He retrieved some cans and other supplies from his wagon. “This is all I need,” he said.
Ivy reached out and touched his arm again. He resisted the urge to snatch it away from her. “I’ve made so many mistakes, but I’m going to change. I promise I’m going to change.”
“Jesus died for our mistakes. There is always hope.”
“Yes,” Ivy said, getting unduly excited. “Yes. I want to be a better person. I want to live a life of service and sacrifice and faith. Maybe I’ll get baptized.”
Levi drew his brows together. “I wouldn’t dissuade you from that. I would encourage any true seeker of faith to get baptized.”
Ivy nodded in satisfaction. “Then I want to get baptized.”
“But it does seem a little sudden.”
Ivy looked disappointed. “You’ve got to believe me. I’ve thought about this decision for a long time. I’m tired of living out of a suitcase. I’m tired of being hungry and scared. I want to find someone who truly loves me and wants to take care of me. I want to pledge my heart to God and a good man. Will you help me?”
“My father would be the best one to help you. He is the bishop.”
Ivy’s eyes grew wide. “Your dad’s the bishop? How nice. Are you guys rich?”
Rich? Where had she gotten that from? “Nae. We’re not rich. We do a little farming, and my dat and bruderen and I remodel houses.”
Ivy nodded so hard her earrings swayed back and forth. “I like it when a guy has a job. A good, stable job. Jordan couldn’t hold down a job to save his life. He’d show up late or fail his drug test and they’d let him go. I’m just done with the uncertainty, ya know?”
Levi didn’t know what to say to all that eagerness. “Ach, vell, my dat can arrange with one of the ministers to take you through the baptism classes.”
“But you’ll support me, won’t you, Levi? I’m very determined about this. I want to make myself worthy again.”
Levi nodded. “Of course. If that’s what you really want, we’ll all help you.”
Ivy glued her gaze to Levi’s face. “Yes, that is what I really want.”
Levi didn’t know what to think. It was hard to imagine Ivy was sincere, but if she truly wanted to change her life, he certainly couldn’t discourage her. But if she got baptized, she’d likely stay in the community. Would she be happy in the Plain life? Would she expect to live with Esther forever? Would she want Winnie back?
Would Esther be glad or irritated about Ivy’s change of heart, if it really was a change of heart?
Levi swallowed past the lump in his throat.
What had he done? And would Esther ever forgive him?
* * *
Ivy stood at the front door and watched while Levi put his tools in the back of his wagon, climbed into his buggy, and drove away. She waved and giggled until Levi’s buggy was far down the road, then she left the front door open and walked to the edge of the lawn trying to keep his buggy in sight, as if she planned on watching it all the way to his house or his next appointment.
Esther closed the door on Ivy, because all sorts of flies and mosquitoes were going to fly into the house while Ivy was out paying a whole lot of unnecessary attention to Levi. Esther growled softly, bounced Winnie on her hip, and strolled into the kitchen to start dinner. Esther hadn’t seen this much enthusiasm from Ivy since she’d arrived four days ago. Ivy was up to something, and Esther was certain she didn’t want to know what it was.
Levi had shown Esther how to set the tile in the floor with special glue and little plastic X’s as spacers. Esther had gotten a gute start on the tile while Levi sat in the hall outside the bathroom and played with Winnie, like he always did. Esther had expected Ivy to go to her room and take a nap or go outside and get some sun or stroll into the kitchen to find something to eat. Instead, Ivy sat down right next to Levi and flirted with him the whole time. Flirted with Levi!
Ivy had even pretended to be interested in Winnie and had clapped her hands and laughed with delight when Winnie had pulled herself down the hall using only her arms. Winnie hadn’t quite mastered crawling yet, and the way she got around the haus was adorable. Before today, Ivy hadn’t cared that Winnie was learning how to crawl. She’d barely acknowledged Winnie’s existence. But while Esther worked on the tile, Ivy had listened with rapt attention while Levi told her about all the cute things Winnie had done in the last month.
