Katie's Journey to Love

by Jerry S. Eicher

  Leroy laughed. “A lot of gut that will do. I have too many points in my favor for any little twiddle of a thing you say to have an effect.”

  Mabel opened her mouth to speak, but Jesse cut in.

  “Children! Enough of this! You’re embarrassing me. What’s Emma going to think about how you’re acting?”

  Mabel looked like she didn’t care one way or the other, but she kept silent.

  Leroy lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry, Emma. I didn’t mean any harm.”

  Mamm smiled. “I understand. Sisters and brothers sometimes have words, but they still love each other in their hearts.”

  Mabel’s mouth worked, but she managed to halt any sounds. Apparently she’d decided silence was the better option at the moment.

  Everyone quieted down as they ate their fill. When everyone had finished eating, Jesse cleared his throat. “I have some gut news I wish to share with the family.”

  Katie looked at Jesse. In about a minute Mabel was probably going to explode. A quick sideways glance at Mabel’s expression confirmed Katie’s suspicions. Mabel was already upset, and she hadn’t even heard what Jesse was going to share. She looked at Mamm, who looked pale too. But Jesse was still smiling as he continued. “Katie was gifted today with the money she needs for her trip to Europe—quite a lot of money, in fact. So it looks like we’ll have a member of the family traveling to the land of our fathers’ faith.”

  “What?” Mabel leaped to her feet. “That’s what you were talking to Daett about, Katie? Talking him into giving you our money! How dare you! I knew you were after something all along.”

  “Mabel, you will sit down at once!” Jesse commanded sharply.

  Mabel grudgingly sat down.

  “I didn’t give Katie any money for this trip, Mabel,” Jesse said. “And even if I had, that would be my choice. Katie is now my daughter too.”

  “They’re destroying our lives!” Mabel pointed first at Katie and then at Mamm. Then she jumped up and raced away from the table. The stair door slammed, the sound echoing through the house. Footsteps thudded on the steps before there was the sound of another door opening and then slamming shut. Silence filled the house.

  “Now that was a temper tantrum,” Leroy said, breaking the quiet. His smile was broad. “Wow!”

  Jesse rose, his face red. “I will not have such behavior happening in my house.”

  Mamm grabbed his arm. “Let Mabel be, Jesse. It’s such a hard time for her. I’ll speak with her later.”

  “But…” Jesse’s eyes were still blazing.

  He doesn’t look that different from Mabel when he’s angry, Katie noted. She watched the exchange curiously to see how it would turn out.

  “It’s best if a woman handles this,” Mamm said gently.

  Jesse looked at her for a long moment before nodding his head and sitting back down.

  “Let’s have our evening devotions,” he said. “There’s been enough ruckus for one night. Mabel can stay in her room if she wishes to conduct herself in such an ungodly manner.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Katie hung on to the buggy seat as Longstreet trotted through the night. Ben had picked up Katie, and they were going to another Mennonite youth gathering. Katie couldn’t be happier. Christmas and New Year’s Day were behind them. Jesse had insisted on a quiet time for his first Christmas married to Mamm. After family devotions, which consisted of Jesse reading the Christmas story and everyone singing a few Christmas hymns, family members had been free to spend the day as they wished. Katie had thoroughly enjoyed herself by making Christmas candy in the forenoon and reading a book in her bedroom after lunch.

  Mabel’s temper fit seemed like a distant memory now. Mamm had gone up and spoken with her at length the night Jesse had broken the news that Katie had enough money for the Europe trip. Katie had stayed downstairs and washed the supper dishes with Carolyn’s help. Thankfully, Carolyn had shown little sympathy for Mabel. But she hadn’t exactly been friendly either, probably reacting out of loyalty to her sister, Katie decided. By the time evening prayers were over, Mabel had come downstairs with Mamm. Both of them had eyes red from crying.

  “I’m sorry, Daett,” Mabel mumbled before bringing a kitchen chair to the edge of the living room and sitting down. She was as far away from Katie as she could be. The next morning, Mabel hadn’t glared or spouted off while they fixed breakfast, but she hadn’t looked happy either. And Mabel still looked glum, especially tonight when everyone knew Ben was coming to pick Katie up.

