“He hung up.”
“What can I do?” He hoped he could do whatever it was. Right now, he was feeling the kind of terror he imagined all men felt when confronted by the prospect of being around a woman who might give birth at any minute.
How he wished he could call Mary Elizabeth. But she didn’t have a cell phone.
“Shall I call your mudder?”
“Ya, please.”
But the phone rang and rang until the answering machine in the phone shanty picked up, and he listened to the message her mudder had left on it. He gave the phone to Lavina so she could say what she wanted and awkwardly tried to wipe up the dampness on the floor.
She finished the call and handed him back the phone. “Can you call the midwife for me? The number’s over there in the address book on the kitchen counter.”
He got the book for her and pressed it and the phone into her hands. She made the call and then looked at him.
“I need my suitcase from our room upstairs. Maybe a clean dress?”
Then she waved her hand and shook her head. “Nee, let’s wait until David’s here. I don’t want you to hurt your leg climbing the stairs.”
“I’ve been managing the stairs at home.”
Suddenly the color drained from her face and she doubled over. “Oh my,” she exclaimed when the pain passed. She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Remember the time for me so we’ll be able to time the contractions.”
He noted the time and then dumped the damp towels in the sink, trying not to shudder as he washed his hands. Contractions. Where was David?
The oven timer dinged. He picked up potholders, took the baking pans out of the oven, and set them on the top of the stove.
“You need to turn the oven off,” she reminded him.
He stared at the controls. Allrecht, he figured it out. He didn’t know much about operating an oven.
The back door slammed open and David rushed in looking frantic. He rushed to her side and took her hand.
“Are you allrecht?”
She nodded. “I called the midwife, so she’s expecting us. Can you get my suitcase and my green dress?”
“Schur.” He glanced at Sam. “Watch her until I get back?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
David was back in seconds with the suitcase and a dress.
“You brought blue,” Lavina told him.
“Huh?”
“You brought my blue dress not my green one.”
“Lavina, you’re only going to wear it for a little while and we’re kind of in a hurry here.”
She bent over with another contraction. Sam looked at the clock. “Ten minutes since the last one.”
When the pain passed she looked at her mann. “The green one.”
“Get it,” Sam said. “It’s faster than arguing.”
So David ran upstairs and brought back the green one. Sam excused himself so she could change in the kitchen. Then, when David called him back in they helped her into a jacket and grabbed her purse and suitcase. They walked her out to the buggy and helped her inside between contractions.
Sam watched them leave and realized his knees were shaking. He made his way back into the house, careful not to slip on the stairs, and sank down into a chair in the kitchen.
That’s where Mary Elizabeth found him when she returned. Sitting there half-sick from too many cookies and cups of coffee. And nerves.
“Where’s Lavina?” she asked, glancing around.
“Having her boppli,” he said, grabbing his cane. “Come on, I’ll tell you all about it on the way there.”
* * *
A new member of the family joined the celebration of the birth of the Christ child when the family gathered the next week.
Grossdaadi had the seat of honor next to the fireplace in the Zook living room. He held his great-grandson Mark in the crook of one arm as he read the story of the birth of the Christ child from his Bible. One child who had changed the world, thought Mary Elizabeth. She loved watching Mark studying the flames with his big, serious blue eyes while Grossdaadi read about a boppli born so long ago who had taught so many about love.
Lavina quietly told her that Grossdaadi had looked sad when she walked in like he was missing Grossmudder, so she’d handed Mark to him. So the oldest member of the family held the newest. There was something so special about that, Mary Elizabeth thought.
She sat next to Sam and sent up a silent prayer of gratitude for her first Christmas with her new mann and wondered if next year Grossdaadi might be holding her first kind as he read the Bible.
It was sad that Grossmudder wasn’t there with them, but Mary Elizabeth felt she must be happy to be with her Father and Jesus.
Tonight they gathered to hear about the birth of Jesus, and they basked in the glow from the fire and the candles set on the mantel. It was cold and snowy outside, but gathered here on this holy night all was well.
Amos and Waneta Stoltzfus had been invited, and Mary Elizabeth didn’t think she’d ever seen him so relaxed. So peaceful. Oh, he’d cast a disapproving glance at John when he walked in wearing Englisch clothes, but there hadn’t been any comments. Waneta glowed with an inner happiness and couldn’t keep her hands off her first grandson.
Mary Elizabeth and Rose Anna set out the huge supper they’d spent the afternoon cooking. Lavina was only allowed to sit and do things like slice loaves of bread and arrange cookies and slices of cake on a plate since she was a new mudder.
