Alberta, Canada, was heating up. Most people thought that Northern Alberta stayed pretty cool… and they were right. For the most part. But every summer there was a heat wave that made all the cool-weather-loving amphibians wilt. And the heat wave had begun!
Amelia was also seven months pregnant, and not only was she eating for two, but she was cooling off for two, too!
“Amelia?” George called.
“I’m in the kitchen!” she called back.
Amelia sat in front of the fridge with the door open, finding some relief in the refrigerated air.
“Oh, good idea!” George said. “But I think the ice cream is going to melt…”
Amelia started to close the fridge.
“No, no!” said George. “I’m just suggesting you eat the ice cream.”
Amelia pulled out two tubs, and handed one to George.
“I’m going to get you a hat, Amelia,” George said thoughtfully. “It will help keep you cool when we go out. I happen to know about a place that sells Amish hats.”
Amelia’s eyebrows went up. “Oh?”
“But shh.” George winked. “It’s going to be a surprise.”
George had found a little farm on the outskirts of town that had some Amish items for sale. The owners of the farm were a wonderful family. They sold milk and eggs, and they had Amish family in Pennsylvania.
So George drove out to the farm and purchased two Amish hats. Amish women normally wore a white covering called a “kapp,” but George didn’t think it would be appropriate to buy a prayer kapp for Amelia. It might be seen as disrespectful to the Amish faith. While Amelia was a Christian frog, she wasn’t Amish, and they wanted to be respectful. So he bought two straw hats–one for him and one for Amelia.
“I love it!” Amelia squealed. “George, this is wonderful! How does it look? Do I look good in a hat, or silly?”
It was hard for George to tell, because when he looked at Amelia, he just saw Amelia, and Amelia always looked wonderful to him. There was Amelia with a hat, and Amelia without a hat.
“You look downright adorable in a hat,” George decided.
“I made lemonade, George,” Amelia said. “Come have a glass with me. It’s very cooling and refreshing.”
These hot summer days seemed to last forever. From sun up at 5 in the morning, to sunset at almost 10 pm, those summer days were loooong. And hot! But when the cool northerly winds started to blow, they would know it was time for their pollywog to arrive.
This was their last summer of being just the two of them.
Mama Johns, Patricia Johns’s mother, normally did the mail runs. She would gather up the packages that were being sent out to the winners of Patricia’s newsletter giveaways, and she’d bring them to the post box. But one day, Mama Johns called George on the phone.
“George, I have a big favour to ask of you,” Mama Johns said. “I have an appointment today, and Patricia has some packages for her readers who won. I do hate to make them wait. Disappointing Patricia’s dear readers would just break my heart. So I was wondering… would YOU do the mail run today?”
George was very pleased to be asked. So he gathered up the packages from Patricia and drove to the nearest mail box.
While George was squeezing the packages into the mail box, the mail carrier arrived in his truck.
“Oh, thank goodness!” George said. “These packages won’t all fit. I’m dropping off packages for Patricia Johns. Have you heard of her?”
“Can’t say that I have,” he replied.
“She writes romance novels,” George said. “My wife is her editor.”
“You don’t say,” the mail carrier said. He collected the packages and put them in his big canvas bag.
“How long will it take for the packages to get where they’re going?” George asked.
The mail carrier pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Well, you know how in the United States the mail carriers have a vow where they will not let wind or rain or snow or sleet stop them from delivering mail?”
“Yes!” George said.
“We don’t have that here,” the man said.
“Oh…” George’s heart fell.
“We don’t need it!” the mail carrier concluded with a laugh. “We’re Canadians. We’re used to weather. It happens to the best of us, and everything just keeps right on rolling no matter the weather. Don’t worry. These packages will only take a couple of weeks to arrive.”
“Oh!” George said. He was very happy to hear this, because like Mama Johns, he hated to disappoint Patricia’s readers, too. They were awfully nice people, and George much preferred being the grand hero. Really, who didn’t?
He typed a text into his phone to Mama Johns.
‘The packages are sent.’
‘Thank you, thank you!’ Mama Johns texted back. ‘You’re the best, George!’
And George felt a little bit heroic.
I hope you enjoy these little froggy tales about my Knitted Newlyweds. I certainly have a lot of fun putting them together. If you’d like to be entered into one of my giveaways, sign up for my newsletters. Not only are there four winners chosen each month, but there are normally some extra chances to win, too.
Happy reading!
❤
Patricia Johns 
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