A Christmas Visitor

by Amy Clipston

  Even though he’d heard that phrase a hundred times, it had never meant more to Rocky.

  Frannie set a basket loaded with biscuits on the table. At the sight of him, she smiled, a broad, happy smile the likes of which he hadn’t seen in a month of Sundays.

  “Morning.”

  “Morning.”

  “Presents?” Hazel touched a small stack next to her plate, but she didn’t pick anything up. “Now?”

  “Prayers first.” Mordecai bowed his head. Everyone followed suit.

  Silence swept over the room, bringing with it a sense of peace and a kind of prosperity that had nothing to do with material goods. Rocky prayed for each person in the room and for his own salvation.

  “Since we have a guest this bright and beautiful morning, I think we should start with his gifts.” Mordecai broke the silence. “What do y’all think?”

  “There’s no need to give me gifts.” Rocky squirmed in his seat. These folks had no extra of anything. They worked hard to feed and clothe themselves. There was nothing left after that. “Honestly, I wouldn’t feel right.”

  “A person should never reject a gift given from the heart.” Mordecai shook one long and calloused finger at Rocky. “Accept and be blessed by these offerings.”

  Nothing could be said to that, especially with the tightness in his throat and the heat behind his eyes, so Rocky opted for a simple nod.

  “Me first, me first!” Hazel scooted from her chair and ran around the table, a small brown bag in her chubby hands. “Open it, open it.”

  Rocky obliged. The bag held two apples and three long carrots. Uncertain, he smiled at her. “Thank you. I love apples and carrots.”

  “For your horse. For Chocolate.” Hazel held up her hands as if amazed she had to explain this. “Horses like Christmas too.”

  Silly Rocky. “Of course they do.”

  Caleb went next. A hunting knife wrapped in newspaper funnies. A nice one. “Are you sure, Caleb? This was expensive.”

  “Jah.” The boy shrugged, his grin philosophical. “I had two.”

  “Perfect.”

  “We have to go deer hunting soon.”

  “Absolutely.” If he was still here. “It will come in very handy.”

  Deborah handed him a box across the table. Phineas sat next to her, his arm thrown across the chair behind his fraa. The word came naturally. Mann and fraa. Something Rocky might never have. He focused on the box, afraid they would all see the emotion that threatened to overwhelm him. No fancy paper or bows. A simple box with the flaps entwined to keep the lid shut.

  “Y’all shouldn’t have done this.”

  The y’all made everyone laugh. He would take a bit of Texas home with him, no doubt about it. He tugged open the flaps. A beautiful, pristine straw hat. He lifted it with gentle hands. “You shouldn’t have.” It was the nicest hat he’d ever owned. “I mean, I—”

  “I hope it’s not too big.” Deborah slapped a hand on her husband’s broad chest. “Phineas insisted you have a big head.”

  “To match my big feet.” Rocky managed a laugh. It sounded strangled in his ears. He set the hat on his head. It fit just as it should, a little snug so the first south Texas wind wouldn’t send it sailing. If he were to look in a mirror right now—if there was a mirror in this house, which there likely wouldn’t be—he’d see a man the spitting image of an Amish person. He had no doubt of that. “He’s right. It’s perfect.”

  Abigail went next. “From Mordecai and me.”

  A small package wrapped in white tissue paper. Suspenders. This time he had to take a long breath. What were they saying? Did they know something he didn’t? A straw hat, suspenders, a hunting knife, food for his horse. It seemed to add up to an enormous gift he hadn’t expected to receive.

  “Galluses, right? That’s the word for suspenders?”

  Abigail nodded and smiled. “Galluses.”

  “Thank you.” He cleared his throat. “I know you don’t stand on ceremony, and you’re not much for flowery sentiment, but I have to say it. Thank you for making me feel so welcome and so a part of this family today. It’s the best Christmas ever.”

  “That’s not all.”

  Frannie slipped from her chair and picked up a box nestled on the floor next to the fireplace. When she turned, tears shone in her eyes. He’d never seen her cry. Not that she would admit to crying now. The box was heavy. He unfolded the flaps. An enormous English–German translation of the Holy Bible sat on his lap. He lifted it from tissue paper that protected it. Leather bound. Substantial in his shaking hands.

  He lifted his gaze from the book and let it travel to Frannie. Her smile trembled. “Nothing is more important than your path with God. Our journey through this world is short. You’ll need that to navigate.”

  She plopped into her chair, her hand over her mouth as if to keep from saying more.

  He cleared his throat again. “I’m not sure I understand what this means.”

  “You already have the most important tool.” Mordecai leaned back in his chair, his expression expansive. “You have faith, despite or because of the travails you’ve experienced. You’ve shown Leroy and me and the rest of our community your commitment, your willingness to set aside the trappings of the world, to keep yourself apart.”

  Rocky heard the words, but they still didn’t compute. “Leroy made a decision?”

  “We all did. The district voted after the pageant.”

  “All y’all said yes.”

  Mordecai’s laugh rumbled deep in his chest. “We all did.”

