Amish Love Be Kind 3-Book Boxed Set

by Rachel Stoltzfus

  Hannah, knowing she wasn’t going to be allowed to stick to herself, sighed and, slipping her hand into Ruth’s, walked out with her.

  Abram, seeing the two women walking out, shifted uncomfortably. He knew what was about to happen, and maybe he deserved it. Maybe, a soft voice whispered in his heart, maybe it would help.

  “Tell me the truth, Hannah. I’ve heard Abram yelling at you in the past. He didn’t treat you like this when you courted; it only started after you got married. He hit you yesterday, didn’t he?”

  Hannah gulped back her tears. Nodding, she spoke. “Ya. We were talking about our trip to Philadelphia next week and I told him that we had to be ready to leave really early. He got mad and—”

  “Hit you.”

  “Please, you must keep this between us, as mamm and daughter. I love Abram, and he promised not to do it again. Hit me. Ever. He wept.”

  Ruth sighed. She didn’t want to come between her daughter and her husband, at the same time, what happened if Abram couldn’t, or wouldn’t, keep his promise?

  “Please mamm. We’re just having growing pains. Both of us.”

  Reluctantly, Ruth nodded. “I pray he won’t hurt you any worse,” she said, putting her hand on her daughter’s arm. “And that he won’t hurt the baby.”

  Chapter 2

  Hannah gazed at her mamm, unable to respond.

  “But words may not be enough. If he’s serious about not hurting you, then you both need to do something. He shouldn’t have struck you at all. And especially now, with the pregnancy. You’ve heard of the Peer Council. I strongly suggest that you and Abram accept their assistance.”

  Nodding with reluctance, Hannah agreed to discuss it with Abram.

  The two women sat side by side, lost in their thoughts and fears.

  As Hannah and Ruth were talking, Linda Yoder saw the evidence on Hannah’s cheek. Shaking her head, she motioned to Eli, sitting in the men’s section, to join her in the kitchen pantry. “Husband, have you seen Hannah’s face?”

  “Nee, what’s wrong?” Eli was concerned, wondering if they had another family to work with.

  “She has a big bruise on her cheek. I think her husband hit her.”

  Eli sighed. As glad as he was that they had the group, he often wished their services weren’t needed. “Denki. I’ll tell the elders and we’ll get started with the Beilers.” He gripped Linda’s elbow in gratitude, returning to his seat.

  After the service ended, the women began serving the customary light lunch. Hannah, embarrassed by the bruise on her cheek, kept her head tipped down and made sure her bonnet was pulled forward as far as possible. Still, other wives and girls saw the livid bruise and whispered.

  After finishing the serving, and waiting for their turn to eat, Linda motioned quietly for Hannah to follow her. Sitting in an empty bedroom, the two women talked. Hannah reluctantly verified that Abram had struck her the day before. “It’s the first time. Before...” She caught herself, not wanting to reveal how Abram had begun treating her after they married.

  “Before...what, Hannah?” Linda kept her gentle gaze on Hannah, wanting to know how bad her situation was.

  Hannah sighed, not wanting to get in trouble with Abram. “Promise you won’t say anything?”

  “I’ll only speak to those who need to know. Nobody else will be privy to what we’re discussing.”

  Hannah swallowed hard. “After we got married, Abram started to yell at me, telling me that he was responsible for making sure that I am a gut Amish wife—that I obey him. And I did my best. I do my absolute best.” Hannah was surprised at the surge of anger that rose in her. “I am a gut wife, in spite of my faults. I am!”

  “He never yelled at you before you married?”

  “Nee. In fact, he told me he loved my spirit of independence.”

  “Hmmm. I think I see what’s happening here. It seems that Abram has the mistaken belief that in order to be a gut Amish man, in compliance with our Ordnung, he must ‘crack the whip’ with you. Does he want you to give in to him on everything?”

  “It seems like it. We were talking about our travel plans for next week—for tomorrow, actually. I reminded him that we would need to finish everything at home before we meet our driver. He got so mad!”

