A Beautiful Arrangement

by Beth Wiseman

  “She was parked there Wednesday night too.” She pointed to Margaret’s truck, then quickly resumed her stance.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Samuel squinted as he shifted his weight.

  “I didn’t want you to worry.”

  “Is there a reason I should be worried? I mean, more worried than I am when she’s parked at the end of our driveway, which seems odd?” He looked in the direction of the truck. Its lights weren’t even on. “This doesn’t feel right.”

  Lydia huffed again and lowered her arms to her sides. “Promise you won’t get mad.”

  Samuel took another deep breath and blew it out slowly as he held up his palms. “I won’t get mad.” He hoped it was a promise he could keep.

  “Everything I told you about driving by Margaret’s haus is true, but . . .” She bit her lip.

  “But there’s more?” Samuel glanced at the house to see if Beverly and Joseph were watching from the window. They must have heard the car pull up, but all he could see was the flicker of lanterns.

  “Remember, you promised you wouldn’t get mad.” As she peered up at him, her lip rolled under in a pout. She looked like a child about to be scolded.

  “Ya, okay, okay. I’ve promised. Just tell me.” He heard the irritation creeping into his tone.

  “We had a bad storm on Wednesday. I showered early that night because I was sticky and wet. Remember?”

  Samuel thought back. “Ya, I remember.”

  “We didn’t just get wet. We got caught in the storm, right as we were passing Margaret’s haus. Chester got spooked and reared up, and I was afraid he would take off, so we turned onto the path that led to the haus. There was nowhere to take shelter, but we could see a lean-to in the distance. Chester instinctively went right to it, but the buggy was still exposed. So . . .” Lydia cringed. “We went into the haus to wait out the storm.”

  Samuel stiffened. “You broke into her haus?”

  “Nee. The front door was unlocked. The place is an absolute mess. Mostly, it doesn’t look like anyone has been there in ages other than maybe teenagers hanging out. We saw beer cans on the porch. But there were leaves and bird droppings and . . .”

  Samuel stood quietly as Lydia described the interior of the house, but he was seething. She’d kept this from him. He thought they’d reached a new level of emotional intimacy, but he must have been wrong. Not only had Lydia put herself in a dangerous situation but she’d made a conscious choice not to tell him about it.

  “But there was one room upstairs, a boppli’s room, that was clean and lovely.”

  His hands curled into fists at his side. “So she caught you in her haus?”

  “Nee.” Lydia let her arms fall to her sides as she slouched, her eyes cast down again. “She didn’t catch us in her haus, but she might have caught us turning out of her driveway.” Before Samuel could respond, she threw her hands into the air and paced the yard. “But the nursery door had been locked, and Beverly forgot to lock it again, so Margaret probably figured out we were in her haus.” She stopped pacing as her hands landed on her hips. “You promised you wouldn’t get mad.”

  It was too late. Promise broken. He stretched out his arm and left it there, pointing at the truck. “So now she’s stalking us?”

  “I’m sorry.” Lydia’s voice was shaking, and Samuel wasn’t interested in comforting her.

  “Have you put our family in danger? Didn’t I tell you to stay away from that woman?” He took off his hat, ran a hand through his hair, and put the hat back on. Shaking his head, he stepped closer, now pointing a finger at her. “It’s mei responsibility to take care of this family.” He shifted his finger toward the house. “We have a boppli. What about Mattie?”

  “Just because Margaret is parked at the end of our driveway doesn’t mean she’s dangerous.” Lydia’s voice shook even more than before. “And you said you wouldn’t get mad.”

  “Well I lied.” His blood pounded against his temples. “Kind of like you did.” He marched toward the house.

  “I didn’t lie!” She screamed it loud enough that Joseph and Beverly were at the door by the time Samuel reached the porch.

  “How was the date?” Joseph looked over Samuel’s shoulder. “Uh, why is Lydia crying?”

  Beverly rushed past the two of them and into the yard.

  Samuel stormed inside the house, and Joseph followed. After Samuel paced the room for a few moments, he repeated everything Lydia had just told him.

