Miriam and the Stranger

by Jerry S. Eicher

  Miriam nodded. “I’ll stay out of sight. It’s not like I’m involved.”

  “Yah, but you can listen in from the kitchen while you wash dishes,” Aunt Fannie said. “It’s got to be something serious after what we’ve been through the past few days.”

  “Did you learn any news at the sewing today?” Miriam asked, changing the subject.

  “No, but I think maybe I’ve come to accept the Lord’s will better. The women spoke words of encouragement I needed to hear. They also said that Tyler had left Deacon Phillips’s place because he feels that he’s to blame somehow. Did you know that?”

  Miriam hid her face before she answered. “I learned that Tyler had left from the schoolchildren on Monday morning.”

  “And you didn’t tell me,” Aunt Fannie scolded. “You know how much Tyler means to me. He’s such a comforting presence in the community. I always felt he was a sign of the Lord’s good pleasure on us, but now he’s moved out of Deacon Phillips’s basement. Maybe that’s what Tyler wishes to speak of tonight. How he can come back.”

  Miriam looked away. What if her aunt found out all that had gone on? The thought was almost too terrible to contemplate. Her aunt’s faith would be shattered in both Tyler and herself.

  The two women entered the kitchen to work in silence on the supper preparation. Aunt Fannie had kept the menu simple—broccoli soup and toasted cheese sandwiches. Jonathon stuck his head in at regular intervals to peer about hungrily.

  “It’ll be ready before long,” Aunt Fannie finally assured him. “Just run and play, but stay away from you know what.”

  Jonathon vanished again and didn’t return until Uncle William’s footsteps came in with his. The two seated themselves at their regular places.

  Uncle William looked up with a smile on his face. “At least we still have the greenhouse and a temporary shelter so our animals have a place to live.”

  “Yah, we have much to be thankful for,” Aunt Fannie answered his smile. “And we have each other. How are things going over at Deacon Phillips’s place? I assume that’s where you came from this afternoon.”

  “About the same,” Uncle William said. “He can’t clean up yet either. But I was talking to him about the meeting tonight. Tyler’s acting awful strange—that’s all I can say. We both wonder if this had anything to do with all those questions Tyler kept asking of us.” Uncle William hung his head for a moment. “If it does, I’m ashamed I helped Tyler answer them.”

  “But how could that be?” Disbelief showed in Aunt Fannie’s face.

  Uncle William didn’t look up. “I had best keep silent until I know what I speak of, but I may have sinned greatly in what has come upon us.”

  “You? Sinned?” Aunt Fannie couldn’t have appeared more surprised.

  “Our faith has strong guidance on these matters.” Uncle William fell silent for a moment. “But let us pray so we can eat.”

  They bowed their heads in silent prayer. When he had finished, Uncle William dished soup into Jonathon’s bowl and then filled his own. After the first bite, he continued, “From how the law enforcement people are acting, both of us think there is a connection.”

  Miriam’s head spun. Uncle William thought this was about something else entirely. But what? Now she would have to listen by the kitchen doorway for sure.

  “There’s also other news in the midst of our troubles,” Uncle William said with a smile. “Deacon Phillips said Mose is coming this weekend again. On Saturday.”

  Cold chills ran up and down Miriam’s back.

  “Bishop Mose!” Aunt Fannie exclaimed.

  Uncle William had a twinkle in his eye. “That’s what I’ve heard. So I guess he’ll come preach for us. Did you know anything about this, Miriam?”

  She had to say something. But what?

  “Did you know this, Miriam?” Aunt Fannie asked.

  “No.” Miriam kept her head bowed over her empty bowl. “Mose hasn’t written since I’ve been back from Shirley’s wedding.”

  Aunt Fannie stared at the wall. “That’s true, now that I think about it, and that’s been a while. There has been plenty of time for a letter to arrive. Didn’t you send him one?”

  “I was waiting for him to write,” Miriam replied. This was partially true, but guilt over her kiss with Tyler on her first Sunday back completed the story. “Wise woman,” Uncle William chuckled. “The strategy must have worked. The man’s on his way out here.”

