Читать книгу A Husband For Mari - Emma Miller - Страница 10

Chapter Three

When the van dropped Mari off at Sara’s after work, she had them let her off at the end of the lane to give herself a couple of minutes to decompress. Her day had been hectic and overwhelming; but she was definitely going to like the job. Gideon and Addy Esch were good people to work for, just as James had said they would be. Gideon laughed and teased her so much, she wasn’t always sure how to take him. And Addy had seemed pleased with her, though it was obvious she was going to be the one who would be a stickler for doing things the way she liked them. Still, it had been a fun first day at work, and Mari was looking forward to seeing everyone at the shop the next morning.

Inside Sara’s house, Mari found the kitchen a beehive of activity. The delicious smells of baked ham, biscuits and gingerbread swirled through the kitchen. Pots steamed and dishes clattered as Sara, Jerushah and Ellie stirred and tasted. Mari was pleasantly surprised to find that Zachary was part of the activity, carefully placing silverware on either side of blue-and-white willow-pattern plates at the large table. And just as James had predicted, he seemed perfectly content.

“How was your day, Zachary?” Mari walked over to the table. She wanted to hug him or at least to ruffle his hair, but she didn’t want to embarrass him in front of the others.

“It was good,” he said enthusiastically. “I helped work on the addition! I learned how to use a level and how to swing a hammer.” He talked faster and faster as he went, as if he had so much so tell her that he was afraid he’d leave something out. “James’s hammer was kind of big, but he said he had one at home my size that he’d bring tomorrow. Not a toy hammer. A real one. One that fits better in my hand. A good weight for me, James said. He said I could call him James. That’s okay, right? He says that’s the way they do it here. Amish people. Kids call adults by their first names.”

Mari couldn’t resist a big grin. Zachary was so excited and happy that she barely recognized him as the sulky boy who had ridden in the van with her from Wisconsin a few days ago.

“And, oh!” Zachary put down the handful of silverware and dug in his pocket, coming up with a five-dollar bill and some ones. “See. I made money, too.” He pushed it into her hand and beamed at her. “For you. You know. To buy us stuff we need.”

Tears sprang to Mari’s eyes. Zachary could be such a kindhearted boy. She didn’t know why she worried so much about him; he really was a good kid. “Honey, you earned that money,” she said gently, holding it out to him. “It’s yours to buy what you want. You could save for a handheld video game or something like that.”

He thought for minute and then shook his head. “I think we better save it for a car, but I can hang on to it for us.” He put the money back in his pocket and reached for the silverware, then dropped his hands to his sides.

Mari knew that look on his face. He’d done something wrong. Her heart fell. If Zachary couldn’t behave himself when he was at Sara’s, she didn’t know what she was going to do. She exhaled. “You have something to tell me?” she asked quietly.

He nodded, staring at the floor. But then he looked up at her. “I just wanted to say I was sorry.” He spoke so softly that Mari had to lean over to hear him. “I shouldn’t have been mean to you this morning. I should have gone and gotten my hoodie when you told me to.”

“Oh, Zachary.” Mari couldn’t help herself. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “I know this is hard, and I’m so proud of you.” She kissed the top of his head before letting go of him.

“James says it’s important that a man know how to say he’s sorry.” He picked up the silverware and went back to setting the table.

Mari just stood there for a minute, her heart just a little too full for words.

“What a good boy you are to want to give to your family,” Sara pronounced enthusiastically. “I know your mother appreciates it.” Then to Mari she said, “Glad to have you home—supper’s almost ready. We’re all eager to hear about your first day.”

“Let me run upstairs and clean up,” Mari said as she retreated from the kitchen. “I’ll be right back down.”

In the room Mari shared with Zachary, she hung up the two new plum-colored aprons bearing the butcher shop’s logo. Then she slipped out of her work sneakers and into the only other pair she had.

As Mari tied her shoes, she thought about her day. It had been overwhelming but fun, too. She just hoped she’d be able to live up to Addy’s expectations, which were pretty high. But she knew she could do it. She would do whatever she needed to do and learn whatever they wanted her to learn. The other employees were pleasant, including the butchers who worked in the plant, and she thought that dealing with a mix of Amish and English customers would be interesting. She did have experience taking orders because she’d worked at another job several years earlier where she sat at a computer all day selling items advertised on television. But she much preferred working face-to-face with people, and she liked meeting new challenges.

