The Hope Chest

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  As much as Rachel loved children, it tried her patience when they came in with their folks and ran about the greenhouse like it was a play yard. If it was disturbing to her, she could only imagine how her other customers might feel. Most Amish parents were quite strict and didn’t let their children get away with much, but Eli’s Laura seemed to be more tolerant of her children’s antics. However, Rachel was pretty sure Laura would step in and discipline should it become absolutely necessary.

  “I see you’re all alone today,” Rachel said, as her customer looked around the store.

  Laura nodded. “I left the little ones with Eli’s mamm. I’ve got several errands to run, and I figured I could get them done quicker if I was by myself.” She chuckled. “Besides, Mary Ellen seems to like her role as grossmudder.”

  Rachel smiled. “I guess she would enjoy being a grandmother. Let’s see ... how many grandchildren does she have now?”

  “Five in all. Martha Rose has three kinner, as I’m sure you know. And of course, there are my two busy little ones. Mary Ellen’s son, Lewis, and his wife are expecting most any day, so soon there’ll be six.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  “Since I’m an only child, my kinner are the only grandchildren my folks have, and they spoil those two something awful.” Laura moved over to the shelf where Rachel had displayed her hope-chest items. “You’ve got some nice things here. If I didn’t already have a set of sturdy dishes, I’d be tempted to buy these.” She fingered the edge of a white stoneware cup.

  “Guess the right buyer will come along sooner or later,” Rachel remarked, making no reference to the fact that the dishes were from her hope chest. Mom hadn’t been too happy when she’d learned that Rachel was bringing them here, but Rachel was relieved when she chose not to make an issue of it. Truth be told, Mom was probably praying that Rachel’s things wouldn’t sell and some nice fellow would come along and propose marriage soon.

  “How’s the flower business?” Laura asked.

  “Oh, fair to middlin’.” Rachel didn’t feel the inclination to tell Laura that except for the need to help out, she really didn’t care much about the flower business. Laura seemed like such a prim and proper sort of lady. She probably wouldn’t understand Rachel’s desire to be outdoors, enjoying all the wildlife God had created.

  Sometimes Rachel wished she had been born a boy, just so she could spend more time outside. Even baling and bucking hay would be preferable to being cooped up inside a stuffy old greenhouse all day.

  “Have you got any yellow mums?” Laura asked, breaking into Rachel’s thoughts.

  “Mums? Oh, sure, I think we’ve got several colors. Come with me to the other room and we’ll see what’s available.”

  Rachel studied Laura as she checked over the variety of chrysanthemums. Even though her hair was red and her face was pretty, she looked plain, just like all the other Amish women in their community. Except for the proper way Laura spoke, it was hard to imagine that she’d ever been a part of the fancy, English world. Rachel had only been a girl when Eli Yoder had married Laura after she’d chosen to become Amish. She had no idea how Laura used to look dressed in modern clothes or even how the woman felt about her past life. She had met Laura’s fancy English folks a few times, as they’d moved to Lancaster County to be closer to Laura some time ago.

  Maybe I should ask her a few questions about being English. It might help me better understand why Anna left home and what her life is like now.

  She took a step toward Laura. “Say, I was wondering about something.”

  Laura picked up a yellow mum and pivoted to face Rachel. “What is it?”

  “I know you used to be English.”

  “That’s true. Although it seems like a long time ago to me now.”

  “You’ve probably heard that my sister Anna married Reuben Yutzy awhile back, and the two of them left the faith and moved to Lancaster.”

  Laura’s expression turned solemn. “Jah, I know about that.”

  “Except for the letters we’ve had from Anna, we’ve had no other contact with her. My daed’s not one bit happy about Anna leaving home the way she did, and he doesn’t want her to come here for a visit.” Rachel’s voice faltered, and she paused a moment to gain control of her swirling emotions. “It sure hurts knowing she’s no longer part of our family.”

  “She’s still part of your family, just not of the Amish faith anymore.” Laura touched Rachel’s shoulder. “I’m sure it’s not easy for any of you, or for Anna, either.”

  Rachel’s eyes filled with tears, and she sniffed. “You really think it pains her, too?”

  “I’m almost certain of it.” Laura released a quiet moan. “I know it hurt my folks when I left the English world to become Amish, but we stayed in touch, and pretty soon my daed surprised me by selling his law practice and moving out to a small farm nearby. He still practices law, but in a smaller office in Lancaster now.” She smiled. “Even though my folks are English, they’re living a much simpler life than they used to, and we get to see a lot more of them, which makes me happy.”

  “Do you think there’s a chance that Anna and our daed will ever mend their fences—even if Anna and Reuben never reconcile with the church? Maybe even come to the point where we can start visiting each other from time to time?”

  Laura clasped Rachel’s hand. “I’ll surely pray for that, as I’m sure you’re already doing.”

  “I’m praying for that and a whole lot of other things.”

  Laura followed Rachel back to the front of the greenhouse, where Rachel wrapped a strip of paper around the bottom of the plant and wrote up a bill. Laura paid her, picked up the mum, and was about to open the front door, when Pauline rushed in. Her cheeks were pink, and a few strands of tawny yellow hair peeked out from under her kapp. “Whew! It’s a bit windy out there!”