  Aunt Fannie was worried, though. Miriam could tell.

  “There’s no use writing him now,” Miriam tried to tease, but from the look on Aunt Fannie’s face, she had only made things worse.

  “There may be much repentance necessary before this is over,” Uncle William muttered.

  Miriam glanced up sharply. Was Uncle William speaking of her?

  “Aren’t you going to eat anything?” Aunt Fannie asked with a glance at Miriam’s still-empty bowl.

  “I’m not that hungry,” Miriam managed, but she ladled out a small dipper of broccoli soup and added a few crackers. Jonathon grinned at her as she ate, and Miriam tried to smile back. The effort hurt, but Jonathon didn’t seem to notice. Thankfully, Aunt Fannie seemed taken up with Uncle William at the moment.

  Once the silent prayer of thanksgiving was offered to end the meal, Jonathon was up like a shot.

  “Poor boy,” Aunt Fannie muttered as he disappeared out the washroom door. “I imagine the barn animals are more cheerful than this house right now.”

  Uncle William gave his frau an awkward pat on the arm. “The Lord will see us through this dark valley. That’s His promise.”

  Miriam caught a glimpse of a car pulling into the driveway, followed by Deacon Phillips’s buggy.

  Aunt Fannie also noticed. She stood up and walked to the kitchen doorway. “Looks like everyone timed it just right.”

  Uncle William had a weary look on his face. “May the Lord help us—that’s all I can say.”

  “Amen,” Aunt Fannie echoed.

  Miriam ducked out of sight as an officer climbed out of the car with Tyler. Aunt Fannie noticed the same thing and gasped.

  “Maybe he’s here to investigate some more,” Miriam suggested.

  “Well, he’s coming in, so we’ll know pretty soon,” Aunt Fannie said.

  What a valley of sorrows, Miriam thought. And to top it off, Mose would come this weekend. She would have to confess her sin to him, and it would not be easy. Mose might call off the engagement. Not that he had asked her to marry him to begin with, but all the same, their plans could come to an early end—and just as well. Miriam deserved all of this and more. Likely the shame of this transgression would follow her for the rest of her days, and she’d never live the report down once Mose spilled her secret.

  “We’ll make it through this,” Aunt Fannie said in Miriam’s ear. “Even with an Englisha officer in the house. Take courage, Miriam. You’re white as a sheet.”

  “What do you think he wants?” Miriam whispered. Tyler had obviously brought him. The same Tyler she had kissed. The Tyler that was from another world so foreign it boggled her mind. How could she have opened her heart to this man? Miriam grasped the back of a chair with both hands and sat down. The whole kitchen spun in circles around her, but she managed somehow not to faint.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The late Saturday sunlight filtered in through the drapes on Miriam’s bedroom window. She shouldn’t hide out here, Miriam told herself, but she had to catch her breath for a moment. Mose had been due to arrive this morning at Deacon Phillips’s place, and she had waited all day for his buggy wheels to roll into the driveway. But he hadn’t come. Maybe the Greyhound bus had been late into Coalgate, but that was doubtful. Miriam still didn’t know why Mose was making the trip, but she was sure he wasn’t coming for a friendly visit. Mose must have found out about Tyler. What else could explain this trip? Mose hadn’t bothered to notify her of his arrival. And it wasn’t like him to leave that to others. Mose was here to bring co
rrection to her life—if he settled for that after she confessed the whole story. Nothing would surprise her at the moment.

  A crew of community men had shown up early in the morning to clean up Uncle William’s barn, now that the police had removed their yellow tape. The crew was almost finished and would leave soon. Likely Mose knew of this and would time his visit so he could speak with her alone.

  She had helped Aunt Fannie serve the men lunch. That’s when her aunt had finally noticed her nervousness, but there hadn’t been time for a private discussion with the other women around. Several of them had arrived to help fix dinner and clean up afterward. A few of the women were still in the yard waiting for their husbands to complete the barn cleanup.

  In the stillness of the house, she had fled upstairs to escape Aunt Fannie’s questions, but her attempt was in vain. She could hear Aunt Fannie’s footsteps coming up the stairs at this very moment. At least they would have their conversation in her bedroom without fear of interruption. She might as well tell Aunt Fannie everything. Her transgressions would eventually be made public once Mose arrived.

