“Everything looks so healthy this spring,” she said, attempting to put the man at ease.
He nodded. “It has been the perfect spring for everything: berries, corn, beans, wheat, grapes. After last year, it is good to see such a bountiful harvest.”
Ruth understood completely, since they had had similar problems on the Miller farm. The previous spring had seen a surprising, late frost, which had killed all the blossoms on every tree and bush. There had been no blueberries or strawberries anywhere, and the fresh berries had been sorely missed.
“This year, we will have blueberries in everything, until they are gone,” Ruth said with a smile.
“And I will be grateful for the business.”
John’s blueberry bushes were massive, having been planted and tended since his grandfather’s day. Some of the oldest were six to eight feet in tall, with berries so thick one could pick entire handfuls at a time. Others were only a few years old, and the small children gathered around these smaller bushes to pick the few ripe berries before moving on to the lowest branches of the big bushes.
Ruth looked around her and sighed. The Barber farm was a very well-designed family farm, with a strawberry field and the blueberry bushes providing most of the outside income, though Ruth knew John’s son, Joseph, traded garden produce in the Saturday markets as well. From the looks of things, the tomato crop looked to be every bit as good as the blueberries, and Ruth shaded her eyes from the bright silver flashes from the aluminum pie plates that spun in the breeze and kept hungry birds from the luscious ripe tomatoes. Ruth had heard that the farm’s business was so good that Joseph had even begun to schedule some of their regular self-pick blueberry customers ahead, using a public telephone in town to call those who traveled a long way to pick berries, lest the bushes be over-picked when they arrived.
The house was a large one, a two-story L-shape, with enough rooms for a very large family, and now that Martha had married and moved on, she wondered if John’s son, Joseph, and his family would move back in. Joseph and his wife were rapidly outgrowing the smaller house they occupied on the other side of the meadow. There were three children already, and likely to be several more.. The land surrounding the main house was rolling and green, the gardens—both vegetable and flower—were mature and healthy. Joanna had loved her flower gardens, Ruth remembered, and she wondered if it was John, or perhaps Martha who was managing ot find time to keep the beds weeded..
An apple orchard—where wooly sheep now grazed, keeping the grass trimmed—stood between the family garden and the field of corn beyond, and a large pond, where the children were now searching for frogs and salamanders among the cattails and tall grasses, made a beautiful first impression on anyone coming up the drive. Several cows and their calves, as well as a number of horses, both buggy and draft, grazed in a large field while goats nibbled at the tufts of grasses that dotted the field. John’s barns were well-kept and freshly painted, the yards swept and raked. In all, John Barber’s farm was a beautiful, peaceful one, and Ruth realized that she had missed it. Ruth and Joanna had spent so many happy hours both indoors and out – mending, knitting, shelling peas – always busy, and always chatting easily and laughing often. Ruth hadn’t realized how much she had missed the physical spot as well as her friend.
“It is so lovely here, John,” she said.
“Thank you. Joseph, Noah, and Nathan help me keep it this way,” he said, referring to his one son and sons-in-law. “They are all good farmers, and I am glad they have chosen to work this land, to help keep it as it was in my father’s day.”
“I imagine both your father and grandfather would be proud of what you have done here,” Ruth said. “There is so much life and abundance.”
John shrugged as though uncomfortable with her praise. “God has been very good to us.”
Ruth smiled sadly, thinking of Joanna, their seven children and numerous grand children. “Yes. Yes He has.”
They stood side-by-side for a few minutes, watching the youngest children play at the edge of the pond and the older ones racing to fill their buckets with blueberries.
“Would you like to see more?” John asked suddenly. “Walk with me?”
Surprised, Ruth looked up to see his uncertain half smile. She remembered Joanna telling her over the years that John was shy at heart, preferring the company of his family to a noisy bunch of friends. Ruth smiled at his invitation and accepted. “I would like that.”
