Plain Perfect & Quaker Summer 2 in 1

by Beth Wiseman; Lisa Samson

  “Yee-ha!” Grandpa wailed.

  Samuel’s mother and two sisters, along with Katie Ann, had been busy readying the farmhouse for church service since the early-morning hours. Samuel, Ivan, and David were setting up tables and benches inside and out to prepare for the meal after worship.

  “How did you meet the Englisch woman?” Ivan asked Samuel as they carried a bench from the barn.

  “She was tryin’ to find her way to Jonas and Irma Rose’s farmhouse. She was walking along the road with only one shoe.” He chuckled at the memory. “I gave her a ride.”

  “Is she planning to study the Ordnung in preparation of baptism? She is, after all, Amish by birth.” Ivan placed the bench beside the long wooden table.

  “I don’t know. She says she wants to live a peaceful, quiet life for a while.”

  “Hmm, I see. The worldly ways of the Englisch are so different.” Ivan shook his head.

  “Ya.” Samuel wasn’t clear about Lillian’s plans, but he knew her heart was filled with compassion and kindness. That much was evident in the way she interacted with David, the way she reacted when the cow died, and her overall desire to lead a good life free of complications. Although misdirected in her attempts at finding such peace, Samuel knew her motivations were of God. She just didn’t know it yet.

  “Isn’t that Jonas and Irma Rose coming up the drive?” Ivan pointed toward the dirt road leading to Samuel’s farmhouse.

  Samuel looked up. “That’s Lillian driving,” he said to his brother. “And . . .”—his heart did a somersault—“she’s dressed in Plain clothes.”

  “It’s a far cry from the boy breeches she wore when I saw her last.” Ivan tipped back his straw hat and strained to have a better look at the approaching buggy.

  “Ya,” Samuel whispered, too stunned to say much else. He was pretty sure he’d heard her say she’d never wear one of the traditional Amish dresses.

  As the buggy came to a halt, Samuel stifled a grin. Irma Rose’s hair looked like she’d been through a tornado. Loose gray strands fell forward from beneath her Kapp, and she looked a tad pale. Lillian was sporting the same messy hairdo, but seemed to be bursting with pride.

  “Guder mariye!” she yelled as they pulled up. “I drove the buggy!” Her contagious laugh even prompted a smile from Ivan.

  “Good morning to you too,” Samuel said as he walked toward the buggy. “How was the ride?” he asked Irma Rose.

  “Lillian did a fine job,” she said, stabbing strands of hair back under her Kapp, housed underneath a black bonnet. She drew in a deep breath, an obvious attempt to gather her composure.

  Jonas popped out of the buggy. “I don’t think I’ve been that fast in a buggy since my rumschpringe!” He paused and drew in a cleansing breath. “What a ride. And what a glorious day for worship.” He shook Samuel’s hand and made his way to one of the benches to take a seat.

  Lillian slid off her seat and pushed it forward so Irma Rose could crawl out of the back. Samuel helped her out of the buggy. “Thank you, Samuel,” she said, offering him a half smile. She headed toward Jonas, presumably to also take a rest after their adventurous ride.

  Lillian couldn’t have looked more beautiful. The crisp morning air tinged her cheeks a rosy pink, and her eyes were aglow with a passion for life. Her heavenly smile enhanced her dimples. In spite of his earlier resolve to keep things simple between them, he had to admit he felt strangely weak in the knees. He couldn’t have been happier she’d chosen to attend worship service at his house on this fine Sunday morning. It was going to be a good day indeed.

  As he had welcomed the others, Samuel extended his hand to her. “You look . . . lovely,” he said. Surprised he’d verbalized the thought, he searched her eyes for a reaction. Her gaze met his, and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

  “Why, danki, Samuel.”

  Samuel could hear faint rumblings and voices in the background, but he couldn’t seem to decipher anything. The feel of Lillian’s hand in his, the way her eyes connected with his . . . He was lost in her world.

  “I dressed Amish,” she whispered as she let go of his hand.

