****
Saturday came and saw both Sadie and her sister rushing around the kitchen preparing a thick beef stew, rolls, green beans, carrots, and two apple pies. The table was set for seven, and the house had gotten an extra cleaning.
“How much more time have we got?” Lisa asked.
“Not long now. Dat already went to fetch them.”
Just as she spoke, she heard the buggy turn into the drive. She dashed to the window and watched Dat bring it round to the porch. Giggles and babbling erupted from the buggy, loud enough to be heard through the window.
“They’re here,” Lisa stated.
Sadie rushed to the front door to open it before Dat did. She stood, all smiles, and greeted Ruth Lengacher and her three young daughters, Liz, Susan, and Ellie.
Ruth cast her brown eyes upon Sadie. “Hello, dear.”
Sadie smiled. “Hello, Ruth. And girls. Come right in.”
The three girls pushed their way inside, skipping over to Lisa who stood next to the dining table. They all threw their arms around her, jumping against each other for the better position.
Ruth laughed. “Ach! Girls! Don’t attack poor Lisa now.” She looked back at Sadie. “How are you? May I help with anything in the kitchen?”
Sadie shook her head. “Nee. Everything is about ready.”
She glanced out the window. Dat was driving the buggy back toward the barn. She shut the door and turned to her sister. Lisa was busy getting the girls seated at their places.
“Ruth,” Lisa said, “you can sit here next to Dat if you like.”
Ruth nodded. “That will be just fine, Lisa. Thank you.”
Sadie and Lisa slipped back into the kitchen.
“She’s so nice,” Lisa whispered. “How can she want to marry Dat?”
Sadie shook her head. “He wants her. And she has three young daughters to raise. Mutually beneficial, I suppose.”
Lisa stared at her sister. “That is the most unromantic thing I’ve ever heard.”
Sadie shrugged. “Yet, it’s probably true.”
Lisa put her hand on Sadie’s arm. “I’m sorry, Sadie.” Her eyes filled with moisture. “Ezra hurt you so badly, and I’m sorry. I hurt for you, too, you know.”
Sadie’s throat tightened with sudden tears. She blinked. “I know you do.” She turned away quickly and picked up the cast iron pot full of stew. It was heavy, and she concentrated to get it to the table without mishap.
By the time Sadie got everything to the table, her father had returned and taken his place at the head of the table. He led them in the silent prayer and then the chatter began. Unlike many Amish children, Ruth’s three daughters talked noisily throughout the meal. She kept glancing at her dat, wondering if he was going to put a stop to it.
But he didn’t. She saw the familiar tightening of his jaw when he was about to erupt, yet he continued to chew his food as if nothing was awry.
Amazing.
Sadie enjoyed the young girls, however, as they took all pressure off her to carry the conversation. The three little girls obviously adored Lisa, bringing her into their happy prattle. Lisa looked to be truly enjoying herself also, which warmed Sadie’s heart.
Perhaps this match of her father’s would be a good thing after all. Lisa hadn’t looked so entertained and amused for months. Truth be told, ever since Mamm died, Lisa’s life had turned heavy. Not much brought her joy. And Dat’s disposition didn’t help a bit. In fact, he was the major contributor to her sister’s daily anguish.
Ach, Ezra, why did you have to reject me…
“Sadie!” Her father’s stern voice jerked her from her thoughts.
“Jah, Dat?” She looked around the table. It had gone silent and everyone was watching her.
“Will you?” he asked.
Her face went hot. “Will I what?”
“Didn’t you hear me?” Dat’s voice slid right into its normal harsh tone. And then, he seemed to realize how he sounded in front of his guests, and he gave a short, bark-like laugh. “Ach, girl. Are you dreamin’?”
He glanced around the table, his face covered in a too-bright smile.
“Sorry, Dat. What did you want?”
“I asked if you’d take the young ones out to feed the chickens.”
Her eyebrows crinkled in confusion. “Feed the chickens?”
They didn’t feed the chickens at that time of day.
He gave her a look, and she quickly agreed. “Why, of course. Right after Lisa and I red up the kitchen.”
