by Sarah Price
“You’re imagining things, I’m sure.”
But Mary insisted. “Nee, Verna. I wasn’t imagining it.”
“Then mayhaps she was just disappointed that he couldn’t stay.”
That was a possibility that Mary hadn’t considered. Perhaps she had jumped to the wrong conclusion. Her maternal instinct had kicked in, and she feared anything that might hurt her daughter. That had always been her way. Abram’s, too.
“You’re overthinking it, I’m sure,” Verna continued. “If they are in love, she’d be sorely disheartened to hear that he couldn’t stay. Wouldn’t you have felt the same way about Abram?”
Verna was right. Mary would’ve been terribly distraught if she’d been anticipating enjoying a meal with Abram and he’d had to cancel at the last minute. “I suspect you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right!” Verna gave her a stern look. “Why, I remember how ferhoodled you were when Abram came calling on you. You walked around with your head in the clouds half the time. You thought you hid it so well, but I knew.”
A small gasp escaped Mary’s lips. “You did not!”
“I most certainly did! Neither one of you was terribly discreet about slipping away from singings or fellowship so that he could take you home in his buggy. All that hymn humming!”
Just the thought of those nights, way back when, made Mary smile. She remembered exactly what Verna was speaking about. After the first two times Abram had sent a friend over to inquire if she might ride home with him in his buggy, they’d devised a secret code for when Abram would want to leave. He’d collect his hat and coat and head to the door, passing near her while humming his favorite hymn.
“You remember that?”
Verna rolled her eyes. “My word! How could I forget? That Abram was always humming and looking for you at the singings. And as soon as you heard him, you’d get up to leave right away.” Even Verna laughed at the memory. “All in the name of discretion, and yet everyone saw right through it!”
Mary couldn’t help but laugh, too. “And here we thought we were being so sneaky.”
Verna nodded. “So trust me, Mary Ropp. You mark my words. We’ll be celebrating their marriage soon enough, and then, hopefully, a grossboppli by next Christmas.”
Just the thought of being a grandmother was enough to make Mary lose her concentration. Her daughter getting married was one thing. Having a baby was quite another.
“A boppli? Oh help!”
“Well, of course a grossboppli!” Verna gestured toward Myrna, who sat nearby at a table, her belly protruding from her black dress. “That’s the order of things, isn’t it? Courtship. Marriage. Kinner!”
“I can’t think of such things today!”
Verna shook her head and made a face. “This time next year, I promise you that you’ll be holding a sweet boppli in your arms.”
The thought did warm Mary’s heart.
“And just think,” Verna exclaimed. “Mayhaps Myrna’s boppli and Bethany’s will be friends as well as second cousins. The next generation of members in the Cookie Club!”
Even though she laughed with Verna, Mary felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. Moving over to the sink, she took over the task of washing platters and serving trays. She needed to keep herself busy so that her mind would stop whirling.
Of course, she knew that Verna was right, but it hadn’t been something Mary had considered. Why, she couldn’t even begin to imagine her daughter having a baby. Mary knew that her own struggles with pregnancy, followed by so much heartache when she’d miscarried, had tainted her view of her daughter having babies. Everything would be in God’s hands, she told herself, but she still knew that it was a mother’s prerogative to worry.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Somehow Bethany knew it was John long before the horse and buggy slowed to a stop beside her on the road. Amid the snowy flakes that fell from the sky, she stood on the side of the road, waiting for him to slide open the door on the right side of the buggy.
“Kum quickly,” he called out. “It’s too cold outside.”
Smiling, she clutched her shawl by her throat, shivering as she climbed into the buggy. He had a blanket ready for her, covering her lap so that she could warm up.
“Ach, you must be freezing!”
She shook her head. “Nee, it’s not so cold out there. Just my toes got chilly.” She glanced down at her black shoes. These were the pair she always wore on Sundays to worship. The thin soles did nothing to keep out the chill of walking on snowy roads.
“And you’re wearing that shawl again!” He gave her a look of exaggerated irritation. “I can’t have my new fiancée catching a cold just before Christmas.”
“I won’t. I promise.” She smiled as she settled into the seat. “What are you doing over here?”
He clucked his tongue and jiggled the reins. The horse took its cue and started walking again, the buggy wheels rolling over the pavement with a creaking noise. “Why, I’ve come to talk to your bishop.”
She flushed. She’d forgotten that he had told her of his intention to speak to both of their bishops today.
“Plus, I wanted to see you,” he added, giving her a wink.
“I’m glad you did.”
“Now, tell me why you were walking home?”
She didn’t want to admit that she’d been feeling anxious. Her mind continued to whirl as she mulled over the fact that she’d soon be married to John and moving away from her parents. It was exciting and frightening at the same time. During the second seating, when she should have been enjoying the noon meal with other members of the community, she’d gone to her mother and, claiming a headache, told her she wanted to go home early.
“I . . . I just couldn’t sit still, I suppose.”
“Really?” He wore a concerned expression. “Is everything okay?”
She nodded. “Ja, everything’s right gut.” She hesitated before she reached out to touch his hand. Holding the reins in one hand, he entwined his fingers with hers, and she smiled. “Especially now that you’re here.”
