“You mustn’t worry about me, Ben.” Her voice broke. “You really mustn’t.”
“I know you’re right. It’s just hard for me. It has always been. But I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.”
She leaned on his arm when they both stumbled over a small ditch. Ben held her steady until they’d both righted themselves. “I think we need to watch where we’re going!” Ben joked.
“That’s hard to do with you around.”
Ben laughed. “I wonder what Enos would say if he heard you talking like that?”
Katie grimaced. “Throw me right out of the schoolhouse at once, I suppose.”
“Maybe Norman could be spoken to about this problem?” Ben suggested. “He seems nice enough today. And he has his daett’s ear, no doubt.”
Katie shook her head. “I wouldn’t try. It won’t work, and I’ll only look weak. Enos would probably love to hear that I’m begging for mercy.”
“Then I will speak with Bishop Miller on the way home tonight. It’s the least I can do.”
Katie smiled up at him as they approached the barn. “Thanks, but you don’t have to.”
“I want to, Katie!”
She pulled his arm toward the barn door. “Just a few minutes, Ben. Where no one can see us.”
He followed her as the darkness of the barn fell around them. Katie paused just inside the door, her hands searching for his face. She pulled him toward her, and he kissed her. Long moments of silence followed, with his hands on her shoulders.
“You’re sweet, you know.” Ben lifted his head.
“And so are you,” Katie murmured, resting her head on his chest. “But I suppose we better go in before someone catches us.”
He chuckled and led the way out into the sunlight. “We’ll have to do that more often.”
A shadow crossed her face, which Katie replaced quickly before Ben noticed. “I’ll be seeing you soon again, won’t I?”
Ben gave her a quick glance. “You know I can’t come often, Katie. I’m already harming you enough.”
“It wouldn’t be any worse than it is now. And I’d get to see you.”
“I’m sorry, Katie, but these are also my people. I know them well. It can get a whole lot worse for you…and for us.”
“Then hurry, Ben. I can’t stand being away from you. I want to see you every week like other dating couples do.”
Ben squeezed her hand. “We’re not like the others, Katie. It’s different for us. It’s always been different.”
She looked up at his face. “But you too…you feel what I feel, don’t you? That we belong here in spite of the differences? That these are our people. That this is our faith. And that we’re filled with the same longing to be in the will of Da Hah as they are?”
“Yah, Katie. I feel it in my heart. My mind gets in the way sometimes, but I’m not turning back now.”
“Thank you, Ben.” Katie smiled. “I thought you felt that way, but I needed the encouragement.”
“Katie, do you think believing is more than not seeing?”
“Ben.” Katie held his hand for a moment. “I think it’s about choosing right regardless of what you see. That and being helped along by people who care, like Mamm and Jesse for example. And like Bishop Miller and Laura do. He’s one of those whose heart touches others easily.”
“Your faith shames me, Katie.” Ben smiled. “Come, I think we’d better go inside before they all wonder where we’ve gone.”
Katie led the way this time, and they entered the living room.
Mabel looked up from her seat on the couch. “Looks like someone’s been having fun,” she said.
“You should try taking a walk out back,” Katie said. “It’s a nice day.”
Mabel’s face brightened. “Let’s do, Norman. That would be fun.”
Norman shook his head, his face sullen. “I think it’s time we go home.”
“But Norman…” Mabel protested.
Norman was already on his feet and grabbing his hat.
“The afternoon’s young!” Ben called after him, but Norman never stopped walking. He opened the front door and walked out.
“I’m so sorry.” Katie gave Mabel a quick hug. “I know it’s hard, but Da Hah will give you grace, Mabel.”
“You shouldn’t be comforting me,” Mabel said, wiping her eyes. “Not after the way I used you before the wedding. And then I wouldn’t let you be my bridesmaid. I’m very, very wicked, Katie. I can see that now.”
“Hush, Mabel. That’s nonsense. You had to listen to what Norman said.”
