It was easy to imagine Anne holding Leah and singing to her in a low sweet voice as the baby gobbled up her nighttime bottle. Leah would be making faces and Anne would be grinning at her. Anne had the patience he lacked. She was good with the child.
Why hadn’t she married? Why wasn’t she a wife and a mother? Was it because of her job? Most Amish women stopped working outside the home once they married, but the local midwife was often the exception to the rule. They were nearly always married women or widows.
He’d lived next to Anne for three years and yet he knew next to nothing about her. Maybe it was time he put aside his need for privacy and got to know her better. She would be caring for Leah until Fannie came back. In the dead of night, he couldn’t push aside the fear he kept at bay during daylight. The fear that Fannie wouldn’t return. Ever.
He didn’t want to believe the words she’d written. He needed to believe she would have a change of heart. He’d never give up on her. Not even now. As he did every night, he prayed for her. Bowing his head, he asked God to send her the comfort she needed. It was with a heavy heart that he returned to his bed, but he had the consolation of knowing Leah was being cared for by someone with a kind, gentle nature.
The next morning, he finished his milking early and headed to Anne’s place. He opened the front door and was greeted by the smell of cinnamon toast and frying bacon. Leah lay on a bright quilt in the center of the kitchen floor. Holding herself up on her elbows, she kicked her feet as she tried to reach a pair of yellow plastic measuring cups in front of her. She was making little cooing sounds.
“You can wash up at this sink. Breakfast will be ready in about five minutes. Do you want coffee or orange juice or both?” Anne asked over her shoulder.
“I didn’t expect you to feed me.”
“There are a lot of pumpkins to move. You will need your strength. Besides, it doesn’t take much more effort to make breakfast for two instead of one.”
He washed his hands and then squatted on his heels beside Leah. He moved one of the measuring cups closer. She grasped it in her chubby fingers and pulled it to her mouth. “Just coffe for me. She seems happy this morning.”
“Ja, she does. She only woke up once last night and she went right back to sleep after she ate.”
Leah rolled onto her back and grinned at him as she chewed on the handle of her prize. “Is that tasty?” he asked. The baby gurgled in reply and he smiled. “I think she is trying to talk to me.”
“Babies this age like to interact with others.”
“I thought they just ate, slept and needed their diapers changed.”
“They do that, too. I have sweetened some of the cheese we made with honey and lemon peel. It tastes wonderful on warm toast.” She carried a platter of bacon to the table.
“I told you it was good.”
He took a seat and lifted Leah to his lap. She kicked in delight and cast her plastic cup aside. He retrieved it and gave it back to her. Grinning, she dropped it again. He picked it up. “You did that on purpose.”
She gnawed on the lip for a second, then dropped it again and giggled. Anne sat down at the table. “You two seem to have discovered a new game.”
“I can’t believe the difference in her. She did nothing but whimper and cry and fuss for me.”
“It wasn’t you. She was hungry but in pain every time she ate. She was miserable. Hopefully, those days are behind her.”
He settled Leah in his lap and folded her hands inside his as he said a silent blessing before eating. It was the way Amish parents taught their children to behave at the table. Although Leah was too young to understand, she would come to know that sitting quietly with her hands folded was expected of her. When he finished praying, he shifted her to the crook of his left arm. The baby discovered his suspenders and began trying to bring the stretchy material to her mouth.
“I can take her,” Anne offered.
“Nay, she is fine where she is. What are your plans for today?” He enjoyed watching Leah struggle with the elastic material. An adorable frown formed on her face when it got away from her, but she grabbed it again.
Anne said, “The last week of October is my busiest time. I will sell the bulk of my pumpkins in the next few days, so I have to be at the stand as much as possible. I need you to bring all my pumpkins out of the field. I’ll take Leah’s laundry-hamper bed up to the shack and she can stay there with me as long as the weather stays decent.”
“I heard it may rain tomorrow.”
“I hope not. Bad weather means fewer shoppers. The leaves and vines are very prickly, so wear gloves when you go into the field. It will keep you from getting itchy.”
“I appreciate the advice. Anything else I should know?”
“When you cut them off the vines, leave a stem about four to six inches long, but don’t try to carry them by the stems. They’ll break.”
“Got it.”
Leah gave up on his suspender and threw her cup on the floor again. Joseph sighed heavily as he picked it up. He hesitated but decided to give it to her. She grinned and cooed her delight. For such a smile, he could pick up her toy all day long.
Please, Lord, let her remain as happy and contented as she is at this moment.
After breakfast he helped Anne move the supplies she and Leah needed up to the small shack she had at the end of her lane. There were already two cars parked at the side of the road and a number of small children examining the pumpkins. He left Anne to deal with her customers and took her small wheelbarrow out into the pumpkin patch. She hadn’t been kidding about the prickly vines and leaves. What she’d forgotten to mention was how easy it was to get tripped while trying to carry a ten-or fifteen-pound pumpkin out of the vines to the wheelbarrow. By his third foray into the field, he decided he would use his own pushcart the following day. It was larger and easier to move.
