Seasons in Paradise

by Cameron, Barbara;

  Sam stood silent, absorbing the information. He wondered how much they’d see each other while he and Peter did the renovation.

  “Schur.” Mary Elizabeth looked at Sam. “I’d like that.”

  Leah took them next door, a whirlwind chattering nonstop the whole way. Leah had granddaughters, but Sam had always thought she had enough energy and drive to run circles around much younger people.

  “As you can see, the last tenant left quite a mess.”

  Sam looked around at the broken shelving, the holes left in the walls by fixtures being pulled out.

  “First thing I want to do is put an entranceway into Stitches so customers can move back and forth through both shops,” she began and then she was on a roll.

  Peter took notes and Sam took measurements. Mary Elizabeth observed and said nothing—new behavior for her. Sam didn’t think he’d ever known her to be quiet this long. An hour later, Peter and Sam had what they needed.

  “I’ll have an estimate for you in two days,” Peter promised.

  “Remember I need to be open by September 1.”

  Sam felt his stomach clench. How would they get everything she wanted done by then if they were working part-time? But when he glanced at Peter and got a warning look, he kept his mouth shut.

  “Allrecht, I know what you’re thinking,” Peter said as they climbed into Sam’s truck.

  “So now you read minds as well as think you’re Superman and can work two jobs?”

  Peter fastened his seat belt and leaned back in his seat. He tapped his notebook on his knee. “How about we go for a pizza and work up a bid and a work schedule?”

  “Pizza?” It was days before the next payday.

  “I’ll buy. You can get the next one.”

  “ ’Cause we’ll be rich then, right?”

  Peter laughed. “Ya.” He opened his notebook and started jotting something down.

  Sam drove, concentrating on the traffic, a mixture of people heading home after work and tourists who weren’t always paying attention to driving but were instead checking out the scenery.

  And all the while he drove he wondered if they got the job how he was going to handle coming into contact with Mary Elizabeth at the new shop.

  * * *

  “You’re up early,” Linda said when Mary Elizabeth walked into the kitchen the next morning.

  She went straight for the percolator on the stove. “I spent a lot of time at the quilting class yesterday, then with Leah at the new shop. I don’t want to get behind in my work.”

  Her mudder flipped pancakes onto a plate then set it in front of her. “You won’t. You sew quickly.”

  “Ya, but I’m working on making my stitches smaller. That takes time.”

  Linda sat down at the table with a cup of coffee. “You always were impatient. Why, you were even born a month early.”

  Mary Elizabeth grinned as she cut into a pancake. She’d heard that many times. “Mmm, these are gut.”

  “Don’t talk with your mouth full,” her mudder said automatically. But she smiled.

  The back door opened and Lavina walked in.

  “Two early birds.”

  Lavina clapped a hand over her mouth and ran for the bathroom. When she emerged a few minutes later her face had a slight greenish tinge. “You had to mention . . . well, let’s just say you mentioned early birds and I thought of what they eat.”

  A funny expression flashed over her face and she bolted for the bathroom again.

  When she returned to the kitchen a second time she had a damp washcloth in her hand. She sat and held the cloth to the back of her neck.

  “Is there anything I can get you?” Linda murmured, reaching over to rub her back. “Maybe some crackers and a glass of ginger ale.”

  “You have ginger ale?”

  “I bought some right after you told us you were going to have a boppli.” She rose, filled a glass with ice, and brought it and the bottle of ginger ale to the table.

  “If I’m half the mudder you are, I’ll be happy,” Lavina told her fervently.

  “You’ll be a gut mudder. You always helped me with your schweschders. Some other mudders warned me sometimes the oldest kind can be jealous of the other kinner, but not you. Once I found you giving Rose Anna her bottle when I walked into her room. She’d woken from her nap, you saw she was awake and got her bottle out of the refrigerator.” She smiled at the memory. “Well, time to wake Rose Anna,” she said, and she got up.

  “Do you want me to take her a bottle?” Mary Elizabeth asked, grinning.

