by Amy Clipston
“Guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, breaking into her thoughts.
“Ya,” she said, his handsome face coming into focus. “Tomorrow.”
He picked up his hat from the table and left.
She sat down and rubbed her forehead, her mind confused and her heart unsettled. Why did she have to be so drawn to this man? She’d never been this infatuated before, not even with her teenage crush. But like her singing career, Micah was out of reach. And just as she had accepted that being a famous singer wasn’t meant to be, she had to accept that there wasn’t a future for the two of them.
* * *
Micah slammed his hat on his head as he trudged to his buggy. He couldn’t tell if he was annoyed with her or with himself. First Suetta made a big deal about his and Priscilla’s age difference, and now Priscilla was. At least she had agreed not to bring it up again. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d wanted to get rid of him.
After he hitched Billy back up to his buggy, he climbed in and picked up the reins. Then he blew out a deep breath. He’d never been this indecisive before. When he wanted to do something, he wasn’t wishy-washy about it. He just did it, like moving to Marigold and starting his own business. When it came to romance and a future spouse, he had always trusted God. And now God had brought Priscilla into his life, and he didn’t have the courage to be honest with her about how he felt. Did he trust God, or not?
He didn’t have to guide Billy home. The horse knew his way around Marigold, which gave him time to think until he was tired of thinking. He had to take a chance on telling Priscilla how he felt about her. Now that he knew their age gap bothered her, he would have to convince her that age didn’t matter. Feelings did, and he was overwhelmed with how much he cared about her. And after the way she had looked at him when they were sitting next to each other at her table, he thought she might care for him too.
Billy’s hooves clip-clopped against the asphalt as dusk descended. He turned on the battery-operated lights on the outside of his buggy. He had three of them, but only for safety purposes and not to be fancy like some young adults would do. Guess I really am an old soul. Right now, he needed an old man’s patience. Even though he was going to tell Priscilla how he felt, he wanted to do it right. He just had to figure out how.
Chapter 7
Priscilla stood in front of the brand-new schoolhouse and tried to settle her nerves. School wasn’t starting until tomorrow, but she couldn’t resist coming by one more time by herself. The interior of the building had been finished two days ago, and she’d gone inside yesterday and decorated her classroom. Since there was no service this morning, she took a long walk and ended up here.
She hadn’t been this jittery when she auditioned for her first record label. Then again, the stakes were much higher and more important now. The idea that the education of twelve young students was in her hands was far more valuable than getting a record deal. I pray I can teach them well.
She heard a horse and buggy pull into the parking lot, and for a moment she panicked, thinking she wasn’t supposed to be here. Then she realized she was being foolish. She was the schoolteacher. Of course she could be here, even on a Sunday, as long as she didn’t work. All she was doing was admiring the brand-new schoolhouse. Who wouldn’t appreciate such a fine building?
Priscilla was surprised when Suetta jumped out of the buggy and marched toward her. She was stunned a second time when she saw Leah stepping out of the buggy too.
“Leave Micah alone!” Suetta yelled as she approached.
Taken aback, Priscilla said, “What?”
“Suetta!” Leah hurried toward her cousin. “What are you doing?”
Her face red with anger, Suetta glared at Priscilla, ignoring Leah. “You’ll never have Micah,” she said, her hands fisted at her side. “He’s mine.”
“I’m sorry, Priscilla.” Leah reached for Suetta’s arm. “We visited the Birch Creek church this morning, and we were on our way home when she screamed for me to stop or she would jump out of the buggy.” She latched onto Suetta. “I’m taking you home.”
“Nee.” Suetta shook off Leah’s hand. “Not until I say so.”
Priscilla’s patience was disappearing. “Look, Suetta, I have nee idea what you’re blabbering about, and you’re being rude to your cousin.”
“You’re not mei mamm,” Suetta scoffed.
“If I was, you’d get a gut talking to.”
“I’m not scared of an old woman,” she said, lifting her dainty chin. “It’s hilarious that you’re trying to take Micah from me. He doesn’t want some dried-up prune.”