  Joseph scratched his head. “Is Margaret’s truck still out there? It might not be safe for Beverly to drive home alone.”

  “Doesn’t it bother you that they both lied to us?” Samuel was upset on several levels. A perfect night had turned sour.

  “Uh . . . it wasn’t exactly a lie. They just didn’t tell us everything.”

  Samuel grunted. “You sound like Lydia.”

  “I mean, I ain’t happy they did that, but I’m not really in a position to tell Beverly what to do or get mad because she chose not to tell me something.”

  “Well, I’m in that position with Lydia. She’s mei fraa, and she should have told me.” Samuel tossed his hat on the couch and sighed.

  Joseph walked to the window. “Lydia’s still crying.” He looked over his shoulder at Samuel. “Maybe just forgive her, and don’t let it mess up your night.”

  “It’s already ruined. Margaret might be dangerous, and now she probably knows Lydia and Beverly were in her haus. And she knows where we live. I have to protect mei family.”

  Samuel wanted to trust God’s will and put his faith in the Lord to keep them safe, but an instinctive protectiveness was overpowering the way he’d been taught to passively deal with conflict. He wasn’t sure what to do, but now it might not be enough to just stay away from a woman who might want to harm his wife, maybe even his daughter.

  “The truck is gone. I just saw the headlights turn on, and she drove away.” Joseph returned to where Samuel was standing. “Maybe don’t be so hard on Lydia.”

  “You and I recently had a conversation about how much we dislike lying.”

  Joseph held up a palm. “Ya, ya. I know. But I’ll say it again. Lydia didn’t exactly lie.”

  Samuel scowled. “It was a big omission of the truth.”

  * * *

  Lydia dabbed at her eyes. “I should have known something would go wrong. Nothing ever seems to go as planned with Samuel and me.” She blinked back more tears.

  Beverly rubbed her arm. “Just try to focus on how great things were tonight up to this point. Samuel will get over this.”

  Lydia had spent so much time closing herself off, hiding her feelings, and pretending she and Samuel had the perfect marriage. Carrying the load alone was exhausting. But Beverly was growing into her closest friend, and she needed to unload some of her emotions before she exploded.

  “Our marriage has been challenging for Samuel and me.” She wasn’t ready to divulge everything, but she longed for nurturing, and she wasn’t going to get any from Samuel right now. She’d pray about it later, but Beverly’s sympathetic eyes drew her in. “This was an important night for us, and I wanted everything to be perfect. Why did Margaret have to choose tonight to park down by the road?”

  Beverly shook her head. “I don’t know. But no marriage is perfect. It takes a lot of work.” She turned around when she heard the screen door close. Joseph had Susan over one shoulder and the diaper bag over the other, and he was carrying Beverly’s roses.

  If things weren’t bad enough, Lydia realized she’d left her flowers in the limousine.

  “I’m real sorry about this, Lydia,” Joseph said in a whisper before he turned to Beverly. “I’m going to follow you to your haus just to be safe.”

  Beverly nodded before she hugged Lydia. “You’ll be all right. Samuel will realize he’s overreacting.”

  “Ya, he might be overreacting a little.” Joseph passed Susan to Beverly and turned back to Lydia. “But he’s fiercely protective of his family. Y
ou’re all he talks about at work, you and Mattie.”

  Lydia swiped at her eyes again. “I’m sure Beverly’s right. Everything will be fine.” She forced a smile. “Did the bopplis do okay?”

  “Ya.” Beverly rubbed Lydia’s arm again, offering a comforting smile.

  Beverly and Joseph said their goodbyes and headed to their buggies. When Joseph reached for Beverly’s hand, Lydia fought another round of tears building. She was happy for the couple, but she couldn’t understand why God kept giving her and Samuel a glimpse of the life they longed for only to present them with more challenges.

  She shuffled across the grass, the recipes still in her hand but with no plans to prepare them. They would only remind her how this night ended.

