The Amish Deacon's Daughter

by Samantha Price

  Gabbie handed her the basket of goodies and followed Nancy to the kitchen. “Well, it just seems like it would get kind of boring. Anyway, Mamm’s sent some things along. There’s plenty of bread and we could put some in the icebox for later.”

  “Denke,” Nancy said, as she unpacked the basket and sorted the contents. “I appreciate everything, Gabbie. I’m happy for the soup bones, too. You have to ask yourself if you’d rather eat and live, or starve. Living means things at least have a chance of getting better. Dead is just dead.” Her voice had thickened a little.

  Gabbie fell silent while she helped. Nancy’s words weighed heavily in Gabbie’s mind. Nancy had to be thinking of her recently departed husband.

  The rest of the day was spent doing menial housework of the sort Gabbie always hated. And they were the scrubbing of the floors, washing curtains, doing laundry — all of those terrible chores that she always left to Mamm. Now, she had to contend with noisy children and the periodic cries of a baby.

  Gabbie wasn’t the only one working at Nancy’s house. No matter what she was doing, Nancy seemed to be just as busy, and with a child at her hip or getting tangled into the mix. Even more surprising to Gabbie was the fact that Nancy was always happy, and endlessly patient with her children.

  Gabbie finished her first day at the house exhausted and confused. She wished that she could go home and lie in her own bed. Nancy had organized that she had her own bedroom by squeezing some of the children into one room. The baby slept in Nancy’s room with her.

  The next few weeks were more of the same. Gabbie would help out with whatever chores needed doing. Every day, she was increasingly more amazed at the fact that this woman with four rambunctious children and a baby and with little resources could still find joy in life. Having young children was sometimes a thankless chore. At first, Gabbie thought Nancy’s happiness must have been some kind of show, but as she grew to know Nancy better, she understood that’s just how she was.

  Gabbie tried to improve herself by learning from Nancy’s character and personality traits.

  “All things work together for good,” Nancy told her almost daily.

  Gabbie decided to trust that whatever happened to her in the future was ultimately happening in her favor. The work did well to occupy Gabbie’s hands, but her thoughts kept turning back to Joseph and their conversation by the creek. She remembered the letter Sally had sent, and the rumors surrounding Joseph and Ilsa. She also regretted her argument with Mary.

  Joseph had seemed to like her when they were at the creek. He had touched her shoulder and had uttered kind words to her. Would it be mean of her to hope that Joseph and Ilsa would have another tiff? She didn’t dare give herself that hopeful thought just yet. Gabbie asked Nancy if she could have a spare afternoon to herself if she did a lot of work in the morning. Nancy agreed to let her have a free afternoon and Gabbie went to Ilsa’s house thinking she’d go straight to the source to get her information.

  Ilsa’s mother, Hilde answered her knock, and her face split into a tremendous smile.

  “Gabbie, how nice of you to come visiting. Come in. I haven’t found out how you liked your stay with the Yoder familye. And you’ve been helping Nancy. How is she?” A barrage of questions came with a pull on Gabbie’s arm.

  “Things are good,” Gabbie said. “I’ve been busy, and all, but that’s good. Nancy’s doing well too.”

  “Oh, I’m so glad. So, what brings you by today? Ilsa’s not home; she’s at the market ‘till later today.” Hilde set about getting a couple of glasses of water while Gabbie sat down.

  “Oh. Well,” Gabbie began. “You used to invite me over all the time before I left for Lancaster, and I never really had a chance to accept.”

  “Oh?” Hilde paused and looked over. “Well, we’re planning a dinner this Friday if you’d like to join us. It will be absolutely delightful to have you with us. You can tell us all about where you’ve been, and all that you’ve been doing.”

  “That sounds wonderful, denke. I’ll be by on Friday.”

  “There’s so much I’ve wanted to talk to you about,” Hilde said.

  The conversation continued for some time along idle lines to do with the weather, farming, and uninteresting local gossip. Gabbie knew if she got into Hilde and Ilsa’s good graces, she would find out the truth of what was going on with Ilsa’s relationship with Joseph.

