Читать книгу The Amish Teacher's Dilemma - Patricia Davids - Страница 16

The following morning was cool with a drizzling rain that dampened Eva’s spirits. A restless night had weakened her resolve and left her wondering if she had made the right decision coming to Maine. Would she be able to provide the guidance and education the community expected her to deliver to their children? What if she wasn’t suited to the job? What then? As Samuel had pointed out, her employment was only guaranteed for one month at a time.

Would that be enough time to learn all she needed to know?

If she lost the position, she would have to ask her brother Gene for the funds to return. She didn’t want to go home with her tail tucked between her legs and admit her new adventure had turned out to be a folly just as her brother had predicted.

She had finished her second cup of coffee when a two-wheeled cart piled high with her promised furniture arrived. The driver hopped down with ease. His passenger, a large yellow lab-mixed-breed dog remained seated but watched her master’s every move. A gangly youth sat on the tailgate.

The driver tipped his head toward Eva. “Good morning. I’m Michael Shetler. You met my wife, Bethany, yesterday.”

“I did. And your new baby.”

Michael’s grin almost split his face. “Eli! He’s a mighty fine little fellow except for his insistence on getting fed at any hour of the day or night.” He gestured toward the back of the cart. “This is Bethany’s brother Ivan, and the dog is our Sadie. She’ll be at school most days because Bethany’s little sister Jenny will be one of your scholars. The two are seldom apart.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Ivan. And you, Sadie.” The dog barked once.

“That means hello,” Ivan said, hopping off the wagon bed. “Where do you want this stuff?”

“I’ll show you.” She held open the door as they carried in a sideboard and had them place it in the sitting room against the wall across from the windows.

The door opened and Willis came in carrying a trunk on his shoulder. “Where?”

Her spirits rose at the sight of his smiling, soot-smudged face. She didn’t stop to consider why he had such an effect on her. “At the foot of the bed. Danki, Willis.”

She heard barking outside and saw Maddie playing tag with Sadie on the lawn. Willis stopped beside Eva. She grinned at him over her shoulder. “It appears Maddie has a new friend. Bubble may be jealous.”

Willis stepped up beside her. “Nope, Sadie is an old friend. The dog was the first to visit us when we arrived.”

Michael walked past them. “She likes to keep an eye on her flock. She might look like a lab, but she has shepherd in her somewhere. She visits all the children in the area at least once a day. Where do you want the bookcase?”

“A bookcase, how wonderful! Now I can get my books out of my suitcase. In the sitting room, please.” Eva rushed into her bedroom and pulled a suitcase out from beneath her bed. Willis saw her struggling with it and came to help.

His eyes widened when he picked it up. “What’s in here? Rocks?”

“A few of my books. The ones I didn’t want to be without.”

“Books about what?” He set it on the floor in front of the bookcase.

Eva unzipped the case, opened the lid and sank to the floor beside it. “About everything. My favorite books of poetry.” She clutched several thin volumes to her chest. “The devotionals I enjoy, some adventure stories, even a cookbook. You’re welcome to look through them if you want. You and the boys might enjoy reading some of them.”

Willis held up one hand. “Another time.”

“Where do you want the end table?” Ivan asked.

“Beside my rocker. This is very goot furniture. I assume it stays with the house for the next teacher?”

“I reckon so,” Michael said. “The horse and cart are yours to use for as long as you need. You will want to invest in a closed buggy before winter or make sure you have someone who can transport you to church and such when the weather gets bad. One of our newly arrived families, the Fishers, are wheelwrights and buggy makers. I’m sure they can fix you up with a small buggy at a reasonable price.”

“You’re welcome to use my closed buggy if the weather turns bad before you can get your own,” Willis said.

She was touched by his kindness and the generosity of all the people she had met in New Covenant. “I will take you up on that offer if I’m still here when winter arrives.”

Willis frowned as he helped her to her feet. “I thought you were staying for the entire school year.”

“I hope I will be but Samuel Yoder made certain I understand I am working on a month-to-month basis. You should see the amount of paperwork he left me.” They all walked out onto the porch.

“Don’t let old sour face fool you,” Ivan said. “He’s happy to have an Amish teacher here. He has two grandsons who will be attending your school.”

“I pray that sentiment continues. I appreciate the loan of the horse and cart.”

Michael walked to the horse’s head and rubbed the white blaze on his brown nose. “I brought hay and grain for him. His name is Dodger. Where shall I put him?”

“Stable him at my place for now,” Willis said.

“The church plans to hold a frolic next month and put up a barn and corral for you,” Michael added.