  “And a mighty fine Amish woman you look.” He couldn’t seem to walk away from her, even though he heard someone calling his name.

  “I think your brother is calling you,” she said, obviously pleased she was diverting his attention.

  He turned to see Ivan waiting for his help to carry another bench. “Ya, ya. Make yourself at home,” he said to her and reluctantly made his way toward Ivan.

  Samuel certainly seemed smitten with her this morning, and Lillian couldn’t shake the smile he’d brought to her face. The way he held her hand and the look in his eyes left no question in her mind: he was glad she was here. She headed to where her grandparents were sitting. Grandma stood up right away.

  “Let’s head in with the other womenfolk, Lillian, and give a hand with the meal preparations.” She grabbed Lillian’s hand and continued holding it all the way into Samuel’s kitchen.

  “Hello,” Lillian said softly when she entered the room. In addition to Katie Ann, there were two other younger women, and another woman about Grandma’s age. They all paused at their respective chores and waited for an introduction. She was under the spotlight, no doubt.

  “This is Lillian, mei kinskind.” Grandma’s tone was proud. It touched Lillian’s heart. Grandma gave her hand a squeeze. “And, Lillian, this is Mary Ellen, Samuel’s sister.” She pointed toward a woman about Lillian’s age, who nodded in her direction. “This is Rebecca, another of Samuel’s sisters.” The slightly older woman also nodded and smiled. “And, this is their mamm, Esther.”

  “Lillian and I have met,” Katie Ann spoke up. “Welcome to our worship service.”

  Lillian nodded. “Thank you for having me.” She glanced around the kitchen, which mirrored her grandparents’ kitchen, with the same white walls, table and bench, and wood-burning stove. Samuel’s mother continued to study her as the other women returned to peeling potatoes, buttering loaves of bread, and arranging pickles on a tray.

  “What church district do you come from?” Esther Stoltzfus finally asked.

  “Uh, I don’t come from any church district,” Lillian said, unsure how Grandma would like for her to answer.

  Grandma held her chin high. “Lillian comes to our district from the city—from Houston.”

  Esther looked confused.

  “Lillian, maybe you could help me get the butter bread ready?” Katie Ann asked.

  Grandma seemed relieved with the change of subject.

  It was a church service unlike any church service Lillian had ever attended. Not that she had attended very many. The men and boys sat by themselves in one room, and the women and girls sat in another room. There was a central room in between where the preaching took place. Since it was almost completely in German, Lillian understood very little of the two-hour service.

  Her back ached from the backless bench. There was no organ or music, just songs that were sung unusually slow. When the service was over, the men left first, then the young women, and lastly the older women. Lillian tried to follow tradition as best she could.

  Despite the awkwardness of the whole event, she came away from the service feeling a sense of fellowship and calm. While some of those in attendance gave her questioning looks, everyone was friendly. Sadie Fisher, however, didn’t acknowledge her presence. She’d noticed the young woman sitting on the same row, at the far end from her. As they exited the service and moved toward the kitchen, Lillian caught Sadie watching her, but the woman quickly turned away when their eyes met.

  Samuel, on the other hand, locked eyes with her several times. Each time, a smile swept across his face.

  The men began to seat themselves at the benches outside while the women started to carry out trays of food. It seemed incredibly old-fashioned to her the way the women waited on the men. She had never seen Grandpa so much as serve himself a cup of coffee at home. And Grandma never seeme
d to mind tending to his every need, on good days or bad. Nor did these women seem to mind that the men were eating first. So she followed suit and helped carry out food trays and pitchers of sweet tea.

  “Hi, Lillian.”

  After placing a pitcher of tea on the table, she gave David a hug. “Hi, David. How’s it going?”

  “Gut,” he said.

  Frowning, she pointed to a large bowl on a nearby table. “I canned some of those, but I have to tell you, I don’t care for them.”

  “Those are riewe. Red beets. They’re gut.”

  “Yuck. I don’t think I’ll be having any of those. But I’m going to have lots of that pie.” She nodded her head toward one of the many desserts lining the table.