  Laura laughed. “I can tell. You look like you’ve been standing underneath a windmill.”

  Pauline giggled and reached up to readjust her covering, which was slightly askew. “Sure is a good day to be indoors. I’m glad I have this job working at Grandma’s Place.”

  Wish I could say the same, Rachel thought ruefully. Philippians 4:11, which Mom often quoted, popped into Rachel’s mind: “For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Okay, Lord, I’ll try harder.

  Pauline asked about Laura’s children, and Laura spent the next few minutes telling her how much they were growing. She even told how her cat, Foosie, had paired up with one of the barn cats. Now the children had a bunch of fluffy brown-and-white kittens to occupy their busy little hands.

  It amazed Rachel the way the two women visited, as though they had always been friends. She knew from the talk she’d heard that it hadn’t always been so. Truth be told, Pauline used to dislike Laura because she had stolen Eli’s heart and he’d married her and not Pauline. Then Pauline had gone to live with her aunt and uncle in Ohio for a time, no doubt to get away from the reminders of what she’d lost.

  Rachel could relate well to the pain of knowing the man she loved cared for someone else and didn’t see her as anything more than a friend. She couldn’t imagine how Pauline had gotten through those difficult years after Eli had jilted her and married a woman who used to be English. It amazed her to see that there was no animosity between the two women now.

  Laura finally headed out, and Pauline got right to work watering plants and repotting some that had outgrown their containers. She seemed so happy doing her work that she was actually humming.

  “I was wondering if you’d mind me asking a personal question,” Rachel asked when Pauline took a break and sat on the stool behind the cash register.

  “Sure, what is it?”

  Rachel leaned on the other side of the counter and smiled. She hoped her question wasn’t out of line and wouldn’t be taken the wrong way. “I know you and Laura were at odds for a while because of Eli, and I was wondering what happened to make you so friendly with one another
.”

  Pauline smiled. “I’ll admit that I used to be jealous of Laura because I felt she stole Eli away from me. It hurt so bad that I finally went to Ohio to live with my aunt and uncle. I learned a lot while I was there, and I grew closer to the Lord. By the time I returned to Lancaster County, I realized that I had to give up my bitterness and forgive Laura and Eli for hurting me. So, I apologized in a letter; then I went to their house and had a little talk with them.”

  Rachel’s interest was piqued. “Mind if I ask what was said?”

  Pauline shrugged. “Nothing much except I told Laura I was sorry for making her so miserable, and then she apologized, too. The thing was, I knew in my heart that Eli had never been in love with me. He and I were only good friends. I should have been Christian enough to turn loose of him and let him find happiness with Laura. Truth be told, Eli probably did me a favor by marrying her.”

  Rachel’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? How’s that?”

  “If he’d married me, I never would have gotten to know Joe so well, and we...” Pauline blushed a deep crimson. “Guess you’ve probably figured out that I’m in love with your brother.”

  “Jah, and I’m sure he feels the same way about you.” Rachel glanced across the room at her hope-chest items. “Say, do you think you might be interested in some things for your hope chest?”

  Pauline grinned. “Maybe so. I’ll have a look-see.”

  ***

  “I can’t figure out why this stupid CD player isn’t working,” Reuben grumbled, as he punched a couple of buttons and turned some knobs.

  Anna kept her focus on the road for fear that Reuben might hit something while he was busy looking at the CD player in his truck instead of watching out for traffic the way he should be doing.

  “Everything costs a lot, but it seems like nothing ever works right,” Reuben complained. “Maybe I need to trade this truck in and get a newer one.”

  Anna grimaced. With their tight finances, the last thing they needed was a larger truck payment. “When I went to church last week, the preacher made some good points about people putting too much emphasis on things and not enough on God.”

  Reuben merely grunted in reply.

  “I wrote down one of the verses of scripture he quoted. Proverbs 15:16: ‘Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith.’”

  “This CD player is trouble, all right,” he admitted. “Guess I’ll have to learn to live without it until I have enough money to get it fixed. We’ve got bills to pay and groceries to buy, so having music to listen to as we drive to work every morning will have to wait.”

  Anna smiled. “I don’t miss it, really. Having some quiet time so we can talk is kind of nice, don’t you think?”

  He nodded. “With the long hours I’ve been workin’, we don’t get to see each other much anymore.”

  “That’s true. Even our Sundays aren’t spent together when you sleep most of the day.”

  Reuben’s forehead wrinkled, and he gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. “Are you tryin’ to make an issue of me needing to get caught up on my rest?”

  “No, no. I just meant—”

  “We can talk about this later. There’s no point in you being late for work.” He pulled the truck into the parking lot on the backside of the restaurant where Anna worked and stopped. “Since I’m starting work two hours later than usual today, I’ll probably be working late tonight, so you’d better plan on catching the bus home.”

  “What else is new?” Anna mumbled, as she opened the truck door.

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing. Have a good day, Reuben.”