Leah gasped. “Suetta!”
“I’m just telling the truth.” Suetta scowled at Leah and turned back to Priscilla, her expression suddenly as sweet as peach pie. “I’ll make Micah a gut wife. I don’t have any wrinkles or gray hair.”
Priscilla almost touched her kapp. Did she have gray hair already? She hadn’t paid attention lately.
“And we’ll have lots and lots of children,” she continued. “Thirty-five is past childbearing age so you won’t ever have any.”
Priscilla’s head nearly exploded. This . . . this brat had no idea what she was talking about. While she didn’t have as many years to bear children as Suetta did, she could still have a child or two before she was too old.
“I’m so sorry, Priscilla,” Leah said, trying to corral Suetta again. But when she went to grab her, Suetta jumped out of the way.
“I’m not finished yet!” Suetta shrieked.
“Oh yes you are.” Priscilla stormed to her until she was practically stepping on the girl’s shoes. “Are you and Micah dating each other?”
“Ya,” she said, averting her gaze.
Priscilla caught the doubt in her eyes. “Are you telling the truth?”
“We will be going out soon. As long as you stay out of the way.”
The girl wasn’t looking at her, and now Priscilla was positive she and Micah weren’t together. “You will leave with Leah right now, and you won’t give her a bit of trouble. Do you understand me?”
Suetta crossed her arms over her chest, a smirk on her face. “Who’s going to make me?”
“I am.” Leah yanked Suetta by the elbow. This time when she tried to pull away, Leah held on fast. She mouthed the words “I’m sorry” to Priscilla again. Then she dragged her cousin back to the buggy. Priscilla couldn’t hear what Leah was saying, but from the way Suetta stopped resisting, she could see she had finally gotten through to her.
Priscilla refused to leave until Leah’s buggy was out of sight. Then she started shaking. She’d never been insulted like that before, and even though it was clear that Suetta was troubled, that didn’t make her words any easier to swallow.
“Priscilla?”
She froze at the sound of Micah’s voice. Did he hear everything Suetta said? When she looked at him, she could tell he had.
* * *
It had taken every bit of Micah’s willpower not to intervene in Suetta’s tirade against Priscilla. He had walked from the back of the school building in time to hear what she’d said. He was ready to intervene when he decided Suetta might only get angrier if she knew he was there. So he stayed out of view, and only when he was sure Suetta and Leah were gone did he approach Priscilla.
“I guess you heard all that,” she said, her head down.
“You’re shaking.” He moved closer to her, but she stepped away.
“I’m fine.” She tilted up her chin, but she was still staring at the schoolhouse, not him. “I can take a little meltdown. I’m sure a few of mei students will have them in the future.”
“That wasn’t a meltdown. That was an attack.” Micah went to her, and when she tried to move away, he blocked her path. “Please, Priscilla. Let me explain about me and Suetta.”
Her gaze snapped to his. “So you two are together?”
“Absolutely not.” He explained to her about Suetta’s visit last Sunday. “I thought I’d set he
r straight. I guess I should have been even more direct. But I meant it when I told her that there would never be anything between us.”
“Because she’s troubled,” Priscilla said, looking at the schoolhaus again.
“Because I’ve fallen for someone else.”
After a long pause, she turned to him, her eyes shiny. Then she smiled, her bottom lip trembling. “Whoever she is, I hope she realizes what a wonderful man she has.”
Micah moved closer and tenderly held her shoulders, looking down into her eyes. “Priscilla, don’t you know that woman is you? From the moment I saw you at mei shop, I fell hard.”
She shrugged off his hands. “You don’t have to say that to make me feel better. I’m a grown woman—”
He drew her into his arms and kissed her with all the emotion he had in his heart. When he reluctantly pulled away, he said, “And I’m a grown man. I know what I’m feeling, and I know who I want. And that’s you.” His spirit plummeted when she didn’t respond and only gaped at him. He’d made an impulsive move, and he might have ruined everything, but he didn’t regret kissing her. “If that’s okay with you, I mean.”
