Читать книгу Seasons in Paradise - Barbara Cameron - Страница 12

Chapter 5

5

Mary Elizabeth looked around at the group of young people at the singing. It was the second one she’d attended with Rose Anna and while she was having fun, she hadn’t met anyone new.

And it felt like Noah’s Ark tonight. So many people had paired up with someone or come with them. Although couples who dated kept their relationship secret, it didn’t take a genius to figure out who had already decided who they wanted to spend the evening with. Some had already left early, deciding it would be more fun to go for a long buggy ride home.

While everyone took a break and enjoyed snacks, Mary Elizabeth took a careful inventory of the available single men. She knew all of them. Had grown up with them, attended schul with them. None of them had attracted her then. None did now.

Like Lavina and Rose Anna, she’d fallen in love with a Stoltzfus man and couldn’t seem to find anyone else she liked.

“Stop frowning, you’ll scare men away,” Rose Anna hissed.

Mary Elizabeth shrugged. “It’s not like there’s anyone here this evening that I’m interested in.”

“I know what you mean, but you have to give it a chance.”

“I saw you talking to Mark Troyer.”

Rose Anna grinned. “He’s sweet. And fun. But he’s no John Stoltzfus.”

“So you’re just flirting?”

“Schur. Why not? John’s off enjoying himself in the Englisch world. He may never come back the way David did. So I may as well keep my eyes open, enjoy someone interested in me.” She glanced over at the refreshment table, met the gaze of Mark. He grinned at her. “Gotta go,” she said and headed over to the table.

Mary Elizabeth shook her head. Rose Anna had been moping around about John just weeks ago, but now she was flirting with Mark.

“Gut-n-owed.”

She turned and stared into the face of a man she’d seen earlier that day in the church service but hadn’t met.

“I’m Ben Miller,” he said. “I just moved here from Indiana.”

“Mary Elizabeth Zook. Nice to meet you.”

She stared up at him. He was at least six inches taller than her, and she was the tallest girl in her family. It was kind of nice, she thought. And he had the bluest eyes and nicest smile. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Sam smile.

“I moved here a week ago from Indiana. Luke Miller is my cousin.”

“Luke mentioned you were moving here last time we spoke,” she told him. “You’ll be joining him and his dat making furniture.”

“Ya, I’m looking forward to it.” He took a deep breath and glanced around. “I smell honeysuckle. It’s already summer here.”

“We have ridiculously short spring seasons in Paradise,” she said. “They’re over in a blink.”

“Want something to drink?”

“Schur.” They walked over to the refreshment table. There was still a little time before the singing began again.

“You sing many of the same hymns I grew up with. Not everything’s the same in this community, though.”

“Sometimes the Englisch think the Amish are all alike no matter what state we live in.” She picked up a plate of brownies and offered it to him.

He took one and bit into it. “Gut.”

“Danki,” she said with a smile.

“You made these? They’re great. I think I’ll have another.”

She held out the plate just as Anna called everyone back to the singing.

Ben grabbed a paper napkin, wrapped the brownie in it, and stuck it in a pocket. “Talk to you after? Maybe give you a ride home?”

“I can’t tonight,” she said. “I came with my schweschder.” When she saw his disappointment, she felt her spirits lift. “But we could take a ride tomorrow if you like.”

“Ya, I’d like.”

Rose Anna lifted her eyebrows in question as Mary Elizabeth joined the others to sing, but she could hardly talk to her now.

The minute the singing was over, Rose Anna made her way to her side. “So, tell me about the new guy.”

She didn’t have much to tell. They hadn’t had long enough to talk. But her mood was light as they rode home.

The next day Mary Elizabeth knocked at the back door of Lavina and David’s house, then walked inside.

Waneta turned from the stove where she was cooking breakfast. “Well, guder mariye. What brings you here this morning?”

“I thought I’d help Lavina in the garden before it gets too warm.”

“I’ve been helping her some since she’s not feeling gut in the morning,” Waneta said. She turned off the flame under the frying pan. “I’ll go get her.”

“I’ll be outside.”

Lavina came out a little while later. Her face had that same faint greenish tinge like yesterday. “You didn’t have to come.”

“I want to help. Mornings are rough for you, and since it’s getting so warm, I know gardening has to be quite a chore.”

Lavina sighed. “Spring in Lancaster County seems shorter and shorter each year.”

“I can’t agree with you more.” She glanced around. “Shall I do some weeding first?”

“That would be wunderbaar.”

Waneta came out and the three of them got to work, and soon there was a pile of weeds at their sides. David walked over from his work in the fields and looked closely at his wife.

“I’m fine,” she told him. “Don’t fuss.”

