The Quilting Circle

by Amy Lillard

  The Wells Landing quilting circle was one of the very few year-round quilting circles in the area. They sewed their quilts all during the calendar year, then donated their wares to the Clarita School Auction in September. From time to time they branched out and made comfort patches and things for disaster relief, but they were most known for their quilts.

  “Oh, jah,” Mariana agreed. “We’ll have plenty of time to make quilts between now and then.”

  Clara Rose tilted her head thoughtfully to one side. “Do you think so? I mean, the babies are going to keep you really busy. Do you think you’ll be able to come back to the quilting circle?”

  Mariana hadn’t thought about that. But after the babies were born she was going to be so incredibly busy. She hadn’t even figured out how she was going to support herself. That jelly idea was looking better and better. Maybe if she practiced a little she could make something fancier than the normal fare and she could make a little bit of money. But how would that help? Probably not much, considering her jelly-making skills.

  “I don’t know. I guess I’ll just have to see how it goes. Maybe when the babies get a little bigger.”

  Clara Rose nodded. “Maybe,” she said. “And anytime you need a sitter, I’ll be more than happy to come over. Or you could bring them over, and Obie and I could watch them together. That’d be fun.”

  Mariana laughed. She wasn’t sure who would have the most fun, Clara Rose watching the babies or Clara Rose watching Obie try to care for the babies. Either way it was sure to be full of laughs.

  “I appreciate that.” Mariana helped Candy from the bed so she could run out to the doggie door. Despite the tiny staircase that Reuben had built, the puppy seemed to prefer Mariana’s assistance. She turned back to Clara Rose. “Are you sure you don’t smell paint?”

  Clara Rose bent her head over the task of sweeping up the debris into the dustpan. “Nope. I don’t smell a thing.”

  * * *

  The first two weeks turned into another month. The hardest times for Mariana were in the morning when Clara Rose and Verna left and she was all alone until evening. The other members of the quilting circle had stopped coming by since Mariana had wanted to lock the doors. She had told them all a fib, that she was worried about a recent rash of break-ins happening in and around Wells Landing. The excuse seemed plausible enough. She didn’t need to tell them that she wanted to keep Reuben from coming in and trying to convince her to forgive him. Her heart wasn’t sane where he was concerned. So she locked her doors and kept to herself.

  Verna and Clara Rose took turns. Sometimes they came together to make sure she had her food for the day, the chickens were fed, and Candy had food and water as well.

  The first couple of days after that fateful afternoon, Reuben had come by and tried to talk to her, but she wouldn’t let him in. Thankfully he had respected her wishes and hadn’t tried to convince Verna or Clara Rose to let him come in. There was nothing left to say. He had promised Leroy that he would watch after her and that he would do anything it took. He hadn’t shirked his responsibility. He’d just been found out.

  “Do you need anything else?” Verna asked. “I need to get back to the house.”

  Just some more company. Or maybe all she needed was to be able to go back in time before she had discovered Reuben’s deceit. She missed him so much.

  Or you could forgive him.

  She pushed that thought away. “I’m fine.” The words had become her mantra. And maybe if she kept thinking them, she would somehow start to believe them.

  “All righty then. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. And . . . I’m sorry.” With that Verna disappeared from view.

  “What do you mean, you’re sorry?”

  But Verna kept walking, her footsteps fading and finally ending with the slam of the screen door.

  Mariana watched out the window to see if Verna was actually leaving. Her horse and buggy were still parked out front.

  Most everyone in Wells Landing drove a tractor during the week. All except Verna Yutzy. Ever since she had gotten that new horse, she drove her buggy everywhere.

  She came into view striding toward her carriage. Then she turned and looked back at the house one last time before climbing in and driving away.

  “Hi.”

  Mariana whirled around, her hand pressed to her heart. “Reuben! What are you doing here?”

  Candy barked, rising from her nap to wag her stumpy tail at this familiar face.

  “You shouldn’t be here.” Wait. That wasn’t what she wanted to say.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  She wanted to tell him to go away, but her gaze drank in the sight of him. He looked good, the same as he had a month ago. Had it been only a month since she had read the letter written by Leroy? It seemed like yesterday and forever ago all at the same time.

  “I don’t think we have anything to talk about.”

  “But we do.” He stepped from the room and returned a few seconds later, pushing a wooden cradle in front of him. The cherry wood gleamed in the sunlight that streamed in from the windows. It was the most magnificent thing Mariana had ever seen.

  She gasped as he pushed it closer to the bed. It was the perfect height for nighttime sleeping. The babies would be within reach and she wouldn’t have to get out of bed when they needed her.

  “Reuben,” she whispered. “It’s beautiful.”

  He beamed with pleasure. “I made it myself.”

  She ran trembling fingers over the polished wood. It must have taken weeks and weeks.

  “It’s one of a kind,” he told her, pointing toward the center divider of the cradle. “Both babies can sleep together, but they are separate as well. They can see each other, but they can’t tumble on top of one another.”