  “How are things going?” Ben asked, interrupting her thoughts.

  “Okay,” Katie said. “I’m still in shock though. I can’t believe someone would just anonymously give me all that money. That sort of thing just doesn’t happen.”

  Ben smiled. “I’m really glad you get to go.”

  Silence settled in except for the steady beat of Longstreet’s shoes hitting the pavement. Katie let her thoughts go back to when she’d told Ben the news.

  “You look happy tonight,” Ben had commented.

  “I guess I should look happy! Ben, someone has gifted me enough money to go to Europe!”

  “Really? Wow, that’s great!”

  Ben had sounded happy for her, just as she’d expected he would.

  “Who gave it to you?” Ben asked.

  “I don’t know. The person wanted to keep it a secret, I guess. A woman came into Byler’s and gave my friend Esther, who works in the deli, an envelope and told her to give it to me. Esther had never seen her before.”

  “A mysterious sort of person, eh?” Ben said. Then he’d laughed.

  Katie added her joyful laughter to his. “I guess so. I suspect it was one of the Mennonite families or maybe the mission organization Nancy works for. Someone had mercy on this poor Amish girl. I still can’t believe it!”

  “So you’re really going then?” Ben had asked, sounding quite pleased with the idea.

  Coming back to the present, Katie leaned against Ben. “Ben, I’m a little scared about going to Europe when it comes down to it,” Katie admitted. “There are so many things I have to prepare for. I’ve never traveled far, so this will be quite an adventure. I’m going to ask Sharon and Margaret tonight for a list of things to take along. And I want to let them know how much I appreciate the money someone gave me so I could go. I’m hoping my thanks will get to the wunderbah person who helped me out—if it was a Mennonite family.”

  “You’ll do fine.” Ben pulled back on the reins to slow Longstreet for a corner. “You will need a passport. I’m sure the others will take care of the traveling details.”

  “Thanks for the encouragement,” she said, hanging on to Ben and the buggy seat at the same time. Ben sure was traveling fast tonight.

  His voice broke into her thoughts. “Remember, when you get over there be sure to look around and notice everything. I want a full report about how the Amish were established and how our forefathers lived their faith.”

  “Okay.” Katie swallowed hard, a bit surprised. She remembered when Ben had expressed his doubts about the Amish faith. Was he changing his mind? That would be so great if it were true.

  “Thanks for coming with me tonight,” Ben said, smiling down at Katie.

  Katie’s heart pounded. Ben looked like he considered her presence a great favor. “I–I–I’m the one who should be saying that to you, not the other way around.”

  Ben glanced at the straight stretch of road ahead of them, and then he moved the lines to his other hand. With his empty hand, he reached for Katie.

  Katie thought for sure she’d stop breathing entirely when she felt Ben’s hand on hers. She wrapped her fingers around his. How was this possible? Ben Stoll—the Ben Stoll—was holding her hand!

  “You have more to offer than you think,” Ben said, his fingers tightening against hers.

  Katie leaned her head against his shoulder. Only when the next curve came up did he let go of her hand. He gave her a brief smile before fixing his eyes on t
he road.

  Katie sat up when the bright lights of a farmhouse came into view. As they drove closer, she saw people carrying lumber, swinging hammers, and sawing wood.

  “Someone said we’re helping to build trusses tonight,” Ben said as he turned down the lane. “Looks almost like an Amish gathering except for all the cars.”

  “Yah,” Katie agreed.

  The thought of Amish gatherings almost made her shudder. Ben wouldn’t understand what she was feeling. He’d never experienced rejection or had people ignore him like she had. He probably wasn’t aware how much she was different here than at Amish gatherings.

  The buggy bounced to a stop, and Ben climbed down. He tied Longstreet to a hitch on the side of the barn. Katie waited for him to come over and help her down. Then they walked over to the worksite where everyone seemed to be scurrying around.

  “Howdy there!” someone hollered out. “More help, I see.”

  Ben laughed. “If you don’t need any help, we can, of course, just stand around and supervise.”