John nodded and started around the back of the house, careful not to walk too fast and leave Ruth behind. John realized, though, as he consciously slowed his pace, that Ruth was much taller than Joanna had been, and it was no struggle for her to keep up. They wandered the property near the house, touring the smaller of the two barns, where John sheltered his horses, strolling through the apple orchard where lambs nuzzled up around the ewes, and finally back up toward the house where Joanna’s flower beds bloomed profusely. They stopped by a fenced paddock where a young horse eyed them nervously.
“She looks so afraid,” Ruth observed.
John nodded. “When I bought her, she was on her way to the knackers to be put down. She used to be a harness racer, but now she spooks at anything and everything. Joanna could not bear to see her put down, though, and begged me to buy her. I do not know what I will do with her, but I cannot bring myself to sell her.”
Ruth watched the underweight animal as the mare made a show of snorting at them.
“You should bring her to our farm, John. Daniel works miracles with horses. I am almost certain he can help this one.”
“Do you really think so?” John asked, surprised.
“Yes, I do. I will ask him to come by and look at her, anyway. He will know best how to handle her.”
“I would be grateful to you. If Daniel could help the mare, it would be a miracle. She came to us only days before…” His voice broke.
John suddenly looked as though he wanted to be anywhere else, but Ruth laid a hand on his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I know, John. It is all right.”
John took a deep breath and nodded. “Of course you do. You were there when Ezra lost his Leah, and when Miriam lost her Jacob. You know. But some days, Ruth, I do not know how I will go on.”
They stood that way for a long moment, as though frozen, both uncertain of what to say. Then a shout of laughter coming from the side of the house broke the spell, and she smiled up at him.
“They – your grandchildren – are why you will go on,” she said, gesturing toward the happy sound. “You may not yet know how, but with the why so very clear, the how will come to you. Give yourself some time, John. It has only been a few short months. Just do not give up. That is the last thing Joanna would want. It must be the last thing God would want for you, too. You deserve so much more.”
John turned to face her and met her eyes squarely. “Ezra was blessed in his sister,” he said in a soft voice, “as was Joanna in her friend.”
When Ruth opened her mouth, she had no idea what she planned to say, and she surprised herself when she looked at John and asked, “And will you allow me to be your friend?”
John laid his hand over hers where it rested on his arm. “I would be a fool to turn down such an offer, would I not?”
Ruth was relieved to see a new sparkle in his eyes and smiled warmly. “Of course!”
John returned her smile and gave her hand a squeeze. As he released her hand, he thought that the last few minutes, walking with Ruth around his property, had been a rare carefree moment. He hadn’t sought out Ruth after Joanna’s death, because Ruth had been Joanna’s friend more than his, and John was surprised to find that he had truly enjoyed Ruth’s company.
Together they turned toward the sound of happy, laughing children and returned to the side of the house. Miriam and the children were combining their buckets, finding they had picked almost two gallons already.
“May I go play now, Aenti Miriam?” six-year-old Hannah asked.
“Yes
, you may,” Miriam answered.
“Let me take that apron,” Ruth said, untying the bow at the back. “It is my turn to make my fingers blue. I will hear no complaints that I did not pick my share.”
She kissed Hannah on her brow and sent her on her way.
“Thank you, Aenti Ruth!”
“Stay out of the water, Hannah!” her aunt admonished, as the girl set off toward the pond and the other children. “We do not have any dry shoes or socks with us, and we are having dinner with Aenti Ruth and Grandpapa Ezra before we go home today!”
“I will be careful!”
“We can only hope,” Miriam murmured under her breath, and Ruth laughed.
“Do not worry, Miriam. If she gets her feet wet, we will find something for her to put on at home. Now, it is time for me to do my share. We need at least three gallons, one for each of our families, before we leave today.”
With a lot of help from John, they filled six gallon buckets, giving them plenty of berries to eat fresh and more to dry for the winter. It was a happy, if slightly blue-stained, group who loaded up the wagon three hours later.