  “It’s perfect.” Tears rose into her eyes. The closer she got to her eight-month mark the more fragile she seemed to be. And it had nothing to do with the fact that it was the most wonderful gift anyone could have ever given her.

  “I have something else for you too. Do you think you can make it up the stairs?”

  She nodded and started to rise from the bed.

  He was there in an instant to help her to her feet.

  She slapped his hands away. “I’m not an invalid.” Then she sighed and shook her head. “I mean, thanks. I appreciate your help.”

  He nodded in return, and together they made their way up to the second floor.

  “I smell paint,” she said as they started down the small hallway. The door at the end was the one she had determined would be the babies’ room. It was the perfect size and close to the room she had once upon a time shared with her husband.

  Reuben walked ahead of her and opened the door. Mariana caught one look inside and stopped dead in her tracks. The room was painted the exact shade of raspberry sherbet. Deep, bright pink on all four walls. A plain white shade covered the window. The twin white cribs sat opposite and took up most of the space.

  She wasn’t sure what to ask about first, the color or the furniture. There was a changing table, a chest of drawers, and several toys ready to welcome the babies home. A large rag rug of pinks, oranges, and white covered most of the dark wood floor, and an oak rocker waited patiently in one corner.

  “The beds are the kind that convert into other beds. One for when they’re too big for a crib and not big enough for a regular bed. I forget what they call them.”

  “A toddler bed,” Mariana whispered.

  “Jah. Then when they outgrow those, the bed becomes a regular bed. All we’ll need to do is get them mattresses. I mean, you. You’ll need to get them mattresses.”

  “And you did all of this?”

  He blushed. “Most of it. The girls helped me pick out the furniture and the rug.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You can say that you like it.”

  “I love it.” She wiped her tears away with the back of one hand. “I can’t believe you did all this for me. For us.�
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  “I made a promise to Leroy that I would take care of you. I didn’t know when I did that you were pregnant. I didn’t know that you were having twins.”

  Her heart squeezed in her chest. “I think you have more than kept your promise to Leroy.”

  “You think so?”

  She nodded.

  “Good.” He got down on his knees in front of her.

  “Reuben! What are you doing?”

  “It’s an Englisch custom,” he said. “But I think I may need some help up.”

  She propped her hands on her hips and gave him her most skeptical look.

  “Jah, right. You’re pregnant and can’t help me. I’m on my own. Got it.”

  “What sort of Englisch custom is this?”

  He took her hand into his. “I’m asking you to marry me. My promise to Leroy is already complete. This is about more than that.”

  “More than a promise?” she whispered.

  “I can take care of you and the babies even when you try to shut me out. I will find a way to care for you and the twins. Always. But I want you to marry me because I love you. I think perhaps I always have. But you were married to Leroy and I never let myself believe it.

  “Now please say you’ll marry me so I can get up off this floor.”

  How could she say no to such a romantic Englisch proposal?

  “Jah,” she said, the word part laugh, part sob.

  Reuben pushed to his feet and sealed their new promise with a kiss.

  A few moments later, after he’d kissed her light-headed, he lifted his lips from hers. “And if you ever doubt my love,” he started, “just come in here and take one look at this room.”

  “At all the wonderful things you bought for these babies?”

  Reuben shook his head. “I painted a room bright pink for you. I’m not sure the bishop would approve.”

  She laughed. She was fairly certain Cephas Ebersol wouldn’t care one way or another as long as they continued to love each other and be the family God had intended for them to be.

  “About that . . . what are we going to do if this turns out to be a girl and a boy? Or even two boys?”

  Reuben smiled and pulled her close. “Those boys will have the prettiest pink bedroom in all of Wells Landing. Or we could paint the room blue.”

  She smiled into the eyes of the man she would soon marry. “Not a chance.”

  MORE THAN A MARRIAGE

  Chapter One

  “Tomorrow would be a perfect day to go visit my parents in Clarita, jah?”

  “What?” Jacob Smiley, Tess’s husband of almost three years, looked up from the screen of his smartphone. His expression said it all. He’d been too engrossed in what he had been reading on the tiny screen to pay her very much mind.

  Tess tried not to frown and injected as much patience and understanding into her voice as she could muster. “I said I want to go see my parents tomorrow.” The next day was Sunday, but for their district, there was no church. Instead families spent time with each other, visiting in fellowship with one another and enjoying the company around them.

  Tess wanted to go see her family. It had been far too long since she had spent any time with her parents and her sister. Clarita might only be three hours away by car, but when your primary mode of transportation was a tractor or a horse and buggy, three hours might as well be ten.

  It was the one thing she hated most about moving to Wells Landing, but by far it wasn’t the only thing. She cast a quick glance at the cell phone her husband held. She hated the small electronic device almost as much as Jacob seemed to enjoy it.

  “I don’t know. We’ll have to get a driver and . . .” Jacob’s voice trailed off as he glanced back at the phone.

  Tess bit back a frustrated sigh. “I’ve already called Bruce Brown,” she said, referring to one of the favored drivers in Wells Landing. A retired Air Force medic, Bruce was always in great demand, but she’d hoped that he might have time tomorrow to take them to Clarita. “He’s not available, but he said his cousin can take us.”

