by Jan Drexler
“One, two, three . . .” Katie counted the chickens as Elizabeth scattered cracked corn for them.
“I think you counted the red one twice.” Elizabeth tossed an extra handful of corn toward the little reddish hen that was her favorite. The chicken had a distinct personality and always made Elizabeth smile. She was glad Prissy, as she secretly called her, had survived the marauder.
Elizabeth recounted the chickens in the yard as Katie went into the henhouse to count the ones still sitting on their nests. Elizabeth counted the flock three times and then joined Katie inside the little building.
“How many did you find in here?”
“Eleven,” Katie said, reaching under a brown hen for the next egg.
“That makes twenty-five. They’re all here again today.”
“Whatever Aaron did to fix the hole in back, it has worked.” Katie ignored the next chicken’s complaints as she took an egg from her nest. “What do you think of Jonas’s friend?”
Ignoring Katie’s sidelong look, Elizabeth searched through the empty nests for eggs.
“He’s all right, I guess.”
“He’s a single man.” Katie got to the end of her row of nest boxes and turned toward her. “I thought you might be a little more interested than you appear.”
Elizabeth reached for another egg, but her stomach was quivering. She couldn’t tell Katie why she would never be interested in any man. Not even her own sister Ruby knew the whole story.
“You know I don’t plan on marrying again. Being a single woman suits me. I’m very happy.”
Katie didn’t seem to hear her. “Aaron Zook is an honest, hardworking man, according to Jonas. His missing leg doesn’t keep him from helping around the farm.”
“But there are some things he just can’t manage with his crutches, like walking behind a plow or cultivator.”
“That’s true. But he repaired our henhouse, didn’t he?”
Elizabeth gave in as she put the last egg in her basket. “You’re right. He’s a hard worker and pleasant enough to be around. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to marry him.”
“You don’t have to marry him,” Katie said as she fastened the henhouse door and led the way toward the house. “Just be willing to see the possibilities. Who knows? You just might fall in love.”
As she said this, Katie twirled around to walk backwards up the path, grinning at her. Elizabeth met her irresistible happiness with her own smile. Katie had endured many months of waiting for Jonas’s return from the war and she deserved the happiness that spilled from her like clear water from a pump.
“All right. I’ll be open to what might happen.”
“You never know what the Good Lord might have planned for you.”
Elizabeth worked to keep the smile on her face. She might have made her peace with the church, but God was another matter. She didn’t dare to think about what God would do to her after the years she had spent living a life outside of his will.
After the morning chores were done, Katie went to her sister’s house while Elizabeth started toward the home place to spend the day with Mamm in her garden.
It was good to see Katie laughing again. Much had changed while Jonas had been gone. Katie’s father had passed on, then in the autumn of 1863, her mother had also died. Since the news had come of Elizabeth’s husband’s death at Vicksburg, both friends were single and alone. And with her sister Ruby’s marriage to Gideon Fischer, Elizabeth had left her husband’s old, dark cabin and come to live with Katie. The two enjoyed each other’s company in the pleasant little house in the Stuckeys’ woods.
But with Jonas’s return, Elizabeth’s life was changing again. She had felt sorry for Katie during the long separation from Jonas, but whenever she considered the full and vibrant future Katie looked forward to with Jonas’s return, self-pity closed in.
How she hated feeling sorry for herself! For sure, her marriage had been a mistake, but now she was free of Reuben. She shuddered, remembering her life before Reuben went off to join the Confederate army. The dingy cabin, the horrible odor of stale alcohol, the fear . . .
Elizabeth blinked her eyes, forcing the threatening tears away. Reuben wasn’t part of her life any longer. That time was in the past. The war was over, Jonas was home, and life could get back to the way it was before the war.
She was free and content, wasn’t she? And she meant to stay that way.
As she reached the road at the end of the lane, Elizabeth was surprised to see Jonas and Datt at the clearing across the creek where Jonas had planned to build a house before he had gone to war.