Ruth waved her hand through the air. “Not necessary. The least I can do is clean up after the wonderful meal you’ve prepared.” She gave Sadie a warm smile. “Thank you, Sadie. And Lisa, too. But I’ll be cleaning up.”
Dat was grinning now and nodding his head, evidently pleased with his wife-to-be.
“Goodie!” cried Liz. “Can we be excused?”
Ruth laughed. “Jah, girls. Now you be good out there.”
“We will!” Susan said, already up from her chair and heading for the door.
“Do you got a dog?” Ellie asked, hanging on Lisa’s arm. “We got one.”
Two
Sunday morning dawned and Sadie groaned. It was the rotation for services, and she didn’t want to go. Usually, she liked attending church. True, the second sermon could go frightfully long sometimes. But still, she enjoyed being there with everyone in the community. She liked the singing and the quiet during prayers.
But today would be horrid. She knew it beyond doubt.
Ezra would be there. As would Bethanee. How was Sadie supposed to act around them? Could she keep her face composed and a smile on her lips?
She dragged herself from bed and dutifully put on her clean brown cape dress. She fastened on her apron and said a quick prayer for strength. Before heading downstairs, she glanced out the window noting thick rain clouds gathering. She grimaced. How appropriate. Even the sky wanted to weep with the injustice of it all.
Shuddering, she scolded herself for such dramatics. It was nigh on seven and breakfast wasn’t ready. She straightened her shoulders and hurried down the stairs. Lisa was already in the kitchen.
“Can you finish up the bacon?” she asked.
“Of course,” Sadie agreed, heading for the cook stove. The bacon was sizzling and spitting tiny droplets of grease. Sadie took a fork and standing back as far as possible to avoid the hot spatters, she flipped the strips.
“You slept late,” Lisa said.
“Jah, I know. I’m sorry. Dat been in yet?”
“Nee. He’s out with the cows. The eggs are done, and the bread is toasting. We’ll be ready on time.”
And they were. Everything was on the table before Dat came through the washroom and into the dining area.
“Gut. It’s ready,” he said, in a halfway pleasant tone.
Sadie looked at him in surprise. They sat down and Dat led them in silent prayer. When he grabbed his fork, he gave each of his daughters a smile.
Sadie’s surprise moved to shock.
“Thank you for the gut supper last night. Ruth was well-pleased.” He took a bite of eggs.
Sadie’s eyes darted to Lisa, who also seemed shocked.
“I’m glad she liked it,” Lisa murmured.
“Jah, that she did. You noted she redded up the kitchen afterwards.”
Sadie nodded. “’Twas right kind of her.”
“It was.” He pointed his fork at her. “When we’re wed, she won’t be doin’ all the work, though. You mind that.”
Sadie sank back against her chair. There he was—the cranky father she was used to. “We know, Dat. We’ll still be doing chores around here.”
He nodded, pulling another strip of bacon off the plate. He took a bite and licked his lips. “There’s the young ones, too. I’ll expect your help with them.”
Lisa took a breath. “Of course, Dat. I love the kinner.”
Dat grunted and continued eating. Sadie worked to get her own plate of food down, but h
er stomach wasn’t cooperating. Her mind wasn’t on her future stepmother or stepsisters at all.
It was on her former beau.
****
Dat brought the buggy around in plenty of time to get to the Miller’s for church. The rotation had fallen to them for service that Sunday. Sadie knew they would have spent days cleaning the house, arranging the church benches in their barn, and baking, baking, baking in preparation. Since Mamm had died, the rotation didn’t come to them. She supposed once Dat married Ruth, that would change.
“Come on, Sadie! Dat’s waiting!” Lisa called from the front door.
Sadie quickly hung the dishtowel on its peg and grabbed her cape from the back of the rocker. She flung it around her shoulders and hurried outside with her sister. They climbed into the carriage, Sadie in front with her father since she was the eldest.
Dat slapped the reins and with his quick whistle, they were off. Sadie’s back was rigid, and she spent the entire short trip schooling herself on her behavior for the day. She was determined to pull it off with grace.
