Annoyed, Martha pulled on her arm. “C’mon. We’ve work to do.”
Chapter 16
When Michael was coming for dinner, Gabbie had pushed everyone out of the way and cooked everything herself. Amy had been glad for the break and went to her room, while Martha did what Gabbie ordered her.
“I can’t wait until he arrives.” Gabbie gazed out the kitchen window, which overlooked the driveway and gave a clear view up the road.
Martha set the main table and a second table for the younger girls. Whenever they had guests, the younger children sat at the smaller table.
The hymn Gabbie hummed while she put the finishing touches on the meal grated against Martha’s nerves. “Do you have to hum, Gabbie?”
Gabbie spun around. “Nee, I don’t. I’m just happy, that’s all. I prayed for a husband and then Gott sent me here to meet Michael.”
Martha’s mouth fell open. Mamm and Dat were clearly trying to match Michael with her, not Gabbie. Gabbie had been sent to avoid trouble in Augusta, not to steal the boy she might like. “I prayed too, and so did Amy.”
“He’s too young for Amy. She’s more suited to Andrew. I think they’re secretly in love, but she can’t move there and he can’t move here. So, it’s never going to work for them. Anyway, aren’t you happy for me, Martha?”
Martha pulled a face. “You don’t even know him, and what about Joseph?”
“Why do you keep asking about Joseph? You know he’s getting married. He made his choice.”
Martha took a step closer to Gabbie. “It’s just that you switched off of him pretty quickly, and now you say you like Michael when you don’t even know him.”
Gabbie smiled. “I know him, in my heart.”
Rubbing her forehead, Martha turned back to finish setting the tables. What chance would she have to get any attention with Gabbie around?
“He’ll be here soon, girls.”
Both girls looked across to Mr. Yoder in the doorway.
“Everything all right in here?”
“Jah,” both girls chorused at once.
He eyed them carefully. “Your mudder is coming down in a minute after she puts Micah to bed.”
“Jah, Dat,” Martha said. “We’ve nearly got everything ready, haven’t we, Gabbie?”
Gabbie nodded.
At the sound of hoofbeats, both girls raced to the window.
“He’s here,” Gabbie said.
Martha looked over to where her father had been standing to see he’d already gone to welcome their guest at the front door.
Gabbie immediately straightened herself by pushing stray hairs under her prayer kapp and adjusting her apron. Martha took a deep breath. She knew she stood no chance against the bright and bubbly Gabbie. At that moment, she wished Gabbie had stayed in Augusta.
When they heard two male voices in the other room, Gabbie and Martha went to the living room to greet Michael.
“Hello, Gabbie.” He nodded at Gabbie who was right in front of him. He looked at Martha. “And …?”
Martha’s heart sank. He didn’t even remember her name, but he’d remembered Gabbie’s.
“Her name is Martha,” Gabbie said before Martha had a chance to form a sentence in her head.
Great, now he thinks I can’t put two words together, Martha thought while returning Michael’s polite nod.
“Now, everyone sit in the living room, and I’ll call you when dinner is ready,” Gabbie said.
Martha took her chance and sat on the couch next to Michael.
Gabbie rushed to Martha and pulled her off the couch. “Not you, Martha, I need your help in the kitchen. You’re assisting me, remember?”
Martha and Gabbie retreated to the kitchen just as Mrs. Yoder and Amy came down the stairs. Martha heard muffled conversation coming from the living room as she and Gabbie dished out the hot food.
Gabbie whispered, “Did you notice he remembered my name?”
Prickles ran along Martha’s neck. “Jah, I did.”
“It’s a gut thing you don’t like him because I like him a lot.”
Martha pursed her lips. She never said she didn’t like him. In fact, she wanted to get to know him, but how would that be possible now?
Once the silent prayer of thanks for the meal was over, Gabbie was the first to speak. “What do you think of the town here, Michael?”
“I’ve hardly seen much of it. I’ve been working pretty hard since I got here. I’ll have a chance to have a look ‘round soon, I’d say.”
