Hannah's Journey

by Anna Schmidt

  “Open it,” Caleb urged.

  Levi grinned and tore off the paper, revealing a large cotton quilt. He spread it over the bed and examined it. The background was a patchwork of solid dark blues, greens, browns and purples—the fabrics commonly used to make Amish clothing. But the center was a feast of brilliant reds, yellows and oranges.

  “It looks just like one of the wheels on the circus wagons,” Caleb said.

  And when Levi realized that the boy was right, he looked at Hannah, his eyes full of questions.

  “I wanted you to have something to remind you of how we came together—of how we became a family,” she said shyly. “I can change it and make it all plain,” she added, suddenly afraid that he didn’t want to be reminded of those days.

  “Don’t change it,” he said huskily. “I was just thinking that maybe you could make a smaller one for the baby.”

  “And one for my bed,” Caleb added.

  “We’re going to raise some eyebrows when that quilt is washed and hanging on the line,” Hannah warned them.

  Both Caleb and Levi shrugged.

  “I’m not one to live by what others may think of me, Hannah.”

  “Neither am I,” Caleb chorused.

  Hannah smiled. “Neither am I.”

  Epilogue

  June, 1929

  Hannah awoke with a start, her gown soaked through in the oppressive heat that even at daybreak was overwhelming. Her hair clung to her cheeks and sometime during the night, she and Levi had both kicked off the covers.

  She rolled onto her side and saw that Levi was already up. There had been no rain for weeks now and Levi and the other Amish farmers worried constantly about their crops. It was odd to think of the parched fields when it felt as if she were swimming in dampness.

  She sat up and was gripped by a pain so sharp that she bit down on her lip to keep from crying out. She could hear Caleb passing her bedroom door on his way downstairs and she did not want to alarm him.

  But oh, the pain came in waves that threatened to pull her under like the heavy undertow in the Gulf. She clutched the edge of the bed and rode out the pain. Then when it seemed to have passed, she pushed herself to her feet. But she was only able to make it as far as the foot of the bed where she was reaching to retrieve the circus quilt when the next wave hit.

  Her knees buckled and this time she cried out.

  “Ma!” She heard the pound of Caleb’s footsteps coming back up the stairs. He flung open the door and froze.

  “Get your father,” she managed.

  Caleb stood there, his eyes focused not on her but on the bed. Hannah followed his gaze and saw the dark stain of blood. “Go,” she said. “Now!”

  She eased herself onto the floor and clutched the quilt against her as she heard Caleb’s cries for help echoing across the farmyard.

  “Please,” she prayed, “please not when we’ve come so far. Please.”

  But they had not come far enough. The baby was not due for another six weeks, at least. It was too soon and there was blood and…

  Hannah wept.

  Levi’s boots hit each stair in rhythm with Caleb’s horse galloping off.

  “I sent Caleb for the doctor,” Levi said, kneeling next to her.

  “It’s too soon,” she said.

  “Maybe not,” he replied and held her close.

  They stayed that way, him tightening his hold on her as together they rode out every labor pain, her collapsing against him once the pain had passed, until they heard voices in the yard, then in the house.

  “Up here,” Levi bellowed, and Hannah heard for the first time in his voice the fear and panic that he had spent the past several minutes swallowing down as he tried to convince her that everything would be all right.

  “Let’s get her on the bed,” the doctor said, taking charge as Pleasant followed him into the room.

  They both looked at the soiled sheets.

  “Caleb’s room,” Pleasant said and led the way as Levi carried Hannah, and the doctor followed. In the hall Caleb hung back, his eyes wide with fear.

  “Go get your grandfather now,” the doctor ordered, and Caleb raced down the stairs. “It’ll occupy the boy,” the doctor explained when Levi seemed about to question why Gunther should be called. “He can keep the boy calm.”

  Levi lay Hannah on Caleb’s bed and sat next to her, gripping her hand as yet another pain hit.

  “You should wait outside,” the doctor said as he prepared to examine her, and Pleasant rushed about gathering towels and a basin.

  “Not leaving,” Levi said and refused to look at the doctor.

  “Stubborn,” Hannah managed when the doctor met her eyes, his bushy white eyebrows questioning what she would prefer. “Let him stay. He’ll just worry.”

  “Very well. Pleasant, I’ll need your help. Are you up to this?”

  “I’ve participated in deliveries before, but…” Pleasant huffed. “Not human babies perhaps but…”

  “Fine. Do exactly as I ask and don’t hesitate, all right?”

