“ Gut! ” Ezra pushed back his chair and stood. “Come walk with me before dark, so we can see what might work best.”
Just as quick as that, dinner was over and Naomi’s future was arranged. She knew that her savings, the nest egg that she’d created from her business would lend support to her desire to continue working. If Seth could see the real value of her work – that it was more than a diversion – then surely he would consent to Naomi’s continuing to work. As the two men left the room, the women rose and Ruth pulled Naomi into her arms.
“You and Seth will live here!” she said, hugging Naomi tightly. “I will help you with your babies—and love every moment!”
When they parted, Naomi did not bother to wipe away her tears of joy.
***
Much later, Naomi and Seth sat together in the parlor. Ruth and her father had gone up to bed, giving their unspoken permission for them to speak privately. Seth held Naomi’s hand, their fingers intertwined.
“I should get home,” he murmured after a time. “It is getting late, and the cows still need to be milked before first light.”
Naomi sighed. “I wish we could just stay like this. But I do have to speak with you on a matter.”
“I remember. What troubles you, Naomi?”
“You know that I have a stand in the Paradise market, yes?”
Seth merely nodded, as he could tell that it was difficult for Naomi to get started and he didn’t wish to slow her down.
“God has blessed me with a good business sense. I’m not being proud; it is simply the truth. I can see the profit and the yield in everything I grow and everything Ruth and I bake. Business has been good. Very good.”
Naomi paused to see the effect of her words on Seth. She saw his untroubled gaze and forged ahead. “Seth, I love my work, and I have managed to save a sizeable sum of money – more money than we need to run our household. My father suggested that I might use the money to invest in someone in our community – someone who has a vision and needs money to realize that vision. Seth, I want to invest in your vision. I want you to take the money I have saved and invest it in our future.”
Seth stared at Naomi, wide-eyed and stunned. “I can hardly string two words together, Naomi. Surely God has blessed both you and me this day. Not only have you agreed to let me court you, but you have provided the answer to my prayers. Surely this is a sign from God that we are living the way he would have us do.”
Naomi looked down at their hands, fingers still woven together. “There is more, Seth. I know that most women stop working entirely after they start a family, and I do not want you to think that I am so very modern, but I am determined to find a way to keep the business even while I care for the children we will have. I need for you to understand.”
Seth looked at Naomi and brought her hand to his lips. “Naomi, I cannot imagine a woman better suited to be my wife than you, and we will – together, the two of us – find a way to make it work. I will support you in your business, as you have supported me in mine. God would have us use our talents, not waste them.”
Tears of joy fell from Naomi’s eyes as she looked at Seth. The Lord had indeed blessed them both. A man this strong and flexible would make a good husband, and Naomi knew that she had found her partner for the rest of her days.
Seth grinned at Naomi. “Now the only trouble is that we have so long to wait. I am ready to begin building the barn and our life together right this minute!”
“Soon,” she assured him. “It is not so long until Fall Communion, and not long after when our intentions can be published. There is much to do between now and then, so the time will pass quickly.”
“Not quickly enough,” Seth complained with a smile. “You are right, though. It will have to be soon enough,” he said, squeezing her hand then rising and pulling her to her feet. “And in the meantime, with Miriam, your father, and your aunt all approving our match, it should not be difficult for us to meet often.”
“Every day?” she asked hopefully.
“At least once a day,” Seth promised with a smile as they walked to the door.
“I am so pleased you are the one God sent to me, Seth.”
He stopped and met her eyes in the glowing lamp light, lifting her fingers to his lips once more. “I will do my best to be worthy of His choice, Naomi, for I could not have found anyone who pleases me more than you.”
“Falling in love with you will be as natural as the sun rising or the seasons changing, I think,” she whispered.
He smiled. “I think I may already be halfway there.”
Naomi felt her heart quicken as he leaned down to touch his lips lightly to hers.
“All right, so maybe the time between now and our wedding will not pass ‘quickly enough,’” she admitted ruefully. Naomi giggled quietly and reached her free hand up to touch his face tenderly.