  “And that’s when he hit you.”

  “Ya. I just want him to stop. I love him, and I know he can be a gut father and husband.”

  “I need to be clear about just one thing, Hannah. Does he imply that you don’t have the capability of making any family decisions on your own? Or that those are only his responsibility?”

  Hannah thought. Looking through the curtained window, she saw shadowy figures of men and women walking about. “A little bit of both. It’s as though he believes I’ve...I don’t know...lost some kind of capability on the day we married. Or that I gave up some right.”

  Linda nodded. “You definitely haven’t lost any capability. You’re very insightful and observant of others around you. And, I don’t know if you know this, but just because you got married doesn’t mean you have no rights in your marriage or in our community. You do. Abram may mistakenly believe that he has assumed every right within your marriage. Hannah, I need to ask you one more question. It’s on a delicate topic. Has he ever...asserted his husbandly rights when you didn’t want them?”

  Hannah blushed. “Oh, nee! He has always respected my desires in that respect. When my morning sickness was so bad a month or so ago, he stayed away—in that way—even though it was clear he wanted to.”

  Linda nodded. “Thank you for telling me. I know it was hard. Eli and the elders are going to go and talk to you and Abram after we go home this afternoon. It’s best that we get started on this as soon as possible. Our Peer Council can begin working with you right away. We see all situations like yours as urgent. But, because you are pregnant, it’s especially so. Do you want to work with us?”

  “Ya. I don’t know how willing Abram will be, but I am completely willing. I want our marriage to be strong and as Gott wants it to be.”

  Linda enfolded the younger woman into a long embrace. “It can be, as long as Abram begins to understand the gravity of your situation. I have to tell you this...if he doesn’t comply with the elders’ directives to stop hitting you and abusing you in other ways, he could be banned. He’ll learn that as well, when the elders come and talk to him today.”

  Hannah gasped and she felt nausea building within her. “Nee! I know he wants to be a gut Amish man, husband and father! I believe that, if he knows what he’s risking, he’ll agree to work with you.” She gulped, trying to suppress sobs. She felt Linda holding her again. Dropping her forehead onto the older woman’s shoulder, she cried.

  Outside, Abram looked around curiously. He tapped Eli Yoder on his arm. “Eli, have you seen my wife? I haven’t seen her for a little while.”

  Eli knew exactly where Hannah was, but he wasn’t about to reveal that. “I don’t know. She may have been asked to start cleaning up in the kitchen so she’s not carrying heavy containers.”

  Abram looked around. Observing the fall afternoon, he saw leaves on the ground, with other leaves still hanging stubbornly to the trees. “Ya, that makes sense. It’s only in the past few weeks that she’s felt anywhere near normal.”

  “I’m not surprised. You just announced her pregnancy a few weeks ago. I saw her still looking a little bit off about that time. How’s it going otherwise?” The question seemed innocent, but Eli was probing.

  “Ach, you know. Now that she’s feeling more energetic, she’s expressing herself more as well.”

  “And? What does she express herself about?”

  “Stuff that is my responsibility to decide. I’ve had to remind her that I’m the head of the house.”

  “Ya, we are. But she’s an intelligent woman, and she can help you.”

  Abram gave Eli a strange look. “But I’m the head of the home. It’s my Biblical right and responsibility to make sure she knows that and subm
its to my decisions.”

  “Ya, Abram. But what I’m telling you is to rely on her. She won’t lead you wrong. You are partners in this, remember. Ah, there’s my wife!” Eli grinned at Linda, waving.

  BACK AT HOME, HANNAH put her dishes away, and then sat in the living room and picked up her crochet. She nodded quietly when Abram told her he would be in the barn. Inside, she was a churning mass of nerves. Her hand shook as she waited for the elders to show up at their house. Twenty minutes later, she jumped at a knock on the door. “Ya? Bishop Kurtz, is anything wrong?”

  “Nee, child. You know why we’re here. Is Abram around?”

  “He’s in the barn, looking at what he needs to do for this week.”