Levi didn’t seem to mind Ivy’s company. She had even made him laugh with her stories of people she’d encountered in her eight years’ absence, or stories about the trouble she got into when she was a little girl growing up with Esther and four older brothers. Ivy was fun and endearing and agreeable when she wanted to be. She had definitely shown Levi her best side today, and Esther’s suspicions pressed like a weight on her chest. What did Ivy want from Levi? Esther couldn’t bring herself to believe that Ivy was teasing and playful with Levi just to be nice. The Ivy Esther knew was calculating and manipulative.
Esther set Winnie in her high chair and put some cereal puffs on her tray. Winnie was just learning to pick up food and could entertain herself for several minutes with a pile of cereal. Esther pulled a can of tuna and some bread from the cupboard. She heard Ivy open the front door and come in the house.
Ivy practically floated into the kitchen. “What’s for dinner?”
“Grilled tuna with cheese,” Esther said. She just didn’t have the energy for anything fancier.
To her surprise, Ivy smiled. “Oh, that’s okay. You’re doing your best, I guess.” She sat down at the table, picked up a handful of cereal puffs from Winnie’s tray, and popped them into her mouth. “Levi is wonderful nice.”
Esther had her back turned to Ivy, so Ivy didn’t see her expression. “Jah. He’s nice.”
“Will you teach me how to make bread pudding?”
“Bread pudding? Why?”
Ivy’s eyes danced. “Levi says he loves bread pudding.”
Esther pressed her lips together. She should have known that. Was she always too wrapped up in her own problems to pay any attention to Levi? Did he resent her for that? “Bread pudding is easy to make. I can teach you.”
“Oh, thank you, Esther. You’re the best sister ever.”
Esther swallowed hard and stirred the tuna fish with added vigor. She didn’t want to know and shouldn’t ask. The answer would only make her ill. “Why do you want to make Levi bread pudding?”
Ivy giggled. “Mamm always said the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
“Why do you care about that?”
“Oh, Esther, you’re so naive.” Ivy stood up and strolled out of the kitchen. “Let me know when dinner is ready. And do you have a dress I can borrow?”
* * *
Levi pulled up in front of Esther’s house and blew a puff of air from between his lips. Yep, Esther was mad, and that bush was never going to be the same again.
Esther, looking very pretty in emerald green, was standing in the flower bed below Winnie’s bedroom window smacking at an evergreen bush with her pickleball paddle. The bush seemed to be taking it well—those evergreens were hard to kill—but Esther looked as if she was losing the battle. Sweat beaded on the back of her neck, her apron was dotted with sticky evergreen needles, and a child’s stocking dangled precariously from her ear. Was she now using her head as a clothesline?
Levi climbed from the buggy and wiped any hint of a smile off his face. Esther would not appreciate his amusement at a time like this. He came up behind her, but not close enough to accidentally get whacked with her makeshift weapon. “It’s a hot day,” he said. “Too hot to be outside trying to chop down your bushes with a paddle.”
Other than a glance in Levi’s direction, Esther gave no indication that she’d heard him. Instead, she doubled her efforts with the bush. After three well-placed blows to the bush’s midsection, there was a soft crack, and the flat part of the paddle broke off from the handle and lodged in the bush’s thick tendrils.
“Ach, nuts!” Esther squeaked. She spun around and chucked the handle in the direction of Levi’s buggy. She had a strong arm, but the throw wasn’t good enough to make it past the lawn. Breathing hard, she plopped herself down on the grass and growled in frustration. “Cheap pickleball paddle. I knew I should have bought the fifty-dollar one.”
“Next time, you should go all out and buy a chain saw. That bush wouldn’t be so cocky if you had come at it with a serious weapon.” He sat down next to her.
She cracked a smile, then turned her face so Levi wouldn’t see it. “Don’t even try to cheer me up. It won’t work, especially now that I’ve ruined my last good pickleball paddle.”
“Your last paddle? What happened to the other ones?”
She folded her arms. “I chopped one with my ax. Yesterday I smashed the other one against the road.”