It was news to Eva but it made sense. Most of her students would walk to school but some would need to come by buggy or ride horseback. In the winter those in outlying areas would arrive in horse-drawn sleighs. The school would need a place to stable those horses.

She had been involved in many of the working parties the Amish called frolics. When work needed to be done, the entire community would set aside a day to raise a barn, repair a home or harvest a crop for someone in the hospital. Everyone from the youngest to the oldest looked forward to the event and everyone helped.

After the men left Eva put out her books and then returned to her paperwork and lesson plans. She had a lot to learn before school started.

After two hours she decided against spending the day inside even with the drizzle. She took a cup of tea out on the porch and saw Maddie with Willis through the open door of his smithy. Without considering why, she grabbed a gray shawl and swung it over her shoulders then crossed the road to see what the pair was up to. The little girl was sitting on a stool, watching Willis pump the bellows to heat his forge.

“Maddie, you look so glum. What’s the matter?” Eva asked.

“I can’t tell you anything that Bubble says anymore.”

“And,” Willis prompted.

“I can’t make up things for Bubble to say.”

“That severely limits your conversation, doesn’t it?” Eva winked at Willis. He shook his head as if wondering which side she was on.

Maddie leaned closer to Eva. “Bubble isn’t happy.”

Eva fought back a smile.

Willis kept his focus on his forge but glanced up at her briefly. “Did you get settled in?”

“For the most part. I should be working but I have decided to play hooky for the rest of the day. I can’t look at one more lesson plan. May I try working the bellows?”

“By all means.” He stepped aside.

She took over pumping a large wooden arm that worked the bellows. A few ashes floated onto her face and she brushed them away.

He glanced her way. “You’ll have to pump faster. I’m losing the heat.”

She picked up the pace. It wasn’t as easy or as much fun as it had looked. The heat from the forge soon had her sweating. She cast aside her shawl. Willis turned a block of iron in the coals with a pair of long tongs. “When do you know you have it hot enough?” she asked.

“By the color. Iron glows red, then orange, yellow, and finally white when it’s heated hot enough. A bright yellow-orange color indicates the best forging heat.”

“Isn’t it yellow-orange enough yet?” Her arms were getting tired.

“Almost.”

She kept pumping until her arms were burning. “That’s enough,” he said.

Grateful to step aside, she let him take over. No wonder he had such muscular arms. “Now what?”

“Now I beat on the iron until I make something.”

“What are you making?”

“A brake pedal for a buggy.” He lifted the hot metal from the forge and placed it on an anvil. She watched him mold the metal into the shape he wanted by pounding on it. When it grew too cool it went back into the coals. In a surprisingly short amount of time, he had a new brake pedal ready to be attached.

“That is amazing. How did you learn to be a blacksmith? Was your father one?”

“Papa made furniture,” Maddie said.

“Our onkel had a smithy near our farm in Maryland. He taught me the trade.”

She tipped her head, glad for the chance to learn more about Willis and his family. “What made you move all the way up here?”

“The same reasons a lot of Amish folks are here. Farmland is cheaper than back home. Plus, I got tired of the Englisch tourists that came to gawk at us Amish. I wanted to practice my faith and my trade without feeling like I was a circus act.”

“I know what you mean. I have this wonderful book that talks about how we strive to live apart from the world but by simply being Amish we are being drawn into that world more every year. Have you read it? I can loan you my copy.”

He started pumping the bellows again. “I don’t have time to read.”

Eva swallowed her disappointment. “I understand. I reckon I’ve played hooky long enough. Thanks for letting me help in my limited way.”

His mouth lifted in a brief grin. “You did okay. If you get tired of teaching, come look me up. I could use an apprentice.”

She rubbed her aching forearms. “I don’t think this is the trade for me.”

“Can I help you at the school, Teacher?” Maddie asked.

“I would like that if your brother doesn’t object.”

“She is all yours. Remember what we talked about, Maddie.” He leveled a stern glance at her.

“I remember.” Maddie hopped off her chair and took hold of Eva’s hand.

Willis met Eva’s gaze and grinned. She marveled again at what beautiful eyes he had. She knew dozens of men but none intrigued her the way Willis Gingrich did. He was easy to talk to. She wasn’t sure why she felt so comfortable around him. Maybe it was because she’d never had a friend who was a man before. “Maddie and I will be in the school if you need us.”

He gestured toward several iron bars waiting to be made into something else. “I’ll come get her when I’m done here.”

“Don’t hurry. Maddie and I will have fun. Oh, and before I forget, you need to fill out enrollment forms for the children. I’ll need them before the end of the week.”

His easy smile vanished. “Can’t you take care of it?”

