She unlocked the schoolhouse door, put Christian’s folder on his desk, and then wrote the date and day on the board. She checked over the schoolroom and saw that everything was neat and orderly, just like Christian kept it. He would be pleased to see what good care she was taking of his school while he was gone. She wondered how he was doing. Hopefully his ankle felt better. Maybe she would pay him a visit after school.
Right before school was to begin she opened the door to let the children inside. “Gute morgen—” Her mouth dropped open at what she saw.
Emma had brought her kitty, which was more like the size of a medium dog. But that wasn’t what surprised her. She hadn’t expected every student to bring in a pet, but almost all of them had.
As the students filed in, she saw a gerbil in a clear globe, two dogs that weren’t on leashes, three cats that were already hissing at each other, one pig—wait, a pig? At least it was on a leash. Two students were carrying boxes—she could only imagine what was inside. Then there was Fanny Beachy, a young girl whose family had just moved here last week, according to Christian. She was holding—oh dear—a chicken.
“Hi, Miss Ruby,” Fanny said, holding up the fowl. “This is Feathers. She’s mei chicken.”
“You have a chicken for a pet?” she said faintly.
“Ya. And she lays one egg every day. She hasn’t laid one yet today, though.” Fanny came inside, cradling her chicken like a baby.
Malachi Chupp walked in last, looking forlorn. “What’s wrong?” Ruby asked.
“Mei daed wouldn’t let me bring Blue.”
“Who’s Blue?”
“Mei cat. He said it wasn’t a gut idea to bring a cat to school.” Malachi shoved his hands into his pockets and trudged in.
Ruby quickly shut the door and leaned against it. Malachi’s father was possibly right. The students were in their seats, but they were also trying to control their animals. They were not successful. Two cats roamed the classroom, and Emma’s kitty was feasting on the plant in one corner of the room. The gerbil was rolling around in his ball on the floor while a dog barked at him. At least Feathers was still in Fanny’s arms, and the small pig was seated under Judah’s feet. Who knew the farm animals would be the best behaved?
Ruby felt like her stomach had tumbled to her feet. This wasn’t going to work at all. She hurried to the front of the classroom. “Buwe and maedel” she said above the ruckus. “Please get yer animals under control.”
Perry retrieved his cat, who was now batting the pig’s nose. Fortunately, the pig seemed oblivious.
“Kitty doesn’t like dogs,” Emma said, trying to coax her kitten from underneath the reading table. “She’s scared.”
At least Kitty had stopped eating the plant.
“Dumb cat.” Samuel Beachy whistled for his dog, who was now chasing the gerbil.
“Miss Ruby, Jesse put a frog down mei shirt.”
She turned to see Nelson wiggling and pulling his shirttails out of his pants. A small frog fell to the ground and sat there, stunned.
“Jesse, keep yer frog in its box,” Ruby yelled.
“Miss Ruby, do you want to hold Snuggles?”
She turned, expecting to see a sweet fuzzy rabbit or one of the cats. Instead Caleb Beachy held out a black snake. She screamed—which was exactly the wrong thing to do.
Her screech disturbed the pig, who started to squeal and run around the classroom. Judah chased it, which made the dogs run and bark and the cats hiss and meow while the gerbil’s ball zipped around the room, dodging the desks and chairs the other animals had tipped over.
Ruby heard a cry and turned to see Fanny standing next to her.
“Miss Ruby, Feathers got away.” Tears ran down the little girl’s face.
Ruby couldn’t worry about the chicken now. She scooped up the gerbil, which had probably lost a few years off its little life by now. Kinner’ Get yer pets under control!”
“We’re trying!” Judah called out. Even the students who didn’t have pets were trying to corral the animals.
Suddenly the front door opened. The dogs dashed out, followed by three boys and then by three cats and one squealing pig. The rest of the students ran out the door too.
“Kinner!” She ran after them, holding the gerbil ball under her arm like a football. “Come back here.” She skidded to a stop when she saw Christian, his back against the porch railing, a crutch in one hand, the most bewildered expression she’d ever seen on his face.
