Annie glanced from one to the other. “Anyone want to tell me who wrote this mysterious note?”
Both shook their heads.
“Guess I’ll have to read it then.” Snatching it from Charity’s hand, she plopped down into her father’s chair and unfolded the sheet.
“Well, what does it say?” Charity demanded.
“Now, Charity. Could be private. Leave your schweschder alone and come help me with dinner.”
“We know it’s from Samuel, Mamm. It would be cruel for her not to read it to us.”
“Cruel?” Annie asked as she continued to stare at the single sheet of paper. “Cruel, like not telling someone who wrote the note in the first place?”
“Sorry, dear.” Her mother pulled out the fixings for chicken and potato casserole. “We couldn’t resist having a little fun with you. Samuel reminded me of a schoolboy when he asked us to bring it home to you. What are the two of you cooking up, anyway?”
Annie joined them in the kitchen, unable to temper the smile on her face.
“Love, could be love is what they’re cooking up.” Charity selected several potatoes from the bowl and began washing and peeling them.
“Don’t tease, Charity.”
“Look at her, she’s read it three times now, and still she’s staring at the paper with moon eyes. Wouldn’t you call that look love?”
“Love is more than a look, dear.”
“Still, she does have moon eyes. You can’t deny it, and she is staring.”
“I am not staring at it with moon eyes, and don’t talk about me as if I’m not sitting right here.” Annie smoothed the note out with the palm of her hand. “I think he’s sweet is all. I’m not sure I ever received a note from a man before today.”
“Does Samuel need your help with another patient?” Rebekah asked.
Charity and Annie exchanged looks, and Charity mouthed, “Tell her.”
“Did Dat not speak to you last night when he came in from the barn?” Annie asked.
“Your father fell asleep before I even managed to climb into bed. I wanted to talk to him about Reba and the puppy you two talked me into, but I didn’t have a chance.” Rebekah stopped grating cheese and stared at both girls. “What am I missing here? Obviously, you two know something I don’t.”
When Annie and Charity continued to grin at each other, Rebekah grated the cheese more slowly and played along. “You asked me if your father spoke with me, I said no… what would he have talked to me about last night?”
“Samuel wants to court Annie,” Charity blurted.
Annie rolled her eyes, but smiled at her schweschder.
“You don’t say.” Rebekah wiped her hands on a dishtowel and moved around the table, wrapped Annie in a hug. “What do you think about the idea, dear?”
“I’m not sure what I think about it, or how I feel.”
“She’s certainly smiling about the note.” Charity dropped the potato she’d peeled into the casserole dish and scooted around next to Annie where she could read the words he’d written.
Dearest Annie,
Would you care to join me, Adam, and Leah for a ride out to their new home this afternoon? They want to show us what progress they’ve made, and then we’ll go to dinner in town. Adam and I have worked out the details if you’re interested.
Affectionately,
Samuel
“Doesn’t hardly sound like the same man,” Charity said.
“Love softens their edges.” Rebekah went back to the end of the table and resumed grating the cheese. “I suppose this is what you and Samuel talked about last night when you went for your walk.”
“It is, but I thought perhaps I’d imagined the whole thing.”
“Apparently not.” Charity plopped another potato into the dish and set the paring knife down, propped her chin on her hand, and stared out the window. “A weekday buggy ride, dinner in town—and not a sick person around. That’ll be a new experience for the two of you.”
“Ya, it will,” Annie agreed, and something told her she was going to like it.
It was a different experience all right.
The afternoon was clear, bright, and incredibly cold. But Adam wasn’t about to let chilly winter temperatures deter his plans. They bundled up with extra scarves, coats, and gloves, and stacked blankets in the buggy.
Then Adam decided if Charity could handle Blaze then he could too.
They picked Leah up first, and circled around to pick up Samuel.
Annie had decided on her new blue dress. The material was a heavy-weight cotton that both added some extra warmth and would hold up through years of washing. Truthfully, it was heavenly to wear something not too tight across the bosom. She’d bleached her aprons, so they appeared brand new as well.
She felt like a schoolgirl, ready for the first day of lessons.
She had expected Leah to move to the back of the buggy when they picked up Samuel, but instead he jumped agilely into the back, Adam clucked to Blaze, and they were off like a comet streaking across the sky.
“Can’t you slow her down?” Annie hollered, steadying the extra blankets stacked on the seat between them.
Samuel leaned closer, eyes twinkling, as he tucked his battery-operated heater near their feet. “I wouldn’t worry. Odds are you and I wouldn’t both be hurt, so one of us could patch everyone else up. That’s probably why they agreed to let us come along.”
Leah began to laugh, then reached forward to grasp the front rail along the buggy. When she did, she let go of the dish towel covering the chocolate oatmeal cookies she’d brought in case they wanted a snack before dinner. The red-checkered towel flew out the window, out into the road, and she laughed even harder, gasping now and pointing at the towel—trying to draw Adam’s attention to it.
“Whoa there, Blaze.” Adam pulled on the reins, slowing and finally stopping the mare, which tossed her head but obeyed.
