“Switching places on you boys was a low-down trick,” her sister agreed woefully, “and listening in on your chat with Nate wasn’t one of our finer ideas, either. We’re really sorry, Bram—”
“And we feel awful about hurting Nate’s feelings.”
“—and if you want to go home, too, well, I can’t say as I’d blame you. I hope you can—”
“Forgive us?”
“Forgive us?”
Bram let out the breath he’d been holding, not sure he’d kept accurate track of who had said what. “Jah, apology accepted. Nate’s leery of girls right now, after the way he thought he was gettin’ married and Roberta gave him the slip. But, um . . .” He paused, hoping for the right words. “Those tall tales you heard were just a guy thing. Not meant to upset you, see.”
“And we didn’t swap places to hurt your feelings, either,” Mary insisted as she wiped away tears. “We just, well—”
“We each wanted to find out if we were better suited to the other brother, seeing’s how neither of us came home real happy Friday night.”
Bram glanced at Amos and Nell, but saw no sign that they knew about Uncle Abe’s visit to the stable. “I had a hand in the way things turned out that night,” he hedged, “and neither of us brothers intended for Friday evening to go sour, believe me. We were both real tickled that you asked us to stay over.”
Had he overstated his case? Correctly interpreted the twins’ disappointment? It was his experience that girls had their romantic expectations about dates and guys had totally different ones. If a man wanted to make any progress with a special young lady he sometimes had to kiss up. But if he overdid it, he’d be in worse trouble than if he’d not admitted his perceived mistakes. Girls were complicated creatures . . .
But at least their parents seemed to think the issue had been settled for now. Amos bowed his head, a signal that they should begin their meal with silent prayer. Then the food passing began, and Bram filled his plate with an egg casserole loaded with cheese and chunks of sausage, along with baked pineapple and a couple of those glazed buns that Martha—no, Mary—had baked yesterday. The table talk still felt strained but everyone was making the best of the situation.
“I’d be happy to do the horse chores for you this morning,” Bram offered. “It’ll be my Christmas gift, for the way you’ve fed me and heard me out.”
“Well, that’d be a fine thing,” Amos replied, and Owen nodded happily as he helped himself to more food.
“We’ll help,” Mary insisted with a glance at her sister. “It’ll go faster with the three of us.”
“Can’t expect you to do that by yourself,” Martha agreed. “Especially not on this special day when we keep the work to a minimum.”
Bram grinned, as this was the reaction he’d hoped for. After the twins scraped and stacked the dishes—and declared that Joanna could help their mamm wash and dry them because it was their birthday—he and the two girls headed for the barn. When a snowball hit his back, Bram laughed out loud and returned the favor, tossing loosely packed handfuls of snow at Mary and Martha. The way he saw it, Nate had left the party too soon . . . so now it was his mission to keep both Coblentz sisters entertained. There could be worse ways to spend a Christmas morning before they went inside for the traditional Bible reading from Luke, and then quietly pondered the meaning of Jesus’ birth in their lives.
“Denki for seein’ my side of things after my brother left,” Bram said as they entered the dim barn. “Glad we got things aired out so as not to spoil your birthday. And I’m hopin’ it’ll be the happiest one you’ve ever had, too.”
“We’re working on that,” Martha said as she grabbed a bucket for hauling water.
“Jah, I thought we were in for a big lecture and maybe getting sent to our room,” Mary added. “Dat would’ve been a lot tougher on us if you’d left with Nate.”
Bram grabbed a shovel and started scooping the piles of manure that had accumulated since yesterday. It seemed like a fine time to discuss another subject that had been on his mind, while it was just the three of them . . . perhaps a topic these girls might consider if they got tired of thinking about religion today. “We can still enjoy each other’s company even with my brother gone—if you’ve a mind to,” he said playfully.
Mary and Martha glanced at each other and then back at him, looking hopeful. “What’d you have in mind, Bram?” one of them asked.
“Maybe a ride this afternoon, to get out of the house for a while?” the other twin chimed in. “We could all fit in your buggy.”
