Phoebe's Gift

by Jerry S. Eicher

  Leroy opened his mouth to speak, but Phoebe rushed on. “Grandma Lapp dreamed of opening her farm to troubled children, and she purchased three Assateague ponies with that intent. Though she didn’t live to see her plan come to life, my uncles and Aunt Millie are fully behind the project. They think Grandma’s dream is a worthy one, and something the Lord can bless. So that’s what I want David for. He’s already paid up with a year’s wages, so if he could spare a moment this morning, we need to begin with the forms the state wants us to fill out.”

  “I’ll be right up after I change,” David said. He hurried off toward the house.

  From the look on Leroy’s face, he was not happy. “What did you just say? A pony farm? What ridiculous thing is that?”

  “I have explained myself enough,” she told him. “Uncle Homer will explain the rest.”

  He glared at her. “Do you think you can just run over me like that, Phoebe? Of all people. I mean, who are you? An old maid in the community who pretends she’s so timid and meek. How else would you have the courage to take on this kind of Englisha project—whatever it is—and not make a complete disaster out of things? It sounds as though there will be Englisha children in your home, and they will have an influence on you and David and the community. The Lord only knows where this will end.” Suddenly a sly grin filled Leroy’s face. “But who would have thought the day would come when a Lapp woman would want my son?”

  Phoebe took a deep breath. “David is a baptized and faithful member of our community! He has proven himself in the year I have known him. You have nothing to worry about. And it’s not what you think!”

  The grin didn’t leave Leroy’s face. “You do have the sharpest tongue, Phoebe. I can’t say I’m surprised, but seeing is always believing, for sure.”

  “I am saying no more about this,” she retorted.

  He contemplated her with his hand on his beard. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Phoebe. I’m giving you a big look-out-for-danger signal. That’s all I can say. This wild venture of yours will not work. You might even be dabbling in wickedness.”

  Phoebe trembled and clutched Misty’s reins. “I’m sorry you feel the way you do, and I will take your words into account and be careful.”

  “This will take more than carefulness.” As Leroy spoke, David ran out of the house and leaped into the buggy. Ruth had come out on the front porch to wave toward them, and Phoebe returned the greeting.

  “Let’s go,” David whispered in Phoebe’s ear.

  Phoebe leaned out of the buggy to tell Leroy, “I’m sorry for my temper.”

  “So am I!” he called after her.

  Phoebe focused straight ahead as she jiggled the reins. Ruth was still waving from the front porch, but Phoebe’s hands were occupied. Thankfully, Misty set off at a decent trot and didn’t stumble on the turn at the end of driveway.

  “I’m sorry about Daett, but now I guess you know how he is.”

  “I guess there are always roses among the thorns.”

  David winced. “At least you have an optimistic view of life.”

  “This is not your fault, David. I don’t know what’s wrong with me this morning. I flew into a temper with your daett, and now…maybe he is right? Me and my tongue. Who would have thought it?”

  “You said what needed saying, Phoebe. Don’t regret one word.”

  “But you weren’t there to hear all of it.”

  “I know what you said because I know you, and each word was lovely.”

  “I didn’t know you had a flowery tongue.” She gave him a pretend glare.

  He laughed. “Maybe this is a morning of discoveries.”

  Phoebe sighed. “I suppose so, but thanks for the kind words. I need them to comfort my heart, which is bruised and scared right now. Your daett got to me.”

  “I’m sorry. I want to help with this project where I can.”

  “I’m sorry your daett is trying to throw me on you.” She gave him a quick sideways glance.

  “That’s Daett. Don’t mind him. He sees with narrow vision.”

  Phoebe managed a smile. “He certainly has no pony farm in sight, but I already suspected that.”

  “You can say that again.”

  Phoebe sobered. “Do you think he will seek to undermine the effort? Perhaps at the Sunday services with his opinions?”

  “Do you think anyone will listen?”

  “You do have a point. But I’m still sorry for my harsh words. He is your daett.”

  “Yah, he is.” David shifted on his seat. “So what are we doing at your house this morning?”