She didn’t have long to wait. She had no sooner stepped down from the carriage than she was face to face with Ezra. He blanched when he saw her, his gray eyes round and his face deathly white.
“Uh … Sadie. Uh, good morning.”
Her heart thudded, and panic threatened to overtake her. She drew a long breath and with supreme effort put on a smile.
“Good morning to you, Ezra.”
He fumbled with his horse’s reins and stepped back, blinking. “Uh…”
What more was there to say, really? Nothing that Sadie could imagine. She tossed the edge of her cape over her shoulder and walked away. Slowly. She forced herself not to run from him in a frenzy.
She heard his quick intake of breath as she left.
Ezra. Ezra. Ezra.
If she at least knew why he had dumped her with such speed, maybe then she could accept it. But she knew nothing. And what part had Bethanee played in the whole sordid affair? Had she waited in the shadows for her opportunity to pounce?
Sadie’s cheeks went hot. Such thinking was wrong and surely, not pleasing to God at all.
But still, Bethanee must have known Ezra was hers. Granted, courtships were kept secret in their community, but most had their suspicions. Sadie was so caught up in her reverie that she didn’t see where she was going, and she smacked right into the back of the stranger, Joshua Graber.
“Whoa!” he cried, swirling around. When he saw her, a pleased smile covered his face. “Well, if it isn’t the mystery girl from the woods.”
“I’m not the mystery—” she began then clamped her mouth shut. She’d just about blurted out that he was the mystery. But had she done that, he’d have known she’d thought about him.
And that certainly wouldn’t do.
“But you are a mystery,” he said with a teasing smile. “I don’t even know your name.”
His dark blue eyes bore through hers, and she felt as if he saw much too deeply into her soul. She stepped back, but seemed unable to leave his presence. What was there about him? Was he magnetized or something?
“That was a hint,” he said patiently.
“What?”
“I was fishing for your name.”
“Oh, uh…” she stuttered. “It’s Sadie. Sadie Schwartz.” Thankfully, her feet seemed to unglue themselves from the dirt, and she was able to move quickly away from him.
Lisa stood at the barn door waiting for her.
“I’m so sorry,” she muttered close to her ear. “What did Ezra say to you?”
Sadie blinked with confusion. Ezra? Oh, yes. Lisa had seen her next to him at the buggy. Her mouth opened slightly. She’d completely forgotten about Ezra for the moment, her thoughts instead on Joshua Graber.
Annoyed with herself, she shook her head. “Ezra never said a thing. What is there to say?”
Lisa took her sister’s hand and pulled her inside the barn. They moved to the single women’s section and sat. Lisa was still somewhat young for that segment of the congregation, but she liked to sit next to Sadie. The only other option was to sit with the kids. Some teens sat with their mamm or dat, depending on whether they were girls or boys. Of course, that wasn’t an option for Lisa or Sadie.
Sadie smoothed her skirt over her knees and clasped her hands in her lap.
“And the other boy?” Lisa whispered.
Sadie stiffened, and her eyes grew wide. Who else had seen her talking with Joshua? Had Dat seen her?
“Who is he? I didn’t recognize him.”
“He’s staying with the Millers,” Sadie murmured. She fidgeted in her seat, not comfortable with talking when the service was about to begin. She could see Lisa wasn’t finished speaking, but she looked away.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Ezra in the second row of men. Her breath caught when she saw Joshua sitting right beside him. She gripped the edge of the bench. Was this Sunday gearing up to be a special kind of torment for her? She heard rustling behind her, and then came Bethanee’s voice.
“Excuse me,” she said quietly, evidently taking a seat right behind Sadie. Sadie did not turn around to check.
****
The second sermon ran longer than usual, so by the time the service was over, Sadie was nearly faint from hunger. She gathered with the other women to help set out the noon meal of cold cuts, bread, pickles, squash salad, and peach pies. They would eat in shifts as the tables couldn’t accommodate them all at once.
