A Wedding Quilt for Ella (Little Valley 1)

by Jerry S. Eicher

  Ella closed the tablet, placed it carefully on her dresser, and, once in bed, fell instantly asleep.

  Thirty-six

  The quilt should be finished today. Ella awoke with the determination that it must be so. Somehow she needed to find the time to finish the quilt, but she wasn’t certain how to do that. She dressed in the darkness and was already on the stairs when Dora’s alarm clock went off.

  “Gut morning,” she said to her mom in the kitchen. “I’m heading for the barn.”

  “Monroe isn’t even up yet,” Mamm said in surprise. “What’s the hurry?”

  “The quilt,” Ella admitted sheepishly. “But it doesn’t have to be done if we don’t have time.” And yet she hoped her mother would understand somehow.

  “I don’t think we have too much on the list for today,” Mamm said.

  “Thank you,” Ella whispered and left.

  In the barn she opened the gate to let in the first round of cows. They mooed wearily, as if they didn’t wish to be up yet, and ambled slowly in. She had them locked in the stanchions when Monroe and Dora, all sleepy eyed, showed up. Daett walked in a minute later, a big grin on his face.

  “My, my, someone’s up early this mornin’.”

  A flush of emotion ran through Ella. The day was starting out good.

  “She can milk my cows,” Dora grumbled. “I feel like I’ve been beaten on the head all night long, as if maybe I’m the next one to leave this world.”

  “Get off that horse,” Monroe said. “I’m gut and tired of hearin’ you drive it.”

  “That’s in Da Hah’s hands,” Daett said, “and we’d best be leaving it there. So let’s not hear any more about it. I’ll do the silage, Monroe, and help on the next round of cows.”

  “Let’s hear no more about it. You hear that, Dora?” Monroe said when Daett was out of earshot.

  Dora didn’t say anything. She grabbed a milk bucket and began her work, making the milk ping loudly against the bucket’s metal sides.

  “Just leave her alone,” Ella said in Monroe’s direction. “She’s had a hard night.”

  “Yah, leave her alone,” Dora grumbled as if she wasn’t there.

  Ella laughed as she got her own milk bucket but got no response from Dora. Her spurt of energy and good feelings continued.

  “What’s the hurry?” Dora grumbled when Ella quickly finished her first cow.

  “I want to finish my quilt today.”

  “You would think of that—and first thing in the mornin’,” Monroe spoke up from a few cows down.

  “Just mind your own beeswax,” Dora retorted.

  Monroe made a sputtering sound and then was silent. Ella figured his compliance had more to do with disinterest in the subject than consideration for Dora.

  Daett came in to help on the last round of cows, and they finished in record time. Dora and Ella left for the house while Monroe stayed behind to finish the final chores. The stars had already begun to dim from the rising light of the sun in front of them. It filled the sky with a reddish hue as they made their way up the walks.

  “What does Daniel want tonight?” Dora asked, her curiosity still aroused.

  “He wants to talk about Aden’s things. You can hear it from him when he comes,” Ella said. She didn’t want to say more. Daniel could explain this all better than she could. It would be better coming from him. That would look better than if her family got the idea she had cooked up the plan.

  “You and Daniel are up to somethin’.” Dora eyed her sharply in the early morning light.

  “You’ll find out tonight.” Ella stuck with her plans. Dora’s curiosity would just have to wait.

  “I think I figured it out,” Dora declared. “You’re planning to steal him from Arlene.”

  “Dora!” Ella exclaimed.

  “It has something to do with Bishop Miller,” Dora continued, apparently rattled by the outburst. “This is a way to get around what Mamm and Daett want you to do. What’s puzzling is you’ve never been stubborn before, but you seemed to have changed lately.”

  “You’re not even close,” Ella said with an edge in her voice.

  “So you’re takin’ the next brother,” Dora continued in the same tone. “They used to do that in the Old Testament. Yah, when an oldest brother died, the sister took the next one. Arlene will be heartbroken.”

  “You have lost your mind,” Ella said, suddenly more amused than angry.