The job would be fine, she assured herself as she ducked into the bathroom to wash her hands and tidy up her hair. She and Zachary had been through a lot of bad stuff, but things were looking up since they moved to Delaware. It had definitely been the right decision; she knew that now. And maybe Zachary was beginning to see that, too. She was so relieved to come home to Sara’s and find him smiling instead of sulking in their room. And the idea that he wanted her to have his money and then had apologized for his behavior that morning... It made her heart swell. And it also made her realize that she had some thanking to do, as well.

Once presentable, Mari hurried back downstairs and into the kitchen. “Sara, what can I do to help get supper ready?”

“Could you go outside and hunt down James—you remember which one is James?” Sara arched an eyebrow.

Sara hadn’t changed a bit since Mari had known her in Wisconsin. People said that Sara had more energy than a March snowstorm. Some called her interfering and headstrong for a woman, but Mari had always admired her. Now she was once more a widow, but even as a wife, Sara had been direct and known for speaking her mind. Very much like Addy seemed to be, Mari thought. Maybe that was why Addy and her husband spoke so highly of Sara and respected her opinion.

“I know who James is.” Mari suppressed a little smile. She had no idea what had gotten into her.

“Ask him if he would like to join us for supper. But not those Swartzentruber rascals. Just James. A new client will be arriving any moment. We’re a household of women except Zachary, and I don’t want him to feel awkward his first night here. A gaggle of women can be intimidating to a man.”

“Of course we have Hiram,” Ellie chimed in. The little woman was climbing on a three-foot stepladder to reach a serving plate in the cupboard.

“Ya, there’s always Hiram,” Jerushah said, “but he doesn’t have much to add to the conversation.”

“Exactly.” Sara smiled. “James said his sister and the boys were going to her mother-in-law’s tonight, so James will be on his own. Tell him that I’d consider it a favor if he could put his feet under my table and make Peter feel at ease. Peter’s mother advises me that he’s shy, so I doubt he’ll talk much more than Hiram. We need to make him feel more at ease talking with women. James will help him relax.”

“Whereas,” Ellie declared from her perch on the ladder, “Titus and Menno would delight in telling Peter tall tales of the homely women Sara wants to match him with.”

“Like they did with my prospective husband,” Jerushah put in shyly. “They nearly frightened my John into backing out of the arrangement before he’d even met me.”

“So no ham for Menno and Titus tonight.” Sara gave a firm nod of her head. “They can go home, have cold liver and onions and pester their own mother.”

“Like I do sometimes,” Zachary chimed in.

The women laughed, and Mari glanced at her son. What had gotten into Zachary? He talked when they were alone together, but he was usually quiet around strangers. Apparently he’d finished setting the table; now he was holding a towel for Ellie. She’d just come down off the ladder to find hot mitts and slide a gigantic pan of gingerbread from the oven.

“So Zachary worked with the men today, I hear,” Mari said. “I hope he wasn’t any trouble. James said it would be fine, but I don’t want to...” She searched for the right words as an image of James came to her and she felt her cheeks grow warm. What on earth was wrong with her, being so silly over some man she didn’t even know? Just tired, she supposed. “I just wouldn’t want to take advantage of anyone’s kindness,” she said.

“He was no trouble at all. What this house needs is some active children.” Sara went back to the refrigerator and removed pickles and a crockery bowl containing chowchow. “Not only was he no trouble but he was helpful. First he worked outside with the men. Then he came in and made the gingerbread for dessert.”

“Zachary made gingerbread?” Mari wanted to pinch herself to make certain she wasn’t dreaming. “I didn’t know he was interested in cooking.”

“Not cooking, Mom,” Zachary corrected. “Baking. Sara said if I learn to make really good gingerbread, they’ll sell it at the shop where you work and I could make money doing that, too.”

Ellie carried a pan of gingerbread to a soapstone-topped counter and set it down to cool. “Addy was telling me she thought Sara’s gingerbread would be a good seller. I know it’s a butcher shop, but they want a couple shelves of baked goods, too.”

“We didn’t make it from a box,” Zachary explained. “I mixed flour and eggs and ginger spice and stuff. It took a long time.”

“I can’t wait to taste it.” Mari offered Ellie a smile of gratitude.

It usually took Zachary a long time to warm up to strangers, but he was acting as though he’d known Ellie for ages. Ellie obviously had a real knack for dealing with children.

