Sadie’s Montana Trilogy

by Linda Byler

  It was the Amish way. Women stayed home and took care of the children and their husbands. For generations, mothers prepared their daughters for this important role by teaching them the art of running a home smoothly.

  Yes, she was eager. She was prepared to be Mark’s wife. She looked forward to her new life with him. But she would miss these people so much. She would come back, yes, but it would never be the same. She wouldn’t know the same camaraderie she had known from working among these people day in and day out.

  She set the heavy brass candleholders back on the dresser, then frowned as the taper candle wobbled in its socket. Grabbing a tissue, she tore it in half, folded it a few times again, wrapped it around the bottom of the candle, then put it firmly back in the brass holder. It stood straight and strong.

  Sadie smiled to herself. What they don’t know won’t hurt them.

  She would miss this house. She loved just being in it, even if it meant cleaning. She enjoyed the work, lifting and replacing and touching objects so far above anything she would ever own.

  A muffled screech broke through her absentminded reverie, and she turned to look out the window once again.

  She put her hand to her mouth when a shrieking Erma Keim came barreling out of the tack room, her legs churning, her skirt flying above her white knees. A grinning Lothario Bean followed quickly on her heals, both hands holding the pressure nozzle at the end of a long green hose and the water following Erma’s yelling form.

  Oh, dear.

  Sadie laughed as some of the water connected with the retreating back and laughed again at Lothario’s obvious glee.

  But still. She had pooh-poohed Dorothy’s idea of Erma overstepping her bounds with Lothario. She still felt that way. But the scene in the yard was a bit unsettling, nevertheless.

  Sadie knew Erma’s behavior would be looked at disapprovingly among their people. The scene playing out in the yard below was why some Amish mothers frowned on their girls working “out.”

  Sadie winced as Barbara Caldwell turned to watch, then relaxed as she saw her laugh with Bertie. As long as Erma knew her place, it would be all right, although Lord knew she had sorely overstepped her designated “place” in Dorothy’s kitchen.

  As she ran the vacuum cleaner, she thought again about her decision to have her in the bridal party with Reuben. What if she became noisy and, well, like she was today? She was just so overboard.

  Back in the kitchen, she spoke to Dorothy about it, which was a big mistake. Sadie wound up defending Erma’s reputation and desperately trying to hush up Dorothy before poor Erma returned.

  Dorothy said she would have thought better of Sadie. How could she even think Erma would keep that mouth shut long enough to be in a bridal party? And how did she think that red hair would ever lie flat long enough to be in a wedding?

  Sadie spent the rest of the day in a sour mood. When she got home that evening, everything got worse. Anna was throwing up again out behind Paris’ stall, just one easy retch and she emptied her stomach of the food from supper. She was wiping her mouth when an angry Sadie appeared. All Anna could do was sink to the floor of the barn and deny everything.

  Sadie confided in Mark, who said she couldn’t expect to fix everyone’s problems. Anna was just passing through a phase. This, too, would pass.

  As far as Erma Keim was concerned, he wouldn’t worry about that either. She was a delight. He was glad she was going to be nâva hucking, and he planned on finding a husband for her as soon as Sadie helped her tame that red hair.

  Chapter 25

  THE DAY OF THE WEDDING DAWNED.

  Actually, the day began in the pitch-black hour of four o’clock in the morning when the battery-operated digital alarm went off and woke Jacob Miller from a sound sleep. He found his wife getting dressed in the bathroom. Unlike her husband, she had been wide awake since two-thirty, her mind tossing at the thought of all the disasters that could occur.

  He bent to kiss her good morning but was brushed aside like an overgrown housefly.

  Aah … well. Mam had a lot on her mind.

  Mam woke the whole household, sparing no one, not even relatives in the basement, or Eva and Sadie, who had rejuvenated an old, old bond, by talking until midnight.

  Mam popped breakfast casseroles into the oven and got out cups for water and coffee. There was no juice or toast this morning. Cranky little cousins yelled as mothers wet their hair, pulling fine-toothed combs through the long tresses. Mam helped pin capes and adjust coverings.

