Plain Christmas (Plain Fame Book 6) Read online

  Of course. Amanda had almost forgotten that Anna and Jonas’s bedroom was her parents’ former first-floor bedroom. When their father had taken ill nine years ago, the newly married Anna had moved home from Ohio with Jonas to help on the farm while Lizzie tended to Elias. After Elias died, they had stayed and taken over the responsibility of the farm.

  “Where is Mamm anyway?” Amanda asked, glancing toward the door that connected the main house with the grossdaadihaus. “I’d have thought she’d come over by now.”

  Anna looked as surprised as Amanda. “Why, I rightly don’t know!”

  “She surprised me,” Amanda said slowly. “Her letter asked us to come here. She’s never done that before. Is everything going well here?”

  “Oh ja! She’s just right as rain! She helps me so much with the kinner, especially when Hannah and Rachel are at school. She just loves them so much.” Anna paused, looking thoughtful. “Mayhaps she wrote because she just wanted to see you and the kinner.”

  There was no malice or criticism in Anna’s tone, but her words caught Amanda off guard. She had forgotten how Amish people spoke candidly, never prone to sugarcoat the truth. How she wished that she could excuse her absence—blame it on the children, her commitments, or even Alejandro’s schedule. But the reality was that she could have made the time, if only she had thought about it. She could have visited more often if she had tried harder.

  “But you’re here now!” Anna continued, unaware of Amanda’s feelings of guilt. “And Mamm was so happy that you were coming home.” She leaned forward and added, “Even with Alejandro!”

  Her comment made Amanda laugh, and Anna joined her.

  “She never really did warm up to him, did she now?” Amanda asked.

  Anna gave a playful shrug. “Well,” she said, drawing out the word and leaving the question unanswered.

  They both laughed again.

  “Oh now!” someone called out from the other room. “I recognize that laugh!”

  At the sound of her mother’s voice, Amanda lit up. She handed Samuel back to Anna before she jumped up and hurried over to the door that led to the grossdaadihaus as Lizzie emerged. “Mamm!” She fought the tears that came to her eyes as she hugged her mother, suddenly realizing how much she had missed being with her family. “Oh, how good to see you! I was just asking Anna where you were!”

  To Amanda’s surprise, Lizzie embraced her in return. “Look at you! So tall and thin!” She pulled back and stared at Amanda. “Too thin! Why, doesn’t that man feed you at all?”

  Amanda gave a little groan. “Mamm!” It occurred to her that Alecia and her mother were not so different.

  “Oh, Mamm,” Anna called out. “Don’t be starting on Alejandro already! He brought her home, didn’t he?”

  Lizzie raised her eyebrows at Anna’s comment but changed the subject. “When did you get so tall, Amanda?”

  The truth was that Amanda had also noticed that her mother seemed smaller to her. Perhaps it was her girth, so typical of Amish women. Or maybe it was her age. Even though her mother had not visibly changed beyond a few wrinkles and even more gray hair, she appeared different.

  “It’s probably my shoes,” Amanda said, lifting her foot to the side and pointing at the bottom of it. “Heels.” They weren’t too high, but they weren’t flat, either. Nor were they the simple black sneakers that both Lizzie and Anna wore.

  “Can’t be milking cows in those shoes, now, can you?”

  Amanda tried to hide her smile. She couldn’t imagine what her children would say if they saw her sitting on an old milk stool by the side of a black-and-white cow, her hands gently tugging at the teats on its udder. “I’ll leave the milking to the boys,” she said lightly. “Alejandro always enjoyed that.”

  Lizzie made an approving noise and nodded her head. “Hard work is good for any man,” she said.

  Amanda wanted to respond that Alejandro was a hard worker, harder than her mother could imagine, but she knew that neither Lizzie nor Anna could ever truly understand the professional demands on both him and Amanda. She also knew that they could never comprehend the opulent lifestyle that went along with his success.

  “Now, where are those kinner of yours?” Lizzie said, but by the noise filtering down the staircase, she didn’t need Amanda to tell her that the children were upstairs.