  Samuel wasn’t in the living room when she went inside the house. She locked the front door behind her, and then as she checked all the windows, she considered why Margaret had been there again. Horrible thoughts crossed her mind. Maybe Margaret wanted to steal Mattie, so she’d have a baby for the only livable room in her house. Or would she try to harm Mattie? Or her. Even Samuel. Or was Margaret’s presence merely a warning to stay away from her house? Maybe she just wanted someone to pay attention to her.

  She had no way to know if any of those scenarios were true. All she could do was try to salvage this night. Maybe if she apologized to Samuel, told him he’d been right to worry and that she’d never keep anything from him again—maybe then they could resume where they left off.

  When she eased open their bedroom door, Samuel was already in bed, on his side, even lightly snoring. But is he really asleep?

  Lydia checked on Mattie before she changed into her gown and brushed her teeth. Then when she returned to the bedroom, she gave the bed a little bounce as she climbed in. But Samuel didn’t budge. Until tonight, he’d been rolling onto his back, stretching out his arm, welcoming her as she settled into her nook.

  It didn’t look like that would happen tonight.

  * * *

  Beverly hoped Joseph wouldn’t want to come inside or need to use the bathroom when they got to her house. She was glad he followed her home, but she wasn’t ready for him to see the inside of her home. It needed a good cleaning, and she wanted it to smell of beef stew slow-cooking on the stove when he arrived next Saturday. She wanted lanterns lit and placed where they’d shed just enough light but not too much. She wanted everything to be perfect.

  When she parked her buggy near the barn, she left Susan asleep on the seat beside her so she could tell Joseph goodbye properly. She’d already told him she was keeping the baby overnight.

  “Danki for a wunderbaar evening.” She stood close enough for him to kiss her.

  “I didn’t do anything. Lydia left us a pizza, and the bopplis entertained themselves.” Joseph nodded to her buggy. “Do you want me to carry Susan in for you?”

  “Nee, I’m used to it. I’ve told you. I’ve always kept her a lot. She’s the only boppli in our family.” She hadn’t thought about him offering to carry Susan in.

  “At least let me put your horse in the barn for you. It’s late.”

  “All right. Danki.”

  She lifted Susan and the diaper bag from the buggy, then quickly went inside to lay the baby down before returning to wait for Joseph. She didn’t have to wait long for him to come back to the front of the house.

  “I know this is a bit early, but is four next Saturday okay?” She was eager to say good night, sure it would be followed with a kiss.

  Joseph grinned. “I’ll bring mei appetite.”

  Beverly closed her eyes when Joseph kissed her, hoping her neighbor wasn’t peeking out her window. She also thought about how important next Saturday would be. Joseph was everything she wanted in a husband. Even though he joked about getting married and having ten children, she could envision such a life.

  Saturday, Joseph will know the truth.

  Chapter 15

  Lydia sat on Herman and Fannie’s couch Monday morning, happy to see her mother-in-law’s face looked much better. Mattie was in her grandmother’s lap and didn’t seem as bothered by the discolored eye and cheek.

  Samuel hadn’t attended worship service with Lydia and Mattie yesterday, saying he needed to check on his parents. He could have done that in the afternoon, so it seemed more likely he was avoiding her. Lydia wondered how much he’d told his folks about what happened with Margaret. Her father-in-law wasn’t his cheerful self, and Lydia couldn’t recall a visit when he didn’t have a joke or funny story to share.

  After a few minutes of small talk, Herman cleared his throat from where he was sitting across the room. “Don’t look so nervous, mei maedel. We’re not planning to scold you about Margaret.” He crossed one leg over the other and grinned a little. “We figure Samuel has done enough of that,” he said, confirming that her husband had confided in them.

  Lydia sighed. “It was a dumb thing to do, but once we were in the haus, our curiosity got the best of us. We just wanted to see if we could find any clues about why Margaret lives the way she does.”

  “And did you discover anything?” Fannie bounced Mattie on her lap, smiling at her granddaughter as the baby quietly sucked on her pacifier and held a teething ring in her hand.

  “Did Samuel tell you about the boppli’s room?” She wondered if they knew more about Margaret than they’d shared during their last conversation about her.

  “Ya, he did.” Fannie shivered. “I find that very strange. I mean, we all know Margaret is odd, but that’s unsettling.”