Mari heard the sound of a car coming up the driveway, and Sara turned from the stove. “That must be Peter,” she said, wiping her hands on her apron. “Ellie, watch that the potatoes don’t burn. I’ll just go out and welcome him. Mari, can you go fetch James?”

“Going.”

“Plenty of coats hanging in the utility room,” Sara instructed. “You might as well just save your own for good. On a farm, a sturdy denim is best, anyway.”

Mari found a coat and slipped into it. Though the style was certainly utilitarian and obviously Amish, Sara’s old coats were warmer than her own. Buttoning up, she dodged Hiram coming in with a bucket of milk and hurried across the back porch.

She walked around the house to find James using a power saw to trim a length of wood. Walking up makeshift steps into the still-open-to-the-elements addition, she called his name, but he couldn’t hear her over the loud whine of the power tool. She waited for him to finish the cut and turn off the saw before speaking again. The gas-powered generator was still running, but it was far enough away that the noise wasn’t too bad. “James?”

“Oh, hey.” He turned toward her and smiled. “Sorry I didn’t hear you, Mari. I was just finishing up here.”

He said her name correctly—just like Mary. Some people wanted to call her Maury because of the way she spelled her name. It was short for Maryann, but she’d never liked that name, so when she started writing the shorter version, as a child, she decided to use an i instead of a y.

Mari’s breath made small clouds of steam, and she pulled the coat tighter around her and suppressed a shiver. The walls and roof cut off some of the wind, but there was no heat. Her ears and nose felt cold, and she wondered how the carpenters could work outside in such bitter weather.

“What can I do for you?” James asked.

And then he smiled at her again, and she immediately became flustered. “Um, I— Sara—” Mari couldn’t seem to speak, and she had no idea why. Obviously it had something to do with James, but she didn’t understand her reaction. This was so unlike her.

Mari didn’t dislike men, but she certainly wasn’t in awe of them like other women her age she’d known. She’d learned that a woman who wasn’t looking for a boyfriend or a husband found life a lot easier. James was looking at her expectantly, but his expression was curious, not impatient. She glanced around at the half-finished space. There didn’t seem to be any of the other workmen there, which made her mission easier since Sara had specified James and not any of the others.

“Sara sent me to ask you if you’d join us for supper,” she said in a rush, then went on to explain why Sara was hoping that he’d join them.

James unplugged and wound the power cord for the saw. “I’d be glad to. I’d be having leftovers at home.” He noticed her looking at the saw. “You’re wondering about the electric saws and such.”

She nodded. Sara had a lot more modern conveniences than the Amish community Mari had come from in Wisconsin. Her uncle hadn’t even had a real bathroom; they still used an outhouse. Maybe this community was a lot more liberal, she thought.

“Gasoline-powered generators are okay,” he explained. “Makes the job go faster. I can build the traditional way when I need to, but Sara wanted this addition done as soon as possible.”

Mari took in the size of the structure. “She must be expecting a lot of company. Wanting more bedrooms.”

“She’s big business in Seven Poplars. Got a waiting list of folks wanting to come and stay and find a spouse.” James placed the heavy saw on a stack of lumber and covered it with a tarp. “So how was your first day at the shop?”

“Um. Good.” Her mind went blank. She studied him, wondering at his interest in her day. It had been a long time since anyone had asked her about her day.

James Hostetler appeared to be in his late twenties, maybe a little younger than she was. His height was average, maybe five-eleven, not as tall as the Swartzentruber brothers or Thomas. James was lanky, with slender, sinewy hands. His fair German complexion was suntanned, his eyes slightly oval and his hands and wrists calloused from a lifetime of manual labor.

James possessed a typical Amish face, more long than round; light brown feathery hair, very clean; a well-defined nose; and a wide, expressive mouth. He was handsome, though not overly so, with a friendly smile and the intelligent brown eyes she’d noticed on first meeting him. He moved easily, almost boyishly, with a bounce in his step. She didn’t know James and she didn’t give her trust easily, but she was inclined to like him. He seemed trustworthy, which wasn’t a trait she saw often in her world.

Not that she was interested in him in any romantic sort of way. Her life was complicated enough without that. She’d proven with Ivan, Zachary’s father, that she didn’t have good judgment when it came to choosing a partner. And she had quite enough on her plate without more complications. A man was the last thing she needed.