He scanned her face, his forehead puckered in concern. “You look warm.”

“As long as you don’t tell me I look green,” she said tartly. She stood, dusting her hands. “I think we’ve done all we need to this morning. Let’s dump the weeds, go inside, and get something to drink.”

“Sounds gut to me,” Waneta said. “My knees are telling me they’ve had enough.”

David hurried over to hold out a hand and she took it gratefully. “You’re not old enough to complain about aging,” he told her, his eyes twinkling.

“I’m old enough.” She glanced around. “Where’s your dat?”

“Arguing with Sam.”

Waneta shook her head. “Those two. Sam’s kind enough to come here on Saturdays and help with the farm. Amos should be nicer to him.”

“They’ll work it out,” David assured her. “Dat and I did.”

“Do you think they ever will?” Mary Elizabeth asked Lavina as they walked inside to clean up and start lunch.

“Like David said, he and his dat did and I think they fought worse than Sam and Amos.”

Mary Elizabeth looked out the kitchen window as she washed her hands. “Sam’s never coming back. He said so the last time we talked.” She dried her hands on a dish towel.

The screen door slapped shut. Rose Anna walked in carrying a basket of food. “Sorry I ran late getting here.”

Lavina and Mary Elizabeth exchanged a glance. Mary Elizabeth couldn’t remember a time when Rose Anna was on time. Their mudder even joked that Rose Anna had been born three weeks past the due date the doctor had given her.

They helped Rose Anna unpack the food. Waneta left them to find Amos.

“Mary Elizabeth’s got a new boyfriend,” she singsonged.

“Oh?” Lavina looked at Mary Elizabeth. “A new boyfriend? Details, please.”

Rose Anna smirked as Mary Elizabeth frowned at her. “Really, Rose Anna, we’re not in schul anymore.”

The screen door slammed again. Mary Elizabeth looked over and saw that Sam and David had just walked in.

* * *

There was an old saying that if you eavesdropped you might not hear something gut.

Sam figured there was some truth to the saying when he walked in and overheard the Zook women talking about Mary Elizabeth having a new boyfriend.

The only thing he could do was pretend that he hadn’t heard, and so he headed down the hall to the downstairs bathroom to wash up.

“I’m sure they were just joking,” David said as he crowded into the small room with him to wash his hands.

Sam looked up and met his bruder’s gaze in the mirror over the sink. “Doesn’t matter.” Sam picked up a towel and dried his hands.

“Nee? The two of you saw each other for a long time before you left home.” David took the towel from him and dried his hands.

“Yeah, well that was then. I haven’t seen her since then. Well, until recently.” He started to walk out of the room but stopped when David put his hand on his arm.

“You know she cares about you.”

“Yes, well, it’s time she found someone else. I’m not coming back. I told her that.” He stared at the door frame rather than meet his bruder’s eyes. “Listen, I need to leave. I have something to do.”

“Have lunch first.”

“Nee, I need to –”

“If you leave now they’ll know you heard.”

Sam hesitated. “You’re right.”

So he stayed for lunch and pretended he hadn’t heard the women talking. He kept his head down, concentrating on the cold baked chicken, potato salad, and big glasses of iced tea. Truth was, he was hungry after a long, hot morning working in the fields. And he and John were not only not gut cooks, sometimes they had little money for food.

“Have more potato salad,” his mudder urged. “You look like you’ve lost weight.”

“Don’t fuss at the boy,” his dat muttered. “Maybe he’s not hungerich.”

Sam looked at him and their gazes locked. David had told Sam that their dat had changed a lot and he had to a large degree—Amos didn’t use to get through a day without shouting or ordering his sohns around. But there were times like now when he’d look up and find the old man scowling at him, his thick black brows beetling over his dark eyes, making him feel like a kind.

His mudder passed him the dish of baked beans and then the bowl filled with corn on the cob.

“I can’t eat more,” he protested.

“We’ll send some food home for you and John so you’ll have it for supper.”

“Maybe he likes Englisch food better,” Amos said. “Fancy restaurant food.”

“Hardly,” Sam said. He hadn’t been in a restaurant in ages. Well, he and Peter had gone to a pizza restaurant recently. But Peter had treated him. So he schur wasn’t spending money on fancy restaurants.

As he ate, he listened to the conversation around the big old kitchen table and thought how different the atmosphere was from when he lived here. His mudder had always chattered to lighten the mood, while his dat sat at the head of the table and glowered and been as unpleasant as possible.

Lavina seemed to fit in well with his family. His dat actually smiled at her and complimented her cooking. He was happy for her and not a bit jealous of her or David. But oh, how he wished a meal had been this pleasant. He never would have left if it had.