  Erma arrived at five-thirty with a driver and was whisked upstairs with the speed of lightning, though she looked back at the breakfast casserole with genuine longing.

  Leah produced all her best hair products and explained the need for neat hair. Rebekah nodded in agreement, exclaiming the wonder of the gels and sprays. They sprayed and pulled and pinned until they finally stepped back and smiled.

  “Look at you!” Rebekah cried. “You’re gorgeous!”

  Erma bent her head to look in the mirror, then put her hands to her cheeks in dramatic fashion.

  “Well, you may as well have ironed my hair and been done with it.”

  They put a new covering on Erma’s glossy, now-subdued, red hair and were astounded at the results. What a difference it made!

  Sadie combed her hair at least five times before it suited her. She needed both Leah’s and Rebekah’s help in pinning the white organdy cape and apron.

  Mark appeared in his new black suit, his shirt as white as white could possibly be. His hair cut to perfection. Sadie took one look and knew she had never seen him look better.

  Was it really true? Was this striking man about to become her husband?

  Sadie glanced toward Reuben and winced when Erma linked her arm through his. She smiled gamely at him, bolstering his courage with a quick whisper of, “Remember the saddle.”

  Poor Reuben.

  Sadie hung on to Mark’s arm in sheer alarm when a whole army of buggies, vans, buses, and vehicles of every description wound their way up the rural road toward the Detweiler home. When their own ride was at the door, Sadie gulped down a few swallows of black coffee before following Mark to the waiting carriage that would take them to the Detweilers for the service.

  The glossy pine benches in the Detweilers’ spotlessly clean shop were set in neat rows. The wedding guests took their seats. Mark and Sadie sat beside each other with Reuben and Erma on one side, Kevin and Leah on the other. They greeted the wedding guests: family, friends, and members of the community.

  There was only a handful of Mark’s relatives from Pennsylvania, but Sadie was grateful for every single one that came, for Mark’s sake.

  The family belonged to a sect of the Old Order Amish who dressed a bit different from Sadie’s community. They greeted Mark with a sort of curious fascination, as if he was an ancient relic that had survived a remarkable amount of excavation.

  He had been given up as a bad sort, a black sheep. Was it any wonder, coming from that sort of family? And here he was, looking normal. It was a miracle. Atlee and Meely’s oldest. My, my.

  The single boys filed in and were seated on the men’s side of the shop, the girls on the women’s side. The service began when the first song was announced, a wave of slow, undulating tunes from the German hymnbook enveloping them in the familiar way.

  The ministers rose to go to an adjacent room for a conference with Mark and Sadie. This was when the ministers explained the rules and value of Christian marriage and asked if they wished to become man and wife. The ministers wished them many blessings, as was the custom.

  When they were dismissed, Mark and Sadie were joined by their nâva huckers. Blond-haired Kevin was so striking alongside Leah; Reuben’s face was white and tense, while Erma averted her eyes in the greatest show of humility she had ever managed.

  Slowly, they walked among the congregation and sat in six special chairs in the ministers’ row. The three women sat facing their men, their heads bent, their eyes downcas
t in the proper way.

  The singing ended when the ministers came back from their conference. Then the first speaker stood up and spoke. When he finished, they prayed. Then the second minister stood up and told the story of Tobias, a touching tale of a youth and his bride.

  When he came to a certain part in the story, he announced to the wedding guests that Mark and Sadie wished to be united as well.

  Very solemnly, their eyes downcast, Mark and Sadie rose. The minister asked them if this was their wish, and they promised it was with a subdued “Ya.” The minister joined their hands, pronounced a blessing, the congregation stood in prayer, and they returned to their seats.

  Never once did they raise their eyes while the remaining ministers gave testimony. Only when they rose from the last prayer, and the final, rousing, German hymn had begun, did Sadie dare raise her eyes to Mark’s own.

  He met her eyes. One fleeting look.

  How could a lifetime of love be poured forth from those dark eyes in a few seconds? It took her breath away.

  She loved him so. With all her heart and soul. Even the fear of the tough times ahead diminished in the face of this love. She was so secure now. His love to her was real. She could never doubt that.