He got his bearings, put two fingers in his mouth, and let out a long whistle. The children stopped running. Even the dogs and the pig froze, while the cats ran off, ignoring Christian completely. The owners of the dogs and pig quickly corralled their pets. The rest of the students stood still.
“What is going on here?” Christian said, turning to her.
“Bring Yer Pet to School Day?” Ruby whispered.
Feathers suddenly landed on Christian’s head. He looked up as she roosted on his hat. Then he glared at Ruby.
She shrank back, cuddling the gerbil ball. Oh dear. She’d definitely made a mess this time.
CHAPTER 12
Ruby sat on her hands in the teacher’s chair as the school board members examined the schoolroom—or what used to be the schoolroom. After Christian had corralled all the students—and Feathers had flown back to her owner—he sent them and their pets home for the day. “Tell your parents there was a problem at school,” he said, glancing at Ruby.
Ruby had handed the gerbil ball back to Mahlon Bontrager. By some miracle Nelson had found his frog in the grass, and Caleb had put Snuggles the snake back in its box. The students were more than happy to have another day off.
Once the students left, Christian had limped up the steps, using only one crutch, and she followed him. Of all the times for him to pay a surprise visit. When she saw the schoolroom, she knew without a doubt she was fired.
Christian slowly turned around to face her. He didn’t yell. He didn’t say a word. But his face was red, the anger he was obviously trying so hard to control burning in his eyes.
She wanted to say she was sorry, but how could she apologize for this? Instead she started picking up one of the chairs.
“Leave it,” he said. “I want the board members to see this.” Then he limped past her, found the cell phone in his desk drawer, and went outside. Through one of the open windows she could hear him calling Freemont.
All the school board members were able to come within an hour since they worked nearby. All she could do was wait for her fate as they shook their heads and talked in low voices. Freemont barely avoided a patch of chicken poo near the front door. The pig had tracked in mud, and the animal hadn’t been that clean to begin with. Christian’s neatly organized small bookcase had been toppled over. On top of one of the books sat a pristine white egg.
“It could have been worse,” Thomas Bontrager said, in a calm way only the father of twelve boys could say.
“How?” Jalon asked.
“Mose could have brought his pony. He treats that animal better than his bruders.”
But Jalon didn’t find that amusing. None of them did—especially Christian, who was standing in a corner of the room, leaning against his crutch, looking at the disaster that once had been his neat and tidy classroom.
“I’m really sorry,” Ruby said. Timothy looked at her and shook his head, his signal for her to shut up, but she couldn’t stop talking. “I thought it would be fun for the kinner to bring in their pets.”
“Why didn’t you send a note home to the parents about that?” Freemont asked.
“And why have them all bring pets on the same day?” Asa shook his head. “Anyone could see this was a disaster waiting to happen.”
But she hadn’t foreseen it. She’d thought it was a genius idea. An idea she hadn’t thought through. She looked down at her lap. She’d never been this embarrassed or discouraged in her entire life, and that included the barn burnings. “I’ll clean everything up,” she said
. Then she raised her head, afraid to ask her next question but needing to know the answer. “Am I fired?”
The men looked at each other, no one giving an answer. Christian looked at her, his angry expression now replaced with his normal impassive one.
“I see.” She pulled her hands out from under her thighs and stood up. She shouldn’t be surprised. She’d wrecked the schoolhouse in a matter of minutes and had cost the children another day of education. She deserved to be fired.
“I’ll be back in the classroom by Monday.” Christian limped to the center of the room where the men were gathered. “The students are already used to Ruby,” he said. “From what I’ve heard she’s worked well with them. Today being the exception.”
“Then you recommend she continue subbing for you?” Freemont asked.
Christian nodded. “I don’t see any reason for the students’ school to be upended any more than it already has. Ruby has already agreed to clean the mess, which will take less than a day to accomplish. Tomorrow, school will be back in session and will carry on as normal, if”—he gave Ruby a hard look—”she agrees to strictly stick to the lesson plans I’ve outlined.”