  “His cousin?” That got Jacob’s attention. “I don’t know him.”

  “Bruce said he was hoping to get into the driving business, and you have to admit that if he’s kin to Bruce, chances are he’s a great guy.”

  Jacob shook his head. “That’s not necessarily true.”

  “You could call and talk to him.”

  “It’s eight o’clock at night. On a Saturday night. It’s too late to call him.”

  “It’s hardly that late.”

  “It’s late enough.”

  “But, Jacob—”

  “If you had wanted to go to your parents’ house, you should have told me sooner so I could make arrangements.”

  “I did.” Her voice rose until she was almost yelling at him. “I did,” she repeated, quietly this time.

  “You did?” Jacob frowned. “I don’t remember that.”

  Of course he didn’t. He couldn’t remember anything these days. Not unless it had something to do with that blessed phone. To make matters worse, he even had a Facebook account! He said he needed it and the phone for his job at A-1 Roofing, but Tess couldn’t see the necessity at all. He could use the phone; she would give him that much. But a Facebook account?

  “Besides, it’s Sunday and we wouldn’t be able to pay him.”

  They could have paid him in advance if he had planned better. If he had been listening to her. But he had been messing with his phone.

  And the worst part of all was the time it took away from the two of them. Everything that happened on that tiny little device seemed so much more important than what was really going on in their lives. And this was no exception. It was Saturday night and they were at home, which wasn’t a problem at all. But she was looking through a book on better ways to make goat cheese while he was playing with his phone doing heaven knew what on his Facebook account. She didn’t have one of her own, nor did she have a cell phone. How could she monitor what he was doing? Did she even want to?

  She placed her marker inside the book she was reading and set it to one side. “Play a game with me.” They used to play games all the time, card games, guessing games, even silly things like truth or dare. Just the two of them. But that had been before. Before they moved to Wells Landing. Before he took a job with the English roofing company. Before the cell phone and the Facebook account.

  “What?” Jacob looked up, his expression blank.

  Tess jumped to her feet. “Were you even listening to me?”

  “Of course I was.” Jacob frowned. “I just didn’t hear what you said.”

  Tess shook her head. “Isn’t that what listening is?”

  “Are you going to tell me or not?”

  “Play a game with me,” Tess asked again, but this time the words sounded more like a demand than a request for his time and attention.

  Jacob stood and stretched, slipping his phone to the side pocket of his pants. “I don’t know. It’s getting kind of late.”

  “It’s barely eight o’clock.” This was the biggest problem of all. And he couldn’t even see it.

  “I get up early, Tess. You know that.”

  “You don’t have to get up early tomorrow. Just for an hour. Play a hand or two of Uno with me.”

  He gave her a look that was both condescending and chastising. “Uno is not any fun with two people.”

  But she remembered a time when they had fun playing Uno, just the two of them. It had been less about the game and more about spending time together, bonding, enjoying each other’s company without another soul around. It’d only been a few years since that time. Where had it disappeared to?

  “We can play something else, then.” Tess hated the desperate sound in her voice. But she felt as if things were slipping out of her grasp. She and Jacob had been so close once, and now it seemed as if they were miles apart even when they were in the same room.

  “Maybe tomorrow.” Jacob eased his hand into his pocket as i
f assuring himself that his cell phone was still there. Tess wanted nothing more than to grab the vile thing and smash it against the wall. That would not be very becoming. And it didn’t actually belong to Jacob. It belonged to the company he worked for. One day he would have to give it back. Just another reason why she hoped and prayed every day that they would finally save enough money to buy the farm of their dreams and move. They wanted to be out of town a bit. They wanted to live off the land like God intended.

  “I think I’ll go to bed.”

  Tess didn’t know how to respond. She wanted to call him back, try to work through it, figure out some way they could spend some more time together. He said he wanted to go to bed but she was antsy, agitated. “I think I’ll go check on the goats.”

  Jacob stopped with one hand on the stair rail. “That’s another thing.”

  “Jah?”

  “Mr. Bennett came by today. He brought back your little brown goat.”

  “Millie?”

  Jacob shrugged. “I don’t know her name. Just the little brown one.”

  “What do you mean he brought her back?”

  “Evidently she got out and he found her in his garden eating all his squash plants.”

  “Oh, no.” Millie was the wiliest of all her goats. She was the smallest and could somehow manage to wriggle through the tiniest spots in the fence. “But I had her tied up as well.” She hated to loop the rope around the sweet little goat’s neck. But this was not the first time she had gotten out. And unfortunately not the first time she had eaten Mr. Bennett’s garden fare.

  “Apparently she ate through the rope, managed to get out of the pen, then headed over to his house.”

  “Did she eat very much?”

  Jacob frowned. “Enough that I owe him some squash.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Jacob sighed. “Sorry isn’t going to work this time, Tess. The man was ranting about how much squash he is losing over the summer. And this was not the first time she’s eaten his plants. Those goats are more trouble than they’re worth.”

  “That’s not right. They’re very useful.”