by Beth Wiseman
Beverly didn’t like to think about the only man she’d dated since her husband died. Chriss had broken up with her and left her shattered for a while. “It’s only mei second time to be around Joseph, but I liked him right away. Not only is he cute and funny but he was so good with Mattie. He clearly likes kinner.”
“I’m happy you’ve taken an interest in someone.” Anna frowned, and Beverly knew what was coming. “But you have to tell him what happened with Chriss, and you need to be truthful about everything.”
“I know. But not until I know him better.” Beverly sat taller when she saw Joseph in the already-open gift shop and waved him inside the restaurant. “Here he is now.” She stood, and Anna did too.
“Joseph, this is mei schweschder, Anna.” She nodded to the baby. “And this is Susan.” Then she lifted her from the high chair and grabbed the diaper bag.
Anna shook Joseph’s hand. “Wie bischt. It’s very nice to meet you.” She glanced at Beverly, then back at Joseph. “I wish I could stay and chat, but the restaurant opens soon, and I need to make sure everything’s ready.” She kissed Susan on the cheek. “You three have fun.”
Joseph took the diaper bag from Beverly, and they left. Once they were in the parking lot, Beverly said, “Danki for meeting me here. It’s closer for you than going to mei haus. And Anna will keep an eye on Rusty.” She propped Susan on her hip and nodded toward her buggy. “That’s mei horse, Rusty.”
“He’s a fine-looking animal. And by the way, you look really pretty.” Joseph had the cutest toothy grin, and Beverly knew she was blushing as he opened the door of his buggy.
“Danki.” She looked down at her maroon dress. Her husband and Chriss had both told her the dark color brought out her brown eyes. She shook the thought. Today she didn’t want to think about either of those men. She’d loved Enos with all her heart, and she’d even loved Chriss for a while—until he showed his true colors. But today was about Joseph.
He stowed the diaper bag in the back seat, then waited for Beverly to get comfortable with Susan before he clicked his tongue and set the horse in motion. It was a warm day, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and Beverly’s heart was light. And hopeful.
* * *
Joseph’s eyes kept drifting in Beverly’s direction. They’d had some small talk about the weather, but so far, he couldn’t think of anything intelligent to say. How did he get lucky enough to spend time with the most beautiful woman in the world?
“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” Beverly raised an eyebrow as she grinned.
Joseph shook his head, sighing. “Your beauty overwhelms me. You literally distract me from you.” It was the dumbest thing he’d ever said, but when Beverly burst out laughing, Joseph chuckled too. Even the baby smiled in between chewing on a teething ring.
“Ach, well . . . I would tell you to close your eyes, but since you’re driving, that might not be a gut idea.” Joy bubbled in her laugh and shone in her eyes.
His moronic comment hadn’t lost her. “Maybe after I look at you a whole bunch, I’ll get used to how pretty you are and won’t have to stare at you so often.” He laughed at his own silliness. “This will probably be our last date.” He glanced in her direction as her expression stilled, hoping she was okay with calling the picnic a date. “I mean, are you even hearing the dumb things coming out of mei mouth?” He laughed, but then he stopped when she still wasn’t smiling.
“I-I’m going to hope it isn’t our last date, if that’s all right with you.” She lowered her eyes as she ran a hand through her niece’s blond curls.
Joseph stared at her and then chuckled. “If it’s all right with me? Ha! Be careful what you wish for. You might not be able to get rid of me.”
“That might be okay.” She paused as she batted her dark lashes. “I guess we’ll see.”
Joseph exhaled a long sigh of contentment. He’d dated a few girls over the past four years, since he’d turned sixteen, but none of them had seemed to appreciate his bluntness. Beverly did. At least Joseph hadn’t run her off yet. And although she was a widow—Samuel had told him about that—Beverly didn’t seem at all hesitant to spend time with him. Maybe she was ready to love again.
“There they are.” He nodded to a buggy in front of the school. Samuel was unloading an ice chest from the back seat, and Lydia was holding Mattie, along with another tote she had swung over her shoulder.
