The Middle-Aged Amish Widow

by Samantha Price

  “I like him too, but I know enough about him to know that he doesn’t want any involvement that might lead to marriage.”

  “You discussed it?”

  “Jah, but not directly. I know we both feel the same. We talked about things. He talked about his late wife, Veronica, and I talked about Thomas.”

  “You must have a strong connection. You don’t talk to many people.”

  “I talk to everyone.”

  “Sometimes.”

  Sarah knew that Naomi was trying to push her toward Isaac. That would be the last thing that Isaac wanted. “Naomi, I know you mean well, but nothing’s going to happen between Isaac and me. Nothing at all.”

  A smile flickered across Naomi’s face. “Okay.”

  “I mean it. If I did want something to happen, there’d be nothing I could do about it because that would only scare him away.”

  “It would only scare him if he knew you liked him or if you did something about it. The best advice I can give you is to appear as though you’re not interested. If I know anything about men, that’ll have him wondering about you.”

  “You’re dreadful.”

  “I can picture the two of you together.”

  “I’m sure you can. I’ve had too much happening to even consider Isaac as a husband.”

  The front door sounded and both women looked at each other. Naomi jumped up and looked out the kitchen window.

  “What is it?” Sarah whispered.

  “That was Isaac. He just walked out of the haus. Do you think he heard us talking about him?”

  Sarah’s face flushed with heat, and she pushed herself out of the chair to join Naomi at the window. “I hope he didn’t hear us.” Sarah watched him walking to the barn.

  “He might have. I thought he was next door with Ruth.”

  Sarah said, “Nee, he wasn’t. I thought he must’ve been somewhere with Abe when I came in and you were here alone.”

  “He must’ve been in his room.”

  The women looked at each other.

  “We didn’t say anything bad, did we?” Naomi asked.

  “Nee, but now he knows I like him.” He also would’ve heard her say that things were too hectic for her to consider a relationship with him. Perhaps that was a good thing. It was best for Isaac and her to each know exactly how the other felt.

  “Hasn’t he started building yet?” Naomi asked.

  “Nee, he’s waiting on some tools and materials to be delivered tomorrow.”

  “I thought he’d begun today. I feel dreadful.”

  “It doesn’t matter. He’s not one to be upset by things,” Sarah said.

  “I suppose not. If you’re sure that everything you said was true.”

  “I’m a practical person. Everything I said was feasible.”

  When Sarah walked back home, she wondered if Isaac would consider another marriage. Was it just that he didn’t find any of the pie ladies suitable? Did he find her suitable? She felt in her heart that he might. He'd told her back in Ohio that he liked her.

  “Sarah.”

  She swung around to see Isaac standing just outside of her neighbor’s barn. “There you are.”

  “Were you looking for me?” he asked walking toward her.

  “Nee.” Now she felt silly.

  He laughed and she wondered if she’d have to confess her conversation with her friend if he’d overheard it. She inhaled deeply and waited for him to mention something.

  “I just wanted to go over the plans with you. I’ve got them in the barn if you want to come and take a look.”

  “I’ll be happy to, but anything my mudder wants will be okay with me.”

  “It’s going onto your haus, so I think you should take a look.”

  Sarah nodded and together they headed to Naomi’s barn.

  “How are you settling in with Naomi and Abe?”

  “Very well. I felt like I knew them as soon as I met them.”

  “They’re lovely people.”

  “They are.”

  He spread the plans out and described the dimensions and showed her how it would be joined to her house.

  “That suits the place and it will blend in well. I’m so glad Mamm insisted on you coming here.”

  “You’re not agreeing with Ruth, are you?”

  Sarah looked across at him, amazed. “I guess I am. She might be right about some things.”

  They both laughed.

  “I’m glad I came here.” He stared at her and she had to look away.

  “Denke for showing me the plans. That’ll suit Mamm just fine.”

  He nodded as he folded the large paper. “I hope so.”

  “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got something urgent I have to tend to back at the haus.”

  Sarah hurried out of the barn without another word.

  * * *

  Isaac watched Sarah hurrying away from him and wished she were hurrying to him. If she hadn’t been so recently widowed he would’ve laid his heart on the line and told her exactly how he felt about her. It was only that he didn’t want to pressure her, and that was the only reason he kept quiet. From his own experience with the ‘pie ladies,’ he knew what unwanted attention felt like and he couldn’t inflict that upon the woman he was growing extremely fond of.

  He had already known he liked Sarah back in Ohio, but when he saw her again standing on the porch of her home, his heart told him that here was a woman he would like to marry. A second marriage was something he had thought he’d never consider, but that was before Sarah had come into his life.

  Chapter 17

  My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness

  all the day long: for they are confounded,

  for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.

  Psalm 71:24

  * * *

  Sarah hurried into the house and slammed the kitchen door shut behind her. She was fairly certain that Isaac liked her, and she liked him too, but she just couldn’t cope with anything else right now. Thomas had passed away only months before and soon she was having a baby. Another man was the last thing she needed. Why hadn’t he come along in three or four years? The timing was off.

