“Ja, danke, I will. I’ve been too busy with the boppli to think about food.”
Catherine fetched another plate and some cutlery, then dished up a portion of the casserole for Levy.
With the quiet baby in her arms, Jane sat back down. “You said you need a nanny, and I can understand why, but I came here to work in Onkel Peter’s store.”
“I know. But Peter—” he turned to the older man “—I’m in desperate need of help. You know how busy I am this time of year. I can’t tend the garden or harvest crops or even sell at the farmer’s market while caring for an infant.”
“Ja, I see that. But the decision is Jane’s.”
Levy turned to her. “What do you say?”
Jane looked at the warm, trusting baby in her arms. The infant’s eyelids drooped, and she seemed moments away from nodding off to sleep. “I think, if you can spare me from the store, I’d like to take care of her. She’s a darling boppli. And maybe I can give Levy some baby lessons.” She glanced at him.
“Danke.” Levy looked relieved beyond words. “Later this evening, maybe you can come to the house and I’ll show you around. Danke,” he babbled again. “Vielen Dank.”
Catherine chuckled. “Eat,” she told him, “before the food gets cold.”
When the meal was over, Jane rose to help with the dishes, but Catherine waved her off. “Why don’t you go with Levy now and see what he needs you to do?”
“Actually, I’ve got the barn chores to do first.” Levy stood up and placed his napkin on the table. He looked at Jane. “Can you give me half an hour or so?”
“Ja, sure. Do you want me to bring the baby with me? She’s sleeping right now.”
“Nein, if she’s sleeping, I’ll just lay her in her crib. Here, I’ll take her.”
Having seen his previous reaction to the infant, Jane considered it a minor miracle the infant didn’t wake up when she transferred her to her uncle’s arms. “First baby lesson,” she told him. “Support her a bit more under the head, like this.” She positioned his arm more securely around the baby.
“Ja, that feels better.” He looked at the child, and for the first time Jane saw tenderness on his face toward his niece. He raised his head. “Half an hour then?”
“I’ll be there.”
“Catherine, danke for supper.” He smiled. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”
Catherine flapped a hand. “Go on, now. It was nothing.”
Cradling the infant, Levy touched the brim of his hat and departed.
“Whew.” Jane sat down. “Looks like I have a job.”
“The boppli needs you more than we do,” affirmed Peter. “I think you made the right decision.”
“Will this leave you in a lurch, since I was supposed to work in the store?”
“Nein, we’ll be fine,” said Catherine. “And your uncle is right. The boppli needs you. So does Levy.” She chuckled.
“I offered to give him baby lessons,” Jane commented. “Looks like that’s what I’ll be doing.”
“He needs them, for sure and certain. Nein, liebling, don’t worry about dishes. Why don’t you go unpack until it’s time to go to Levy’s? Your suitcase is upstairs, second bedroom on the left.”
Jane climbed the stairs and found the bedroom, glowing and quiet as the late-evening sun streamed in the window. It was plainly furnished with a colorful quilt on the bed, a chest of drawers, a rocking chair and some hooks on the wall for clothing.
With one suitcase, it took her no time to unpack. Before heading back downstairs, Jane stepped into the bathroom to splash her face and tidy some stray wisps that had escaped her kapp. She gave herself one hard look in the mirror and turned away. She didn’t like mirrors. It only reminded her of what she lacked.
In the kitchen, Aunt Catherine was just finishing the dishes. “I guess I’ll be going. Where is Levy’s house?”
Catherine wiped her hands on a dish towel, then pointed. “It’s the little farm at the end of this road, maybe half a mile away. White house, big front porch, look for the row of sunflowers growing next to the ditch in front.” Her aunt winked. “And gut luck.”
“Danke.” Jane chuckled and set off.