  “Did she ever miscarry a boppli?” Lydia still wanted to know about the old woman, especially since she’d taken up residence at the end of their driveway on at least two evenings.

  “Herman.” Fannie turned to her husband. “I don’t recall Margaret ever losing a child, do you? She never married.”

  An uncomfortable silence loomed, all of them surely thinking about Lydia’s pregnancy out of wedlock.

  Lydia’s father-in-law broke the silence. “Even if she had miscarried, we wouldn’t have known about it. When Margaret was young—when we were all young—such things weren’t discussed.”

  Lydia recalled what they’d found on Margaret’s mantel. “She looked so pretty in the photograph, even though she was wearing Englisch clothes, which seemed odd.”

  “What photograph?” Herman raised an eyebrow.

  Lydia tried to remember if she’d told her husband about it. “I might have forgotten to mention that to Samuel.” She cringed. “He was already so mad at me.”

  “We spoke with him about the power of forgiveness when he was here yesterday. Give him a little time.” Fannie maneuvered her wheelchair, now facing Lydia and Herman. “Tell us about the photo.”

  “Margaret was wearing a fancy red dress and standing next to a young man. Or maybe it was her twin schweschder or even someone else. The photograph was framed and sitting on the mantel among the dust and leaves and . . . bird droppings.”

  Herman stood and walked to the window, where he lowered the shade. The sun had been shining right in his face. He seemed to be doing much better too. He sat back down, but he did flinch a little as he did.

  “Margaret’s schweschder had been baptized when she left—both girls had been—so she was shunned by members of our community,” Fannie said. “I do remember that much, even though I can’t recall the girl’s name. I know Margaret was terribly upset, but over time, I think everyone just forgot about her twin—especially since no one was really allowed to talk about her. Back then, shunnings were enforced more than they are now.” She snapped her fingers. “Delila. That was her name.” She looked at Herman. “Right, Herman?”

  He nodded. “Ya, I believe so.”

  Delila.

  “I was surprised when you told me she had a schweschder. I’d always heard Margaret didn’t have any family.” Lydia stood and picked up the pacifier Mattie dropped. She gave it a quick wipe with her apron and handed it back to her daughter before she sat back down.


  Herman stroked his beard. “Folks would have to be our age or older to remember that far back.”

  The wheels in Lydia’s mind were spinning. “Maybe someone should find Delila and let the woman know how Margaret is living.”

  Herman cleared his throat again. “I’m going to speak in Samuel’s absence and say you’d be best to leave it all alone, mei maedel. I admit, this information is interesting, and it’s challenging not to be lured into a mystery of sorts. But some things should be left in Gott’s hands.” He paused. “Especially since Margaret has rejected help in the past.”

  Lydia knew he was right, but she could already feel another temptation brewing, and she wasn’t quite ready to dissolve the conversation. Fannie and Herman’s interest in Margaret had provided some new details. “I’ve always heard twins have a special bond. It must have torn up Margaret when her schweschder left.”

  “Ya, I’m sure it did,” Fannie said. “Especially since I believe Margaret didn’t understand why Delila left.” She frowned. “Neither do I. Delila was protective of Margaret. I remember that too. As a child, and even when she got older, Margaret seemed a little odd.”

  “Like maybe her mind wasn’t right?”

  Herman scratched his cheek. “Ya, maybe. And if so, I suspect the family would have tried to hide it as much as they could. People weren’t as open about these things back then.”

  Margaret’s sister had likely married, changing her last name, and she could be anywhere now. Not to mention Samuel would be furious if he thought Lydia was further involving herself with Margaret. Maybe if she were up-front with him about it, he would be more understanding and tolerant. Samuel was fearful of the woman, but he’d seemed to be equally mad that Lydia hadn’t been completely truthful with him.

  She wanted to tell Beverly what she’d learned, but she was hesitant. If Margaret was troublesome, did she want to put her friend in harm’s way? Also, Beverly had taken on more hours at the bakery since a coworker went on maternity leave. She said that meant she couldn’t babysit Susan for her sister as often, but fortunately their mother was available.