The Reconciliation

by Susan Lantz Simpson

  “We could take Lena and the kinner to be our chaperones, if they want to go.”

  How like Atlee to read her mind and sense her momentary discomfort with the idea. “I think that sounds like fun. We’ll have hot chocolate, kaffi, and cookies for our brave rescuers when you’re ready.”

  Atlee backed out the door, leaving Becky with a huge grin and a wink. She felt her face flush again. Her heart always sang a different tune around Atlee, an unaccustomed but altogether pleasant tune. It was a tune she needed to change quickly for both their sakes.

  “So you decided to listen to Atlee?” Lena asked as Becky floated into the kitchen. “The man must have magical powers.” Lena closed a cabinet door and turned to face Becky. “Ah, it looks like he’s cast a spell on you, for sure and for certain.”

  Becky raised a cool hand to a flaming cheek. “What are you talking about? You’re narrisch!”

  “I’ve been called that a time or two, but I don’t think I’m crazy now. You don’t see your red cheeks or the sparkle in your eyes. I do.”

  “You see what you want to see, I think.”

  “I see what’s right in front of me.”

  “Maybe you need to get your eyes examined and get fitted for glasses.”

  Lena laughed. “I don’t think so. I think you need to look into your heart.”

  Becky averted her gaze so Lena could not read her expression. She knew exactly what her heart held, but her head had to rule. She jumped and looked up quickly when Lena squeezed her arm.

  “I’m not trying to give you a hard time, Becky. I only want to see you happy.”

  “I am quite happy with you and your little family. That is, until you decide to get married and kick me out.”

  “You’re bound to be happy for a gut, long time, then, because I don’t see that happening any time soon—if ever.”

  “You would like to get married again, though, ain’t so?”

  “The kinner need a daed. The place needs a man to do things so I don’t have to depend on freinden and neighbors.”

  “That doesn’t sound very romantic!”

  “Romance isn’t everything.” Lena’s voice dropped and a cloud crossed her face.

  Becky wrapped Lena in a quick hug. “I know you must still miss Joseph terribly. Do you think you could ever care about someone else?”

  “I don’t know.” Lena swiped a hand across her eyes. “What about you? Can you care again?”

  “I honestly can’t say I ever felt real love before. I thought I loved Vinny, but I was naive and stupid.”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You were just young and you’d lived a sheltered life.”

  “That’s the truth! I was lonely and frightened. I thought Vinny cared. I don’t know if I could ever trust someone again, or if I could trust myself to make the right decision.”

  “I think there is someone right outside you can count on to care for you and treat you right.”

  Becky lightly punched Lena’s arm. “You think too much.”

  Lena smiled. “Right now I think we’d better make cookies. I heard you tell Atlee there would be cookies later, and I fear two little scamps around here have about depleted our supply.” A wail from the living room brought a great sigh.

  “I can bake. You tend to that little man in the other room. What kind of cookies should I make?”

  “What is Atlee’s favorite?”

  “Oatmeal, uh . . .”

  “Aha! You know! You can’t fool me!” Lena laughed as she scurried to retrieve her fussing son.

  * * *

  By the time Becky had lifted the last batch of cookies to their cooling racks, she heard stomping at the back door. Her two little helpers ran to greet the visitors while Becky took mugs from the cabinet.

  “You have clear paths to the animals and the woodpiles. I was going to bring in more wood, but you look pretty well set.” Atlee entered the kitchen with a little girl hanging on to each arm.

  “I filled the boxes as high as possible before things got bad.” Becky looked around for two more people. “Where are Bishop Menno and his son?”

  “They had to go home to finish work there.”

  “I could at least send some cookies with them.” She ran to the window. “Have they already left?”

  “Jah.”

  “I’m sorry I missed them. Would you like kaffi or cocoa or tea?”

  “I’ll take a little kaffi. We could have cocoa after our ride, if that’s okay with you.”

  “That sounds fine. Girls, let Atlee get warm. He’s been out working hard in the cold.”

  Atlee smiled at the girls. “Why don’t you ask your mamm if she wants to go for a sleigh ride? The sun is out to warm things up.”

  Mary and Eliza raced from the room in search of Lena, who had been cleaning upstairs after getting Matthew back to sleep.

