Sarah's Orphans

by Vannetta Chapman

Nothing to worry about?

  She’d separated the dirty laundry into piles, but she hadn’t had time to wash it. She’d gone to Tulsa the day before to finish up her training, and so she had missed her regular wash day. It wasn’t a big problem as everyone had extra clothes, but it made for some large piles.

  The dinner she made had been a disaster—not only had she burned the casserole, but dishes were piled everywhere. She’d sent Isaac upstairs to take his bath, and asked Henry and Luke to clean up the kitchen. From the sounds coming from the next room, she suspected they were playing more than washing. Andy came inside grumbling about the tractor and had forgotten to stomp the dirt off his boots. The result was a smudged track of large boot prints from the back door up to his room.

  At least she’d have tomorrow to clean before Tommy Cronin, their social worker, arrived.

  The thought had barely crossed her mind when there was a knock on the front door. At six thirty in the evening? Who…

  Her hand flew to her mouth, and she thought about not answering the door.

  But it could be that something had happened to Mateo and Mia, or maybe their mother had been found.

  When she opened the door, though, it was only Tommy standing there, holding a clipboard. “I’m here for your home visit.”

  She nodded, momentarily speechless, and motioned for him to come inside.

  If he was surprised to see the chaos that was their living room, he didn’t say anything.

  Instead, he waited while she cleared a place for him to sit by moving a pile of dirty laundry off the couch.

  “Would you like some hot tea?” she asked.

  “That would be great. Thank you.” He pushed up on the large glasses he wore. Tommy was probably her age, maybe a little older. He had black hair that looked as if it could use a trim. He was also terribly thin.

  Sarah rushed into the kitchen, thinking she would bring him some of the cookies Rebecca had sent over. And that was when she caught Henry and Luke throwing dish suds at one another. Water was puddled on the floor, and no one had yet cleared the dirty dishes from the table.

  “Start cleaning,” she hissed. “The social worker is here. What if he sees this mess?”

  Henry shrugged and Luke patted her shoulder, leaving a wet handprint. “It’ll be okay, Sarah.”

  “Just clean this up!”

  She set the kettle on the stove, found the tea bags, and turned to look for the cookies.

  “Where are they?”

  “What?” Henry asked. He at least had his hands in the soapy water now, though she didn’t see any dishes there.

  “The cookies Rebecca brought us.”

  “Umm. I think we ate those.”

  Sarah closed her eyes in disbelief. There had been two dozen.

  “Dinner was pretty bad,” Henry pointed out.

  “Not that is was your fault,” Luke said. “We know you’re busy, and we don’t mind eating cookies for dinner.”

  “Stop talking!” What if Tommy was listening? Would he think she always fed them dessert for supper?

  She hurried out of the room.

  Tommy was sitting on the couch, making notations on a notepad.

  “I didn’t realize you’d be here so soon,” she admitted, sitting across from him. “Should I call Andy?”

  “I’d love to speak to your brother before I leave, but we can start without him.”

  There was the obvious noise of a shower running, and then Andy hollered something at Isaac. It sounded like, “I mean it! Get those out of here.” But she couldn’t be certain.

  “Tell me about your family, Sarah. How did you come to be in charge of raising your brothers?”

  She wasn’t sure if what had happened in the last year would count against them or for them, but neither could she lie. So she explained about her father’s death, skirting around the subject of his bipolar disorder.

  “And your mother?”

  “She’s gone…for now.”

  “Do you have any idea when she’ll be back?”

  “Nein. I mean no. I don’t think…that is to say, it doesn’t seem as if she will be back anytime soon.” In truth, they didn’t actually know where their mother was. She’d told Sarah she was going to Florida. An aunt had sent a letter that she’d stopped by and quickly moved on. Where would she have moved on to? Another state? Or a different community in Florida? What, exactly, was she looking for? Sarah pushed those questions from her mind and attempted to focus on the man sitting across from her.