Mabel hung her head. “But I was in full agreement with him, Katie. I’m not excusing myself.”
“It’s okay.” Katie gave Mabel another hug. “But you’ll have to tell your daett if this gets much worse. Promise me, Mabel.”
“It won’t!” Alarm flew into Mabel’s face. “It just can’t!”
“Norman has a problem,” Katie said. “You can’t ignore it.”
Mabel burst into sobs and clung to Katie.
Mamm must have heard because she appeared in the kitchen doorway. “What’s wrong, girls?”
“Norman’s leaving early,” Katie offered, quickly pasting on a smile. There was no sense in worrying Mamm. Jesse was the only one who could help Mabel in this situation. And Mabel wasn’t willing to accept that yet or she would have said something to him already.
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Mamm cooed. “It’s still early.”
“Thanks for having us over.” Mabel put on her coat and gave Mamm a pained smile and quick hug. “Norman probably has Bonnie hitched up by now. I’d best be going.” She gave everyone a quick wave and then headed out the front door too.
At that moment, they heard buggy wheels as Norman drove Bonnie in front of the house.
“Is something going on between Mabel and Norman?” Mamm asked, walking to the living room window to watch Mabel climb into the buggy. Norman slapped the reins against Bonnie’s back, and the buggy lurched and then headed down the driveway.
“They’re having some trouble,” Katie admitted. “Mabel is finding out that Norman has quite a temper. I’m sure Mabel will talk to Jesse if she feels it’s necessary.”
Mamm’s face fell. “I was hoping I’d imagined things today. I sensed she was troubled.”
Quick, bitter remarks about the Kuntz family wanted to burst out of Katie’s lips, but she sealed them inside.
“We will have to pray for Mabel,” Mamm said as they watched the speck that was Norman’s buggy disappear in the distance. “He comes from such a gut family.”
Ben made a choking sound from the couch, and Katie gave him a quick glare.
“I think I should be going myself,” Ben said, rising. Katie nodded and followed him to the front door. Mamm was still looking out the window as they walked across the lawn to the barn. After harnessing Longstreet and bringing him outside, Ben and Katie hitched up the buggy.
“I’ll be seeing you as soon as I can,” Ben said as he climbed up into the buggy seat.
“I hope so,” Katie said. She waved as he drove off. If only they could be happy together forever…starting right now.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Katie pulled up the blinds at the schoolhouse Friday morning, allowing the early morning sunlight to pour into the room. Enos and the rest of the board members would soon be here. Those three men had the power to decide her teaching fate. But perhaps she was being dramatic about this. Enos might have changed his tune by now. Or he might not be able to persuade the others to his point of view.
Katie stepped back from the window as the first buggy came into the school lane. Enos was arriving early, likely to make sure she didn’t spend any time in conversation with the others before he got his words in. But there she was going again, thinking ill of Enos when she had no proof. He was her elder and well respected in the community. She would have to make a major effort this morning to see his point of view.
The problem was that she couldn’t. Try a
s she would, Mabel’s weeping face wouldn’t leave her memory. Norman was misusing her, and Norman was Enos’s son. And Enos seemed a lot more interested in disciplining her than in admitting the sins of his two sons. Katie sighed but went to open the door for Enos. They were all fallen human beings and full of error. She would have to keep that in mind.
“Gut morning,” she said as she opened the door with a bright smile. “I hope your family had a nice Thanksgiving.”
Enos looked surprised, but he nodded as he entered the room. “It was okay.” He squeezed himself into one of the larger desks. “Katie,” he continued, “I hope you understand that we have your best interests in mind. That and the community’s interests, of course. That’s the way of our people. We don’t live or die to ourselves, but for each other.”
“I’m sorry you think I’ve failed.”
