The Amish Quiltmaker's Unexpected Baby

by Jennifer Beckstrand

  That was as far as her charity extended. Esther certainly didn’t need to stand at the door and wave goodbye when Levi picked up Ivy. Ivy was perfectly capable of seeing herself out without any fanfare from Esther.

  She took Winnie into the bathroom and ran the water while she got Winnie undressed. She had bought a new cooking thermometer specifically for the bathroom so she didn’t have to retrieve the one from the kitchen every time she gave Winnie a bath, which was turning out to be two or three times a day, with all the messes Winnie got into. Of course, mealtime was always a messy event, but when she wasn’t napping, Winnie crawled around the house all day long. Her knees were always filthy and her hands collected dirt in all the creases.

  After double-checking the water temperature, Esther took Winnie’s diaper off and set her in the tub. Winnie loved bath time, and Esther was more than happy to let her splash until Ivy was safely on her way. The less Esther saw of Ivy and Levi together, the easier it would be to pretend that nothing had changed.

  She hadn’t talked to Levi since that day under the apricot tree when he had scolded her for her feelings about Ivy. She hadn’t heard what he’d said when he’d knocked on Ivy’s door that day, and she probably didn’t want to know, but the conversation hadn’t lasted long, and he’d left without even a “boo” in Esther’s direction. Immediately after he had left, Ivy had knocked on Esther’s door with the exciting news that Levi had invited her to the next gathering and could Esther please make her a new dress? Oh, Esther, it’s so exciting, and I forgive you for everything.

  Getting a new dress was more important to Ivy than holding a grudge, or apparently more important than being upset about Mamm.

  At least temporarily.

  “What are you doing?” Esther jumped out of her skin as Nanna came storming into the bathroom as if she were chasing the cows out of her vegetable garden.

  “I . . . um . . . I’m bathing Winnie.” Esther furrowed her brows. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m here to babysit, of course. Levi told you six o’clock, didn’t he? And you’re not even ready.”

  “Nanna, what are you talking about? Levi told me no such thing.”

  Nanna set the bag of fabric scraps she always carried with her on the bathroom counter and rolled up her sleeves. “Well, get going. I’ll finish the bath.”

  “But . . .”

  “You need to hurry. Levi and Caleb and about five of die youngie are waiting for you.”

  “Waiting for me? But why? Levi offered to drive Ivy to the gathering. Not me.”

  Nanna knelt down on the bath mat and crowded Esther out of the way. She snatched the washrag from Esther’s hand. “That’s not what Levi told me. He said last Friday he invited both you and Ivy to ride to the gathering with him. Why else would he ask me to babysit?” She frowned. “Unless he wanted to take you and leave Ivy here. I suppose he might have wanted me to babysit Ivy.”

  “That’s just silly,” Esther said.

  “Not silly at all. I’ve met Ivy, and she needs constant supervision. You’re doing her a great service, Esther.”

  Esther slumped her shoulders “Levi doesn’t think so. He told me I wasn’t being nice to Ivy.”

  “Ivy would be a trial to even the blessed martyrs. You’re doing fine. And don’t pay Levi any heed. He has a heart for the downtrodden and sometimes doesn’t give the undowntrodden enough credit. Now go. It’s rude to keep everyone waiting.”

  Esther’s heart did a little jig. She was so happy that Levi had invited both of them, she wasn’t even angry with Ivy for leaving that little detail out. “But I’m too old. Women my age do not go to gatherings.”

  Nanna pressed her fingers and thumb together as if pinching Esther’s mouth shut. “Not another word, or I’ll make you Cathy’s permanent pickleball partner.”

  Laughter burst from Esther’s mouth. Cathy was truly a dear soul, but she was a wild pickleball player, frequently accidentally whacking her partner with her paddle or losing her shoe during a rally or screaming at the top of her lungs when she lost a point. “All right. Not another word, but do you mind babysitting? I mean, you have enough grandchildren of your own to babysit. You’re probably sick of babysitting.”

  “I don’t have near enough grandchildren. And you don’t get out near enough.” Nanna pushed at Esther’s bottom until Esther felt inclined to stand up. “Hurry. They’re waiting, and Ivy looks sufficiently irritated. You don’t want to miss that.”