  Amanda walked to the bottom of the stairs, setting her hand atop the banister. The feeling of the smooth wood under her fingers felt comfortable and familiar. How many times had she grabbed that very spot when she was a child? “Isadora. Sofia. Come down to see Mammi Lizzie and bring your brother,” she called up the staircase.

  Nicolas was the first one to run down the stairs, taking two at a time. At the bottom, he almost collided with Amanda. “Mami! I like my cousins, but I sure can’t understand anything those little ones are saying!”

  Anna and Lizzie laughed as Amanda tried to explain. “They speak Dutch, Nicolas. Pennsylvania Dutch.”

  His eyes opened wide. “Oh.” He frowned. “You mean they don’t speak English?”

  “Oh, Nicolas!” Anna tried to hide her amusement at her nephew’s question. “Just a little. When they go to school, they’ll learn more.”

  “It’s no different from when you speak Spanish with Papi,” Amanda reminded him.

  Nicolas seemed to contemplate this.

  Before he could think up another question or comment, Amanda diverted his attention. “Come now and greet your grandmother.” Amanda placed her hand on his shoulder and gently guided him toward Lizzie. “She hasn’t seen you since you were a baby.”

  For the first time since they had arrived, Nicolas stood upright, his heels together and his shoulders straight. He stood before Lizzie and stared at her before he stuck out his hand.

  Delighted, Lizzie shook it. “My word! Just look at this boy!” She clicked her tongue and inhaled as she bit her lower lip. “The spitting image of his daed, ja?” Her compliment bolstered his confidence and he gave her a grin. “And the personality, too, I see.”

  “Nice to meet you, Abuela.”

  Quickly, Amanda corrected him. “Mammi Lizzie,” she said. “We call my mother Mammi Lizzie.”

  He didn’t respond but nodded his head.

  Isadora and Sofia walked down the stairs next. When Lizzie looked up at her, Isadora’s eyes lit up. She ran across the room and gave her grandmother a big hug. The greeting touched Amanda, and she had to look away, blinking her eyes to keep the tears at bay.

  “Mammi Lizzie!” Isadora said in a breathless voice. “It’s so good to see you!”

  At that moment, she was no longer a fourteen-year-old girl struggling to find a balance between her teenage innocence and the pressures of celebrity-status popularity. Instead, she was just a girl reuniting with her beloved grandmother.

  Sofia watched the scene timidly and pursed her lips. She glanced at Amanda, and when Amanda motioned to her, she approached Lizzie. When Isadora pulled away, Sofia gave Lizzie a quick hug. As soon as their greeting was over, she hurried over to her mother. Amanda couldn’t help but wonder about her reaction. Sofia had never been shy. Usually, her outspoken nature made her even more visible than Nicolas.

  A few minutes later, Alejandro and Alecia returned to the room. From the look on Alecia’s face, Amanda knew that there had been a serious discussion between mother and son. She appeared resigned—even stoic—two words that Amanda would never have used to describe Alecia. Introductions were made, and for the next hour, the adults sat and talked in the sitting area. Isadora chose to remain with them rather than go explore the barn with the younger children, who, despite the overcast skies and chilly air, were determined to run around outside. Isadora seemed to linger between Anna and Lizzie, her eyes constantly studying the two of them when they weren’t looking. Amanda couldn’t help but wonder what her daughter was thinking.

  Anna did most of the talking, updating Amanda on the latest news about people she remembered, as well as people she wasn’t sure
she’d even met. Occasionally, Lizzie would lean forward to add something, especially when it was about a distant relative or older member of the church district.

  Alecia mostly remained silent.

  “What is the schedule for the week?” Amanda asked at last. “And what can I do to help with preparations for the holiday?”

  “Ja, well,” Anna said slowly, “we’ve church tomorrow.”

  Alecia finally spoke up. “What time is the Mass?”

  Anna hesitated at the question.

  “Mami, it’s not a church,” Alejandro said. “It’s not called Mass.”

  Amanda started to respond. She wanted to explain to Alecia that the manner of worship in the Catholic Church was markedly different from that in an Amish church. Over the years, no matter how many times Amanda had tried to explain her family’s religion to Alecia, her mother-in-law simply could not accept that there were different ways to worship God other than Catholicism. And Amanda never commented that the Catholics were one of the main groups that had persecuted her Anabaptist ancestors so many centuries ago.