  “Denki. I’ll be in the barn with him, along with a minister and Eli Yoder. Deacon King, another minister, and Linda will be speaking with you, ya?”

  “Ya, I understand.” She opened the door, admitting a few members of the group. Sitting around the kitchen table, drinking the coffee that Hannah had hastily made, Deacon King, Linda Yoder and the minister started discussing the building violence in the Beiler’s marriage.

  “Deacon, Missus Beiler and I discussed what happened to her yesterday. She says this is the first time Abram has ever hit her. However, he has been yelling at her, intimidating her, and not allowing her to express her opinions of various decisions he believes he should be making by himself. Hannah, is that an accurate representation of what we discussed?” Linda wanted to make sure they were in agreement with each other.

  “Ya, it is. I need to add that, today, he was quiet on our way home from meeting and lunch. I believe he is truly repentant of what he did yesterday.”

  “And that’s gut news, Hannah. Bishop Kurtz will be discussing that with Abram while we’re talking. Missus Yoder tells me that you do want intervention from the Peer Council. Is this true?”

  Hannah nodded vigorously, and then sipped from her hot herbal tea. “Ya! I want to see Abram return to the kind, sensitive, and loving man he was before we married. I believe that after we got married, he got the impression that he had to be forceful or even that he was the only one allowed to make decisions that affect families.”

  “Ya, and that’s what he’s discussing with Eli Yoder and the elders. We need to make sure that he will be agreeable to receiving intervention and working on his mistaken beliefs. Because, as you know, he has violated the Ordnung. One question: Did he ever, before yesterday, attempt to hit you? Or did he just intimidate with his voice and words?”

  Hannah thought carefully, thinking back over the three years of their marriage. “He just used his voice and words, Deacon. Although...”

  “What? We need to know.” Linda laid her hand on Hannah’s arm.

  “I didn’t understand what he was doing back then.” Hannah seemed to snap out of a trance, coming back to the present. “Abram and I were discussing a large expenditure. I wanted to spend some additional money on baking equipment and he wanted to know why I thought I should have any part in the final decision. He was angry. I told him, quite honestly, that I felt my input was important because the money we would be spending would be for equipment I needed to increase my baking productivity. Linda, he...got right into my face and he raised his fist. He didn’t hit me. But I know he was thinking about it.” Hannah shivered, remembering that evening.

  “When did this happen?” Linda’s voice was urgent.

  “A couple months ago, at the end of summer.”

  “And, he didn’t hit you?”

  “Nee. Thankfully. We had just learned of my pregnancy. He lowered his arm and just ran into his workshop. He stayed there for a while, and then came back in. He was near tears, telling me it wouldn’t happen again. But...” Hannah’s hand brushed gently over the purple bruise.

  Linda and the elders looked at each other.

  IN THE WORKSHOP, ABRAM sat nervously. He rubbed sweaty hands over the tops of his thighs as the deacons and Eli Yoder talked. Deep down, he knew he was completely to blame for what was happening, and for the large bruise on Hannah’s cheek. Yet... “Bishop, you know the answer to that question. Once a couple marries, doesn’t the husband take on sole responsibility for decision making?”

  “‘Sole’ responsibility?’ Nee, son. You and Hannah became partners in your marriage and in life. Ya, she is to submit to you. But, as your partner, she shares that responsibility and chore with you. Do you allow her to make any decisions?”

  “Well, ya, what to make for our meals, how to arrange and decorate our home—”

  “Nee, Abram. Money decisions. How to handle a problem with the kinder. Buying more land. Equipment. Moving, if you have to do so.” The bishop was beginning to worry.

  “Ahhh, I’ve been making all those kinds of decisions. Because I’m the husband.”

  Eli jumped in. “Abram, it’s well and gut that you take your responsibility so seriously. But I remember Hannah as a girl with a sharp mind, a gut decision-making ability and spirit. Why did you marry her?”

  “Because I love her!” Abram was confused.

  “Would you like coffee?”

  “Ya, denki.” Abram accepted the cup.