  Hmm. Nanna was right—she didn’t want to miss Ivy’s being irritated about Esther’s coming. “Okay. Denki for babysitting. Winnie just finished her dinner. She can go down at—”

  Nanna waved Esther away. “I know. I know. I raised six children of my own. I can handle it.” Esther ran out of the bathroom. Nanna called her back. “You’re going to change your dress, aren’t you?”

  Esther shook her head. “Winnie spit out her green beans on my blue one, Ivy stole my pink one, and I ripped the hem of my brown one.”

  Nanna shook her head. “You don’t want the brown one anyway.” She squinted at Esther as if that gave her a better perspective. “Someone is bound to fall in love with you no matter what you wear. You’ll be fine.”

  Esther didn’t know why, but she felt almost giddy. Her excitement couldn’t be the thought of going to a gathering. She would really rather not. But Levi hadn’t intentionally left her out, which meant that maybe he hadn’t been offended when she’d told him to put his head in the toilet. Maybe he’d been amused. Maybe he could even forgive her.

  And maybe he wasn’t madly in love with Ivy yet.

  * * *

  Levi and Ivy stood on Esther’s front stoop, waiting for Esther to come outside. It wasn’t like her to be tardy, but Levi knew how to be patient, because Mammi was always late.

  “Come on, Levi,” Ivy whined. “Let’s go. I told you, she’s not coming.”

  Levi’s mouth felt like a piece of burnt toast. Was Esther too mad at him to come? He glanced at Ivy. “Go jump in the wagon. I’ll be right there.”

  Ivy pursed her lips. “But I want to sit by you.”

  “I have to drive.” He pointed to his seventeen-year-old bruder. “And Caleb’s sitting next to me. Just go get in the wagon. It will be fun.”

  Ivy tromped to the wagon, but instead of climbing into the back, she started talking to Caleb. Though Levi couldn’t hear what she said, she was no doubt trying to talk Caleb into sitting in the wagon so she could sit next to Levi. Oy, anyhow, that girl was persistent. She wouldn’t get very far with Caleb. He was young and easily led, but Levi had already told him that under no circumstances was Ivy to sit in the seat with Levi. Ivy had already made too many assumptions about her relationship with Levi. She had misinterpreted his kindness, and now it was obvious she was looking for a marriage proposal. Ach, Esther had warned him, and now Levi was going to have to let Ivy down gently. The problem was, he had no idea how to let her down, and he hated to make her so sad when she was so fragile, but he would rather wrestle a thousand gators than marry Ivy Zook. He’d rather be single. He’d rather eat dirt for breakfast, supper, and dinner than marry Ivy.

  Levi peered into the front window but couldn’t see Esther. Should he go in? Someone would come out, either Mammi or Esther. He’d wait. He knew how to be patient, but waiting was harder tonight, because he was desperate to talk to Esther. She’d been so angry with him on Friday, he hadn’t known what to do but go home and give her a chance to cool down. He hoped she saw his invitation to the gathering as an olive branch instead of a punishment. She’d made it clear that she thought she was too old for gatherings, but hopefully she wouldn’t mind coming. It would give them a chance to talk without Ivy looming within earshot. It would give him a chance to apologize for being a clumsy friend.

  His heart jumped into his throat when Esther threw open the door. She stopped short when she saw Levi. Levi stopped short when he saw her. She was wearing her emerald green dress with her crisp white kapp on her head and flip-flops
on her feet. The emerald green dress was Levi’s favorite. The color made her eyes look as blue as the evening sky over a forest of maple trees.

  “Oh,” she said breathlessly. “Hallo, Levi.”

  Levi felt just as breathless and even more speechless. Five-months-ago Levi had been a fool. Esther was the prettiest, most appealing woman he had ever met. She wasn’t old, and she wasn’t boring, and she most certainly wasn’t desperate for a husband.

  She gave him a slight smile, as if she was unsure of him and unsure of herself. He hated that. She should never be unsure of him. “I’m sorry I’m late,” she said. “I was giving Winnie a bath when Nanna came. I . . . I didn’t know you had invited me to the gathering.”

  Levi frowned. “Didn’t know? I asked Ivy to tell you.”

  “Ach, vell. It must have slipped her mind.”