“Goodnight, Seth.”
“Goodnight.” He opened the door and looked down at her one last time. “Think of me.”
“Continuously,” she promised.
He chuckled and headed down the steps to his waiting buggy.
Naomi watched Seth until he turned down the lane. Sighing happily, she stepped back inside, closing the door against the night. Thank you, God, for the blessing of Seth! she prayed. Then she thought of her sister and sighed, her joy dampened only by Miriam’s loss.
And please, Heavenly Father, she added, please bring a new blessing for Miriam so that we may rejoice together.
Turning out the lamps as she passed, Naomi headed up to bed, a smile on her face and joy in her heart. “My cup truly runneth over,” she whispered.
Miriam's Story
"Come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord." 2 Corinthians 6:17
8
Miriam splashed water on her face and looked up into the small round mirror hanging over her dresser. Even though the bedroom window’s curtains filtered the morning sun, Miriam’s eyes were red and swollen, and it was obvious that she’d been crying. Thankful that,her mother-in-law, Rachel, had taken the girls to the frolic, where they would be practicing their stitching and quilting, Miriam had begged off because she had genuinely felt sick that morning. Since Shem, Miriam’s father-in-law, had been called away for an emergency, Miriam was alone in the house with her seven-year-old son, Ezra, sure to be too busy taking care of his beloved animals to notice that his mother was under the weather.
Putting a hand out to steady herself against the dresser when a small wave of vertigo hit, Miriam closed her eyes and waited for it to pass. What is wrong with me? she wondered, perplexed Well, of course! Jacob is dead!
She took a deep breath in an attempt to forestall another bout of tears. My husband is dead, and I do not know quite how to go on…
Other women lose their husbands , she reminded herself sternly. Four weeks had passed since her beloved Jacob had fallen from the roof of his brother’s barn as he attempted to climb down a ladder. It has only been one month , she argued, but she knew, for her family’s sake, she needed to stop feeling sorry for herself and move on. Her children needed her. Jacob’s parents needed her. Her sister, Naomi, needed her. Somehow, Miriam had to find a way to pick herself up and get on with her life.
Miriam squared her shoulders, stood up straighter, lifted her head and determined to try to feel better, even if by a little bit each day. Perhaps if she pushed herself just in tiny increments, she would one day realize that she had gotten to a better place. She knew that she had a long way to go, but Miriam knew that if she tried and prayed for the Lord’s help that she would begin to heal the hurt of Jacob’s loss.
She decided to give herself one more day to wallow in her sadness, and she thought about how she felt, that today, she even felt physically ill. Looking at her tired, drawn face in the mirror, she spoke to her reflection. “I have not felt this fragile since…”
Miriam froze, and opened her eyes wider to stare at herself in the mirror. In another moment she hastily backe
d towards the bed and sat down—hard.
“Dear God…”
When did I last have my courses? she wondered frantically, counting back the days and weeks. Jacob died exactly four weeks ago today. Two nights before that day, he had finally conceded it was time to try for another child. She had finished her bleeding more than a week before that and had welcomed him into her arms that night with joy. It had been a long, wonderful night, and she clearly remembered praying that it would bear fruit.
Miriam laid a trembling hand on her belly. Almost six weeks , she realized. It had been six weeks since her last courses.
She felt tears threaten once more, but this time the sorrow was tempered by joy.
“I will bear Jacob another child,” she whispered, awed by the mere thought of it. “Jacob gave me one more child to love…”
9
A half hour later, Miriam descended the stairs to the kitchen. She had washed her face once more, rebraided her hair, and changed her blouse in an attempt to make herself look more presentable. She still had two hours before Rachel would return, and since Shem was helping one of Jacob’s brothers with the calving of a troublesome milk cow, he would not likely be home until long after the girls returned. With Seth visiting her own family’s farm to work with her father on the stable they would build before Naomi and Seth’s wedding this fall, Miriam only had to plan for a meal for two. Though she didn’t really feel like eating, she knew Ezra would be hungry. As she thought about it, she realized that she had more than just her own needs to think about – she had Jacob’s baby to consider as well. She’d sit down with Ezra and force herself to eat something. Miriam smiled to herself as she thought about nourishing Jacob’s unborn child – the only bright spot she’d known in weeks.
