Their Pretend Amish Courtship

by Patricia Davids

  “I reckon. Driving at night makes me nervous.”

  So the unflappable Fannie had a weakness. “Why?”

  “I’m always afraid a car will come up behind me too fast and run into me.”

  “It happens. We can’t know when Gott will test our faith with such a trial. Do you want me to take over?”

  “Nee. I must overcome this fear.”

  He worried about the tremor in her voice. She really was scared—but determined. “What do you think of Willy?” he asked, to take her mind off her apprehension.

  “He’s a sweet goer. Nice smooth gait. A high stepper but not absurdly high. He has a soft mouth and responds to a light touch on the reins. He’s a goot gaul.”

  “And you said I wouldn’t know a good horse if I tripped over one.”

  She sent him a sidelong glance, but seemed to consider her words for a change. “Sometimes my mouth says things before my brain can stop it. Forgive me.”

  An olive branch? He gladly accepted it. “You are forgiven. I’ve been known to speak rashly, too.”

  “Sadly, that seems to be all we have in common.”

  “We both like horses.”

  A hint of a smile lifted one corner of her mouth. “There is that.”

  “I’m sure we’ll find other things we can agree on by the end of the month. I’ll try if you will.”

  “I reckon there’s no harm in trying. At least you aren’t as boring as Hiram. I don’t know how my sister stands him.”

  “It might be uncharitable of me, but I have to agree. He is a boring fellow. If you don’t love pigs, there’s no point in striking up a conversation with him.”

  She giggled and Noah relaxed. The drive wasn’t so bad after that. It wasn’t long before the fence that marked her lane came into view up ahead. She turned Willy neatly into her driveway and pulled him to a stop in front of her house. The building was dark except for a dim light glowing in the kitchen window.

  She handed Noah the reins. “Would you like to come in?”

  “I thought you weren’t going to ask me in.”

  “Another one of my mouth-before-brain moments.”

  It was an accepted custom for an Amish girl to invite her date in for a visit, even though her parents would be in bed. The young man and woman were expected to be on their best behavior. They would talk or play board games until very late as they got to know each other.

  “I don’t see Hiram’s buggy. Do you think he’s gone home already? I know he left with your sister.”

  “He never stays long.”

  Noah shrugged. “He’s an odd duck. Sure, I’d like to come in.”

  “Really?” The look of shock on her face was priceless.

  He hopped down, secured Willy and turned to help Fannie out of the buggy, but she was already standing on the ground. “You don’t have to come in, Noah. We can pretend you did.”

  “I think we’ve done enough pretending for a while, don’t you?”

  “I reckon you’re right.”

  She led the way inside and closed the door quietly behind him. “I made some cinnamon-raisin biscuits this morning. Would you like one?”

  “Sounds goot.”

  “Do you want to sit in the living room or here in the kitchen?” She had her hands clenched tightly together.

  “The normal place for a couple to visit is in the living room, but I like the kitchen better. It’s cozy.” He took a seat at the table.

  She seemed to relax. “I agree. No point in trying for a normal courtship at this point.”

  Moving to the cupboard, she removed two plates and placed two biscuits on his and one on hers. She sat down at the table and pushed his plate toward him. He wasn’t hungry, but he pulled off a small piece and ate it. The raisins were plump but the dough was tough.

  “How is it?” she asked.

  “It won’t choke me.”

  She scowled and opened her mouth but he forestalled her. “Brain first, mouth second, Fannie.”

  Her scowl faded and she blushed. “They aren’t my best.”

  “They’re far better than anything I could make. I imagine cooking is like playing ball. It takes a lot of practice to get good enough to make it look easy.”

  “Do you practice your pitching at home?”

  “Some. I have to pester my brothers or my cousins to catch for me. They don’t always have time.”

  “Have you always liked playing ball?”

  “Are you kidding? What boy doesn’t? Don’t you remember all the recesses we spent playing softball at school?”

  “I remember staying in to write I’m sorry for something or other on the blackboard a hundred times. I was always in trouble. I wasn’t any good at hitting the ball so I wasn’t picked for a team very often.”

  “I used to get you in trouble a lot. I thought it was funny to see you get angry. Your face got so red. I’m sorry about that.”

  She shrugged. “We were kids.”

  “Still. It wasn’t kind of me.”

  They talked about school for a while, sharing memories and funny stories from their childhood days. It surprised Noah that she recalled so many of his exploits. The Bowman boys were known for their adventuresome natures, but he wasn’t the wildest one.

  “Luke was the worst of us,” Noah admitted. His brother had left the Amish and gotten into trouble with the English law over drugs, bringing shame to the family.

  Fannie’s eyes filled with sympathy. “No one would know it now. He’s changed for the better.”

  “Gott and Emma changed his heart.” Luke had become a devout member of the faithful, much to his family’s joy.

  “Does your brother Timothy like teaching school? It’s unusual for a man to become a teacher.” She nibbled on the edge of her biscuit.

  “He loves it, especially since his wife, Lillian, teaches there, as well. You heard the school is holding a frolic, didn’t you? The school board has decided to add a wing to the building for the upper classes that Timothy teaches. They are pouring the new foundation next week.”