Levi couldn’t help but chuckle. She gave him a scathing glare. He held up his hand. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s just not a gute week to be a pickleball paddle.” He would have done anything to wipe that frown off her face. Reaching out, he wrapped his fingers around hers. She shifted her weight but didn’t pull away. “What’s happened?” he said gently, giving her hand a warm squeeze. “Is Winnie okay?”
“She’s fine. She’s taking a nap.”
“So what’s the matter?” Levi had no doubt that Esther’s bad mood had something to do with Ivy. He only hoped it didn’t have something to do with Ivy wanting to take Winnie away.
Esther huffed out a breath. “You’ll see. Oh. You’ll see.”
Levi pulled his hand away when he heard the click of the front doorknob. He stood up, because Ivy didn’t need to see him sitting so close to her sister. Half a second later, Ivy came outside, and Levi nearly lost his breakfast.
He knew it was Ivy because who else would be coming out Esther’s front door with a sling cradling her left arm? But she looked like a completely different person. She wore a baby pink, calf-length dress with a black apron and black, sensible shoes. Her hair was pulled into a bun at the back of her head, and she wore a crisp white kapp. The earrings had disappeared, as had the fingernail polish and the eye makeup. Ivy looked like the most proper of proper Amish girls. If Levi had been chewing gum, he would have swallowed it.
“Oh, Levi,” Ivy said. “I’ve been waiting so long for you to come.”
There were no words. He kind of wished he had a pickleball paddle. Or a tennis racket. Even a Ping-Pong paddle would do. He and Esther could take on that bush together.
Ivy stretched out her good arm and twirled, actually twirled, for him. “What do you think?”
There were still no words, even though she stood on the stoop waiting for him to speak.
“Esther let me borrow her dress and kapp. And, oh, well, the shoes and everything. But the shoes are too tight.”
Levi didn’t risk a glance at Esther. He could pretty well guess what she was thinking. “You . . . you look Amish.”
Ivy clapped her hands and giggled. “I know. Don’t you love it! I told you how serious I am about getting baptized and settling down in the Amish community. I’m so excited to be starting a new life and meeting new people. I’m so happy I met you, Levi. You have truly been an inspiration to me.”
Levi kicked the grass at his feet. “Ach, vell, I didn’t do anything.” He would be mortified if Esther thought he had played any part in this. He hadn’t discouraged Ivy from preparing for baptism, that was for sure and certain, but had he been too supportive? Had Ivy decided to become Amish because of his support?
Ivy seemed oblivious to Levi’s shock and Esther’s irritation. “And guess what?”
“What?”
“I’m going to gmay on Sunday and starting the baptism classes.”
Esther pushed herself off the ground. Levi reached out a hand and helped her to her feet. “It’s off Sunday this week,” she said, brushing tiny evergreen needles from her apron. “There’s no church.”
Ivy wasn’t discouraged. “Then I’ll go the next week. I can’t wait to see the bishop’s eyes pop out of his head when a complete stranger asks to take baptism classes.” Ivy smiled triumphantly at Esther. “Did you know Levi’s dad is the bishop?”
Levi had always felt sorry for his dat. Being an Amish bishop was a time-consuming headache. District members expected him to be available and at their disposal any time of the day or night. Besides that, it was a lifetime calling. The only way Dat could get out of it was if he was dead. Now, looking at Ivy with that giddy smile on her face, Levi felt doubly sorry for his dat, and every other Amish bishop in the world.
And he felt four times as sorry for Esther. No wonder she’d destroyed all her pickleball paddles. Levi should probably take all her spoons and spatulas to his house for their own safety. Levi reached out and pulled an evergreen needle from Esther’s kapp. Esther gave him a sideways glance, but otherwise didn’t acknowledge him. “Well then,” Levi said, “it never hurts to try to get closer to Gotte. I know my dat will be happy to see you.”
Levi felt more and more sorry for Esther. This must be what it was like to live with Ivy, on pins and needles all the time, trying to guess what she wanted to hear, trying to say the right thing, the thing that would persuade her to leave without taking Winnie. Ivy’s deciding she wanted to be Amish was a new and demoralizing wrinkle in the plan.