When it was her turn, Sadie ate quickly. As fate would have it, Bethanee was seated across from her. But Bethanee seemed just as determined as Sadie to keep to herself. Lisa helped by maintaining a constant stream of chatter with Lizzie Bontrager on her right.
After the meal, most of the people hung around, visiting with one another, caring for their bopplis, or standing in clusters near the tools and equipment discussing their latest thoughts on farming.
Sadie just wanted to leave. She stood and cleared her place, noting that young Mary Kinns hadn’t yet eaten.
“Take my place, Mary,” Sadie called to her.
She exited the barn into the cool air, noting that the threatening clouds had mostly disappeared. No fall rainstorm after all. She hurried toward the long row of buggies. Breathing a sigh of relief, she saw that no one was about. She walked down the row, smiling absently at how many buggies she recognized, although there weren’t many identifying marks on them. Had the horses still been hitched up, she probably could have been able to identify the owner of nearly every one.
She reached the end of the buggies where they met up with a small stand of oak trees. She entered the shadows and found an uneven patch of grass beneath one of the trees. She lowered herself to the ground, careful to tuck her dress around her legs. Leaning against the trunk, she closed her eyes.
In the distance, she could hear the conversations of her community, but they faded as she focused on the buzz of flies and the occasional call of a crow or a jay. The calm peacefulness of the air soaked into her, and she felt her equilibrium being restored.
Thank You, Gott, she thought. Thank You for Your blessings and Your strength this day.
Leaves rustled and she opened her eyes just as Joshua sat beside her. She scurried to jump up, but he restrained her with his hand on her arm.
“Nee. Stay. It’s lovely here.” He closed his eyes and took in a slow breath. Then he opened his eyes again and stared at her. “You were wise to seek solace in the trees.”
Seek solace in the trees?
She pulled her arm from his touch. “Why do you think I need solace?”
“I heard.”
She scooted back, butting right up against the trunk of a tree. “You heard what?” Her voice was sharp and instant dread filled her.
“About you and your beau.”
She leapt to her feet. “You don’t know a thing about it!”
He tilted his head and looked up at her. She glared at him, but he didn’t re
turn her hostility. He simply gazed at her.
“Stay,” he said again. “I’ve bothered you. I’ll leave.”
He stood and brushed off the back of his trousers.
She watched him turn and leave. She had an inexplicable desire to rush after him. She shook her head. What was wrong with her?
“Wait!” she cried.
He hesitated and looked back over his shoulder. She didn’t know what to say. Crying out to a complete stranger—and a man—for no reason, simply wasn’t done. So what was her reason?
“Never mind,” she said weakly, feeling like a total fool.
He grinned at her and his eyes glinted with mischief. “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
She stared at him.
“Where we met before. I’ll be waiting for you there at three.” With that, he left.
She gulped. Had he just asked her to meet him in the woods? She raised her chin. How presumptuous! As if she would meet him again on purpose. She didn’t even know him. And if they were seen together, everyone would think they were courting. Or up to no good. She flapped her skirts briskly, shaking off pieces of dead leaves.
No thank you. She wanted nothing to do with him.
****
At dinner the next day, Dat was in a good mood. He had hummed his way in from the barn and was now sitting at the table with a smile.
“Girls, the meal looks delicious.” He led them in prayer and then began eating with gusto.
Sadie gave Lisa a questioning look and then shrugged. Might as well enjoy his mood while it lasted.
“How many eggs did you gather this morning?” he asked her.
“Only five, Dat. I don’t know which hen isn’t laying, but someone isn’t pulling her weight out there.”
“I see chicken stew in our future,” Lisa said, laughing.
Sadie grinned. She loved it when Lisa laughed, especially when she looked so happy.
“Why do you ask, Dat?”
“Thought I’d get a few more layers when I go in to the Feed and Supply. I know there are only so many eggs we can use now, but soon we will have more mouths to feed.” He rubbed his hands together as if well pleased with the thought.
“A few more hens is a good idea, Dat.”
Amish Days: A Loving Stranger: An Amish Romance Short Story (Hollybrook Amish Romance) Page 2