“I offered to bring some of the food, but Lydia insisted she’d bring everything.” Beverly waved when Lydia did, then she turned to Joseph. “I’ve been looking forward to this, and Gott certainly blessed us with a beautiful day.”
“Ya, He did indeed.” He slowed his pace and held out his arms. “May I? Will she come to me?”
Joseph couldn’t wait to be a father. He’d grown up in a big family.
Susan went willingly to Joseph and even smiled at him.
“What made your family want to move to Montgomery?” Beverly stayed in step with him as they crossed the schoolyard to where their friends were waiting.
“Mamm and Daed wanted out of the hustle and bustle where we were in Ohio. We lived in a real touristy area, and they wanted that small-town feeling. They also wanted to make the move now so when all mei siblings and I marry and move out, we’ll still be close together. I’m the oldest.”
“You picked a gut place to avoid hustle and bustle. Montgomery is small. We get some tourists, but I’m sure it’s nothing like the larger communities here in Indiana. I have an Odon address, but I’m closer to Montgomery.”
Joseph liked the feel of a baby on his hip. He touched his nose to Susan’s, and the little one grinned. “You’re as beautiful as your aenti.”
When he glanced at Beverly, she smiled.
“That’s a gut look for you.” Samuel stuck out his hand to Joseph. “A boppli on your hip.”
“She even seems to like me.” Joseph nodded at Lydia as she handed Mattie to Samuel and began arranging a blanket on the ground. “Wie bischt, Lydia.”
“Wie bischt. We have a beautiful day for a picnic.” Lydia smiled. She and Samuel made a cute couple. Joseph hoped for that with a woman someday. As he glanced at Beverly, he couldn’t help but be hopeful. But he still had plenty of time to blow his chances.
A few minutes later, they were all seated around the babies and a generous offering of food. Life is gut, he thought as they bowed in prayer.
* * *
Lydia tried to stay focused when Beverly told her about a new recipe she’d tried recently, but her mind kept going back to the night before. She and Samuel had held each other all night long, but they hadn’t made love even though her heart raced at the feel of her husband’s body pressed against hers. It seemed they had an unspoken understanding that they weren’t ready to be more intimate. But holding each other at night felt like the start of something they both wanted—to be closer to each other emotionally.
She’d seen how vulnerable her husband could be, and she wanted to be the one he clung to during the good times and the bad. It was what they’d vowed to each other when they married. Lydia could barely recall saying the words because she’d been fighting tears throughout the entire ceremony, but now she longed to make good on those vows, to fulfill their promise to God and to each other. For the first time since their wedding, Lydia could sense the elephant in the room growing smaller.
“Look how well these babies get along.” Beverly pressed her palms together as she turned to Joseph. “Aren’t they cute together?”
“Ya, like little mini people getting to know each other.” Joseph grinned, and Lydia did too.
Beverly had seemed smitten from the moment she’d laid eyes on Joseph, and she could hardly keep from staring at him now. He was constantly looking at her too. Their blossoming romance led Lydia’s thoughts back to her and Samuel, and her insides warmed with hope.
Lydia laughed when Mattie let out a high-pitched squeal. Then Susan did the same, and everyone chuckled.
“Maybe you g
irls need to feed these babies.” Joseph rubbed his clean-shaven chin and grinned. Then he caught Mattie with one hand when she almost tumbled over.
“Ach, gut catch,” Lydia said. “She’s still wobbly since she hasn’t been sitting up on her own very long.”
“The food is so gut, Lydia.” Beverly pointed toward the bowl of chicken salad, homemade bread, chow chow, crackers, sliced cheese, and bags of chips. Lydia had also brought a gallon of sweet tea and the buttermilk pie she’d made that morning.
“Mei fraa is a gut cook.” Samuel winked at her, and Lydia felt herself blushing as she waved off the comment. But the smile on her face remained.
“It’s just chicken salad,” she said as she handed Mattie a cracker. Then she turned to Beverly. “That salve you brought me for Mattie’s gums has restored our sanity.”
“I’m so glad it helped her. I remember so clearly when Susan was teething. She still is, but she doesn’t seem to be having as much pain. I think that’s partly because of the salve, but bopplis also seem to have more trouble cutting their first tooth.”