A look of relief washed over him. “That’s how I felt today, too, especially after I spoke with my bishop.”
She caught her breath. Oh, how glad she was that it was the man who needed to inform the bishops. She wouldn’t have been able to do such a thing!
“And now, I’m on the way to have a word with your bishop.”
She knew what that meant. In two weeks, when their districts gathered for worship, the bishops would announce their upcoming wedding to the two congregations. But Bethany and John wouldn’t be there. It would be a day spent together, alone, discussing their wedding plans. He’d probably come over to her house and she’d make him some breakfast so that they could have some quiet time while the rest of the community learned about their engagement.
As soon as her parents returned to the house, it would be time to finalize wedding plans. Most likely they’d get married at the Esh farm, as her parents’ house was too small for a wedding celebration. There would be no wedding halls or churches to accommodate such an event. That was not the way of the Amish. In accordance with their traditions, members of the g’may alternated hosting religious services and special events at one another’s farms. But there would be invitations to write, many of them because everyone in the community would have to be invited, and a new dress to make. She’d plan the wedding meal with her mother and Edna, helping to prepare the food in the days preceding the event.
It would be a very busy time, for sure and certain.
And then she’d have to get ready to move to the Esh farm.
So many things to plan as she prepared for the next phase of her life as John’s new fraa, she pondered.
“January fourteenth,” he said. “That will be our wedding date.”
Bethany took a quick but deep breath. “Oh,” she whispered.
He glanced at her. “Something wrong?”
“It’s just so far away.”
John laughed. “Only three weeks or so. We’ve a lot to do in between now and then. It will be here before you know it.”
For Bethany, it couldn’t come soon enough.
“Will you be sorry to move away from your parents?” he asked.
“Ja, I will,” she admitted. That thought had troubled her more than anything else. “I can’t imagine my maem being alone in the haus all the time.”
For a moment, he didn’t respond, respecting her comment with silence. Finally, he cleared his throat. “I was thinking about that, Bethany. Mayhaps, during this winter, we could stay with your parents.”
Immediately, she brightened. “Really?”
John pulled the reins, slowing down the horse for a stop sign. He looked both ways before continuing down the road. “It’ll give me more time to build our haus and give you more time to be with your maem, especially during the cold winter months.”
“You’d have to drive there every day.”
He smiled at her, his blue eyes searching her face. “It’s a very small sacrifice that I’m happy to make if it means making you look as happy as you do right now.” He leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. “Now, why don’t I drop you off at your haus, then?”
“Or . . .” She leaned against his arm and peered up at him. “Mayhaps we could go for a ride? It’s pretty outside today, with the snow and all, and I like just being here with you.”
He pursed his lips as if considering her request. Then, slowly, he nodded. “You know, Bethany, I think that’s a right gut idea. I’d like nothing more than to take a nice, leisurely ride with my girl seated by my side. I can talk to the bishop later this afternoon, I reckon.”
She tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and moved closer to him. She felt warm and safe seated next to him in the buggy. It was a place she would sit for many years to come, and that realization made her happy.
Chapter Fifty-Nine
“Straighten out that tablecloth, Jeremiah! And Jonas, I need more pine branches. Please cut some from the tree outside.”
Edna bustled about the kitchen. Everyone would be arriving in an hour, and things were not perfect yet. The food was cooking and the room smelled like the place to be, but she hadn’t finished setting the tables. And, frankly, Jeremiah and Jonas were not the best of helpers.
“Where’s John? I don’t see him helping!” Jonas grumbled.
“Never you mind about your bruder,” she snapped back. But she knew that John was outside, talking with Elmer. She suspected she knew what they were discussing, for she saw them walking around the back of the house, where John pointed to a section of the yard. She wanted to give her oldest son the time and privacy he needed to have that discussion with his father. Keeping Jonas and Jeremiah occupied, however, was proving most difficult.
“I can’t get this stupid cloth straight,” Jeremiah cried out in frustration. “I pull it this way to cover the end; then the other side is too short.”
“Then pull it back.”
“Come help me, Jonas.”
But Jonas was heading to the door. “Can’t. I have to go cut pine branches,” he shot back and then disappeared out the front door.
Edna rolled her eyes and walked over to the table. The white cloth was bunched in the middle. Sighing, she shook her head at him. “Honestly, Jeremiah. This isn’t that hard. Look.” Gently, she moved the tablecloth and positioned it perfectly in the center of the table so that the edge hung evenly on both sides. “See?”
He gave her a sheepish grin.
“Now, let’s set this so that everything’s ready when my friends arrive.”
He groaned.
Ignoring him, Edna suspected that she’d better enjoy John’s wedding, for it would be a long time before her other two boys got married. What Amish woman would want to handle either of them?
“Hey, what’s this?” Jeremiah pointed to a box situated on the floor by the counter. It was wrapped in plain brown paper with a beige ribbon around it.
Edna looked at it. She hadn’t noticed it earlier. “Why, that looks like a present!”
“That’s a big present. Wonder who it’s for?”
