[2016] The Precious Amish Baby

by Faith Crawford

Michael pulled in a deep breath. He opened the envelope again and pulled out a small photograph. It wasn’t as clear as he would have liked and was not taken close up. She was standing next to a chair, dressed in a floor length dark dress the fit her form rather well. She was holding an umbrella in one hand with her other on the back of the chair. She had a very large hat on that looked to match the dress. He could barely see where the hat ended and Martha’s long wavy hair began. It rested in giant curls over her shoulders and breasts.

  She was an attractive young woman, he had to give her that. He hadn’t heard from any other woman about the ad he had placed. He directed Emma to the general store, where he chose a large sack of salt and a small envelope.

  “You got a piece of paper I can use?” He asked the clerk behind the counter. The older man nodded, reached down to a shelf behind the counter and pulled out a large pad of blank paper. “How about a pencil?”

  “Ayup.” The clerk responded, pulling a pen from in front of the register. “It’s gonna be 57 cents there, Mr. Martin.”

  Michael pulled a dollar coin from his pocket and set it on the counter. While the clerk made change, he wrote out a quick acceptance letter to the young woman. He explained that he had divorced his wife, who had left him a little over six months ago. In fact, it had been the day that his divorce papers were signed legally that he put the ad in the paper. He wasn’t sure how ready he was for another wife, but this time he was bound and determined to make her love him and for her to stay with him based on his qualities and merits. He deserved a good woman. He was sure of it. And she would deserve him. To his friends, the idea of getting a bride through the mail sounded like the best way to not know anything about the person you would be dealing with, and they were right.

  But he had a good feeling. It was going to work out. He just knew it.

  Chapter Four

  Michael rubbed his hands together nervously. He’d spent the entire morning second-guessing his decision to bring the woman from Nebraska. It was too late now, but that didn’t stop him from partially regretting his decision. If she turned out to be anything like Alexis, he was going to be stuck. He wasn’t willing to jump back into that kind of situation, so he was going to offer her two months to get comfortable so that they could make sure they were compatible with each other before they actually married.

  If he was not happy, or she was not happy, he wanted to know before they really married. He didn’t want to go through a divorce again. He planned to watch her closely, observe her behavior and analyze her to see if she was anything like Alexis. If she appeared in any way money-hungry, he would spot it. If he didn’t spot it, he had asked Ms. Dunn to evaluate the woman and give him her opinion as soon as she felt she had something to say. Morgan wouldn’t let him down. She was watching out for him. She knew how much his marriage had meant to him.

  He’d confided in her time and again. Alexis had left him a broken man. He wanted to get back to being the man he was before.

  The murmuring of the people around him rose in volume and he looked down the tracks to see that the train was approaching. He could see the puffs of smoke in the distance just a few minutes before he heard the sound of the rumbling engines and wheels.

  He made to stand up, but waited a little longer, until the train was coming to a stop in front of him. He watched as people gathered around him, waiting for the doors to open and their friends and loved ones to depart from the train. He held back, not one to press himself into the crowd. He had the picture Martha had sent clutched in one of his hands and kept referring to it, though there weren’t a great amount of people getting off the train. It would sit empty for twenty minutes before anyone leaving on it would be allowed to board. He watched as people moved away from the train as it emptied.

  Finally, he saw her stepping down. He stood up, his heart hammering in his chest. She was prettier in person than the picture had shown. He was glad of that. Not that looks mattered as much as what was inside. Alexis was a very beautiful woman. She had used that beauty to win over anyone she wanted. She used it to get her way and to get out of sticky situations she got herself into. She had the outer appearance of a beautiful butterfly and the interior of a snake in the grass. He didn’t want that again. He was praying this time that the beauty he saw on the outside would be on the inside, too.

  She was looking around, clutching her sewing bag against her chest with her handbag in the same hand. She spotted him approaching and seemed to relax. He was surprised. Her eyes lit up and she smiled. He felt his chest loosen a little. She came toward him.