  “All right. How do you feel about all of this?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, some young women might be bitter or resentful.” When she didn’t answer he added, “Maybe you had other plans for your life, something other than taking care of your siblings.”

  Sarah almost laughed. “Amish girls are raised waiting for the moment when they can care for a family.”

  Glancing around, she had a sudden urge to apologize, but why? This was their life, and if it wasn’t perfect…well, what life was?

  “I’m not the best housekeeper,” she confessed, waving a hand at the pile of laundry. “But I’m usually better than this.”

  “All I see is laundry that you’re about to wash, Sarah. We’re not concerned about that. We just want to know that you can provide a safe and loving home for Mateo and Mia.”

  At that moment, Luke walked in carrying a tray with two mugs of hot tea, a stack of crackers, and some freshly cut cheese. She could have hopped up and kissed him.

  “You’re Isaac, right?”

  “Nope, I’m Luke. Isaac’s the baby of the family…though I guess he won’t be anymore when Mateo and Mia come back.” Luke grinned at the thought and sauntered off toward the kitchen.

  Tommy sampled some of the cheese and crackers. “This is great cheese.”

  “Ya, it’s fresh from one of the members of our church. Henry sometimes helps the neighbor with his cows. In exchange, we receive cheese.”

  “Do you have animals on your farm?”

  “Only the buggy horse, Dusty, a donkey who keeps him company, and a few laying hens. When I was younger we had goats and also a rooster…”

  “Who crowed hours before sunrise,” Henry hollered from the kitchen.

  Tommy seemed to find that funny. He added another note on his pad of paper.

  Was a crowing rooster good or bad?

  They spoke for a few more minutes about Sarah’s goals and hobbies, things she hadn’t spent much time thinking about. Finally, Tommy said he’d like to speak with Andy.

  Sarah had just stood and started toward the stairs when Isaac came barreling down. He was holding a box in his hands, and Andy was yelling after him, “The barn, Isaac. Take them to the barn.”

  Isaac stopped, apparently unsure whether to continue down or turn and go back up.

  And that was when Sarah saw the box bounce in his hands.

  CHAPTER 33

  Sarah didn’t have very many fears. She could kill or relocate a snake as fast as her brothers. Storms didn’t bother her, in spite of the fact that her father had died during one. Spiders weren’t a problem. But when Isaac dropped the box and three frogs hopped out, she nearly fainted.

  “Oh. Oh!” She jumped to the left and to the right, and then she turned and went to the front door.

  Isaac was saying, “I’ve got them, Sarah.”

  Andy was calling out, “What did you do now?”

  And Henry and Luke were standing in the kitchen doorway laughing.

  Without even thinking, Sarah ran out the door and hollered, “Get those out of my house this minute, Isaac Yoder!”

  Standing on the front porch, shivering and wondering what her brother was doing with frogs in the house, she suddenly remembered Tommy.

  She’d left the social worker in the living room in the midst of a plague of frogs.

  Gathering all of her courage, she pulled up the skirt of her dress—maybe she could see the green monsters before they jumped on her—an
d marched back into the living room.

  Henry was holding on to his sides, howling with laugher.

  Luke had his head under the couch. “I see him.”

  And Tommy was holding one of the frogs in his hands.

  Andy appeared in the room, assessed the situation in seconds, and managed to get all of the frogs back into the box. “You can explain all this to Sarah later. Now take them to the barn.”

  Isaac walked off, shoulders slumped.

  Tommy stood and shook hands with Andy.

  “You have an active household.”

  “Ya, we do. But that’s to be expected with three younger brothers. I’m not sure they could do anything to surprise me, but Sarah? They are no doubt hard on her.”

  Sarah could feel her face radiating heat, but she sat down and tried to look like a grown-up. “I wasn’t expecting that,” she admitted.

  Tommy looked amused, but he quickly returned to business. He asked Andy about his future plans, his goals, and his hobbies. Andy answered much more succinctly than she had, but that was her brother’s way. Life was not complicated for him.

  “Are you bothered by the thought of being responsible for two more children?” he asked Sarah.