  “And we’ve got quite the busy week!” Anna shifted the child in her arms. “Hannah and Rachel have school this week.” She glanced at her husband and feigned a sheepish look. “But I did tell them they could miss a day or two.”

  Lizzie waved her hand at Anna. “Of course they can! Especially for the cookie swap on Monday!”

  “And Tuesday we’re invited to a quilting bee on the far side of Musser School Lane. And there’s a horse auction that day near Narvon. Jonas thought Alejandro might want to go to that.”

  “Oh sí?” Alejandro brightened at the mention of the horse auction. “I’d love to go.”

  The usually quiet Jonas, whether from choice or simply because he never could get a word in edgewise, nodded. “Ja, and it’s not that New Holland one, either. Too many Englische folk attend that one.” He winked at Isadora. “They might recognize your daed, eh? Call those photographers again.” He laughed and Isadora smiled at his teasing.

  “And then Wednesday is a women’s holiday lunch that we were invited to attend,” Anna continued. “But I didn’t commit to that, Amanda. I wanted to check with you first. On Thursday, we need to prepare for the school pageant on Friday, and then we have Christmas Eve and Christmas! Time for just the family to enjoy each other, although the bishop and his wife are coming on Christmas.”

  For a moment, Amanda thought she hadn’t heard her sister properly. “Excuse me?”

  A friendly smirk crossed Anna’s face. “Oh ja! Why, when he heard you were coming home and having Christmas with us, he invited himself to supper. Didn’t he, Jonas?”

  Jonas chuckled and plucked at the bottom of his beard. “That he did. Can’t ever recall him coming here for supper, never mind a holiday supper.”

  “What on earth . . . ?”

  Lizzie cleared her throat. “Mayhaps the bishop just wants to spend the holidays with our family. I seem to recall his family gathering is on Christmas Eve. So there’s nothing that needs to be overanalyzed now, is there?”

  But Amanda and Alejandro exchanged a knowing look. The bishop had never been much of a fan of Alejandro and even less a fan of Amanda’s relationship with him.

  But Alecia had perked up when she heard their exchange. “A bishop?” Alecia said, looking very impressed that a high-ranking member of the church would come to visit her son and daughter-in-law. Amanda knew that she was envisioning a man wearing a beautiful red cassock and clutching rosary beads. It took all of her willpower to bite her tongue and not scold her husband for not preparing his mother.

  “Ay, Mami! It’s not like that,” Alejandro said under his breath. “I’ll explain later.”

  Anna gestured for Jonas to take Samuel. “So much to do, ja? It’s always so much busier at this time of year,” she said as she stood up and started toward the main part of the kitchen. “I’d much rather just sit home and visit with you, Amanda. Right, Mamm?”

  “We’ll just have to make do with the time that we have, ja?” Lizzie said before she reached over and patted Isadora’s hand. “I sure do want to hear all about this girl, though. You need to update your grossmammi about all that you’ve been doing! You’ve grown so much since I last saw you.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Amanda noticed Alecia bristle as Isadora began to share stories with Lizzie about her school and friends and the concert she had attended the previous night. When Lizzie asked about Katie Cat, Amanda thought Alecia would stand up and sit between Isadora and her other grandmother.

  “So,” Amanda said loudly, hoping to divert Alecia’s attention. “Tell us what to do, Anna. Alecia and I are more than happy to help with anything you need.”

  Anna stood at the counter for a moment and tilted her head to the side. “Ja vell, let’s see now . . .” She paused as if reviewing a to-do list in her head. “I could use some help getting ready for tomorrow,” she said. “Mayhaps you might help me canning some of the beef that Jonas picked up yesterday.”

  “In December?” Amanda asked, dumbfounded at the request.

  “Oh, I know!” Anna laughed sheepishly. “We were so busy during the harvest that I just hadn’t canned enough. I didn’t realize we ran out until last week.” She looked over at Hannah. “Isn’t that right, Hannah?”

  Her daughter nodded emphatically.

  “Jonas bought some home just yesterday, and I haven’t gotten around to it yet. But mayhaps you might take that chore on, Amanda.”