  ***

  ***

  When Joseph entered the restaurant in Lancaster, where he’d decided to have some breakfast, his stomach rumbled. He’d had an early dental appointment and hadn’t eaten anything before he’d left home. After he’d left the dentist’s office, he’d run a few errands, and now that the numbness in his jaw had finally worn off, it was time to fill his belly with a bit of food.

  An English woman escorted Joseph to a table near the window, telling him that his waitress would be there shortly. As he waited, he stared out the window and thought about Pauline. It still seemed too good to be true that she was willing to let him court her, but he wasn’t complaining in the least. Every chance he got to be with her was like candy in his mouth. He wished she could keep working at the greenhouse indefinitely so they could see each other more. For that matter, he wished he could quit working in the fields and work at the greenhouse, too. Maybe someday when Mom and Dad retired from the business, he could take over. And maybe if Pauline was willing to marry him, the two of them could run the greenhouse together. Rachel wasn’t likely to want it.

  “Can I bring you something to drink before you order your meal?”

  Joseph turned at the sound of a woman’s voice. It was a voice he thought he recognized. When he looked up at the waitress who stood next to his table, his mouth dropped open. “Anna?”

  Her cheeks turned pink, and her mouth hung slightly open, too. “Joseph. I didn’t realize it was you until I saw your face.”

  “I thought I recognized your voice, but I barely recognize you at all.” He frowned deeply. “What have you done to your hair?”

  Anna reached up to touch the blond curls framing her slender face. “I ... uh ... decided to try it short for a change.” The color in her cheeks deepened. “Reuben likes it this way.”

  Joseph folded his arms and glared up at his sister. “Reuben’s the only reason you left the faith, isn’t he?”

  Her gaze dropped to the floor. “Neither Reuben nor I have anything against the Amish way of life, but Reuben didn’t want to give up his truck, so—”

  “You left just to please him then—so he could have his stupid old truck?”

  She shrugged. “Sort of.”

  He gritted his teeth. “Either you did or you didn’t, Anna. Which is it?”

  She lifted her gaze to meet his again. “All right then; I did leave to please Reuben, but lots of things about the English way of life I enjoy, too.”

  “More than being with your family? Or have you already forgotten about us?”

  “Of course I haven’t forgotten, but Reuben’s my family, too.”

  Joseph sat fuming as he stared at the menu lying before him.

  “I need to wait on some other customers, so what would you like to order?”

  “If I place an order with you, then it’s the same as doing business with you, and we both know that’s not allowed.”

  Tears pooled in Anna’s eyes, and she blinked a couple of times. “Would you like me to see if another waitress is free to take your order?”

  He shook his head and pushed away from the table. “My appetite’s gone, so I’ll just meet up with the driver I hired to bring me to town and be on my way home. Mom or one of the sisters can fix me something to eat.”

  Anna took a step toward Joseph, but he moved quickly away. Seeing his older sister dressed in English clothes and wearing her hair cut short was a painful reminder that she was no longer Amish and had chosen Reuben and his fancy English ideas over her own family. All he wanted to do was get as far away from Anna as he possibly could.

  CHAPTER 22

  Daniel’s back took nearly two weeks to heal, and Silas went over to the Beachys’ place most days in order to help with chores and the last of the harvesting. In all that time, he never had his heart-to-heart talk with Rachel. It wasn’t because he hadn’t tried. He’d made every effort to get her alone, but she always made up some excuse about being too busy to talk to him. Silas was getting discouraged and had about decided to give up, when suddenly an idea popped into his head. Last Friday had been his final day helping out. Daniel had assured him that he was feeling well enough to start doing some light chores, and with the help of their neighbors, all the hay had been baled and put away in the barn, which was a good thing, since they’d had some snow since then. S
ilas wouldn’t be going back to the Beachy farm—at least not to help. However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t pay a visit to the greenhouse.

  He stepped up to his mother, who stood at the sink, doing the breakfast dishes. “I’m going out for a while, Mom. Should be back in plenty of time for the noon meal, though.”

  Her forehead wrinkled as she turned to face him. “In this weather? In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a foot of snow on the ground, with the promise of more coming from the looks of those dark clouds in the sky.” She nodded to the window.

  “I’m taking the sleigh, so I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  “Mind if I ask where you’re going?”

  “Over to the Beachys’ greenhouse.”

  Mom gave Silas a knowing look, but he chose to ignore it. “Say, if you’re heading to the greenhouse, would you mind seeing if they have any nice poinsettias? I’d like one to give my sister Susan when she comes here to celebrate her birthday next week.”

  “Jah, sure, I can do that.” Silas leaned over, kissed his mother on the cheek, and started for the back door. “See you later, Mom.”

  ***

  Since none of Rachel’s hope-chest items had sold yet and Pauline had decided not to buy any, Rachel thought it might be time to take them into town and see if Thomas Benner would sell them in his store. Storm clouds were brewing that morning, and Dad wouldn’t let Rachel take the horse and buggy to town, saying he was worried she might get caught in a snowstorm. She had been hoping to get her things into the variety store in time for the busy Christmas shopping season, but now she would have to wait until the weather improved. Besides, Mom had come down with a nasty cold, and it wouldn’t be fair to expect her to work with Pauline in the greenhouse while Rachel went to town.