In Time for an Amish Christmas

by Samantha Price

  When Mrs. Jemison saw me for the first time, she said, “You are a dear little girl, so pretty and delicate. We will have to fatten you up. You are too thin."

  I didn't tell her I was not intending to fatten myself up. I’m not even skinny, I’m just normal and average size, aside from being short. The way I am is just normal for me, just as she is naturally squat. I asked if I could help her cook while I was here and she seemed pleased and then she told me she wrote Mamm that she would give me all her cooking secrets.

  I was so pleased and thanked her. I know it’s a big thing for women to hand over their cooking secrets. Aunt Sarah told me that making good food and being a hardworker was a way to a man’s heart. I nearly laughed, but stopped myself because she hadn’t meant it to be funny. I think she could see I was about to laugh because she shot me a funny look and her icy blue eyes fixed themselves upon me. I had to look away from her.

  Then she told me to read Proverbs 31 about a virtuous woman. I told her I would and that I brought a bible with me from home. I could tell she was pleased about that and she gave me a big smile.

  For the evening meal tonight, we had roast beef, roasted corn on the cob, sweet potatoes and beets, with fresh crusty bread to soak up the extra gravy. Dessert was a lemon meringue pie with cream. I found out I love lemon meringue pie and it could very well be my newest favorite dessert. I could eat dessert and nothing else. That would be good, I thought, if I never ate meat and vegetables again and then had room for more dessert. I could eat three or four desserts at one time.

  * * *

  Before dinner, I met the Jemison boys. Joe, the eldest was short like his mother, and fairly plain in the looks department. Jeremiah was tall, slim and very good-looking, like his father would’ve been in his youth. Abraham was not very good-looking, and neither did he look like either of his parents. Although, he did have lovely dark curly hair and a friendly smile.

  After the dinner and the washing up was done, both Aunt Sarah and I joined the men in the living room in front of a huge fire. It wasn’t even very cold outside. At home, we wouldn’t have had the fire on in this hot weather. It seemed like a big waste of firewood to me. Not just the wood but the time and the effort to cut all the wood. I guess with three big men in the house, four including Onkel Abel, it wouldn’t be such an effort for them. It seemed a waste to me, and Mamm would’ve thought the same.

  Jeremiah said to me, "What are you doing here, Agnes? Surely such a pretty woman as you could find plenty of suitable men for choosing a husband where you came from. It’s such a large community."

  That shocked Aunt Sarah. "Jeremiah? Enough!"

  It was then that I realized everyone would think I was traveling to find a husband. “Maybe I’m not interested in marriage." I don’t know why I said it, but the moment I did, I regretted it as everyone gasped. I’d shocked all of them.

  Job, the eldest spoke up with a stern voice, and said, “Gott made woman and He made man to marry and have kinner, and the sooner you learn that, the better for you."

  I nodded. What else could I do? I didn’t want to say that Gott didn’t make man and woman for only that purpose. I mean, who knows the mind of Gott? After this, there was an awkward silence. Aunt Sarah asked if I would like an early night and, after that business, I was eager to agree to one. I wonder if they want to send me right back home? Or, maybe on to my next place early?

  In future, I will keep out of Job's way and think before I speak. I didn’t like Job’s beady little eyes judging me.

  * * *

  Now it is the next night. They didn’t send me away after that awful exchange with Job. I’ve managed to stay in the kitchen all day and learn some of Aunt Sarah’s secrets. She’s always telling me things from the bible and quoting things.

  I asked her for the recipe to the lemon meringue pie. She gave it to me to copy out right then, and tonight I will copy it again, right here in my book in case I lose the paper I wrote it on.

  Lemon Meringue Pie

  First you’ll need to bake the pastry.

  Sweet Pie Cookie-style Pastry:

  Ingredients:

  ½ cup butter

  ½ cup sugar

  2 cups flour

  1 egg

  * * *

  Method:

  Cream the butter and the sugar.

  Add egg and beat well

  Add sifted flour.

  Knead lightly

  Roll out to size and press into pie tin.

  Bake in a moderate oven for about twenty minutes, until lightly browned.

  Set on a rack to cool.

  * * *

  Filling:

  Ingredients:

  2 tablespoons of plain flour

  2 tablespoons of cornflour (cornstarch)

  Half a cup of white sugar

  Half a cup of lemon juice

  Half a cup of boiling water

  Two egg yolks

  Grated outer-layer of one lemon (the "zest")

  1 tablespoon butter

  * * *

  Meringue:

  2 egg whites

  4 tablespoons of sugar

  * * *

  Method:

  Blend flour, cornflour and sugar in a saucepan with water along with the lemon juice. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly.

  Boil until it thickens and keep stirring.

  Add lightly- beaten egg yolks, butter and lemon rind, and stir until mixed well.

  Place in already baked and cooled pie crust.

  * * *

  Beat egg whites until stiff

  Add sugar gradually and continue beating until thick.

  Pile on top of pie and place in a very moderate oven or under a slow griller until lightly brown.