“I don’t know their history or where they went to school before they came here. I’ll need those records, too.”

His frown deepened. He began pumping the bellows again. “I’ll send Harley over to get the papers as soon as he gets back.”

“Danki.”

He didn’t respond so she left and crossed the road with Maddie beside her, wondering if she had somehow upset Willis.

At the steps of the school Maddie looked back. “Whew. Bubble sure had a hard time keeping her mouth shut today.”

Eva tried not to laugh but couldn’t help it. “Why don’t I read a story to you. That way Bubble doesn’t have to talk and neither do you.”

“Okay. I like stories. Do you have one about ponies? I sure wish Willis would put shoes on my pony.”

“I thought I saw him shoeing a pony last evening.”

“It wasn’t mine. Harley brought it over from his Englisch farmer friend. Would you ask Willis to shoe my pony? He likes you.”

Eva hoped that was true. “I’ll remind him.”

She saw he was watching them. She waved. He hesitated and then waved back. She entered the school with a light and carefree step.

For the next hour she read to Maddie and occasionally to Bubble when she couldn’t be silent. Eva sighed when Willis came through the door to get his sister. She had enjoyed spending time with Maddie even more than she thought she would. The child had quickly wormed her way into Eva’s heart.

“I was just about to teach your sister to write her name on the blackboard. Do you want to show her how it’s done?”

He held up both hands. They were black with soot. “You don’t want me handling your clean chalk and erasers.”

“Okay, Maddie is spelled with a capital M, lower case a, d, d, i, e.” She glanced at Willis. “Unless you spell it with a y or a single i?” She waited for him to clarify the spelling for her.

He shrugged. “Spell it however you like.”

His comment puzzled Eva. “I want to teach her the correct way.”

There was a thump against the side of the building. She glanced toward the windows. “What was that?”

Willis shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe a bird flew into the side of the school.”

She frowned. “Do they do that?”

“Sometimes a bird will fly into a window by mistake. The first way you said. That’s the right way to spell Maddie’s name.”

“Okay.” She wrote the letters out and handed a piece of chalk to the child. “Your turn. All you have to do is copy what I’ve written.”

Shattering glass caused Eva to jump and Maddie to shriek. They all turned to look at the broken window. A fist-size rock lay on the floor amid the shards of glass. Eva and Willis stepped to the opening. She saw at once who was responsible. Otto stood a few dozen yards away with a bat in his hands. His eyes were wide with fear or shock. He dropped the bat and ran up the road.

“I can’t believe he just did that.” Willis scowled.

“It must’ve been an accident,” Eva reassured him.

“Who did it?” Maddie came over to look out the broken window, avoiding the glass on the floor.

“Your brother, Otto. I’ll bring him back to clean up this mess.” Willis left the school and headed down the road with purposeful strides. Eva followed him as far as the front porch.

Out on the road a woman had stopped her buggy. She leaned out the door. “I saw the Gingrich boy break the window. He was deliberately hitting rocks toward the school,” she called out loudly.

Eva’s heart sank. She had assumed it was an accident. “Are you sure you aren’t mistaken?”

The woman scowled, apparently offended by Eva’s suggestion. “I am not. The bishop and the school board will hear what has happened.”

“They will be informed, of course, but it would be best if the confession comes from Otto. He needs to face the consequence of his actions.”

“Then he shouldn’t have run off.” She slapped the reins against her horse’s rump and drove away.

Maddie came out to stand beside Eva. The child planted her hands on her hips. “Otto makes Willis want to tear his hair out every day. He’s not sure what he’s going to do with him.”

“I’m sorry Otto and Willis aren’t getting along. Otto shouldn’t have run away, but I can imagine he was frightened.”

Maddie looked up. “He could have said Bubble did it.”

“That would be a lie, wouldn’t it? You don’t blame something on Bubble if she didn’t do it.”

“I did when she knocked over my glass of milk last week.”

“Were her feelings hurt? If you said I did something but I didn’t do it, my feelings would be hurt.”

Maddie scrunched her face and then beckoned Eva to lean down. She cupped her hands around her mouth near Eva’s ear. “She’s not real so she doesn’t have feelings,” she whispered.

“Willis will be delighted to hear that.” Eva walked down to the lawn. “I think it would be best if you went home now, Maddie.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow, Teacher. I’ll practice writing my name tonight.”

“That’s an excellent idea. Have your brother help you.”

“I’ll have Harley do it. He’s a right helpful fellow. Even Bubble says so.”

As the child crossed the road, Eva turned her attention back to the broken window. It would need to be boarded up until it could be replaced. Poor Otto was off to a rough start at his new school.