  “Please help me, dear Lord,” Miriam prayed as Aunt Fannie entered the bedroom without a knock.

  “Miriam, what’s going on?” Aunt Fannie stood before her with both hands on her hips. “You are all fahuddled. I know Mose is coming, but you don’t seem the least bit happy about it. And now that I think twice about the matter, why haven’t you received any letters from him since you’ve been back? And why didn’t you write any? Start talking, Miriam.”

  Miriam tried to steady her voice. “I told you why I didn’t write. Why Mose didn’t…”

  Aunt Fannie stopped Miriam. “There’s more to this, Miriam. I want you to tell me what’s been bothering you.”

  “Oh, Aunt Fannie, it’s just so awful!” Miriam started to cry. “I don’t know why I did what I did. I tried not to, but I couldn’t help myself. I’ve searched my heart, and I can’t believe what I find there. Oh, Aunt Fannie, it’s the most horrible, terrible thing to ever happen to me. And I think Mose knows about it!”

  Aunt Fannie sat down on the bed and didn’t say anything for several long moments. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, so let’s back up and start at the beginning. What did you do that’s so wrong?”

  “Tyler and I kissed! Twice!” Miriam blurted out. “I mean two different times. Oh, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I couldn’t help myself.”

  “You did what?” Aunt Fannie was on her feet again.

  “Oh, Aunt Fannie,” Miriam wailed. “What am I going to do?”

  “When did all this happen?” Aunt Fannie sat down again, ashen-faced.

  “The first day I was back from Possum Valley, on that Sunday afternoon when I went back to the schoolhouse with my buggy. And then when Tyler brought me home in his car from the youth gathering.”

  “And Mose knows this?”

  “I don’t know how he could… but I know I have to confess to him… then he’ll know for sure.” Mirian burst into a fresh set of tears.

  “He must already know,” Aunt Fannie muttered. She walked over to the window and looked out. “Why else would he not write? Why else would he come all this way and not even tell you, of all people, he’s coming?”

  Miriam choked out, “But who… and how?”

  “Someone must have seen you at the schoolhouse,” Aunt Fannie said. “Oh, Miriam, how could you! This is beyond you. You’ve never acted like this before. Now your sister Shirley—yah, that I can understand. Shirley used to pull these stunts, but not you.”

  Miriam buried her face in her pillow and moaned.

  “Well, you’re right about confessing to Mose.” Aunt Fannie’s face was set. “That might help. It’s your only chance. And there must still be hope. Why else would Mose make the trip out here? He must still love you.”

  “Love me?” Miriam muffled her voice.

  “You don’t have to act surprised.” Aunt Fannie gave Miriam a glare. “You’re an attractive catch. Why else would Tyler have kissed you? Oh, how could I have been so wrong about the man? Here he was seducing you and bringing the police into our house, to say nothing of what still lies ahead.”

  For a moment only Miriam’s muffled cries could be heard. Then Aunt Fannie spoke up again. “I know what, Miriam. Let me talk with Mose first. I’ll tell him I just learned of this thing myself and that Tyler pulled the wool over all of our eyes. I’m not the deacon’s frau or the bishop’s, but I am a woman. He’ll listen to me.”

  Miriam shook her head. “I think it’s best that I go first. I have done this, and I must redeem this. There is no other choice.”

  “But he…” Aunt Fannie stopped. “Well, okay. Perhaps you know best. But I’ll make it easier for you if I have a chance.”

  Miriam tried to smile but in vain.

  “Come.” Aunt Fannie took her hand. She led Miriam down the stairs like a child. Aunt Fannie let go only moments before they stepped into the living room. Through the window they could see the small group of women still in the yard. One of the men had a buggy ready to go, so it wouldn’t be long before the yard was empty. Miriam pulled in a sharp breath. Mose was there, standing with his back turned to the house and in deep conversation with Uncle William.

  “Help us, dear Lord,” Aunt Fannie whispered.

