The Amish Baby Finds a Home

by Barbara Cameron

  “Talk to me.”

  “Fine. When I get out.”

  Gideon showered, washed his hair thoroughly, and got out to dry himself off. He took his time dressing in clean clothes, stood before the mirror over his dresser, and dragged a comb through his damp hair. Furrows showed in it like rows in a sowed field.

  He didn’t want to go downstairs and talk to Eli, but if he didn’t his bruder would just come back upstairs and harass him.

  When he returned to the kitchen he found that Eli had put a pot of coffee on and was sitting at the table.

  He sank into a chair and grunted thanks when Eli set a mug of coffee in front of him.

  “How was the water?”

  “You want to know how the shower was?” Gideon gave him a disgusted look.

  “The pond. It’s usually still a little cool this time of year.”

  “You been skinny-dipping lately?”

  “Nope.” He sat down with his own mug of coffee. “Tell me what you did to make Hannah push you into the pond.”

  “She didn’t exactly push me into the pond,” Gideon began. Then he shrugged and slumped down in his chair. “What makes you think it’s my fault?”

  “I know both of you. Hannah’s too mild mannered to fight with you.”

  “Shows how much you know.” He stared down into his coffee. “I was trying to tell her it might be difficult to get married after harvest.”

  “Why would you tell her such a thing?”

  Gideon looked at him, hesitated, then blurted out, “Because you’re getting married.”

  It took a moment for Eli to catch on. “Ah. The house.”

  “Ya. The house.”

  Eli frowned.

  “We agreed that the first to marry would move into the house. You’ll be the first to marry.”

  Eli looked at him. “It sounded gut when we talked about it. I always thought you’d be the first to marry.” He shrugged. “I didn’t have any interest in getting married for years.”

  “I have no problem with you moving in here with Emma and John.” Gideon leaned back in his chair. “It just means putting things off a bit with Hannah until I save enough for a place of our own.”

  “Many couples start off living with the bride’s eldres. You get along just fine with them.”

  “I just want us to start off with our own place.”

  “That’s not only stubborn, it’s stupid.”

  “Gee, thanks for calling me stupid, Stupid,” Gideon snapped.

  “Well, at the least it’s pride. And you know what they say about it.”

  He did indeed. Der Hochmut kummt vor dem Fall. Pride comes before the fall. Gideon frowned. Was he being prideful?

  The kitchen door opened. Leah walked in and shut the door. “Are you two at it again? I could hear you coming up the porch steps.” She held out a limp, wet lily pad. “I found this on the back porch. Someone been taking a dip in the pond?”

  Then she spied the picnic basket. “How was your picnic?” Her gaze went to Gideon’s damp hair.

  “It apparently didn’t go the way he wanted,” Eli told her.

  For that he got another glare. “I can speak for myself,” said Gideon.

  Eli waved his hand. “Then do.”

  Leah set her purse and bonnet down on the bench by the door, then helped herself to a cup of coffee before taking a seat at the table.

  “I didn’t handle things well,” Gideon told them. “I was trying to explain to Hannah why we might have to wait to get married. Before I could get out what I wanted to say she got up and started to storm off. I tried to stop her and landed in the pond.”

  Leah sighed. “I know you want your own place. But you’re not thinking about what Hannah wants. Maybe she doesn’t want to be a maedel for another year. Maybe she’d rather be married to you and live with her eldres or here and save for your future together. Did you think to ask her?”

  “Nee.” Gideon’s shoulders sagged even more.

  “Give her some time to cool off then go talk to her,” Eli suggested.

  “This time ask her what she wants,” Leah said. “Then listen.”

  “I talked to Emma about it,” Eli spoke up.

  Gideon looked at him. “You did?”

  “Ya. I told her what you and I had discussed after Daed died. She was worried when she saw Cassie at your shop. She didn’t think it was right that you and Hannah would have to buy one.”

  “You think she wouldn’t mind if we stayed here while we saved up?”

  “I know she wouldn’t. Like I said, we talked about it.”