  “Hello. Mr. Martin?” She asked. Her voice was soft and smooth, music to his ears.

  “Hello, Martha. It’s good to meet you.” She held her hand out and he touched it to his lips. “Do you have any baggage to retrieve?”

  “Yes, I have two bags. Clothes and personal items.”

  “We’ll go and get those right now. Are you hungry? Would you like to go to a restaurant or should I have my cook make something for you when we get to the ranch?”

  “I would be happy with either.” Martha was glad to see Michael. He was handsome. He had sent her a photograph and it favored his real life look almost to a tee. “You look just like your photo.” She smiled. “Mine was about two years old. But yours looks to be fairly new.”

  “It was new. You have a good eye. I had it taken just before I sent it to you.”

  “Well, it is a wonderful photo. I would like to keep it, if you don’t mind.”

  Michael laughed, offering his arm to Martha. “I see no reason why I would want it back.”

  “You must have paid money to have it taken.”

  “I did, yes. But I had it made for you. I’m not going to take it from you now.”

  “I’m keeping it in my purse. I like to look at it.”

  Michael felt himself blushing slightly. “We will have a photograph taken of the two of us, if you’d like.”

  “That would be lovely!”

  “I’m going to take you to a restaurant that’s nearby. Have you had a hamburger?”

  Martha raised her eyebrows. “I have. To be honest with you, I…I didn’t think they were made over here in the West.”

  Michael laughed loudly. “Are you fibbing? You are joking with me.”

  Martha giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. “No, really. I…I suppose you have French fries, too?”

  “Yes. And Coca-Cola.”

  “Well, I guess you have all the modern delicacies, then.”

  “We do. Let’s go get your bags and head over to the restaurant.”

  ***

  Martha enjoyed herself in the restaurant with Michael. He was a humorous man, with a ready smile for his friends and acquaintances. He was kind to the girl who served them. As they rode to the ranch, he told her funny stories about his daughter. He carefully avoided talking about Emma’s mother and Martha wondered whether or not she should ask about her. For all she knew, the woman was dead. He had not said whether he was divorced or a widower, although she assumed that if he was a widower then he would have just told her that.

  The fact that he didn’t mention the woman at all bothered Martha only slightly. She would eventually have to ask, if only to satisfy her own curiosity. But for now, she allowed him to be pleasant and happy. They would talk about stressful topics another time.

  The ranch came into view, making Martha’s eyes widen in amazement. “Oh, my,” she said. “Your home is absolutely beautiful.”

  “I have one of the best groundskeepers you can find in this state. His name is Ronald. He’s a big man, Irish, and he is just as loud as my cook, Evangeline. Lina is Italian, though.”

  “Well, you just have a little taste of everything at your ranch, don’t you?” Martha smiled at him.

  “And now I have a woman from the East Coast. An Amish woman!”

  Martha giggled. “You remembered!”

  “Why would I not remember that? It’s an important part of your upbringing, isn’t it? I
t pleases me. You have a Christian background. I also have a Christian background. We should be compatible in that area. Do you go to church?”

  “I haven’t been going regularly, but I will if you go. I don’t mind.”

  “Sometime you will have to tell me the story of leaving your community to live in town.”

  She nodded. “And you will tell me about your daughter’s mother in return?”

  “That sounds fine to me.”

  As they got closer, Martha could see a woman standing on the porch, with a small child standing next to her, holding her hand. The little girl had long, bouncy, blonde hair and was wearing a bright red dress with a white sash.

  “That’s the nursemaid, Tammy. She is very good with Emma.”

  “Didn’t you want me to take care of your baby?”

  Michael nodded. “Yes. Emma is our baby. We’ll raise her together. She will be our responsibility when we get married. But for six months, I’ve had to take care of her without her mother. I needed help. Tammy has been very good with her. She was actually hired on as the maid. But when Alexis…that’s Emma’s mother. When she…left, Tammy offered to help care for Emma. Now…now it will be our responsibility and Tammy will resume her duties as the maid. She’s been working really hard for a long time now.”