  “That’s schnitzboi. Snitz pie,” he said grinning.

  “Well, I’m going to be sure and have some. Where’s your Pop?” she asked, looking around for Samuel. “Eating with the other men?”

  David didn’t say anything.

  “What are you snickering about?” she asked playfully.

  “Oh, nothing.” He nervously kicked at the grass.

  “It’s my Amish outfit, isn’t it?” Maybe it just didn’t work for her, like she suspected. Although his father had sure seemed happy to see her wearing the traditional dress.

  “No, that’s not it. I think you look Plain.”

  “Well, Plain is good, right?”

  Ignoring her plea for acceptance, he said, “Pop’s in the barn. He asked me to take him some sweet tea. But you can take it to him if you want.” He reached for a glass of tea on the table and pushed it in her direction, still grinning.

  She accepted the tea and winked at him. “I think I will.” She walked toward the barn. “Save me a piece of that pie!”

  “I will.”

  Samuel filled Pete’s trough with oats. “There’s a mighty crowd takin’ over the house, ol’ boy. Maybe I’ll sit a spell with you.” Knowing he should get back to the group with the extra chairs he’d been sent to retrieve, he took advantage of the opportunity to sit quietly for a minute. Taking a seat behind his woodworking bench, he eyed the many uncompleted projects. So much to do and so little time. Between caring for the boy, farming the land, and the many other chores necessary to keep the farm running, his favorite pastime was quickly becoming a thing of the past.

  He picked up a birdhouse modeled after a plan his pop gave him before he died. It would be a fine home for the redbirds, if he could ever finish it.

  He didn’t hear Lillian walk into the barn. When he looked up, she was there.

  “David said you wanted some tea,” she said, handing him the glass.

  “Danki. David could have brought it out here.”

  She remained quiet as he took several big gulps. He set the glass down, fearing he’d hurt her feelings with his comment. “I mean, I hate for you to have to get away from the other folks to bring me tea.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  “What did you think about the church service?”

  “Long.” She sighed. “And my back’s a little sore.”

  “The benches take some gettin’ used to.”

  “But it was nice. I didn’t understand most of it, but there was a certain something in the air. I don’t know. I guess maybe a fellowship. It was like one giant family. I didn’t really have a family growing up. It was just me and Mom.”

  “I reckon we’re like one big family in most ways. Do you plan to study the Ordnung while you’re here?”

  “That’s like the order of conduct, right?” She pressed her lips together and thought for a minute. “I guess if I’m really going to live the Amish life while I’m here, I should.”

  “It’s not easy, Lillian. Especially since you come from worldly ways. Don’t you miss television, electricity, and all the other modern conveniences?”

  “Of course I do. But I don’t miss living by myself and being afraid to go home alone at night. I don’t miss my mother’s reckless behavior and always needing something from me. I don’t miss the busyness, the constant fast pace. I don’t miss—” She caught her breath as vivid and painful memories of Rickie stabbed at her insides. “I don’t miss a lot of things. All my life, I’ve sensed there was something else for me. I just didn’t know what.”

  “Is this the something else you’ve been looking for?”

  “I hope so. I don’t know. I just know that I’ve felt lost for a long time, and something about being here, living with Grandma and Grandpa”—she paused—“and meeting you makes me believe maybe it is.”

  Alarms began to ring in Samuel’s head. His fascination with her aside, he knew it would be best to get things right in both their minds if they were going to stay friends.

  “Lillian,” he began.

  “Yes?”

  “I hope you find what you’re lookin’ for.” She nodded and seemed to be waiting for more. “I mean, truly living our ways would mean a lot of studying and acceptance of God’s will. It’s not just about wearing the clothes, gardening, making bread, getting up early, or making quilts.”

  “Hey! I haven’t thought about quilts. I want to learn that too.” She was missing his point. “Our way of life is here, Lillian.” He held his hand to his heart. “It’s a faith we carry without doubt and a way of life we practice with humility and selflessness.”

  “I know,” she said as if trying to convince him.