* * *
She set off toward Levy’s house, looking around with interest at her new community. The small town had large homes and neat gardens. Fireflies began flickering over the lawns and fields. Some children played in the spacious front yard of a nearby house; their shrieks and laughter drifted over the road. There seemed to be far fewer Englischers living here in Grand Creek than in her hometown in Ohio.
Just ahead, two young women about her age and wearing kapps walked toward her. They paused as Jane passed by. “Gut’n owed!” one of them said. “Are you visiting here?”
Jane stopped. “Ja. I’m Jane Troyer. I just arrived to stay with my aunt and uncle, Peter and Catherine Troyer.”
“Welkom. I’m Sarah. This is Rhoda...”
Jane chatted with the women for a few minutes. Sarah invited Jane to the same barbecue her uncle had mentioned earlier.
She thanked her for the invitation, then headed on toward Levy’s house. She felt the warmth of acceptance and had a feeling it would be no trouble fitting into her new home. Despite the loneliness she sometimes felt as one by one her friends got married and started families, there was a certain excitement about being in a new place and meeting new people.
And she would no longer have to see Isaac, giddy about his new bride. She wouldn’t have to witness Hannah’s excitement at her first pregnancy. She would no longer have to pretend to be indifferent.
Yes, a whole new community full of new people was just what she needed.
* * *
The glow of the kerosene lamp lit the living room as Mercy cried in Levy’s arms. He paced back and forth, trying to calm the infant. She’d woken up the moment he’d stepped into the house. Why? What was he doing wrong?
When he heard a knock at the door, he sighed with relief.
Jane stood on his porch, her glasses reflecting the lamplight from within. “Isn’t this where I left you?” she joked.
He thrust a hand through his hair and gently bounced the baby. He spoke without greeting. “I’ve fed her, diapered her. I don’t know why she won’t stop crying.”
“Sounds like she’s overly tired. Here, let me take her.”
Glad for the break, Levy handed over the infant and stepped away from the door, inviting her inside.
“Shhh, shhhh,” Jane whispered. She cradled the baby, swaying a bit as she walked. Levy gestured toward a rocking chair, and she sank down and rocked, cuddling the infant against her chest and murmuring soothing nonsense.
Within moments, Mercy’s crying stopped and her little face relaxed.
Levy dropped into a chair opposite. He felt exhausted. “How can you do that?”
“As I said, it’s my gift. Enough said.” Her voice was clipped.
Levy noticed her curtness, but was too tired to analyze it. “Then I think I’ve discovered my anti-gift. With me, she won’t calm down at all. I can’t thank you enough for agreeing to care for her.”
Jane set the rocking chair in motion again. “Is there no other woman who can take this baby? It’s not going to be easy for a single man to care for her, especially since, as you’ve said, you have to run your business.”
“I’m discovering that. You arrived just as I was going to look for someone else to care for Mercy. That makes you an answer to prayer.”
“I’ve been told I’m good at being useful.” He thought he saw her eyes tear up, but wasn’t sure since she ducked her head to look at the baby. “She’s starting to fall asleep, see?”
Levy leaned back in his chair. “It seems like I’ve been walking her for hours. That’s an exaggeration, but not by much. What hours can you work? I’m warning you, I may ove
rwork you.”
“My schedule is open. I can work whenever you need me. Within reason,” she added.
“What time tomorrow do you want to start?”
“I can be here by eight in the morning. Would that be all right?”
“I hate to ask, but could you make it closer to seven? The days have been very hot lately and I’m trying to get work done outside before the sun is high.”
“Ja, I can do that.”
He nodded, filled with gratitude at this strange woman who had saved him. “Now here’s an important question. Can you work Saturdays?”
“I suppose so. But why Saturdays?”
“Because if you remember, I have a booth at the farmer’s market. I spend most of my week gearing up for it. Many Englischers come to buy produce, so I’ll be busy, from dawn until dusk. That’s probably when I’ll need you the most.”
“I’ll have to ask my aunt and uncle. Forgive me, Levy, but would it be easier...” She trailed off and didn’t finish.
