“Not too far I hope.” Gabbie turned to Martha. “Not too far; my leg is still sore. Michael might have to carry me.”
Michael laughed. “I don’t know about that, Gabbie. If it’s too far for you, you might have to have lunch in the buggy.”
Gabbie pouted.
Once Michael tied up the horse, he put the two picnic baskets one on top of the other. “You lead the way, Martha.”
“Can you carry the both of them?” Gabbie asked.
“They aren’t heavy. I just hope everybody’s hungry.”
“We won’t need dinner tonight, that’s for sure,” Martha said.
Michael made his way down the grassy slope.
“It’s so pretty here. The water looks crystal clear,” Gabbie said pointing to the creek.
“There’s a nice place for us to walk after we’ve eaten. The walkway winds all around the creek and through the trees,” Martha said.
“How about here, Martha?” Michael asked.
“Jah, this looks like as good a spot as any.”
Michael placed the baskets on the ground. Martha opened her picnic basket, pulled out a large blanket and spread it over the grass for them to sit on.
Michael opened the other basket. “Mrs. Glick went to a lot of trouble making all this food.”
“That’s so nice of her. Thank her for us, would you?” Gabbie poked around in the basket. “What do we have? Let’s see; this looks like cold chicken, coleslaw beetroot salad and fresh-baked bread. Is everyone hungry now? I know I am. Let’s eat right now.” Gabbie sat cross-legged on the blanket, covering her legs with her full dress, and Martha did the same.
“There’s cider in here too.” Michael pulled some cups and the glass bottle from the bottom of the basket.
“We forgot to bring something to drink, Martha,” Gabbie said.
Martha screwed up her nose. “So we did. Just as well we’ve got Mrs. Glick looking after us.”
As they helped themselves to the food, Gabbie said, “Do you know how long you’ll be staying on here, Michael?”
Michael shook his head while he finished the mouthful he was chewing. “I’ll have to wait and see, depends on my onkel’s recovery.”
“You don’t seem to be doing an awful lot of work. I mean, we see you every two days or so,” Gabbie said.
Michael drew his eyebrows together. “I do work very hard; I wake up before it’s light and I put a lot of hours in. Why? How long would you expect me to work in a day?”
“Michael has had a lot of other things to do lately, Gabbie. Like, he took things to the charity auction for his onkel. And he does have to eat. We’ve seen him mainly for meals.”
Michael smiled at Martha. “Denke, for defending me.”
Martha covered her mouth and giggled.
“We see you often, that’s all.” Gabbie carried on munching quite unaware she might have offended somebody. When she had finished eating, Gabbie kicked off her shoes and ran towards the creek. When she got there, she turned and yelled, “Are you two coming, or what?”
“We’ll be there in a minute, Gabbie.” Michael turned to Martha. “At last, time alone. You’ll have to come on a buggy ride with me by yourself.”
Martha looked into his beautiful face and smiled. She loved his soft brown eyes, the smoothness of his skin and most of all she loved the dimple in his cheek. She looked away when she realized she was staring at him a little too long.
“Well what do you say, Martha? Would you like to go on a buggy ride with me sometime; just you and me?”
Before Martha could answer, Gabbie was upon them. “Come on, you two, come down to the water.”
Michael stood and put his hand out to help Martha to her feet. It was awkward for her to interact with Michael in front of Gabbie, but she couldn’t help smiling at him as she placed her hand in his. He lifted her to her feet. It could have been a special moment but was ruined by Gabbie glaring at the two of them. Gabbie’s arms were crossed as she turned back and walked to the water’s edge.
They stood looking at the creek and Gabbie looked up at Michael. “It’s a romantic place.”
“It is indeed,” Michael said.
“Let’s walk off our lunch,” Martha suggested. The three of them walked along the banks of the creek for half a mile and then back again. “I guess we should start heading back now; Mamm will want us to put the dinner on soon,” Martha said to Gabbie.
“Jah and I’ve a few errands I need to run today,” Michael said.