The next day went by much like the day before, although he fixed his own breakfast. He had agreed to work in her fields in exchange for her services as Leah’s nanny. He hadn’t agreed to be fed. He left Leah with Anne before sunup while he did his chores and then he returned to help her move more pumpkins and produce to her stand.
Anne cleaned and polished the orange fruit and arranged them according to size on several tables. Traffic was light but steady throughout the morning. With each large pumpkin Anne sold, she gave away a small one and a sheet of paper.
“What are you handing out?” he asked when her latest customer drove away.
“It’s my recipe for homemade pumpkin pie and for roasted pumpkin seeds. I’m hoping folks will enjoy them and come back for more of my cooking pumpkins next year.”
“That’s a goot idea. A way to provide customers with more than they expected and a way to encourage repeat business. I’m impressed.”
“Danki.” She smiled her thanks at him and blushed sweetly.
A flutter of pleasure deep in his chest caught him by surprise. When had this foolishness overtaken him? He had been fetching toys to make Leah smile at him and now he was handing out compliments in order to make Anne smile, too.
He had to admit he was beginning to like Anne. There was something about her that made him want to please her. It was more than her care of Leah. It was the way she seemed to care about him, too. A smile spread over his face. He sensed a friendship growing between them and he liked the feeling.
A pair of buggies approached, so he wiped the grin off his face. Leah started to fuss as she woke up. He and Anne both dropped down to pick her up and bumped their heads together in the process.
He shot to his feet. Anne did, too, but she stepped on the hem of her long skirt and stumbled forward into him. He caught her in his arms. He steadied her until she regained her balance. She stepped back quickly, her face flushed a bright red. He apologized. “I’m so sorry.”
Rubbing her forehead, she said, “It’s okay. I’m not hurt. Much.”
He caught a glimpse of Preacher David Hostetler and his sons scowling at him as they drove past. He chose to ignore them. “I’ve been accused of having a hard head.”
Anne chuckled. “So have I, but I think you win. I’m going to get a bottle for Leah. You can hold her.”
He picked the baby up. As Anne walked down the lane, his gaze followed her. There was a soft sway in her walk that he found attractive. There were a lot of things he was finding attractive about his neighbor. Why hadn’t he noticed them before?
He bounced Leah in his arms, keeping her occupied by making faces at her until he saw Anne returning.
Before she reached him, a horse and wagon came down the road and drew to a stop in front of the stand. Naomi Beiler was driving, but two other women sat beside her. He recognized them as widows from his church group. Behind her came Simeon Shetler driving his two-wheeled cart loaded with boxes and baskets. Dinah Plank sat beside him. Simeon had lost a leg in an accident as a young man. Now a grandfather, he got along well on his crutches. He could often be seen driving his cart and palomino pony named Butterscotch, the only animal in the area more notorious for escaping his pen than Chester.
Naomi leaned toward Joseph. “Is that your niece? What a pretty bubbel. Anne has told us all about your wayward sister and how she has burdened you with her child. You have our sympathy, brother.”
Humiliation burned like acid in Joseph’s belly. Gritting his teeth until the muscles in his jaw ached, he snatched the bottle from Anne’s hand as he glared at her. “You didn’t waste any time spreading gossip about me behind my back, did you?”
Chapter Nine
Anne saw the fury in Joseph’s eyes, but underneath his anger, she saw his pain, too. She had hurt him. How could she fix this? “It wasn’t like that, Joseph. I wasn’t spreading gossip. These women have come to help.”
“I told you I don’t need anyone’s help.” He stomped away and Anne realized what a dreadful mistake she had made.
Naomi stepped down from her wagon. “Is everything all right? Have I said something that I shouldn’t have?”
“Nay, this was my mistake. I didn’t tell Joseph that you were coming. I meant to, but I just didn’t expect you so soon. Joseph is embarrassed by his sister’s behavior. I think he feels he is to blame for raising her poorly.”
“We all feel shame when our children disappoint us. Even a child raised in a righteous household can stray. Gott granted every man and woman a free will, and so they must use it to find their way to Him or to reject Him. What do you want us to do with the things we have collected? Our community has been very generous.”
“They always are. Let’s take the things to Joseph’s house. He will soon realize our intention is to help, not to criticize.”
Anne walked to Simeon’s cart. “Dinah, if you could stay here at the stand and take care of any customers, I’ll show the others where to put things.”
“Of course, dear.” The widow smiled warmly at Simeon and got out of his cart.
Anne accepted his hand and took Dinah’s place on the front seat. “One pretty gal after another riding in my cart today. I’m a blessed man.”
Simeon was known as a bit of a flirt, but he was a kind man and he would never cross the lines of propriety. Like some others, Anne had begun to suspect Simeon and Dinah were becoming more than friends. It would be a good match for the widow and widower. After turning his pony around, Simeon led the small procession down Joseph’s lane and stopped in front of his house.
Joseph and Leah were nowhere in sight. Anne helped everyone carry in the supplies and furniture. To her amazement, the inside of Joseph’s home was spotless. All the dishes had been washed and put away. She could tell the kitchen counters and floor had been scrubbed. It was quite a change from the last time she had stepped inside his home.