“Let me guess. You were going to ask why I don’t give Mercy to another family to raise.”
“Well...ja.”
“Ja sure, it would be easier. That’s what the bishop wants me to do. But I won’t. Not yet. Not until I know whether or not my sister...” He didn’t finish his words, unwilling to reveal the deep emotion behind his determination to keep the baby. “If my sister ever comes home, I want her to see I’ve risen to the challenge of caring for her child.”
He was relieved when Jane didn’t pursue the matter further. His reasons were his own, and whatever difficult path he had set himself, he was trying to follow it.
“Well, I’ll help however I can.” Jane shifted the sleeping baby from the crook of her arm to over her shoulder. The infant gave a small sigh and didn’t wake. “I think I’ll enjoy caring for her.”
“I’m grateful.” He saw beyond the plain features and thick glasses of this young woman, and noticed instead her sweet expression as she held the baby.
“Well.” She rose from the rocking chair. “Where does the boppli sleep? I’ll put her down.”
“In here.” Levy picked up the oil lamp and led the way to a bedroom off the kitchen. “This is my room, and it’s easiest to have her with me for now.”
Late-evening shadows had darkened the room, but he put the lamp on the dresser near the crib so she had light. Jane leaned over and placed the slumbering infant on the mat. She covered her with a light blanket, then tiptoed out of the room.
Levy heaved a sigh as he replaced the lamp on the table. “Ah, danke. She’s been fussy all day, and I still have barn chores to do.”
“Hopefully she’ll sleep through the night, so doing chores shouldn’t be a problem. I expect she’s still getting used to the changes around her. Babies are creatures of habit, so the more she can stay on a regular schedule, the calmer she’ll be.” Jane walked toward the front door, then turned back to him. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning at seven. You can show me where everything is—her formula, diapers and such.”
“Ja, that’s fine. And Jane, danke. I had no idea I was so bad with babies.”
“Do you still want lessons? Baby lessons?”
“Ja. I don’t have a choice.”
“Then we’ll start tomorrow. Don’t worry, Levy. If you’re determined to raise the baby, you’ll learn fast. Gude nacht.” She smiled and walked out the door.
Levy watched the tall, slender figure walk down the darkening street. Jane wasn’t pretty in the conventional sense, but she had a remarkably calming quality about her. Not just with Mercy, but somehow he felt more composed in her presence.
He shook his head. There was more to Jane than met the eye, that was for sure. He was just very grateful she’d agreed to care for Mercy.
* * *
Jane retraced her path down the quiet road toward her aunt and uncle’s house. No streetlights or car headlights broke the darkness, but fireflies twinkled over the fields and warm lamplight shone from windows.
So she had a job now, a job where she could be useful. Levy needed help, no question. In addition to caring for little Mercy, she was glad Levy wanted some parenting lessons. All in all, it had been an eventful day, and she realized how tired she was.
But being useful kept darker thoughts at bay. She tried not to think of the cozy home she’d left behind, with her mother and father, her younger sisters, her brothers. Her married older sister was expecting a baby. And Jane would miss all that.
When her mamm half-jokingly offered to arrange a marriage for her, Jane knew it was time to leave. She wasn’t sure an arranged marriage was the right thing for her, at least not right now.
Here in this new community, she wouldn’t linger over the past. She would look only at the present—her new job, becoming acquainted with people her age, spending some time with her aunt and uncle. Yes, she had a lot on her plate, and she was grateful for it.
Maybe caring for little Mercy full-time would fill the ache that came from knowing she was unlikely ever to have a baby of her own.
Chapter Three
Early the next morning, Jane walked toward Levy’s home. Mist burned off from across the fields, and the sun shone through it in streaming bars of light. The air was cool and fresh. She walked up to the house and knocked on the front door.
“Come in!” he called.
Morning sunshine poured through the windows as she walked in, lighting a room that was comfortable but not clean. Dusting and sweeping, apparently, had gone by the wayside with little Mercy’s arrival.