Before Enos could respond, the sound of another buggy arriving reached them. Katie left Enos squashed in his seat and waited by the door. The third buggy arrived just seconds later, and Katie opened the door and peered outside. There would be a longer wait now, she figured. The two men would exchange a few words outside before they came in together. She decided to retreat for a moment. That was a better option than fidgeting by the front door where Enos could see her. If the men got to the door while she was gone, they could find their way inside.
After a few minutes, Katie gathered her courage and opened the door a crack. She could hear the murmur of voices in the classroom. The two new arrivals were Samuel Miller and Ray Mast. Ray was a younger, married man who’s first child was in school. He was well thought of in the community in spite of his youth.
Samuel Miller was older and the father of Jane, who was in the eighth grade. At the Sunday meetings he appeared quiet like Jane.
Katie didn’t know him that well, and she expected they wouldn’t be hearing much out of him today. That probably wouldn’t serve her well. She needed a strong, independent-minded man who could stand up to Enos. Ray Mast was her hope. That and Da Hah, who would surely be by her side during this difficult time.
Katie fussed with her kapp to make sure it was straight, took a deep breath, opened the door wide, and walked up the hall into the classroom.
“Hello, Katie,” Ray greeted. “I hope my boy Troy is doing okay. He says he likes the first grade.”
“He’s doing fine,” Katie said. “He’s a good boy. I’m glad he likes school.”
“Gut morning, Katie.” Samuel also gave her a smile. “I hope we’re not disturbing your morning too much.”
Katie shrugged. “It’s the day after Thanksgiving. Nothing’s really happening at the house. And I will help Mamm with the cleanup later in the day.”
They all nodded and smiled as if this were not the serious occasion it was.
Enos finally cleared his throat. “Let’s get on with this then, and not take up more of Katie’s time than we need to. Would you perhaps lead out in prayer, Samuel?”
“Yah, this would be well.” Samuel bowed his head. “Dear Hah, we give You thanks again this morning for this day and for Your mercy and grace. Thank You also for Katie, and for the work she’s doing here at the school. Give us wisdom today. Guide our hearts into Your eternal will and ways. Amen.”
Katie wiped away a tear. Samuel’s prayer had touched her heart deeply. It was like a balm on a hurting sore. Perhaps there was hope that things would turn out okay.
Enos wasted no time. He opened Abram’s notebook and addressed the other two men. “Here is the problem that Katie has brought to my attention. She feels that Abram has been copying answers from Noah Stoll’s book. Abram strongly denies this. When we could come to no gut agreement on the matter, I suggested we call for the rest of the school board to judge this matter.”
This was no “suggestion” from Enos, Katie thought. He’d demanded this meeting. She kept quiet and managed to smile as he continued to speak.
“Katie, will you show us the tablet from which you think Abram copied the answers?”
Katie jumped up and retrieved Noah’s tablet from its usual place in his desk.
Why did Enos have Abram’s tablet? she wondered. Abram usually left it here like the other children did. Their school lessons didn’t require homework.
Katie handed Noah’s tablet to Enos with a puzzled expression on her face. “Abram took his tablet home to you?”
Enos gave her a sharp look. “Yes. He wanted to show me what was going on.”
That was likely Abram’s lie, Katie figured. That boy had something up his sleeve.
Ray interrupted Katie’s thoughts. “Explain to us what the problem is, Katie.”
Katie took a deep breath and began. “Joel, my brother, came to me and said he’d seen Abram looking at Noah’s tablet during recess and copying down answers.”
“Do you think he could have been mistaken?” Ray asked.
Katie nodded. “Of course. That’s why I looked through both of their tablets and checked the answers with my answer key. The two problems Noah had wrong were also the two that Abram had wrong. It’s not likely that something like that would happen by chance.”
Ray thought for a moment. “Noah could have done the copying and not the other way around. Is that Abram’s story? And didn’t Abram, in fact, accuse Noah of cheating a few weeks ago?”
“Yah, he did. And I looked into it at the time,” Katie said.