Grateful for the kerosene-fueled refrigerator, Miriam pulled sliced ham, cheese, and juice out of the refrigerator, put them on the kitchen table, added slices from a fresh loaf of honey wheat bread, a tub of butter, and thick slices of zucchini bread. She set the kitchen table with the plain stoneware dishes they used for daily family dining and poured juice for Ezra and a cup of tea for herself. When the clock on the mantle chimed twelve, she went looking for her son.
Seth, always thoughtful and perceptive, had gone to the animal shelter in Paradise last week and brought home a young dog for Ezra’s very own. The medium-sized, mixed-breed dog had whelped four puppies almost immediately, giving Ezra just the perfect distraction from his grief. Losing his father had been particularly hard for Ezra, because as the only son he had been so very close to his beloved Papa. Miriam couldn’t have dreamed up a better way for Ezra to spend these difficult days than in caring for Daisy and her pups. The dogs were currently holed up beneath the side porch in a special box Seth and Shem had brought up from the barn, so Ezra could watch over them next to the house.
As Miriam approached the side door, she heard Ezra speaking quietly.
“Papa died four weeks ago today,” he said
Miriam’s heart constricted as she heard her son share his grief with the dog and her puppies, and she was startled when she heard a deep voice answer Ezra. .
“I am so sorry for your loss, Ezra. My own papa died when I was not much older than you are, so I know how hard it is.”
Miriam rushed to the door, knowing that the voice belonged to an unexpected stranger, but something held her back as she paused to let the scene outside continue.
“What happened to your papa?” Ezra asked.
“There was a young horse. Papa was training him, when something spooked the beast. I do not know exactly what happened, but my uncles could not get to him in time.”
Ezra thought about the stranger’s words for a long moment while Miriam waited, holding her breath. Her son had barely spoken since his father’s death, and yet here he was, talking to a stranger.
“My papa fell off a ladder when he was working on the roof of a barn. My uncles could not get to him in time, either.”
“I am sorry,” the man said once more.
Rachel could only see the back of the man’s head, which was covered with a typical Amish straw hat. He sat on the ground with Ezra, the puppies tumbling about them.
“Did you want to cry all the time?” Ezra asked, so softly Miriam could barely hear him.
“Yes, I did,” the man replied. “But I tried not to. I was the youngest, and everyone else—my mother, my brothers and sisters—they were trying so hard to be brave in front of me that I did not want to make them sad.”
“If I cry, I make Mama sad,” Ezra confided. “So I try really hard, too.”
Miriam blinked back tears.
“Are you afraid of horses, now?” Ezra asked suddenly.
“No,” the man answered. “But I am very careful around them, especially the young ones.”
“I am afraid to climb a ladder,” Ezra whispered.
“It is all right to be afraid of great heights,” the stranger said, his voice full of understanding. “I know grown men who do not like to climb high ladders for one reason or another.”
“Are you afraid of heights?” Ezra asked, sounding surprised that a grown man would be afraid of anything.
“No. Heights and horses do not bother me,” he answered. The man looked at Ezra as if her were about to share a deep, dark secret. “For me, it is water.”
“Water?”
“Since I was a small boy, I have never liked being in water. All my brothers and friends would swim in the big pond we have back home, but I could never bring myself to go in. You see, Ezra, everyone is afraid of something. It is how we face our fears that matters.”
Ezra looked at the stranger and then turned to play with the puppies, clearly thinking through what the man had shared with him.
Standing and brushing the dust from his black pants, the stranger looked down at Ezra. “And anyway, there is plenty of work to be done on the ground,” he teased, reaching out to tweak the brim of Ezra’s hat.