  “Jah, jah!” Hazel crowed. “Merry Christmas.”

  “I’m in?”

  “You have to take the baptism classes in the spring and be baptized.”

  “Hence, the Bible.” He touched the black leather cover. His jaw ached with the effort to corral his emotions. He wouldn’t start out by bawling like a baby in front of members of his new community. “I’m speechless.”

  Caleb smacked his fork against his plate in a beat reminiscent of a Christmas song. “Enough talk. Let’s open our presents so we can eat pancakes.”

  Indeed. All the important words had been spoken.

  Almost.

  Frannie scraped the last of her scrambled eggs and bacon into Butch’s dish on the back porch. The dog’s snout turned up in an obvious smile under one eye with the “pirate patch.” If the schtinkich of his doggy breath was any indication, he’d already bagged a rabbit or some such critter for breakfast. Regardless, his behind wagged a stubby tail. Tightening her shawl around her in the chilly December breeze, she glanced back, feeling only slightly guilty. Aenti Abigail didn’t like for her to feed table scraps to Butch, but even the dog deserved a Christmas treat. After the gift exchange, she’d found herself with little appetite. She wanted to run after Rocky when he left the table with Onkel Mordecai. Ask him, What now? What does this mean for us? A woman didn’t do that. Especially in these circumstances. It wasn’t about her or her feelings for Rocky. This was about Rocky’s path on this earth. Nothing was bigger than that, no matter how she felt.

  All the same, it wasn’t fair, making women wait until men grew enough smarts to know what they wanted out of life. Women always got down that road first, it seemed. Always.

  “There you are.”

  A shiver swept through her that had nothing to do with the damp winter weather. She turned. Rocky loomed over her. The Rocky scent engulfed her. He wore his new straw hat. He looked so Plain. Appearances meant nothing, Frannie knew that, but the sight of him made her want to sit down right where she stood. Her feet were lumps of wood. If s
he tried to walk, she’d keel over. “Here I am.”

  Rocky scratched Butch behind floppy ears. The dog panted in sheer delight and went back to eating. “Does Abigail know you’re feeding Butch bacon? That has to be some form of sacrilege.”

  “Hush. He’s a good dog. He deserves a treat.”

  He shrugged those massive shoulders. “I reckon you’re right.”

  His hand came up and his thumb brushed against Frannie’s cheek. Suddenly she didn’t need her shawl after all. “What are you doing?”

  “At least you’re not still asking me what I’m doing here.” The humor in the words didn’t match his serious expression. “You had a smudge of syrup on your face.”

  The plate clattered against the wood beneath her feet. She bent to pick it up. Her head collided with his. “Ouch. Ouch!”

  “Yikes, ouch, sorry!” They both straightened. Rocky held the plate, by some miracle, unbroken in his hand. “Sorry. That’s what happens when I try to be helpful.”

  Would it always be this hard for them? Frannie wanted to find out. She couldn’t wait to find out. She snatched the dirty plate, tempted to press it against her apron for fear it would fall again. “Was there . . . something else?”

  “Yep. I mean, jah.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’m so happy about being allowed to stay. I was wondering . . . are you happy too?”

  “Of course I am. It’s what I wanted. For you. And for me. If it’s what you want.”

  “It is. It truly is. I’m looking forward to spring and the baptism classes.”

  A question not asked echoed through his words.

  “Me too.”

  “You’ll be baptized with me, then?”

  With or without him, of course, but Frannie knew what he meant. “I’ll be baptized.”

  Rocky shuffled his big feet, his smile almost shy. “I feel bad. I don’t have a Christmas gift yet for you. I couldn’t decide.”

  She’d already received the gift of his continued presence in her life. A chance that they could be together. “You don’t have to get me anything. It doesn’t work that way—leastways not around here.”

  He would learn that now. It would be a pleasure to watch him embrace this new season in his life. If he planned to share it with her. Surely, he did. Still, a girl didn’t like to take these things for granted.

  “There are so many things I thought of getting you.” He stared over her shoulder. “I just thought . . . well, now that we know I’m staying, well . . .”

  Come on, Rocky. “Well, what?”

  “I wondered what that means for us.”

  “What do you think it means?”

  “I know what I hope it means.”

  The man was seriously addled. Frannie set the plate on the porch banister. She grabbed his hand and entwined her fingers in his. “Do I have to do all the work here?”

  “No. You don’t.” His Adam’s apple bobbed as his gaze fastened on their hands. “I hope it means you’ll take a buggy ride with me—a lot of buggy rides. That I’ll need lots of batteries for my flashlight, and neither of us will get enough sleep anytime soon because we’ll be driving around the countryside talking all hours of the night.”

  “That’s all you’ve got?” Frannie tugged her hand from his and crossed her arms. “You can do better, Rocky Sanders, I know you can.”

  He snorted and shook his head. “You make me crazy, Amish woman.”

  “You make me crazy, Englisch man.”

  His belly laugh mingled with her higher, softer giggle. Frannie loved that sound almost as much as she loved Rocky.

