“Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas to you, too! And thank you for the bonus! I do appreciate it!”
Joseph and Sarah came up after the Englischers had left.
“Miriam, daughter, save that money! Those bonuses are far and few between, and you need to save,” Joseph said.
“Ya,” Miriam said, tucking the bills away.
***
Christmas came and went. Unlike the previous winter, this one was more mild. While it snowed, Ephrata didn’t experience the same violent blizzards and deep snows that had fallen the year before.
John worked on the next season’s crops with his father. In addition to helping him, he began to work on land his father had given to him – 200 acres. John, his father and brothers tilled the land and readied it for the crops that John wanted to plant.
Miriam began making a large quilt for her newest customer. On the date she had arranged to meet with the customers who had bought four quilts, she drove to the Amish market through several inches of snow. Greeting the relatives of her clients, she discussed the details of what they wanted to order.
“Our bedroom is painted light yellow and we have blue and green furnishings in the room. So I would like this pattern . . . right here, in blue and green with a yellow back,” the customer decided.
“OK,” Miriam said, jotting down all the details. “A full-size quilt will cost you $800. And, you, ma’am? What are you thinking of?”
“I love bright colors. I want to display a quilt in my family room on a quilt stand. I understand you made a quilt using red, blue and yellow?”
“Yes, I did. Do you want those colors or . . .?”
“I have winter-white walls. My carpet is blue, so I’d like my quilt to be, oh, a sapphire blue, like this, then an emerald-green, like this and a royal purple like this. They’re all cool colors and they’ll pull the decor together beautifully,” said the younger Englischer woman.
Miriam quickly jotted her notes down.
“Your quilt will be a full-sized quilt as well, so it will also cost you $800. I need payment of one-half of that as a deposit, as well as your phone numbers. I have just begun working on another order, which should be done in about four months. Once that’s finished, ma’am, I’ll start on yours. When I’ve finished each of your quilts, I will call you and we can arrange delivery.”
“Girls, you are going to love her work!” gushed the woman’s’ relative. “We love the quilts Miss Beiler made for us. The kids love them!”
“Thank you!”
January slipped into February and Miriam worked steadily on her quilting orders. When she needed new supplies, she and Anna King got together and drove to either the Amish market or to an Englischer fabric and crafting store.
“How are your wedding plans coming along?” Anna asked.
“Not bad at all! Mamm and I are getting family to help with the food and John and I are making arrangements to visit all our family for our honeymoon,” Miriam said. As she thought of the honeymoon, her cheeks heated up and she loosened her neck scarf slightly.
Anna giggled. She had begun courting a young man from the district.
Miriam looked at her with a saucy grin on her face.
“I think love is loosening you up just a little bit!”
“Oh, love! Loosening me up!” Anna said. Now, it was her turn for pink cheeks.
“So? When is the wedding?” Miriam asked as her eyes twinkled with mischief.
“If there’s to be a wedding, it won’t be for another year-and-a-half, at least,” Anna said loftily. “We want to get to know each other well.”
“Well, of course. I’m just glad that John and I have been able to get together with each other, even though the harvesting season made that difficult.”
“At least we know what every harvest season will be like, won’t we?” Anna asked
“Not to mention planting season,” added Miriam, shivering suddenly.
“Are you all right? You shivered.” Anna asked.
“Ya. I’m fine. It’s just . . . every time I pass that intersection, I remember Lance Newman nearly striking my horse,” Miriam muttered.
“Do you still get memories?”
“Ya, and I suppose I always will. He could have destroyed my life.”
“Ya. I’m glad you see that now.”
“Anna, I think he was just as crazy as Esther Zook is. If he was, I don’t know what his diagnosis would be. When he tried to get to me after the jury said he was guilty . . .” Miriam broke off.
“Miriam, it wasn’t your fault. Like you said, he was insane. How is Esther?”
“I haven’t seen her. Her doctor doesn’t want her to see me or John because she’s still getting back to normal. I pray for her and her family. Schizophrenia sounds . . .”