“Amos is behaving tonight,” Rose Anna said in a low voice as she helped Mary Elizabeth arrange slices of baked ham on a platter. “Maybe things are going to work out and John will stay.”
“It’s Christmas,” Mary Elizabeth warned her.
“She’s right,” Lavina said, giving her youngest schweschder a sympathetic look. “It takes time.”
“Besides, I thought you decided to give up on him and see Peter.”
“I like Peter but . . .” she trailed off and walked over to stand in the doorway and look out at John sitting in the living room.
Linda walked in carrying Mark and held him out to Lavina. “Someone wants you.”
“I’ll take him up to my old room and nurse him.”
“We’ll wait until you come down to eat.”
“Nee, don’t wait.”
Linda just smiled and set the percolator on the stove. Sam wandered into the kitchen and swiped a cookie from the plate Lavina had arranged. Mary Elizabeth fussed at him for disturbing the artistic arrangement Lavina had made, but he just grinned at her and asked when they were going to eat.
“Soon,” she said. “Go ask who wants coffee and who wants hot chocolate.”
“I know what he’s giving you for Christmas,” Rose Anna told Mary Elizabeth after he left the kitchen.
“Rose Anna!”
She looked at her mudder. “I said I know. I didn’t say I’d tell.”
“Why don’t you pour the coffee when it’s done?”
Rose Anna shrugged and started setting out cups and saucers. Sam returned to say everyone wanted coffee, no hot chocolate. Grossdaadi wanted hot cider if there was any otherwise he’d take coffee, danki, so she poured some cider in a small pan and heated it on the stove.
Jacob wandered in and snatched a sliver of ham when his fraa’s back was turned. “Stop that,” she said without turning.
“Eyes in the back of her head,” he muttered as he grabbed another piece. “Are we eating soon?”
“After Lavina takes care of your grandson.”
“Bet he’d like some of this ham.”
Linda laughed and shooed him out of the room.
Lavina came down a few minutes later, but she didn’t have Mark with her. “He was ready for a nap.”
Mary Elizabeth frowned. “Have you been crying?”
“I was just thinking about Grossmudder. She loved Christmas.”
“And she would have loved Mark. She loved bopplis. Bet Grossdaadi’s missing her even more right now
than usual.”
She was glad Lavina had put Mark in his arms when he sat in the big chair by the fire with his Bible.
“Maybe next year Mark will have a cousin to play with,” Lavina said.
Mary Elizabeth smiled. She’d been thinking earlier that it would be wunderbaar if she and Sam had a boppli next Christmas.
“That would be the only thing better than tonight.”
“I can’t wait for tomorrow,” Rose Anna said. “Wait until you see what Sam got for you, Mary Elizabeth.”
“Rose Anna—”
She held up her hands. “I told you I’m not telling her!”
Later, as she drifted off to sleep, Mary Elizabeth smiled as she remembered how Rose Anna had been so excited about Sam’s gift. He didn’t need to give her a thing. She had everything—everyone—she wanted.
Second Christmas was the day they had always exchanged gifts. David had made a beautifully carved cradle for Mark and a rocking chair for Lavina. He loved his knitted woolen muffler she made to keep him warm as he worked outside in the winter. Linda delighted in the spice rack Jacob had made for her. An avid reader, he exclaimed over the books she’d found him and wanted to start reading right away. Grossdaadi immediately put on the warm navy sweater the women in the family had taken turns knitting for him.
Sam loved the new shirt she made him for church. And then he handed her the present he’d made—a hand-woven basket filled with new thimbles, sewing scissors, and all manner of things to use when she sewed. Linda had picked up the supplies at Stitches in Time. Then he handed her another gift. He’d made a second basket and filled it with packets of flower and vegetable seeds.
She pulled a card from the basket and tears began slipping down her cheeks as she read it: “For your first kitchen garden. Believe that with God’s help you’ll have it soon.” She hugged him. It was the perfect gift.
The house soon filled with friends stopping by to bring holiday wishes and gifts. Mary Elizabeth wasn’t surprised to see the bishop and his fraa, but he seemed unusually ebullient today. After visiting for a time, he said something to Sam and the two men went into the kitchen. The bishop came out a few minutes later, nodded at her, and then left with his fraa.
Sam walked out of the kitchen looking stunned. He sank down onto the sofa next to her, and she felt him trembling.
“Is something wrong?”
He smiled at her, and she saw then that he had tears in his eyes. “Nee, something is very right.” He glanced around at the family and stood.
