Romance In Amish Country Series Boxed Set: 1-3 Naomi's Story; Miriam's Story; Ruth's Story

by Melanie Schmidt

  “How so?”

  “She went after Abner ten years ago, because he is relatively wealthy, and his family has standing in the community, but she has discovered that butchers have only limited interests outside of their trade. She will never be happy until she expects less of other people and more of herself. Her pride is unfitting for a Plain woman.”

  “I can almost feel sorry for her.”

  “Not after the way she treated you yesterday,” John said, his voice hard. “There will be repercussions for her behavior, I do not doubt, but she—and Abner—will need to deal with them. She is no longer my responsibility.”

  He did not say, “thank God,” but Ruth heard it in his voice anyway, and she laced her arm through his. Tamara might not be his problem anymore, but she remained his daughter, and if they were going to marry, then Ruth intended to do what she could to ease the tension in the family.

  Then she thought of Joseph, Noah, and Nathan at dinner and smiled.

  “What?” John asked, feeling her change in mood.

  “I am going to like being related to your children and their spouses, I think.”

  John chuckled. “And you will have your first grandchild, soon.”

  Ruth grew quiet and thoughtful.

  “What?” John asked, once more feeling her emotional shift.

  “I am trying to find a delicate way to put this, and I guess I shall just have to say it. John, there is a chance that…well, would you mind if we…” Ruth paused, blushing and unsure how to continue. “I mean, I might still be able to…” She stopped speaking altogether, unable to continue.

  John glanced at her, saw her blush with embarrassment, and thought he understood.

  “Ruth, would you like to have children of your own?”

  “I always thought I would, if I married, but now I wonder if it is too late for me, and even if it is not, any children of ours would be younger than your grandchildren—not to mention my grandnieces and nephews.”

  “It would certainly make for some interesting relationships among the children,” John admitted with a chuckle.

  “But you would not mind?”

  “Whether or not we can make children at our ages is up to God, Ruth, but then if He could give Abraham and Elizabeth a son at their ages, I would say we have a good chance. And if we do, then I will be happy to be a father again, for I know you will be a very good mother. The only thing that would be a disappointment to me,” he added after a moment, as though just thinking of it, “is if we did not try.”

  Ruth glanced at him, uncertain that she understood him correctly, but when she saw the twinkle in his eyes, she laughed helplessly and squeezed his arm a little tighter.

  As John and Ruth turned up the Miller drive a few minutes later, Ruth released John’s arm and straightened in her seat. While she did not doubt Ezra’s support, she had missed dinner at home, and her brother was bound to be wondering about her unannounced departure that morning. As they entered the yard, she could see Ezra waiting for them on the porch. She could not see his face clearly enough from a distance to know whether that was a good thing or bad.

  Ezra descended the steps to tie their horse’s lead to the rail then turned to greet them as John handed Ruth to the ground.

  “John.”

  “Ezra.”

  Ruth struggled not to roll her eyes at their minimalist male greeting.

  “I am sorry I missed dinner, Ezra,” Ruth said. “I had not realized the time, when suddenly the young men were ready to eat.”

  “Young men?”

  “Joseph had arrived back from market, and Noah and Nathan had just come in from plowing. It was hot work, and I offered to set dinner out for them.

  “I hope Naomi had no difficulty managing your dinner.”

  Ezra shook his head. “She is a little tired today, but she is fine otherwise.”

  “I would speak with thee,” John said to Ezra, and Ruth needed to stifle a chuckle at her brother’s expression. Since John and Ezra were of an age, it was a little awkward for Ruth’s husband-to-be to declare his intentions to his peer.

  “In my study,” Ezra said, leading the way.

  “Hello, Aenti,” Naomi said when they came into the kitchen. “Good afternoon, Herr Barber.”

  “Good afternoon, Naomi,” John replied, smiling.

  “I am so sorry, Naomi,” Ruth apologized, hurrying to the counter. “I should not have left this for you. Let me finish washing up. You sit down.”