  “What did you slam the door for?” Her mother walked into the kitchen.

  “No reason.”

  “Well don’t do it again. I’ve got sensitive ears.”

  “Since when?”

  “Since… since forever, I suppose. That’s why I don’t want to be around a crying child. I’ve told you all this before.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was because of your sensitive ears.”

  “I thought I mentioned it.”

  Sarah shook her head. “Nee, you didn’t.” She didn’t want her mother to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome, so she added, “Never mind. Now, what would you like for dinner tonight?”

  “I’ve asked Isaac to come for dinner.”

  “Tonight?”

  “Jah, tonight.”

  “I would’ve gone to the store again if I’d known.”

  “Why? To impress him?”

  “Nee, Mamm. He’s been gut to both of us. I’d like to cook him a nice meal.”

  Her mother chortled. “He’s coming to show us both the design he’s drawn up.”

  Sarah kept quiet about seeing it moments before. “That’ll be gut, then.”

  “Jah. He’s got a pretty good idea of how I want things to be.”

  * * *

  When Isaac arrived for dinner, he had a quiet word with Sarah while her mother was in the kitchen.

  “I’m afraid I've got some bad news.”

  “What?”

  He laughed. “It’s not bad news for you. It’s most likely good for you, but bad for me.”

  “Tell me.”

  “Abe has got some men to help me with the building work so it’ll be done before your baby is born.”

  “That’s kind of him. Why’s that bad for you.”

  “That means I won’t have an excuse t
o be around here as long as I hoped.”

  “You can stay as long as you like, Isaac. You're a friend to both my mother and me.”

  He laughed and then took a deep breath. “I can’t stay forever. I’ll have to go sooner or later. The last thing you need is me hanging around getting in your way.”

  She looked at him and knew he was fishing for her to say something to the effect that she wanted him around. “You’re not in my way.”

  “I just thought I’d put you in the picture of what’s going to be happening.”

  “Denke.”

  “Here you are, Isaac. Ready to sample my dochder’s cooking?”

  Sarah sighed.

  With the extra men helping it only took four weeks to complete the grossdaddi haus from start to finish. Two days later, Isaac was gone.

  Sarah walked into the grossdaddi haus to tell her mother something, and burst out crying.

  “Whatever is the matter with you?" her mother asked.

  "I'm just feeling extra emotional."

  "Jah, I remember experiencing that too, when I was in your state."

  Sarah knew that wasn't the reason, but she wasn't about to tell her mother that she was crying because she missed her friend.

  She wiped her face with the back of a hand. "The place looks lovely, Mamm. You were right to have Isaac come here and build it for you.”

  "I'm right about a lot of things. I'm glad you've come to realize that."

  Sarah gave a little laugh. It was nice to have her mother there for company after all. They didn't get along most of the time, but they were family and it was comforting to have her mother close by.

  “What do you think of Isaac?"

  She stared at her mother. "In what way do you mean exactly?”

  "Would you ever consider him as a husband?"

  "It's too early to say anything like that, Mamm."

  "You're not getting any younger. I've tried to help him find a fraa. I told a few ladies in the community that he liked them. I encouraged them to make him pies."

  "You're responsible for the pies? The pie ladies was all your doing?"

  "Pie ladies? Whatever do you mean?"

  "The first time I went to his haus, he had a row of pies on his kitchen counter."

  "You see? Some people listen to your mudder, just not her kinner it seems."

  Sarah giggled.

  “Now that I've got the house finished you can have your boppli.”

  Sarah pushed out her stomach. “Say that a little louder and one of your relations might listen to you.”

  “I never went over my expected date.”

  “Did they have expected dates back then?”

  “Don’t be sassy.”

  "A few days over the expected date is normal, I’m told. Even two or three weeks late, but I hope that won’t happen to me." Sarah pulled a face. She was ready for her baby to come out now. Any longer and she felt she would burst.

  "We can't order the child to arrive on this day or that day."

  "Jah, I know you’re not ordering the boppli to come, Mudder."

  Her mother pulled a face. “I’ll pray that you don’t have to wait too long.”

  Sarah only had to wait another three days for her baby to arrive.

  Chapter 18

  Let no man despise thy youth;

  but be thou an example of the believers,

  in word, in conversation, in charity,

  in spirit, in faith, in purity.

  1 Timothy 4:12

  * * *

  Three weeks later

  * * *

  "I hope David didn't keep you up all night, Mamm." Sarah had named her baby boy David. She was nearly going to name him Thomas after his father, but knew her mother would end up calling him Tom. It would remind her how Thomas and her mother never got along. She wanted a new beginning in her relationship with her mother—a new beginning where they compromised on things.

  "I didn't hear a thing."

  "Really? You heard nothing?"

  “Nee.”

  "That's good."

  Sarah considered it a waste of money that her mother had had the grossdaddi haus added on to her own home. Ruth was constantly at Sarah’s house for meals. Ruth slept at her place and that was all.