She directed the women to put the crib and a small dresser in Joseph’s living room. He could move it elsewhere if he didn’t like the placement. The women folded and placed all the baby clothes and blankets in the dresser drawers and put clean sheets on the crib mattress. The basket of a dozen baby bottles and rubber nipples was left on the kitchen counter. A second basket, a woven Moses basket made to carry the baby around, held an assortment of infant toys. Rattles, colored stacking blocks and a teething ring were but a few of the items in it.
There were also a half-dozen boxes of infant rice cereal and baby food that Leah wouldn’t need for a few more months, but when she did, Joseph would be well supplied. Looking over the generosity of the community moved Anne to add something of her own.
She went home and climbed up into her attic. She opened a chest there, withdrew a paper-wrapped parcel and returned to Joseph’s place. After everyone filed out of the house, Anne pulled off the wrapper and laid her contribution, a beautifully stitched baby quilt, over the end of the oak crib. She gently smoothed the wrinkles from the material. As she did, her thoughts turned to her own baby. For a minute her regret and grief were so intense she almost broke down. Joseph had no idea how blessed he was to have Leah, but she did. Blowing out a deep breath, she straightened her shoulders and went outside.
She walked over to Naomi’s wagon and spoke to the women seated there. “Danki. I’m sorry Joseph isn’t here to thank you himself, but he will soon realize what a wonderful community he lives in. I hope your generosity opens his heart to the goodness that surrounds him.”
Naomi nodded. “I will not let him struggle to raise this child alone as I did when Fannie was small.”
“We will all do better,” Simeon said as he held out a hand to help Anne into his cart again. She climbed up. He turned the pony and sent the animal trotting up the lane. At her roadside stand, she thanked Dinah for taking care of her customers and waved as the group drove away.
The early part of the afternoon went by slowly. With only two customers in the next two hours, Anne was left with plenty of time to think about Joseph. She would find a way to apologize to him. She should have listened to that small voice of unease that tapped on her shoulder after the church service, but she hadn’t. She hadn’t felt that she was betraying his trust when she shared his story, but it was clear he felt she had gossiped behind his back. Had she lost his trust for good?
Would he let her continue to care for Leah? Or would he find someone else? Anne was distressed to realize just how much she would miss the baby if he decided to replace her with a different kindt heedah.
And that was exactly why she shouldn’t have taken the job in the first place.
Maybe it would be for the best if he did find someone else. The longer she took care of Leah, the harder it would be to let someone else take over.
“Can you watch her while I milk?”
Anne spun around at the sound of Joseph’s voice. She hadn’t heard his approach. He wore a wary expression and held the baby in his arms. She was wide-awake but content to suck on her fingers.
“Of course I can. That was our agreement.”
“Danki.” He handed the baby to her.
Anne struggled to quell the rush of breathlessness being close to him inspired. He stepped back quickly and shoved his hands in the pockets of his dark jacket. He wouldn’t look at her.
The easy camaraderie they had shared that morning was gone. Only an awkward silence remained.
“Joseph, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I wanted to help you and Leah.”
“You should have told me to expect them.”
“Ja, I should have. I honestly intended to do so. I wasn’t expecting them to show up this morning. Naomi can move mountains when she sets her mind on something. She feels very badly that she wasn’t around to help you with Fannie when she was young.”
“We managed.”
“I know you did, b
ut you deserved more help than you were given. I know Bishop Beiler was ill then, but did he visit you?”
“I went to see him.”
“What did he say?”
“The truth.”
“I don’t understand.”
Joseph sighed deeply. “The driver that hit us claimed the accident was my fault. He said he wanted me to pay for the damage to his vehicle or his insurance company would take my father’s farm. My farm. I didn’t have that kind of money, but I agreed to pay him over time. I took a second job working for him to pay off the debt. It was hard to keep food on the table in those first months. I went to the bishop to ask if Fannie could be placed with another family until I got on my feet. Bishop Beiler told me raising Fannie was my duty. She was my responsibility and I wasn’t to foster her off on someone else so that my life would be easier.”
Anne flinched. It had been a harsh thing to say to a grieving young man. “I’m sorry he misunderstood what you needed.”
Joseph drew himself up straight. “I know my duty. I will care for Leah until her mother returns.”
“And I have agreed to help you. That hasn’t changed...unless you wish to fire me.”
Watching the struggle going on behind his eyes was painful for Anne. It wasn’t pride that kept him from seeking help. It was a misplaced belief that he needed to do it alone.
She wasn’t going to let him. If he needed to believe she was helping only because of their business arrangement, so be it.
Gesturing to her display, she said, “I will need at least two dozen of the biggest pumpkins brought up here first thing in the morning. Do you think you could build a shelf to display them? Something at eye level for the children. The Englisch parents seem to want the kinner to pick out their own pumpkins. Do you have any ideas?”
He studied her for a moment, then pushed his hat back with one finger and surveyed what space she had. “If I brought up some straw bales, I could lay a couple of planks across them. That would put your pumpkins about waist high. Would that work?”
The Amish Midwife (The Amish Bachelors 2; Lancaster Courtships 3) Page 8