Jonas saw her and waved, so Elizabeth walked across the log bridge.
“Are you starting on your house again?” she asked. Aaron sat on a bench, out of sight of the road. If she had seen him earlier, she would have called out in Englisch, but Aaron didn’t seem to notice her.
“It’s about time to finish Katie’s house, don’t you think?” Jonas said as he met her at the end of the bridge. “We’re figuring out how much lumber to order, and Datt has some ideas for changes to my original plan.”
Datt smiled at Elizabeth, his tender look reminding her of the closeness they had shared before her marriage. “I had thought that Jonas and Katie would live in her house to begin with, but it turns out that there will be another couple using that house.”
Elizabeth’s stomach turned. “You mean the house Katie and I are sharing now?”
“You haven’t heard? Katie’s brothers decided that Young Peter Lehman should have it when he marries Katie’s niece Margaret this summer. But you don’t need to worry about where you live. Your Mamm and I always have room.”
Swallowing, Elizabeth attempted a smile. “That’s all right. I’ll move back to my cabin. There’s no reason to have it sitting empty, and I will enjoy living closer to Ruby and her family.”
“Do you think it is wise for you to try to manage one hundred sixty acres on your own?” He stroked his beard. “If you want my advice, I think you should sell the farm and move home. If you want to live on your own, we can build you a house near ours.”
Jonas grinned. “You could build near the woodlot and be our neighbors. Katie would like that fine.”
Datt looked around the clearing as if he was measuring the space. “But first we need to make these changes to Jonas’s plans. His original thoughts are fine for a young couple just starting out, but they’ll want a larger house as their family grows.”
“Have you talked to the ministers then?” Elizabeth asked.
Jonas shook his head. “Not yet, but I have confidence that they will give permission for us to marry.”
“What will you do if they say you can’t join the church?”
Her brother’s face darkened. “I’m not sure yet, but we’ll do something. Katie and I have waited long enough to get married, and I don’t want to let anything stand in our way.”
Datt’s frown told Elizabeth how he felt about that idea. “We’ll see what happens. Just don’t be too quick to act.”
Elizabeth glanced at Aaron. They had been speaking Deitsch during their conversation. He hadn’t been listening but was examining a piece of wood about two feet long. He put one end on the ground, then stood next to it.
“Does that one look like it might work?” Jonas said in Englisch, walking over to him. Elizabeth followed.
“It might.” Aaron sat again and handed the piece of wood to Jonas. “It’s a solid piece of oak. I’ll need to form some sort of socket in the top.”
A wooden leg. Aaron was making a wooden leg. Elizabeth glanced at his pinned-up trousers.
“You’ll want a cushion too,” she said. “The man I saw in Millersburg had a pad between his leg and the wooden one.”
“Elizabeth is right,” Jonas said. “And you’ll need a harness to fasten it on. A couple of the members in our community are harness makers. Perhaps they could help you design something.”
Aaron’s face took on a hopeful look that banished the
empty expression in his eyes. Perhaps he needed nothing more than a goal and a plan to be useful.
“Harness makers? Grandpop taught me a little bit about working with leather, and I’d be beholden to them if they could teach me how to make such a thing.”
“Dan Zook and his brother Ephraim run the business together along with their farm,” Datt said. “Who knows? You might be related to them.”
Aaron glanced at Elizabeth. “One of the many Amish Zook families? I don’t think you’ll find any of my relatives here.”
“What if you did?” Jonas asked. “You don’t have any other family. It would be a blessing to find someone to belong to.”
Aaron’s face closed again, making Elizabeth curious. It was possible that Dan and Ephraim Zook were related to him, but Aaron didn’t seem interested in them at all. Was he so determined to remain independent that he’d even deny his own family?
3
Aaron looked forward to a quiet morning by himself on Sunday. After breakfast he went out to the back porch. The sun was coming up behind a covering of gray clouds. It would rain today.
The family was getting ready for church and their usual routine was hurried. Jonas came out on the back porch, dressed in black trousers and a snowy white shirt. He smoothed his hair down before settling his black straw hat on his head.