  When the song ended, he looked at her again and smiled, a slow easy smile that warmed her the whole way through.

  “My wife,” he whispered for her ears alone. Her eyes shone into his.

  The remainder of the day was a movement of color, warmth, smells, hands shaken, hugs accepted, senses awed by light and sounds.

  Their wedding table was a corner. Mark sat on one side, Sadie on the other, their attendants on either side.

  There were candles, chinaware, stem glasses, and silverware on white tablecloths of Sadie’s choice. The cloth napkins were an off-white color, as were the placemats and accessories.

  The mashed potatoes and fried chicken were cooked to perfection, although Sadie hardly remembered what she ate or how it tasted. The women slaved over ovens and stove-tops, getting everything just right.

  Sadie loved how the butter was molded in a perfect butterfly-shape on the butter plate. She exclaimed over the perfection of the whole wheat dinner rolls, sadly disturbing the butterfly to spread a small amount of butter on her roll.

  Would she ever forget Dorothy’s remark about doubling her weight?

  Jim and Dorothy dressed in their wedding finery. Dorothy wore a blazing-pink polyester suit with a large corsage from the Dollar General firmly imbedded in the lapel. Her hair looked really good, for Dorothy. Jim smiled and beamed beside his portly, brightly-colored wife.

  Richard and Barbara Caldwell were seated at the English table, the one that had special servers for important guests. They were as resplendent as Sadie had imagined, and little Sadie Elizabeth was a vision in yellow.

  Beside them, Bertie Orthman and Lothario Bean and his lovely little wife, followed by their beautiful daughters, were all laughing and seemed to be enjoying their first Amish wedding.

  Then Marcellus and Louis came back from wherever they had gone and Sadie leaned over. “Mark!”

  He looked to where Sadie pointed, and his eyes became soft with emotion as he looked at the two lovely children, their dark faces alight with interest. He watched as Jim bent to tie a shoe and brush off a bit of dust. Dorothy hovered and filled their plates like a pink mother hen.

  “They’re definitely two of the lucky ones,” Mark said meaningfully.

  Sadie nodded, found his hand, and squeezed it reassuringly.

  After dinner, they opened a towering mound of gifts. Richard and Barbara Caldwell came to talk to them, and Sadie found herself choking up, unable to speak. Richard Caldwell quickly gathered Sadie into a bear hug while Barbara patted her white organdy cape.

  The Caldwells’ present was a painting of horses, the kind Sadie never thought she would own. It took her breath away. A band of horses running against the wind, with a thunderstorm in a background of gray, beige, blue, and green clouds.

  Dorothy’s gift was encased in the gold, bell-shaped gift bag. Inside were the two ceramic crosses with pink flowers that she had promised Sadie a long time ago.

  “One for each side o’ yer hutch cupboard,” Dorothy beamed.

  There were so many gifts. A gas grill. A pair of Adirondack chairs. Dishes, cookware, towels, blankets, shovels, brushes, utensils, wooden racks, clothespins, tea towels, bakeware, lanterns, batteries. Would they need to buy anything at all?

  Rebekah wrote it all down in a notebook, listing the gift and the giver.

  The rest of the afternoon was filled with hymn-singing.

  They served a supper of scalloped potatoes, home-cured ham, lima beans and corn, and a tossed salad. There was also more wedding cake and Dorothy’s coconut cream pies, which even Erma pronounced the best she had ever tasted.

  Sadie was feeling a bit wilted now, ready for the day to come to a close and be alone with her new husband.

  Evidently Erma still had energy to spare. She was having an animated conversation with Reuben. When she flicked a spoonful of meringue at Reuben, hitting him squarely on the nose, they both fell into a fit of convulsive giggles that they were powerless to stop.

  “Whooo!” Erma said in the most unladylike voice Sadie had ever heard.

  Reuben, however, was thoroughly impressed. He eyed Erma with a newfound respect. Anyone who could flick a spoon and hit the target directly was pretty awesome. So she showed him how to do it.

  Mark grinned, then laughed outright when a glob of meringue landed squarely in Kevin’s lap, barely missing Sadie.