  “I am not an invalid,” Naomi replied testily, though she did relinquish the dish towel and take a seat at the table, lowering herself carefully into the chair.

  “No, you are nine months pregnant,” Ruth said, “and you should not be on your feet so much. I should have come home for dinner.”

  “At least you know it,” Ezra grumbled under his breath.

  When John narrowed his eyes and looked about to speak, Ruth shook her head vigorously, her eyes pleading for him to hold his tongue. John nodded his acquiescence but frowned at Ezra’s back before following him down the hallway.

  “What was that all about?” Naomi asked.

  “Two bulls contending for a cow, you would think,” Ruth said softly enough that she hoped neither man would hear her.

  Naomi giggled. “Has John asked you to marry him, then?”

  Ruth softened and nodded. “He did, and I have never been so happy.” she answered, with wonder in her voice.

  “I am so happy for you both. Surely God has blessed you.”

  Ruth glanced over at her youngest niece and smiled. “I watched Miriam fall in love, first with Jacob and then with Daniel. I watched you lose your heart to Seth.” She shook her head. “I just never saw it coming for me.”

  “He is a good man, Aente Ruth. He is what you deserve.”

  Ruth dropped the dish cloth on the counter and crossed to hold Naomi close, kissing her lightly on the brow. “I am almost afraid to believe it.”

  “You are not worried about Daed, are you?” Naomi asked, pulling back to study her aunt’s troubled face.

  “No,” Ruth said firmly, returning to the counter and wiping it down with the discarded towel. She gazed out the window and sighed. “I simply did not expect to feel…so much!”

  Naomi grinned then started, her brow furrowed and her hand on her abdomen.

  “Naomi?” Ruth asked in a worried voice, returning to Naomi’s side.

  “I have been having pains, and they seem to be getting worse.”

  “Are they also getting closer together?” Ruth asked, frowning.

  “I do not know. Perhaps. I think so,” Naomi answered, slightly out of breath.

  Ruth gave her shoulders a comforting squeeze.

  “It looks as though your babe is ready to be born.”

  “I have known for months that this day would come, but now I am not sure I am ready for it,” Naomi gasped as another pain hit her.

  “I want you to sit tight, Naomi. Try to breathe normally. I will be right back.”

  “Right. Breathe,” Naomi said, clutching the table as if it were the only thing supporting her.

  Ruth hurried down the hall and burst into her brother’s study without knocking.

  “Ruth!” Ezra said. “Can you not even respect…?”

  “Naomi needs the midwife,” she said in a calm and certain tone.

  “What?” Ezra looked dazed then suddenly terribly afraid.

  “I will go tell Seth,” John said, striding for the door.

  “Good. Thank you, John” Ruth said.

  “Ezra, you and I need to get Naomi upstairs.”

  Ezra shook himself then strode to the door. He entered the kitchen just as Naomi was hit by another contraction.

  “Daed!”

  “It will be all right, Naomi. Let us get you up to bed.”

  Ezra lifted Naomi as though she were still a little girl, his fear for his daughter giving him strength. Ruth ran on ahead to cover the bed with the birthing linens that had been prepared ahe
ad of time. When Ezra entered, she was ready to help Naomi change into her nightgown.

  “I have her, Ezra,” she said, taking her niece in hand. “Please go down and put some water on to boil.”

  “Seth is riding for the midwife,” John said from the door. “He did not take the buggy, though. He merely jumped onto the bare back of the horse he was working with and galloped away.”

  “It will be all right, John,” Ruth said with a smile. “The midwife is English, so she will come quickly in her car.”

  “Daniel took the buggy to fetch Miriam,” John added.

  Messengers dispatched to bring the necessary folks, there was little left for the men to do but wait. John stood by helplessly, and Ruth sent him a bright smile.

  “Would you please boil some water, John? We will need plenty soon.”

  John nodded. “I will be in the kitchen, if you need me.”

  Ruth closed the door behind him and turned back to her niece.

  “He really is a very good man,” Naomi said weakly, between contractions. “I am so glad you found him.”

  “As am I,” Ruth said, smiling at her young niece.