  “No, I don’t think I have,” Dora grumbled, following her into the washroom. Ella let Dora take the first turn at the basin and then started as Dora wiped herself with the towel.

  “Should we throw the water out?” Ella asked when she was done.

  “No,” Dora said, her voice dark. “The boys never do it for us. Anyway, we aren’t dirty like they are.”

  “That is a point.” Ella laughed. She couldn’t believe how happy she continued to be and smiled at what Dora would surely say about the “dark clouds following soon enough.”

  Clara and Mamm had breakfast set out, and so Dora and Ella sat down to wait for the menfolk. Mamm stepped over to the stair door and hollered up, “Time to get up, girls.”

  Soft footsteps soon were heard coming down the stairs, and Ella smiled as the younger girls appeared one after the other. They seated themselves on the back bench well before the bangs and splashes in the washroom began.

  “How can two men be so noisy?” Dora commented. “Seems like they could keep the noise down.”

  “They’re men,” Mamm said. “Just be thankful they are. Da Hah has been good to us.”

  “A man is a bad thing,” Dora said, her face resting on her hands.

  “Don’t be listenin’ to her,” Ella told Clara, who was smiling.

  “She won’t anyway,” Dora retorted.

  Monroe entered the room loudly and sat down, and Daett came in right behind him. Eli, awakened by all the noise, hollered from the bedroom, “I’m hungry.”

  “I’ll bring you a plate later,” Mamm called back. “We have to have prayer first. Pray in there, will you?”

  Eli mumbled something they couldn’t hear. After prayer, Mamm loaded a plate of food and disappeared in the direction of the bedroom only to return shortly, saying, “He’s looking much better this morning.”

  “Da Hah sie lob,” Daett proclaimed, eggs and bacon piled high on his plate. “Soon the boy will be on his feet again, and I sure can use him in the fields.”

  “Do you want one of the girls to help?” Mamm asked. “I can spare one of them today.”

  “Might have to,” Daett said with a nod, “now that I think of it. Monroe and I have our hands full with the back field. We’re disking and planting the corn. The front, behind the barn, still has a day or so of plowing to be done. It sure looks like rain, maybe tomorrow already. The sky was mighty red this mornin’.”

  “Ella can help,” Mamm volunteered. “She knows the most about plowing and handling the Belgians.”

  “Are you up to plowin’, Ella? All day? Cause I sure could use you,” Daett said.

  “You’ll make a farmer’s wife out of the girl yet,” Dora muttered.

  Ella swallowed hard, her plans to work on the quilt in jeopardy.

  “Yah, I can,” she said quietly, “if the horses don’t get away from me.”

  “They won’t.” Her father seemed satisfied. “Monroe will get them harnessed up right after we finish with breakfast, and you can use the single bottom plow. The double is too much.”

  “Oh, I guess I can plow,” Dora said, “since Ella wants to finish her quilt.”

  “It’s okay,” Ella said. “I’ll do it.”

  Daett’s face lit into a wide smile. “I’m pleased to see that your heart is healin’ like that, Ella. Da Hah, He is always faithful, but I suppose the quilt can wait. It’s not going to run away.”

  “Yah,” Ella simply said.

  “If we are all done, then, can we have prayer?” Daett asked as he got up. “The day is getting away from me.”<
br />
  They all followed him into the living room. Monroe made quick gulps of his last spoonfuls of oatmeal and took up the end of the line.

  With a soft rustle, they knelt as their father began to pray, “Our merciful and great heavenly Father, Your grace is new every morning. Grant us strength for this day, wisdom for our tasks, and courage to face our duties. We thank You again that Eli was spared and ask that Your healing would continue in his body all according to Your most gracious will and desire. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

  With a shuffle of feet, they rose, and Dora made a beeline for the kitchen.

  “My, she’s in a rush,” Mamm said. “Ella, you won’t do any kitchen work this morning because you’re helpin’ outside. I suppose Monroe can use your help with the Belgians since Eli isn’t around.”