“Sam? Mary Elizabeth tells us Leah may have you and Peter help her with the renovations on her new shop.”

He glanced up and saw Mary Elizabeth watching him from her seat across the table.

“Ya. Peter’s working up a bid.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “I should be going. I’m supposed to meet him to help him with it this afternoon.” He glanced at his bruder. “Don’t worry, I’ll still be helping you most Saturday mornings.”

“I appreciate the help, but if you need to work for Leah to earn some extra money I understand.”

“Family comes first,” Amos said bluntly.

“Here, Amos, have the first piece of pie,” Lavina said, handing him a plate.

How like his mudder Lavina seemed at that moment. Back when he lived at home his mudder was always trying to avert a blowup between his dat and one of his sohns.

Amos started to say something, and Lavina turned to Rose Anna. “Would you get the ice cream?”

“There’s ice cream?” Amos asked, clearly distracted from whatever he had been about to say.

“Ya,” Lavina beamed at him. “You know I always have ice cream for pie.”

“I’ll get it,” Rose Anna said, getting up and walking to the refrigerator.

Sam realized that it was the first time Rose Anna had said anything since they’d all taken seats at the table. He wondered if she missed John today . . .

He hadn’t liked making excuses for John not being here today to help. The fact was that John wasn’t sick. And when he got home they were going to have a serious talk.

He scraped up the last bite of potato salad, ate it, then wiped his mouth with a paper napkin. “Well, I’d better get going.”

His mudder jumped up and pulled plastic containers out of a cupboard. “Take some leftovers home for you and John for supper.”

Amos scowled but said nothing. Sam rose and put his plate and silverware in the sink.

Lavina sliced two pieces of pie. “Here, Waneta, give me a container so we can send home some of the pie.”

“Danki, Mamm, Lavina.”

Waneta handed him a bag loaded with plastic containers. “Tell John I hope he feels better. Call me if you need me. John always used to get terrible colds this time of year.”

“I will, Mamm. I’ll be here with him next Saturday.”

Or else, Sam thought.

He pulled up in the parking lot of the apartment complex just as Peter drove his buggy in.

“Hey, good timing!” he called as he walked over from the visitor parking space. “Whatcha got there?” he asked, gesturing at the bag in Sam’s arms.

“Leftovers for our supper tonight.”

“Great! When do we eat?”

Sam fumbled his key in the door lock.

Peter slapped him on his shoulder and chuckled. “Relax, I know you meant for you and John.”

He breathed a sigh of relief as he unlocked the door and walked inside. “I have some soft drinks in the refrigerator. Want one?”

“Schur.” Peter followed him into the kitchen and watched him put the plastic containers inside the refrigerator. “Looks like you’ve got beer, too.”

“They’re not mine. They’re John’s. You can have one if you want.”

“Hey, you finally back?”

Sam turned to see John, still dressed in his t-shirt and pajama bottoms, leaning against the kitchen doorway. He yawned then rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “Did you bring back food?”

“Do you think you deserve to eat it when you didn’t help?”

“I wasn’t feeling good.” His voice held a bit of a whine. He muttered a curse word as he banged his toe on a chair in the small kitchen.

Sam grabbed a soft drink for Peter and himself and slammed the door on the refrigerator. “Yeah, well, maybe next time you could party less on Friday night and help out on Saturday. I’m not making excuses for you again. And watch your language.”

He turned to Peter. “Let’s sit at the dining room table and go over the proposal.”

They settled at the small dinette table off the living room, and Peter spread out the papers he carried. “So, was Mary Elizabeth there at the farm today?”

“Yes, how’d you know?”

Peter popped the top on his soft drink. “I didn’t know for schur. I just remembered that you’d told me she’s there on Saturdays helping her sister while you help your bruder with the farm.”

“Yes, she was there today.”

Peter tapped his pencil on the table and regarded him thoughtfully. “If Leah hires us for the work it’s possible you’re going to come into contact with Mary Elizabeth even more. How are you going to feel about that?”

* * *

“Thanks for letting me come along today,” Rose Anna told Kate when she climbed into the back seat of her car the next day.

“You’re always welcome,” Kate told her. “The more the merrier.”

“Mary Elizabeth told me I’m never to tell anyone where the shelter’s located. So I won’t of course.”

“Thank you.”

Mary Elizabeth climbed into the front passenger seat and set the shopping bag she carried on the floor of the car. “Mamm said I could donate some of the quilting magazines we get. There are patterns in some of them for Christmas crafts.”

“Terrific! That’ll help a lot.” She glanced at Mary Elizabeth. “So how are the renovations going on Leah’s new shop?”

“She had Sam and Peter there the other day getting some measurements. I’m not sure when the work will start. She does seem to want to use them.”