Lydia swallowed a bite of her sandwich and offered Mattie a spoonful of applesauce. “You must spend a lot of time with your niece.”
“Every chance I get.” Her eyes cut to Joseph. “I hope to have lots of kinner someday.”
Joseph had already finished everything on his plate. “Everyone put your hands behind your back and extend your fingers to show how many kinner you want. Then we’ll all hold our hands out at the same time.”
Beverly laughed but did as Joseph asked. Lydia did too.
Samuel rolled his eyes, grinning. “Are you serious, mei friend?”
“Ach, just play along, Samuel.” Lydia was eager to see how many fingers her husband would hold up. Husband. That word was feeling more comfortable in her mind today.
“On the count of three, show us your hands.” Joseph paused, glancing at each of them. “Ready? One . . . two . . . three!”
Lydia had known how many children she’d wanted since she was a child herself, but a flicker of apprehension coursed through her. How had she and Samuel never discussed how many children they wanted to have? The answer seemed obvious. Intimacy and having babies went hand in hand. She might not have been expecting Mattie to come along so early, but her situation hadn’t deterred her from her childhood wish. Now that the moment was upon them, her stomach twisted with nervous curiosity. She held out both hands, but it was a couple of seconds before she could look Samuel’s way. When she finally did, he was holding up six fingers too. She exhaled the breath she’d been holding and smiled at him. He was quick to grin back at her.
When she looked at Beverly and Joseph, each had ten fingers spread wide.
Everyone laughed.
“What are the odds?” Scratching his cheek, Joseph clicked his tongue a couple of times before he turned to Beverly. “We better hurry up and get hitched. We’ve got work to do.”
Beverly’s face turned red as she playfully slapped Joseph on the arm. “Shame on you.”
Lydia glanced at Samuel, who caught her gaze. Their friends didn’t know Mattie had been conceived before wedding vows were made. Lydia wanted to tell them to be careful, to take things slowly. She wondered if Samuel was thinking the same thing.
Joseph stood and reached out a hand to Beverly. When she was on her feet, he said, “Any chance you two could watch Beverly’s niece while we take a walk? We’ve got a lot to talk about—our future wedding and those ten kinner we’re going to have.”
Beverly shook loose of Joseph’s grip and slammed her hands to her hips. “Joseph Wengard, you are ab im kopp.”
“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” He flashed his toothy grin, pushed back the brim of his straw hat, and held out his hand again. “Can you handle it?”
Beverly turned to Lydia, her eyes sparkling in a way that made Lydia envious. “Do you mind watching Susan while I take a walk with this crazy man?”
Lydia grinned as she shook her head. “Nee, I don’t mind at all.”
As they walked off, Joseph looked over his shoulder and winked at Samuel and Lydia. Then he turned to Beverly as they started across the schoolyard. “I’m thinking a fall wedding, then we get right to work on that family we’ll have.”
Joseph laughed when Beverly shook loose of his hand again.
“Ach, come on,” he said. “I know I still need to allow enough time for you to fall in love with me.” Once again, he held out his hand, but this time his expression stilled, and he looked serious. “Don’t be afraid. I won’t bite.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” Beverly’s smile couldn’t have been any broader as she took his hand again.
Soon Lydia couldn’t hear what they were saying anymore. She turned to Samuel and chuckled. “Your friend really is ab im kopp.”
Her husband nodded. “Ya, he’s one crazy fellow.”
Lydia watched in awe as Beverly and Joseph sauntered to the back of the school property. “But somehow, I think things might work out for them.”
“Gott always has a plan.” Samuel handed Mattie her teething ring when she reached for it and almost toppled over.
“I never knew you wanted six kinner.” Lydia held a hand to her forehead and squinted against the sun’s glare.
Samuel smiled. “You never asked.”
Lydia was quiet as she thought about what else she’d never asked her husband. She turned to him and grinned. “Favorite color?”
“Blue.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Favorite dish I cook for you?”
“Trick question. It’s all gut.” He grinned as he winked at her again.