Ezra looked up and smiled.
Miriam sighed. She had not realized Ezra had become fearful of heights, though she supposed she should have noticed he no longer climbed trees. She had not known how much her son needed to cry for his father, nor how hard he had worked to protect her from his grief. She had never dreamed he had been holding so much back from even Seth, who was his closest uncle. Eavesdropping had given Miriam plenty to think about and had made her heart heavy, but she certainly realized that this stranger – this man on her porch – had been just what Ezra needed. Though Miriam didn’t know who this man was, she blessed God for sending him to her son.
She stepped through the screen door. “Ezra, it is time for dinner.”
“Mama!” Ezra shouted, jumping up in excitement. “This is Uncle Seth’s friend. He has come for the barn-raising tomorrow.”
The man in question stood and removed his hat as soon as he realized she was there. He was tall and slender, though she imagined he must be very strong, since he worked with horses for a living. His hair was thick, wavy, and dark, his arms muscular and browned by the sun where his sleeves had been rolled up. Seth had told her his new business partner, Daniel Lantz, would be coming today, though they had not expected him until much later.
“I am very early,” he said, as though reading her mind. “I had planned to take the late morning bus, but an acquaintance of mine was delivering a horse to Strasburg and offered me a ride.”
“Seth will be pleased,” Miriam answered. “I know he is excited to show you the site of the new stable. Your name is Daniel, yes?”
Lantz nodded and smiled then, and the smile reached his very blue eyes. The fine lines around his eyes suggested he was at least a decade older than Seth’s twenty-two, though he still moved as easily as a younger man. His wore the beard of a married man, and Miriam wondered what his wife felt about moving across the state to another Amish community to begin a new life.
“Seth is no more excited than I,” Lantz said, laying a gentle hand on Ezra’s bouncing shoulder. “I have
spent my entire life on my family’s horse farm, and as much as I have gained from the experience, I am more than ready to step out on my own with a willing partner or two.”
“It sounds as though this venture will be a good thing for everyone, but I think the start of it can wait until after dinner,” Miriam said. “You will join us, of course?”
Lantz grinned. “Gladly.”
Miriam looked at her son, pleased to see him smiling. “Go wash up, Ezra. And wash well, for I know you have puppy all over you.”
“All right.” Ezra scrambled up the steps and headed for the kitchen.
Daniel looked down at the dog hair that covered his black pants. “I am afraid that I am as covered with puppy as your son.”
“There is plenty of hot water and soap in the kitchen,” Miriam offered with a smile.
While Ezra and Lantz washed up at the sink, Miriam added more ham, bread, and zucchini bread to the meal on the table then poured Lantz a glass of her father-in-law’s favorite cider before quickly setting a third place.
When they were seated and had silently prayed over the food, Ezra began an enthusiastic conversation about his Uncle Seth’s plans for the new horse farm. Miriam thought Lantz would be put off by her son’s acute interest, but Daniel actually seemed to be enjoying himself as he fielded Ezra’s many questions. He certainly seemed to be well-versed in everything horse, and while she herself knew very little about such a venture, listening to him discussing their plans with Ezra made her feel much better about Seth taking this stranger on as partner.
The youngest of nine children, Lantz had learned a great deal about horses from his uncles and brothers, but even at age thirty-two, his elders did not seem to want to trust him as a full partner in the family business. Seth’s enquiries at the Belleville stock auction building two months ago had sparked Daniel’s interest. Daniel had been looking for some way to separate himself from the family business without either cutting himself off completely or giving up horses. Over many glasses of iced tea, a dream was born between the two men, with Seth providing Strasburg area contacts and his future father-in-law’s land and Lantz bringing both expertise and the well-known Lantz name to the new horse farm. The men agreed to a partnership and had high hopes for their new business.
Romance In Amish Country Series Boxed Set: 1-3 Naomi's Story; Miriam's Story; Ruth's Story Page 5