  “Grab a hammer!” a young man said as he pointed toward a pile of tools on the front porch.

  Katie followed Ben and chose a small hammer.

  “Just swing it,” Ben teased. “It drives nails.”

  “Yah, I know. I did pretty well last time. You’d better behave or I’ll swing it at you pretty soon.” Katie lifted the hammer in the air as if to strike him on the arm.

  He grabbed his own hammer in one hand, took her hand in the other, and led her over to where a group of young women were pounding away.

  “I have a little firebrand here who needs work,” Ben announced.

  The girls all smiled and made room for Katie.

  Ben left to help the boys with the lumber.

  “Are you with him?” one of the girls asked, watching as Ben picked up several pieces of truss material and toted them across the yard.

  “Yah,” Katie said with a smile.

  “My name’s Ronda Helmuth,” the girl offered.

  “I’m Katie Raber. Is there something I can do to help?”

  “Take a round at swinging a hammer,” Ronda said. “My hand and arm are about worn out.”

  “You can say that again,” another girl said as she stood up and stretched.

  Katie started swinging away at the nails, following the pattern already established. A familiar voice soon interrupted her work.

  “There you are, Katie! I’ve been looking for you all over the place.”

  Katie stood up and turned to the speaker with a smile. “Margaret! Hi! It’s so gut to see you.”

  “Yes, and you too. What have you been doing with yourself?”

  Katie laughed. “It’s not like I didn’t see you last week!”

  “Time goes by so quickly, don’t you think?” Margaret asked, giving Katie a quick hug. “You look happy tonight.”

  I should be! Katie almost said, but she decided that might be a little forward. “Have you found out who gave me that wunderbah gift?” she asked. “And I want to thank you again for inviting me.”

  Margaret laughed. “I’m not the one to thank for the money, and I don’t know who is. Sharon doesn’t know either. And if Nancy does, she’s not talking.”

  “It was so nice of whomever it was,” Katie gushed. “If you ever find out, be sure to tell me.”

  “I will,” Margaret assured her, taking Katie by the elbow. “Come, let’s go say hi to Sharon.”

  Margaret and Katie headed off as another girl took Katie’s place next to the boards with hammer in hand.

  Sharon glanced up as they approached and greeted them with a smile. “I’m glad you came. And with Ben Stoll again. Are the two of you getting serious?”

  Katie felt heat rising up her neck, so she figured she must be blushing, but Ben was worth being embarrassed over. “I don’t know. We haven’t been together that long.”

  “Now, now,” Margaret said, “you don’t fool me. I can tell by that look in your eyes that you’re smitten!”

  Katie laughed and changed the subject. “I want to thank both of you again for including me on our trip. I’m so thankful. I so appreciate the person who gave me the funds. And if either of you ever finds out who it was, please let me know!”

  “I had nothing to do with it,” Sharon said. “But now that we have our full team, we can begin making definite plans.”

  “I think I’ll pack half my wardrobe,” Margaret said. “I don’t want to get caught over there with nothing to wear.”

  Sharon giggled. “Just think, none of us except Nancy knows a thing about traveling in Europe. We’ll be like silly girls over there, and we’ll probably get lost on the first street corner. I can’t even speak a word of German.”

  “Katie can,” Margaret said. “And Nancy can.”

  “It is a little scary,” Katie offered.

  “We’ll have lots of fun,” Sharon said. “I know we will. It’ll be a trip to tell our children and our grandchildren about—the time their mothers took Europe by storm.”

  Margaret laughed. “For now we’d better get to work or everyone will think we’re three cackling hens.”

  “Here’s to the world’s traveling hens!” Sharon said. “I can hardly wait.”

  Katie cleared her throat. “Do you know what we need to take? Like a passport and such things?”

  “That’s about it,” Margaret said. “And that won’t be too hard to obtain. Certainly not as difficult as praying in all that money.”

  “Maybe I was praying more than I thought I was,” Katie said thoughtfully.

  “That’s a good girl,” Margaret said. “I’m sure we can use your prayers, along with ours, on the trip—for all the trouble we might get into.”