“Scary, is what it sounds. Having a disease in your brain that affects how you think . . . ya, I pray for her and her family as well. She couldn’t help it – even though she did try to kill you. How is your daed’s arm?”
“Thank God mamm and Mrs. Fisher are both nurses! He didn’t have to visit the doctor. Mamm and Mrs. Fisher cleaned his wound and dressed it. When we got home that night, mamm started taking care of it so it wouldn’t get infected. He’s back to normal now. The only thing that still bothers him is his old injury when it’s cold and damp,” Miriam said.
“I wonder if she knows about your engagement,” Anna mused as she drove down the snowy road.
“Nee, because we haven’t announced or published it yet. We won’t do that until several weeks before this year’s wedding season. You, mamm, daed, John’s mamm and daed and our brothers and sisters are the only ones who know. And, as far as Esther Zook goes, I think that’s the safest thing. I don’t want her to have another one of those scary attacks,” Miriam said, shivering as she remembered the scene in the Zook kitchen.
“Oh, Miriam, you are so brave! I would have fallen apart,” Anna said.
“No, you would not have, Anna. You are a very strong woman – a very strong Amish woman and your faith in God would have pulled you through, just as it did me.”
By this time, Anna was pulling up to Miriam’s front gate.
“I’ll see you at meeting this Sunday. You do know that it was moved from the Zook’s farm to ours? Bishop Stoltzfus doesn’t believe Esther is ready for the stress of all the crowds,” she said, reminding Miriam of the location.
“Ya. I know. We will be there and we will sit together. Let’s see if we can get John and Ephraim to sit at the same bench. Then, we can sit together,” Miriam said, hopping to the ground. “Denki for the ride!”
“OK! When Ephraim comes by, I’ll ask him about sitting with you and John. I think he’ll agree,” Anna said, waving to Miriam.
As February wore on, with two heavy snow storms, Miriam worked hard on her quilting orders. Because these were smaller orders, she was able to help Sarah around the house before beginning to work.
John and his brothers planned what would be planted on the acreage his father had given to him. Because John would now be busy with his own land, Samuel hired an Amish youth to help him with monitoring the crops once they were planted.
John plotted out what he wanted to plant. Buying the seed, he came home. Samuel looked at the plans he had drawn out, approving them.
“This is good. You’ll make good use of the land and your crops will be profitable,” Samuel said.
John and Samuel planted their crops and began tending them, weeding the fields so the crops would get all the water they needed. John’s brothers helped him keep up with the work in his fields.
It was late March when John looked up from his crops one afternoon. Seeing a buggy passing down the road, he did a double-take when he saw that Esther was the passenger. Remembering the fearful scene in the Zook living room, he turned his back to the buggy and, dropping to his knees, began to pull weeds. As he worked, he prayed that the foot-high crops would shield him. Several minutes later, he dared to look up. Se
eing the buggy in the distance, he realized that Esther hadn’t seen him or she hadn’t recognized him. Sitting next to her daed, she was facing forward.
John slumped to the fertile soil, letting out a huge sigh of relief.
That evening, he went to see Miriam.
“I was working on my crops this afternoon and saw Mr. Zook and Esther coming down the road,” he told Miriam. Pacing back and forth, he continued. “I didn’t want her to see me, so I got onto my knees and weeded that way. Miriam, I was praying so hard. I don’t want anything ever to happen to you! After several minutes, I looked up – I don’t think she saw me.”
“She’s back! John, I hope she takes her medicine every day! Mamm was telling me that, if she doesn’t she can slip back into that delusional thinking again. I think we should tell mamm – and pray for Esther and her family,” Miriam said, standing up.
Moving to the kitchen, they found Sarah reading her Bible.
“Mamm, I’m sorry to disturb you. John has some news that I think you should hear,” Miriam said.