  "I do have some concerns."

  "I'm sorry but we can't send him back now, it's too late." Sarah giggled.

  “What?”

  "Don't worry, Mudder. I was just making a joke about sending David back.”

  Her mother stared at her and then said, “I was talking about the concerns I have with the quality of the building work at my little haus.”

  “What's wrong with it?"

  "I have concerns that there are a few things that are not quite right."

  "What kind of things?"

  “Things like the windows are sticking and the doors aren't shutting properly."

  "I’ll talk to Abe. I'm sure it's under some sort of warranty or something. I’ll see if he can speak with the men who helped Isaac.”

  "Nee, that wouldn’t be right. I'm not having anybody look at the property except for Isaac."

  "He lives too far away, Mamm, we can't bother him with things like that."

  "He did the work, so he's responsible. He would be only too happy to come back and fix a few things. Don’t you want him back here?”

  “I do, but I can’t be selfish. The two of us became good friends."

  "Yes, I know that. And that's exactly why he would like to come out and fix those few things."

  “Jah, but are there enough things for him to come back? I don't want him to come back all this way for nothing."

  "I paid a lot of money to get this place added on to your haus. I would think you'd want me to be comfortable and fully secure in the place."

  "Okay, Mamm, do it if you wish. If you want him to come out and check over the place, you could write to him and see what he says."

  "I don't need to write to him if you can just ring him up from your friend’s place."

  "And what friend would that be?"

  “Naomi. I know her name. Anyway, as I was saying, you can ring him and see when he can come back."

  Sarah nodded, but had a different idea. She would ask him who he would recommend for them to have take a look over the place. Surely one of the men who’d helped him build the place wouldn’t mind coming back, especially when Sarah was certain that it was all in her mother’s imagination.

  “Can you do me up a list of what's wrong with the place before I call him?"

  "He'll see when he gets here."

  "That's not how things work, Mamm. You need to tell him so he can see if it's worth him coming all this way. Otherwise, Abe can recommend someone local to us."

  "I told you, I only want Isaac to come here. I know you’re getting older, but I didn’t know you were losing your hearing.”

  “Okay, Mamm, I will do it but only if you write me a list. If you don’t give me a list, I’ll speak to Abe about it.”

  Her mother sighed. “You’re so stubborn sometimes.”

  “It’s called compromising, Mamm.” She paused. "And maybe genetics."

  “Hello, Isaac.”

  “Is that you, Sarah?”

  Sarah’s heart pounded at hearing his voice. “Jah, it is.” They’d been writing but this was the first time they’d spoken on the phone since he'd gone back to Ohio.

  “Is everything all right? David’s okay, isn’t he?”

  “He’s fine and I’m sorry to bother you, but my mudder is insisting there are things wrong with the grossdaddi haus that you’ll need to fix.”

  “What are they?”

  Sarah read from the list her mother had given her. When she finished, there was silence on the other end of the line. “I’m sorry to bother you with this. She’s just being picky. I wanted Abe to give me the name of one of the men who helped you build it. They live a lot closer than you.”

  “Does she want me to come back?”

  “Jah,
she does.”

  “I’m finishing off a job that’ll take me through until the end of the week, but I could come after that.”

  “That’d be wunderbaar. Mamm will be so pleased.”

  “It’ll give me a chance to meet David.”

  “He’s a fine bu. He’s big for his age, and his eyes are the bluest of blue, just like Thomas.’”

  “I’ll call Abe to see if I can stay with him and Naomi for a couple of days.”

  “Oh, I didn’t even think of that. Do you want me to ask them for you?”

  “Nee. I know them well enough now. I’ve got their number somewhere. I’ll call them later today.”

  “Denke, Isaac. I really appreciate you going out of your way like this.”

  “Anything for you and for Ruth.”

  A giggle escaped her lips.

  “How have you been? I got your letters, but it’s nice to hear your voice.”

  “I’ve been fine.”

  “And have you and Ruth been getting along?”

  “We have—well, we get along with each other most of the time. We had a big talk the other day about compromising.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. Well, I better carry on with what I’m doing. The sooner I finish my work here, the sooner I can get to your place.”

  “Okay, bye, Isaac.”

  “Bye, Sarah, and it’s really good to hear from you.”

  Sarah hung up the phone. She’d asked Naomi to borrow their phone, and of course Naomi would be wondering whom Sarah had to call.

  “Well?”

  She spun around and saw Naomi standing there. “Ach! You gave me a fright.”

  “Was that Isaac?”

  “How did you know?”

  “Because you were in a daydream. Is David having a nap?”

  “Nee, and I’ve left him with Mamm.”

  Naomi pulled a face. “That’s not good. Go and get him and bring him back here. I’ll make us a cup of hot tea and you can tell me all about it.”

  Sarah smiled. “There’s nothing to tell.”

  “Hurry, you’ve left David with your mudder. What if he cries?—she hates that.”