Amish Circle Letters - the Complete Series Page 7

  He lifted the two flat packages and carried them out to the counter. She walked behind him. When he turned around to go back to the storeroom in order to put the boxes back, he bumped into her.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, reaching his hands out to steady her. When he touched her arms, she looked up at him and met his gaze. He swallowed, feeling completely thunderstruck by her expression, so young and innocent yet full of hope. “You all right?”

  She nodded, another pink crimson covering her cheeks. “Ja, of course.”

  He hurried back into the storeroom and returned the boxes to their proper place. She was leaning against the door, watching him. He could feel her eyes on his back. Her attention made him more aware of his actions and he worked faster.

  “There!” he said, standing up and rubbing his hands together to wipe away the dust. He looked over at her and smiled. “Right as rain.”

  “Danke, Steve Fisher ,” she said softly.

  Taking a deep breath, he headed back toward the front of the store, pausing to let her step back as he passed her. Now, he thought. Ask her now. “I was thinking…” he began as he repositioned himself by the front of the counter while she began to ring up the sale.

  “Ja?”

  He noticed that she didn’t look up that time. She was busy writing on the paper and using the calculator to figure out taxes on the order. “Ach vell,” he continued, pulling his hat off of his head and running this fingers through his curly hair. “You see, I might not have a buggy, Mimi Hostetler,” he said, feeling awkward. Shuffling on his feet, he held his hat in front of him. “But mayhaps you might like to go for a walk some evening?”

  She looked up, her eyes wide and surprised. “A walk?”

  He cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable under her gaze. What does that look mean, he wondered. “Or…well…mayhaps a picnic by a pond.”

  She set the pencil down, never once removing her eyes from his face. “How would I get there?”

  He blinked. He hadn’t expected that question. “I…well…”

  “In a car?” she asked, frowning. Apparently that idea didn’t sit well with her.

  “Nee,” he said quickly. A buggy, a buggy, where to get a buggy? His mind rattled over the possibilities and quickly he said, “I reckon I could borrow a buggy and pick you up.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “My daed and my brother have one that I could borrow, I’m sure.”

  Tapping the pencil against the paper, she kept staring at him but didn’t respond. He watched as she chewed on her lower lip for a second. Then, she bent her head back down to return to writing something on the paper. “I suppose that would be right nice,” she said and ripped the paper from a pad of paper. Smiling, she handed it to him. “That would be right nice, indeed.”

  He took the paper. “What is this?”

  “Your invoice. The police said you should give it to them and they will pay for the replacement glass,” she explained. “I’m off on Mondays and Tuesdays,” she added.

  “Mondays and Tuesdays?”

  “For our picnic,” she said.

  “Oh!” He felt foolish. It had been years since he had asked a young woman to ride in a buggy with him. Ten years at least, he thought. He was so stunned that he had done it, had asked this charming young woman on a picnic and, what’s more, she had said yes. “Of course. Monday then.”

  He carried his glass out of the store, his head still whirling. He wasn’t certain how all of this had happened but he knew one thing was for certain. If he intended to court Mimi Hostetler, he would have to make another acquisition quite soon. After all, what was a courting man without a horse and buggy to spend private moments alone with his intended?

  The driver was waiting for him and, when he saw Steve walking out to the car, he quickly opened his door and hurried to the trunk. They laid the glass down and he covered it with a soft, faded quilt. “Get everything you need, then?” the driver asked.

  “Oh ja,” Steve replied. Monday sure seemed far away. It was only Thursday and there was no church this upcoming week. Four days until the picnic with Mimi Hostetler. Four days to think about her sparkling eyes and crimson cheeks. “I sure did get everything I need, indeed.” And he smiled as he looked out the window while the driver backed out of the driveway to take him back to his farm.

  Katie saw her uncle lift the large, flat packages from the back of the car. He leaned them against the barn and paid the driver. She had been playing outside with Ben and the other kinner. They laughed and tossed a ball back and forth, trying to tease the dog, Shep, into stealing it from them. As the car had pulled into the driveway, however, everyone had lost interest in the game, including the dog.