  He shook his head, realizing any feelings he had today at seeing Lillian in her Plain clothes were best put aside. No matter her intentions, they lived in two different worlds.

  “Why are you shaking your head?”

  It was time to clear the air. “I like you, Lillian. And I would like to be a friend to you.” He hesitated; she seemed to hang on his words. “But for it to be anything more between us isn’t possible. David seems to have taken a fancy to you, and I don’t want to see the boy get hurt by an Englisch woman with no sense of our ways.”

  A little presumptuous of him, Lillian thought, as she weighed her options. There were two ways to play this. One, she could save face and say she completely agreed and then change the subject. Or two, step out on a huge limb and see if Samuel could practice what he was preaching.

  Choosing option two, she said, “I think maybe you have taken a fancy to me, also, Samuel Stoltzfus.” She lifted her chin and shot him a curious grin.

  His eyes widened.

  Sensing his shock at her comment, she decided not to back him into a corner where he might choose to not even remain friends. “But . . . okay,” she said.

  “Okay, what?” He pushed back the rim of his straw hat as though trying to see her better.

  “We’ll be friends. Nothing more. And we’ll make that clear to David as well.”

  “I think that’s a fine idea. I’ll talk to David, so the boy doesn’t get any misconceptions ’bout us spending time together.”

  “That’s perfect. You and David are the only friends I have here, and I’d hate to lose that.” She leaned forward a bit. “So . . . friend. Wanna come have another talk by the barn tonight?”

  “There’s chores to do and I think—” He stopped midsentence when his eyes met with her pleading gaze. “I reckon it would be all right. David and I will come over after suppertime, though. I don’t want us to wear out our supper welcome with Irma Rose. Plus, that will give us time to catch up on some chores around here.”

  “Sounds good. I better head back. I’ll see you and David later.”

  It was nearing six o’clock when Samuel walked downstairs that evening. David was at the kitchen table generously helping himself to leftover butter bread and pickles.

  “David, Lillian asked us to come by this evening to talk for a while.”

  The boy grinned. “You’re courting her.”

  “No, David. Lillian is a friend. Anything else wouldn’t be right. I want you to understand that.”

  With the same maturity beyond his years that Samuel had noticed before, his son said, “I know our ways are diff
erent from hers, Pop. But she’s here, and she’s learnin’ our ways. Whose to say God won’t work a miracle? Maybe she’ll realize she’d like to become Amish.”

  “David, you know that doesn’t happen very often—an Englisch man or woman converting. And even if they choose our ways, most can’t stick to it. I’ve told you before: don’t be gettin’ any silly notions in your head about Lillian. Now go get cleaned up, and we’ll just go visit for a while.”

  Mischievously, David said, “Ivan is picking me up any minute. I told him after church service I would spend the night with him and Katie Ann so I can help him paint the fence starting early in the morning. Didn’t he tell you?”

  Samuel felt a slight pang of panic. Most of the time he’d spent with Lillian had been with David in tow. Safer that way. “Uh, no. No one told me.”

  The boy choked down a piece of bread and jumped up from the table. He reached the window and stared into the sunset. “Here comes Ivan now.”

  Samuel followed his son to the window and saw Ivan’s buggy coming up the driveway. “What am I going to tell Lillian? I told her we’d come for a visit. I didn’t know you were going with Ivan.”

  David spun around on his way to the door. “Guess you’ll have to go visit her all by yourself, Pop.”

  It wasn’t right. Going to see Lillian by himself would seem like he was courting her. But if he wasn’t courting her, then why was he worried about it? It was just a friendly visit, after all.

  So why couldn’t he control the buzz of activity in his belly at the thought of being alone with her?

  7

  LILLIAN CONSIDERED CHANGING OUT OF HER AMISH DRESS and back into her blue jeans, but she didn’t. As she roamed the yard inspecting her gardening efforts from the previous day, she heard the screen door slam. Grandma took a seat in one of the wooden rockers on the front porch.

  “The yard looks gut, Lillian.”

  “Danki, Grandma. It was fun planting all these.” She waved her arm around, motioning toward her work.