“You’re not coming?” he asked as he tugged on the ends of his sleeves to smooth the creases.
“I’m not much for church going,” Aaron said, easing back farther in the chair. “Haven’t since Ma passed on. I’ll just stay put.” He didn’t tell Jonas that he intended to go back to bed as soon as the family was gone.
Jonas peered closely at him. “Are you all right? You’ve been working pretty hard the past few days.”
Aaron resisted rubbing his stump. “I’m a bit tired. Those months in the hospital took more out of me than I thought they would.”
“I’ve heard that a man can lose more strength by lying in bed than anything else. But you came pretty close to death a few months ago. You need to build up your stamina. Give it some time.” He leaned against the porch rail, dusting it with his hand first. “I wish you’d change your mind about staying home this morning. Spending the day worshiping the Lord might be just what you need.”
Just what he needed? A sudden memory of Sunday mornings by Ma’s side at their country church at home brought moisture to his eyes. Aaron rubbed it away. He was tired, nothing more.
“Y’all eat there?”
“Sure. After the services we eat together. Not a big meal. In the summer it’s usually cold roast and bread, along with pickles and other such things. And desserts, of course. Usually pie.”
Aaron’s mouth watered even though he had just finished breakfast.
“But the preaching is in German,” Jonas went on. “You probably wouldn’t understand too much of it.”
“Grandpop made sure I understood German. He used it enough that I picked it up. I can make out most of what y’all say.”
Jonas stood up, dusting off the seat of his trousers. “It sounds like you’re talking yourself into coming to church.”
“I don’t have fancy duds to wear.” Aaron glanced sideways at Jonas’s clothes.
“These aren’t fancy, although they are special for the Lord’s Day. But you’re a visitor. No one will expect you to dress like us.”
Aaron ran his fingers through his beard. It might be worth sitting through the preaching to get to the meal. If he stayed here, he’d have to rustle up his own grub. And it wouldn’t be as if he didn’t know anyone there. He had met most of the community at Jonas’s welcome-home party.
“I’ll go with you.” Aaron ignored Jonas’s grin.
“I’ll hitch up the spring wagon.”
A number of folks had already arrived at the farm just past Elizabeth’s and Katie’s house when Jonas drove the wagon into the yard. Abraham and Lydia had insisted on walking, and Aaron saw that there were only a couple other buggies.
“Where’s the church building?” he asked Jonas.
“We don’t have one. We meet in homes, like the Amish have always done. Each family in the community hosts the church service twice a year. Today it’s Karl Stuckey’s turn.”
Aaron looked for faces he knew and saw Elizabeth standing with some other women. Katie nodded to Jonas and smiled.
“We’ll wait out here until everyone has arrived,” Jonas said in a quiet voice. “We use the time to prepare ourselves for worship.”
He led the way to a group of men standing off to the side. The group was a subdued contrast to the other night. No one spoke more than a quiet greeting.
Just after Abraham and Lydia had joined the gathered community, another buggy arrived. The horse was black and spirited, but the man driving the shiny rig held the reins with confidence. He pulled the horse to a stop in the middle of the crowd. Abraham stepped forward.
“Welcome, stranger. Can I help you?”
The man smiled. “The name is Solomon Mast.” He flashed a smile at the crowd. “New in the area. I just bought the old Patterson place and moved in this week from Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. Neighbor Amos Beiler told me where the community was meeting for worship today, so I thought I’d join you.”
Aaron’s feet didn’t move as the men around him stepped closer to the newcomer. The man’s voice plucked at his memory, taking him back to a night in Virginia, smoke hanging in the dark air between the tents of the camp. He shook his head. It couldn’t be the same man.
“You’re welcome, brother,” Abraham said. “We are just about to go in to worship.” He signaled behind him and one of the older boys ran forward to take the horse and buggy to the barn.
“Denki,” Solomon said. “I look forward to getting to know all of you.”
