The Stone Wall

by Beverly Lewis

“That’s what I meant.”

  They shared a laugh, and then she asked about last Saturday’s volleyball tournaments, which Mart had mentioned to her last week.

  Mart brightened, clearly pleased as he described a few of the sets. “I wish you could have been there. Some were definite nail-biters.”

  “Were Austin and Charlotte part of it?” she asked.

  “Yes, and they’re both quite good. In the end, our church’s team squeaked out a win for the championship,” he told her, putting his thumbs up. Then he glanced at his watch and said he had to get ready to meet a family coming in from New Jersey.

  Anna nodded as he excused himself and headed out to meet his clients. She decided that this weekend might be a good time to return to Mifflinburg for a visit, since Mart hadn’t said anything about going out with the group again.

  I’ll leave right after my morning at Peaceful Meadows.

  The week sped by, and on Friday, Anna helped Sadie clean house. Afterward, they made more of the inlaid fabric cards.

  While they worked, Anna shared quietly that Mart hadn’t invited her to do anything this weekend. “I guess it shouldn’t bother me, since it’s not like we’re dating. But I’d kind of hoped he would.”

  Sadie seemed to take her words to heart. “I believe he’ll ask ya out again, Anna.”

  She nodded slowly, thinking how caring it was of Sadie to be so optimistic.

  “So, are you still planning to go home for the night tomorrow after working at the retreat?” Sadie asked.

  Anna said she was and that she was looking forward to seeing her family again. “I especially want to see Mammi Eliza. I’m worried that if she slips further away mentally, I’ll wish I’d visited her more.”

  “Well, who could blame ya? I feel the same about Eva.” Sadie went on to say that, lately, Eva was sleeping a lot more. “She’s fatigued even after she wakes up from a nap.”

  “Does she sleep through the night, do you know?”

  “Molly keeps an ear out for her . . . says she’s restless. I think they’re both sleep deprived, sad to say.”

  Anna wondered if Mammi was experiencing anything similar, though Wanita hadn’t mentioned it.

  “Low energy is also a symptom of dementia,” Sadie said with a sigh. “Eva’s doctor told Molly this recently.”

  Anna listened for a moment and then put in, “And in the later stages, people suffering with this don’t always realize that anything is wrong.” She felt truly sorry for Eva . . . and for Molly and Sadie.

  “After we make these last two cards, I need to go an’ check for messages at the phone shed,” Sadie said.

  “And while you do that, I’ll make supper.”

  A smile spread across Sadie’s wrinkled face. “You’ve been wanting to do that since ya got here, ain’t so?”

  Anna nodded. “And how about tonight?”

  Sadie just looked at her and tilted her head. “Why don’t we cook up somethin’ together?”

  Anna grinned. “Like you always say.”

  “It’s more fun thataway, jah?”

  Anna couldn’t disagree. “Okay, you win.” She laughed. “Again.”

  Saturday morning at Peaceful Meadows, Anna helped Emmie with the basic grooming, talking softly to Promise, and working closely with the little girl as she moved the curry brush in circular motions. Anna glanced at the sweet girl, whose tiny fingers clutched the small brush as she pressed her lips firmly together.

  “Promise is glad to see you, Emmie,” she said softly. “Can you say his name today? Can you say Pro . . . mise?”

  Looking away, Emmie remained silent and worked with the brush, leaning closer now to the pony.

  Gabe soon came around to the left side to lift Emmie up onto the saddle—standard mounting procedure, as Anna knew from all her years working with ponies.

  Anna took her own position on the right side, helping to guide Emmie’s foot into the small stirrup, just as she had last Saturday, talking softly to the small girl all the while.

  Gabe patted Emmie’s shoulder gently before he left to assist another young rider. Soon, Dottie came over and stood at Promise’s left flank as they waited for the leader. Anna assumed it might be Gabe again, but it turned out to be Katie Blank, who petted Promise’s nose and greeted Anna and Dottie before smiling up at Emmie. “Are ya ready to ride?”