“I’ll show you around,” Gabbie said.
“I’m sure you don’t know the town well enough, Gabbie, since you’ve only arrived yourself.” Mrs. Yoder’s stated. “Both of you girls can show Michael around when he’s got the time.”
Martha glanced up at her mother who raised her eyebrows.
Michael spooned chicken casserole onto his plate. “I’d appreciate that very much. I could come by here Friday mid-afternoon, and drive you girls around. You can direct me where to go.”
Martha was pleased she’d see him again in just two days’ time.
Mr. Yoder laughed and slapped Michael on the shoulder. “These girls can drive a buggy as well as any man if that concerns you.”
“Nee, I just prefer to do the driving.” He looked at Martha and then at Gabbie. “Especially when I’m driving young ladies.”
Gabbie put her hand over her face and giggled. Mrs. Yoder popped a piece of chicken into her mouth, frowning in Gabbie’s direction.
“Is the farm you’re staying at far from here?” Amy asked him.
“It’s the farm next door. Just a ten or fifteen-minute walk to the haus.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize where you’d be staying.”
“That’s because you don’t listen, Amy,” Gabbie butted in. You haven’t changed since you visited us two years ago.”
Martha felt sorry for Amy. She didn’t need to be reminded of how long it had been since she stayed with Gabbie’s family. It hadn’t been two years, not two fully, only about eighteen months.
Michael popped a portion of buttered bread into his mouth. “This food is very gut.”
“Denke, I cooked most of it, but Martha helped,” Gabbie said.
When Martha looked up, she saw her mother staring at her and making faces. She knew her mother wanted her to speak. She hadn’t said two words to Michael since he’d arrived. “Are you a farmer in Ohio too, Michael? Or are you doing that to help your onkel out?”
“My parents have a farm, and I’ve worked on it all my life. I don’t help much on the farm anymore; I’ve been working construction the last couple of years.”
Martha nodded, and before she could say more, Gabbie took over the conversation by asking, “And what kind of farm do your parents have?”
“We’ve got mostly barley fields, but also corn and oats.”
Gabbie was quick to add, “We’ve got an apple orchard back home. Last year’s drought really affected it though, and we didn’t get as much as we would’ve liked.”
Michael nodded. “Jah, same with our crops in Ohio. The drought allowed the weeds to grow through the crop. We ended up just baling it for our own use. We’ve got fifteen acres of corn, too, and forty dairy cows. The crops here look good so far.”
Gabbie had not taken her eyes from him. “Sounds like you’d be very busy at home.”
“I like it that way,” Michael said before he took another mouthful of food.
Martha knew she had to add something to the conversation, either that or look like she never spoke more than two words. “Do you milk all the cows yourself, Michael?”
Gabbie laughed. “That’s too much for one person, Martha. He couldn’t possibly do that and the other work.”
“Um, I know that, but … I just wondered …” Now Martha felt worse; maybe she should’ve kept quiet.
“Nee, that’s a gut question, Martha. My mudder and older schweschder do the milking nowadays. We used to milk by hand years ago, but now we’ve got
a diesel engine that runs the milking equipment. It saves us time and the women can handle it.”
“You’ve got more than one schweschder?” Mrs. Yoder asked.
“I’ve got one older and two younger, and one older bruder.”
“And why are you working in construction since there’s plenty of work on the farm?” Gabbie asked.
“With the drought, I thought I should look for something else. I’ve always liked to build things, and a friend of mine got me a job with his vadder. He only employs Amish workers. They’ve given me time off to come here for however long I'm needed. They’re good like that.”
When the first part of the meal was over, Gabbie, Martha and Amy cleared the plates, ready for the dessert.
“I made whoopie pies,” Gabbie told Michael.
“I love all sweet things.” Michael smiled up at her.
* * *
Once dinner was over, the younger girls were sent to bed while the adults had coffee in the living room. Mrs. Yoder told the girls she’d clean the kitchen and do the washing up, but Martha insisted on helping.
