Amish Widow's Christmas

by Samantha Price

  “Do you have a sewing machine?”

  “I had one, but I left it behind when I moved. When I was a little girl of your age, I didn’t have a machine, so I’m used to doing everything by hand. I don’t mind it even though it’s a lot slower.”

  “Can you show me how to sew?”

  “Holly, you can’t ask something like that.”

  Sarah smiled when she saw the earnestness in Holly’s eyes as she stared up at her. “I’d be happy to teach you to sew as long as it’s all right with your vadder.”

  “Could I, Dat?”

  He frowned.

  “I’d love to teach her,” Sarah said.

  He nodded and gave a small smile.

  Holly then whipped her head around to look at Sarah. “Can you show me now?”

  Sarah laughed. “I’ve got the dinner to serve, then we have to eat it, and then we'll have dessert.”

  “Jah, and after that, it’ll be your bedtime,” Joshua told Holly.

  “What about tomorrow after schul, Mrs. Kurtz?”

  “I think that might be okay. As long as that’s all right with your vadder.”

  “That’ll be fine,” he said.

  “Gut. I’ll look forward to it.”

  “Can I help with the boppli too while I’m here tomorrow?” Holly asked.

  “That would be wunderbaar. I’d like some help.” It gladdened Sarah’s heart to see the happiness beaming from Holly’s face. It seemed she missed being around a woman.

  “What will I do?” Benjamin whined.

  “You and I can do something together,” Joshua said.

  “What? Chores?”

  “Why would you think we’d do chores? As long as you get most of them done before schul, we won’t spend the whole time doing chores.”

  “I’ll do mine before schul. And then I’ll go home after sewing in time to help you with dinner, Dat,” Holly said.

  He chuckled. “Okay.”

  “I’ll just check on the food. It might be ready.” Sarah looked at the children. “Would you both mind looking after Gretel so that she doesn’t fall?”

  “Jah,” the children chorused.

  She stood up and left her baby on the couch while she hurried to see if everything was ready. When she saw that the meat and vegetables were cooked through, she pulled them out of the oven. It had been a while since she’d had people over for dinner.

  The table had already been set and all she had to do was put the bowls in the center of the table.

  Sarah put her baby in the crib upstairs, and then they took seats around the table in the kitchen. They said their silent prayers of thanks for the food and then they helped themselves to the food in the center.

  “Did you see the new horse?” Sarah asked the children.

  “Jah, Dat pointed to him in the paddock. We wanted to go and say hello to him, but Dat said it wasn’t our horse and we should keep away,” Benjamin said.

  Chapter 12

  But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;

  they shall mount up with wings as eagles;

  they shall run, and not be weary;

  and they shall walk, and not faint.

  Isaiah 40:31

  * * *

  Sarah looked over at Joshua wondering why he was being so strict. What would it have mattered if the children had patted the horse? She couldn’t go against him and tell his children they could pat him. Besides, he could have had a reason he didn’t want them to. When he looked up and met her confused gaze, he looked away.

  “You both like horses?”

  “Jah, we do and Dat loves them too. He told me that when he was a boy, he talked about horses all the time and got into trouble from his vadder for talking too much.”

  Joshua gave a little chuckle. “My vadder was quite a stern man. It didn’t take much for me to get into trouble.”

  “And what was your mudder like? Was she stern too?” Sarah guessed that she was.

  “I don’t remember her.” He popped food into his mouth.

  “Dat’s Mamm died like our Mamm.”

  “And our other Dat,” Holly added.

  She looked at Joshua and he glanced at her. There was an awkward silence.

  “More bread anyone?” Sarah asked lifting up a plate of sliced bread.

  “Nee denke,” the children said in turn while Joshua shook his head.

  Sarah placed the bread back on the table searching her mind for something to change the subject. “We’ve got apple pie for dessert.”

  “That’s Dat’s favorite,” Holly said.

  “That’s right, it is,” Benjamin said.

  “We should try to cook that soon, Dat,” Holly suggested.

  “Maybe Mrs. Kurtz will show you how to do it so it doesn’t turn out wrong like the last one,” Benjamin said.

  Sarah giggled at the way Benjamin’s lip curled up at the corners. “What happened to it?”

  Holly laughed. “It was burned on the edges and the middle was all sunken in.”

  “Are you telling tales on me, you two?”

  “Nee, we’re just telling the truth like you always tell us,” Holly said.

  “It sounds like you had the oven on far too hot. You’ve got to give a pie time to cook evenly throughout, with the oven at a moderate temperature.”

  “We were in a hurry and wanted to eat it. I guess you're right; we must’ve had the oven too hot.”

  The two children giggled.

  “This food is really nice, Mrs. Kurtz.”

  “Denke. I’m glad you like it.”

  “Dat can’t cook at all,” Benjamin said.

  Joshua frowned. “I’m getting better.”

  “What kind of food do you cook?” Sarah asked.

  Holly got in first before Joshua could answer, “We either have chicken or coleslaw or fish and roast vegetables.”

  “I can cook other things,” Joshua said.

  “Who’s going to teach me to cook?” Holly asked her vadder.