  “Nein. Children are a blessing from the Lord—always.”

  Tommy seemed to consider that for a minute and wrote something else on his form. Finally, he closed his folder, put everything back in the messenger bag he carried, and leaned forward, his arms on his knees and fingers steepled together.

  “This is a bit of a unique situation for us. Of course we have Amish Bridge parents. Levi and Mary Beth are a fine example. We’ve also had single women and single men approved to provide a temporary home for children in need. What we haven’t had, at least as far as I can tell, is a single Amish woman apply to participate in our program.”

  Andy sat back and crossed his right leg over his left knee. “Not surprising. We don’t have that many single Amish women in a Plain community.”

  “It’s true,” Sarah said. “Though I might seem young by Englisch standards, most Amish women my age are married and beginning their own family.”

  “So you see why this is an unusual state of affairs.” Tommy pushed up on his glasses. “I want to be clear that it is Sarah who is applying for certification. Andy, we’re interviewing you because you will have daily contact with the children, and also because you provide the means of support.”

  “Ya, and I’m happy to do so.”

  “Would you have applied for certification if Sarah hadn’t?”

  Andy wasn’t offended by the question. “Hard to say. I’m not the one who found Mateo and Mia. I don’t have the connection to them that my sister does, but I can see they are in need, and I’m happy to help where I can.”

  “So you’re supportive of what Sarah is doing?”

  “Sure I am.”

  Tommy seemed to be struggling with a question, or how to ask it, or whether he should ask it.

  Sarah’s impatience won out over her initial nervousness. After all, he’d seen their home at its absolute worst. If the man was still here, and he had a question on his mind, she was more than willing to answer it.

  “Might as well share what you’re puzzling over.”

  “There is an aspect of this I can’t quite get my mind around. You’ve obviously been forced into a situation where you have to put others first. You’ve taken on the responsibility for your brothers—both you and Andy have. You’ve put any dreams or plans of your own on hold.”

  “Why.” Now Andy uncrossed his legs and sat up straighter. “You’re wondering why she would want to.”

  “Yeah. I suppose I am.”

  “They’re special children,” Sarah added. “I feel a deep sympathy for them.”

  Andy threw a smile at Sarah, and leaned forward to meet Tommy’s gaze. “Gotte’s wille. That’s what you’re struggling with.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Sarah feels…correct me if I’m wrong, schweschder…Sarah feels that it was Gotte’s wille for Mateo to run out in front of her buggy, for her to go inside, for Isaac and Luke to notice the stack of boxes. She feels the call of Gotte on her life in this matter.”

  Sarah nodded, stunned that Andy was able to put into words the certainty that had pierced her heart these last few weeks.

  “And why would I support her? Because I wouldn’t dare to thwart Gotte’s wille. If He wants the children in this house, we’ll gladly welcome them here. We’ll find a way to provide for two more. We’ll love both Mateo and Mia for as long as they need us.”

  CHAPTER 34

  Paul had owned his own place for exactly two weeks. There was more work to do than he had imagined, and it was more satisfying than anything he’d ever done before. As he repaired the roof on the barn, he pictured the cattle and horses he would own in a few years.

  As he mended fences around his fields, he thought of the crops that would grow there by fall.

  And as he lay down to sleep in his cramped office, he sometimes allowed himself to imagine a family that would one day live in the house. He would wake later with images of children and animals and crops in his mind. And the woman? Well, he tried to deny to himself that the woman looked anything like Sarah Yoder, but that was foolishness.

  Somehow as he’d been going about his own business, she had invaded his dreams, his thoughts, and his heart. How had it happened? Because he’d seen her in the laundry room with her hair popping out of her kapp, her apron askew, and the hem of her dress wet? Or maybe because of her close proximity and the fact that he sometimes caught a glimpse of her as he was walking the fence line? It could be explained by the fact that Andy and Henry sometimes mentioned her and how the foster parent application was proceeding. Perhaps he was lonely and simply needed to invite one of the ladies from church to dinner. Possibly it was time that he settle down.