  Friday was a busy day at Nancy’s house. Gabbie spent most of it cleaning up after the children while Nancy prepared food and got things ready for a weekend without Gabbie’s help. Gabbie would spend the weekend at her own home. She hurried to get there, so she could make a cake to take to dinner at Ilsa’s house.

  Gabbie’s parents were happy that she was being sociable, but not happy when they learned she was off to Ilsa’s house. They warned her not to say or do anything she shouldn’t.

  When Gabbie arrived at the home of Hilde and Ilsa, she was pleased to learn that Joseph would not be coming to dinner. That way, she would avoid awkward moments as she tried to befriend Ilsa.

  It was a perfectly lovely dinner, and Gabbie regretted not visiting Hilde and Ilsa more often. Hilde was an excellent cook, and Ilsa was shaping up to be just as good. The evening was full of lively conversation, and Gabbie was wrapped up in listening to all the stories the other guests had to tell. Gabbie shared her experiences at Lancaster County, and her more recent work with looking after Nancy’s children.

  “Ach, that poor soul,” Hilde cried. “You’re doing a gut thing helping Nancy. We’re thinking of sending Ilsa over to help once in a while too, but there’s just too much to do here.”

  “It’s okay,” Gabbie said. “I think we have things pretty well in hand now. It was difficult at first, but Nancy is nice and cheerful so that helps a lot.”

  “Oh, that’s great. That’s great.” Hilde heaved a sigh of relief.

  Gabbie thought about it for a minute and then turned to Ilsa. “I’m not helping Nancy over the weekend, Ilsa. Why don’t we go for a picnic in the afternoon tomorrow?”

  Ilsa’s eyes lighted up. “That would be great fun,” she said. “I can get a few things from here, and we can go out to the fields.”

  “The wildflowers are just coming into bloom out there, too,” Gabbie said. “It looks so pretty in the fields already.”

  Ilsa smiled brilliantly and reached over to catch Gabbie in a warm, one-armed hug. “I’m so glad. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a picnic.”

  “Me too,” Gabbie said.

  Chapter 35

  Gabbie’s morning had been chaotic. She was helping out at home and had finally gotten permission from her mother to go on the picnic with Ilsa. She dare not tell her mother that it had already been arranged. Her mother let her take one of the family buggies. Gabbie was pleased to hitch the buggy and take it out by herself, which was something she was rarely allowed to do.

  As Gabbie pulled up outside Ilsa’s house, she noticed Ilsa sitting on the porch with a large basket beside her. Ilsa waved, carried the basket over, and placed it in the buggy.

  “Am I late?” Gabbie asked.

  “Nee, I was ready early, so thought I’d wait for you.”

  “Phew. That’s good. I had a little trouble getting away today. I think Mamm's missed me because I’ve spent so much time at Nancy’s house.”

  “I’m excited to get out like this. I haven’t been on a picnic in ages.”

  Gabbie resisted the urge to ask Ilsa if she had been on a picnic with Joseph. She’d find out soon enough about their relationship if all went according to plan on the picnic.

  “I never thought you’d want to spend time with me,” Ilsa said.

  Gabbie leaned forward and blinked rapidly. “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know. You always seemed like you didn’t like me, that’s all. We never really talked, and you wouldn’t come over for dinner when my mudder invited you.” She had spoken slowly, with a wary glance at Gabbie.

  “What? Nee,�
� Gabbie cried. “Nee, it’s not like that at all. I mean, I used to be rude and mean, but I’m trying not to be. Not any more. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings before. I’m doing my best to change and become a new person.”

  Ilsa smiled. “Nee, it’s okay. I understand. I’m just glad that you don’t completely hate me, that’s all.”

  “I never hated you!”

  “It was hard to tell for a while, Gabbie.” Ilsa’s smile faltered. “But maybe I’m just worried.”

  “You don’t need to be,” Gabbie reassured her and reached over to touch her shoulder. “Besides, we’re going to have the best picnic ever. Maybe we’ll even find some wild blueberries out here.”

  “Maybe!”

  Once they found a good spot to tie up the horse, they took the long and winding path to get to the old oak in the middle of the fields. The grass was tall and lush, and it whispered as they passed through.