“Ruby?” Timothy looked at her. “Do you think you can do that?”
She nodded vigorously. “I’ve learned mei lesson. I promise I won’t do anything that isn’t written down.”
Freemont rubbed his beard and looked at the other school board members. They all nodded. “All right,” he said. “You can finish out the week, Ruby.”
She nearly melted with relief. “Danki. I’ll get started cleaning right now.” She began picking up the chairs and righting desks as the men filed out of the schoolhouse.
“Cleaning supplies are in the closet.” Christian’s expression was still unreadable, his tone flat. “You’ll find a bucket and some new sponges there as well. You can get the water from the pump in the back.”
She nodded, looking at him. “Why did you stick up for me? Aren’t you angry?”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. He just looked at her. “It was a logical decision,” he finally said. Then he turned around and picked up the egg. “Don’t forget this.” He laid it on his desk and then left.
Ruby spent the rest of the day cleaning the schoolroom until it shone. Fortunately, the plant had only a couple of bites taken out of it, so she gave it some fresh water and put it in the windowsill to take in the afternoon sun. She moved all the desks to the side and washed the floor on her hands and knees. Then she put the desks and chairs back, wiping them down as well. She checked for any other surprises left by the animals, and fortunately didn’t find anything. She put Christian’s books back on the bookshelf, but she couldn’t remember the order they were supposed to be in. Knowing how much he liked to be organized, she alphabetized them.
By the time she locked the schoolhouse, she was exhausted and starving. She hadn’t taken time to eat her lunch, which was probably inedible by now. It was a long walk back to Timothy’s, and by the time she reached the house, all she wanted was a sandwich and to fall into bed.
But she would be expected to eat supper with the family, so she joined them at the table. After prayer, Timothy asked, “Did you get everything done?”
She nodded wearily. “Ya”
He reached for a roll. “You didn’t have a terrible idea, Ruby. Just poorly thought out.”
She shrugged. “What a surprise.”
“I would have loved to have brought mei pet to school when I was a kinner,” Patience said.
Ruby nodded, appreciating their wanting to cheer her up. But she didn’t deserve it. She had made a huge mistake, and ultimately the children missed a day of instruction. She felt the worst about that. “If you’ll excuse me,” she said, looking at her brother and his wife, “I’d like to geh upstairs to mei room.”
“I’ll help with the dishes,” Timothy said. “You geh on.”
She trudged up the stairs and plopped onto her bed. She’d wanted so badly to make a fresh start with her life, to show that she was mature and levelheaded. Instead she’d done the opposite. She had no business being a schoolteacher. That was clear. It also made her think she had no business being a wife and mother either. What if she made a bad mistake with her own children? Even then she was jumping ahead—once everyone heard what she’d done, no man would be interested in her anyway. She was nothing but trouble . . . and she’d proven that today.
Patience watched Ruby leave the kitchen. The poor girl was so dejected. She turned to her husband, hoping he wasn’t going to use this opportunity to point out Ruby’s shortcomings. Timothy was always fair-minded, but since Ruby’s arrival, she’d learned that when it came to his sister, he was different. And now Ruby had shown why.
But Timothy continued to clear the table without a word, and he yawned as he put a stack of plates next to the sink.
Patience looked at him, taking in the dark circles under his eyes and the weariness in his voice. She set Ruby’s plight aside and focused on Timothy. Patience couldn’t hold her tongue any longer. “Why won’t you hire someone to help you with the farm?”
He looked at her, bleary-eyed. “I don’t need any help.”
“You’re exhausted.” She got up from the table and went to him. “Lately you’ve been getting up two hours earlier than you used to.”
“I need to take care of the cows.”
“That early? If you have that much work, the district has plenty of young men with farming experience you can hire.”
“Like I said, I don’t need the help.”
But he wasn’t looking at her, which meant something was wrong. “Timothy?”