“Speaking of errands. We’ve got to post your schweschder’s letter.”
“Ach, I nearly forgot.”
“We’ll drive past a post box on the way home.”
“Denke,” Martha said.
* * *
When they stopped at the post box, Gabbie offered to post Amy’s letter. They couldn’t park directly in front and it was a little way up the road. Martha hadn’t insisted on popping it in the box herself and Gabbie knew she wanted the alone time with Michael. As Gabbie walked up the road with the envelope in her hand, she looked at it one more time.
When she got to the box, she glanced back to see Michael and Martha sharing a joke in the front seat. Anger seared through her like a hot knife through butter. Looking down at the letter, she wanted to rip it up. “Well, Amy, I’m sorry, but if I can’t have Michael, you can’t have Onkel Andrew. It’s only fair.” Next to the box was a trash can, so she promptly tore the letter in two and threw it in the trash before hurrying back to make sure Martha and Michael didn’t get too close.
They arrived back at Martha’s house and Michael carried the picnic basket into the kitchen for them. After he exchanged pleasantries with the family, he said goodbye to the girls. Martha and Gabbie watched him drive the buggy back up to the road.
“How was your day, girls?” Martha’s mother asked when they walked back into the kitchen.
“We had a wunderbaar time.” Gabbie clasped her hands to her heart not wanting anyone to see how annoyed she was. “Now, what do you want us to do for dinner, Mrs. Yoder?”
“You can shell the peas and grate the carrots. After you do that, you can set the table. First, you’ll need to pick the carrots and the peas from the garden. I meant to do that earlier, but I forgot.”
“You seem to forget a lot of things, Mrs. Yoder,” Gabbie said.
Before Mrs. Yoder could respond, a breathless Amy, just home from the coffee shop, hurried into the kitchen. “Girls, did you remember to post my letter?”
“Jah, we did,” Martha answered.
“Good, denke.”
The girls hurried off to do what they were asked. While they were there, the conversation led to Michael.
“Do you think Michael’s handsome, Martha?”
“Jah, he’s nice. He’s got a very good personality.”
Gabbie laughed. “What? But do you think he’s handsome?”
Martha turned her attention to the carrots she pulled out of the ground. It was hard to know what she should say to Gabbie because she often repeated things at the very worst times. “Jah, he is nice,” she repeated the safest response.
“I had such a good time with him today. Do you think he likes me?”
“Do you mean as friends?” Martha asked hopefully.
Gabbie huffed. “I don’t need any more friends. I mean likes me for his girlfriend.”
“Are you going to collect the peas?” Martha asked.
“You’re avoiding my questions, Martha.”
“That’s because I can’t say how he feels. I don’t know how he feels.” Martha tried to hide the irritation welling inside.
“Well, I can’t very well ask myself, can I?”
Martha laughed at the silliness of the situation. They both liked him; that was plain to see. Martha didn’t know what to do. She had a feeling he might like her, but what if Gabbie had that feeling too? Romance and love were new to Martha, and she knew nothing of it. He kept asking her on a buggy ride alone, so he had to like her and not G
abbie. If he’d asked Gabbie on a buggy ride too, she would’ve heard about it by now. Today, she felt that Michael had gotten to know her better. She’d relaxed in his company and that had chased away her nervousness.
“The gathering is tomorrow, isn’t it?” Gabbie asked.
“Jah it is. We’ll see him again tomorrow if that’s what you’re thinking.” She turned away from the carrots to look at Gabbie.
“Jah, I was just wondering when I’d see him again.”
There was only one thing for it. Martha had to get the conversation away from Michael. One of them was going to get hurt; Michael could not court both girls. “That should be enough for the dinner now. Let’s go inside,” Martha said.
