The Amish Quiltmaker's Unexpected Baby

by Jennifer Beckstrand

  “Esther Zook?” the first woman said, with an utterly happy smile on her face. She looked to be in her late sixties, with very short salt-and-pepper gray hair under her kapp and laugh lines around her mouth. An Amish fraa with short hair? It was unheard-of.

  “Jah, that’s me,” Esther said, ignoring the hair in her joy that these women hadn’t accidentally come to the wrong house.

  “Well, isn’t this wunderbarr?” said the short-haired Amish woman. “I thought you’d be much older. I’m Nanna Kiem. This is my daughter-in-law Hannah and her daughter Mary Jane. Levi said you might could use some help.”

  Nanna’s daughter-in-law Hannah wore a warm smile and looked like someone who knew how to take care of babies. “We brought diapers,” she said, holding her bag open so Esther could look inside. Esther nearly burst into tears of relief.

  The youngest woman, Mary Jane, couldn’t have been more than twenty-two or -three, with curly brown hair and lively eyes that reminded Esther of yesterday’s stranger. Her eyes sparkled with delight as she showed Esther her basket. “Levi said the buplie needs some clothes. Rosie has grown out of these.”

  Levi? Who was Levi? At that point, it didn’t matter. Esther was so happy, she could have hugged all three of them.

  Nanna motioned in the direction of all the noise. “Would you like some help?”

  “Ach, jah, of course,” Esther blurted out. She’d been standing in the doorway grinning like a cat when there was a buplie to tend to. She was just so gloriously happy. Gotte answered prayers after all.

  Nanna walked in the house and set the bin she’d been carrying in the entryway. Hannah put her bag on top of the bin. They both immediately headed to the spare bedroom, where Winnie was making quite a racket. Nanna bent down, picked up Winnie, and planted a kiss on her wet cheek. “Well, aren’t you sweet.”

  That’s exactly what that stranger had said yesterday. Esther was obviously missing something. The baby was cute, but not necessarily sweet. She smelled like sour milk and had snot bubbling from her nose.

  “Careful. She throws up.” Esther held up her hand as if to halt any notion Winnie might have of getting Nanna’s dress dirty.

  Neither Nanna or Hannah seemed the least bit repulsed. “That’s what buplies do,” Hannah said.

  Mary Jane laughed. “Spit-up doesn’t scare Mamm. She has twelve children.”

  Esther’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Twelve? I’m completely bewildered with one.”

  Winnie had calmed down considerably, but she still fussed in Nanna’s arms. Nanna smoothed Winnie’s unruly black hair. “Mary Jane, will you make a bottle?”

  Mary Jane glanced at Esther, who pointed her toward the kitchen. “Her bottle is in the sink. But I was too tired to wash it. There’s formula on the counter.”

  Mary Jane smiled, and the expression was so familiar, Esther immediately knew where she’d seen it. “Are you related to the boy who came to my house yesterday?”

  “Jah,” Mary Jane said on her way out of the room. “My older bruder. He’s the one who sent us over. He said you looked like you could use some help.”

  At that moment, Esther could have kissed Mary Jane’s bruder, which would have been completely inappropriate, so it was a gute thing he wasn’t there. “Your bruder sent you? Well, bless him. He changed Winnie’s diaper and fed her a bottle. I was very grateful.”

  Hannah nodded. “My Levi. He’s a gute boy.” She handed Nanna a diaper and Nanna set Winnie down on the bed. Esther watched very closely as Nanna changed Winnie’s diaper, just in case she could pick up any tips. “She’s got a little diaper rash,” Nanna said. “Hannah, will you get the cream from my bag?”

  Hannah went into the hall and soon returned with a white tube.

  “What is that?” Esther asked. Tips. She needed tips.

  “Diaper rash cream,” Nanna said. “You should put it on every night when the buplie goes to bed.”

  Hannah and Nanna both cooed at the baby while Nanna finished changing her. They were obviously “baby people.” Esther was not. Ivy should have left Winnie with a baby person, the kind of person who gushed over babies and didn’t mind stinky diapers. Nanna lifted Winnie into her arms. “Now, let’s see about breakfast.”