  “What’s you got there?” Ben asked, his hands thrust into his pockets as he stood on his dirty tippy toes, trying to see. “Looks big!”

  “Sure is,” Steve said, feeling more jovial and happy than he had in years. “Glass for the broken windows to my barn.”

  “Oh!” Ben gasped. “From the bad men.”

  He laughed. “Well, what they did is bad but mayhaps they are not bad through and through.”

  The little boy frowned. “Not so certain about that,” he mumbled and, losing interest, he ran back to the other kinner to return to their game.

  Katie had watched from afar, surprised to see her onkel Steve so happy and laughing. He was usually so quiet and withdrawn. Frowning, she walked into the kitchen to find her mamm busy in the kitchen. Her mamm seemed to always be busy in the kitchen.

  “Steve got his glass for the windows,” she announced, sliding onto the bench by the table. They had just finished eating dinner and her mamm was busy cleaning up the dishes. “Thought he said that they were going to drop them off,” she said. “Wonder why he went to pick them up, then?”

  “Well,” Anna said as she started stacking dishes to put them away in the cabinet. “He must have wanted to get that new glass put in early.”

  “Why, you think?”

  The questions. Always the questions, Anna thought as she sighed and shut the cabinet door. “Why what?”

  “Why would he want to do that? He had to hire a driver to go pick them up. Seems like a waste of money and time,” Katie said, making a face. “Ain’t so?”

  Her mamm turned around and put her hand on her hip. “You are very balaadsche! It gets tiresome, all those questions while I’m working, Katie.” Anna frowned at her daughter, angry with herself for being so irritated. She tried to soften her tone. “Besides, I think you might have some chores to do, anyway. That garden could sure use some time spent weeding. Go get your bruder to help.”

  “Aw,” Katie whined. “Weeding?”

  “I don’t appreciate that tone,” Anna said softly, still trying to maintain her temper but leveling her gaze to stare directly at her daughter. “Now you get outside and take a bucket to weed. I’ll be out in an hour to see how you are coming along.” She paused. “If you do a good job, we can make a shoo-fly pie this afternoon for after supper.”

  Katie slid around on the bench and stood up. “Bet it won’t be as good as Leah’s!” she mumbled.

  “Scoot!”

  Katie could tell that her mamm was frustrated. She wasn’t certain why she always sounded so impatient with her. She had questions, that’s all. Questions that just begged to be asked. The only problem was that no one ever wanted to answer them.

  She wandered over to the garden and stared at the tall weeds that peered back. She hated weeding. The feel of the dirt under her nails bothered her. It dried out her feet and hands, too. No amount of soap ever seemed to rid her skin from the dry, dusty feeling. And it smelled funny, too. No, she didn’t like dirt and gardens at all. She much preferred helping her mamm in the house or daed in the barn.

  So when she heard the car engine pulling down the driveway, she was quick to jump up and run out of the garden toward the noise. She peered around the side of the garden shed to see who was driving up toward the house. Any visitor would mean a break from wo
rking in the hot sun and dry, smelly garden.

  Eleanor, she thought with a big grin. The car was the same one as last time. Katie would recognize it anywhere. And when the door swung open, she could barely contain her excitement to see a pair of cowboy boots step onto the driveway. Katie wanted to run over toward her but held herself back. Instead, she slipped behind the shed and ran to the porch.

  “Mamm!”

  Her mother turned around and put a hand on her hip. “I thought I told you to weed the garden!”

  “But Mamm!” she said between gasps for air. “Eleanor is back!”

  Anna started to say something but stopped before any words came out. Instead, she glanced around the kitchen, seeing that, despite her best efforts, everything was a mess.

  Chapter 4: Anna’s Letter

  Dear Family,

  It was wunderbaar to receive the package of letters from Rachel and Leah so soon after Mamm started the circle letter. I can hardly wait until the package returns at the end of the circle with the second round of letters!