  “My point is that, on your wedding day, Hannah didn’t lose her sharp mind, personality or her ability to judge situations and make gut decisions. Have you ever had any...discussions or arguments about decisions you needed to make?”

  Abram remembered the incident two months earlier when he had raised his fist against Hannah, frightening the two of them. He recounted it. “Hannah wanted to have a part in the decision. Would we spend that much money? What effect would it have on her business? I answered those questions and decided we didn’t need to buy the items.”

  “She bakes, right?” The bishop had a puzzled look on his face.

  “Ya.”

  “So, she knows what kind of equipment she needs, she knows why she needs it, and she knows what effect better equipment would have had on her baking business. Because you don’t bake, do you have that knowledge?”

  Abram flushed. “Nee. I don’t. But...”

  “Abram, would you expect Hannah to understand the importance of your shoeing equipment, just in case she had to make a decision for a large purchase?”

  “Nee, of course not!”

  “Do you understand that she may have needed equipment that allowed her to produce more baked goods?”

  Abram was beginning to understand. Feeling shabby inside, he shifted on his seat. “Nee. I didn’t. I see what you’re getting at.”

  “Do you see that she saw a real need for her business? And do you see that she is capable of making financial decisions with you?”

  Abram nodded. “Ya. I do.” He hoped the uncomfortable conversation was near an end.

  “Before we finish, Abram, we need to discuss that bruise on Hannah’s cheek. We understand that you put it there.” The bishop’s words were stark, wrung of feeling.

  Abram looked at the ground, which was quickly becoming blurred. “Uhh... ya, I did. I feel terrible ashamed about that. I didn’t mean for our argument to go that far...” He wasn’t able to hold back a sob.

  “What happened?” Eli laid his hand on Abram’s shoulder.

  “We were talking about getting ready early—tomorrow morning—to meet our driver so we can go to Philadelphia. I thought she was being sassy when she told me we had to be up extra early. I started yelling and, before I knew it, I slapped her. When she told me to stop, I moved my arm in the opposite direction and caught her cheek with the back of my hand.”

  “Abram, we’re here for two reasons. Bishop?”

  Chapter 3

  The bishop leaned forward. “Abram, you committed a violation of the Ordnung for Peace Valley. We are here to lift you up and ask you to express your remorse for what you did. If you do, you’ll be forgiven, but if you don’t...”

  Abram nodded. Wiping his face, he sighed. “I know. I am very sorry for what I did. As soon as I saw her face... I felt like I wanted to be sick right
there.”

  Bishop Kurtz sighed. While he was so grateful for the existence and work of the Peer Council, he dearly wished it wasn’t necessary. Sighing again, he spoke. “Abram, clearly, you are sorry for what you did. But, are you sorry that you did it? That you acted on an angry impulse? Or are you sorry you were caught today?”

  “Sir, I’m sorry that I did it at all. I never wanted to hurt her.”

  “Why did you do it?” Eli spoke.

  “She was sassing me, telling me that we had—”

  “Nee, son. Speaking up is never sassing. If she felt she had something to say, then she should have the right to speak up. Always.” The bishop’s tone was implacable.

  “But bishop, I’m head of the home. I should be making decisions. All of them.”

  Eli had an idea of what was happening in the Beiler’s marriage now. “Abram, do you allow Hannah to share responsibility for decision making?”

  “Nee. She makes decisions about the areas of our home and marriage that...well, are traditional. I make the big, major ones.”

  “One more question. What drew you to her?”

  “Her spirit, gut heart, love of God, independence and intelligence. Also, her beauty.”

  “So, you see the whole woman—at least you did then, ya?”

  “Ya.” Abram drew his response out, not sure where the discussion was going.

  “Okay, I apologize. I have another question and possibly more after that. On the day you married Hannah, did she lose all of those qualities?”

  “Nee!” Abram laughed. “She still has them!”

  “Gut. You had me worried there.” Eli stared into Abram’s eyes. “Now, was she really sassing you, or did she just speak up?”