  “Forms, and I have my first class this week!” Phoebe turned to smile at him. “Are you goot with forms?”

  “I can try. This pony farm really needs to work. Grandma Lapp wanted it.”

  “Yah, she did,” Phoebe agreed as she pulled into Grandma’s driveway. Aunt Millie’s buggy was parked beside the barn, and Phoebe came to a stop beside it.

  Aunt Millie leaned out to greet them brightly. “Goot morning!”

  “Are you here to help?” Phoebe teased. “I just picked up David, and we’re ready to tackle the forms and go from there.”

  “Your mamm and daett are coming this weekend,” Aunt Millie said from inside her buggy. “That’s what I came over to say.”

  David leaped down to unhitch Misty and stopped short. “Surely they are not against the plan.”

  “No, it’s not that, but they are concerned,” Aunt Millie told him.

  “Mamm and Daett will support us if Uncle Homer is on board,” Phoebe answered.

  “I suppose so,” Aunt Millie allowed. “I’m sure they just want to see if you’re okay.”

  “And maybe help around the place,” David said with a grin before taking off with Misty.

  “He’s mighty cheerful,” Aunt Millie said once David and the horse had vanished into the barn.

  Phoebe moved closer. “Maybe he’s just happy I survived his daett this morning. Oh, Aunt Millie, I have never been so angry with a man in my life!”

  Aunt Millie smiled. “You must be talking about Leroy Fisher.”

  “Yah. Do you know how unreasonable he can be? And the things he said! He really got to me.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about the man,” Aunt Millie assured Phoebe. “Some people are the way they are, but now you see why Mamm was so kind to the Fisher children.”

  Phoebe let out a long breath. “And David has to live with that all the time.”

  “That’s one reason I’m glad this is working out—that, and for Mamm’s sake. She had her reasons and her prayers.”

  “Yah, I know. Do you want to come inside? We’ll be working at the table all day on those awful forms.”

  Aunt Millie shook her head. “I have to get back, but I’ll be in touch when your parents arrive. Can you put them up here?”

  “Of course! I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

  “You take care then.” Aunt Millie jiggled the reins, and her horse trotted out of the lane.

  David reappeared at the barn door, and Phoebe waited to walk with him up to the house. They entered and took their places at the kitchen table. David bent his head over the forms and began to fill them out. He muttered to himself, “Number of acres on the farm? Condition of the home? Year built? Number of bedrooms? Year barn was built? Number of stalls?” He seemed to know the answers without asking her, but he had been around Grandma’s farm since his youth.

  “What do you think our next step should be after we finish this?” she asked.

  “The fences,” he said without hesitation. “Some of the wires have come loose in the lower pasture, and we could use another divider in the front field. That would make it easier to manage the summer grass, as this is now primarily a pony farm.”

  “Do you think we will make it?”

  He thought for a moment. “Grandma Lapp believed this would work. I’m willing to take my chances with her and with you.”

  “That is a goot answer. Will your daett
make problems for you now that he knows?”

  “Daett will be okay,” he said, but his face darkened.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know things were like that between you.”

  He nodded and busied himself with the forms.

  TEN

  Early on Saturday afternoon, Phoebe drove south toward Little Falls at a steady trot. The class had gone well on Friday afternoon, so she could breathe a little easier. Mamm and Daett were due on the Greyhound bus at two o’clock, but she wanted plenty of time in case traffic held up Misty’s already slow pace. At least the mare was a safe horse and didn’t shy over every little thing the way some horses did. There was always something for which one could give thanks.

  Aunt Millie had assured her yesterday after she came back from town that Mamm and Daett had made the trip up from Lancaster to encourage and support the pony farm effort. Phoebe didn’t doubt Aunt Millie’s evaluation of the matter, but still, she kept holding her breath, thinking something would go wrong at the last moment. They had planned a big supper tonight, and Uncle Homer and Uncle Noah and their families would come. Aunt Millie would be by the house before four o’clock to help with the meal preparations.