Chapter 25
The rush on Sunday morning was hectic as usual. Martha’s yellow dress was her only clean one. She pulled it on while thinking she would have to borrow one from her sister to wear the next day. She saw Gabbie was fast asleep. The awful situation of them both liking the same man had kept her awake all night. Martha decided to stay away from him the entire day. She needed proof that Michael liked her and her alone. If she saw any sign that he liked Gabbie too, Martha would know that he was not the man for her. Even though he’d asked her twice to go on a buggy ride, he’d never made a definite time or day. Martha knew Gabbie would enjoy the chance to talk to him alone.
From the start of the meeting, Martha carried out her plan of staying away from Michael. During the meal afterward, he made his way toward her, but she moved away to talk to some other people. Every time Martha glanced in Michael’s direction, Gabbie was either with him or close by him.
As Martha poured herself a drink from the refreshments table, one of the younger boys pulled on her arm. “What is it?” Martha asked.
“That man over there,” he turned and pointed to Michael, “asked me to give you this.” He handed a folded piece of paper to Martha and left quickly.
Martha looked at Michael, and he gave her a quick smile. She looked down to the note pressed into her palm and slowly unfolded it. The note read, ‘Come on a buggy ride with me Tuesday night?’ Martha smiled and crumpled the note in her hand. She looked back at Michael across the crowd, caught his eye and nodded.
Just before the singing was to begin, Gabbie raced to Martha. “Michael asked if he could drive us home.” Her face glowed with excitement.
“Nee, Dat left us the buggy,” Martha said.
“You go home in the buggy by yourself, and I’ll go home with Michael.”
“There’s no need, Gabbie. I just said we could go home in Dat’s buggy.”
“Nee, I don’t want to. I want Michael to take me home.”
Martha shrugged her shoulders. “Do as you please.”
“Okay.” After Gabbie gave Martha a quick hug, she wasted no time in hurrying back to Michael.
Although Martha knew Gabbie deserved a fair chance and time alone with Michael, it didn’t stop her being upset. Now she wished she’d never agreed to the buggy ride.
Martha left the singing before it began; the mood had been ruined. As she drove the buggy in the dark, she had to wonder if Michael knew he’d have time alone with Gabbie or had he thought he’d drive both of them home? From what Gabbie had said, Michael offered to drive the two of them home. She couldn’t blame Gabbie for seeing it as an opportunity to spend time with Michael.
Martha was caught in the middle, and more than ever, she missed the old Amy. The Amy before she’d gone to Augusta. Now, Amy was a shell of her old self. Hopefully, Andrew would get that letter and ask her to come back and be his bride. That would be the best outcome for all concerned. Then Amy could be happy once more.
Martha couldn’t confide in her mother, or her mother would most likely send Gabbie home, and she didn’t want that. Her younger sisters closest in age, Rose, and Mary were too young to understand, and she didn’t want to talk about something so personal with her friends. The horse's hooves continued their rhythmic clip-clop while she considered her awkward position.
She had agreed to go on a buggy ride with him on Tuesday evening. Things were confusing. How would she tell Gabbie about going on a buggy ride with him? Which one of them did Michael like? Didn’t Michael know they both had a buggy there to go home in? When she got home, Martha unhitched the buggy and tended the horse, all the while fuming. Things would have been much easier if Gabbie had never come to stay.
Michael had driven Gabbie straight home after the singing. Martha was in bed when Gabbie walked into her darkened room singing. “Oh, are you awake, Martha?”
Martha sat up in bed. She hadn’t been asleep. “I am now.”
“He drove me straight home. What do you think it means? He didn’t say much either.”
This would’ve been a perfect opportunity for Martha to tell Gabbie that she was going on a buggy ride with him on Tuesday night. She couldn’t bring herself to tell her in case she got upset and started crying.
Gabbie continued, “As soon as it was over, we left the singing. And then drove here. He stared into the house. I think he was looking for you.”
Maybe this was the best time to tell her. “Gabbie, tonight Michael asked me to go on a buggy ride on Tuesday night.”
Gabbie’s eyes grew wide. “I didn’t even see you speaking to him tonight, Martha.”