When Martha finished helping Mamm, she went into the living room to join the others. Gabbie had sat herself opposite Michael and, not wanting to sit next to him, Martha sat on the end of the couch next to Gabbie. Amy excused herself saying she was going to check on Micah. Martha knew she wouldn’t be back. She was really going to her room to think about her lost love. That’s all she seemed to do these days. Mrs. Yoder joined them, sitting in her usual chair opposite her husband.
“Gabbie’s just been telling me about where she comes from,” Michael said.
“It’s a fine place and so different from here.” Mrs. Yoder smiled. “I've never been there before, but of course, Amy told us all about it.”
Michael stood. “I should go now. I’ve got an early start in the morning.”
“As have we all.” Mr. Yoder rose to his feet.
“Denke for having me for dinner, and Gabbie, denke for a wunderbaar meal.”
Gabbie stood up and smiled at him. Not wanting to be the only one who remained seated besides her mother, Martha stood up as well.
“We’ll see you Friday afternoon then, Michael,” Gabbie said excitedly.
“Jah, I’m looking forward to it.”
Martha remained silent and watched as they all walked him to the door. Disappointment gnawed at her stomach. Why wasn’t she talkative like Gabbie?
Chapter 17
The next day was Thursday, and Thursday in the Yoder household was laundry day.
Mrs. Yoder pulled Martha aside while Gabbie took one load of washing to the machine. “Martha, you could have said more to that boy last night.”
“Mamm, I can’t think quickly, and I’m not so sure of myself like Gabbie is.”
“You’d better get sure of yourself pretty fast, or Gabbie will snatch him out from under your nose. Is that what you want?”
Her mother’s words gave her a pain in her stomach. Surely love was not like this? Was this how it was between men and women? Martha never thought she’d be in a competition for love. If she were meant to be with Michael, she would be, and if not, it wouldn’t matter if Michael and Gabbie got married. Did her mother want her to fight and jostle for a man to notice her?
“Come on, Martha, help me. I want to get all this finished,” Gabbie called out.
“I’m coming.”
The girls washed the clothes and fed them through the wringer before pinning them on the line.
“It’s a lovely sunny day for drying, isn’t it?” Gabbie said with her face turned to the sky.
Martha looked up at the sun. “It is.”
Hours later, Gabbie said, “Well, I’m done with the morning chores. I think I’ll go for a nice stroll.”
“Gut, I’ll come too,” Martha said.
Gabbie stepped back. “Ach, nee.”
Martha frowned.
“Do you mind if I go alone?”
Maybe she’s upset with me. “You can go alone if you want to. Don’t get lost. You don’t know these parts.”
“I’ll go in a straight line and come back the same way. I’ll walk along the roadway.”
Martha scratched her chin and figured she’d write to her pen-pal cousin while Gabbie walked. “Okay.”
Gabbie smiled, turned and began her walk.
Martha climbed the stairs to her bedroom, took out paper and pen and sat by the window thinking what to write. With the pen resting on her lips, she looked outside and noticed that Gabbie was not walking by the roadway as she had said. In fact, she was heading straight to the Glicks’ farm. She would have to follow her to see where she was going. If she were going to try to see Michael, why wouldn’t she have told her straight out?
Changing quickly into shoes more suited for walking, Martha grew more annoyed with Gabbie and then ran down the stairs hoping her mother wouldn’t hear. The younger girls were already in school and her baby brother was the only child at home — apart from Amy, who was out visiting one of her friends.
Martha walked in the direction she’d seen Gabbie heading, but now she’d lost sight of her. She was sure if she headed for the farm next door, she’d soon catch sight of her. A couple of minutes later, she saw Michael mending a fence and he was speaking with Gabbie. Squinting as hard as she could, Martha saw Michael had a smile on his face.
Her heart sank as she wondered if they’d arranged last night to meet in secret. No, she decided, they wouldn’t have had a quiet moment together without anyone overhearing. This has been all Gabbie’s idea. She was hoping to bump into him. Two can play this game, she thought as she walked toward the two of them.