  Ella nodded and followed Monroe out the door. She didn’t have any problems with horses, even huge ones. They seemed a delight to her. In the barn she dished out the grain while Monroe gave each horse a quick brush down. She waited while Monroe threw the harnesses on and then tightened the straps. Monroe led the two horses out of the stall, gave one to Ella, and followed her with the other. Outside, the Belgians blinked their eyes sleepily. Two killdeer were disturbed behind the barn, took flight, and shrieked their disapproval. The horses by force of habit easily got in line in front of the plow, its single blade pulled out of the ground.

  With the tugs fastened, Ella shook the reins and yelled loudly, “Get-up!”

  The horses obediently lurched forward and headed for the field. With her foot, Ella disengaged the plow blade, and the sharp point plunged into the black soil. Out of the corner of her eye, Ella saw the look of approval on Monroe’s face. Apparently he was still surprised that a girl could do a man’s work so well.

  At the end of the long field, she repeated the motion in reverse and brought the blade up for the turn. Carefully she watched the horses for any signs of exhaustion. They seemed to be fine, but she gave them a short rest when the end of the second row was reached. Her father was a firm believer that horses were meant for work and not abuse.

  The hours rolled by. The horses kept to a straight line, and the black dirt curled under her feet with the engaging and disengaging of the plow blades. Ella felt an occasional pang of regret that her quilt wasn’t completed, but the glory of the spring day surrounded her and worked its way deep into her consciousness.

  The two killdeer were back, flying off every time she came close to the barn. Both would flutter their wings and drag them on the ground in desperation in front of the team.

  Ella wondered if the killdeer already had laid its eggs. It seemed early in the year to already have a nest built, but she wasn’t certain. When she allowed the team its next rest, she walked to the barn for a drink of water. Along the way, she looked for any signs of the nest. This produced great distress in the two birds. They landed only a few feet from her and appeared to be desperately protective of something, but she saw no sign of any eggs in the shallow gravel bed.

  At lunchtime, she waited until Monroe came in from the back field to help unhitch. They led the horses to the barn and fed and watered them. Inside the house, Mamm had sandwiches ready.

  “Makin’ good time,” Daett commented, his eyes warm. “Couldn’t have done the morning’s plowing better myself.”

  Ella nodded her appreciation for the praise. Another day would come for quilt work, and the plowing did need to be done today.

  After lunch, Monroe helped get the horses out again, and the afternoon dragged on. The sun grew warm on Ella’s back and shone brightly in her eyes when she went the other direction. Ella thought of a trip to the house to get her bonnet but decided against it. The pleasant feel of the sun on her face more than made up for any discomfort.

  She thought of Daniel, of tonight, and of how strange her life was turning out. Who would have thought she would be capable of what she planned to do. Not that long ago, she was to be the future wife of Aden, comfortable, secure, and undisturbed. Sure, one always looked for the unexpected but not like this. People got sick, and babies were born—sometimes with trouble but mostly without.

  Ella reached another turn and guided the horses back the other way. Before her the fields spread out for what seemed like miles, the valley dipping and rising gently. Her dad’s farm stopped two fencerows down, and the rest belonged to other Amish neighbors. So solid, the earth was. You plowed, disked, and planted it, yet it always, somehow, stayed the same.

  Why couldn’t people—or life—be like that?

  As the minutes slipped by, she continued in her thoughts, almost missing disengaging the plow for the next turn. The horses stopped suddenly, their noses tight up against the fence. The two looked back at her as if they questioned her sanity.

  “Sorry,” she said out loud. Now the struggle would be to make the turn. Disengaging the plow from the ground was the first thing. She finally managed by applying the full pressure of both her feet to the lever.

  Slowly the horses backed up in response to her tugs on the reins, but she barely avoided a serious tangle of harnesses. Once she was turned around and the plow was back in the ground, Ella sighed with relief. Monroe would have laughed if he had seen her. Now, no one needed to know her misstep.

  Monroe came to help her unhitch when she pulled up to the barn when the sun was low in the sky.

  “Looks nice for a girl,” he said. “Maybe Daett should ask you to help more often.”