Priscilla brought her fingers to her lips, her eyes wide with shock. “Micah,” she said. “Didn’t you hear what Suetta said? I’m old.”
“I already told you I don’t care about that.”
“But you should.” Tears shone in her eyes. “I don’t have many childbearing years left.”
“I know, Priscilla. I can count.”
“And that doesn’t matter to you? You said you love kinner.”
“I do. And I want to have them.” He gazed into her eyes. “God determines that, not us. I could marry someone younger and not have any kinner at all. If I loved her, that wouldn’t matter.” He wiped the tears that had fallen down her cheek. “I could tell when I kissed you that you felt something for me too. Would you at least give me a chance?”
* * *
Priscilla didn’t know what to say. She was still reeling from his amazing kiss, from Suetta’s verbal assault, and from the overwhelming feelings she had for this man. But she couldn’t agree right away. “You should think about this some more,” she said, trying to gather her emotions. “In case you’re confused.”
For the first time she saw him turn angry. “I’m younger than you, but I’m not a kinn. I’ve thought about this. I’ve thought about you every day since I met you.” He shook his head and moved away from her. “Maybe you’re the one who’s confused. Or maybe you’re just scared.” He turned on his heel and walked away.
Pain slashed at her. She had hurt him, and he didn’t deserve it. He had asked her for a chance, and she’d treated him like a child.
As she watched him walk away, her heart squeezed. This is for the best. He’s hurt, but he’ll get over it. This is less complicated. He’ll move on . . .
“Micah!” She ran after him as fast as she could. He slowed down and turned around, and she sped faster. By the time she reached him, she was out of breath.
“Hey,” he said, gripping her shoulders. “You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”
“Nee.” She shook her head, gasping for air. “I’m . . . sorry . . . I . . . hurt . . . you.”
“You didn’t have to race after me to tell me that.”
“That’s . . . not . . . all.”
He waited patiently while she steadied her breathing. “Are you all right now?”
“Ya.” She straightened and looked at him. “You’re right, Micah. I’m scared.” She wrung her hands together. “I’m terrified. I’ve never been in a relationship before.”
“That makes two of us.”
“So I don’t know what to do. But here’s what I do know. People are going to talk. I’m sure Suetta won’t be the only one to think it’s strange for us to be together.”
He frowned. “Let them talk. If they’re gossiping, they’ll get their comeuppance one day.”
“I wish I could be so confident.”
“Priscilla, I’m not talking about eloping or anything. I just want us to get to know each other. Spend time together. Maybe even play and sing a time or two.”
Her heart warmed. “That sounds lovely. But there’s still the age issue.”
He looked up at the sky, as if he were saying a prayer for patience. Then he met her gaze again. “I told you, your age doesn’t make a difference to me.”
“It might when I’m fifty and you’re only forty. Or when I’m seventy and you’re sixty.”
A smile spread over his face, and then he started his deep rumbly laugh that normally would have her chiming in if she weren’t so annoyed.
“I don’t see what’s so funny.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“You.” He leaned forward. “A minute ago, you wouldn’t give me a chance, and now you’re talking about us sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch while our grosskinner play in the yard.”
“Oh. Well, I wasn’t imagining that much detail.”
“I was.” He grew serious. “Trust me. You could be twenty years older and I wouldn’t care.” Then he paused. “I went about this the wrong way. I shouldn’t have kissed you first and then explained how I felt. And nee, I don’t regret the kiss, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“You don’t?”
“No, I don’t. But I hope I didn’t offend you. The kiss wasn’t planned. It’s just that I’ve been thinking about kissing you . . .” His cheeks turned bright red. “See? I don’t know what I’m doing either.” Then he frowned. “You’ve really never had a boyfriend before?”
“Nee. I was too focused on mei career to think about romance.”
“And now?”