“First casualty of the day—one dish towel.” Samuel smiled broadly, then hopped out of the buggy before anyone could ask where he was going.
They all turned and stared as he jogged back down the roadside, waited for two Englisch cars to pass, then retrieved the towel, which had caught in the branches of a bush. As he hustled back—clutching his coat with one hand and his hat with the other, a car of teenagers zoomed by, honking their horn and waving.
“You made quite the impression,” Adam noted as Samuel handed the towel to Leah.
“Ya. Probably my jaunty clothes caught them by surprise.”
“Jaunty?” Annie asked.
“It could have been my handsome mare.” Adam flicked the reins and Blaze started off again, this time at a slightly more controlled pace.
Annie shook her head in disbelief. “I think you two need to eat one of Leah’s cookies now.”
“Why would you think that, Annie girl?” Samuel placed his arm across the back of the seat.
“Those Englischers were not honking at Samuel’s clothing or your horse. They slowed down enough to smell Leah’s cookies and wished to buy some of her Amish cooking once they arrived in town.”
Leah shared a smile with her as they turned down the lane to their new home.
Annie hadn’t been there since Adam had started building. She’d meant to stop by but hadn’t found the time. Or perhaps she’d been putting off the inevitable.
She stared at the frame of their home and a pang suddenly seized her—Adam would be moving away. What would their home be like without him?
Adam pulled the buggy to a stop in front of the house.
They all sat there, considering what still needed to be done, and what would be here in a few short months.
Annie blinked back the tears pooling in her eyes.
Her big bruder was moving off—starting a family of his own. She’d known it, but it hadn’t been real to her until this moment. Of course, he’d only be a little way down the road, but still it wouldn’t be the same. She was so used to having his curly head and smilin
g face around.
Samuel must have sensed her change in mood, because he reached over, covered her hand with his, and said, “Adam told me he’s been working on this since last fall.”
The reminder worked. She focused on Leah and Adam’s future, the family they were looking forward to building here, not the ways her own life would change.
“You’ve done a gut job, Adam. Between your job in town and helping dat around the farm, I don’t understand how you’ve managed to complete so much on your own.”
“Some days I stop by on my way home from work—they let me off early if I work through lunch. I can get in an hour or two each day that way, and it’s amazing what I can do on a full Saturday.”
“When you’re not picnicking,” Leah teased him.
“A man has to eat,” Adam answered, lacing his fingers with hers. “Now come and let me show you where the living room will be.”
The two exited the buggy, huddling together as they made a dash for the part of the house that would offer shelter from the wind—Adam carrying a jug of tea and a checkered cloth he’d stowed on the buggy’s floor, Leah still holding the plate of cookies.
Annie told herself she should follow, felt the winter breeze gently rock the buggy, but still her feet didn’t want to move.
“He won’t be so far away.” Samuel’s voice—soft, gentle— slowed the anxiousness crawling up her spine.
“Ya, you’re right. Seeing his home makes it seem very real is all—took me by surprise. He’s going to be married. He and Leah will have children, and then he’ll be a father.”
Samuel’s laugh was a deep, resonant sound. He reached out and took her hand in his as he helped her out of the buggy. When he did, goose bumps ran from her fingers up her arm.
“Which is usually how it works. A man marries, then has children, and becomes a father—but then you’d know the process, being a nurse.”
His teasing eased the knot of worry that had begun forming a headache along the back of her neck. And of course he was right. What Leah and Adam were doing was a natural and proper thing.
In their community sons often stayed on their father’s land and built a home adjacent to the main house—like the Blauchs had done. But Adam had worked since he’d left school, saved his money, and bought a nice piece of land. He was lucky to be able to purchase it when it came up for sale. Tillable farming land was becoming increasingly hard to find.
What if he’d decided to move to Ohio as several in their community had done?
No, she’d be satisfied he was a few miles down the road, halfway between her parents’ home and Leah’s.
She’d be satisfied any bopplin would be a short buggy ride away, and should she decide to be an apprentice to Belinda, she might be the one to help deliver them.
The thought stopped her cold.
“Something wrong?” Samuel asked.
“No.” She tried to wrap her mind around the idea of being an aenti, of delivering her own nieces and nephews, as she watched Adam and Leah spread the large checkered cloth in the middle of their home, between two walls that had been partially framed. They’d be protected from the north breeze but still able to enjoy the afternoon sun.
“Are you sure? Because you’ve turned awfully pale.” Samuel laced his fingers in hers, rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. Raising his other hand he nodded at the little heater. “Maybe you should sit down near this—get warm.”
Annie shook her head, forced herself away from the future and into the present.
“I’m fine, but a glass of tea would be gut.” She reversed directions back toward the buggy, found the bag of cups and napkins she’d brought.
As they joined Adam and Leah, she thought back on the bishop’s lesson the previous week—how he’d spoken to them about gelassenheit. It had sounded so simple then—peacefulness, composure, calm.
Yet it seemed at every turn, her emotions galloped off toward what might happen, bringing turbulence not peace. She let the conversation flow around her and tried to rein in her worries.