  “Now, let us get you changed, so you will be ready when the midwife comes.”

  26

  The next several hours seemed to crawl by. The midwife, Nancy Gallagher, arrived in her small blue car and proceeded to give orders in her firm and gentle way that assured everyone that everything was going to be fine. Miriam followed shortly thereafter, and since she had been in the hands of Nancy for the births of her own children, Naomi was reassured by their confidence in the midwife.

  Irish born, Nancy was a kind soul who both understood and appreciated the Amish community and their ways. She was uncompromising when it came to the safety and health of her charges but did not mind deferring to the local traditions as long as they did not threaten the wellbeing of her charges or their babies. Ruth watched as Nancy walked Naomi around the room and continuously encouraged the young mother-to-be. She and Nancy were of an age, though the gold band the Irish woman wore on her left ring finger showed she was married.

  “Thirty-seven years come September,” she said, when Naomi asked how long Nancy had been married during a lull in her contractions. “My Declan was born in Boston, though his family was from County Clare as was I. We’ve six children in all, the youngest—our little Clare—the only girl child. She’s a doctor, now, soon to be a surgeon.” Nancy shook her head in wonder. “Imagine that: my little girl a surgeon!”

  Then things began to happen more quickly, as Naomi went into the end stages of her labor. She cried out for Ruth, and Ruth held her hand tightly.

  “Please do not leave me, Aenti. You are the mother of my heart, and I need you. I cannot do this without you…!”

  “Of course you can,” Ruth assured her, her voice breaking with emotion, “but I promise I will not leave you, Naomi.”

  While it was unusual for an unwed woman—even one of Ruth’s years—to be present at the birth of a child, no one questioned her right to be there for her young niece. Ruth looked up to see Miriam’s shining eyes, brimming with remembrances of the birth of her children and hoping for a smooth delivery for her sister.

  “Ruth and I are both here for you, Naomi,” she said, clinging to her sister’s other hand. “We three have always been there for one another, have we not?”

  “Yes…”

  Naomi cried out and gave one last push, shuddering with the effort, but Nancy was there, and they soon heard the piercing cry of the newborn infant.

  “Ah, there, there, darlin’, and aren’t you a pretty lass? Naomi, love, you have a darlin’ little girl!”

  “A girl?” Naomi whispered, exhausted. “Let me see her. Please...”

  Nancy laid the tiny form on Naomi’s belly and proceeded to clamp the umbilical cord in two places.

  “Will you do the honors, then?” Nancy asked Ruth, offering a pair of sharp, sterile scissors.

  In awe of what she had witnessed, Ruth took the scissors without a word and snipped the cord between the two clamps. “Oh, Naomi,” she whispered, overwhelmed by the site of the squirming, squalling infant. “She is beautiful!”

  “Let me hold her,” Naomi cried. “Please!”

  “Let’s just get her cleaned up a wee bit, shall we, and then she’ll be ready to meet her mama, all clean and sweet,” Nancy said.

  Miriam did the honors, washing the tiny babe in warm water and drying her with a soft cloth. In the meantime, Ruth and Nancy helped Naomi out of her soiled gown and into a fresh one. Once both mother and daughter were cleaned up, Esther laid the babe in Naomi’s arms.

  “And what will you call her, then?” Nancy asked the new mother.

  “Abigail,” Naomi said. “We will call her Abigail.”

  “Ah,” Nancy said with a smile of approval. “’Tis Hebrew, meaning ‘the father’s joy.’”

  “Seth will like that,” Miriam said, her eyes brimming over with tears of joy.

  “Yes, he will,” Ruth said softly, her own tears flowing freely.

  “We should tell them,” Miriam said, knowing how worried both Seth and their father were.

  “I will go,” Ruth said.

  She leaned in to softly kiss both mother and baby. Naomi was still staring at little Abigail as though she could not believe her eyes, but in another moment, Abigail found her mother’s breast and began nursing.

  “That’s good, then,” Nancy murmured. “There’s no bit of hesitation in that one!”

  “Very good,” Ruth agreed.

