An Amish Blessing

by J. E. B. Spredemann

  “I should probably go now.” Ruth looked up at the clock again. “Thank you for everything.” And she’d truly meant it. Somehow, being here with Naomi and Mahlon just felt right. She didn’t feel awkward or out of place like she’d expected to, she felt important, like she’d known them her entire life.

  “I could show you my shop before you go.” Mahlon offered.

  Ruth nodded. “I’d love to see it.” She stood up when something caught her eye over in the corner. “That quilt is beautiful.”

  “Mamm made it.” Mahlon smiled.

  Ruth walked to the quilt draped over one of the chairs. “It’s amazing. I wish I could make something like this.” She wanted to touch it, to examine it closer.

  “I could teach you.” Naomi smiled.

  “Really? You would? That would be fabulous.” Not to mention, she’d get to see Mahlon again.

  “I don’t have any dochdern to teach. I would be happy to. Do you think you could come over on Thursday? I plan to start a new quilt then.”

  “Thursday would be great.” She didn’t think her smile could stretch any wider.

  Mahlon took his hat off the wall peg and placed it on his head. “Shop’s this way.”

  She didn’t miss the warning tone in Naomi’s voice as she spoke to Mahlon again in a language Ruth couldn’t comprehend. Nor did she miss Mahlon’s return grunt. Whatever his mother had spoken to him had not made him happy.

  “Goodbye, Naomi. It was a pleasure meeting you.”

  “Wait.” Naomi rushed to the kitchen and returned with a loaf of bread in a clear plastic bag. “For your family.”

  “Thank you. They will appreciate it. I’ll see you Thursday.” Ruth took the bread then followed Mahlon outside.

  Mahlon walked past a carriage house and into a stately barn. Light filtered in through fiberglass panels on the roof. They passed several empty stalls, which Ruth figured belonged to the horses that now grazed out in the field.

  “How many horses do you have?” She noted that the stalls appeared relatively clean and she wondered how often they were mucked out.

  “Me? Just one for my courting buggy.”

  “Oh. But your parents own several?”

  “Jah. My younger brother Leon has one and Daed owns five.”

  She stopped and peered out one of the openings in the barn. Horses dotted the landscape, grazing on the grass of the rolling hills. Her breath caught at the sheer beauty of the scene. “Which one is yours?”

  Mahlon moved next to her and looked out as well. “The palomino.”

  She looked at him and laughed. “You just spoke a foreign language to me. I know zero about horses.”

  He smiled and pointed. “See the caramel colored horse with the blond mane and tail? That’s mine.”

  “Oh, she’s beautiful.”

  “He.” Mahlon chuckled and Ruth thought the warm sparkle in his eye becoming. He stared down at her and an awkward moment passed.

  Suddenly, she was aware of his closeness. She cleared her throat and then stepped away. “We should probably look at your woodshop now.”

  “Jah.” He nodded and then led the way through the barn. At the end was a set of double doors. Mahlon slid the latch and the doors opened to an expansive workspace.

  Ruth took in all the tools in the shop and the finished furniture that lined the walls. “Wow! I didn’t expect this. Did you make that bedroom set? And the dining room table and chairs?”

  “Daed and I did.”

  She walked over to the table and slid her hand over its smooth surface. “Oh, Mahlon, they’re beautiful. You do great work.”

  Pleasure seemed to radiate from his face. “You think so?”

  “Yes. It’s amazing.”

  “Thank you for saying that, Ruthie. I like it, but I always wondered if other people thought it was any good.”

  Ruth’s mouth dropped opened. “You mean, no one has ever praised your work before?”

  “Praise belongs to Der Herr, to God.”

  “No, I just meant it as a compliment, not worship or anything.”

  “Oh.” He shrugged. “I guess Mamm and Daed say that I do a gut job, but amazing and beautiful are words I’ve never heard in reference to my work.”

  She tapped her chin. “Maybe I should bring my camera over one of these days. That way, I can show my uncle that owns the furniture store. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any handmade items in his store.”