  “It could be for a while. Or forever,” Leah said. “We have plenty of room to add on to the house,” she told them. “Maybe the four of you should talk.”

  Eli nodded and looked at Gideon. “But maybe not near the pond again.”

  “Very funny.”

  He got up, patted Gideon’s shoulder, then lifted the lid of the wicker picnic basket to peek inside. “What did you pack to eat?” Then he yelped when Gideon slammed the wicker lid down on his hand. “Mamm!”

  “What was I thinking?” she asked as she stood. “The two of you would drive Hannah and Emma crazy in no time.”

  She walked into the dawdi haus and shut the door with a snap.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Emma stretched as she lay in bed and smiled. Who wouldn’t be in a wunderbaar mood? She and Eli were getting married today.

  She’d been right to come back here with John. It hadn’t been easy saving for months or riding for hours in a bus with an infant. Or having her heart broken when her eldres had refused to talk to her the day she’d gone to her old house after arriving in Paradise. Thank goodness she’d saved enough for a motel room and Hannah had offered her a part-time job.

  After her dat had his heart attack and her mudder had called her and asked her to come to the hospital, she’d hoped her dat would soften. She knew he was safely home now and that he was allrecht. He’d looked a little pale and shaky when she and Eli had gone to invite them to the wedding but he’d schur had the energy to shout at them and slam the door in their faces. Well, she’d continue to hope that her dat would forgive her and she and Eli would be invited to their house one day soon. And that she’d be asked to bring John.

  Emma sighed. She was resigned to the fact that her eldres wouldn’t be at the wedding, though that hurt her heart so. But Eli’s mudder and bruder had been so gut to her. They already felt like familye. And Hannah had become such a gut friend.

  She felt blessed indeed.

  Turning her head on the pillow, Emma saw that her sweet boppli smiled as he slept. What did bopplin dream of? she wondered. Toys like the stuffed farm animals that his dat had brought him that he snuggled with now? Yummy things to eat like pears and bananas and jars of blueberry buckle pudding? Or being held by someone they loved and who loved them? Did they dream of the Dat who’d sent them to earth?

  John opened his eyes, yawned, and blinked sleepily. He smiled when he saw her.

  “Guder mariye,” she crooned. When he got older she’d teach him Englisch and he’d learn German as well so that he would be able to read the Bible and sing the old hymns in church services.

  John was one bright bu, and she knew he’d learn all of the languages well.

  He studied the stuffed pig near his face so intensely that his eyes almost crossed and carried on a conversation only he understood as she rose to dress and make their breakfast.

  “We need to get ready quickly,” she told John as she rose. “Hannah will be here soon to pick us up.”

  She almost made the bed but then remembered that this was the last time she and John would share the motel room, so these linens would be stripped and the bed remade with fresh sheets for the next occupant. Looking around it, she knew she wouldn’t miss this room but she felt grateful that it had been a safe, comfortable place for them since they’d returned to Lancaster County.

  After pulling on one of her everyday dresses she brushed her hair
and pinned it back, then fastened on her kapp. She walked over to the little refreshment area and pulled John’s bottle from the mini-fridge, set it in a pan, and ran hot water in it. She left it to warm while she fixed him a bowl of rice cereal and mashed-up banana.

  She lifted John from his crib and gave him a big smacking kiss that made him giggle. Then she set him in his stroller and dodged his waving hands as she fed it to him. She didn’t want to start the day giving him a bath. Or having to change her everyday dress. The one she had on was the best of the three she had. She’d change into her wedding dress and apron when she got to Eli’s house. Leah had it hidden in her closet for her.

  After she cleaned John up Emma laid him in his crib to drink his bottle while she ate a quick bowl of cornflakes and made a cup of tea. Then she washed up the dishes and set them to drain. She couldn’t make up the bed, but she wasn’t leaving dirty dishes for someone else to wash.

  A knock sounded on the door a few minutes later. Emma opened it to find Hannah on the doorstep.

  “Guder mariye!” Hannah cried. She threw her arms around Emma and hugged her. “Are you ready to get married?”