  He sighed and wiped at his eyes with the back of his sleeve. “I keep thinking about how patient God is with us. It takes us so long to figure everything out. We moan and carry on about His will and His plan, trying to figure it out.”

  She certainly had done her share of moaning and carrying on in the last year. “We do.”

  “We need to be patient.”

  “We do?”

  “I love you. I want to marry you. But I have things I need to do first. A lot of learning. A lot of changing to do. Can you understand that?”

  Love you. Marry you. Frannie’s brain was stuck on the first two sentences. Fraa. Mann. Boplin. The life for which she’d prayed and hoped. “Jah.”

  “Do you understand?” He looked so worried, so uncertain. “Will you wait?”

  “Of course I’ll wait.” Frannie inhaled. Finally. A breath. “I love you too.”

  He sighed as if he’d been holding his breath. “What will your parents think of all this?”

  “Leroy called and left a message at the phone shack last night. They left their own message this morning at the store.”

  “No argument?”

  “They trust folks here. They trust Leroy.”

  “What would you think about going home then?”

  “Back to Jamesport?” Sweet relief ran through her. No more holidays without cheeky Hannah and baby Rachel, who surely wasn’t a baby anymore. Obadiah and his brood. Rufus. Joshua and his mystery special person. “Back to my family and yours? I’d like that, but truth be told, I only want to live wherever you live.”

  “We’ll go home, then, when the time is right.”

  His gaze, full of emotion, full of love, wandered across her face. His expression held her there, unable to look away. Aenti Abigail could storm onto the porch at this very moment, Onkel Mordecai bringing up the rear, and Frannie wouldn’t be able to move.

  His hands came up, both of them this time. They cupped her face. His expression gave her a hint of what was to come, but she didn’t have time to brace herself. He leaned down. His lips touched hers. She closed her eyes, wondering at the softness of his skin on hers. She reached for something to hold on to before she fell into the whirling vortex of emotion. Her hands found and gripped his solid biceps. He would always be the rock to which she could cling.

  Her heart quivered and opened like a sunflower seeking the warmth and brilliance of the sun. Rocky filled up every nook and cranny that had been waiting for him to simply come home to her. He tasted of kaffi, maple syrup, dreams, and hopes. The kiss deepened and lingered with a sweet promise of many more such kisses.

  After a time, he raised his head a scant few inches. His arms dropped. For an instant, Frannie felt cold. Then he wrapped them around her waist, lifted her off her feet, and pressed her against his chest. “How about that?” he murmured. “What do you think of that?”

  Frannie felt as if she were flying, wings spread for the first time in her life. She rested her forehead on Rocky’s shoulder. “You found the perfect gift.”

  “I reckon it’s the first of many such gifts.”

  He proceeded to make good on that promise.

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. Rocky follows Frannie from Missouri to south Texas, knowing her family disapproves. Do you think he is right to pursue her, knowing she’ll have to give up her faith and family to be with him if he doesn’t join her faith? Do you think love is more important than approval?

  2. Frannie and Rocky both say they will abide by Leroy’s decision. Rocky will go home and Frannie will become a teacher’s aide, knowing she’ll never marry. Do you believe in a love so strong, you’d be willing to forego all other chances for marriage and family because of it?

  3. Rocky has never felt close to God because he identifies him as “abba” or “father.” His father abandoned him and left his mother for another woman. Do you have trouble relating to God the Father because of problems in your own life? How do you over
come those feelings?

  4. Rocky is willing to give up electricity, computers, his phone, even his beloved Dodge Ram pickup in order to put distance between himself and the world so he can be closer to God. What are you willing to give up in order to have a closer relationship with God?

  5. Abigail tells Frannie that English people are rarely successful when they join the Amish faith. They’re unable to adapt to such a plain, austere lifestyle. What can you do to lead a simpler, more Godly life without going so far as to give up electricity, cars, computers, and phones?

  Recipe

  ROCKY’S FAVORITE GINGERSNAPS

  1 cup packed brown sugar

  ¾ cup shortening

  ¼ cup molasses

  1 egg

  2-¼ cups all-purpose flour

  2 teaspoons baking soda

  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  1 teaspoon ginger

  ½ teaspoon ground cloves

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  Granulated sugar

  Mix brown sugar, shortening, molasses, and egg. Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

  Heat oven to 375 degrees. Shape dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls. Dip tops in granulated sugar. Place balls, sugared sides up, about 3 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake cookies just until set, 10 to 12 minutes. Immediately remove from cookie sheet.

  YIELDS ABOUT 4 DOZEN COOKIES.

  Enjoy an excerpt from

  Naomi's Gift

  by Amy Clipston

  CHAPTER 1

  Caleb sucked in a deep breath as the taxi van bounced down Route 340 toward Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania. After nearly a decade, he’d returned to the town of his birth. He clasped his hands together. Why was he nervous? This was supposed to be a happy reunion with his family, and yet, his palms were sweaty with anticipation despite the biting December wind.