  “Do you think Englischers would like it?”

  “Well, I’m an Englischer and I like it.”

  “You’re not just saying that? You really mean it?”

  Mahlon clearly needed a confidence boost. He was much too humble to see the value of his work. “Yes, I mean it.” She pulled her phone out of her pants pocket and glanced down at it to see the time. She’d been there much longer than she’d anticipated. “I should be going now. My mom will wonder why I’ve been gone this long.”

  Mahlon nodded and led the way back out of the barn.

  “I’ll see you on Thursday, then?” She glanced to the house and noticed Naomi peeking through the window.

  “If Der Herr is willing.”

  “Bye, Mahlon. Thank you for showing me your shop. And please thank your mom again for the bread.”

  ~

  Mahlon sighed as he watched the beautiful Englisch girl walk down his driveway toward her own home. What good fortune to have her as a next-door neighbor. If only she were Amish. If she were, he would have asked to court her.

  When she disappeared from sight, he stepped into the house to get another glass of lemonade before continuing his work in the barn.

  His mother eyed him as he walked into the kitchen. “It seems like you have taken well to our neighbor.”

  “She’s really nice, ain’t so?” And cute, he added mentally.

  “You must remember that she is Englisch and you are not.”

  “You’ve already stated that fact, Mamm.” He wasn’t meaning to be disrespectful, but he didn’t like being nagged. “We have not joined to any group since we’ve been here. There is no bishop around to forbid it.”

  He pulled a pitcher of lemonade from the icebox and poured a glass, then drank nearly the whole thing in one gulp.

  “Your father will forbid it.” She shook her head. “You need to find a nice Plain girl.”

  “Like who, Mamm? In case you haven’t noticed, there isn’t exactly an endless supply. The nearest Amish district isn’t even within buggy driving distance.”

  “Der Herr will bring someone along. You will see.”

  He finished his drink and placed the empty glass on the counter. He walked to the door, then turned back to his mother. His eyes met hers. “Perhaps He already has.”

  Mahlon stepped outside into the sunshine. He looked over toward the neighbors’ house and wondered if Ruthie was thinking of him as much as he was thinking of her. He’d thought about kissing her in the barn as they stood so near to each other. He now wondered how she would have reacted if he had done so. Would she have kissed him back or would he have been met with rejection? He hadn’t wanted to seem too forward though. The last thing he wanted was to scare her away. Nee, he wanted her to return. Often.

  Today was shaping up to be a great day, indeed. Mahlon wasn’t entirely sure what the future held for him, but if he had anything to do with it, the beautiful neighbor he’d just met would definitely be a part of it.

  TWO

  It was finally Thursday. Ruth had been looking forward to this day all week. It seemed like the week had dragged on and on.

  She hadn’t mentioned much to her family about their new neighbors, except that they were kind. Her parents were thankful for the bread Naomi had sent home with her and she had the note in her hand to prove it.

  Her mother seemed pleased that she was going over to the neighbors’ to learn how to quilt. She met no resistance from either of her parents. Of course, she hadn’t mentioned that she was attracted to Naomi’s son. And if she read Ma
hlon right, he’d been attracted to her as well.

  Ruth gathered the bag of walnuts she intended to share with their neighbors. “Mom, I’m going to see Naomi now.”

  “Okay, be back before dark.”

  “I will.” She looked outside and saw clouds in the distance. It wasn’t supposed to rain today, was it? The warm rays of sunshine assured her of a glorious springtime day, but one could never know, as changeable as the Indiana weather could be.

  In the space of ten minutes, she was walking up the neighbors’ driveway. Mahlon led a team of horses from the barn that were hooked up to some sort of farming implement. Ruth didn’t know too much about farming or horses, but she’d always thought horses were beautiful creatures. Perhaps someday Mahlon would teach her how to ride one.

  Here she was, getting ahead of herself. Who knows if Mahlon wanted anything to do with her? But he did seem nice. She suspected he was the kind of boy who would teach her to ride if she asked him to.