“That is the last of them,” John said, carefully placing the last paper sack of berries under the back seat in the wagon.
“Thank you for all your help, Herr Barber,” Miriam replied, as she brushed grass from her daughter’s dress.
“You are welcome. I am glad you could come today while the bushes were still so full. There will be plenty more, later, as the other varieties ripen, of course, but these early bushes only have another week or so left, I would say.”
“We may be back, yet, before the end of the season,” she said on a laugh. “My Ezra does like his blueberries!”
“My Papa likes blueberries even better than strawberries,” Hannah confided in a hushed voice, sounding shocked.
“Papa Daniel said the same thing this morning,” Ruthie added, “but when the first strawberries ripened, he said he liked them best, too. How can he likes both strawberries and blueberries the best?”
John laughed. “I think he must prefer the berry currently on his spoon, just like me—which will keep me in business all summer, yes?”
Ruthie grinned and boosted herself into the buggy.
“Ezra!” Ruth called to her grandnephew.
Ezra came running, and once John lifted Hannah into the buggy, the eight-year-old scrambled up behind his cousin.
Tobias held their horse as John handed Esther up. Ruth hesitated a moment before following.
“I will send Daniel around to look at your horse, yes?”
John nodded. “I would appreciate it. I hope it is not too late for her.”
“I am certain Daniel will be able to help her.”
Their eyes met for a long moment, and neither noticed that others were watching their conversation with interest.
“Good day to you, John Barber,” Ruth finally said quite formally. “Thank you again for all your help—and the tour.”
“Good day to you, Ruth Miller,” John said, smiling in a way he had not in a very long time. “You are most welcome.”
Ruth returned his smile and let him take her hand to assist her into the buggy.
“Travel safely!” John called, as they pulled away to head down the drive.
Ruth waved to him then faced forward. Miriam was driving, and the children were full of chatter and giggles in the back. She herself felt… Just what do I feel? she wondered. Something had happened with John this morning. The perpetually shy introvert, who had loved his wife dearly and had taken it so hard when Joanna suddenly died, had come partway out of his shell in order to walk with her. Odd how I can still feel his arm under my hand, his hand on mine, she thought. They had touched for only that brief moment, but it had made her feel something she hadn’t felt in twenty-five years, since Thomas left.
She sighed at her silliness. It was far to early for her to even think about the way John’s hand had felt on hers. John was still in mourning for Joanna. He had only been responding to her offer of friendship. And how can I possibly be thinking of more than friendship with Joanna so recently gone, the new stable taking everyone’s attention, and Naomi only days from giving birth? Ruth gave herself a little mental shake and resolved to be more sensible.
“Are you all right, Ruth?” Miriam asked, keeping her voice low so the children would not hear over their own noise.
“I am fine,” Ruth said, hoping it was so.
“John Barber is a fine man, is he not?”
Ruth felt her face heat and glanced at her niece. Miriam’s eyes were full of laughter and mischief, and Ruth felt her blush deepen.
“He was married to my very good friend,” Ruth reminded the younger woman.
Miriam sighed. “I know. And I know you both miss her. But it was good to see him smile again.”
“Yes. Yes, it was.”
Miriam reached over to give one of Ruth’s hands a quick squeeze of encouragement then returned her attention to the horse. “It will be good to get back to my babies too. I hope they didn’t give Naomi too much trouble.”
20
Ruth walked down to the stable where John and Joseph Barber, Seth, and a handful of boys watched Daniel attempt to approach the Barber’s mare. John and Joseph had led her between their two saddle horses, leaving at first light so they could reach the Miller farm long before traffic picked up on the highway. The mare seemed to still be traumatized by the journey, as she huddled against the far fence, looking terrified. Daniel stood in the middle of the grassy enclosure, speaking softly. Only her twitching ears indicated she was listening.
“The poor thing,” Ruth murmured as she joined the men at the fence.
“She is so afraid,” little Ezra whispered, and she could tell he was close to tears.