“And you decided not to believe Abram?” Ray asked.
So Enos had gotten to Ray, Katie thought. Her heart sank, but she refused to give up now. Truth was on her side. “That is true. But there were no matching wrong answers that day.”
A smile crept across Enos’s face. “And why would Abram be so stupid as to cheat now, knowing what you were going to look for? He’s not dumb, Katie. And look here.” Enos handed over the tablet. “Doesn’t Abram have the problems worked out below here? Just like Noah does. It looks to me as if they both made the same mistake. If that’s the case, how can you accuse one student of cheating under those circumstances?”
Katie scanned the page quickly. Her voice faltered. “I guess they are worked out. But they weren’t before. This has been done recently.”
Enos cleared his throat. “So on top of your charge of Abram’s cheating, you think he has now tried to cover his tracks by working on the problems after the fact? That’s highly unlikely.”
Why should they believe her? Katie wondered. There was no way to prove either side, so it would be her word against Abram’s…and against Enos’s too. She glanced at Ray and Samuel. They looked skeptical. Enos had obviously influenced them before she came in the room, possibly even before this morning.
“Did you talk about Abram’s accusation at home, Katie?” This question came from Samuel, confirming in Katie’s mind that Enos had fed the two men information prior to meeting.
Katie shook her head.
“Maybe you should be more careful in the future,” Enos said, as if she hadn’t denied the charge. The other two men were looking quite serious.
“This is the worst kind of mistake a young teacher can make,” Enos continued. “Involving family members in school problems. You may have something against Norman, Katie, for cutting off his relationship with you earlier in the year. But that is not an excuse.”
“But I didn’t talk to anyone in my family about this,” Katie sputtered.
“It’s an easy thing to do,” Samuel countered. “When one’s heart is broken, it’s easy to make mistakes. We wouldn’t hold that against you, Katie.”
Ray spoke before Katie could catch her breath.
“I hear you have resumed your relationship with Ben Stoll. I have to concede that your judgment is very troubling, Katie. To so quickly change your heart’s affection from one man to another. In fact, Enos said Norman told him that’s why he broke off the relationship—because your heart was attached to Ben all along. Even with the disgrace Ben brought on the community with his crime and jail term, you support him. And Ben is now separated f
rom the community and considering testifying again in a court of law against the Englisha who shot him. Our people have been greatly shamed by his actions, Katie. You shouldn’t have anything to do with Ben Stoll.”
Katie looked away. She was going to burst into tears at any moment. Why was it any of their business that she loved Ben?
Samuel’s voice was sympathetic but his words cut deep. “This is looking worse for you, Katie. You must surely see this.”
“He’s not going to testify,” Katie finally stated. “Ben told me so, and he has told Bishop Miller the same.”
The men looked at each other for a moment, and then Enos shrugged and broke the silence. “If this is true, then Ben has chosen well. But that still doesn’t change the question of your judgment, Katie. We can’t have our schoolteacher associating with a man who has made a serious break with our traditions. And we know Ben has done so. I’m surprised you can’t see the situation without someone telling you.”
“Perhaps Katie is willing to cut off her relationship with Ben Stoll now that she’s been rebuked for her error?” Samuel asked.
Katie figured he was trying to give her a chance to rectify the situation. At least he had a heart.
Enos didn’t appear pleased by this offer, but he waited with the others for her response.
Katie didn’t keep them waiting long. “I can’t do that. Da Hah has brought our hearts back together, and I will not deny my love for Ben.”
“Then I would say our response is clear.” Enos almost looked delighted. “Katie is making serious errors in judgment, both in school and in her personal life. It can’t help but affect her students, and perhaps bring an even greater shame on the school and the community.”
“What are you proposing, Enos?” Samuel asked. “We usually give our first-year school teachers a lot of understanding.”
Enos wasn’t backing down an inch. “This is not exactly a normal situation we are dealing with, Samuel. You must see that for yourself.”
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