Edna didn’t have to wonder. She suspected it was a gift for Bethany from John. But the box didn’t look like it was big enough for a clock.
Jeremiah picked it up and shook it.
“Set that down,” Edna scolded.
“It’s not heavy.”
“Jeremiah!”
“Okay, okay.” He put it back on the floor.
She moved over to the two long tables and helped him place the plates, glasses, and utensils at the table. The white plates with rose floral rims looked pretty against the white tablecloth. The set of china had been her mother’s, a collection she had inherited from her mother. She was fortunate that, as the family had grown, her grandmother and her mother had continued buying more plates for the set. With over thirty plates, there was enough for all the place settings rather than having to use everyday plates, too. The precious heirlooms were only used for very special occasions, such as holidays and birthdays. Hopefully she’d be able to use the set again soon—for a wedding.
The door opened and Jonas walked in with two branches from the pine tree in his arm. “This enough, Maem?”
She took them from Jonas and carried them to the sink. As she snipped off the smaller branches, she wondered about that present. What could John possibly have bought for Bethany, and why would he have left the gift out in the open like that? Her curiosity was definitely piqued.
After collecting her clippings, Edna began arranging them in a white porcelain water pitcher and set it onto the table.
She stood back and assessed the table. Everything was looking just picture-perfect. With the hope that an announcement might be made, Edna wanted the kitchen to be warm and inviting, a place for the four families to gather around the table and share an evening of fellowship.
Happy with the table, she moved back to the kitchen and, returning her attention to the food on the stove, peered into the pot of boiling water and reached for a fork to test the potatoes. What was a Christmas Eve meal without mashed potatoes?
The sound of footsteps on the porch steps preceded the voices of Elmer and John as they walked into the kitchen, both of them slapping their arms against their sides.
“Definitely going to snow later,” John said. “Bitter cold out there.”
“Ja, but this smells like the right place to be!” Elmer hung up his coat and placed his hat on the counter.
“Elmer!” Edna put her hands on her hips. “Put that away. I’m trying to keep everything tidy.”
He made an apologetic face and picked up the hat.
She waited until he returned and tried to catch his eye. She knew better than to outright ask what John had been discussing with Elmer, but she was eager to know. Although he avoided looking at her, there was a hint of a smile on his weathered face.
“Well,” she said at last, “everything all right outside, then?”
Elmer’s lips twitched and he gave a simple nod. “Ja, right as rain.”
Edna frowned. Clearly her husband wasn’t going to give her any hints. Oh, he’d hear from her later! But in the meantime, she still had work to do in preparation for her friends’ arrival for their Christmas Eve supper.
Chapter Sixty
“Look at you! No cast!”
Mary smiled broadly as she walked into Edna’s house. Her leg still felt stiff, but she was so happy that the cast was gone.
“I thought it was coming off after the New Year,” Edna said.
“Me, too. Abram surprised me by taking me to the doctor yesterday.”
“Well, let’s avoid that stepladder today,” Edna teased.
“And tomorrow and the next day,” Abram quipped as he walked past his wife.
Mary was glad to see that everyone was already there. When she went to join Verna and Wilma in the kitchen, she felt a sense of comfort. Oh, how she’d missed being with her frie
nds. And now that her cast was off, it would be much easier for her to climb in and out of the buggy, to ride along with Wilma and Verna when they went to Edna’s to bake cookies.
“Myrna’s come down with terrible morning sickness,” Verna said as they stood together near the sink.
Mary found Verna’s daughter, seated in a rocking chair with Ezekiel’s daughter on her lap. Myrna looked a bit peaked and pale as she held the little girl.
“Has she tried sage tea?”
Wilma made a face at Mary’s suggestion. “That never worked for me!”
“Oh now, Wilma! If memory serves me well,” Edna laughed, “you had heartburn, not morning sickness!”
“Did not!”
Verna joined in. “She’s right. You ate too much pie all the time.” She looked at Mary. “Don’t you remember?”
“Actually, I do.” Mary put her finger to her head as if thinking. “Cherry pie was your favorite, if I recall.”
Wilma scowled. “It was morning sickness,” she mumbled.
All three of the other women looked at her and, simultaneously, said, “Cherry pie!” and then began laughing. Even Wilma joined them.
“Okay, maybe I did indulge just a little too much in that,” she admitted. “But sage tea sure didn’t help me.”
Verna cleared her throat and nudged Mary. “Look,” she whispered and gestured to where John stood near Bethany in the back of the room.
Wilma looked over her shoulder to see what they were gawking at. “Oh my! Do I sense an announcement?”
“Hush now, Wilma,” Edna hissed.
Wilma, however, called out, “What’s going on over there?”
Bethany flushed, but John grinned. “I’ve a present for Bethany and she says she doesn’t want to open it in front of everyone.”
“A present?” Wilma raised an eyebrow and turned back to look at Edna and Mary. “Well, I’d love to see this present. Wouldn’t you, Mary? Edna?”
Mary felt light-headed. Seeing the two of them together, standing off to the side and talking with their heads together, certainly made it clear to her that everything was more than right between John and Bethany. Surely this would be the moment when their intentions were announced. Mary held her breath.