“Oh, I had something more . . . permanent in mind.” He would have to be careful, because he still couldn’t tell them apart . . . and he didn’t want to ruin his chances for keeping one or both of them interested. They did everything together, it seemed. “I’ve been wantin’ to start up my own auctioneering business, like I’ve told you. And if I had you girls to help me with the clerkin’ and the organizin’, we could do a bang-up business, the three of us.”
Their eyebrows rose in unison. One stopped raking the soiled hay from the stalls and the other quit filling the water troughs. “You mean, like, moving to Willow Ridge? Finding a place to live and—”
“Are we talking a job that pays? Or just being there to help you out, Bram?”
“Of course I’ll pay you!” he assured them. “I’ve got enough connections with fellows who set up estate sales and livestock auctions to make a gut go of it. But I’ll need somebody who can make my calls for me, and print up the bills of sale, and run a lunch wagon and—”
Again their eyebrows rose. “So you’re talking about a full-time thing? Where we won’t be living at home?”
“Jah, now’s your chance to get out and see something of the world, before you join the church,” Bram continued earnestly. “You might even decide the Old Ways aren’t your ways. I admit I’m on the verge of jumpin’ the fence myself because this religion just isn’t feelin’ like a gut fit for me. If we stick together—”
“You’re saying Nate won’t be in on this plan?”
Bram suspected it was Martha talking, and she’d brought up another subject he had to handle carefully. But he couldn’t help feeling excited. His future seemed to be unfolding even as he was discussing it with these two bright, personable girls. Folks at sales would take to the attractive Coblentz twins immediately. They were hard workers—resourceful—with a good sense of humor. “Nate will always be my brother,” he pointed out. “His trainin’ business takes him to livestock sales sometimes, and that’ll keep us connected. I can’t speak for him, understand, but mostly he’ll be goin’ his way and I’ll be goin’—”
“But if you jump the fence, you’ll separate yourself from your whole family. They won’t be as likely to spend time with us if we’ve left the Old Order,” Martha pointed out.
“And I can’t see us causing that sort of split here,” Mary said in a rising voice. “We have our tough talks now and again, but I’m not ready to break Mamma’s heart by telling her I’m leaving the church—”
“And if she gets wind of this idea that you want to look after both of us, while working mostly amongst English, away from Cedar Creek,” Martha went on, “well, that’s sounding mighty radical to me.”
“Living in sin. That’s what Mamma and Dat would call it.”
Bram felt his new future—a wonderful opportunity for independence—slipping away with each word they said. “But it wouldn’t be that way!” he insisted. “Our families aren’t gonna pitch us out like this manure we’re shovelin’. I’d be sure you girls had a nice place to stay, and—”
“Oh, that’ll be a sticking point, for sure and for certain.” Martha gripped her rake, leaning on it as she held his gaze. “If you’d be payin’ the rent, that would make it pretty much your place, to come and go as you pleased—”
“And to do whatever else you wanted with us,” Mary said with a firm shake of her head. “You’d best head on back to Willow Ridge, Bram. I’ll not ruin our Ch
ristmas by breaking this idea to the parents. I’ll gather your things together and tell them you’ve decided to spend the day with your family—”
“And I’ll hitch Felix to your buggy,” Martha said as she went to the back wall where his tack was hanging.
Bram’s jaw dropped. Just that fast these girls had sent him packing. “But—”
“Jah, your butt is cute and fun to have around,” Mary remarked ruefully.
“But your wild ideas will get us in big trouble,” her sister finished. “I’m not letting this cat out of the bag and getting another lecture on our birthday.” She was already slipping the bridle over Felix’s head, while Mary hurried out of the barn, toward the house.
Fifteen minutes later Bram’s rig was pointed toward the road. He waved to the twins and they waved back, but the regret he saw on their faces weighed heavily on his heart. He wasn’t used to being rejected—especially not by two girls in the same day—and that thought made his resentment simmer as he urged Felix into a trot . . .