  “You know she’d stay in bed all morning if she could,” Linda said. “If you took her some food, she’d stay there longer.” She walked to the stairs and called up.

  Mary Elizabeth and Lavina winced. Their mudder had quite a carrying voice when she called up the stairs.

  “She must have a pillow over her head,” Linda muttered as she started up the stairs.

  “So, you’ll never guess who Leah’s getting to do the renovation on the new shop.”

  Lavina stared at her. “Sam? Really?”

  “Who told you?”

  “No one. I could just tell by the look on your face. Does that mean you’ll see more of him since you’re helping with the things the shelter ladies are sewing?”

  Mary Elizabeth nodded.

  “Well, well.” Lavina took another sip of her ginger ale, then picked up a cracker and bit into it. She looked thoughtful. “This is interesting. David left the community and didn’t intend to return, but then he did when his dat got sick and we got back together and got married. Sam refused to return and said he didn’t want to get back with you and now the two of you are going to be tossed together—”

  “We’re not going to be tossed together,” Mary Elizabeth said flatly. “I don’t want him anymore.” She ate the last bite of her pancakes and set her fork down on her plate with a snap. “You and Rose Anna are welcome to the Stoltzfus men. I’ve had enough of Sam.”

  Lavina reached to touch her hand. “I’m sorry he hurt you so much. I know how that feels.”

  “I know you do. David hurt you a lot. I’m glad the two of you got back together, but I don’t have as forgiving a heart as you do.”

  “If you love him, you find a way to forgive him,” Lavina said simply. She touched her abdomen and smiled. “And if you do, there’s a lovely reward.”

  Mary Elizabeth felt a lump form in her throat. She’d never seen Lavina look so happy.

  “Sam’s not interested in me, so I have to move on.” She got to her feet and set her plate in the sink. “I think I should start looking for someone else. I’m not wasting any more time. I want a mann and kinner.”

  “I felt that way, too. But then you remember what happened. God had other ideas.”

  “Well, He hasn’t had them this time with Sam and me.”

  “Nee? Then why do you suppose He’s got Sam working on Leah’s shop and you’re helping coordinate the crafts she’ll sell there?”

  They heard footsteps descending the stairs. Their mudder entered the kitchen followed by a grumpy looking Rose Anna still in her house robe.

  “Someone decided to get up for pancakes,” Linda said cheerfully as she walked to the stove and turned the gas flame up under the cast iron skillet.

  Rose Anna sank into a chair and yawned. She frowned at her plate and appeared half-asleep. Mary Elizabeth took pity on her and rose to get her a cup of coffee. She set it in front of her schweschder, stirred in two teaspoons of sugar then sat again. Rose Anna thanked her. At least Mary Elizabeth thought her grunt was a thank-you.

  She perked up some when their mudder placed a plate of pancakes in front of her.

  “Lavina, how are you feeling? Want to try a pancake?”

  Mary Elizabeth studied her face. Lavina had lost the greenish tinge.

  “Maybe a small one.”

  “See you upstairs,” Mary Elizabeth said as she rose and left the room. She couldn’t wait to get sewing. Working on a quilt set
tled her as nothing else did. She sat in her favorite chair and began working.

  Lavina came upstairs a few minutes later.

  “How’d the pancake do?”

  “The boppli seems to like it.” Lavina patted her abdomen and sat in a nearby chair. She didn’t pick up her quilt in the basket next to it right away. “So what are you going to do now that you’ve decided not to be interested in getting together with Sam?”

  “I mean it.”

  Lavina nodded. “I know you do. I know you.”

  “There’s a singing Sunday evening. I thought I’d go to it.”

  “You’re going to the singing?” Rose Anna asked as she walked into the room. “We can go together!”

  “That’s right.” Mary Elizabeth realized she was stabbing her needle into the fabric and relaxed her fingers. She was going to the singing, and she was going to have fun. She’d meet someone and forget all about Sam.

  Why, she had put him totally out of her mind. Totally.

  Sam who?