  Ella ignored the remark. Brothers could be such an ornery lot.

  Thirty-seven

  Daniel arrived after supper, his buggy rattling loudly into the driveway. Ella was in the kitchen helping Dora and Mamm wash and dry the pile of supper dishes.

  “You’d better go let him in,” Mamm said. “He’s tying up at the hitching post.”

  Ella dried her hands and went to the front door just as Daniel was ready to knock.

  “Good evening.” She welcomed him with a smile. “I’m glad you could make it,” she said, motioning him into the living room.

  “Good evening.” Daett greeted Daniel from his rocker. “Nice day today. Ella helped us with the plowing. She’s a good worker.” Then, without mincing words, Daett continued, “Ella says you have something to tell us tonight.”

  “Yah, I do,” Daniel said nervously, taking his seat and glancing up as another buggy pulled into the driveway.

  Daett got up, took a look out the window, and then called toward the kitchen, “Lizzie, it’s Mary Stutzman. You’d best go see what she’s wantin’.”

  Mamm rushed into the living room, her apron still on, nodding to Daniel as she went by. Ella glanced into the yard and hoped the conversation between her mom and Mary would be brief, and from what she could see, that seemed to be the case. Both women acted in a hurry. Thankfully, Daniel took time to get up and put his head through the bedroom doorway and greet Eli.

  Eli mumbled something that Ella couldn’t hear, and then Daniel shut the door behind them. Their voices rose and fell inside. Daniel soon came back into the living room and took his seat again.

  “Construction work comin’ along?” Daett asked cheerfully, and Ella relaxed a little. “I know it must be hard for you…startin’ back up again like that.”

  “Yah, it is,” Daniel agreed, “but I have some good boys to help me. Menno’s two and the Troyers’ boy. We’re starting some jobs soon.”

  “I’m glad to hear that,” Daett said as Mamm came back inside. Ella had seen the buggy leave, and concern now gripped her at the look on her mother’s face. Surely, she thought, this evening won’t be spoiled by some more bad news.

  They all waited silently as Mamm stood still by the door.

  “Is somethin’ wrong?” Daett finally asked.

  “Lois Stutzman passed away this afternoon,” Mamm said.

  “Preacher Stutzman’s wife?” Daniel asked in surprise. “He’s in our district.”

  Mamm nodded. “Ivan’s wife. It happened
sometime after the child was born around two o’clock The midwife thought everything had gone well. Then the bleedin’ started, and she couldn’t get it stopped. Ivan drove for the clinic with the spring wagon, but they didn’t make it in time.”

  “Why didn’t they ask the neighbors to drive?” Daniel asked. “They live close to at least one of the Englisha.”

  “Ivan did. But no one was at home because it was the middle of the day. The poor man. Mary said he drove his horse like the wind.”

  “Da Hah’s will be done,” Daett said, his voice filled with sorrow. “Our people have been much troubled lately. Now a preacher’s wife has been called home.”

  “The poor man,” Mamm repeated, taking a seat on the couch. “I just saw her not that long ago. One never knows when the last sight of a loved one will come. Lois is gone, and yet Eli was left us. Da Hah does work in mysterious ways.”

  “They are all things for our own gut,” Noah said softly. “Da Hah knows what is best.”

  “And three girls are now left behind,” Mamm said. “I suppose his sister can step in for a while. I think he has an older one who’s still at home.”

  “Susanna.” Daniel supplied the name. “Though his parents are up in age already, Susanna spends a lot of her time takin’ care of them.”

  “I’m sure they’ll work it out somehow,” Daett assured them. “Now we must not keep Daniel any longer than we have to…even with this news.”

  “The viewing is tomorrow night,” Mamm said.

  “Another funeral,” Daniel said, his face drawn. “It wasn’t that long ago since Aden’s funeral. The living and dying keeps going on.”

  “Da Hah has His time for everything,” Daett said.

  Silence settled around them, and Ella stared off into space. What else could happen? Out in the kitchen Dora must have bumped the stacked dishes because one rattled to the wood floor. Daniel jumped and then smiled nervously.