Keeping both of those girls happy would’ve been more work than it was worth, anyway, even if you could’ve convinced them of your honorable intentions. They’re joined at the hip, unable to think for themselves . . . probably would have pulled more of their switching tricks if they’d come to work for you . . .
And yet, as the miles went by, Bram realized he’d acted brashly . . . would have been better off talking up his auctioneering business while Nate was around to soften his sharp edges. It wasn’t the first time he’d spoken in all-out excitement and then overstepped some lines. And even if they teased their dates with their sparkly blue eyes and hot kisses, nice girls like Mary and Martha stayed within the lines. He could see that now.
When he got home, Nate was still enduring some stiff talk from their parents. Bram heard their voices in the front room as he came in through the kitchen door, so he paused to get the gist of the conversation.
“. . . not the way I’d figured on spending my Christmas, with my family scattered hither and yon,” Mamm was saying. “What possessed you boys to take up with girls you’d never seen before?”
“And why would their parents go along with it?” Dat asked sternly. “Seems a sign that their daughters might play fast and loose, inviting you into their home so quick-like.”
Bram closed his eyes, waiting for Nate’s answer. Some of the blame belonged to him for jumping at the chance to get better acquainted with Mary and Martha, after all.
“It wasn’t like we were staying with English,” his brother replied with a resigned sigh. “The Coblentz family observes the same traditions we do. We went to the scholars’ program on Christmas Eve with them, and—”
“I could tell from the tone of Bram’s voice message that he started all of this,” Mamm broke in. “And that explains why he stayed behind, too. At least you had the sense to realize those girls were up to no gut, and come home.”
Oh, but that remark went too far! Bram entered the front room and let his duffel drop. “There’s nothing loose about Mary and Martha Coblentz,” he stated as they all turned his way. “And their family seemed pleased to have Christmas visitors.”
“Jah, well your aunt and uncle gave me an earful, I can tell you!” Mamm retorted. “Beulah Mae wasn’t one bit happy that you boys changed her plans, and I can’t say as I blame her.”
Bram slipped into his usual seat on the couch, sighing inwardly. His parents and his dat’s mother, Mammi Essie, were all seated as though they were ready for the day’s reading of the Christmas story, but the big Bible lay open on the table beside Dat, forgotten. Had Uncle Abe called to inform them that he’d been sweet-talking Mary in the stable? Hinting that he’d like to leave the Old Order church? Discussions like this one rubbed him like a starched collar . . . made him even more ready to jump the fence. But this wasn’t the time to express such opinions.
“Like I’ve said already, it wasn’t our intention to upset anybody,” Nate murmured. “We were just having a little fun, and now we’ve come home to spend the rest of Christmas Day with you. I’m sorry about this whole thing.”
“Jah, me, too,” Bram added with a sigh. Better to go along with his brother’s apology and get their parents out of lecture mode. He saw no sign that Uncle Abe had informed them of what he’d overheard—they would’ve been quick to bring that up—so it was better not to stir the pot any more.
Bram listened dutifully as his father read the second chapter of Luke from the German Bible. He went through the motions of contemplating the wonder of the Savior’s birth, but truth be told, his thoughts had wandered back to Cedar Creek and the Coblentz home. The girls would be helping Nell set the table by now, getting ready to celebrate their eighteenth birthday at dinner. They would be serving up birthday cake and exchanging Christmas gifts and no doubt the ten-year-old twins would keep things lively.
He sighed glumly. Such festivities sounded much more joyful than the rest of the day in the Kanagy home would be. While he knew there was nothing to be done about it, he sometimes wished he and Nate had other brothers and some sisters filling up their table—and distracting their parents—the way most Plain families did.