“Well I did, just briefly.” There was no point in telling her about the young boy and the note.
“Strange he would take me on a buggy ride tonight, and you on one Tuesday night. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Is it late?” Martha asked.
“Nee, it’s not. Are you coming downstairs?”
“I think I’ll stay here and have an early night. You go downstairs if you wish,” Martha said, lying back down on her bed.
“What about a cup of hot tea? I could bring one up to you.”
“That would be nice denke, Gabbie.”
Martha pushed her head further into the pillow and closed her eyes. Sometimes Gabbie was annoying, but she was also her very best friend in the world. Why wasn’t anything ever straightforward?
Gabbie stomped down the stairs. She knew that Martha was up to something. She had been watching Michael the whole night, and Michael hadn’t talked to Martha. So, when did Michael ask her to go on this buggy ride? Would she have made it all up? She’d once thought Martha was a good friend, but she clearly wasn’t. She was trying to take Michael from her. Maybe Martha had been the one to ask Michael. From now on, she’d watch Martha closely; she was clearly someone she couldn’t trust.
Chapter 26
The night of Martha’s buggy ride rolled around. She was nervous and excited, and even Gabbie seemed happy for her. Gabbie helped her to dress and did her hair. As much as it was a happy time for Martha, it was mixed with feelings that her happiness came at the cost of Gabbie’s. It was inconvenient they both liked the same man.
She knew she had to put Gabbie out of her mind so she’d have a good time with Michael. As soon as she heard the buggy, Martha closed the front door behind her, and went out to meet him. Her heart pounded more with each step closer to him. She breathed deeply to steady her nerves.
“It’s a lovely night, Martha,” Michael said, as she climbed into the buggy beside him.
Martha hadn’t noticed the sky or the weather. It could’ve been snowing in the middle of summer and she wouldn’t have cared. She glanced up at the dark night sky at the twinkling stars and the round luminous moon. “It is nice,” she said. Martha knew she’d have to bury her nerves and talk so Michael could learn who she was deep down inside. Now was her chance to open up in a way she’d never opened up before. “Do you know where we’re going?”
“Nee, I thought we’d drive around the streets.” He laughed and looked over at her again. “I figured it doesn’t matter where we go. I just want some time with you, and this is the only way I can get it, it seems.”
Martha was glad he'd said how he felt. He drove the buggy a little way and they came to a T intersection.
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“I think I’ll go this way,” he said, as he turned his horse to the left. “Tell me something about yourself. Tell me something I don’t already know.”
“There’s not much to tell really,” Martha said, frowning at her boring response.
“I know you do a great deal of charity work and that means you’re kind and caring.”
“That’s nice of you to say. Well, you know about my family. My younger sisters and my baby brother, and Amy.”
“I heard that your sister was sent to Augusta once to find a husband.”
“She didn’t want to go, but she didn’t have any say in it. There weren’t many men in the community for her, not any her age. That’s what my vadder said, and I guess he was right to send her there.”
“She’s not much older than you, is she?”
“She’s two years older than me. There are quite a few boys my age if that was your next question.” Martha laughed, feeling more at ease.
“Are you telling me I’ve got competition?”
Martha giggled. “Nee, I didn’t mean that.”
“Then I have no competition? You will continue to go on buggy rides with me, and me alone?”
“Is that what you want?” Martha asked becoming bolder.
“Jah, Martha, I would like to see a great deal more of you.”
Martha found it hard to get the smile off her face. The man she liked, liked her. Every time thoughts of Gabbie came into her mind, she pushed them aside. Tonight, it was her night to be alone with Michael.
“I’ve got a no-top buggy at home,” Michael said. “It would’ve been lovely on a night like this.”
Martha tried not to think of all the other girls he might’ve taken on buggy rides. She wondered if she should ask how many girls he’d taken in his buggy, then decided against it.
“Would you ever leave here?” Michael moved his buggy over to the side of the quiet road and then brought it to a halt.
The Amish Deacon's Daughter Page 14