  5

  Mary Elizabeth looked around at the group of young people at the singing. It was the second one she’d attended with Rose Anna and while she was having fun, she hadn’t met anyone new.

  And it felt like Noah’s Ark tonight. So many people had paired up with someone or come with them. Although couples who dated kept their relationship secret, it didn’t take a genius to figure out who had already decided who they wanted to spend the evening with. Some had already left early, deciding it would be more fun to go for a long buggy ride home.

  While everyone took a break and enjoyed snacks, Mary Elizabeth took a careful inventory of the available single men. She knew all of them. Had grown up with them, attended schul with them. None of them had attracted her then. None did now.

  Like Lavina and Rose Anna, she’d fallen in love with a Stoltzfus man and couldn’t seem to find anyone else she liked.

  “Stop frowning, you’ll scare men away,” Rose Anna hissed.

  Mary Elizabeth shrugged. “It’s not like there’s anyone here this evening that I’m interested in.”

  “I know what you mean, but you have to give it a chance.”

  “I saw you talking to Mark Troyer.”

  Rose Anna grinned. “He’s sweet. And fun. But he’s no John Stoltzfus.”

  “So you’re just flirting?”

  “Schur. Why not? John’s off enjoying himself in the Englisch world. He may never come back the way David did. So I may as well keep my eyes open, enjoy someone interested in me.” She glanced over at the refreshment table, met the gaze of Mark. He grinned at her. “Gotta go,” she said and headed over to the table.

  Mary Elizabeth shook her head. Rose Anna had been moping around about John just weeks ago, but now she was flirting with Mark.

  “Gut-n-owed.”

  She turned and stared into the face of a man she’d seen earlier that day in the church service but hadn’t met.

  “I’m Ben Miller,” he said. “I just moved here from Indiana.”

  “Mary Elizabeth Zook. Nice to meet you.”

  She stared up at him. He was at least six inches taller than her, and she was the tallest girl in her family. It was kind of nice, she thought. And he had the bluest eyes and nicest smile. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Sam smile.

  “I moved here a week ago from Indiana. Luke Miller is my cousin.”

  “Luke mentioned you were moving here last time we spoke,” she told him. “You’ll be joining him and his dat making furniture.”

  “Ya, I’m looking forward to it.” He took a deep breath and glanced around. “I smell honeysuckle. It’s already summer here.”

  “We have ridiculously short spring seasons in Paradise,” she said. “They’re over in a blink.”

  “Want something to drink?”

  “Schur.” They walked over to the refreshment table. There was still a little time before the singing began again.

  “You sing many of the same hymns I grew up with. Not everything’s the same in this community, though.”

  “Sometimes the Englisch think the Amish are all alike no matter what state we live in.” She picked up a plate of brownies and offered it to him.

  He took one and bit into it. “Gut.”

  “Danki,” she said with a smile.

  “You made these? They’re great. I think I’ll have another.”

  She held out the plate just as Anna called everyone back to the singing.

  Ben grabbed a paper napkin, wrapped the brownie in it, and stuck it in a pocket. “Talk to you after? Maybe give you a ride home?”

  “I can’t tonight,” she said. “I came with my schweschder.” When she saw his disappointment, she felt her spirits lift. “But we could take a ride tomorrow if you like.”

  “Ya, I’d like.”

  Rose Anna lifted her eyebrows in question as Mary Elizabeth joined the others to sing, but she could hardly talk to her now.

  The minute the singing was over, Rose Anna made her way to her side. “So, tell me about the new guy.”

  She didn’t have much to tell. They hadn’t had long enough to talk. But her mood was light as they rode home.

  The next day Mary Elizabeth knocked at the back door of Lavina and David’s house, then walked inside.

  Waneta turned from the stove where she was cooking breakfast. “Well, guder mariye. What brings you here this morning?”

  “I thought I’d help Lavina in the garden before it gets too warm.”

  “I’ve been helping her some since she’s not feeling gut in the morning,” Waneta said. She turned off the flame under the frying pan. “I’ll go get her.”

  “I’ll be outside.”