“Mamm, more milk.” Tobias raised his cup.
She turned to her son. “In a minute.” Then she looked back at Timothy. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“These dishes aren’t going to wash themselves—”
“Timothy Glick, you’re not leaving here until you tell me what’s going on.” Patience rarely raised her voice with her children, and never with her husband. But she couldn’t let him continue like this, so tired that he dozed off every evening and fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.
He paused, and then looked at her. “First get Tobias his milk,” he said, pulling out the chair he’d just vacated. “Then I’ll explain everything.”
She filled Tobias’s sippy cup, handed it to him, and then sat down next to Timothy. She waited for him to speak.
“You haven’t wondered why I haven’t preached any sermons since I became a minister?”
She frowned. “Nee. I hadn’t thought about it.”
Timothy met her gaze. “I guess you wouldn’t, because when he was the bishop Emmanuel preached all the sermons himself.”
Patience nodded. She had lived in Birch Creek since she was a small child, and Emmanuel Troyer, the former bishop, was the only church official she had known before Freemont. Emmanuel had founded Birch Creek and said since the district was a small one, they had no need for a minister or deacon. Now she knew it was because he had kept secrets from the congregation, leading to his departure from their community in disgrace. No one knew where he was, although his wife, Rhoda, was sure he was coming back. His sons, Aden and Solomon, weren’t so optimistic. Patience didn’t know anything more than that.
What she did know, what she realized now, was that Timothy hadn’t been himself since he’d been chosen minister. They hadn’t talked much about that, though. Ruby arrived shortly after it happened, and Patience had been busy with the boys and her midwife clients.
“The main duty of the minister is to preach sermons on Sunday,” Timothy said. “I should have preached soon after I was chosen.”
“Why didn’t you?”
He tugged on his beard. “Because I don’t know what I’m doing. I asked Freemont to give me a little time to prepare, and he kindly did. That was almost a month ago, though.”
Patience touched his arm. “I’m sure the Lord will be with you when
you speak, Timothy. He is with Freemont. Everyone can tell that.”
“But Freemont is a gut speaker. I’m . . . not.”
“How do you know? Have you ever preached before?”
He shook his head, his gray eyes filling with doubt, which was unusual for him. “I haven’t preached, but remember when Noah asked me to finish the school building auction back in March?”
“Ya.” Noah Schlabach, a professional auctioneer and Cevilla’s nephew, had agreed to run the benefit auction the district held so they could build on to the schoolhouse. Near the end of the auction he’d become ill. Later everyone found out it was because of Meniere’s disease, which caused severe vertigo and deafness. He’d since moved in with Cevilla and was dating Ivy Yoder, Freemont’s daughter. Patience was sure the two would marry soon.
“I couldn’t exactly tell him nee, not when he was in such bad shape. But the truth was, I nearly passed out from nerves.”
She frowned. “But you did a great job auctioning off those last items.” He didn’t have the cadence of Noah, but no one in the district did. She thought her husband did well, considering he’d been put on the spot.
“I was trying to hold it together.” He shook his head. “I got through it, but I promised myself I would never get up and speak in front of a crowd again.” He pressed his thumb against the table again, so hard his thumbnail turned white. “God’s got a sense of humor, doesn’t he?”
“You’ve been so worried you haven’t been able to sleep? That’s why you’re up so early?”
“Oh, I don’t have a problem sleeping. I get up so I can study.” Luke began to whimper in his high chair. Timothy stood and went to pick him up. “I’ve been going out in the barn with mei Bible and concordance and learning as much as I can.” He sat down again and settled Luke in his lap. “That’s why I’ve been so tired.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
He touched Luke’s light-brown hair. “Because I didn’t want to admit that I hadn’t always listened carefully during the sermon. Or that I’d rarely opened a Bible. I thought I knew enough without having to do either of those things. But now that I have to preach . . . I realized I don’t know much at all. And at the next Sunday service I will preach, for better or worse. I can’t keep letting Freemont carry that load.”
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