“Hello,” Martha yelled out as she approached.
Michael looked over at Martha and waved. Martha smiled and waved back. Gabbie spun around and then turned back to Michael and said something.
Martha said to Gabbie, “I didn’t know you were walking in this direction.” Before Gabbie could reply, Martha looked at Michael, “Did that tree knock the fence over?”
“Jah, the heavy wind during the night broke a couple of old posts and knocked it down.”
With her hands on her hips, Gabbie said, “You did too know I was walking this way.”
“You said you were walking by the roadway. Anyway, what does it matter?”
“It’s nice to see both of you girls again so soon.”
“Nice to see you too, Michael. Well, we’d better leave Michael to get on with his fencing, Gabbie.”
“Nee, I’ll think I’ll stay and talk to him for a while.”
Michael looked up from his fencing. “You go with Martha, and I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m nearly finished up here and I’ve got a lot of work with the cows as soon as I’m done here.”
The usual confidence had left Gabbie’s voice when she replied, “Jah, okay, Martha and I have quite a lot to do as well.”
“I’ll see you girls tomorrow then.”
Gabbie flashed a smile at Michael before she turned and took hold of Martha’s arm. “Let’s go, Martha.”
Martha was nearly toppled off balance. “Bye, Michael.”
As the girls walked away, Gabbie hissed, “Couldn’t you see that we were having a moment?”
“Nee, I couldn’t.”
“He wanted me to stay but didn’t want you to. Why did you have to come?” Gabbie’s usual smile was replaced by a frown.
“Why shouldn’t I come and speak to my friends? He’s not yours, you know.”
“Not yet.” Gabbie’s face scrunched further. “I wish you’d never come here. He didn’t want you here.”
“Gabbie, that’s a horrid thing to say.” Martha studied Gabbie’s angry face, and then Gabbie walked away. Martha hurried to catch up with her.
“You followed me, and you are trying to ruin things between me and Michael.”
Martha kept silent even though she wanted to point out that there was as yet no ‘me and Michael.’
When they got back home, Martha’s mu
dder met them. “I need you to drive me to Nellie Byler tomorrow to see about a tonic. Nee, I’ll go Monday if you can take me or maybe the Monday after that.”
“Of course, Mamm, you let me know when you want me to take you,” Martha answered, quite used to her mother not being able to make a firm decision.
“You should go to a doctor if you’re not well, Mrs. Yoder.”
Mrs. Yoder looked taken aback by Gabbie’s tone. “I don’t wish to go to a doctor. I would rather try a tonic. It’s done well for me before.”
“It worked, did it?”
“It seemed to.”
Gabbie shrugged. “Just trying to help.”
“I can take you there tomorrow first thing, Mamm.”
“We’ll see.” Mrs. Yoder eyed them carefully. “You two look as though you’ve been up to something.”
“We’ve just been for a walk,” Gabbie said.
“Jah ... and we ran into Michael,” Martha said.
Mrs. Yoder frowned and looked at each girl in turn. “Must have been a long walk.”
Gabbie said, “He was repairing a fence on the property border.”
“I’ve got more chores, but there’s something your vadder wants you to do first, Martha.”
Chapter 18
“What is it, Mamm? What does Dat want?” Could she be in trouble for something? Had her father seen them speaking to Michael when he was repairing the fence?
“Your vadder wants you to go into town to get coffee and honey.”
“Okay.” Martha looked at Gabbie. “Do you want to come with me?”
“Jah, of course I do.”
Gabbie stomped out to the barn behind Martha to help her hitch the buggy for their trip to town. Why did Martha have to barge in and ruin her time with Michael? How was she going to get a boyfriend with Martha around her all the time? Martha had pretended not to like Michael when she did. Why couldn’t she be truthful and admit she liked him? Martha’s family was strange. Her mother was not running the household properly; she left everything to Amy. Amy was trapped here helping the family when it was obvious she wanted to go back to Andrew.
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