  “Who’s that?” Ilsa asked, looking into the distance.

  Gabbie squinted and shaded her eyes. “I think that might be Stephen Horst,” she said. “It looks like him, doesn’t it?”

  Ilsa took her turn at squinting, and said, “Jah, it’s the new boy, Stephen.”

  “He’s not that new. His familye has been here for just over a year.” Gabbie raised an arm and waved the young man over. “Stephen!”

  It was impossible not to see how cheerful Ilsa was. She was smiling so hard that she had dimples in her cheeks, and her eyes were brighter than Gabbie had ever seen. Gabbie looked from Ilsa to Stephen and back again. Ilsa had a blush of color on her cheeks.

  “How are you?” Ilsa bounced on the balls of her feet. “We’re just going on a little picnic out by the old oak tree.”

  “I’m fair enough,” Stephen said, with a cheery face. “Just on my way to pick up some eggs for my mudder from the Jones’s. They said they have more than they know what to do with, and my mudder likes to have a gut supply of eggs.”

  Ilsa giggled. Gabbie laughed to be polite, but her thoughts were already clicking, figuring out how she could turn the unexpected meeting to her advantage.

  “Stephen, did you want to sit with us for a while?” Gabbie asked with a sidelong look at Ilsa.

  Ilsa’s eyes widened, and she looked back at him, all but breathless awaiting his answer.

  “I wish I could,” he said. “But I really ought to go get those eggs and get them back home. Maybe, if you’re still out here, I could join you later?”

  From the way he looked at Ilsa, Gabbie was almost certain he would come back.

  “Well, we’ll hope to see you later then,” Gabbie said, and continued walking toward the tree. Ilsa remained and talked to Stephen. Gabbie glanced over a shoulder at the two, and could tell that something was there. It was enough to bring a warm fuzzy feeling to Gabbie’s heart. If Ilsa liked Stephen as much as she appeared to, then she might like him enough to call off her engagement to Joseph.

  Gabbie got a few paces farther before she stopped, and turned to call, “If I get to the oak before you, I’m going to eat all of the sweet bread.”

  That got Ilsa moving, and she ended her conversation with Stephen. Gabbie noticed that the conversation ended with a laugh, and a mutual flashing of smiles. Stephen moved on, but Gabbie caught him looking back at Ilsa.

  Good, Gabbie thought. Very good. And while Ilsa and Gabbie talked about life and everything else, the gears of Gabbie’s mind hatched a plot. The scheming had only just begun.

  The night of the picnic with Ilsa, Gabbie fell into bed with newfound satisfaction. Since she’d come back home from Lancaster, she had felt like she was unneeded and even unwanted at times. There was no doubt that most nights she fell asleep with sad thoughts on her mind.

  The experience with Nancy had helped fight those feelings, but it wasn’t until she’d hatched her new plan that she began to feel like her old self. She knew that nothing was a coincidence, and it hadn't been a coincidence when she and Ilsa ran into Stephen on their way to their picnic.

  Gabbie knew that there was a spark between Ilsa and Stephen, and Gabbie understood why her friend felt that way. It was easy to recognize that she had the same reaction whenever she bumped into Joseph; her cheeks blushed and her hands always forced the movement to intertwine her fingers.

  Gabbie’s thoughts crowded in on her until she drifted off to sleep with the end result clear in her mind’s eye. She would marry Joseph, and Ilsa would marry Stephen. Tomorrow, she would start phase one of her plan.

  When morning came, Gabbie sprang out of bed, ready to take the sunshine in. Everything seemed more beautiful. The moist, green grass welcomed the sun, and the fresh morning air made everything seem as though anything was possible. Gabbie was too excited to stay lying on the bed. She took advantage of the hour to shower and brush her teeth. She arrived in the kitchen nice and early to help her mother with the morning task of bread baking.

  Her mother looked up in shock. “Well, that’s new,” she said, and greeted her only daughter with a smile. The table was soon filled with fresh, oven-baked bread. Gabbie’s father came through the back door with a bucket of fresh milk. The kitchen was soon filled with Gabbie’s brothers, who were always ready to devour everything that was set before them. When the family was done eating, a rush of energy filled Gabbie’s body. Now for her plan.