It was a beautiful winter day. It wasn’t nearly as cold with the blankets spread over their laps, sitting in the shelter of Adam’s walls, the heater on, and the sun shining down—though it was definitely the oddest picnic she’d ever been on.
Annie knew the sunny weather wouldn’t last. The clouds would come again—rain and snow would force them to return inside for another two months.
This day shone like a blessed reprieve. It sparkled like a gift.
She was on her first date, and Samuel was being a surprisingly attentive companion—no grumpy bear in sight. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen the ill-tempered side of him in quite some time.
Samuel sitting at her side.
Her family was well and near to her.
And she had found a way to use her medical skills, plus Samuel had offered her a way to participate in the community in an even more meaningful way should she decide to take the apprenticeship.
She hadn’t realized when the call had come into the nurses’ station less than a month ago that she’d be taking the first few steps toward a long journey home, but it would seem she had.
Looking around at Adam, Leah, and Samuel, she couldn’t help thinking that life indeed was a gift, and she had much to be grateful for—friends, family, and health.
What more could a girl want?
22
December twenty-fourth was a Friday.
Normally Christmas Eve was a regular workday, but since the school program was that evening, Rebekah and Charity had arranged to go in at noon and work until six. It would make for one less trip into town.
School wasn’t starting until noon since the students would be staying for the evening, so Reba could ride into town when her mamm went to work.
Annie woke to the smell of pies cooking downstairs.
“What do you think mamm’s doing?” she mumbled into her pillow.
“Best guess? We’re going to be sent on missions of mercy.” Charity burrowed deeper under her covers.
“With pies?”
“Ya. They won’t be cool for another hour. Go back to sleep.”
But Annie was already awake—awake and thinking of yesterday. She’d never go back to sleep.
Samuel had been the perfect gentleman. If anything his attentiveness had flustered her. She wasn’t accustomed to seeing a pleasant and carefree side of him. It was something she could grow used to—and she didn’t know what to do with that thought.
She was growing to care for Samuel more than she had expected she would, in ways she hadn’t experienced before.
Then there had been the problem of Adam and Leah. Watching those two together had stirred a restlessness in her soul. They had reminded her that most girls her age were married by now, married and expecting children of their own.
The day had been pleasant, exciting, and unsettling all in one.
Slipping into her clothes, she tiptoed out of the room and down the stairs.
“Dat’s already outside?” she asked with a yawn.
“You’ll have trouble catching him still now,” her mother admitted with a smile. “He’s learned to move around with that crutch as fast as he did without it.”
“When is his next appointment to see Dr. Stoltzfus?”
“We had scheduled for next Thursday, but you know your father. He wants to be here to help David when the new cattle arrive.”
“So he cancelled?” Annie’s voice squeaked as she reached for a mug and the kettle of hot water.
“Not exactly. He changed it to the following Saturday. Fortunately Dr. Stoltzfus still has Saturday morning hours once a month, and it happens to be next weekend.”
“If not, Dat would be in the barn trying to break the cast off with a hacksaw.”
“Probably he would, but at least it proves he’s feeling well.”
“Ya, and I’m thankful for that.” Annie sat at the table and studied the pies, which covered nearly every inch. “Mamm, a
re you planning on starting your own bakery?”
Rebekah’s laughter mixed with Reba’s squeal as she chased something through the front room. Annie didn’t want to see exactly what, at least not until she’d had her first cup of tea.
“I did get carried away a bit, didn’t I? Once I started rolling out dough it seemed simpler to keep rolling.” Rebekah sat and studied her work with a smile. “Christmas hits me this way sometimes. I start thinking on how fortunate I am to have all my children here, under my roof…”
“And then?”
“Well, then I think about your Onkel Eli.” Rebekah reached out, patted her hand, then stood and began washing dishes.
“Mamm, do you expect Onkel Eli to eat all of those pies?”
“ ’Course not, but after I made him two, I thought I might as well make one for Samuel. Then I remembered what you said about Mrs. Wagler not eating well.”
Annie reached for a piece of breakfast bread and made herself another cup of tea. “All right, you’ve accounted for four, I suppose. What about the rest?”
“Two I made for us. You don’t think I could make pies and not save some for your dat? And the last two…” Rebekah stopped, a look of confusion replacing her smile.
“Hooleys’.” Reba said, sliding into a chair beside Annie. “You said you thought Annie should check on the Hooley family.”
“Ya, you’re right.” Rebekah’s eyes narrowed in a look of concern. “I probably should have made a few for the Smucker family too.”
“Mrs. Smucker lives in the opposite direction of the others,” Annie pointed out. “And she can cook just fine. I’m sure she’d enjoy a visit from you without pies.”
“Excellent point. Charity and I will go see Mrs. Smucker, then go on in to work. You can take Reba with you to deliver pies to the Hooleys and Samuel, then drop her off at the school-house, if you don’t mind.”
“Then I can see the puppies!” Reba tossed her straight dark hair back behind her shoulder. “I’ve asked for one for Christmas, but Dat hasn’t said yet. I talked to him again this morning. He reminded me I’d have to care for it and train it.”
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