  “I am.” She gestured at the suitcase and small bag by the door. “We’re all packed up. I paid my bill last night so we could be ready to leave when you got here.”

  “You’re always so organized.”

  Hannah had no sooner stepped inside the room and shut the door when there was another knock. She opened it, and a middle-aged Englisch woman beamed at her.

  “Is Emma here? Oh, there you are,” she said as Emma stepped forward. She handed Emma a little gift bag. “Just a little something for you. Congratulations on your wedding.”

  Emma blinked back tears. June Wilson owned the motel with her husband and had been so friendly and helpful that Emma had shared her news when she’d paid her bill.

  “June, this is very nice but you didn’t have to give me anything.” She reached into the bag and found two linen dish towels decorated with wildflowers. “What beautiful embroidery,” she said, tracing her finger over the delicate work.

  June beamed. “I enjoy doing it when things are slow. And I have something for that sweet little boy of yours.” She pulled a stuffed teddy bear from the voluminous smock she wore over her clothes. “Can I give it to him?”

  John had sat up in the crib at the sound of female voices and he squealed when he saw June walking toward him with the bear.

  “Oh, I’m going to miss this little guy so much,” she said as she leaned over the crib and gave the bear to John. “You have to promise to come visit me some time.”

  “Of course. And you can come see us at Hannah’s shop.”

  “That I’ll do.” She smiled at Emma. “You have a wonderful wedding. I’m so happy for you.” She paused by the door and looked at the luggage. “Oh, I’ll send the husband over to help you put your things in the buggy.” She was off to summon him before Emma could tell her they didn’t need help.

  “Well, let’s get going,” Hannah told her. “We don’t want to be late.”

  She grasped the handle of Emma’s suitcase and lifted the small bag Emma used for John, but when she opened the door there was Mac, June’s husband, ready to take them from her.

  Emma grabbed her purse and diaper bag then picked John up. “Say goodbye to the room, John. We’re going to our new home.”

  The ride in Hannah’s buggy seemed to take a long time, but Emma knew that it was just because she was impatient now that her wedding day was finally here.

  When the farmhouse finally came into view she was overcome by emotion. This would be her home now. Hers and Eli’s and John’s. Her heart beat so fast she thought it would leap from her chest.

  Leah was waiting for her and eagerly took John from her arms to entertain him. They quickly engaged in a discussion about John’s new bear as she carried him off to another room.

  Gideon helped bring Emma’s things inside and carried them up to the master bedroom. “I’ll go tell Eli you lost your mind and showed up,” he joked.

  He gave Hannah a look of regret before leaving to keep Eli company until the ceremony.

  Emma gave Hannah an uncertain look. “Hannah—”

  “Time to get dressed,” Hannah told her briskly and took her own dress from the closet. “We don’t want to be late.”

  She wanted to protest but Hannah shook her head so she subsided.

  Hannah changed into the dusky rose dress she’d sewn to wear to the wedding and then helped Emma change into her wedding dress and apron. Emma pinned on a fresh kapp and as she did her gaze met Hannah’s in the mirror over the dresser.

  “You look beautiful. Wait until Eli sees you.”

  Emma smiled tremulously as she smoothed her hands over her apron. “Danki.” She sighed. “Oh, Hannah, I wish you and Gideon hadn’t fought.”

  “So Eli told you.”

  “Of course he did. I wish you’d talked to me about it.”

  “We’re not going to talk about that today of all days,” Hannah said firmly.

  “But—”

  “Nee.” Hannah opened the door. “Ready to get married?”

  Emma smiled and nodded. “I’m ready.”

  She turned and smiled when she saw Leah carry John into the room. He wore a new blue shirt and dark broadcloth pants. “Where did that outfit come from?”

  “I made it for him,” Leah told her. “Doesn’t the blue shirt just bring out the color of his eyes? And it’s his first pair of big bu pants.”

  Emma had loved Eli for a long time and had always wanted to marry him. Over the past weeks she’d come to love his bruder and mudder and see how much they loved her and John.

  And if she hadn’t known already, she saw it today in the way Leah beamed at John, then at her.