  “You must be tired, Atlee. Have a seat.” Becky filled a mug with kaffi and set it on the table.

  “I’m fine. Shoveling snow is hard work, but not much harder than mucking animal stalls. It looks like you’ve been busy.” Atlee nodded at the dozens of cookies on metal racks.

  “Help yourself to some.”

  “Oatmeal raisin. I love chocolate chip, but oatmeal raisin is my very favorite kind of cookie.” He plucked a fat, light brown cookie from the rack and sank onto a chair. He bit off a huge chunk and chewed. A thoughtful expression crossed his face as though he had weighty matters to consider.

  Becky watched Atlee chew. Had she used salt instead of sugar? She saw a smile light Atlee’s face. “Perfect! The best cookie ever!”

  “Ach, Atlee. A cookie is a cookie.” Still, Becky’s cheeks and heart warmed at the compliment. She had an almost overwhelming desire to brush the crumbs from the corners of Atlee’s mouth. She had to clasp her hands together to keep from doing just that.

  “I think I’ll have one, maybe two, more now. I’m sure I’ll be hungry again after our ride.” He winked at Becky, sending her heart fluttering crazily. “You still want to go, don’t you?” Atlee took a gulp of kaffi and searched Becky’s face.

  Becky forced herself to pull her eyes from his warm, caring gaze. She turned to run water in the sink. “Sure. I just need to clean up my mess here. I’ll probably be done before Lena has finished wrapping the girls up like mummies.”

  “I’ll help you.”

  “Nee. You sit and rest. Enjoy your kaffi.” Becky wasn’t at all sure her heart could take having his arm bump against hers as they stood side by side at the sink. If a gaze sent her heart tumbling, a touch would do far worse. Her arms still tingled when she thought of that earlier touch.

  “I’m not used to resting during the day. We’ll finish faster if I help, ain’t so?” Atlee stood and crossed the room. He pulled the dish towel from its hook and looked down at Becky with a huge grin. “I’m ready.”

  Becky dragged in a deep breath and began washing the dishes. If she was very careful, she might be able to avoid touching Atlee’s arm or shirtsleeve or . . .

  * * *

  Sure enough, Lena had the girls so bundled up only their eyes peered out from their winter gear. Becky couldn’t help but giggle when she saw them. “They aren’t going to the North Pole, Lena. You didn’t have them this wrapped up yesterday when they rolled around in the snow.”

  “They ran and jumped and worked up enough body heat to keep them warmer yesterday. Today they’ll just be sitting, and the movement of the sleigh will create a breeze.”

  Becky shrugged. “If you say so. Can you breathe, girls?” She could tell Atlee choked back a chuckle.

  “Of course they can breathe, silly,” Lena said.

  “I’m hot, Mamm.” Mary started to pull down the scarf wrapped around her chin and nose.

  “Leave it!” Lena shook a finger at the little girl.

  “I’ll be ready in just a minute. I’ll hurry so the girls don’t sweat to death.” Becky playfully punched Lena’s arm as she scooted by. “Aren’t you and Matthew going for hi
s first sleigh ride?”

  “I think it’s too cold for him.”

  “I can make a quick loop for you and the boppli, if you want,” Atlee offered.

  “Danki, but he was very fussy last night, so I think I’ll keep him inside.”

  “Why don’t you rest, since we’ll all be out and the house will be quiet?” Becky reentered the room dressed for the weather, but not so bundled up as Mary and Eliza. She wiggled her fingers into wool gloves.

  “Are you going to be warm enough? We don’t need you taking a chill.” Lena rearranged the scarf around Becky’s neck.

  “I survived being wet and cold yesterday, so I think I’ll be fine. Don’t worry, Lena.”

  “Is everyone ready?” Atlee fastened his jacket and pulled gloves from his pockets.

  Mary and Eliza tried to jump up and down. Mary turned her whole body to look at Lena. “We can’t move, Mamm.”

  “You’ll be sitting. You’ll be fine.”

  “We’d better get them outside before they have a heatstroke,” Becky mumbled.

  “I heard that!”

  “Go take a nap, Lena. Let’s go, girls.” Becky took a little hand in each of her own hands.