  David had been busy at work behind the barn in the morning, and Phoebe had invited him to supper. He might as well join in since things were going so well. He had taken the forms down to Mrs. Broman at her offices in Utica with a hired driver on Wednesday. Phoebe had offered to travel with him, but he had refused. “I’ll speak to Mrs. Broman after I’ve filed the federal forms at the library.”

  David knew much more than she had expected he would about the legal side of things. There were moments when he seemed to have thought all this through in detail—perhaps for months—which was possible. Grandma had given David plenty of warning of what might lie ahead, and his heart was in the project.

  “Careful there,” Phoebe called out to Misty as they made their way downhill into Little Falls.

  She pulled up to a stop sign and turned left. Moments later, Misty trotted up to the bus stop, and Phoebe climbed down to secure the tie strap on a light pole. She waited beside the buggy with the swirl of city traffic all around her. The minutes ticked past until the long shape of the bus appeared from the north. Phoebe began to wave even before the vehicle ground to a halt and the doors opened.

  Daett was the first to step out, with Mamm right behind him. Phoebe ran forward to embrace them while the bus driver went to unload their luggage.

  “It is so goot to see you both!” Phoebe gushed. “How are you? And so soon after the funeral. Who would have thought?”

  “Yah, who would have thought?” Daett agreed with a twinkle in his eye. “Mamm had more than a few secrets up her sleeve, it appears.”

  “You don’t disapprove, do you?” Phoebe clung to his shirtsleeve. “Please tell me you approve.”

  “You know he does,” Mamm told her. “Your daett has many of his mamm’s eccentric ways. In him they are just better hidden, that’s all.” Mamm tapped him lightly on the arm, and Daett grinned.

  Phoebe let out a long breath. “I guess I should have known, but still…”

  “We understand,” Mamm assured her. “Now let’s get back to your place. We want to hear all about this idea.”

  “To my place!” Phoebe exclaimed.

  “It’s just a term,” Mamm told her. “Grandma’s gone now, and things move on.”

  “But I don’t…” Phoebe began to protest.

  Daett silenced her with a look. “It’s time for courage, daughter, and change. You have this in you.”

  “I’ve become such a timid soul,” Phoebe whimpered. “I don’t know how I’m surviving.”

  “You’re doing fine,” Daett told her as he led the way over to the buggy. He loaded the luggage and then untied Misty while the two women climbed up. Daett tossed them the reins and pulled himself up onto the buggy seat.

  “Is this horse safe to drive?” he teased.

  “Daett,” Phoebe chided. “You’re just trying to make me feel better. You know Grandma only had one horse and that Misty is slower than molasses in January.”

  “Yah, I know.” Daett grinned. “But you’ve been through a lot these weeks since the funeral. I must say you’re doing quite well.”

  “That’s the real reason we came,” Mamm whispered. “To see how you’re doing.”

  “Oh, Mamm.” Phoebe reached over the buggy seat to give her mother a quick hug. “This visit is so sweet. I’m sorry I was a little worried that you’d come to chew me out—”

  “I am glad to see this happen,” Daett interrupted. “If your grandma thought this was the right thing, then I trust her judgment. She was a praying woman, Phoebe. This is the truth. All of us children have been blessed and ministered to by her prayers.”

  Misty plodded slowly out of town on the long uphill grade. No one objected as silence settled over the buggy.

  “Did you have a goot trip?” Phoebe finally asked.

  “Yah,” Mamm replied with a smile, but the silence returned quickly.

  Phoebe broke the stillness again. “So are you worried about me? Be honest!”

  “You’re okay,” Mamm assured her. She reached over the back of the buggy seat to pat Phoebe’s arm. “Just relax. We’re just getting used to our daughter and her new adventure, that’s all.”

  “Is there a man involved here somewhere that we should know of?” Daett teased.

  Phoebe laughed. “You know there is no man!”

  “That’s to their own shame,” Mamm chided. “They don’t know the treasure they are missing.”