  Today I also learned how to make apple pie and custard. Aunt Sarah didn’t cook it, she just told me how she makes it and allowed me to copy the recipe out. She said her pie crust for the apple pie is different from others and she makes it with crushed cookies. That’s her big secret. She also has a secret for preparing the apples for the pie.

  The secret she told me is that she drains all the liquid from the apples by heating them, straining them, letting them stand until they have cooled, and then heating them slightly again to take out all the liquid and letting them cool again. It seems a lot of trouble, but she assures me that it really does make a difference.

  I’m not just going to take her say-so on it. The first time, I’m going to try what she said to do, and then the next time, I’m just going to strain the stewed apple once and then I’ll compare the results. I hope the shorter way tastes as good.

  Tomorrow night we are having turkey and vegetables. It’s a plain dish and I don’t know if I’ll learn much from that. It’s just putting a turkey in the oven and then baking the vegetables. Even I can do that.

  I also heard that Malachi Arnold will be arriving for dinner and staying here until I leave for Mamm’s cousin’s house in Munfordville. He’s not staying here in this house, but here with someone else in the community. Elizabeth, Mamm’s cousin, has a store and is famous for her jams, pickles, and chutneys. Mamm has always talked a lot about her and I can’t wait to meet her.

  Aunt Sarah says I’ll be an expert cook by the time I arrive home and I’ll be ready to make some man a gut fraa. She even said if I strive hard, I might become a virtuous woman. I wonder if she judges herself as a virtuous woman. Most likely or she wouldn’t say I might become one.

  Then she said, “Don't overlook my boys. I can see Jeremiah has taken a liking for you, but he is greatly influenced by his vadder and his bruder. They are both trying to persuade him to marry Betty Mueller. She is strong and solid like me and would make an excellent choice for him.”

  "Why is Malachi Arnold coming here?” I asked, ignoring what she said about Jeremiah. She didn’t seem to mind that I didn’t comment about Jeremiah.

  “I believe he wants to purchase some of our horses. He’s coming from such a long way because he has heard how good they are."r />
  I didn’t believe it. We shall see if he buys any of their horses. Even if he did, how would he get them home? It’s such a distance from where we live and we don’t have trouble buying horses in our community. There are plenty of them. I’m starting to think that Malachi Arnold is Mamm’s secret plan. It is most likely a matchmaking plan and if that is so, it’s deeply embarrassing.

  Crushed-cookie Pie Crust

  Ingredients:

  2 cups crushed cookies

  ½ cup melted butter

  ⅓ cup sugar

  Method:

  Mix all the ingredients together and press evenly onto the base and sides of the pie dish

  Bake in a moderately high oven for ten minutes.

  Heidi yawned, and was too tired to read more. Did Agnes end up marrying Malachi? Was that Agnes’s mother’s secret plan? Dat never talked about his history or his family. Heidi didn’t even know her own paternal grandmother’s name until she was given the diary. Heidi was tempted to skip to the end and hopefully there’d be a proper conclusion to what happened to Agnes. Going by the size of the diary, it seemed possible. She hugged the diary to herself and closed her eyes.

  Chapter 14

  Friday, December 22

  * * *

  Heidi woke up to glaring sunlight. She shaded her eyes and then realized she’d fallen asleep on the couch. But it wasn’t the couch in her Amish home. She jumped to her feet and looked around. She was delighted to be back in her New York apartment. Hearing a thud, she looked down to see her grandmother’s diary had landed on the floor. She looked down at it and moved it out of the way with her foot.

  She excitedly ran around the apartment and then stopped at the mirror in the bathroom. There were dark circles under her eyes and she looked pale and tired, but her hair was back to the short style, and because she’d been sleeping it was sticking out on end. She turned on the tap, wet her hands, and smoothed down her hair.

  On hearing the traffic in the street below, she ran to the living room window and opened it. There were cars and crowds, smog and noise. Yes! This was her real life and she was back!

  She pulled her iPhone out of her handbag in the bedroom to see it was December 22, Friday, at six in the morning. This was the day of the staff Christmas party. It can’t have been a dream because she’d lost days—as many days as she’d lived with Derek.

  Whatever had happened, she was pleased to be back. “I’m back!”

  When she walked to the couch, she picked up her grandmother’s diary.

  “Thank you, and denke, Grandmamma.” She never wanted to leave again. It was nice to have lived something that might’ve been, but even better to be back home. Never again did she want to go back to the confines of the restrictive Amish community. She had a taste of what her life would’ve been like if she’d stayed and married Derek and it would’ve been exhausting married to Derek with three children. There were too many constant demands and way too many menial tasks. It was much easier to deal with the infighting of the realtors squabbling over commissions and leads.

  She smiled when she looked down and saw that she was wearing a silky cream robe. No longer would she have to wear those dreadful Amish clothes that covered her from head to foot and showed nothing of her figure.

  What had happened in this life while she was gone? That was something she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. It was all too much to handle and to think about. She raced to the bathroom again and had a quick shower, enjoying the fact that she didn’t have to worry about getting her long hair wet.

  After her shower, she changed into her usual attire of tight-fitting skirt and blouse, and the jacket that matched the skirt. Once she'd applied make-up and slipped on a pair of dressy heels, she grabbed her bag and overcoat, and headed to her regular café for breakfast.