  “I guess so,” he said, shaking his head. They both knew nothing had slipped Ivy’s mind, except maybe some human kindness.

  She flinched as he reached out and pulled an orange noodle off her neck. He showed it to her, and she gave him a more genuine smile. “Ach. Winnie had mac and cheese for dinner. She’s learned how to crawl out of her high chair. She almost fell out tonight.”

  “We’ll have to watch her more carefully. Don’t want her breaking her head.”

  “The high chair came with straps. I just never thought I’d need to use them.”

  He pointed to her ear. “Planning on doing some cutting at the gathering?”

  She pulled a small pair of scissors from behind her ear. “I finished Ivy’s dress right before you came.”

  “It’s a wonderful pretty color.”

  Her smile faded. “It really accents her eyes.”

  “Your dress really brings out the blue in your eyes too.”

  With her fingers wrapped around the scissors, she clasped her hands together in front of her. “Denki,” she said, as if she didn’t believe him. “I suppose I should put the scissors in the house, but I don’t know what Nanna will do if I go back in there.”

  “It’s a little dangerous putting scissors behind your ear. What if you poked your eye out?”

  Her lips twitched. “It hasn’t happened yet.”

  Levi held out his hand. “Here. I’ll put the scissors in my pocket. That way, you don’t have to go back in the house, and if you need them at the gathering, you just have to say the word and I’ll whip them out so fast, you won’t believe your eyes.”

  Esther burst into a smile but then seemed to think better of laughing. “All right. But don’t get any ideas about stealing my scissors. I’ll expect them back at the end of the night.”

  “Cum, Levi,” Caleb called. “Let’s go.”

  Levi glanced at Esther. “You ready?”

  Esther peered at the wagon full of young people. “How many girls did you ask to this gathering?”

  “I just offered to give people rides. I didn’t want any girl to think I’d singled her out.”

  Esther slumped her shoulders. “Jah, well. You don’t have to worry about me. I know we’re just friends.”

  Levi hated those words, “just friends.” And tonight they tasted especially bitter. “Esther, that’s not it at all. I was trying to cheer Ivy up, even though you’re the one I really wanted to invite.”

  There was that slight, tentative smile again. “I prefer gator farms.” She started toward the wagon.

  “Me too, but we would have had to invite Ivy, and I like that the gator farm is just between us.”

  Esther lowered her eyes. “I like that too.”

  “This way, she never has to know about the gator farm, and she can get to know some of die youngie.” And, Lord willing, lose interest in Levi. But then there was the danger of one of the other boys being pulled in by her beauty and making a huge mistake by marrying her. Ach, vell, he’d just have to trust that the boys here in Byler were smarter than that or that Ivy would truly have a change of heart and become the pious Amish woman she was pretending to be.

  Ivy sat in the wagon next to Freeman and Sarah Sensenig. She pressed her lips together and eyed Esther resentfully. Jah, Levi was going to have to speak to Ivy plain and deflate her hopes gently. But the whole thing was tricky because of Winnie. If he made Ivy mad, she might just take Winnie and move to Iowa. If he wasn’t forceful enough, she’d expect a marriage proposal by December.

  Caleb sat up in the wagon seat, but before Esther could climb into the wagon, he jumped down and got in back. “Esther,” he said. “You take the front with Levi. I’ve always liked riding in the back.”

  Ivy opened her mouth to protest, but Caleb nudged her arm and asked her a question that Levi couldn’t hear, distracting her attention and leaving Esther free to climb onto the wagon seat beside Levi. Caleb noticed things and tried to be a gute bruder.

  Esther looked a little bit surprised, but she climbed up into the seat next to Levi. She kept glancing back at Ivy, and every time she did, she unintentionally nudged her shoulder against Levi’s. It wasn’t a bad arrangement at all.

  The gathering was held at a city park that was nothing more than a little grass, some playground equipment, and a tiny pavilion. Since there weren’t many young people, the pavilion was a sufficient size. Besides Caleb, Esther, and Ivy, Levi had brought five more of die youngie in the wagon. Four others joined them. Thirteen young people plus one of the ministers and his wife who had brought the eats—homemade root beer and pretzels. The minister had set up a volleyball net, and Freeman Sensenig and three girls started hitting the ball around.