  Lavina came out a little while later. Her face had that same faint greenish tinge like yesterday. “You didn’t have to come.”

  “I want to help. Mornings are rough for you, and since it’s getting so warm, I know gardening has to be quite a chore.”

  Lavina sighed. “Spring in Lancaster County seems shorter and shorter each year.”

  “I can’t agree with you more.” She glanced around. “Shall I do some weeding first?”

  “That would be wunderbaar.”

  Waneta came out and the three of them got to work, and soon there was a pile of weeds at their sides. David walked over from his work in the fields and looked closely at his wife.

  “I’m fine,” she told him. “Don’t fuss.”

  He scanned her face, his forehead puckered in concern. “You look warm.”

  “As long as you don’t tell me I look green,” she said tartly. She stood, dusting her hands. “I think we’ve done all we need to this morning. Let’s dump the weeds, go inside, and get something to drink.”

  “Sounds gut to me,” Waneta said. “My knees are telling me they’ve had enough.”

  David hurried over to hold out a hand and she took it gratefully. “You’re not old enough to complain about aging,” he told her, his eyes twinkling.

  “I’m old enough.” She glanced around. “Where’s your dat?”

  “Arguing with Sam.”

  Waneta shook her head. “Those two. Sam’s kind enough to come here on Saturdays and help with the farm. Amos should be nicer to him.”

  “They’ll work it out,” David assured her. “Dat and I did.”

  “Do you think they ever will?” Mary Elizabeth asked Lavina as they walked inside to clean up and start lunch.

  “Like David said, he and his dat did and I think they fought worse than Sam and Amos.”

  Mary Elizabeth looked out the kitchen window as she washed her hands. “Sam’s never coming back. He said so the last time we talked.” She dried her hands on a dish towel.

  The screen door slapped shut. Rose Anna walked in carrying a basket of food. “Sorry I ran late getting here.”

  Lavina and Mary Elizabeth exchanged a glance. Mary Elizabeth couldn’t remember a time when Rose Anna was on time. Their mudder even joked that Rose Anna had been born three weeks pa
st the due date the doctor had given her.

  They helped Rose Anna unpack the food. Waneta left them to find Amos.

  “Mary Elizabeth’s got a new boyfriend,” she singsonged.

  “Oh?” Lavina looked at Mary Elizabeth. “A new boyfriend? Details, please.”

  Rose Anna smirked as Mary Elizabeth frowned at her. “Really, Rose Anna, we’re not in schul anymore.”

  The screen door slammed again. Mary Elizabeth looked over and saw that Sam and David had just walked in.

  * * *

  There was an old saying that if you eavesdropped you might not hear something gut.

  Sam figured there was some truth to the saying when he walked in and overheard the Zook women talking about Mary Elizabeth having a new boyfriend.

  The only thing he could do was pretend that he hadn’t heard, and so he headed down the hall to the downstairs bathroom to wash up.

  “I’m sure they were just joking,” David said as he crowded into the small room with him to wash his hands.

  Sam looked up and met his bruder’s gaze in the mirror over the sink. “Doesn’t matter.” Sam picked up a towel and dried his hands.

  “Nee? The two of you saw each other for a long time before you left home.” David took the towel from him and dried his hands.

  “Yeah, well that was then. I haven’t seen her since then. Well, until recently.” He started to walk out of the room but stopped when David put his hand on his arm.

  “You know she cares about you.”

  “Yes, well, it’s time she found someone else. I’m not coming back. I told her that.” He stared at the door frame rather than meet his bruder’s eyes. “Listen, I need to leave. I have something to do.”

  “Have lunch first.”

  “Nee, I need to –”

  “If you leave now they’ll know you heard.”

  Sam hesitated. “You’re right.”

  So he stayed for lunch and pretended he hadn’t heard the women talking. He kept his head down, concentrating on the cold baked chicken, potato salad, and big glasses of iced tea. Truth was, he was hungry after a long, hot morning working in the fields. And he and John were not only not gut cooks, sometimes they had little money for food.