He glanced at Esther. “I guess we should get to that grout.”
Ivy waved Levi toward the house as if she owned it and Esther and Levi were just visitors. “Come in. Come in. I’ll make both of you a cup of coffee.” She left the door open and disappeared into the house.
Esther was as rigid as a telephone pole. “She doesn’t know how to make kaffee. And she’s going to wake the baby if she doesn’t shut up.”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, in case Ivy was standing just inside the door.
“She stole my pink dress.”
“I love that pink dress.”
Esther nodded slightly. “I do too. But I refuse to wear it ever again.”
“The other day she was talking about wanting to be baptized. I . . . I think I might have said something to encourage her.”
Esther sighed and plucked another evergreen needle from her apron. “It wasn’t what you said. It was just you.”
“What do you mean?”
Esther growled. “I don’t want your head to grow any bigger than it already is.”
Levi curled his lips. “I don’t want it to grow bigger either. I wouldn’t look good with a giant head. My cousin has this neighbor who has the biggest head you’ve ever seen. And wonderful large earlobes. You could park a buggy on those things.”
Esther cracked a smile, but it was obvious she wasn’t in any state of mind to laugh. “You’re handsome and nice and you have a job. Ivy is looking for a man to take care of her. She’s set her sights on you.”
Levi’s mouth fell open in horror. “But I’m Amish. That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Ivy’s desperate, and for eight years, she did what she had to do to survive. She sees you as her best chance for survival.”
“She doesn’t even know me. And she’s got to know she’s not my type.”
“There’s no way she would know that.”
Levi counted on his fingers. “She’s not Amish, she abandoned her baby, and she’s treated you very poorly. Not my type.”
Esther rolled her eyes. “She’s trying to make herself your type. She’s decided to get baptized, she came back to her baby, and she’s making bitter kaffee for both of us right now.”
“But why me? I thought she hated everything about the Amish. That’s why she left.”
Esther shrugged. “You were nice to her, and I don’t think a man has been kind to her for quite some time.”
Levi felt sick. “What should I do? I guess I could be rude to her, but I don’t especially like being rude. But if you think it will convince her to leave, I’ll do whatever you want.”
Esther huffed o
ut a breath. “I don’t know. If you’re rude, will she be more or less likely to sign the adoption papers?” She kicked the evergreen bush, and her stocking came away with a bunch of pine needles stuck to it. “I’ve had this debate in my head too many times to count. I never come to an answer.”
“I’m sorry,” Levi said.
“I think,” said Esther, “that it would be better to just be yourself. It’s too hard to pretend to be someone you’re not. I think that is what Gotte would want you to do. And you should probably be nice to her simply because she’s my schwester and Winnie’s mater.”
Levi frowned. “You are Winnie’s true mater.”
Esther turned her face away. “It doesn’t matter. It might make no difference in the end.”
“We can’t lose hope.”
“I guess it’s too late to tell you that I already have.”
Levi took Esther’s hand and pulled her around the corner of the house, where Ivy wouldn’t be able to see them if she came outside again. He cupped his hands around her shoulders. “Please don’t lose hope. You told me yourself that Ivy is flighty. Tomorrow she might decide that pink isn’t her color. She’ll start missing all her favorite TV shows, or she might get sick of the Amish life and try the Mennonites.”
A smile crept onto Esther’s face. “Or she might move to Mexico and help the orphans.”
“Or that,” Levi said. “There’s no reason you shouldn’t be completely hopeful.”
“It’s hard not to get discouraged sometimes. I’m so afraid of losing Winnie.”
“It’s okay to be afraid. Just don’t lose hope.” She nodded. Levi was constantly amazed at how strong Esther really was. “Maybe I should stay away,” he said, smiling wryly, “like you wanted me to.”
Esther plucked another pine needle from her apron and gave him a reassuring smile. “I did want you to stay away. That’s why I wrote that note.” She gave him the stink eye. “Which you ignored.”
The Amish Quiltmaker's Unexpected Baby Page 17