  After the breakfast clean up had been done, Gabbie called for her mother. “Mamm, I was thinking; Ilsa and I enjoyed a picnic yesterday, and I know there’s a new familye in the community. Anyway, I got to thinking I should be friendly to the Horst family, and I wondered if you would mind if I invited the oldest boy for dinner one night, along with Ilsa? Would that be all right with you and Dat?”

  “That’s a wunderbaar idea, Gabbie. I’m sure your vadder would be agreeable to having some young people to dinner.”

  Her plan worked. “Denke, Mamm.” Gabbie kissed her on the cheek.

  “Oh, and I forgot to tell you that we just heard that Martha Yoder’s getting married.”

  Pain stabbed at Gabbie’s heart. “To Michael?”

  “Jah, that was his name. I suppose you met him while you were there.”

  “I did.”

  “Your vadder and I discussed it and we’ll send you back for the wedding.”

  Gabbie shook her head. “That’s kind, Mamm, but I’d rather stay here. I’ll write to Martha tonight and tell her how pleased I am for her.”

  “Very well.”

  * * *

  As Gabbie wrote the letter, she remembered the worst thing she’d done in her life. Poor Amy! She had to put things right and confess to Andrew what she had done.

  Chapter 36

  Martha Yoder and Michael Glick stood before the bishop and were pronounced married. Amy watched, pleased for her sister, but where was Andrew right now? What was he doing and who was he with? Had he heard the news her younger sister was getting married and did that make him remember what they once had?

  During the meal, Amy had a chance to wander around talking to people she hadn’t seen in a long time. That was, until her mother asked her to take Micah. Micah had begun to cry, and Amy knew walking soothed him. She patted him on the back while she walked to the edge of her parents’ land.

  “Amy.”

  Amy knew that voice. Her heart nearly stopped beating as she swung around to see Andrew. Her mouth dropped open, and she wanted to run to him.

  His eyes fell to young Micah in her arms.

  Amy’s breath caught in her throat — he might think the child was hers. Was Micah going to ruin her life once again? Him coming into the world was the reason she’d had to leave Augusta and stay at home once she arrived.

  “I see you’ve been busy.”

  “Nee, he’s not mine. I’m not married.”

  Andrew laughed. “I know. I’ve talked to your vadder.”

  Immediately, she relaxed. “What are you doing here?”

  “Since you won’t come back to me, I thought I’d come to see you.”

&n
bsp; Amy sucked on her bottom lip. They’d hardly written to one another except at the start and then their letters dropped off. She had no idea what was on his mind. “You didn’t write to me much,” she said trying to keep the hurt from her voice.

  “You told me you’d return.”

  “Mamm wanted me to stay because she was feeling sick all the time with the new boppli coming. I had to look after the familye, that’s why I couldn’t come back.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me that? I didn’t know what to think.”

  “I thought you might’ve lost interest. You had said you were worried about me being so much younger.”

  Micah started crying again.

  “Can we go somewhere to talk?” Andrew said.

  “Stay here. I’ll give Micah to my schweschder. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Amy’s heart beat hard and fast. Andrew was the man she wanted and no one else. She walked back toward him after she’d handed Micah to Rose. She blew out a deep breath in an effort to calm herself.

  He smiled as she walked toward him, and when she reached him, he said, “It’s so good to see you again.”

  “How did you know to come here?” Amy looked around them. “Did you get my letter?”

  “I didn’t. Didn’t Gabbie talk to you about that?”

  “Nee. What about it?”

  “I’ll leave Gabbie to tell you. She called me and told me some things and when I heard your schweschder was getting married, I thought I should visit.”

  Amy screwed up her face. “What did Gabbie say?”

  “She said you were very upset you weren’t allowed to return. And good thing she did because that’s something you never told me. When Gabbie got home, she said no one was courting you, and she suggested I come to the wedding.”

  Amy giggled. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Let’s walk.”

  Amy looked over her shoulder at the crowd. She’d fulfilled her duties as an attendant, and nothing required her to be any place in particular. “Okay.”