As the man’s gaze scanned the crowd, he paused when he saw Aaron. His eyebrows lifted as if questioning his presence, and he met Aaron’s gaze. Instead of the open, honest expression Aaron had come to expect from Jonas’s family and friends, Solomon Mast’s face tightened, his eyes narrowing and his full lips pressing into a thin line. Then, as if a towel were whisked away, the smile returned, and the man’s gaze continued around the gathered group. Had it been a look of recognition? Or only surprise at seeing a non-Amish man in the group?
Then Jonas nudged Aaron. It was time to go into the house. Rows of benches lined the large open room with an aisle between them. The women and young children sat on one side and the men on the other. Aaron and Jonas took their seats on the back bench, while Solomon Mast followed Abraham right up to the front. Aaron frowned. They might both be visitors, but Solomon showed the stark difference between them. He acted as if he belonged here and Aaron did not.
Elizabeth helped serve the fellowship meal after church, but her thoughts were on today’s visitors. Solomon Mast had appeared in their midst like a fresh breeze on a warm day. He sat with the ministers and Datt for the first seating of the meal, and his voice rose above the other conversations.
“The Patterson farm is eighty acres,” Solomon said, answering someone’s question. “It’s good land, but less than forty are tillable at present. The rest is poor and stony, but it will be useful for grazing cattle.”
Elizabeth carried a bowl of sauerkraut to the table and set it down in front of Bishop Amos. Solomon smiled at her, making her the center of his attention for a moment. Elizabeth felt her cheeks grow warm as she moved down the table to place a second bowl in front of Jonas and Levi Beiler at the other end. Aaron sat with them and smiled his thanks to her.
The conversation at the other end of the table continued.
“Do you have a family, Solomon?” Preacher Amos asked.
The man’s face grew downcast. “Sadly, no. I am a widower. My wife passed away and our only child perished with her.” He paused as the other men expressed their sympathy. “But it has been several months since her passing, and I am ready to start again. That is why I moved here to Ohio.” He glanced at Elizabeth, th
en turned his attention back to the men. “This is a new beginning for me in a new community. I must thank you for your kind welcome to a stranger.”
“Are you in need of any help on your farm?” Gideon Fischer, Elizabeth’s brother-in-law, asked.
Solomon shook his head. “Patterson had already done the spring planting, and he sold me the equipment and livestock along with the land and buildings.”
“I hadn’t realized Abel Patterson was planning to sell out,” Gideon said. “I spoke with him a few weeks ago.”
“He told me he had decided to go back to New York to live with his son. I met him in the land agent’s office in Millersburg where I went to inquire about land for sale.” Solomon smiled at the men around him, his white teeth gleaming. “I suppose you could call the meeting the Lord’s providence. We settled the matter there and then.”
Elizabeth went to the kitchen to fetch another plate of bread. When she came back, the men were still discussing Solomon’s business.
“Gideon, is it?” he said, turning to her brother-in-law. “You said you had spoken to Patterson recently. Does that mean that we’re neighbors?”
“My farm is nearby,” Gideon said, “but Elizabeth’s land is between us. She owns one hundred sixty acres, eighty on the west side of the Berlin Road and eighty on the east side.” He nodded toward Elizabeth as she set the bread on the table. “This is Elizabeth Kaufman.”
Solomon turned his warm smile on her. “Elizabeth, I am happy to meet you. So, you and your husband will be my closest neighbors.”
Elizabeth felt her cheeks warming again. “My land is your neighbor.” She couldn’t keep from returning his smile. “I don’t live on the land, and my husband has passed away.”
“We will have to become better acquainted, then.”
“I’m sure we will.” Elizabeth turned and nearly ran for the kitchen. Her sister Ruby, Gideon’s wife, and Millie Keck, Salome Beiler’s married daughter, were there, along with Mamm. All of them stared at her.
“What is wrong?” Millie asked, jiggling one of her twin babies in her arms. “You look as if you’re running away from a wolf!”