  Terror gripped Miriam. The man could ruin her, and she could no longer put a gut face on this. Mose might even plan to excommunicate her—if she repented or not.

  “Do you think he’ll put me in the bann?” Miriam whispered.

  “How could he?” Aunt Fannie retorted. “You did a mighty stupid thing, but the bann isn’t for kissing another man. Not unless you’re married.”

  “I remember when you told me about your… transgression,” Miriam said. “Uncle William was going to force a church confession out of you. You weren’t married when you kissed your former Englisha boyfriend at that chance meeting.”

  Aunt Fannie paled a little. “Yah, but that’s not the bann. And if you have to make a church confession, you’ll still have Mose.”

  She could handle that, Miriam told herself. The shame would cut deep, but others had had to confess their faults in front of the whole church. However, she had never done so before and didn’t want to now. From her reaction, pride must have crept deep into her soul. And did not pride always come before great destruction? Yah, it did. No wonder she had fallen.

  “I can do that much.” Miriam looked up at her aunt’s face. Horror was written there. “What?” Miriam managed.

  “Tyler might have changed everything in the past few days!” Aunt Fannie said. “Perhaps this is no longer an ordinary situation.”

  Miriam saw what Aunt Fannie meant—the fires, the police, the yellow crime tape, the long conversation in the living room on Friday night about arrests and courtrooms and testimonies. Uncle William had been white-faced under his dark beard when Tyler and the police officer had finally left.

  “Oh, Miriam.” Aunt Fannie clutched her arm. “I can’t believe this.”

  They might as well believe, Miriam told herself. Outside Uncle William was shaking hands with the last of the soot-covered men, obviously thanking them for their help. Mose’s straight form broke away from the group and strode toward the house, his head bowed low. He raised it only to nod to the three women still in the yard. He appeared tired, like a weary man after a long day’s work. Mose paused by the water hydrant where the men had cleaned up for lunch and splashed water on his face and beard. He rubbed on the soap for a long time before he rinsed and dried himself with the towel hanging on a nearby bush.

  “I’d better leave you alone,” Aunt Fannie whispered, vanishing in the direction of the kitchen.

  Miriam watched, transfixed. Mose was still a young man, but his beard was lengthy for his age and untrimmed. Straggly hairs floated sideways as he dried them with the towel. His eyes blazed even from this distance, and Miriam stepped further out of sight.

  This man was to be
her husband. Her whole body trembled at the thought. Would his kisses be tender? There was no way she would find out now before they said the vows together. But what right did she have to know? How could a kiss be trusted to tell the truth of a man’s character? If it could, Tyler was the man she should marry instead of Mose. Yet Tyler had nothing to offer her. He had waltzed into the community and taken advantage of them all. Tyler had been after nothing but a corruption investigation, which had nothing to do with the community’s best interest. And Tyler didn’t take no for an answer when it came to matters of the heart, even when he left nothing behind but broken pieces. Her mind went back to the Wednesday night meeting she had overheard from the kitchen.

  “Drop the whole investigation,” Uncle William begged Tyler. “We’re sorry we ever got involved.”

  “Yah, please, Tyler,” Deacon Phillips seconded.

  “It’s out of my hands now,” Tyler insisted.

  “He’s right,” the officer agreed. “The state is involved now, and we’re sorry for the trouble you’ve all had. But we’ll see what help can be provided.”

  “We want no help from the state,” Deacon Phillips said in no uncertain terms. “That is not our way.”

  Tears sprang to Miriam’s eyes at the memory of that night. Her reverie ended when Mose pushed open the door. Miriam jumped. She whirled about, but he had already seen that she had been watching him from the window. No emotion showed on his face.

  “Miriam,” he said.

  She wanted to race to him and fly into his arms the way Jonathon did when she came home from the schoolhouse, but her body wouldn’t move.

  “You know then?” Miriam forced the words out.

  “That you have been cavorting with that Englisha man who has brought all this trouble on your community?” Mose spat the words out.

  “Mose, please,” Miriam begged. “I know there’s no excuse, but—”

  Mose cut her off. “So it is true? I had hoped in the depths of my heart that you might at least deny the matter.”