  Hannah saw Pleasant’s lips narrow into the familiar line of determination that was her trademark and felt comforted by that until the pain came again and threatened to rip her in half.

  “I’m here,” Levi said, his eyes filled with tears as he witnessed her pain. “Doc, do something,” he growled.

  “All right, Hannah, now the next time you feel the pain I need for you to push hard. Ready?”

  Hannah nodded and waited as she might wait for the next wave to crash onto the beach in a tropical storm.

  “Now!” the doctor coached.

  Hannah fought with everything she had to push past the pain and when it passed, she felt exhausted. And then she heard a sound she had thought would never be hers to hear again. She heard the cry of her baby.

  “Not done yet,” the doctor said when she raised herself half onto her side to see her child. A fresh wave of pain hit her, knocking her flat.

  “Push!” the doctor bellowed.

  Hannah had little choice but to follow his command. But this time the effort was more than she could take and she felt the pain pulling her under and then everything went dark.

  Slowly, Hannah became aware of movement in the room and yet everything seemed quieter, less chaotic. She opened her eyes and saw Levi talking quietly with the doctor. She glanced around Caleb’s room.

  There was no sign of the baby.

  Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes as she understood that they had almost made it this time. The baby had lived at least for a moment for she had heard the cry, but then… “She’s awake,” Pleasant said as she dipped a cloth in water and used it to wipe Hannah’s brow.

  Levi was next to her in an instant and the doctor stood at the foot of the bed. “Well, young lady, you gave us a bit of a fright there,” he said. “We thought we’d lost you.”

  Hannah ignored him and turned to Levi. “The baby?”

  Levi smiled. “Looks like Caleb and I are going to have to build another cradle.”

  “I…” Hannah was confused. Levi was smiling. So was the doctor. So—miracle of miracles—was Pleasant.

  “It’s twins,” Pleasant told her. “A boy and a girl.”

  “Twins?” Hannah fought past all the fears and anxieties of the past several months as she tried to accept what they were telling her. “And they are all right?”

  As if on cue, she heard the wail of two different babies coming from across the hall. And then Greta and Lydia were standing in the doorway, each of them holding a bundle that looked for all the world like a sack of flour.

  “They are hungry,” Levi said as he stood and took the bundle that Greta held and placed the child in Hannah’s arms. “And they would like to know their names,” he added.

  Hannah had put off Levi’s attempts to choose names for their child in advance. Now there were two of them.

  “What was your father’s name?” Hannah asked as she examined her son, counting his fingers and toes
to be sure he was as perfect as he appeared.

  “Reuben,” Levi whispered.

  Hannah held out her free arm for the baby that Lydia held. “And your mother?”

  “Emma.”

  “Then hello, Reuben and Emma Harnisher,” she said softly, kissing each. She looked up at Levi then. “All right?”

  Unable to speak, Levi nodded and then sat on the edge of the bed and took his daughter in his arms and rocked her slowly from side to side.

  Out in the yard they heard a commotion, as several buggies seemed to arrive at the same moment. Pleasant went to see what was happening and the doctor chose that moment to take his leave as well, leaving Levi and Hannah alone with their babies.

  Levi cupped Hannah’s cheek with his free hand. “Are you truly all right?”

  “A little sore and tired,” she said, “but I have never been happier, and I have never loved you more.”

  As Levi leaned in to kiss Hannah, Emma started to squirm and fuss and Levi looked so utterly lost that Hannah couldn’t help but laugh. “Here,” she said, exchanging son for daughter. “She favors you,” she said, stroking Emma’s tuft of copper-colored hair as her daughter settled into the curve of her arm.

  Downstairs they heard voices.

  “Truly, I don’t think…” Pleasant was protesting as they heard footsteps in the lower hallway.

  “Let them come,” Levi called out.

  There was quiet for one long moment. Then one by one they shyly entered the small room.

  First Caleb and then Gunther followed by the bishop and a parade of their neighbors.

  “Come meet your brother and sister,” Hannah said, coaxing Caleb forward after Levi had introduced the twins to everyone.

  “Do you want to hold him?” Levi offered, holding Reuben out to Caleb.

  Caleb looked panicked and then swallowed hard. “Maybe later,” he muttered as he leaned in for a closer look. “They’re really tiny.”

  “They’ll grow,” one of the women said and the other women all giggled.

  From outside, came the unmistakable sound of a motorcar approaching the house.

  “It’s Jake and Lily and Fred and Ida,” Caleb announced from his position by the window.

  Hannah did not even bother to remind her son that he was being too familiar using their first names like that. She saw one or two of the neighbor women raise their eyebrows and scoot a little closer to each other.