  “We’ve talked about this, Holly. We can both learn together.”

  “Men don’t cook,” Benjamin said.

  “You just told me your vadder does,” Sarah said to Benjamin.

  “Jah, that’s what you said, Benjamin.” Holly giggled.

  “I mean that most men don’t cook. Most normal men who are married don’t cook because the lady cooks.”

  “What is the man supposed to do if he has no wife, is he supposed to starve?” Joshua asked his son.

  “Nee, because then we’d starve.” Benjamin gave a cheeky smile.

  Joshua lifted his chin up slightly. “We should all learn together.”

  “I’m not learning,” Benjamin said. “If you want to learn, Dat, Mrs. Kurtz might teach you and Holly because she cooks good.”

  “Mrs. Kurtz might have enough to do with teaching Holly stitching.”

  “You don’t say stitching, Dat. It’s just called sewing.”

  “Oh, pardon me for getting it wrong.”

  Holly giggled.

  Now that he was here with his children, Sarah was seeing more of the softer side of Joshua, and it was a side that she liked.

  “Who wants dessert?” Sarah asked.

  “Me!” Holly shot up her hand.

  “Me too,” Benjamin said.

  “Make that three. I’ll be in on that too,” Joshua said.

  * * *

  After they had eaten dessert, Joshua said that the children needed to get their sleep. He offered to stay behind and help with the cleanup, but Sarah refused his help.

  “Can I say goodnight to Gretel?” Holly said in a tiny voice before they reached the front door.

  “Gretel’s asleep, Holly,” Joshua said.

  “If you’re very quiet, I can take you up to see her.”

  “Can I, Dat?”

  He nodded.

  “Me too?” Benjamin asked.

  “Okay.”

  Sarah took one of the lanterns from the living room and walked upstairs
with the two children following her. She pushed the door of Gretel’s room open and placed the lantern on the dresser.

  The two children peeped in the crib.

  “Gut nacht, Gretel,” Holly whispered.

  “Gut nacht,” Benjamin echoed.

  After a moment, Sarah picked up the lantern again and they followed her back down the stairs.

  Their father had moved to the couch and he jumped up when he saw them approach. “Was she awake?”

  “Nee, she was asleep. I hope she’s awake when I come here tomorrow,” Holly said.

  Sarah nodded. “She could be.”

  Joshua stood in the doorway. “Denke for having us to dinner.”

  “Jah, denke,” Benjamin said.

  “Denke,” Holly said.

  “You’re all very welcome and denke for coming here. I’ll see you tomorrow after schul, Holly.”

  “I won’t forget. I’ll come straight here.”

  “Gut.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow morning if you’re awake when I bring the eggs,” Benjamin said.

  “Let’s go.” Joshua walked out of the door with his children.

  Sarah stood in the doorway and watched them until they disappeared around the corner. When there was no more sign of them, she stepped back and closed the door. Just as she was heading to the kitchen to clean up, Gretel started to cry. When she glanced over at the clock, she saw it was already nine o’clock.

  Chapter 13

  And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three;

  but the greatest of these is charity.

  1 Corinthians 13:13

  * * *

  The next afternoon, Holly knocked on Sarah’s door.

  “Hello, Mrs. Kurtz.”

  “Hello, come inside. Let’s sit down on the couch.” Sarah sat down and Holy sat right next to her. Sarah leaned forward and picked up her sewing. “I’ll teach you how to sew on Gretel’s dress and then we can sew something else after that.”

  “Okay. Can I try?”

  “You can. I’ll show you what to do first.”

  Sarah showed her the right way to hold the needle and how to hold the fabric, and then demonstrated a few stitches. “Now you have a go.”

  They stayed sewing for half an hour.

  “That might be enough for today. Just push the needle halfway in and leave it there.”

  Holly did as she was told and handed the sewing back to Sarah. “Very good, Holly, you’ve done a nice job. All those stitches are so even.”

  “I just did them the same as yours. Will you get another sewing machine soon?”

  “Jah, I think I will.”

  “Can you show me how to use it when you get it?”

  “I will. Who sewed your dress?”

  Holly looked down at her dress. “Dat gets my dresses for me from somewhere, but he didn’t say where from. I don’t know where he got them. He didn’t sew them because he can’t sew.”

  Joshua knocked on the open front door.

  “Hello, is Holly finished yet?”

  Still sitting, Holly said, “Can’t I stay longer? I haven’t played with Gretel yet.”

  “She might sleep for longer. Best you go home with your vadder and you can see her after schul tomorrow.”

  “Can I, Dat?”

  “Okay. Come on, you have to get some things done.”

  “Do you want to see what I did, Dat?”

  “Jah, come inside and see how well she’s sewing already.”

  Joshua stepped inside and inspected Holly’s sewing.

  “I did these stitches, all the way from here up to here.”

  “That’s very gut!”

  “She did a great job. As soon as I showed her, she started sewing as though she’d been doing it forever.”

  Holly looked pleased with herself as she stood up. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Mrs. Kurtz.”

  “Gut nacht, Holly.” Sarah smiled and rose to her feet.

  “Denke for spending the time with Holly like this. It’s nice for her to spend some time with a woman.”