  She lifted a greeting to Mahlon and he waved back. It seemed she wouldn’t be conversing with him anytime soon, by the look of it.

  Ruth knocked on the door and waited a few seconds before Naomi opened it. The moment the door opened, a rush of warm air caressed her face. She’d have to get used to a warm house if she was to visit this Amish home on a regular basis. Did they use their stove all year round? She cringed at the thought of the sweltering summer months.

  “Welcome. Are you ready to make a quilt?”

  Ruth shrugged and smiled. It seemed Naomi was much more confident than she was. “I hope so.”

  “Don’t be nervous. You’ll get the hang of it in no time. And before you know it, you’ll be able to make a quilt on your own without any assistance from me.”

  Ruth laughed. “I think that will be a long way off.”

  “We shall see.” Naomi smiled and patted her hand, then beckoned her into the kitchen. “Would you like a drink or a snack before we begin?”

  “A cold drink would be nice.”

  While Naomi busied herself in the kitchen, Ruth glanced around the house. It seemed she hadn’t had much opportunity to on her last visit. Either that, or her attention had been riveted on Mahlon. As she looked around now though, she noticed how bare the walls were. With the exception of a scenic calendar and a couple of wall lanterns, there were no type of adornments, no photos. But she did notice a china cabinet which seemed to have some type of homemade decorations inside.

  “I see you’ve found the wedding favors. Those were from my cousin’s wedding in Pennsylvania.”

  “Do you have any from your wedding?”

  “I do. I kept a couple.”

  “Do you have a photo album? I’d love to see your wedding pictures.” What had Naomi looked like as a young woman? What did Mahlon look like when he was younger?

  “Ach, we have no photos. The Ordnung forbids them.”

  “What is the Ordnung?”

  “It is the rules the Amish live by.”

  Ruth frowned. “I don’t understand. Why would the rules forbid having photos? Especially of one of the most important, if not the most important, day of your life?”

  “We have memories and mementos. They are sufficient to remember the day.”

  “But why are photographs forbidden?” She tried to imagine a suitable answer but couldn’t find one.

  “That is something the Englisch do. We believe it can become a graven image, something that takes glory away from Gott.”

  She wanted to argue. If that was the case, couldn’t anything become a graven image? To her, it seemed like it was a heart problem, not a photo problem.

  Instead, Ruth bit her tongue. She still didn’t understand, but she didn’t want to make Naomi upset with all her questions. It was none of her business what they did anyway.

  But for her, she wanted at least a hundred pictures of her wedding day. She couldn’t imagine not having photos to share with her children and grandchildren. But what if she married Mahlon? Would he insist on no photographs?

  She wouldn’t think of that right now. After all, she and Mahlon had just met. And although she was quite certain they shared a mutual attraction, that didn’t mean they had a future together. Maybe she would be wise to steer clear of Mahlon. It was plain to see that their cultural differences clashed too much for them to ever have anything more than friendship together.

  “Shall we begin your first lesson?” Naomi entered the room with a cardboard box in her hands. She sat in the chair next to Ruth, set the box down on the table between them, and pulled out a square of fabric. “We’ll start with just a simple patch quilt. First, we’ll need to cut these pieces of fabric into squares like this one.”

  Ruth nodded and removed a piece of fabric from the box. That seemed simple enough. “So, we’re just cutting a bunch of squares?”

  “Yes. Make sure they are all the same size.” Naomi handed her a pair of scissors with long sharp blades.

  Ruth laid the square on top of the fabric and began cutting. “These cut very well. I don’t think I’ve ever had a pair of scissors that cut like this.”

  Naomi smiled. “Eli keeps them nice and sharp for me.”

  “So…tell me what brought your family to Indiana.”

  “There had been a long drought and we lost all our crops. We heard about the land out here and how everyone was doing so well. Since we didn’t have much money and land out here was cheap, we decided it would be best to move. We were up north at first, then we moved here.”