“I think I know what that news is,” Sarah said, looking at Miriam. “Esther Zook has returned to Ephrata from the hospital. I’m going to speak with her mamm tomorrow. She wants to know what she should do and what she shouldn’t do. I thought you knew she was coming back!”
“Well, ya, I did. I mean, Anna and I were talking how the last meeting was moved from the Zook farm to Anna’s parents’ farm. They want to give her every opportunity to heal and get better. I just . . . mamm, if she takes her medicine like she’s supposed to, she won’t, well, fall apart if she sees me?”
“Nee, she shouldn’t. But, given what happened when she had her breakdown, it’s probably not a good idea to seek her out. Did you have any kind of friendship with her before?”
“Ya. Remember I was giving her quilting lessons?”
“Oh, yes, I do! And those ended because she started . . .” Sarah flapped her hand, indicating that Esther had begun getting fixated on John at about that time.
“Ya. She started liking John and wouldn’t leave him alone. Mamm, we haven’t published our engagement and we won’t for some months. Should we invite Esther to the wedding?”
“Let’s talk to the bishop about that. Why are you asking?” asked Sarah with a crease between her eyebrows.
“Because I don’t want to put any stress on Esther. It wasn’t her fault she fell apart and got sick. But at the same time, I don’t want her doing the same things,” Miriam said.
“Ahh. Let’s talk to the bishop. It may be that he’ll give her mamm and daed a warning and they’ll try to get her out of town, just to protect her and the two of you,” Sarah predicted.
“I think that would be best,” John said as he thought.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
March came with wind, rain and warming temperatures. John planted more crops and soon found himself busy six days a week with them.
Miriam finished one quilt and, after delivering it to her customer, started on the next order. Anna came to the Beiler farm to work with her one day.
“Have any of your customers ever asked you to cross stitch anything on their quilts?” Anna asked as she stitched.
“Ya, in fact I just took an order the other day. I was going to ask if you could help me with that. Is it better to stitch the design on the fabric before I sew the layers together?” Miriam asked.
“Oh, ya! Stitch the pieces together. Before you attach the quilting, I’ll cross stitch the design they want – have they told you what they want?” Anna asked.
“It’s going to be a baby quilt and they want . . . let me get my notes. I can’t remember,” Miriam said, leafing through her pages. “Okay, they want a baby bottle stitched in blue, then a rattle stitched in pink. It’s going to be a quilt made of squares, so the bottle and rattle should both fit on individual squares, on diagonal ends of the blanket. If you know what I mean!” Miriam giggled as she spoke.
“I think I do know what you mean,” Anna said, turning to a clean page in the notebook. Grabbing a pencil, she drew a quick square with smaller squares inside. She sketched a small bottle in one square on one side of the blanket then, moving to a square on the diagonal opposite, she sketched out a baby rattle. “Is this what you’re talking about?”
“Yes, exactly! Can you do that?”
“Oh, ya. Just get me the pieces when you have them and I’ll do them for you,” Anna promised.
“Oh, denki! I’ll pay you for your materials and work,” Miriam promised.
“OK, but I’m giving you a discount because we’re friends,” Anna said as she handed the notebook back to Miriam.
“Nee! I’ll pay you the full amount that you’d charge your customers. You have to buy new supplies and it wouldn’t be fair,” Miriam said, resuming her sewing.
***
The next Sunday was a meeting Sunday. It was held at the farm of one of the deacons. Miriam came out looking for Anna. Seeing the Zooks, she slowed for a second, then realized that Esther was not with them.
Oh, they must be hurting! She walked up to the Zooks and, holding out her hand, greeted both of them.
“How are you? How is Esther doing?”
“We are fine, denki for asking. Esther is doing much better. We think she recognizes just how sick she truly was and she doesn’t want to get that sick again. For now, she is taking her medication exactly as ordered,” said Micah.
Miriam noticed that his eyes were sad and tired.
“I will pray for her continued recovery, Mr. and Mrs. Zook.”