“Not surprised. Sam built some bookcases for us. He did great work. Malcolm is a wonderful husband, but he’s not the best around the house. Last time he tried to put a new seat on the toilet he broke the toilet. Said the hinge wasn’t opening so he tapped it. With a metal hammer.”

Mary Elizabeth winced. “So he broke the plastic seat?”

“He cracked the base of the toilet. Do you know what a plumber charges to come out on the weekend?”

She tried not to laugh. “No, my daed is pretty handy.”

“I’d have teased him more, but I could see it embarrassed him. Men think they’re supposed to be good at stuff around the house.” She glanced at Mary Elizabeth as she turned into the driveway of the shelter. “It’s a guy thing.”

They were early, but as Mary Elizabeth climbed the stairs to the sewing room she could hear sewing machines whirring.

They walked in on a beehive of activity. Women sat at every machine, sewing. Others were cutting material at a table that had been set up. Several of the children sat coloring at a little table set someone had placed in the corner.

“Well, I see we have a lot of early birds,” Kate said, pausing just inside the room to grin.

“We’re all so excited to be sewing up things for Leah’s new shop,” Edna Mae said. “I’m making up some potholders out of the quilt blocks we’ve been doing.”

Mary Elizabeth went to an empty table, took the quilting magazines out of the shopping bag, and spread them out. “Kate, when you get a minute, look through some of these. I was thinking some of these holiday table runners would be quick to sew and sell for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They could be more affordable for shoppers than a quilt, too.”

Kate set her purse and tote bag down and walked over to flip through some of the magazines. “I think that’s a great idea. Ladies, could I have your attention for a moment?” She waited until the machines stopped and all eyes turned to her. “Mary Elizabeth brought quilting magazines in today. They have patterns for some things some of you might want to sew for Leah’s shop.”

Then she laughed as she had to move quickly out of the way when several of the women jumped up and rushed over to pick up a magazine and take it back to their seats.

“I thought this issue was a good one,” Mary Elizabeth said, flipping pages. “See, this fabric is a panel with holiday images and inspirational sayings about believing in hope and dreams and harmony and family and giving. Then you add some simple quilt blocks around it and you have a pretty wall hanging. You can also divide up the panels into smaller sections, make some small wall hangings.”

“We should order some of those fabric panels,” Kate said thoughtfully. “Let me go back to my friends who’ve donated money to the quilting class and I’ll see what I can get us.”

“We might have some more fabric we can donate.”

“And Leah said she’ll see what she can contribute. I think we’ll be fine.”

“You know what they say about quilters,” Mary Elizabeth said with a grin. “We can make a lot out of scraps.”

Kate rolled her eyes and groaned. “I can’t believe you said that.” She stared at Mary Elizabeth, looking serious. “Are you going to be okay going to Leah’s when Sam’s working there? I heard she’s hiring Sam and Peter to renovate the shop.”

“Wow, word gets around faster than the Amish grapevine. I hadn’t heard it was definite. They were doing up an estimate for her.”

“Leah and I talked last night.”

Mary Elizabeth shrugged and walked over to where she’d set her purse and tote bag down on a table.

“I don’t expect to see him that often. Besides, I bump into him sometimes at Lavina’s house. You have to expect such when you live in a small community.”

But she hadn’t seen so much of Sam in a long time . . . that is, until his bruder David had married Lavina and David’s bruders came to help with planting.

She was saved from more questions when Kate was called over to help one of the women with a problem with her sewing machine.

Rose Anna walked around seeming to enjoy what was going on—especially when she saw Ellie sewing on another little quilt for her doll. She crouched down and talked with the girl about her quilt for a few minutes before getting up and wandering around to admire the women working on their individual projects.

Mary Elizabeth did her own walking around to see if anyone needed help and then settled down into a chair at the front of the room next to Kate. She pulled a quilt she was working on from her tote and began sewing, but she found it hard to concentrate. She set the quilt down and just stared at the women sewing.

“Something wrong?”

She turned to Kate. “No, something’s right. Things are so different from the time I first came here. Some of the women looked depressed, nervous. Had bruises on their faces. The kids looked scared. Now everyone looks so happy, and the kids have lost that scared look.”

“Leah has them excited about sewing for her new shop.” Kate set her own work down and smiled as she looked around the room.

“She has a lot to do with it,” Mary Elizabeth said slowly. “But if you hadn’t volunteered your time here, there couldn’t have been a quilting class at all.”

Kate shrugged. “It was nothing. I enjoy being here with women who love to quilt.”

“I think you know a lot about hochmut. About humility,” she told her.

And it gave her an idea for a way for all of them to thank Kate.