by Amy Lillard
He had come back twice since that afternoon after church, but she had locked the door and wouldn’t let him in. It was bad of her, she knew. But she needed time to heal—not physically, but emotionally—before she faced him again. She needed to be strong. She needed to hold her ground. And she didn’t need to be swayed by a pair of flashing dimples and soft green eyes.
Still, it was much easier to worry about the problems of others than her own.
Eileen murmured something unintelligible, then turned to Mariana. “So what about you and Reuben?” she asked brightly.
“There is no me and Reuben. I tried to tell you that a few weeks ago.”
“It surely didn’t seem that way at church.”
“Things aren’t always what they seem,” Mariana said. Then she realized how harsh the words sounded and she flashed her friend a smile.
“I suppose not,” Eileen said. “It just looked like the two of you were so happy.”
Mariana shook her head. “We’re just friends.”
A look passed between the other members of the quilting circle, and suddenly Mariana felt like she was on the outside of a story she should’ve known the ending to. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Clara Rose said. “Mammi, how do you get your stitches that tiny?”
“It takes patience, granddaughter,” Verna said.
Clara Rose laughed and looked around at the others. “Why do elders always say that?”
A murmur of agreement and other comments rose up all around the quilting circle, but no one said much more. Mariana had the weird sensation that the whole exchange was nothing more than a not-so-clever tactic to change the subject. That was fine with her as long as they weren’t talking about Reuben.
“Are you ready?” Verna asked. She set her needle and thread down and looked around at the other members of the group. They all nodded.
“Ready for what?” Mariana asked.
Clara Rose flashed her a quick smile. “We have a little surprise for you.”
“A surprise?” she asked, but Eileen was already up and out of the room.
She returned a few moments later with a wheelchair. “Now, don’t think you get to keep this. We borrowed it from the First Baptist senior center and we have to have it back tomorrow. So don’t get any ideas about zooming around Wells Landing in it.”
Mariana laughed even as tears welled in her eyes. They had brought her a wheelchair? Even just for the afternoon, being able to get out of bed and do more than shuffle to the bathroom would be fantastic.
“Where are we going?” she asked as Tess helped her into the chair.
“To a party, of course,” Clara Rose said.
Eileen got behind her, and together they pushed Mariana into her kitchen. Pink balloons had been blown up and allowed to rest against the ceiling, creating a forest of pink ribbon. Crepe-paper streamers of pink and white swayed from side to side along the cabinets and the window. A cake iced with pale pink frosting and darker pink roses sat in the middle of the table. CONGRATULATIONS had been written across the top. There were pink plates, pink forks, and pink napkins. Pink everything.
Mariana laughed at the sight of it all. “Do you know something I don’t know?”
“No,” Clara Rose said. “But we figured it was the best way to celebrate. I mean, you want girls, right?”
Once upon a time, she had wanted nothing more than two baby girls. Now everything had changed. “I just want two healthy babies.”
“With any luck you’ll have two healthy babies who love the color pink,” Verna said.
Mariana wiped the tears from her face. She had the best friends anyone could ask for. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”
“This is what the Englisch do. They have showers. So we figured since you couldn’t get out and go shopping, we would try to get the things that you need,” Tess said.
“Come and open your presents.” Clara Rose motioned for her to draw near the table. Boxes were stacked one on top of the other, all wrapped in pastel paper with the pink ribbons.
“Babies need a lot of things,” Tess added.
Mariana dashed the tears from her cheeks again. She knew that she had everything that she needed right there. Almost everything. The whole picture would have been complete had Reuben been there.
* * *
“Do you smell paint?”
Clara Rose looked up from sweeping the bedroom floor and lifted her nose. “I don’t smell anything.”
Mariana had been reading a book about what to expect when having twins, and nothing had ever been brought up about smelling things that weren’t there. “I’m sure I smell paint.”
Clara Rose shrugged and went back to her sweeping. “I don’t know what to say.”
Mariana lay back on her pillows, wondering if the strong odor was just her imagination. “I really do appreciate the party yesterday. No one’s ever done anything that sweet for me.”
Clara Rose stopped sweeping again and turned back, a smile on her cherub face. “It was great fun. And so what if now we’re behind in getting the quilt done, right? We still have time to do plenty more before the auction in September.”
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.”
“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.”
In Wells Landing, Oklahoma’s warm and welcoming
Amish community, there’s always hope
for a new beginning—and a second chance . . .
Five tumultuous years have changed Titus Lambert
in every way. Back then, Titus was preparing to marry
his longtime sweetheart, Mandy Yoder. Then came the
unthinkable—a tragic car wreck that left him
Titus isn’t sure he belongs in this peaceful place
anymore, but he must make amends.
When he goes to visit the Kings, whose son, Alvin,
died that terrible night, he’s shocked to see that
their farm has fallen into disrepair. Alvin’s sister, Abbie,
resents Titus’s reappearance, but there’s no denying
she needs his help. Honest toil—and their evolving
friendship—slowly help his soul to heal.
But with his feelings for Mandy still strong, Titus must
choose between two very different futures,
and find the strength and faith to claim
the surprising gift of a fresh start.
Please turn the page for an exciting sneak peek of
Amy Lillard’s next Wells Landing novel,
TITUS RETURNS,
coming in January 2017
wherever print and eBooks are sold!
Titus Lambert pulled the strap of his backpack a little higher onto his shoulder and stepped to the side of the road as the car whizzed past. A stream of laughter and music trailed behind and mixed with the exhaust fumes to leave a bitter taste in his mouth. He had never quite gotten used to the speedy movements of cars. Even during the short time he actually drove himself, he was always a little unnerved when he stopped to think about how fast he was actually going. So he never stopped. At twenty that was easy. But five years had passed, and things were different. Much, much different.
And yet some things were the same. He hitched his bag a little higher once more and studied the sign looming ahead. WELLS LANDING. It was just as he remembered. Pristine white that had barely started chipping around the edges. Flowing green letters that made it seem like a fancier place than it really was.
He stopped and stared at the sign, his heart pounding in his chest. His mouth went dry as ash. What was he doing there?
He had no business being there. But where else could he go?