“Denki. You are a very sweet girl,” Rebekah said.
The meeting started. Three hours later, the men moved the benches, rearranging them inside the barn so everyone could eat. Outside, the wind freshened and storm clouds began to roll over the community.
Once the lunch had ended, fat raindrops began to splat onto the ground. The Amish youth stayed inside the barn, taking their seats at the long benches for the singing. At ten, when the singing ended, so had the early-spring rainstorm. Established courting couples and those who had not yet paired off climbed into their buggies, going home.
***
The year moved into summer, with heat, buzzing insects and welcome storms that helped the district’s crops grow. John looked with satisfaction at his crops. By now, they were almost waist-high and thriving. He and his brothers worked on them every week, weeding and pruning.
Miriam continued taking new quilting orders and working six days a week on her orders. The money she earned went into savings, to help her parents with the bills and to help buy the material for her wedding dress.
“Miriam, have you thought about the color you want for your wedding dress?” Sarah asked, coming into the quilting room.
“I was thinking of a sky-blue, mamm. Something I can wear to meeting Sundays,” responded Miriam, cutting the threads on her quilt.
“Ya, that’s a good choice. Sky-blue will serve you well and, with a white apron and new prayer kapp, you’ll be very presentable,” Sarah said, sitting next to Miriam. “Let’s measure you this weekend and buy the material and thread next weekend,” Sarah suggested thinking of the next few days.
“Ya! My wedding dress! Mamm, I am getting excited! Oh. Does Esther still stay at home all the time?”
“That is my understanding. I was talking with her mamm. She’s afraid of coming into town too much. I think she’s afraid of getting sick again.”
“What are they going to do when John and I get married?”
“Daughter, we’ll cross that bridge when we arrive at it. We haven’t even published your banns yet. I’m thinking that her parents will have her go stay with a family member in another district. I have been trying to find out what Esther thinks of John. That’s another very important question, you know,” Sarah said, giving Miriam a significant look.
“Ya, I know. I would hate to wake up one morning and find that she is still . . . obsessed . . . with him, posing a threat to him, me, you, daed or John’
s parents,” Miriam said with a slight frown.
“Keep praying for them, Miriam. We know it isn’t her fault that she has this condition. But if she stops taking her medication, she is responsible for anything that happens.”
Miriam looked at her mother, unable to say anything after that pronouncement. Her throat had closed in fear. After swallowing several times, trying to dislodge the hard ball of fear inside, she opened her mouth, then closed it.
“Mamm . . . we’re always going to have to be watchful, aren’t we?”
“You mean for Esther? Ya, we are. Thankfully we know about her schizophrenia. Even more thankfully, she knows what could happen if she stops taking her medication and she’s staying on it. I will pray for her continued good health,” Sarah said with a firm nod as she stood up.
EPILOGUE
It was now Wedding Season in Ephrata. All the district’s crops had been harvested, stored and made ready for sale to stores and other farmers. Miriam, her mother, sisters, aunts and grandmothers had been busy for several weeks, making Miriam’s wedding dress, apron and prayer kapp. The stove and oven had been going all day, six days a week as they baked and cooked the foods that would be served at the wedding festivities.
Families began making plans to attend, with family members coming in from other cities and districts. Miriam and Sarah were busy cleaning every room in the house, preparing for family to come and stay for several days.
Joseph came in, stamping mud from his boots and carrying several bags of food.
“Miriam and Sarah, you might want to hear this. I just ran into Micah Zook. He and Rebekah sent Esther to stay with a relative outside of Philadelphia in another district. She’ll be staying there for the next few weeks until Wedding Season is over. And . . . he told me that Esther realizes that she was obsessed with John. She is the one who made the decision to be away from Ephrata when you marry John, Miriam. It appears that she has enough self-awareness that she thinks it’s best to be away. For that, I am thanking God!”
Sarah and Miriam looked at each other, open-mouthed.
Winter of Faith Collection Page 21