  As usual, we are busy at the farm. The kinner are enjoying the gut weather for playing and the men are thankful for no rain during hay cutting time. They were able to cut and bale during the same week, which was a blessing from the good Lord, indeed.

  We sure do miss having Mary Ruth here but are ever so grateful that she has been able to help those poor kinner of Martha Yoder. We sure thought and prayed for the Yoder family, especially during our own baling work.

  Steve has been busy helping Isaac as well as working next door at his own farm. We hardly see him anymore. I do know that he’s been borrowing Isaac’s buggy from time to time. Must be having problems getting his driver for shorter distances.

  Mamm and Daed are doing well. Mamm and I went to market the other day to buy beets for canning since our crop didn’t turn so well. We were surprised to find the kinner’s dog, Shep, asleep in the back when we moved the seat to put our box of goods. We had quite a laugh over that one. He’s been taking to sleeping in the buggy at night anyhow.

  Our friend Eleanor stopped by the other day and has made an offer to let Katie ride one of her ponies that will be boarded at Gideon Riehl’s farm, over near sister Rachel and Leah. I reckon that will mean some more frequent visits, which will be right gut. Of course, Isaac hasn’t made up his mind yet if he will agree to such an arrangement.

  Looking forward to Church Sunday at Leah’s next week. It will be a glorious day to share fellowship with the entire family…or at least those that can attend.

  Blessings and love to all of you.

  Anna and family

  “Something’s going on with bruder Steve,” Isaac said as he washed his hands in the sink before the dinner meal. He had just walked into the kitchen and, after smiling at Anna, had walked over to the bench to remove his boots before cleaning up. He didn’t seem to notice the cluttered counters and the toys scattered across the dirty floor. Under the table, a spoon from the morning meal lay next to a torn piece of newspaper. But he was oblivious to the mess.

  “How so?” Anna asked, hurrying to start putting the food on the table.

  “Twice in one week that he asked to borrow Tripper to go to town.”

  Anna stopped moving, motionless as she held a bowl of steaming boiled potatoes. She stared at her husband, her mouth hanging open in a delicate O shape. “The horse and buggy?”

  “Ja,” Isaac said, smiling.

  “The horse and buggy?” she repeated, as if she didn’t believe that her husband had heard her properly.

  He laughed. “The horse and buggy,” he repeated.

  Anna’s mouth fell open. “You don’t say!”

  He tried not to laugh. “I believe I did say,” he teased.

  Setting the bowl of potatoes on the table, she sat down next to her husband. “You don’t think that…” but she couldn’t complete the sentence. The door opened and the children began to romp into the kitchen. Such talk with adult questions was not to be shared with the kinner. But Anna knew that she was not likely to forget her questions for later. She certainly wanted to know more about Steve and this horse and buggy business! He hadn’t driven a horse and buggy for years, opting to use a driver for his errands which were far and few between.

  After a silent blessing, all of their heads bowed and hands pressed together on their laps, the routine chaos of mealtime commenced. Bowls of steaming hot vegetables were passed around and no one was shy. Potatoes, corn on the cob, chilled applesauce, warm red beets, and fresh bread were hoarded onto the plates. No one complained about the food, not even the smallest child. When the beef and gravy was passed, the children stared at the bowl, their eyes wide and bright, eager for their mamm’s good cooking. But each waited their turn as the bowl was passed from daed to mamm then around the table.

  “Gonna be cutting hay again tomorrow. With all the gut rain and sunshine, the good Lord is blessing us with another crop,” Isaac, said, the corn in his hands before his mouth. When he finished talking, he began to eat it. Then after a minute, he added: “Be needing you kinner to help.”

  Katie looked up, her eyes sparkling. She always loved working outdoors, much more than inside housework. And when Isaac had fieldwork that required the help of all capable children, Katie was always the first one to eagerly volunteer. “That means me, Daed?”