“We just had the most wonderful gift. I’ve been trying to buy Sarah Fisher’s farm. The bishop just came to tell me that she’s changed her mind and agreed to hold the loan. Mary Elizabeth and I will be buying it and moving into it soon. God is so gut.”
He sat again and looked at her. Mary Elizabeth barely heard the excited exclamations of her family as she stared into Sam’s eyes. “Is it true?”
Sam nodded. “She heard about my accident from a friend who still lives here and called the bishop to talk. Then she and her family in Ohio discussed it. They felt they wanted the farm to stay in the Amish community, not be sold to Englischers. And they wanted us to have it.”
Her hands still clutched the basket of seeds for her first kitchen garden. She set it on the floor at her feet and threw her arms around him.
“Merry Christmas, Sam.”
“Merry Christmas, lieb.”
'''''''''''''''
Recipes
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Haystack Supper
1 ¾ cups soda crackers, crushed
3 pounds hamburger, browned
3 tablespoons taco seasoning
4 cups lettuce, shredded
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 cups green peppers, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
Spaghetti, rice, or both, cooked
Shredded cheese or cheese sauce, optional
Salsa, optional
Ranch dressing, optional
Brown ground beef. Drain and add taco seasoning. Layer some of each ingredient on your plate. Top with shredded cheese or cheese sauce. Salsa or ranch dressing is also a good addition.
Serves six, but amounts can be adjusted to suit your taste and other vegetables can be added.
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Buttermilk Pound Cake
1 cup shortening
1 stick butter or margarine
2 ½ cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1 tablespoon hot water
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cream shortening, butter, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating after each. Add flavorings and water. Beat well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, soda, and salt. Mix into creamed mixture, alternately with buttermilk. Pour into greased and floured pan. Bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes. Cool and remove from pan.
Serves 16 to 20
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Bread and Butter Pudding
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter or margarine, at room temperature
5 slices white bread with crust
½ cup raisins
2 cups milk
2 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add cinnamon to sugar and mix well. Set aside. Generously spread butter on one side of each piece of bread. Cutting diagonally, slice each in half. Arrange triangle slices in pan, slightly overlapping, with butter side up and cut edges facing the same direction, making a spiral. As you add the bread, sprinkle with sugar-cinnamon mixture and raisins. Pour milk in small bowl, add eggs, and using whisk or fork, blend well. Pour milk mixture over bread and raisins in baking pan. Let sit for about 15 minutes for bread to absorb liquid. Bake for 30 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Serve the pudding while still warm in individual dessert bowls. It can be eaten plain or with cream.
Serves 4
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Blueberry Zucchini Cake
2 cups finely shredded and drained zucchini
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups white sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 pint fresh blueberries (you can reserve a few for garnish if so desired)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans. Place grated zucchini in a clean dish towel. Squeeze until most of the liquid comes out. You want 2 total cups of shredded zucchini draining. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Slowly add in the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Gently fold in the blueberries. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. Frost with lemon buttercream.
Serves 10 to 12
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Lemon Buttercream
1 cup butter, room temperature
3 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1⁄ 8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice, about 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
Beat butter, sugar, and salt until well mixed. Add lemon juice and vanilla and continue to beat for another 3 to 5 minutes or until creamy. Fold in zest.
Makes approximately 4 cups frosting
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Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
&
nbsp; 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 ½ to 2 pounds lean ground beef or turkey
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small cabbage, chopped
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
½ cup water
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a big skillet. Sauté the onion until tender, and then add the ground beef or turkey until the meat is browned. Add the garlic, cook an additional minute before adding the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cover. Simmer about 25 minutes or until the cabbage is fork tender.
Serves 6 to 8
'''''''''''''''
Glossary
ab im kop—off in the head. Crazy.
ach—oh
allrecht—all right
boppli—baby
bruder—brother
daed—dad
danki—thank you
dat—father
dawdi haus—a small home added to or near the main house to which the farmer moves after passing the farm and main house to one of his children.
Deitsch—Pennsylvania German
Der hochmut kummt vor dem fall.—Pride goeth before the fall.
dippy eggs—over-easy eggs
dochder—daughter
eck—the corner of the wedding table
Englisch—what the Amish call a non-Amish person
fraa—wife
grossdaadi—grandfather
grossdochder—granddaughter
grosseldres—grandparents
grosskinner—grandchildren
grossmudder—grandmother
grosssohn—grandson
guder mariye—good morning
gut—good
gut-n-owed—good evening
haus—house
hochmut—pride
hungerich—hungry
kapp—prayer covering or cap worn by girls and women
Seasons in Paradise Page 26