  Nanna was talking to Winnie, but Esther’s stomach growled. She’d eaten three potato chips and a granola bar for dinner last night. And nothing for breakfast or lunch yesterday. They paraded into the kitchen, where Mary Jane had a bottle ready for Winnie. Esther was fairly certain Mary Jane hadn’t used the cooking thermometer to check the temperature of the water. It was like she just instinctively knew how warm to make it. How was Esther ever going to learn to do that?

  Mary Jane sat down at the table, and Nanna handed her the baby. Mary Jane talked to Winnie like all gute mothers talk to babies. “You’re a skinny little thing. We’re going to fatten you right up.” Winnie settled naturally into Mary Jane’s arms, as if she knew Mary Jane could be trusted. A lump settled in Esther’s throat. Winnie was nothing but suspicious of Esther.

  Nanna propped her hands on her hips. “Now, let’s see about breakfast for the rest of us.”

  “Ach, you don’t have to do that,” Esther said. She didn’t mean it, but it seemed like the polite thing to say.

  “Nonsense,” Nanna said. “You had a hard night.”

  How did Nanna know Esther had a hard night? She put her hand to her head. Her kapp was still there, but her hair stuck out all around the edges. There were four dots of spit-up on her right shoulder and a whole line of spit-up down the front of her dress. Jah. She’d had a hard night.

  Nanna opened Esther’s fridge. It was nearly empty. “It’s a good thing we got here when we did.”

  Esther bit her bottom lip. “I’d planned on doing some shopping yesterday.”

  “Not to worry,” Hannah said. “We brought our own supplies.” She retrieved the bin from the hall. “Do you like pancakes?”

  “I love pancakes.”

  Hannah nodded in satisfaction. “Gute. Pancakes with peach syrup. And bacon.” She pulled an apron from the bin.

  “You brought bacon?”

  Mary Jane laughed. “Ach, Mamm comes prepared.”

  “I can help,” Esther said.

  Nanna shook her head. “You’re going to sit right there by Mary Jane. You’ve had a hard night.”

  Esther didn’t argue, because it had been a hard night, and Nanna had mentioned it twice now. Esther must have looked like she’d been through the wringer washer. She sat next to Mary Jane and watched Winnie eat her bottle. Winnie hadn’t eaten that well for Esther yesterday. She was sort of jealous. “Why did Levi come over yesterday? He said he needed to look at my bathroom.”

  “Levi’s wonderful gute with plumbing and tile,” Nanna said. “I sent him over because that toilet in your second bathroom hasn’t worked well for years.”

  “How do you know about the bathroom? I only just bought the house.”

  “Well, I’m the one who said you should buy it. I feel responsible.”

  Esther’s mouth fell open. She pointed at Nanna. “You’re Hannah Kiem?” She shook her head and pointed at Hannah. “Nae. You’re Hannah Kiem. I’m confused.”

  Hannah and Nanna laughed. “We’re both Hannah Kiem,” Hannah said. “Nanna’s real name is Hannah, but when I married her son, it was too confusing to have two Hannahs in the family. We started calling her Nanna, and I kept Hannah.”

  Nanna nodded. “It worked out quite well when Hannah and Jacob started having children. ‘Nanna’ is a nickname for mammi.”

  Esther furrowed her brow. “So which one of you is Hannah Kiem, famous quilt blogger?”

  The older Hannah with the short hair raised her hand. “I’m not that famous, but it’s always thrilling to meet someone who has heard of me. I’m Nanna at home, but I use ‘Hannah Kiem’ when I blog. That’s how people know me.”

  Esther couldn’t hold herself back from standing and giving the older Hannah a hug. Nanna hugged her right back
. “I . . . I can’t believe you’re standing in my kitchen.”

  Nanna waved her hand in the air. “No need for that. We’re old friends.”

  Nanna was the reason Esther was in Colorado. Five years ago, Esther had discovered Nanna’s quilting blog while she was on the computer at the library. She’d started writing letters to Nanna, and they’d exchanged quilting tips and techniques, recipes, and news about their families. They had never met, and since the Amish believed photographs were graven images, they had never seen photos of each other.

  When Esther’s dat died, Esther told Hannah—or rather Nanna—in a letter that she needed a fresh start, and Nanna suggested Esther move to Colorado. There was a house that had been built by one of the first Amish families to settle in Byler. The family had moved to Montana and were having trouble selling the house because it wasn’t wired for electricity. No Englischers wanted it, but it was perfect for Esther. She bought the house without even seeing it.