She found her voice. “My day was good,” she said. “Everyone was really nice. There’s a lot to learn. I don’t know anything about the business, but I want to know everything.”

“I’d think Gideon would be an easy boss to work for. And Addy is fair. She speaks her mind and some might fault her for that, but there’s not a mean bone in her body.” He removed his heavy leather work gloves and shoved them into his coat pockets. “This can’t be easy for you, losing your job, your home. Making the move with Zachary and starting over in a new town.”

She looked up at him. How did he know about her being evicted from her trailer?

He smiled. “Sorry,” he said, seeming to know what she as thinking. “Zachary told me all about it. I hope that’s okay. He’s a good kid, Mari,” he added thoughtfully. “I don’t think there’s any need to worry about him.”

She hesitated. “I wanted to thank you for letting Zachary help you today.” She looked down at her sneakers and them up at him again. “And...I don’t know what you said to him, but it must have been the right thing. I was afraid he’d be in a funk when I got home, but he’s not. In fact, he’s great. He seems so...happy. And he apologized to me for his behavior this morning.”

The easy smile reached his eyes, lighting them from within and revealing hints of green and gray that she hadn’t noticed before. If he’d been a woman, people would have said that they were her best feature. In a man, they were remarkable.

“Ya. We kept him pretty busy,” James went on. “He carried a lot of coffee, fetched some nails and did some sweeping. We worked on how to drive a nail properly.”

“He told me you were going to bring a hammer for him to use. He was really excited about it,” she said.

“Good.” James nodded his head slowly. “I like your Zachary. You must be very proud of him.”

“I am.” She smiled. “It wasn’t necessary to pay him.”

“But it was.” He settled his gaze on her. “He earned it. I try to give fair wages for good work.”

She pushed her cold hands into the pockets of the coat, trying to warm them. “It was still good of you to take the trouble to make things easier for him. Kids don’t like change, and he’s had more than enough of it.”

“He was no bother. He really wasn’t. In fact, it was fun having him with us today. I’m looking forward to spending time with him tomorrow.”

James squatted in front of a wooden toolbox on the ground just outside the addition and began to unload his tool belt and fit everything inside. It was an orderly box, his tools clean and well cared for. Mari admired that. She liked order herself, when she could find it in her life.

“Zachary has a quick mind,” James continued. “And he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. It’s plain to see that you’ve done a good job with him.”

“I try.” She stood there for a minute watching him, then realized it was silly for her to just be standing there. She’d passed on Sara’s message. There was no reason for her to linger. She put her hands together. “Well, I hope you like ham,” she said. “I saw one in the oven. I think Sara and Ellie made enough food for half the county.”

“Sometimes it seems like half the county’s eating with them. Sara has an endless string of pretty young women and their beaus as dinner guests. She hasn’t been in Seven Poplars that long, but she’s made a lot of friends here, and there’s no doubt she provides a much-needed service.”

“Not for me,” Mari blurted out, then felt her face flush. “I mean, I’m not here to find a husband. That’s not why I came here. We’re old friends. From Wisconsin. She’s just giving me a hand until I can get settled here in Delaware. I came for the job.”

He glanced up from his toolbox. “That’s what Zachary told me.”

“I’m not married. I’m not even Amish.” She felt as if she was babbling. “Not anymore. I was, but—” She pushed her hands deeper into the coat pockets. “Not anymore,” she repeated.

He nodded, holding her gaze. There was no judgment in his eyes.

“But you were born to Amish parents.”

“Sara told you?”

James shook his head. “A name like Mari Troyer?” He smiled that easy smile of his again. “It’s not hard to guess what your background is.”

“I left that life a decade ago.”

“It’s hard, leaving. Hard coming back, too.”

“Oh, I’m not... I didn’t come to be Amish again. It’s not who I am anymore,” she added softly, wondering what it was about James that made her feel as if she could stand there in the bitter cold and discuss things she hadn’t talked about in years.

“I think the people who raised us, our parents and grandparents and their kin, they’re always a part of us, whether we want them to be or not.”

“I don’t know about that. I guess I’m part of the English world now.”

He thought for a moment before speaking. “Has it been kind to you, that world?”