  “We heard about it. Mamm and Daed have said they will help.”

  “That’s great. The more hands we have, the easier the work will be.”

  She sighed heavily. “It’s odd to think about our school changing as much as it has.”

  “You haven’t said you forgive me for teasing you the way I did back then.”

  “I forgive you.” She looked at him from under lowered brows. “Just don’t do it again.”

  He chuckled. “If you don’t throw stuff at me, I won’t call you carrottop, copperhead, fire-eater or ginger nut ever again.”

  “Aw, thanks for nothing. Ginger nut? No one ever called me a ginger nut.”

  “Did I miss that one when we were young?”

  She plucked a raisin from her biscuit and tossed it toward him. He caught it in his open mouth and she giggled.

  He sat up straighter. “I say you can’t do that again.”

  “And I say I’m not going to spend time sweeping the kitchen floor after my failures. Besides, I think it’s time you went home.”

  He checked the clock on the wall, surprised to see how late it was. “I reckon you’re right. Our team has a game next Saturday. Would you care to come and watch?”

  “I can’t. We have our first competition at the Wayne’s County Fairgrounds that day. That’s if I’m not on my way to Florida. You can come watch us practice at Connie’s place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at six.”

  “Are you sure I won’t be bored?”

  “I doubt it. You appreciate good horses the same way I do.”

  “I’m thinking not as much as you do. Our team, the Fire Eaters, practice on Wednesdays and Fridays at five o’clock over behind the fire station. You
’re welcome to come watch us.”

  She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “Talk about boring.”

  “Do I sense disdain for the sport I love?”

  “I think it’s silly to see grown men acting like little boys throwing a ball at each other and trying to hit it with a stick.”

  He scowled at her. “Is it sillier than a bunch of girls riding their horses in circles?”

  She rose and folded her arms across her middle. “I think it is.”

  He pressed his lips together and settled his straw hat on his head. “I don’t have a comeback for that. It is time I went home.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll think of the perfect thing to say before you get across the road.”

  “Now you imply my wit is slow.” He shook his head, moved to the door and jerked it open. “What have I done to deserve this?”

  “I won’t begin the litany of your sins, Noah Bowman. It would take me the rest of the night to list them.” Her face was expressionless as she slammed the door behind him.

  Noah felt like banging his head on it. Ten minutes ago he’d been enjoying himself and thinking Fannie had certainly grown into an interesting woman. In the blink of an eye she was back to insulting him like a schoolgirl.

  He walked to his buggy and untied Willy from the hitching rail in front of her house. “This is proof the whole thing is a bad idea, but now I’m stuck with it.”

  He’d do well to think of this courtship as a business deal, one that got them what they both wanted, but it was sure going to be a painful summer.

  * * *

  “Anna Bowman tells me you and Noah have been seeing each other. Is this so?” Fannie’s mother asked, once they were alone the next morning.

  Fannie swept the breakfast crumbs from the table and tossed them in the trash before answering. “We’ve been out together.”

  “I thought it was odd that you wanted to stay for the singing yesterday. Did he bring you home last night?”

  “If you must know, he did.”

  “Well? How is it going?”

  “Better than I expected.”

  That was the truth. Fannie couldn’t believe how much she had enjoyed sitting alone with him in the kitchen and just talking. It was as if they had both put aside the masks they wore in daily life. Until she insulted him. When would she learn to think before she spoke?

  “So?” her mother prompted.

  “So, what?”

  “Child, you will drive me insane yet. Did he ask you out again?”

  “Sort of. He invited me to come to his ball game on Saturday, but I’ll be leaving so it doesn’t matter.”

  “Of course it matters. I had no idea you and Noah were seeing each other. You should have said something sooner. Anna and I dreamed of seeing you two wed when you were still in diapers.”

  Fannie rolled her eyes. “We aren’t getting married, Mamm. We’ve only started walking out together.”

  “But it was a nice date, ja?”

  “Ja, it was nice, but he knows I’m leaving. I’m going to need new shoes before I head to Florida. Do you think we could go shopping tomorrow?” Fannie glanced at her mother from the corner of her eye. Was she wavering?

  “Your sister has new shoes.”

  “Betsy doesn’t wear the same size I do.”

  “I thought you wanted to stay here and ride horses with your friends.”

  “I do. It’s important to me, but I realize you won’t change your mind.” Fannie wiped at a stubborn spot of dried jelly on the table. “If Noah is still unattached next year, maybe he’ll ask me out again. Of course, his mother has invited a number of young women to visit them this summer, so I can’t hold out a lot of hope.”

  Fannie’s mother cupped one hand around her chin and tapped her lips with one finger. “Your sister is in the garden picking string beans. Ask her to come in.”

  “Okay.” Fannie concealed a smile as she went out the door. Maybe, just maybe, her idea was going to bear fruit, after all.

  At the garden gate, she called to Betsy. “Mamm wants to see you.”

  “What for?”

  “I think she wants to ask you about going to Florida.”