  “It’s pretty clear, but there might still be some slick spots. Here, I’ll hold Mary’s hand so you can hang on to me, Becky.”

  Becky nodded. Atlee was so considerate, but did he have any idea what it would do to her insides if she clung to him? She didn’t have much choice in the matter when Atlee took her free hand in his. Even though their gloves prevented skin-to-skin contact, a ripple shot up her arm and made her heart somersault.

  “Where are our angels?” Mary struggled to see out of her cocoon.

  “Angels?” Atlee asked.

  “We made snow angels yesterday—well, sort of.”

  “Snowman?” Eliza tugged on Becky’s hand.

  “Jah. We made a little snowman, too. They got covered up by more snow last night. Maybe we can make them again later.”

  Atlee helped Becky and the girls climb into the sleigh and get situated. He tucked blankets around them to ward off the chill before hitching the horse. “Who’s ready for a sleigh ride?” he asked as he jumped into the sleigh.

  Two little squeals answered him. Becky could barely contain her own excitement. They didn’t always have enough snow in Southern Maryland to haul out the sleigh. When they did, it was a real treat.

  Mary and Eliza giggled and shrieked as the sleigh sailed across the snow. The glare of the sun bouncing off the vast white fields nearly blinded them until their eyes became more accustomed to the brightness. The county snowplows scraped their way along the paved road and spewed out salt behind them.

  “We don’t have to wait for the plows to dig us out, do we, girls?” Atlee asked.

  “Nee, we have the sleigh. We can go anywhere!” Mary squealed with delight, and Eliza joined in.

  Becky smiled at Atlee over the girls’ heads. It felt like they were a family on a winter outing—a mamm, a daed, and their kinner. How nice it would be if she and Atlee could share a sleigh ride with their own little ones! He would tuck them all in nice and warm like he’d done today. They would smile at each other and maybe sit close or even hold hands.

  Ach! She couldn’t let her thoughts travel any further down that road. Atlee was a freind. He’d shown up at Lena’s house to help out just like Bishop Menno had. He’d offered to take them for a sleigh ride out of kindness. No doubt a sensitive man like Atlee felt sorry for Lena’s girls since they no longer had a daed, and he wanted to bring them a little joy. He’d asked her along just to be nice. That’s it. Nothing more. Even if she would like there to be something more—which she only admitted to herself very rarely—she couldn’t let that happen. Atlee deserved a girl who was unencumbered by the consequences of her wrong decisions.

  As they glided along, the girls laughed at snowmen standing in yards they passed. One Englisch woman busily carved away at the mound of snow in her front yard. Becky pointed her out. “It looks like she’s making a lion, a snow lion.”

  “Can we do that?” Mary stared in awe at the artist at work. She leaned forward and watched until the house was out of sight.

  “I don’t think I know how to do that,” Becky replied.

  “Do you, Atlee?” Mary turned hopeful eyes in Atlee’s direction.

  “I’m afraid not, Mary, but I can probably build a pretty gut snowman.”

  “Okay. I’ll take a snowman.” Satisfied, Mary snuggled back between Atlee and Eliza.

  Some brave Englischers had dug their cars out of the snow and crept along the road in the tracks made by the snowplows. Becky couldn’t understand the need to get out on the slick roads, but some people always had places to go. Maybe some folks had to go to work. She was glad she could just enjoy the ride and the Lord Gott’s creation.

  Snow coated the tree limbs like vanilla frosting on chocolate cake. Crystal icicles hung down from front porch roofs and shimmered like rainbows in the brilliant sunlight. Little brown birds hopped along on top of the snow, searching for some morsel of food. Becky made a mental note to scatter crumbs or birdseed across Lena’s yard.

  “I see some rosy cheeks. Maybe we’d better head back so the girls don’t get too cold and so Lena won’t worry too much,” Atlee said.

  Becky nodded. “It’s too bad Lena didn’t join us. I think she was a little miffed that this storm interrupted her dream of spring. This has been a wunderbaar ride.”