  It hadn’t been exactly what she was expecting, but Amanda readily agreed. Some of the best memories she had were of time spent working beside her mother and sister.

  Jonas stood up and motioned to Alejandro. “We can go fetch the box of beef, and I can show you the new milking system we installed just last year yet.”

  “New milking system?” Amanda glanced from Jonas to Anna. “You hadn’t written to me about that, Anna. How exciting!”

  Alejandro walked over to her and, leaning over, gave her a soft kiss on her cheek. “Have fun canning beef,” he whispered. When she looked at him, she saw that he was holding back a smile, and there was a mischievous look in his eyes. And then she remembered.

  The color flooded to her cheeks, and she averted her eyes. She had forgotten about his first visit to Lititz, when he had helped her and her mother with the beef canning. When Lizzie had turned away from them, their hands had entwined, and for the briefest of moments, it was as if they were alone in the room. Later, Amanda had boldly told Alejandro that he did not belong in the world of Viper and its fast-paced lifestyle of endless partying and one-night stands. Even more important, Alejandro finally had realized that Amanda was more than just a plain Amish girl. She was a woman who observed and understood more than she let on. And that had unnerved him.

  Now, more than nine years later, Amanda stood in the same room, preparing to teach his mother and his children how to can beef. She looked over at Alecia and the children, all of whom stood staring with their mouths hanging agape as Jonas returned carrying a cardboard box full of plastic bags of raw meat. As she opened it and took out one of the plastic bags, she noticed the color drain from Alecia’s face while Nicolas bellowed “Gross!”

  Amanda sighed. “It’s not gross, Nicolas. Your father even helped me can beef one time many years ago!” She turned to Alecia. “And certainly you canned beef in Cuba.”

  Alecia shook her head. “We had canned beef from Russia, but I never did it myself.”

  Clearly, Amanda had her hands full with getting her family to assist her. But she knew that teaching them to appreciate the important things in life, such as the food that graced their table, was part of the Christmas message that she wanted to share with them. They would all be getting their hands dirty today, she thought, and hopefully learning that not everything in life had to come in pretty packaging.

  In her most cheerful voice, Amanda sang out with a determined smile on her face, “Well then. Let’s get started, shall we?”


  Chapter Eleven

  In the early-morning hours, Amanda made her way down the staircase, careful to walk softly. The last thing she wanted to do was wake the children. She knew far too well how precious the quiet moments of dawn were. Now that she was rested, she wanted to spend some quality time with her sister.

  Because the sun had not crested the horizon yet, someone had turned on the propane lantern that hung over the table. It hissed and spewed forth a blinding light in that part of the room, a sound that brought back a new flood of memories. The smell of bread baking in the oven brought her back to her childhood. Almost every morning, she had rubbed sleep out of her eyes as she padded down the stairs and had been greeted by the yeasty scent of fresh bread. Today was no different.

  She stood on the bottom step, bathed in the shadows the lantern created, and watched as her sister moved around the kitchen.

  The scene reminded her of her mother. How many mornings had Amanda walked down those same steps to find her mother already working in the kitchen? Whether she had been baking bread or making cheese, Lizzie was always hard at work on something.

  It dawned on Amanda that, like herself, her mother must have enjoyed those quiet hours before her children awoke.

  “Mmm. Smells like home,” Amanda said at last to break the silence.

  Anna jumped at the sound of her sister’s voice. As she turned around, she gave an embarrassed laugh and placed her hand on her chest. “Oh help! You startled me, schwester!”

  Amanda walked to the table and sat down on the bench. She ran her hands across the wood top of the table, amazed that it was the same table where she had eaten every meal her mother served. Even more impressive was that her father had sat on the very same bench when he had been a child.

  “Morning is my favorite time of day,” Amanda said with a wistful tone in her voice. “Looks like it’s yours, too.”

  Anna opened a cabinet to retrieve two coffee cups. “Usually, I’m helping Jonas with the milking. It is a true gift to have more time to work in the kitchen before the children are awake today.” She poured some coffee into two cups, pausing for a moment as she looked over the rising steam at Amanda. “Do you really still consider this home, or is this how your Miami house smells in the morning?”