  As soon as she stepped through the door, it concerned her that the café had changed. If the café was different, what else would be different back here in this life? She felt a little comforted when Ralph, the owner of the café, saw her and waved. After she had waved back, she walked to her usual table, noticing that instead of carpet there were polished floorboards. Patterned graffiti wallpaper adorned the walls, and black steel pendant lights hung from the ceiling.

  She slid into her usual booth at the back of the café. She was glad that it was free and they still had the same familiar arrangement of tables within the four walls. After she had pulled her laptop out of her bag, she resumed work on her speech for the Christmas party.

  She caught the owner’s attention and he walked over. “What’s happened here, Ralph?”

  He chuckled. “You didn’t notice the work going on over the last couple of days?”

  “I’ve been away.”

  “I should’ve told you, but we did have a sign on the door that we’d be undergoing the renovations. We’ve been closed for the last few days.”

  Heidi shook her head. “I didn’t notice the sign.”

  “Didn’t you? It was up for several weeks.”

  “I don’t usually notice things like that. It looks good, though.”

  “Thanks. We’re all finished. This is the first day of the new look. I’m pleased you like it.”

  “It’s very on trend.”

  “Thanks. I better get back to making your coffee.”

  She turned back to her laptop and kept working on her speech. She always made one right before she gave out the bonuses, a clever trick to make certain that all her staff attended. Although, the free food and alcohol might have been enough to ensure that. The staff party was another opportunity to motivate her workers. They too could be as successful as she, if they worked smart and if they worked hard. She’d inspire them by once again telling them her story of how she got to where she was from nothing.

  “Here you go, Heidi. One cheese and ham croissant and a double shot cappuccino.”

  “Thanks, Ralph.”

  The owner of the café placed her food down in front of her.

  After she stared at the chocolate sprinkles on the froth, she was reminded that Derek had thought she liked a totally different kind of coffee. There was an emptiness within, a sensation of emptiness without Derek. Her heart was like a desert wasteland. She dismissed the feeling as quickly as it had come, took a sip of coffee, and then took a bite of her croissant while telling herself how good it was to be back home where she belonged, in her familiar surroundings. Nearly every day she had breakfast at that café. The only exceptions were when she had morning staff meetings in the boardroom where fresh pastries and coffee were served.

  After Heidi spent some time on her speech, she thought more about her goals. Sure, she’d come a long way, but she wanted to reach higher. There was a need for her kind of business all across the country, in every city of any size. Before she opened more offices, though, she had to get this office and her staff running smoothly. Right now, she had to focus on getting through Christmas.

  She finished her croissant and wiped her fingers on a paper napkin. In the new year, she’d eat better and start going to a gym. After she did some more work on her speech, she jotted down some ideas for new year’s resolutions. Some of her ideas were to get new friends, people who didn’t work for her, and to find time to travel.

  Once she was finished, she packed her computer away, drained the last of her coffee, which was now cold, and then headed out of the café. Her office was only a five-minute walk from the coffee shop.

  Chapter 15

  Heidi walked into her office and was pleased to see Lee’s smiling face looking at her from behind the reception desk. The other receptionist was busy taking a call.

  “Good morning, Lee. Any messages for me?”

  “Yes, I emailed them all to you.”

  “Thanks.” She leaned against the counter. “How are we doing with the situation regarding the leads? Any more complaints?”

  Lee rolled her eyes. “There are always complaints. No one’s happy.”

  “I’m fine tuning a few solutions
.”

  Lee nodded. “That would be good. They keep blaming me.”

  “Just keep doing what you’re doing, for the moment.”

  “I will.”

  Heidi gave her a smile and kept walking through to her office. Lee wasn’t stupid, she knew to give Janelle the expensive leads because she was reliable and closed the highest percentage. She pushed the door of her office open and sat behind her highly polished wooden desk. Then she looked up at the awards she and her agency had won. When she first started working in real estate, someone said to her, ‘you’re only as good as your last sale,’ and she found that could be applied to everything in life. If you’re not moving ahead, you’re falling behind.

  Her assistant, Amanda, knocked on her door.

  “Come in.”

  “Heidi, I just got the final numbers for the party tonight.”

  “We should’ve had them days ago.”

  “We did, but a couple more people are coming. It shouldn’t make too much difference.”

  “Okay, call them through to Jill.” Jill was the caterer. She’d been catering their Christmas parties for the last five years.

  When Amanda left, from the security camera monitor in her office, Heidi saw the sales staff coming through the door just before nine. She clicked on her desktop computer and looked in her diary to see what appointments she had. She had a meeting with Frank Dyson, a successful and well-known developer. He had several apartments he couldn’t sell and was thinking of leasing them. After that, the only thing she had was the party at six. It was going to be an easy day, and if she landed Frank’s business ... she’d only need one appointment like that a day to keep her well ahead of the game.

  Then Heidi clicked over to have a look at the various appointments that the agents had booked. When she saw the bright blue bars across all the timelines, she put her hands behind her head and leaned back. Each of her agents had at least four office-generated appointments.