Bram made his way through a big dinner of meat loaf, mashed potatoes, noodles with caraway seeds, green bean casserole, and fresh rolls, and then topped it off with a slice of his grandmother’s coconut pie and some of his mamm’s fudge and cookies. While he ate, he thought about the ham and ducks they’d be serving in Cedar Creek . . . saw Mary and Martha’s flawless faces and blue-eyed smiles in his mind. Were they making their birthday wishes by now as they blew out their candles? Were they missing him and Nate, or had they been insulted by his invitation to come away and work for him? Maybe they were fed up with Nate’s thin-skinned reason for leaving, too.
“Guess I’d better tend to Felix,” Bram remarked after they ate. “I came right in, rather than feeding him or brushing him down.”
As he shrugged into his barn coat and headed outside, he heard the kitchen door closing behind him. Nate, too, had gotten away from the house, not in the mood to chat with Dat or help Mamm and Mammi with the dishes.
“So why’d you come home?” his brother quizzed him. “And don’t tell me it was out of loyalty to me.”
“It was nothin’ like that,” Bram assured him, but he didn’t want to admit that the twins had shooed him off. “Why couldn’t you just play along with Mary and Martha’s little game? Or find a more private way of sayin’ you were onto them?” he demanded. “We had a gut thing going with those girls until you—”
“It’s no gut when somebody plays games with your heart and your best intentions. I’ll stick with training horses, thanks,” Nate replied stiffly. “Horses at least listen to me and respect my feelings.”
“You’re just sore because you joined the church sooner than you wanted, for a girl who didn’t marry you. Get over it!”
“And you’ve got an attitude, Bram. You need to work on that.”
He was tired of hearing how many things he needed to work on—as though Nate were Mr. Perfect with all the answers, when it came to girls. Bram entered the barn and dipped out oats for Felix before working him over with the currycomb. It promised to be one of the most disappointing Christmases ever, the way things were shaping up between him and his brother. Maybe he should hitch Felix to his new buggy and look for better company. If those two cute Coblentz sisters wanted nothing to do with him, he might as well scout around . . .
Chapter Nine
“Hold it lower, or we’ll not get it through the doorway,” Mary grunted. She and Martha were putting Jacob’s room back to rights, taking down the spare bed they’d assembled for the Kanagy boys. “And don’t be pushing me down the stairs, either—unless you want to go first, and go backwards.”
“You’re already there, Mary. You go, girl,” Martha quipped as she gripped her end of the bulky mattress. “This job was a lot easier with Nate and Bram doing the heavy lifting.”
“You’ve got that
right. Take it slow, now.”
Mary started cautiously down the stairs with her end of the mattress, bearing most of the weight even though Martha was doing her best to hold it back. It would have been nice if Owen and Noah had offered to do this, but their brothers had given them so much grief about why their guests had left so suddenly that Mary hadn’t asked them to help. It was the fitting end to a birthday that had dragged its feet since their guests had left. At least hefting the pieces of the spare bed gave them something to do besides sitting around, thinking about what they might have been enjoying had Bram and Nate stayed.
In the front room, their dat looked up from the magazine he was reading. “Want some help with that?”
“No, thanks!” she replied.
“We’ve got it,” Martha joined in.
“I was looking forward to getting better acquainted with the Kanagy boys today,” he remarked. “Nate’s made a gut name for himself—and a steady income—with his horse training. And Bram might be a little wet behind the ears yet, but he’s got a fine future with his auctioneering.”
“Jah, they’ve found work that’ll make them welcome in Plain settlements anywhere,” their mother remarked as she looked up from her quilt frame. “And they come from a respected family, too.”
“Bet Bram’s already got himself another girlfriend,” Joanna remarked as she focused on her embroidery. “You can bet I wouldn’t have packed his bag for him!”
Mary rolled her eyes at her sister and kept moving through the front room toward the door to the basement. They eased down the stairway, with Martha going first this time. After they leaned the mattress against the storeroom wall, where they’d already placed the box springs, they paused to catch their breath.
“If I hear one more time about how wonderful-gut the Kanagy boys are—”
“Jah, you’d think we sent away a couple of long-lost sons.”
“—and if Joanna makes one more smart remark, I might just smack her!”
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