  “I hope we get into lots of trouble,” Sharon said. “Like getting lost in the Swiss mountains. We’d have to live off of goat’s milk for days, and find our way back out on foot.”

  Margaret laughed. “Maybe you should change your mind, Katie. This girl might lead us into trouble on purpose.”

  Katie couldn’t hold back her smile. “I think it’s going to be lots of fun. I still can’t believe I’m really going.”

  “Well, believe it!” Sharon said, giving Katie a playful punch on her arm.

  “Enough of this silliness,” Margaret said, taking charge. “We’ll talk more about this later. Let’s get back to work.”

  The banging of hammers soon filled her ears as they helped nail sheets of plywood on the trusses. By the time they were finished, Katie figured it had to be after nine o’clock. It was too late to play a game of volleyball, but no one seemed to mind. With much laughter they gathered around to eat the cake and ice cream Albert and Mindy Brunson, the owners of the place, brought out.

  Margaret and Sharon followed Katie to Ben’s buggy afterward to give her quick hugs before she climbed in next to Ben. They stood waving as Ben guided Longstreet onto the driveway. They were the only buggy in the long line of cars leaving the Brunson place.

  “Maybe I ought to get a car,” Ben commented once they were on the road.

  “Please don’t,” Katie said at once. “That would be terrible.”

  Ben laughed. “I wasn’t planning to. You know, I suppose, that we’re being a bit strange about everything. We’re attending Mennonite youth gatherings, but neither of us are really thinking about joining their church.”

  “I don’t want to think about that tonight.” Katie nestled against Ben’s shoulder. “I just want to think about all the wunderbah things that are happening. I never want to stop giving thanks for them.”

  Ben smiled as he reached over and found Katie’s hand. They remained close as Longstreet raced along, the only light coming from the ones on the buggy.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Thursday afternoon Katie drove Sparky toward Dover, keeping one buggy wheel well toward the ditch as she approached town. A light dusting of snow lay on the ground, but the Englisha vehicles still zipped past her with hardly a check in their speed.
She already didn’t like coming into town on her own, let alone having the snow and traffic to contend with. In fact, she wouldn’t have come except Ben insisted he accompany her to get her picture taken and then deliver it, along with the necessary forms, to the Dover Post Office so she could apply for her passport.

  The thought of Ben brought a smile to her face. He was so manly, so protective of her. Just like a gut man should be! He promised to meet her in front of The Pancake House. From there they would travel together in his buggy to get the errands done.

  Katie shivered. What would it be like to have someone point a camera at her? The Amish taught against it, but it must be done if she wished to travel overseas. Surely Da Hah would understand that she meant no vanity by having her photo taken. She would make sure no one ever saw the picture except the government officials who had to see such a thing. And they probably saw thousands of photos every day and would think nothing of it.

  Mrs. Cole, her supervisor at Byler’s, had smiled when Katie asked for time off for the trip. Apparently news had spread through the store’s staff about Katie’s upcoming adventure.

  “Care if I go along to Europe with you?” Mrs. Cole had teased, which was unusual for her. She usually was calm and collected, but a trip to Europe could unsettle anyone’s regular pattern.

  Katie’s routine had certainly changed. There were nights in bed when cold chills would run up and down her back. Other times so much joy bubbled up inside that she had a feeling of almost exploding.

  Katie caught sight of The Pancake House outline ahead of her, and in the parking lot sat Ben’s buggy. He was already waiting for her.

  Ben waved as Katie drove up and then leaped out of his buggy to grab Sparky’s bridle. “Whoa, boy!” he said in mock panic.

  Katie laughed and threw him the tie rope from under the seat. “I wasn’t driving that wildly.”

  “You drove in here like a wild woman on a mad dash into the world.”

  “I did not!” Katie protested as she climbed down the buggy step. Ben stirred things in her she didn’t even know were there. A sense of humor, for one. There hadn’t been much laughter in her life when she and Mamm lived alone. But now, since the marriage, joy seemed to be bubbling up around them. Except for Mabel, but Katie wasn’t going to think of her right now.