  Betsy dashed to the gate carrying a blue plastic bucket half-full of beans. “Really? That would be wunderbar.”

  Fannie didn’t want to hold out false hope. “She hasn’t said for sure.”

  “I’ll do my best to convince her.” Betsy shoved her bucket into Fannie’s hands and scampered through the gate. “You might as well get used to doing my chores. There’s eight rows left to pick.”

  Fannie stared at the large garden loaded with produce that needed to be canned soon. Any free time she wanted would have to come after her work was done. She was going to have a busy summer. Opening the gate, she crossed to the beans and started picking where her sister had left off.

  Entering the kitchen fifteen minutes later with a full pail, Fannie found her mother washing glass pint jars in the sink. The pressure cooker sat on the stove waiting to be loaded. Fannie fairly itched to hear her mother’s decision, but instead of asking, she transferred a portion of her beans into a large bowl, rinsed them, sat down and began snapping them into equal lengths after discarding the stems.

  Betsy came up from the cellar with a cardboard box full of dusty jars. She grinned at Fannie and nodded. She put the box on the counter beside her mother. Instead of jumping for joy, Fannie kept snapping beans, but she couldn’t hide her grin.

  Her mother placed the last jar in soapy water to soak and turned around. After drying her hands on her apron, she smoothed her dress. “I must speak with your daed.”

  Fannie knew her father had the ultimate say in family matters, but he seldom went against his wife’s wishes. As soon as her mother went out, Betsy flew to her sister and pulled her to her feet. She hugged Fannie and swung her around. “I’m going to see the ocean!”

  “I’m glad you’re happy about it.”

  “Happy is a poor word for this feeling.” Holding Fannie at arm’s length, Betsy stared at her with wide eyes. “How did you manage to change her mind?”

  “Noah Bowman asked to walk out with me.”

  “I wondered who took you home from the singing. Noah Bowman? I never would have guessed. And that’s all it took for Mamm to change her mind?”

  “You know how desperate she is to see me wed.”

  “I do. Believe me, I do. I’m sure she thinks this is your last chance.”

  Fannie leaned back and frowned. “I wouldn’t call it my last chance. I’m not even twenty-two.”

  “I’ve never seen anyone as determined to become an old maid as you are. You haven’t had a date in years.”

  “Only because I wasn’t willing to give up my free time. I’ll date when I’m ready.”

  “Sure, if you say so. I don’t care what the reason is. I’m going to Florida.” Betsy threw her hands in the air and spun out of the room.

  Fannie went out to gather more beans. Her mother was in the kitchen when she returned. She motioned for Fannie to join her at the table. “Sit for a moment. I have something to tell you.”

  Fannie took a seat and tried to keep her face blank.

  Her mother steepled her fingers. “Your father and I have talked it over, and we believe Betsy should go to stay with my parents.”

  “She’ll be happy to hear that, but what about Hiram?”

  “They are betrothed now. That will not change if she is gone for a few months. I would feel terrible if I ruined your chances with Noah by sending you away.”

  Fannie tried hard to conceal her elation. “Is it still okay that I ride with the girls at Connie’s place?”

  “As long as your riding doesn’t interfere with other things.”

  “It
won’t. I’ll be as much help to you as I can, I promise.”

  “I was thinking of the time you might spend in Noah Bowman’s company.”

  “He lives across the road. We’ll see each other often enough.”

  “Men need prompting when it comes to courting, Fannie. You must make a good impression on him and show him you’ll make a goot wife. Anna and I will arrange for the two of you to get together a few times a week.”

  Fannie shook her head. “Mamm, I’m not going to throw myself at Noah.”

  “I’m not asking you to do that. We’re simply going to nudge him in the right direction. Your father says the boy has baseball practice at the fire station on Wednesday evening. You should go, and you should take all the men something sweet to eat.”

  “There are plenty of chores waiting for me. I don’t have time to sit and watch Noah throw a ball.”

  Her mother scowled at her. “Most young women are thrilled at the idea of spending a little extra time with their beau. Are you saying you have already decided the two of you won’t suit? If that’s the case, there’s no reason you can’t go to Florida as we first decided.”

  “I’m not saying we won’t suit,” Fannie said quickly. “We’ve only gone out once. It’s too soon to tell if we are meant for each other or not. Only Gott knows the one who will become my helpmate for life.”

  “This is true. Only Gott can bring forth the bounty of my garden out of the dirt, but I still have to pull the weeds and water the seedlings. A courtship is no different. You must do your part.”

  “I will, but you and Anna shouldn’t interfere. Too much water can drown the seedlings.”

  Fannie’s mother looked as if she wanted to argue, but to Fannie’s surprise, she leaned back in her chair and said, “We will leave the courting to you kinder, but you must put some effort into the relationship. Anna will tell Noah the same. Going to watch him play ball is a start.”

  “We are hardly children, Mamm.”

  Her mother chuckled and cupped her hands around Fannie’s face. “Both Anna and I are delighted that you two have found each other after all these years living right across the road from each other. Nothing could make us happier than seeing you and Noah wed. Just think, someday Anna and I could be sharing grandbabies.”