  “Was it hard to leave your family?”

  “My folks had already passed and my siblings had moved away with their families. Many people moved about the same time we did because of the drought.” Naomi looked away as though in deep thought. “Eli still has much family there and I have friends that I went to school with. We still write to each other occasionally.”

  “But there aren’t any Amish around here, as far as I know. Don’t the Amish usually move to other Amish communities?”

  “That’s true, we do. I think Eli saw this land and fell in love with it, not realizing how far it was from the nearest Amish district. He’s always been a shy-type, though, so I don’t think it bothers him as much as it does me.”

  “You enjoy being around other people, don’t you?”

  “Jah, I miss the fellowship. The ladies would sometimes have frolics.”

  “What’s frolics?”

  “A frolic is a get-together. The men sometimes have work frolics too. But the women would get together to can, bake, butcher, make taffy and soap, for sewing and quilting, whenever we had a big job to do. Big tasks are much easier and more fun where there are many people helping.”

  “Well, we have each other. I could help you do some of those things. I’d love to learn.”

  Naomi’s eyes widened. “You would?”

  “Yes. It sounds like fun.” Ruth laughed. “Well, except for the butchering. I don’t think that would be all that fun. It would probably make me sick.”

  “For now, we will just concentrate on quilting, jah?”

  “Yeah.” Silence reigned between them as Ruth tried to guess at what Naomi was thinking. She felt bad that this woman had come all this way, leaving her friends and family behind. It was true that she was much younger than Mahlon’s mother, but they could still be friends, couldn’t they? She longed to help fill the void in Naomi’s life. She briefly wondered if Naomi had ever hoped for a daughter.

  “Jah, it’s nice having another female around to talk to.” Naomi smiled, opening up a bit more to Ruth. “I’m always around these men, sometimes I forget what it’s like to have female company. When Mahlon and Leon marry, their wives will most likely come live with us. Either that, or hopefully they’ll live nearby and visit often.”

  “Do Amish families usually live together?”

  “Many times, the youngest son will take over the big house with his family and the aging parents will move to a smaller dawdi haus. It is usually connected to the larger home.”r />
  “So, when you and Eli get older, you won’t be going to a retirement home?”

  A look of disapproval briefly crossed Naomi’s face, but it was quickly replaced with a gentle smile. “No, Amish care for their own. Our sons and their families will see to our care.”

  THREE

  Mahlon grinned as Ruth stepped out of the house. She had her purse in her hand, but he wasn’t ready for her to go. “How did your quilting frolic with Mamm go?”

  Ruth laughed. “I don’t know if I would call it a quilting frolic, but I think it went well. We cut out a bunch of squares and started piecing them together.”

  Mahlon nodded. “Sounds like you got a gut start.”

  “We did. She wants me to come back next week.”

  Thunder rumbled overhead and large drops began descending from the sky.

  “Oh, no. It looks like I’m going to get drenched.” Ruth wiped water from her arm.

  “Did you bring an umbrella?”

  The wind stirred up and raindrops slapped her face. Her shirt already began to soak through. “No, but I’m not sure how much it would help in this anyway.”

  Mahlon grasped her hand and pulled her into the shelter of the barn. “Ach, that’s better.” He lifted his straw hat and let the water slide off.

  “My mom is expecting me soon, but maybe I should wait out the storm.” She worried her lip between her teeth.

  “I could take you home in the buggy,” he offered. What would it be like to have a maedel riding next to him? Ach, it would almost seem like they were courting.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t want you to go through any trouble just for me.”

  “It’s no trouble. Besides, Timber would love a trot in the rain.” He moved to take the horse from its stall. “It’ll just take me a couple of minutes to hitch him up.”

  “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

  A few minutes later, Mahlon lightly smacked the reins on Timber’s back, urging him forward. His eyes briefly flitted to the pretty girl beside him.

  “This is so much fun.” She practically bounced on the buggy seat and her smile stretched wide, making her even more attractive. “I wish it was a clear day so we could see all the farms.”