  Nanna pulled a pan from the cupboard and opened the bacon she’d retrieved from the bin. “I was going to pay a visit this week anyway, but when Levi said you were in trouble, I knew we had to come right quick.”

  “You came just in time. I have no idea what to do with a baby.”

  Nanna grinned. “Here I was hoping to talk about quilting, and the first thing I find is an unexpected baby at your house. But I like talking about babies even more than I like talking about quilts, so we should have a wonderful gute time together.”

  Esther slumped her shoulders. “I can’t do much talking. The only thing I know about babies is the standard size of a baby quilt.”

  “That’s why we’re here,” Mary Jane said. “We’re going to teach you.”

  Esther smiled wryly. “I was hoping you’d say you were going to move in and take care of Winnie for me.”

  Mary Jane laughed. “I would love to do that, I really would, but I have little ones of my own, and Tyler can only be patient for twenty minutes at a time.”

  Hannah stirred water into the pancake batter. “Levi is my oldest child, but my youngest is two years old, so I can’t be much help either.”

  “Levi’s had a lot of practice,” Esther said. “I could tell.” He was also very handsome, but Esther didn’t need to state the obvious.

  Hannah tested the batter to see if it was the right thickness. “Levi’s not afraid to get his hands dirty, and he’s not one of those boys who thinks he’s too important for housework or caring for children.”

  “I saw that right off,” Esther said.

  The bacon smelled heavenly. Esther sighed. There wasn’t much in the world that couldn’t be made right with a crispy piece of bacon. Nanna turned the slices with a fork. “I wish I could help more, but I’ve got three quilts to make in April alone, plus I have to get a start on my quilts for the wedding season.” She tapped the fork against the pan. “Maybe we should send Levi over to help.”

  “Ach, no, Mamm,” Hannah said. “He’s got more than enough work in the valley. He doesn’t have time to spare.” Hannah smiled at Esther. “He’s saving his money to get married.”

  Esther’s heart dropped to her toes. Ach. Levi was engaged. It shouldn’t have disappointed her like it did. She had long ago resigned herself to being an old maid, and after what had happened with Menno, she didn’t want to marry anyway. She was much happier single than she’d ever be married, especially to a skunk like Menno Hertzler or a widower like Yost Lapp, who just wanted a live-in babysitter for his four children. She needed that kind of heartache like she needed a hole in the head. Better by far to live alone. “Oh, how nice,” she managed to push from between her lips. “When . . . is Levi getting married?”

  Mary Jane propped the baby on her shoulder and patted her on the back. “Levi doesn’t even have a girlfriend. That’s just Mamm wishing out loud.”

  “Well, he’s going to get married sometime,” Hannah protested. “And he should save up for it.” Hannah looked at Esther, and her lips twitched upward. “Jacob is sending him to Ohio in October to stay with our cousins and look for a wife. There just aren’t enough families in Colorado yet. He’s got to go to where the girls are.”

  So Levi was going to Ohio in search of a wife. Esther didn’t need to think any further on him. She didn’t want to anyway. “I would never ask Levi or any of you to rearrange your lives to save me, but for sure and certain, I could use all the help I can get. I’m wonderful grateful you’re here this morning. I was at the end of my rope.”

  “Don’t you worry,” Nanna said. “We’re going to help you all we can.”

  Winnie burped, and Mary Jane laid her back and put the bottle in her mouth again. “My Rosie is one year old and into everything. You are welcome to come any day and let Rosie and Winnie play together. Though at this age, neither of them really play with other children. They mostly play by themselves.”

  Hannah poured some batter into the pan. “You are also welcome at our house any time you want to come. The twins will be thrilled. They like playing dress-up with Lydiann, but now that Lydi is two, she’s not as cooperative as she used to be. Winnie’s too young to protest.”

  “Denki,” Esther said. “I would like that very much.”

  Hannah flipped the first pancake. “But I have to warn you, with ten children still at home, it’s never quiet and it’s never clean and sometimes the boys try to kill each other.”

  Esther laughed. “I have four bruderen. I know how they can be.”

