An Amish Schoolroom

by Amy Clipston

  “Oh, I do.” He smiled. “I was just thinking about how you’ve had an adventurous life, and I’ve just been building buggies.”

  “I’m starting over, though. You are miles ahead of me.”

  “I don’t know about that. We all have our paths to travel in life. Some are straighter than others, some more exciting. As long as God is with you during the journey, the rest doesn’t matter.”

  She nodded. He was telling the truth, although she’d had to learn her lesson the hard way.

  “How about another song?” he said, lifting up his harmonica again.

  Grateful not only for the subject change but for the opportunity to do something she loved, she nodded. When he started to play “Amazing Grace,” she joined in on the third note. The hymn was one of her favorites.

  After they finished, she sat back against the stack of bales behind her. “That was lovely,” she said, stretching her legs out in front of her. When she turned to him, he was gazing at her.

  “Ya,” he said, his voice low. “It definitely was.”

  * * *

  Later that afternoon Micah drove back home after spending the next two hours with Priscilla. After they finished their “Amazing Grace” duet, she offered to fix him a sandwich for lunch. Never one to turn down food, he followed her into the kitchen and found out she had as much to do on the inside of her house as she did on the outside. Even he was daunted by the amount of work involved, but she didn’t seem fazed. “I’ve lived in worse,” she said as he noticed the uneven kitchen floor. He imagined if he set an apple on the floor and pushed it across the room it would roll downhill. But when he mentioned it to her, she just shrugged and took another bite of her ham salad sandwich.

  He smiled as he thought about that moment. What a remarkable woman. Hearing about her past as an aspiring country singer had surprised him, but only the part about her moving all the way to Tennessee by herself. He could easily see her being a success with her beautiful voice, not to mention her gorgeous looks. But he also believed in God’s timing, and obviously being English and famous wasn’t what God wanted for her. Thank you, Lord.

  His smile faded. Just because they got along well and both loved music didn’t mean there was anything between them. But as he continued home, he wondered if there could be. She wasn’t going anywhere, and he was happy living in Marigold. They were both single, and he was very, very attracted to her. If she felt the same, wouldn’t he know? Then again, how could he tell? It wasn’t as if he had a lot of experience with women. None, to be exact.

  But he’d always believed that when it was time for him to date someone, God would put that person in his life, and he would be sure she was the one for him. He just hadn’t expected it to happen quite like this, or with a former country singer. Not that it mattered when or how. God’s timing was always perfect. All Micah had to do was figure out if he was listening to his own desires or obeying God’s.

  The one thing he did know was that if he decided to pursue Priscilla, he had to be patient. She was starting a new job, and he had to finish her buggy for her, plus all the work he promised to do at her house. If his business started getting busy again, he’d have to set her projects to the side until he got another break. He didn’t like that idea, but business was business. As he continued to think, he also didn’t like the idea of having patience either. But he’d always been a practical man, and waiting seemed to be the practical thing to do.

  The minute the time was right, he was going to ask Priscilla for a date. And if she accepted, he would make sure it was the best date of her life.

  As he pulled into his driveway, he saw someone sitting on his front porch steps. As he neared, he frowned. What was Suetta doing here? Dread filled him as he remembered what Priscilla had said. She likes you. He found that hard to believe. But he couldn’t think of any reason why Suetta would be waiting for him.

  He parked his buggy and got out. Normally he would have settled Billy in the barn, but he trusted his horse not to take off, and whatever Suetta’s business was with him, he would take care of it quickly. He patted Billy on his flank and walked over to the porch, where Suetta was already standing, a beaming smile on her face. Uh-oh.

  “You’ve been gone for a long time,” she said, walking toward him. “I’ve been waiting for you for over an hour.”

  “Why?” Micah made sure to keep his distance. “I told you I had plans this afternoon.”

  “I didn’t think they would take you all day.” She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I brought you some of those brownies.” She turned and picked up a platter off the porch. “I made them just for you.”

  “I thought you said you made them for the church lunch.”

  Her eyes widened for a moment. Then she laughed. “Oh, I made some for that too. These are the extra.” She held out the plate. “I know how much you love sweets.”

  Micah eyed the plate. Even the thought of eating those rich, fudgy brownies made his stomach turn. “Suetta, we need to talk.”

  “I agree.” She moved closer to him. “You need to stop spending time with Priscilla.”

  “What?”

  “I know she’s the new teacher and all, and that you were just being nice giving her a ride to and from church. But it doesn’t look gut, Micah. Some people might think you like her.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “What if I do like her?”

  Suetta’s mouth dropped. Then she choked out a strained giggle. “You can’t expect me to believe that.”

  “Why not?” His irritation with her was growing. She was an okay-looking girl, but she thought too much of herself. That was something he had noticed. Otherwise he barely noticed her at all.

  “Because she’s old. She’s at least forty, I’m sure.”

  “Thirty-five,” he ground out.

  “Whatever.” She waved a dismissive hand. “I can understand her liking you,” she said, batting her eyes at him. “But you liking her? That’s a funny joke, Micah.”