  Mam frowned in the direction of the wedding tables, her eyes looking completely exhausted. Somehow Dat was still going strong, although he had a look about him like a hot-air balloon getting ready for its descent.

  Sadie caught sight of Rebekah seated beside Benjamin Nissley, their heads bent as they sang in unison. It was only a matter of time for those two.

  Sadie sat back and let her eyes roam the room. She thought of weddings she had been to in the past, sitting beside boys she barely knew, eating food that tasted like sawdust, gamely making attempts at conversation, relieved beyond words to be finished with the singing.

  Her eyes landed on Anna, who was seated much, much too close to Leon Hershberger. Leon seemed to be leaning in close to her, his auburn hair cut in the English style, the disobedience glaring from his bold eyes. Anna had a spot of color on each cheek, her smile wide, her eyes never leaving his face.

  Sadie’s heart sank. Would Anna ever understand the fullness of her self-worth and the beauty of her character?

  Sadie silently grieved for Anna, if only for a moment. She could not solve the problem today, not on her wedding day.

  After the last guest finally bade them a goodnight, Mam and Dat kicked off their shoes and sat down with fresh mugs of coffee. Rebekah and Leah wearily sagged in kitchen chairs, Anna seated on the bench.

  Reuben went straight to bed, but only after eating another slice of wedding cake and calling Mark “brother” with a toothy grin.

  Mark asked Sadie if they should ride Paris and Bruno, Mark’s new horse, over to their house for their first night together.

  It was a wonderful idea!

  Sadie raced up the stairs to change clothes and pack a bag. Then she hugged her parents, telling them they’d ride back in the morning to help clean up.

  “But…” Mam started protesting.

  “She’ll be okay,” Dat broke in, looking at her meaningfully.

  Mam closed her mouth, then smiled as Sadie dashed out the door, her duffel bag swinging.

  When Sadie reached the barn, Mark had Paris ready, the saddle securely in place. Bruno pranced beside her.

  “Oh, Paris!” Sadie burst out, then swung up while Mark secured her duffel bag behind his saddle.

  The moon was not completely full, but almost. Sadie couldn’t really tell, except that one side seemed a little lopsided. It outlined the ridges, the trees, even the winding road in front
of them.

  Bruno pranced, wanting to run. He hopped sideways, then bucked lightly.

  Paris walked slowly down the drive, her head up, her ears pricked forward, alive to every movement around her. Her mane rippled and flowed, the moonlight catching the white highlights. She picked her way carefully, as if she thought she was carrying royalty.

  Was it only Sadie’s childish imagination, or did it seem like Paris knew this was a special evening?

  No, Paris would know.

  After Bruno settled down, Mark rode very close to Sadie. He extended his hand, his white shirt sleeve silver in the moonlight. Sadie met his hand halfway and grasped it.

  The saddles creaked, the horses hooves made a dull thunking sound. Far away, a coyote barked, then wailed eerily. The pine trees stood tall and straight on either side of them while the stars twinkled above.

  “This whole day has been unbelievable,” Mark said. “I feel like I’m in a dream.”

  His voice was gruff, the emotion he felt making it sound ragged.

  Sadie smiled at him. “Why?”

  “I simply do not deserve you. How did you ever agree to become my wife?”

  “It’s so easy, Mark. I love you. This is all I ever wanted.”

  Then they galloped their horses up the side of Atkin’s Ridge. The cool breeze fanned their faces; the stars disappeared when they rode beneath the trees. Rounding the corner of the ridge, they slowed the horses for the downhill ride to their home, their start to a life lived as one, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, until death parted them.

  The End

  Chapter 1

  NOW THAT THE SNOWS HAD COME, SADIE MISSED Reuben the most. Oh, it wasn’t that she was lonely or discontented. After all, she could go home whenever she wanted, as long as the snow was not too heavy.

  It was just Reuben, his guileless blue eyes, the way he tossed his blond-streaked hair away from his face, that often brought a lump to her throat.

  She was a married woman now. Somehow, she felt no different than she ever had, except for the love that had come to fulfillment with Mark Peight, her husband of exactly two months and five days.