  He smiled. “Sure does, Katie. Many hands…” he started.

  The kinner joined in as a chorus: “…make light the work.” They broke into peels of laughter and Isaac smiled at their silliness.

  Anna handed the bowl of applesauce to Benjamin and motioned for him to pass it down the row. “Isaac, with Katie being so big and helpful, sure does seem like she’s much more responsible these days, ain’t so?” She looked up and, when Katie stared at her, she smiled at her daughter. “Mayhaps you have something you want to be telling her, husband?”

  For a moment, Isaac took a deep breath and ignored Katie’s anxious gaze. He seemed to be drawing it out as he continued to eat the rows of kernels on his corncob. Then, setting it down on his plate, he wiped his hands and mouth on his napkin. “Well, Anna, reckon you mayhaps have a point there.” He turned to stare at his youngest daughter. “Your mamm and I have been talking about this arrangement with Eleanor Haile,” he started.

  Katie sat up straight and stared at him. Her face seemed to lose its color as she waited for his proclamation. It was the moment she had been waiting for, quietly in the shadows. She had been too afraid to ask, for fear of angering her daed at her impatience. When no one had mentioned it for almost a week, she had all but given up on any hope of riding those ponies.

  “We think we will let you go over to Gideon Riehl’s with Eleanor Haile,” he said slowly. She gasped out loud and the other kinner began to clamor about, their eyes bright and sparkling. Before there was too much commotion, Isaac silenced them by holding up his hand. “Wait, Katie, there’s more.”

  Quiet fell over the table.

  “If you learn how to ride that pony and care for it under Eleanor’s instruction,” he said then paused, sneaking a glance at Anna before he continued. “We’ll let you bring that pony to the farm.”

  “Here?” she squeaked.

  “Ja, here,” Anna added softly.

  Isaac held up his hand again when he saw that Katie was about to leap from her seat and hug her mamm. “But only if you pass muster with Eleanor. You know naught about pony care and I don’t have time to tend its needs. I need to know that you can care for it without my time being taken over.”

  “Oh Daed!” she gushed. “I won’t bother you one bit.”

  He made a face, glancing at Anna again and trying to hide his pleasure with his daughter’s excitement. “We’ll just see about that now, won’t we?”, but as she leapt from her bench and threw her arms around his neck, even Anna noticed the hint of tears at the corner of his eyes. It was a rare moment when a parent could do something as special as what Isaac had just agreed to do for Katie. She was pleased that
her daughter appreciated it and prayed that Katie would rise to the occasion in tending the pony’s needs.

  “Enough talk about ponies,” Anna said with a smile. She didn’t want the other kinner thinking that Katie was getting special treatment or being singled out. “I have a surprise for dessert today! I made apple crunch.” The younger children clapped their hands in delight and even Isaac looked up, beaming. “But no one gets any pie until those plates are cleaned off of your dinner,” she added, smiling back at her family.

  Mary Ruth counted to ten for the third time in less than thirty minutes. She had her back to the room and her hands were on the counter, pressing hard against the cool linoleum top. Her eyes were scrunched shut and she tried to calm her heart when, in truth, she wished she could turn around and give that Menno Yoder the what-for that was begging to jump from her lips.

  “Don’t want you here! I done told you that every day that you been here!” He was shouting at her, pushing the kitchen chairs aside and knocking plates to the floor. The noise was loud and Mary Ruth had to fight extra hard to not jump. She had never before seen anyone rage like that.

  The kinner were standing in the mudroom, clinging to each other as they watched their daed rant and rave as he had every day for the past two weeks. This time, however, he was throwing things and shouting louder than ever.

  “You keep moving things around! Those pans!” He pointed at the wall where the pots and pans hung, moving closer to them. He knocked one off the wall and it clattered to the ground. “Martha don’t keep them up there like that!” He hurried over to a drawer and yanked it open. “And this? What’s this?”

  Mary Ruth glanced over her shoulder, her eyes narrow and cool. “That is called a drawer.”