“In here!” called Levy.
Jane dropped the bag she’d carried onto the floor and followed his voice into the bedroom off the kitchen. Levy was changing the baby’s diaper.
“At least she’s not crying,” observed Jane, leaning against the doorframe.
“Ja, something of a marvel. All right, geliebte, almost finished...”
“You’re actually not bad at that.” Jane watched as he tucked the cloth diaper neatly into a diaper cover around the baby’s bottom and fastened the straps.
“Amazing what I’ve learned since Mercy arrived,” he admitted. He slipped a flannel dress over the baby’s head and pushed her little arms into the correct holes.
“Where did you get the diapers and baby clothes?”
“People in the church donated them. I had to buy the bottles and formula, though.” He lifted the baby up.
“Here, I’ll take her,” Jane said.
Levy placed the baby into Jane’s arms, and her heart melted a bit at the sweet-smelling little bundle. “Goodness, she’s such a precious baby.”
“Ja. When she’s not crying, that is.” He ran a hand through his hair. “She’s just a whole lot more work than I ever anticipated.”
“Well, it doesn’t sound like you had any warning.”
“That’s an understatement. Let me show you around, so you know where to find things.”
Jane trailed behind as he showed her where the baby’s diapers, formula, bottles, clothing and other things were located. She was pleased to see the bouncy seat on the table, which would allow the infant to be present during meals or other kitchen activities.
“I know it’s awkward to be in someone else’s home,” he concluded, “especially since you’re just settling in with your aunt and uncle.”
“Ja, I was going to ask about that. Do you mind if I go back and forth between here and there?”
“Nein, of course not. I trust you to do whatever you need to do with Mercy.” He glanced at a clock over the kitchen sink. “But I need to get to work. Will you be okay on your own?”
Jane chuckled. “Probably better than you are on your own.”
His eyes crinkled with amusement. “Help yourself to anything in the kitchen, and feel free to explore the house and property.” He picked up his hat, plopped it on his head
and strode out the door.
Jane watched as he seized several garden tools and walked toward fields planted deep with corn and other vegetables. Beyond the barn she saw fenced pastures where three cows and their calves grazed. A rooster crowed from a coop near the barn, and she saw a tangle of fencing that could only be a pigpen. In all ways, Levy’s property was a typical Amish small farm.
She looked down at Mercy, who gazed back with unfocused eyes. Jane dropped a kiss on the baby’s nose. “It’s just you and me, little one. What shall we do first?”
She began by taking Levy up on his offer and exploring the house. It was smaller than most Amish homes, just two dusty, unused bedrooms upstairs, a cellar below, and the rest of the living quarters on the first floor, including the master bedroom he shared with the infant. A treadle sewing machine occupied one corner of the living room. A small room off the living room turned out to be an office. From the ledgers and notepads, she concluded it’s where he did his accounting work.
Mercy looked ready to fall asleep, so Jane sat in a rocking chair until the baby drifted off. She noticed the film of dust on the furniture, the unswept floors, the clutter of unwashed dishes in the kitchen sink. Levy needed more than a nanny for this motherless infant—he needed a housekeeper. She wondered why he wasn’t married. Unlike her, he was an attractive person. Surely some woman would notice that?
When Mercy had fallen asleep, Jane laid the baby in her crib, then tackled the house. She explored the basement and found shelves of canned food and jars of dried beans, as well as hundreds of empty canning jars. Selecting some split peas and a jar of canned ham, she went upstairs and started making some split-pea soup for lunch. She washed the piles of dishes. She dusted and swept the entire downstairs.
Mercy awoke with a wail, so Jane changed her diaper and sat down in the rocking chair to feed her a bottle. It was then that Levy returned.
“Soup!” He sniffed the air. “I didn’t expect you to cook, Jane, but it sure smells good.”
“What would you normally eat midday?”
Amish Baby Lessons Page 3