  “I quite agree,” Daett seconded. “And I was teasing, of course, but with all the other surprises you’ve been springing on us, I wondered if there was one more.”

  “There is no man.” Phoebe didn’t laugh this time. “In fact, I haven’t even thought about dating and marriage since…well, this thing came up.”

  “So you’re thinking a pony farm might be your life’s work?” Daett turned around on the buggy seat.

  “Maybe.” Phoebe let out a long sigh. “Would that be so terrible? It was either running the farm or teaching school.”

  “So they did offer you the job?” Daett asked.

  “No, but Uncle Homer mentioned something about the schoolteaching job when selling the ponies first came up.”

  “They would have offered the position to you!” Daett proclaimed. “There’s no question there.”

  Silence settled again as Misty lurched forward at a slow trot.

  “Should I have taken the schoolteaching job, perhaps?”

  “I’m sure Daett didn’t mean for you to think he disapproves of you or Grandma’s project,” Mamm said at once.

  Daett nodded. “I’m sorry, daughter. I’m just thinking things through out loud, but you have to admit this is quite an odd opportunity.”

  “Yah, I know,” Phoebe admitted. “I’m not blaming you, and I do understand. I’m so out of my comfort zone, and yet I’ve been finding the strength and courage to go on.”

  Daett and Mamm exchanged glances.

  “What?”

  Mamm turned around in her seat again. “Your grandma had a goot influence on many people while she lived. We just hadn’t thought that things would go on after she passed. But why couldn’t they?” Mamm smiled warmly. “So we’re here to help you and to support you, and, yah, to see for ourselves the change in our daughter. What’s wrong with that?”

  Phoebe didn’t say anything for a moment. “You should have seen me tangle with Leroy Fisher the other morning.”

  “Why? How did that go?” Mamm was all interest. Even Daett tilted his head sideways to hear better.

  “I didn’t know I had such a temper.” Phoebe shivered. “My behavior was not goot, but the man goaded me something terrible by implying that I had come down to force myself into a relationship with David. He called me an old maid who was so hard up she had to resort to such measures.” Phoebe’s face flamed at the memory. “The nerve
of the man.”

  Daett chuckled. “I wouldn’t pay much attention to Leroy Fisher. He’s known for his many opinions, which are backed up by little real-life experience. They don’t last long, though. He’ll be fine.”

  “He doesn’t think much of this project, that’s for sure.”

  “There you go,” Daett said. “Leroy is usually off on both his timing and his purpose.”

  “Well, I will comfort myself then.” Phoebe forced a smile. “But I discovered what a temper I have, which wasn’t a pleasant experience.”

  “I’m sure it was merely a passing emotion.” Mamm didn’t appear worried. “You have always been so levelheaded and calm.”

  “I guess so.” Phoebe took a deep breath. “I just hope it doesn’t happen again.”

  “So tell me about David,” Daett said as he turned into the driveway. “I heard that Grandma paid him for another year before she passed—yet she didn’t tell you a thing?”

  “That’s right. But I’m not offended. Grandma’s judgment has been correct so far. David has proven himself over and over again. In fact, there he is now, working on the fence this morning even though I told him there was no rush. He also took all the papers to the lady at Child Protection Services—a Mrs. Broman—and everything looked splendid. They are doing an official inspection of the place late next week if everything continues to work out, and I passed my first training class with flying colors on Friday, the teacher claimed.”

  Daett didn’t say anything as he pulled Misty to a stop and hopped out. David came around the corner of the barn with a big smile on his face. He shook hands with Daett and came over to Mamm. “Howdy,” David greeted her. “Glad to see you back in the valley.”

  “We are glad to be back, and for a happier occasion this time,” Mamm told him.

  “Yah, Grandma Lapp was a sweet woman,” David agreed. “Your daughter has astonished everyone by taking on this project.”

  Mamm gave Phoebe a warm smile. “Yah, that’s what we’ve been hearing.”

  “She’s an amazing woman, just like her Grandma,” David said.

  “Hey,” Phoebe protested. “The daughter is standing right here.”