  Atlee nodded. “It has been fun. I’m glad . . . Becky, what is it?”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Becky tried but couldn’t make her voice come out. She couldn’t even catch her breath. She could only nod in the direction of a jeep-type vehicle parked haphazardly at the end of an Amish neighbor’s driveway. In the glint of the sun, the license plate looked yellow, not like Maryland plates at all. Unconsciously, she hunkered down and pulled the blanket up higher.

  Atlee turned his head to follow Becky’s gaze. “Someone is brave to drive on these roads.”

  “New York.” She saw Atlee squint in the sun’s glare to read the tag, but she didn’t need to read it. The color of the tag and the fear squeezing her heart told her all she needed to know.

  Atlee reached across the girls to grasp her hand. “It’s okay, Becky. Remember there are lots of Englischers around here from out of state.”

  “It’s them.” She slid farther down when it seemed two men from the vehicle looked their way.

  Atlee squeezed her hand. “Calm down, Becky. You’ll be fine. Let me get you back to Lena’s.” He shook the reins and spurred the horse to move faster. “Hang on, girls!”

  Mary and Eliza squealed as the sleigh zoomed across the snow, thoroughly enjoying the adventure. Becky sat up a little straighter to reach an arm around each girl’s shoulders. She had to keep them safe. She prayed the horse wouldn’t stumble going so fast in the snow and ice. Please, Gott, let us get home.

  Would the men follow the sleigh? Did they see her? Would they have recognized her if they did see her? Becky wanted to leap from the sleigh and run until she couldn’t run anymore. She couldn’t bring trouble to Atlee, Lena, or the kinner. She’d been foolish to think those horrible men wouldn’t find her. She had so hoped the New York police had found them way before now.

  Go, go, go! she urged the horse in her mind. Since he could cut across fields, they should be able to make it home before the men caught up with them. The vehicle would be at the mercy of the half-cleared road and the snowplows that hogged the lanes. She stared straight ahead but felt Atlee’s eyes on her every few minutes.

  “We’ll get home in just a minute, Becky. Trust.”

  She nodded and wished she had Atlee’s faith. All she could think was that she should have stayed on that bus and not led danger to her loved ones. She choked back a sob. She had to hold herself together for the sake of the girls.

  Atlee stopped the sleigh as close to the house as he could. The poor horse panted hard from his ex
ertion. His breath rose from his huge nostrils like smoke billowing from the chimney.

  “Can we build the snowman now?” Mary asked.

  Becky didn’t want to frighten the children, but she needed to get them inside quickly. She threw a glance over her shoulder in time to see the jeep plunging through the snow in Lena’s driveway. Her gut clenched and her heart paused before thudding back into an erratic rhythm. “L-let’s hurry and go inside to warm up first. Maybe we can have a few cookies, too.”

  “Cookies,” Eliza chirped.

  “Okay. And then we can build the snowman?” Mary was persistent.

  “We’ll see.” Becky jumped from the sleigh and reached for Eliza at the same time Atlee hopped down to haul Mary out.

  “Run inside now, Mary. Hurry so your red nose doesn’t drop off.” Atlee winked at Becky as Mary shrieked and took off running, kicking up a spray of snow behind her. “Go on inside, Becky. I’ll see what these people want.”

  Becky stood planted in the same spot. She couldn’t seem to make her tongue or her feet obey any commands issued by her brain.

  “Everything will be all right, Becky. They are probably lost or looking for someone.”

  “Me.” Becky plunged through the snow, not caring if she got wet or covered with ice crystals. She hung on to Eliza for dear life. She clumped up the steps and didn’t even bother to stomp the snow off her boots. “Lena!” she gasped as she nearly stumbled over the other woman, who stood just inside the door.

  “Here, I’ll take Eliza. You get out of those wet boots and go get warm.”

  Becky couldn’t release her hold on the little girl. She couldn’t take a step toward the stove so they could both get warm.

  Lena shook Becky’s arm. “What’s wrong, Becky? Are you sick? You look as pale as paste.” She wrestled Eliza from Becky’s arms and set her on the floor. “Go stand by Mary near the stove, Eliza. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  “Cookie?”

  “Jah, you scamp. We’ll get cookies in a few minutes.” When Eliza had toddled off to the living room, Lena turned again to Becky. “What happened?”

  “A car.”

  “A car? Did it get too close and frighten you? Did it skid on the ice?”