She glanced away. The way he was looking at her made her feel nervous about herself. About things she believed to be true. “Not particularly, but it suits me.” She shrugged. “And I can’t come back. It’s too late.” She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling oddly wistful. “Zachary and I are just here for a little while. I’ve done fine out there. It was just that the plant where I worked closed down. Jobs were hard to come by.”

James hefted the heavy toolbox. “I’ll be pleased to join you for supper. Mattie, she’s my sister, and the kids went to have supper with their grossmama. Mattie and her mother-in-law get on like peas in a pod. And Agnes can’t get enough of the new twins.” He took a few steps and then stopped, obviously waiting for her.

“Your sister has twins?” She caught up with him. “How old?”

“Six weeks last Sunday. William, he’s the oldest, and Timothy. They’re good babies. It’s their big brothers who cause all the fuss in our house.”

“How old are they?”

“Roman is three, and Emanuel is twenty-two months.”

She couldn’t help chuckling. “Bet they’re a handful.”

“Emanuel takes close watching. Turn your back on that one and he’ll be up the chimney or have the cow in the kitchen.” They reached the back porch and James carried his toolbox up the steps and set it against the wall of the house. “It will be fine here until morning. Saves Jericho, he’s my horse, from hauling it home and back tomorrow.” He opened the back door and held it for her.

Mari walked through the doorway into the utility room. Instantly, she was wrapped in the homey smells of food and the sounds of easy conversation and laughter. She slipped out of the coat, hung it on a peg. James did the same and began to wash his hands in a big utility sink.

Mari walked through the doorway, feeling as if she was drawn into the embrace of Sara’s warm kitchen.

“Mari, James, this is Peter Heiser.” She indicated a thin, beardless man in his early forties sitting at the table. “I know you’ll help to make him feel at home here in our community.”

“Peter,” Mari said as she slid into an empty chair between Ellie and Zachary. “Nice to meet you.”

Peter’s mouth opened, then closed; then his lips moved, but no words came out. Sweat beaded on his acne-scarred forehead as he nodded in her direction. His pale brown eyes were wide and stunned in appearance, like a frightened deer caught in the headlights of a car. His lips parted again, and something like a croak emerged. Mari expected the poor man to leap up from the table and flee the kitchen at any second.

James came to his rescue, sliding into a chair. “Good to have you with us,” he said to Peter. “Everyone. Shall we?” He closed his eyes and slightly inclined his head, a signal for silent grace.

Mari reached for her son’s hand under the table. He gripped her fingers, his small hand warm, clinging to hers. She smiled at him reassuringly, and he nodded before closing his eyes and lowering his head in imitation of the men and women around him. Mari did the same.

* * *

Mari’s head was still bowed when James opened his eyes. She looked so relaxed in prayer. A brave woman and a good mother, he thought. He didn’t care what she’d said; life couldn’t have been easy for her in the English world. It never was for those born into a different one. Not that the Amish lifestyle was a perfect one. Nothing on earth was, he supposed. But it was obvious to him that Mari’s struggles must have been more difficult than his own, and he admired her for her pluck and fortitude.

Sara’s cheerful urging for someone to pass the ham jolted James from his musing. He caught Peter’s gaze and offered him a friendly smile. Poor Peter. No wonder he needed Sara’s help to find a wife. The man was obviously terrified of women. Hands trembling, Peter almost dropped the plate of meat into Hiram’s lap. Hiram caught it in time, moving faster than James had thought him capable. Peter went white and his ears reddened. He was so flabbergasted by his near mishap that he hadn’t even taken a slice of ham for himself. Hiram, who never missed an opportunity to fill his stomach, helped himself to two pieces.

“Ach, I forgot the butter,” Ellie said. She started to rise, but Mari was quicker.

“I’ll get it.” Mari moved gracefully to the refrigerator and came back with the butter, offering it to James.

James glanced at Peter and then back at Mari and wondered if Sara had any notion of matching the two of them. He doubted it. Sara was good at reading people; Mari’s personality was too strong. Peter needed a gentle woman, maybe someone a little older than he was, someone who could overlook his social deficiencies. And Mari had made a point of saying she wasn’t here to find a husband. James knew Sara well enough, though, to suspect that didn’t mean anything to her if she set her mind to it. Sara could be a determined woman, especially when it came to the idea of there being someone for everyone. Of course Mari would have to join the church to marry an Amish man, but that wasn’t a far-fetched idea, especially since she had grown up Amish.