  But he couldn’t imagine doing that. Who would live in this wreck of a place? Maybe in a year or two. Maybe after he’d been in the community longer. Maybe not. He was a confirmed bachelor, and the thought of a woman walking into his life and setting things right didn’t sound too inviting.

  Regardless the reason and how he tried to explain it away, his thoughts turned to Sarah time and again. He’d even taken to thinking up crazy ways to help her family—ways where they could be contributing and wouldn’t see it as charity.

  He could buy a cow, and ask them to care for it, splitting the milk between them. This seemed like a big expense and something that he wasn’t quite able to do until he’d harvested his first crop.

  He thought about the herd of goats their father had lost in a wager. Wasn’t it Andy who had told him that? But a herd of goats was as far outside his financial means as a cow.

  His mind brushed back over something Andy had mentioned, about losing most of their chickens. “Only two left now, so we’ll be hoping they lay an abundance of eggs.” He’d laughed and changed the subject, but Paul had thought at the time that he could afford a few chickens, even though he had no time to take care of them. The idea had merit. It was something that would benefit them both.

  On a slightly wet and cold Friday morning, Paul decided to make his way over the rickety fence that separated their places. This time he walked up to the front door, not wanting to catch Sarah unaware doing laundry. Not that he’d ever known a woman to do laundry on a Friday.

  He wasn’t surprised that the tractor was gone. Andy had mentioned that he and Henry were heading to a neighbor’s to work on a tractor and muck out stalls. They had an arrangement to help the Englischers, a Mr. and Mrs. Tripp, with whatever the older couple needed in exchange for seed they could plant for the spring crops. Perhaps in the back of Paul’s mind, he’d known that he would find Sarah alone. What he hadn’t known was that she’d be in a state of complete panic.

  Sarah jerked open the door, saw it was him, and fled back into the living room.

  He followed her inside but stayed near the entry. Obviously he’d pi
cked a bad time—again.

  The house was a complete wreck. Dirty laundry, board games, and old copies of the Budget littered the coffee table, floor, and both chairs. Sarah plopped onto the couch and immediately jumped back up, pacing the area between the couch and the large potbellied stove.

  “This is a disaster. A real disaster. I should walk to the phone booth, but then I’ll be soaked and the judge will decide I’m unfit to be a mother.”

  “Sarah, what’s wrong?”

  She was crossing and uncrossing her arms and muttering to herself. When she looked up, he saw the depth of misery in her eyes.

  “I’m going to miss it.”

  She rushed over to the window and peered out, turned, and paced back toward the stove. “After all we’ve done, and it comes down to a broken radiator…”

  He crossed the room in three long strides. “Sit down. Tell me what’s happened. What’s wrong?”

  Though the house was a disaster zone, Sarah was impeccably dressed, not a strand of hair out of place, and wearing a fresh apron and kapp.

  “What’s wrong? Everything’s wrong. I’m going to miss the hearing, and then they’re going to send Mateo and Mia to some foster home in Tulsa. That’s what’s wrong. If Andy doesn’t get here soon—”

  “Andy and Henry are over at the Tripp place. Remember?”

  Her hands flew to her mouth. “It’s their Friday at the Tripps.”

  “So they told me.”

  “Oh. Oh, no.” She sank back onto the couch. “I’d forgotten. How could I have forgotten? He mentioned it just this morning, but I wasn’t paying attention. Isaac had lost one of his shoes, and Luke was angry about having to go to school at all. I knew Andy and Henry had left, sure. It didn’t matter. I had a ride. But now—”

  “This is about Mateo and Mia?”

  The words came out in a rush, mimicking the rain now tapping against the roof. “We got the call last night…well, someone delivered a message to the bishop, and he sent one of his sons by here to tell us. The judge is going to hear our case at…at eleven. And I wasn’t supposed to ride with the bishop. Something about not unduly influencing the children.”

  “All right. It’s only nine. There’s still plenty of time.”