  Levi helped Esther down from the wagon, and the electricity when he touched her hand was palpable. She had soft hands and thin wrists and bright orange cheese smeared up her forearm. She smiled wryly, licked her finger, and rubbed the cheese off her arm. “If you see any more of that, will you warn me? It’s a wonder I manage to put my shoes on the right feet every morning.”

  Levi chuckled. “But you sure smell gute. The boys will be hanging around you all night, and they won’t even realize it’s because you smell like melted cheese.” Their eyes met and held, and Levi could have gotten lost in those blue pools of warmth.

  Ivy cleared her throat loudly. She stood in the wagon with her hand outstretched. “I don’t think I can get out myself with this bad arm.”

  Without another word, Esther strolled toward the pavilion. Levi wanted to chase after her, but it probably wouldn’t be nice to leave Ivy stranded in the wagon like a beached whale. Levi took Ivy’s hand and made himself a steady support while she climbed out of the wagon. “You should go play volleyball, Ivy. You’d like it.”

  Ivy made a sour face. “That’s all they did at gatherings in Pennsylvania. And I can’t play. I broke my collarbone.”

  In his eagerness to be rid of Ivy for a few minutes and be alone with Esther, he had forgotten that Ivy only had one good arm. “I’m sorry, Ivy. That was insensitive of me.”

  Ivy seemed to remember that she was trying to catch Levi, not drive him away. “It’s okay. You’ve had enough things to think about with all the people you picked up for the gathering. I don’t think I would have even been able to remember all those addresses.”

  He did have a lot to think about tonight, but it had nothing to do with die youngie or their addresses. Thoughts of Esther crowded out his brain, and he could think of little else. Levi pointed to the pavilion, where the Troyer sisters were arranging pretzels on a tray. “That’s Lydia and Lily. They’re in our district. They do piecework for a New York bootmaker.”

  “Sounds about as exciting as working at a potato processing plant.”

  From the sound of it, Ivy had some experience processing potatoes. “You should go meet them.”

  She studied his face. “Why?”

  “Don’t you want to make friends? That’s why I wanted you to come to the gathering, to meet new people, get more involved in the district.”

  “I’m not really interested in meeting new people. You’re the only person in Byler I care about. I wa
s looking forward to just being with you tonight.”

  And Levi had been looking forward to not being with Ivy at all. “Ach. Well. The fun of a gathering is being with all the people. Andrew Beiler knows how to juggle, and Priscilla Mast has double-jointed elbows.”

  It seemed Ivy had quit listening to him altogether. “Oh, look over there. Is it a river just over that rise in the ground?”

  “Just a dry irrigation ditch.”

  She grabbed his hand. He pulled away, pretending he needed to adjust his hat. “I’ll bet it’s still pretty though. Let’s go see.”

  “It’s not pretty. It’s just an old ditch.”

  “I want to see it. Won’t you show it to me, Levi?”

  Now was no time for that I’m-not-interested-in-you talk, but Ivy might plague him all night if he didn’t say something now. But what to say? When he’d told Esther he wasn’t interested, he’d said all the wrong things, most of which he sorely wished he could take back. Of course, he couldn’t imagine wanting to take anything back from Ivy, except she’d be mad and he didn’t want to hurt Esther’s chances of getting Winnie. “I want you to meet all the boys in the gmay tonight because I’m not the right boy for you.”

  “How do you know that? We’ve only known each other for a few weeks.”

  Well, she was selfish and manipulative, she treated Esther very poorly, and she didn’t seem to like Winnie very much, but Levi wasn’t about to throw a list of her faults in her face. “I just know that we’re not right for each other. You’re a wonderful nice girl, but I really only want to be friends. My fater is sending me to Ohio to find a wife. There is nobody in Byler I have my eye on.”

  She frowned. “Hmm. Esther told me.”

  “Okay, then. You should go and enjoy yourself with the other young people. You might make some friends.”

  Ivy’s lips curled into a sly smile. “I like you, Levi. You’re sensible and careful and cautious. But you barely know me. You haven’t seen all my good qualities yet. I’m not discouraged in the least.”

  Oy, anyhow. What was Levi supposed to do with that?