  “She isn’t going to resent me, is she?” Martha hoped not. She didn’t want any aggravation.

  “No, I don’t think so. She’s a nice girl. She will be happy to resume her normal duties.”

  “Oh, good.”

  They reached the front of the house and Michael stopped the wagon, lifting one hand in a wave.

  “Hello there!” he called out.

  “Hello, Mr. Martin!” Tammy called out. “Emma has been anxiously waiting for you!”

  Martha smiled as she stepped down from the wagon. She held up one side of her skirt as she went up the stairs. When she reached the little girl, she leaned over at the waist and held out her hand.

  “Hello there, Emma. My name is Martha. It’s good to meet you.”

  “Good to meet you.” Emma took both sides of her skirt in her hands and curtsied. Martha thought it was one of the most adorable things she’d ever seen. Her little eyes were a deep green color that Martha had not seen before. She was going to be a beautiful woman. “Are you here to take care of me?”

  Michael put the two bags he’d taken from the back of the wagon on the top steps of the porch. He leaned over just as Martha stood up straight. “Hey, girl,” he said, holding his hands out to Emma. She squealed and jumped into his arms.

  “Daddy, I’m so glad you’re home.”

  “Me, too, baby girl. Me too.”

  “I had two whole biscuits with my dinner and Tammy gave me some chicken and some potatoes, all mashed up with butter on top and some salt and pepper, too. It was so good. I was yummy eating it, like this.” She mimicked stuffing food in her mouth with her tiny hands, scrunching up her little face. Martha and Michael both laughed.

  “Well, I hope you didn’t eat like that! That kind of eating might give you a tummyache.”

  “I didn’t get a tummyache, daddy. I liked it so much.”

  “I’m glad. Let’s go on inside and get to know each other, shall we? I’m going to make some hot cocoa. Do you want some?”

  “Oh, yes, I do!”

  Michael looked up at Martha. “Would you like some hot cocoa, Martha?”

  “I surely would, thank you.”

  The three adults and little girl went into the house together.

  ***

  That evening, Michael suggested that they both put Emma to bed together. They went together up the stairs to the second floor. Emma’s bedroom was next to her father’s. There was an empty bedroom next to Michael’s and three on the opposite side of the hallway.

  “I thought you could take the room next to mine until we are comfortable with each other. If you’d like.”

  “I would like that, thank you. That’s very thoughtful.”

  Martha was holding Emma’s hand as they went up the stairs, talking to her tenderly. “I had a bedroom on the second floor myself. I have three brothers and three sisters. That’s a lot, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah.” Emma was hopping up each step, pulling herself up with Martha’s hand. “What’s their names?”

  “Their names are Eli, Hannah, Peter, Lot, Mary and Ruth.”

  “Wow! That’s a lot! Are they big like you?”

  Martha laughed. “None of them are little like you, if that’s what you mean.” They reached the top of the stairs and Martha let the little girl lead her to her nursery. “They are all bigger. My littlest sibling is Ruth. She’s probably about 12 now. That’s bigger than you. But not as big as me.”

  They went into the nursery. It was a beautiful pink color. The bed had to be new. It was made of cherry wood and had a thick mattress that appeared to be stuffed with down. It was soft when Martha pressed down on it.

  “What a nice little bed,” she said. “It looks so comfortable, I might have to sleep in it myself.” Martha acted like she was about to climb into the small bed. Emma squeaked and grabbed her arm.

  “That’s my bed,” she giggled. “You’ll break it if you get in.”

  “That bed probably would hold your weight, Martha,” Michael said. “I don’t know, Emma. We might have to let her have it.”

  Emma pulled in a deep breath. “If you do, then I get to sleep with daddy!”

  Michael laughed. “I don’t have a problem with that!”

  “I’m not gonna take your bed, Emma.” Martha smiled wide. “You jump in there. I’ll sing you a song my momma used to sing for me.”

  Michael pulled in a deep breath. So far, he liked what he saw. He prayed Martha continued to be who she appeared to be.