  He was about to tell her he wasn’t joking, but knowing Suetta, she would run her mouth and tell the entire community he had a crush on the new teacher, and he didn’t want Priscilla dealing with a bunch of gossip. “Suetta, I appreciate the thought, but I can’t take your brownies. And I don’t want you dropping by mei place all by yourself. That’s not appropriate and I don’t want people to get the wrong idea.”

  “But you’re fine with people seeing you with Priscilla,” she snapped.

  He held out his hands, palms up. “All I did is give her a ride,” he said.

  That seemed to mollify her a little. “Just a ride?”

  “Just a ride.” Guilt nagged at him for not telling Suetta the whole truth. On the other hand, it was none of her business. “But that doesn’t mean there’s anything between you and me.”

  “How do you know?” She stuck out her bottom lip in an immature pout. “We’ve never gone out.”

  Despite being irritated with her, he gentled his tone. “Because I’m not interested. You’re a . . . nice maedel,” he said, inwardly flinching at giving her a compliment he was fairly sure wasn’t true. “There are several single guys that would give their hat to date you.”

  “But they don’t own their own businesses,” she huffed.

  Ah, there it was. This had nothing to do with him and everything to do with money. His stomach turned again. Now he wouldn’t wish Suetta on any of those young men. “That shouldn’t matter. If you love someone, you love them, not what they have.”

  “You don’t understand anything.” She brushed past him, then turned around. “I’m sorry I wasted mei brownies on you!”

  Micah nodded. “I’m sorry you did too.”

  Suetta marched down his driveway. He would have chuckled at the childish display, but there was nothing funny about her attitude. Maybe he should mention it to her father, who owned a bricklaying business. In fact he’d been one of the men to lay the foundation for the schoolhaus and had donated all the materials. The man was kind
and generous . . . and that might be the problem. Suetta was obviously entitled, which meant bad news for any man foolish enough to date her.

  Thank God he wasn’t that man.

  He put Billy up and tried to shove Suetta out of his mind. He’d been as plain as he could be without hurting her feelings directly, even though she wasn’t happy with him. But she’d get over it. What really chapped him was how she insulted Priscilla. Who cared about her age? He didn’t, and he didn’t care if anyone thought she was too old for him.

  What if Priscilla does?

  He hoped that wasn’t the case. And if it was, he would make sure to set her straight.

  Chapter 6

  During the week following Priscilla and Micah’s Sunday afternoon together, Micah started on the barn. He worked all day on her buggy at his shop. Then he came over to her house and put in two or three hours in the afternoon. Christopher, the young man who Micah had hired to help him, didn’t say much but was a hard worker. Between the two of them they made good progress on the barn.

  But Priscilla still couldn’t shake the idea that she was taking up so much of his time. She brought it up to him on Tuesday. “I don’t want you to get too tired working in both places,” she said as she handed him and Christopher glasses of lemonade. She had finally made it to the store yesterday and had stocked her pantry until it was overflowing.

  “Things are still slow.” He tilted his head at her and smiled. “I’ve got the time, Priscilla. Don’t worry about that. Just focus on getting ready for the first day of school on Monday.”

  “All right.” Relieved, she had gone into her house and worked on her lesson plans. For the rest of the week she was busy with school tasks, including ordering books for her students and meeting each one of them when they came to visit at her house. Soon she would be able to visit the students at their homes, thanks to Micah not only building her buggy but the barn too. That was another thing she had missed when she was in Tennessee—the eagerness of the community to help each other out, including her own community in Shipshe. Micah was just doing his duty in helping out others, just like all Amish people do.

  But as she stood on her patio on Friday afternoon and watched him pick up a large board and place it on the sawhorse, she couldn’t stop looking at him. No, he wasn’t like anyone else. Not even close. He was a special man, and she was falling harder for him every day.

  Sighing, she went back inside. She was finished with her school plans, and she felt confident that the first day of school would run smoothly, while still being aware that she was working with children, and children were rarely predictable. But she was prepared to handle any problem that came her way. Needing a break from teaching tasks, she decided to make a detailed list of all her indoor projects and created a budget to get them done, along with an estimated start date for each job. Unfortunately, she kept adding to the list, and by the time she finished, she figured it would take her almost three years to accomplish everything. But she was determined to get her house in order, even if it took longer than that.

  A knock sounded on the door, and she jumped. She glanced at the clock on the wall above the sink. Seven thirty already? When she opened the door, she was surprised to see Micah standing there. “I thought you would have gone home by now. I should have brought you and Christopher another drink.”

  “Nee problem. I brought something from home.” He was holding his hat, and his blond bangs were plastered on his head. Even though it was evening, the late summer air was warm and muggy. She opened the door wider.

  “Let me get you some ice water,” she said, motioning for him to come inside. “Where’s Christopher?”

  “He went home an hour ago.” Micah set his hat on the table next to a book of teaching tips.

  You should have left too. But she knew by now not to argue with him when it came to managing his time. He was a grown man, and if he said he wasn’t overworking himself, she would have to believe him.

  She walked over to the cooler that was on the counter. There was still some ice inside, but she reminded herself to get another bag tomorrow. She took a clean glass from the cabinet, filled it with ice cubes, then shut the lid of the cooler and turned on the tap. Fresh water flowed into the glass, and when it was almost full, she turned off the faucet and handed the drink to him.