  “We’ve had a lovely time together.”

  Holly flung her arms around her waist and Sarah was taken aback. She lightly encircled her arms about her and then the girl stepped back.

  Joshua lightly touched Holly on her shoulders. “Come on. We’ve taken up enough of Mrs. Kurtz’s time.”

  “See you tomorrow.”

  “I’ll be waiting,” Sarah said.

  Joshua turned and gave her a big smile before they walked out the door.

  Sarah closed the door, pleased that she was able to spend time with Holly.

  When Gretel grows up I’ll be able to have some lovely times like this with her, she thought.

  * * *

  The next afternoon when Holly came to the house, Sarah shared an idea.

  “Holly, would you like to sew something for your vadder and your bruder for Christmas?”

  Her face lit up. “I’d love that. Would I be a good enough sewer to do that?”

  “Jah, I’ll help you and show you what you need to do.”

  “When could we start?”

  “As soon as we think of what you could make them. Do you have any ideas?”

  “Maybe something small. How far away is Christmas?”

  “It’s only eight weeks away. It’ll go quickly.”

  ‘What about a shirt for Dat?”

  “That might be a little too big. I was thinking something more like a sampler with a bible verse that he could put on the wall in his bedroom.”

  “Okay. What would the bible verse say?”

  “How about ‘Watch and Pray’? That’s what I had in the haus where I was growing up. It’s simple and uncomplicated and it would mean a lot to your vadder.”

  “Okay. Can we do it in brown and green? Dat is always talking about all the different trees when we’re going anywhere, so I know he likes trees and they’re green and brown.”

  “Very good. Green and brown go nicely together.”

  Holly clapped her hands together. “When can we start?”

  “Tomorrow night we’re all going to dinner at Nellie’s, I mean, Mrs. Yoder’s haus. What about Friday after schul, and then we can continue it whenever you come here? We can hide it here so no one can see it until Christmas. If we do a little bit every time, we will have it finished by Christmas.”

  “That would be wunderbaar! Denke, Mrs. Kurtz. I’m glad you thought of it.”

  Sarah gave a little giggle. “And for your bruder, how about a white handkerchief with dark blue initials?”

  “Jah, I think he likes blue.”

  Chapter 14

  For we are saved by hope:

  but hope that is seen is not hope:

  for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

  Romans 8:24

  * * *

  Dinner at the Yoders’ house came around quickly. Besides Joshua and his two children, and Bishop Peter and Mary, there was one older couple there as well as the single man that Mary had told Sarah about. Now they were all sitting in the living room before the dinner was served.

  “Can I sit next to, Mrs. Kurtz?” Holly asked Nellie.

  “We’re having both of you sit at the childrens’ table and the adults will sit at the big table.”

  Sarah looked at Holly and saw her disappointed face. Holly was used to talking with the adults at the dinner table.

  When Nellie left the room for the kitchen, Sarah followed her. “Can I help you with anything in here?”

  “Nee, it’s all done here. I’m just waiting. How is everything with your neighbors? You seem to be getting along well with them.”

  “I am, and I’m teaching Holly to sew.”

  Nellie swung around. “Joshua is allowing that?”

  Sarah giggled. “Of course he is. I’m not teaching her in secret.”

  “That is a little surprising.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “He’s always been so protective.” She leaned clos
er, and said in a low voice, “A few of the women have tried to get to him through the kinner. They’ll offer to do this and that for them or to take them places. He has never accepted their offers.”

  “Gut. He must know that I’m not a scheming woman out to trap him.”

  Nellie gave her a disapproving look. “These women aren’t scheming, Sarah. I’ve known most of them all my life.”

  “I didn’t really mean that. I just meant that my motivation is different. Besides, it was Holly who asked if I could teach her sewing.”

  “Well, I’m glad he allowed that. She needs a woman to teach her things.”

  “I agree. He can’t teach her sewing and the like. And from what the children have said, he can’t teach Holly to cook either, because he can’t cook himself.”

  The two women giggled.

  “Benjamin brings eggs to me every morning and leaves them at my door. If I’m awake, he’ll talk for a while. It’s nice to have them living there. I don’t feel so alone.”

  “What do you think of the young man out there?”

  Sarah peeked around the door at the visitor. “He seems nice, but I don’t think he’s for me.”

  “Jah, I figured you’d say that. Especially when I saw you arriving with Joshua.”

  “I wouldn’t start thinking anything like that, Nellie.”

  Nellie raised her eyebrows. “We shall see.”

  On Saturday afternoon, Sarah was sitting quietly on her couch with her baby asleep in the crib beside her when she heard a dreadful squeal. She wasn’t certain whether the squeal was from an animal or from a human. When the squeal persisted, she hurried outside to see where it was coming from.

  Under a tree behind the barn, Joshua and Benjamin were leaning over Holly. Sarah ran to them and crouched down beside them. Holly was clutching her arm.

  “It must be broken. We’ll need to go to the hospital,” Benjamin said.

  Joshua looked closely at Holly's hand and arm. “I’ve had a lot to do with broken bones. She’s sprained her wrist. It’ll most likely be painful.”