  “They are family,” she said quietly. “Levi’s family—and mine.”

  Their circus family crowded into the room explaining that they had come as soon as Jake had returned from seeing the doctor and reported that his appointment had been cut short when Caleb had burst into the doc’s office and announced that his Ma was having the baby. The way they told it—interrupting one another to supply every detail—it was impossible not to be charmed. And when Lily produced two rattles—one pink and one blue—for the babies, the neighbors crowded in closer.

  “Not much of a present but it’ll do until we have time to shop,” Lily said as Fred gently shook the rattle in front of Reuben and the baby seemed to actually smile.

  “Ah,” chorused the neighbors and they smiled at Lily.

  After that, conversation seemed to flow naturally among the gathering as Pleasant announced that Hannah needed her rest and herded everyone from the room. For several moments after they left, Levi and Hannah could hear voices outside their window. Gunther asking Fred about someone he had worked with in the horse tent. Lily telling Pleasant about one of the women from the costume department who had left the circus to marry a Chicago banker. And the buzz of the neighbors—talking among themselves, but no doubt taking in the easy exchange between the Goodloes and the circus people.

  Hannah held out her hand to Levi, who stood at the window cradling Reuben as he watched the departure of their guests. “Come sit with me,” she said.

  Levi nodded but then leaned out the window. “Caleb? Come up here, okay?”

  A moment later Caleb stood at the door.

  “Bring that rocking chair over here,” Levi said, and the boy did as he was asked.

  “Now have a seat,” Levi said with a wink at Hannah.

  Caleb eyed him suspiciously but sat.

  Levi placed Reuben in his brother’s arms. Then he crossed the hall and carried the cradle into the small room. He placed Emma in the cradle, then sat on the bed with Hannah. Gathering Hannah into his arms, he rocked the cradle with the toe of his boot.

  Hannah cuddled into his shoulder. “Our little family,” she murmured happily.

  “It’s a good start,” Levi answered, and then he grinned and to Caleb’s obvious embarrassment, Levi kissed his wife.

  Dear Reader,

  Because I spend part of my life living on the Gulf coast of Florida, I have become fascinated with the rich and diverse history of that area. And because Wisconsin (where I live the rest of the year) has a rich history in circus lore, I was especially intrigued to find myself living in the same community where the famous Ringling Brothers made their winter home. Today, that wonderful bayfront property is home to the fabulous Ringling Museum—a treasure trove of circus memorabilia, as well as wonderful fine art and theater.

  At the same time, I became interested in the history of the vibrant Amish community that established roots in the region back in the 1920s. Today, the original Celery Fields area is a nature preserve where birders flock (every pun intended) to pursue their hobby. But in the 1920s it was the area where Amish farmers from the Midwest came to explore farming in Florida. They raised a variety of crops but celery was a winner for them—and although the area was often called Fruitville, I prefer the romance of a fictional community called Celery Fields.

  In this first of what I hope will be a series of books, these two historical events meet in the persons of Hannah and Levi—an Amish widow and a circus impresario. In the second book, we will follow Hannah’s sister-in-law Pleasant on her search for a happy ending of her own. After that? Who knows?

  I hope you enjoy this new adventure and journey I’ve begun. Please contact me via my website: (www.booksbyanna.com) or write to me at P.O. Box 161, Thiensville WI 53092. I always enjoy hearing from readers. Until then, take care and all the best!!

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  1. How—beyond the physical journey—would you describe the spiritual and emotional journey that Hannah makes?

  2. How does her relationship with her in-laws change over the course of the book?

  3. When Hannah finally admits her love for Levi, her fear is that she will be unable to give him children. What fears have you had to overcome in your life and what role has your faith played in conquering those fears?

  4. What are some of the stereotypes and prejudices associated with the circus characters in this story?

  5. In what ways have you faced situations where you or someone you care about has been stereotyped by others?

  6. How does Levi change from the businessman he is at the outset of the story to the father, husband and man of faith he becomes?

  7. In what ways is this a story about forgiveness?

  8. In what ways is it a story about rediscovering the meaning of family?

  9. In what ways is God’s hand visible to the reader (but sometimes not to the characters) over the course of this story?

  10. Have you or someone close to you had to deal with the death of a loved one, major debilitating illness or a break in a close relationship? If so, were there others who offered you comfort and support? Did you accept or reject that offering?

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-0256-6

  HANNAH’S JOURNEY

  Copyright © 2011 by Jo Horne Schmidt

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without
the written permission of the editorial office, Love Inspired Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  *Amish Brides of Celery Fields