  Mary Jane reached across the table and patted Esther’s wrist. “You’ve found yourself in a very hard situation, and we’re going to help you.”

  Nanna nodded. “And I’m making Levi come back over here to fix your toilet.”

  Esther felt her face get warm, whether from embarrassment at her finances or the thought of seeing Levi again, she wasn’t sure. “I don’t know if I can afford that. I’m living on a very tight budget.”

  With her back to Esther, Nanna waved her fork in the air. “I heard that toilet sputtering before the Yoders even left. I knew it was going to die, and I knew you’d be moving in. I want you to be happy here, and it’s impossible to be happy if you only have one working toilet in your home. I know. I once had a crush on a Swartzentruber boy. One experience in his outhouse, and that was it. I broke up with him before you can say ‘raw sewage.’”

  Esther, Hannah, and Mary Jane all laughed at that. The Swartzentrubers were one of the strictest sects of Amish. They didn’t believe in indoor plumbing. Esther admired them for their piety but not their hygiene habits.

  Nanna turned and smiled at Esther. “I shouldn’t be talking about raw sewage right before breakfast. I hope you still have an appetite.”

  “Not to worry,” Esther said. “I’m famished.”

  “Anyway, Levi’s coming to fix that toilet and put new tile in your bathroom, and I’m paying for it.”

  “Ach, please don’t pay for it, Nanna. I can manage.”

  Hannah set a plate on the table, and Nanna slid four perfect pieces of bacon onto it. “I insist. I feel responsible, and as you can see, I have bathroom issues. We’ve sent so many letters back and forth, you feel like a daughter. Or granddaughter. You’re young enough.”

  “Not that young,” Esther said. “I’m thirty, and you can’t be more than sixty.”

  “What a wunderbarr thing to say,” Nanna said. “But I’m sixty-nine. It’s the weight lifting. Keeps you young.”

  “Weight lifting?”

  Nanna nodded. “My Englisch friends at the quilters club talked me into it. It keeps you from getting old lady arms.”

  Esther drew her brows together. “Is that allowed?”

  “There isn’t anything in the Ordnung that says we can’t exercise. Besides, the bishop gave me permission.”

  Hannah’s lips curled upward. “My husband.”

  “My son,” Nanna said. “He’s not going to say no to his own mother. And lifting weights is better than dying of a heart attack or arthritis.”

 
Mary Jane sat Winnie up on her lap and patted her back. “I don’t think you can die of arthritis, Mammi.”

  “I’d rather not find out.”

  It was probably rude to ask, but Esther was just too curious not to. “Did the bishop . . . I mean, your son, give you permission to cut your hair short like that?”

  Yep. She shouldn’t have asked. Hannah looked at her in surprise—or maybe it was indignant shock. She turned to Nanna. “You never told her? I thought she was like a daughter to you.”

  Esther’s gaze flicked from Hannah to Nanna. “I’m . . . I’m sorry if that was a rude question. It’s probably none of my business.”

  Nanna laughed. “Don’t fuss about it, Esther. I had cancer last year.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice as if it was a big secret. “I had a double mastectomy, and it was horrible.”

  “Ach. I’m so sorry.”

  Nanna waved off her concern. “I didn’t tell you because you were going through all that with your dat, and I didn’t want to make you sadder than you already were. I probably should have shared it with you. It took over my life for a whole year.”

  “I would have liked to know about it, but you’re right, it would have made me wonderful sad.”

  Nanna nodded. “They told me the chemotherapy was going to take my hair, so I went to a salon for the first time in my life and donated my hair. You can do that. They make it into a wig, and it goes to poor people who need it.”

  Esther wasn’t sure why poor people needed hair, but she wasn’t going to ask. “So they cut all your hair off?”

  “Most of it. Then the rest of it fell out.” Nanna fingered the hair poking from her kapp at the base of her neck. “This is about six months’ growth.”

  “It looks nice,” Esther said, because there was nothing else to say. It was just so odd to see an Amish woman with short hair under her kapp.

  Nanna flipped a strip of bacon. “I kind of like it short.” She winked at Esther. “I don’t think I can convince the bishop to let me keep it this way, but it will probably never grow as long as it was. For now, I have short hair and no breasts.”