “Well, anyone could see that she was dressed up to look like she’d stepped out of the pages of Dr. Zhivago. Besides, my Tiny is an excellent judge of character; she certainly had you pegged.”

I stiffened. “Excuse me?”

“Yeah, she said that she could see right off that you were tough on the outside-which made you a brilliant businesswoman-but inside you were one fabulous human being. Her words exactly.”

My fabulous insides were suddenly glowing like the interior of a coke furnace. “You don’t say?”

“Yeah,” he said, “you’re a big hit. From what I gather, the others seem to feel that way as well.”

Moi, a big hit! Finally, a group of guests who appreciated me for who I was and the inn for what it was supposed to be. It was a moment I sinfully wished to savor-I’d even laminate it if I could-but then, thankfully, I remembered that Proverbs 16:18 warns us that pride goeth before destruction. The ten-gallon pail that Peewee was attempting to fill was now two-thirds full, which meant that Cowabunga was almost dry. A dry Cowabunga wouldn’t take kindly to some stranger tugging on her teats, and unless I intervened on her behalf, Peewee Timms could possibly be kicked as far as the Maryland border-and him without provisions!

“Time to let up on the big gal,” I cried.

As he stood, he flexed his fingers and craned his neck. “I can’t remember when I’ve had so much fun.”

“You really enjoyed that?”

“Oh yeah!”

“Then how about a repeat performance tomorrow morning-at, say, six o’clock?”

“You got yourself a deal, Miss Yoder.”

Knowing that I was a big hit with everyone did not prevent me from saying grace at the dinner table. The Good Lord should be properly thanked, and if perchance we should lose some of our admirers by doing so-well, so be it.

“Bow your heads and close your eyes, please,” I said. “I am about to subject you folks to a full-length Protestant grace.”

“What does that mean?” Carl Zambezi said. “Olivia and I are Catholic.”

“It means that her prayer will be much longer than anything you’re used to,” my Jewish husband said.

“It means that the food will get cold,” my little munchkin said. “Won’t it, Papa?”

“Shhh.”

“But last time you said the mashed potatoes was like stones they was so cold.”

“Well, there was that-and the gravy was more like a ball of Silly Putty by then.”

Little Jacob giggled. “And tell them what you said about the peas, Papa.”

“You mean that they were so cold and hard, I could have shot them out of your pellet gun-if your mother hadn’t taken it away from you.”

I stood up, inadvertently dragging a good third of the tablecloth with me. Thank heavens I don’t serve my guests anything other than water with which to wet their whistles before dessert is served, because I hear that red wine can be difficult to remove from fine polyester blends. As for the Silly Putty gravy that spilled hither, thither, and yon, in a day or two it would harden enough for me to take hammer and chisel to.

“A pellet gun is not an appropriate gift for a four-year-old! Or for anyone, for that matter!”

“You see what I have to put up with?” the Babester said, but he winked.

Little Jacob, who was sitting at the far end of the table, next to his father, tugged on his arm. “Papa, tell ’em what you said about the wice pudding.”

I stamped a slender but exceptionally long foot. “Stop it! Gabriel, just because you mother doesn’t cook for you anymore is no reason to say vicious things about Freni’s food.”

“It’s not Freni’s cooking, dear; it’s your interminable prayers.”

“Papa, what does ‘termin’ble’ mean?”

“Oy vey!” I said, clapping my hands to my cheeks.

Olivia Zambezi was seated to my immediate left. Perhaps because she was the oldest female present, she felt she had the right to lean toward me and whisper behind the back of her hand. It was, however, a stage whisper that could have been heard in a back bleacher-with a military jet flying maneuvers overhead.

“Really, Miss Yoder, your behavior at the moment is a bit over-the-top.”

“Uh-oh,” the Babester said.

“Uh-oh,” my little man said.

Nobody likes to be chided, much less in front of others, and least of all by a complete stranger. Okay, so maybe some folks go in for public scoldings, but certainly not this mild-mannered Mennonite woman. At the moment my hackles were hiked so high, they scratched my armpits.

“You are absolutely right,” I said to Olivia Zambezi, as I settled back into my seat. “Gabe, darling, pull the cloth down at your end.”

“Sure thing, hon.”

“And you, dear,” I said to Olivia Zambezi, whilst smiling broadly, “are a lovely bunch of Huafa mischt.”

“Why, thank you.”

“Think nothing of it,” I said brightly.

“What’s Huafa mischt?” Barbie Nyle just had to chirp.

“It must be flowers,” George Nyle said. “Probably roses.”

“Papa,” my littlest troublemaker said, “why did Mama call the old lady a bunch of horse poop?”

It was one thing for the New Jersey gang of six to suddenly decide that they preferred to drive all the way back into Bedford for pizza, but they didn’t have to invite Surimanda Baikal to go with them. Although what really took the cake was when the Babester asked if he and Little Jacob could tag along. Permission was granted as long as he brought dessert home with him, which he was more than happy to do.

So there I was, alone and abandoned, a hapless orphan waif (indeed, my adoptive parents are dead, squished as they were in that horrible tunnel accident). All this pain and sorrow, this tsuris, just because I wanted to say a proper grace before eating. Was that really too much to ask? Okay, so perhaps I’d been out of line with the Huafa mischt comment, but I’d had a hard life; and Gabe should have stuck by me-no matter what. Isn’t that what marriage was all about?

Yes, I know, life is hard for all of us, but for me it has been particularly hard. Who but me could understand the trauma of being just shy of twenty-seven and having to shop for a pair of coffins, each over four feet wide, but only two inches high? Even just recalling that horrible day caused me to throw back my head and commence howling.

“Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen. Nobody knows but Jesus.”

Someone tapped me on the shoulder.