He looked so apprehensive—and so cute, she had to admit—that she couldn’t keep him waiting any longer. “We take things slow. I need to focus on mei job, and I don’t want anything to get in the way of that.”
“I understand. Speaking of teaching.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny red, wooden apple and handed it to her. “For your first day of school.”
She took it, marveling at how perfect it looked. “Where did you get this?”
“In Birch Creek. There’s a couple that lives there, the Detweilers. They’re woodworkers, although the husband is also a farmer. I had seen these little apples at the shop she has in her house, and I bought one the other day.”
Touching the smooth surface, which was so shiny she could almost see her reflection, she smiled. “Danki, Micah. It’s perfect.”
“I’m glad you like it. One other thing, I got two orders for new buggies on Saturday, so it’s a gut thing I finished the barn.”
“Ya, it is.” She rolled the small apple in her hand, then looked at him. “I suppose we’ll both be very busy the next month or so.”
“Ya. But if you’re not too busy, maybe we can geh out sometime.”
Priscilla grinned. She couldn’t resist him if she tried. “I think I can pencil you in.”
Chapter 8
“Hand it over, Artie.” Priscilla crossed her arms and stared at the third grader standing in front of her. The rest of the children were spending their recess playing baseball, with a few of the younger ones chasing each other around the swing set several yards away. Except for Artie. She had seen him trying to put a frog down Katie Anne’s dress. Fortunately, she called him over before he could do the nasty deed.
“Hand what over?” he asked, all wide-eyed innocence.
In addition to being a troublemaker, Artie was also one of her brightest students, and he knew how to weasel out of things. She had only been teaching for a month and a half, but she’d learned a lot in that amount of time, and one important lesson was that she had to make sure to keep an eye on Artie Miller. “The frog.”
“You mean this?” He thrust his hand at her, a slimy brown creature in his grasp. “It’s not a frog. It’s a toad.”
She forced herself not to flinch. Micah might not have known it, but his rule about not letting anyone see you
sweat was actually good advice when it came to dealing with discipline. “Excuse me. The toad.”
“Here.” He held it out in front of her. “You said you wanted me to hand it over.”
Now she was regretting not telling him to let the thing go free. Unwilling to bend, she took it from him, trying not to think about how the frog—uh, toad—had gotten so slimy. And didn’t they have warts? “Sit down on the bench,” she said, gesturing to the wooden bench a few feet away next to the schoolhouse. “That is where you’ll spend the rest of your recess.”
His bottom lip poked out and he dragged himself over to the bench and plopped down. Priscilla bent down and set the toad in the grass, making a mental note to scrub her hands as soon as recess was over. Now she had to deal with Artie. She turned and sat down next to him. “What do you think your consequences should be for trying to put that toad down Katie Anne’s dress?”
He turned to her, his eyes growing wide. “You’re asking me?”
“Ya.”
Artie stared out at the boys and girls playing baseball. “How about nee homework for a week?”
She almost laughed but caught herself. “Try again.”
He sighed. “Extra homework for a week.”
“That’s better. And I think it’s appropriate, considering you didn’t actually put the frog—”
“Toad,” he corrected.
“Toad,” she said, trying not to think about her dirty hands. “But if you had been successful, your consequences would have been much more severe. Do you understand?”
“Ya,” he said, sounding serious. “I understand.” He looked at her. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re forgiven. But you still have to stay on the bench for the rest of recess.”
He nodded, and she got up from the bench and walked around the playground, keeping an eye on the children.
By the end of the day—and after she had given Artie his extra homework assignment—she was tired but satisfied. Being a teacher was the most exhausting and rewarding thing she had ever done. She spent the next hour and a half grading papers, preparing the next day’s lessons, and sweeping out the schoolroom. Her last task was making sure the outdoor bathrooms were in order for tomorrow. After she shut the boys’ bathroom door, she headed for the front of the schoolhouse to wait for Micah to take her home. She had her own buggy now, and her own horse, Calypso. But she’d rather ride with Micah.