  “Danki.” He drained it in almost one gulp.

  “Sit down and cool off. I’ll get you another one.” She gestured to the only other chair she had at the small table she had picked up at a thrift store shortly after she arrived. A couple minutes later she handed him the glass and sat next to him.

  “Guess I got a little overheated,” he said. Then he looked at the list on the table. “More school stuff?”

  She grabbed the slip of paper. “I’m working on mei budget. I needed to take a little break from teacher prep.”

  “Then you’re ready for Monday?”

  “Ya, I am.” But without warning, her nerves jumped. In less than three days she would be teaching a group of children for the first time. That was totally different from giving voice lessons to one student per session.

  He peered at her. “Something’s wrong.”

  She was about to deny his words, almost falling into her prior habit of pretending she was ready to go on stage when she was really a nervous wreck. Instead she told him the truth. “I’m a little worried about the first day of school.”

  He finished off the water and set the glass on the table. “I would be, too, if I were in your shoes.”

  “Really? Are you uncertain when you’re around a lot of kinner too?”

  He shook his head. “Nee. I love kinner. At mei old church I sometimes volunteered to babysit some of the yung ones while their mutters helped with lunch.”

  Priscilla’s shoulders slumped. “You sound like you would be a natural. Maybe you should teach on Monday instead of me.”

  Micah laughed, a deep booming sound that seemed to come straight from his heart. “Sorry, but nee. Business is slow, but it isn’t that slow.” He smiled. “You’ll be fine. Everyone has first day jitters when they start something new.”

  “How did you become so wise at your young age?”

  He paused, his brow flattening. “I’m not that young. And I’ve been told I have an old soul, whatever that means.” He picked up the teaching book. Opening it to the middle, he read aloud, “Whatever you do, don’t let them see you sweat.”

  She frowned and moved closer to him. “I don’t remember that tip being in the book,” she said, searching the open page.

  “It’s not.” He snapped the book shut. “That’s the Wagler family’s rule number one.”

  “You were sweating buckets a little while ago,” she pointed out, trying not to chuckle.

  “Oh. Well, except on a hot summer evening. Then everyone is allowed to perspire a little.”

  She gazed into his blue eyes, mesmerized by their color and the wisdom she saw in them. He smelled like sweat and sawdust and hard work, a wonderful change from the meticulous, cloying grooming of most men she’d been around for so long. Then she brushed the tip of her index finger on the skin below his left eye. “You had some sawdust there,” she said, her breath catching in her throat.

  “Danki.” His voice was low and husky, sending a warm shiver down her spine. “Wouldn’t want to geh home with sawdust on mei face.”

  She was close enough to him that she could easily slip into his arms. A dozen excuses ran through her mind about why thinking such thoughts was a bad idea, but she ignored all of them. All she wanted was to feel Micah’s huge embrace.

  “Priscilla . . .” He slowly reached out and touched the white string of her kapp, the pupils of his eyes growing wide, making their blue hue darken. “I—”

  “It’s past time for me to turn in,” she said, jumping up from the chair. Whew, that was close. Too close, and if she had stayed in her seat a second longer, she would have kissed him.

  “It’s not even eight o’clock.”

 
; “Well, you know how us old people are.” She grabbed the glass off the table and went to the sink, keeping her back to him. “We like to geh to bed early.”

  “Stop it.”

  She turned around, surprised at the irritation in his tone. “Stop what?”

  “Talking about the difference in our ages.”

  She arched her brow at him. “I didn’t realize I was.”

  “Aren’t you?” He walked toward her. “That crack about me being so young, and now you’re saying you’re old. Which is dumm because you’re only thirty-five.”

  “Thirty-five,” she mumbled, looking at her feet. “Ten years older than you.”

  “So what?”

  She snapped her gaze to him, ready to tell him that ten years was a huge gap. Then she realized that ten years meant nothing between friends. And that’s what they were, friends. He clearly saw them that way. Wow, he must think she’d lost her mind. “You’re right,” she said, mustering a smile. “I won’t mention it again.”

  “Gut.” He took another step toward her.

  She had to get him out of here before she said anything else stupid. “I am tired, though. It’s been a busy week getting ready for classes.”

  Was that disappointment she saw on his face? “Oh. Right. I imagine that is tiring.” He moved away until he was closer to the door. “I’ll be here tomorrow to finish up the barn.”

  Pricilla was relieved. And disappointed. There would be no reason to see him again after tomorrow, other than to pick up her buggy or at church. But that was for the best, and eventually she would lose these feelings for him. And eventually he would date and marry a young woman closer to his age, as it should be. Maybe that woman would be Suetta, although after meeting the girl, she hoped not. But she wouldn’t begrudge him that happiness.

  As for her, she would be satisfied with teaching. When she was in Nashville, she hadn’t dated much, and getting married wasn’t even a thought in her mind all those years. Now she was in her midthirties and Amish. Had the probability of marriage and a family passed her by? She hadn’t even seriously thought of those things when she joined the church, but since she met Micah, the idea had been brewing in the back of her mind.