“Okay.” She stretched out her legs on the blanket and crossed her ankles as she leaned back on her palms. “Something you’d like to do that you’ve never done before?”
“Go to the Indianapolis Zoo.”
Lydia straightened and blinked her eyes a few times. “That’s on my list too. Why did you never mention that?”
“You never—”
“Asked. I never asked.” She laughed. Maybe it was time she got to know her husband. She knew his sleeping habits—what time he went to bed, how he snored lightly—and that he was allergic to feather pillows, but she hadn’t even known his favorite color.
“And what about you? What’s your favorite color?” An easy smile played at the corners of his mouth.
Lydia thought for a couple of seconds. “Yellow.” His gaze met hers, and she was strangely flattered by his interest. “It’s bright and cheerful.”
“Favorite food?”
Such simple questions, but Lydia’s insides swirled with a sense of wonderment. “Pizza.”
Samuel nodded, but his smile faded as his mouth took on an unpleasant twist. “Uh-oh.” He held his nose and pointed to Mattie and Susan. “Somebody has done their business.”
“Ya, for sure.” Lydia took a peek in Mattie’s diaper just as Susan whimpered a little. Lydia checked Susan as well. “Double uh-oh.”
Samuel cringed. Lydia couldn’t recall her husband changing a diaper unless she’d left him alone with Mattie. Every time, the diaper had been put on poorly. But when both babies began to grow increasingly unhappy, Samuel reached for the baby wipes and moved Mattie closer to him.
“She’s smaller, so maybe less . . .” He shrugged, then backed away a little after he saw what was in their daughter’s diaper. “Maybe we can switch babies?”
Lydia’s eyes crinkled in the corners as she laid Susan on her back. “Too late. Now, watch and learn.”
Samuel had surely drawn the short straw on the diaper changing, and Lydia laughed as he put a hand over his mouth, like he might vomit.
“Welcome to mei world,” she said as her smile deepened into laughter.
Her statement could have a dual meaning—not just about diapers but about her life. Maybe if she invited Samuel into her world more often, he would invite her more into his. Like he’d done when he told her how worried he was about his parents.
; “Lydia?” Samuel’s tone was so serious that Lydia paused and looked at him.
“Ya?”
“Do you want to know what mei favorite thing is to watch?” He was holding up Mattie’s little legs as he spoke.
“You mean like when we were in our rumschpringe and saw a movie or . . .” She resumed cleaning Susan, unsure what he was asking.
“Mei favorite thing to watch is you being a mudder to our dochder. When you feed her, burp her, cuddle her, and even change her diapers.”
She looked up and gazed into his eyes. “I-I always worry if I’m being a gut enough mudder.”
“You’re a great mudder. I’ve told you that before, and I always mean it.”
“Danki for saying so.” Lydia went back to the task at hand. Samuel still had Mattie’s chubby little legs up in the air, one in each hand. And their daughter had a whole lot of business in her diaper.
Samuel raised his eyebrows several times as he looked back and forth between Lydia and Mattie, who was growing impatient. “Actually, you’re most beautiful when you’re changing diapers.”
Lydia shook with laughter as she finished diapering Susan. “No deal. Mattie is all yours.” She sat Susan up on the blanket as she caught her breath. After she’d moved some toys closer to the baby, she turned her attention back to Samuel and Mattie just as their daughter began to scream.
“Poor boppli.” She scooched closer to her husband and took over the diapering. It didn’t take long for Mattie to get quiet again.
Samuel leaned back and held his nose. “That’s a lot for such a tiny person, isn’t it?”
Lydia shook her head as she cleaned Mattie. “Not really, and I should have made you suffer through it.” Mattie had poop all over both her legs, and Lydia started to laugh again before she spoke to her. “Daed isn’t a very gut diaper changer, is he, mei maedel?”
“We have company,” Samuel said in a sobering voice.
Lydia turned in the direction he was looking, her eyes landing on an old blue truck. The vehicle was rusted on every side, had no hubcaps, and had enough dents to bear witness to the rough life it had suffered. Lydia shivered every time she saw the truck and its driver.