  Chapter Five

  For three weeks, Martha and Michael did everything together. When Michael went into town, Martha and Emma both went with him. They had ice cream, rode horses, played games and went on picnics. It was the happiest time Martha had ever experienced. She didn’t remember ever being so happy with Scott. He had rarely gone on picnics with her and had not wanted to attend fairs and parties with her. She hadn’t thought about it before, but now she realized that she had not been as happy as she thought.

  Scott was still on her mind, more so than she wanted him to be. But she was slowly healing from the damage he had done. Her pain had been intense, heartbreaking, a pain she thought she wouldn’t get over.

  But the happy smiles of Michael and the delighted sound of Emma’s laugh were helping her heal, reminding her that there was still a life to be lived and fun to be had.

  It was one of those fun days in the park, a Sunday after church services, when things took an abrupt turn.

  A woman approached them and dropped herself on the blanket next to Michael. Martha looked up at her and instantly knew who she was. Emma had her eyes and her nose. She could tell that Emma favored her father much more. But the similarities were definitely there.

  “Hello, there. Hello, Emma, baby. How are you doing today?”

  Michael had been sitting back on the blanket, smiling at Martha. He turned his head and stared at his ex-wife, a look of complete shock on his face. He sat up, unable to say anything. His mouth dropped open. “A..Alexis…”

  Emma didn’t say anything. She looked suspiciously at her mother. “Hello,” she said. Martha realized the little girl didn’t recognize her mother. Alexis had simply been gone too long.

  “Why don’t you introduce me to your new nanny, Michael?”

  Martha felt heat rising up in her gut. She wasn’t a nanny. She was going to take Alexis’ place in the house as Michael’s wife. The more she got to know him, the more she wanted to have that title. She would consider it an honor, something Alexis had never done. She had only seen Michael smiling since she’d got here. They were very good together.

  She tried not to look angry or jealous, two things she didn’t want Michael to see. But she was afraid it was on
her face because Alexis tilted her head to the side and looked at Michael. “Michael?” she said.

  Michael stood up abruptly, leaned down and yanked Alexis to her feet. Her face looked shocked and she struggled to get her balance. “Come with me, Alexis.” He looked down at Martha. She’d never seen his face look angry. Right then, he looked absolutely furious. His eyes blazed with anger and the muscles in his face were clenching. “Please stay with Emma, Martha.”

  “Of course, Michael.”

  Michael dragged Alexis across the grass to stand under a nearby tree. Martha couldn’t tell what he was saying but he was extremely angry. At first, his hands were just on his hips. As he spoke, his hands started to move.

  ***

  “What are you doing here, Alexis?” He began with the simple question.

  “I came to see my baby girl and my husband.”

  “We are divorced. I am not your husband.”

  “Well, Emma’s still my baby girl. I wanted to see her.”

  “You’ve been gone for nearly eight months. I repeat, what are you doing here?”

  Alexis slumped a little and tilted her head to the side, letting her long blond hair fall to the side. “Oh, Mikey. You know, I just…I just wasn’t happy where I was and…I thought we ought to…maybe give it another try.”

  Michael was stunned. He glanced over to Martha, his heart aching. “You are fibbing.” He said.

  She giggled, fluttering her eyelashes up at him. He remembered when that used to have a profound effect on his heart. Now, it just made him angry. He put both hands on her arms and squeezed. She squeaked a little, looking up at him with fear on her face.

  “I am not interested in trying again with you. You haven’t been around in a very long time. Your baby doesn’t even recognize you. If she does, she probably remembers the fights, the arguments and then you leaving, getting into that carriage with another man. After all, that’s what she would have seen.” He let her go when she saw that he was possibly hurting her. It was at that point that he couldn’t resist swinging his hands in the air and pointing at her viciously. “I’m not going to take you back. There’s no way in Hell that’s going to happen. Do you hear me? I don’t have to. You deserted us. You abandoned your baby. I don’t want to even look at your face.”