Ruth laid a gentle hand on his shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.
After another minute of trying and failing to get near the mare, Daniel slowly backed toward them. “Seth? Why don’t you try bringing Hope around? Maybe another mare that already trusts me will help this one.”
“Good idea.” Seth headed for the stable and returned in a few minutes with the small black mare they called Hope.
Ezra opened the gate, and Seth led her inside. Hope latched her eyes on the bay mare and snorted softly. As Seth slipped the lead off her halter, she took a tentative step toward the other mare then whinnied softly. The brown horse looked up suddenly and whinnied in reply, and Hope trotted to her. Ruth saw Daniel smile.
“It is almost as though they know each other already,” Tobias said.
“I think they might,” Daniel agreed. “Did you not say she is an ex-harness racer, John?”
John nodded. “She is.”
“Perhaps they once shared a stable,” Joseph said.
The two mares were sniffing one another, and gently nudging one another with their noses. After a moment, Daniel returned to the center of the paddock and whistled softly.
Hope brought her head up expectantly, and trotted toward him, knowing there would be a treat for her. The brown horse hung back, but she certainly seemed more interested in Daniel than she had been before Hope’s arrival. After another long moment, John’s horse ever-so-tentatively approached Daniel. He ignored her and continued to pet Hope and offer her pieces of carrot. The brown mare must have finally smelled the carrot, because she nudged Daniel lightly on the arm. When he offered her a piece of carrot on his flat palm, she delicately took it from him, and jumped away once she had it in her teeth. Daniel slapped Hope on the shoulder affectionately and returned to the crowd at the fence.
“I think I can reach her, John,” he said, grinning. “It is going to take a lot of time and patience, but I am willing to try, if you want to leave her with me.”
John was smiling now, a look of relief in his eyes. “I would be most grateful to you,” he replied. “As far as I am concerned, you can even keep her, if you like. I would not wish to separate those two again.” He gestured toward the two
mares, which were still nuzzling, “and I only bought her originally to keep her from the knackers.”
“We would love to have her,” Daniel said, “but let us see how her training goes. She may make a good buggy horse for you after all, when we are through with her.”
“Can we come to visit her, Papa?” Tobias asked Joseph.
“Of course you can,” Daniel assured the youngest Barber. “In fact, one of the reasons Hope has done so well is because Ezra and the girls have spent so much time with her. I am sure this horse will like the company, too, once she is used to being here.”
After a moment, Hope crossed to the water trough to drink, and the brown horse followed her example.
“What is her name?” little Ezra asked.
John frowned. “I do not know, Ezra. Her previous owner did not say. What do you think we should call her?”
“I think we should call her Hope’s Friend,” Ezra said, “because Hope really likes her, and she likes Hope.”
“I think that is a fine idea,” Joseph said, patting little Ezra on the back.
“We should call her just ‘Friend,’ though,” Seth suggested, “so Hope does not get confused.”
They laughed, and all agreed that was a very good idea, just as Little Ezra’s stomach chose that moment to growl very loudly.
“Uh-oh,” Seth said, grabbing the boy in a friendly hug. “Someone has a bear in his belly!”
Ezra giggled as his uncle tickled him.
“Well, I did come down to tell all of you dinner is almost ready,” Ruth said with a smile.
“Will you join us?” she asked, turning to John and Joseph.
Joseph shook his head. “Tobias and I need to get back—I told Lydia we would be home for dinner.
“Why don’t you stay, Daed ?” he suggested, giving his father a wink. “Then you can check on Friend before you head home and tell us how she is doing after a few hours with Hope.”
John hesitated but then conceded. “All right. I will stop by your house on the way home and give you a report.” He smiled at his grandson.
Joseph mounted his horse, pulling Tobias up behind him, and they set off at a trot. Ruth walked back to the house, leaving the men to follow.
Romance In Amish Country Series Boxed Set: 1-3 Naomi's Story; Miriam's Story; Ruth's Story Page 12