  “Oh, Emma, you look so lovely. Blue is your color.” She took a deep breath. “Now, Eli’s beside himself waiting for you. Go!”

  Emma’s heart swelled with love as she fairly flew down the stairs to join hands with Eli in marriage.

  * * *

  Eli took Emma’s hand as she reached the bottom of the stairs and stood there for a long moment taking in how pretty she looked. She…glowed.

  “You’re beautiful,” he told her and she gave him a big smile.

  “How handsome you look,” she said. He wore a dark broadcloth suit and a white shirt.

  “Mamm made me a new suit.” He grinned. “I didn’t want John to outshine me today.”

  “I have two handsome men,” she said, beaming with happiness.

  They walked together to Elmer. He was standing near the fireplace in the living room, which had been scrubbed and had a big bouquet of flowers from Leah’s garden set inside it. More flowers sat atop it in a vase. Benches had been placed in front of the fireplace. Emma figured Eli and Gideon had set them there under their mudder’s stern supervision.

  Now the benches were filled with their few friends; Ruby, the late bishop’s fraa; and Elmer’s fraa as well, women on one side and men on the other.

  Emma’s steps faltered when she saw her mudder sitting next to Leah and Ruby. Then Eli watched her gaze fly to the other side of the fireplace where she saw her dat sitting with the men.

  “Eli?” she whispered, shocked, as her gaze whipped to his.

  He placed his other hand on their joined ones and squeezed it in reassurance. She blinked back tears but resumed walking when he smiled at her. He knew his mudder had said she wanted to speak to Lillian but Ruby could have done so as well, knowing Ruby. The late bishop’s wife had been determined to see Eli marry and could well have spoken to Lillian and Abraham. Eli wasn’t schur which of the two strong-willed women had been responsible for persuading Abraham and Lillian to attend, but he was grateful for Emma’s sake. He was just as surprised as Emma when they walked in the door just a short time ago and been shocked speechless, but his mudder had smoothly welcomed them and had Gideon take them to their seats in the living room.

  He’d debated telling
Emma that her eldres were here when she came down the stairs, but decided he would let her be surprised.

  Her hand trembled in his and tears continued to slide down her cheeks as they approached the lay minister.

  Elmer welcomed them with a solemn smile and expressed his pleasure in joining them in matrimony. John chose that moment to utter a cry of delight as he sat on Leah’s lap, and Elmer nodded and grinned. “Ya, John, we are so glad to see Emma and Eli here to become one before God.”

  Eli listened to Elmer speak about the sanctity of marriage as he always did when he officiated at a wedding and found himself wondering why he had let Emma almost slip from his fingers.

  Now as he gazed at her listening to Elmer with such absorption he hoped he had many, many years to make it up to her, to show her how much he loved her and John.

  There were songs and prayers and the timeless vows: “Do you promise…this if he/she should be afflicted with bodily weakness, sickness or some other circumstance that you will care for him/her as is fitting for a Christian mann/fraa?

  “Do you solemnly promise to one another that you will love and bear and be patient with each other and shall not separate from each other until dear God shall part you from each other through death?”

  And finally they were mann and fraa. They walked back down the aisle between the rows of seats, collecting their sohn on their way.

  Gideon was the first to rush forward and grasp his hand and then give him an emotional hug. Eli watched Hannah do the same with Emma and then take John so that they could accept the congratulations of their friends and familye.

  Leah hugged her, and Eli saw Emma’s surprise when Lillian stepped forward to do the same. Abraham shook his hand briefly, but Eli noticed that the man couldn’t quite meet his gaze as he gruffly mumbled good wishes.

  It was more than he expected, Eli thought, and while Abraham didn’t embrace Emma she smiled and seemed content. He watched Lillian’s eyes dart toward John, but she seemed hesitant and didn’t ask to hold him.

  But John took matters into his own hands, bouncing in Hannah’s arms and reaching for Lillian. She quickly took him and held him tightly as tears slipped down her cheeks and Abraham stood there awkwardly patting her on the back.