  Ruth washed her hands and left her nieces with her newest grandniece. She hurried along the hall and down the steps, wanting to reassure Seth and Ezra quickly. Ruth found the men—Seth, Ezra, Daniel, and John—on the side porch. They turned as one in silent expectation as she stepped out from the house, but she went straight to Seth, who had jumped up upon seeing her.

  “Naomi is fine Seth,” she said, smiling broadly through her happy tears, “and you have a daughter.”

  “A girl?” Seth said, clearly in awe of the prospect of fatherhood.

  Ruth nodded. “Naomi said you would call her ‘Abigail.’”

  “‘The father’s joy,’” John said softly.

  Seth’s look of incredulity quickly turned into a grin, and Ruth reached up to take his face between her palms, kissing him lightly on both cheeks.

  “I told you there was nothing to worry about, Seth,” she said. “Naomi is strong and healthy. You will have many children, I am certain.”

  Seth laughed. “I think I had better get used to the one, first!”

  “Then you should go up and meet your daughter.”

  Seth ran for the door.

  Daniel and Abram laughed, and Ruth turned to Ezra. When their eyes met, she walked into his arms and hugged her brother close.

  “Naomi is not Leah, Ezra,” she whispered. “She is small like her mother, yes, but she is far stronger than Leah ever was. You and Seth do not need to worry that she will meet with the same fate, no matter how many babies she eventually carries.” She pulled away far enough to meet his eyes and was relieved to see him nod his agreement.

  “You are wise beyond your years, sister mine,” he said, touching her face lightly. “Thank you for being here for my children.”

  “I would not wish to be anywhere else, for as long as they need me.”

  Ezra took a deep breath and glanced toward John.

  “There are many ways you can still be a part of their lives, Ruth, without sacrificing any more of your own needs or desires. God bless and keep you for all you have done in the past, and all you are meant to do—and become—in the future.”

  He kissed her lightly and turned into the house, leaving Ruth with John and Daniel.

  “I guess I should see to the horses,” Daniel said. “Somehow I do not think Seth will be much use the rest of the day.” Daniel nodded to John and left the two of them alone on the porch.

  As the young man walked away, John too
k a deep breath and stepped toward her. He laid a gentle hand along her face. “How was it?” he asked softly.

  Ruth shook her head in wonder. “I have never known anything like it. Oh, John, little Abigail is such a beautiful miracle!”

  He smiled warmly and pulled her into his arms, kissing her brow lightly.

  “You should sit down, now,” he said, feeling her unsteadiness. “You have had a long day.”

  Ruth did not argue with him, for she felt her exhaustion keenly, but when she sat on the porch bench, she pulled him down beside her. John kept her right hand in his left, linking their fingers together as they stared out over the farmyard. As the sun set, they could see Daniel rubbing down the horses, while the two mares, Hope and Friend, were watching the proceedings with interest.

  “You will miss all this,” John said, sounding almost apologetic.

  “Yes,” Ruth admitted, “for I have lived here my entire life and can remember it in all its stages: my father teaching Ezra and our other brothers how to farm, my mother working with us girls in the garden, Ezra teaching Abram and Isaac the same in their own times, Miriam and Naomi as little girls, playing in the fields.” She sighed. “Yes, I will miss it. But I would miss you more.”

  John gave her hand a squeeze and raised her fingers to his lips. Ruth smiled and laid her head on his shoulder.

  “I do not believe I have ever been happier than I am at this very moment,” she whispered.

  John smiled. “I am glad.” Releasing her hand and shifting, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head. John whispered to Ruth as they sat. “Ruth, you are a treasure, the treasure of a virtuous woman.”

  Ruth sighed with contentment, hugging John’s arm to her. She thought of Seth’s grin and Naomi’s wonder, little Abigail nursing at her mother’s breast, Miriam’s twins, Daniel’s love for his adopted children, Joseph and Lydia’s expected child, and all the children and grandchildren surrounding them now and into the future.

  “God is good,” she murmured, linking her fingers with John’s once more, “and I am truly blessed among women.”

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