  Instantly, Emmie reached to hold on to the horn of the saddle, swaying slightly forward and back with her whole body.

  Looking up at Emmie, Dottie asked, “Can you tell Promise to go forward?”

  Again, Emmie was silent, but she continued to rock gently, as she had done before when sitting in the saddle.

  Once Katie was ready to lead, she counted, “Eener, zwee, drei . . . geh!”

  Playing a small part in this parade-like movement of horses, riders, and volunteers toward the round pen gave Anna goose pimples of happiness. As she had done last week, she kept a firm hold on Emmie’s right leg and arm, aware of how very small boned she was. So tiny for a five-year-old, Anna thought, recalling her youngest nephews and nieces back in Mifflinburg at this age. Suddenly, she felt even more eager to see her family again.

  Will Dat and Mamm have a more accepting view of Old Order Amish, once I tell them about my work here at Peaceful Meadows? she wondered, but she wasn’t holding her breath.

  During Anna’s drive to Mifflinburg, she was glad to be traveling on a Saturday. Considering that summer was officially upon them, there were quite a number of tourists out and about, but as she passed the exit for Hershey and headed toward Harrisburg, the traffic seemed noticeably less than it might be on a weekday.

  As was her way, Anna prayed as she drove, offering praise to her heavenly Father for every blessing. She also prayed about Mart, giving their friendship to God, determined not to be discouraged that he hadn’t asked her out on a real date yet.

  Upon her arrival home, Anna hurried inside and noticed the basement door standing open. “Mamm, I’m home!” she called, then made her way down the steps to see her mother standing in front of the A-L section of the shelves of alphabetized canning jars, counting quarts of chow chow.

  “My dear girl!” Mamm said, turning to cup her hands around Anna’s face. “You’ve been gone, what, a month?”

  Anna nodded. “Seems longer, I know.”

  “Well, it’s wonderful to see you again!” Mamm beamed. “Are you hungry?”

  “I snacked on the way,” she reassured her, having assumed that her mother would ask the minute she stepped inside the house. All the womenfolk she knew were like that. Including Sadie, Anna thought. Always wanting to offer food . . .

  They headed upstairs to the kitchen, where they spotted Dat coming up the back walkway. Anna went to meet him, and he went with her to the car to retrieve her bag from the trunk.

  “Mighty good to have you home, daughter.”

  “Gut to be back.”

  They ambled up toward the house. “I understand you’ve been volunteering at a horse retreat for the disabled,” Dat said. It made her smile to see he’d worn his best straw hat with his work overalls.

  “Yes, and I can’t tell you how much I enjoy it. They’re all such wonderful people.” She went on to describe how organized the volunteers were, thanks to Gabe’s management. “Gabe Allgyer is the nephew of the owner, and he has a knack for making the young riders feel comfortable . . . works well with the volunteers, too.”

  “And,” Dat said, “you’re one of those volunteers.”

  “Yes, and the children are so dear. Many of them don’t say much, but they still appear to take joy from their riding experience.”

  Inside, Mamm had set out fruit for the table—oranges, apples, and bananas—even though Anna had said she wasn’t hungry. Just like Mamm to do that, Anna thought as she went to sit at the table with her while Dat carried her bag upstairs.

  “Surely you have room to nibble on an orange or apple,” Mamm said, moving the fruit bowl closer to her.

  “It w
ould make you happy, right?” Anna laughed, reached for a banana, and began to remove the peel. “It won’t be too much longer, and we’ll be sitting down to supper.” Anna sniffed the air, glad to be back. “You must be baking my favorite meatloaf.”

  Mamm nodded, grinning. “I put it in the oven before you came.” She glanced at her wristwatch. “Your father wanted to eat earlier than usual, so we’ll all be ready again for dessert. We’re having peanut-butter dream bars when your eldest brother arrives.”

  “Wayne’s coming over?” It had been a while since Anna had seen him, his wife, Cindy, and their three younger children, all school age now.

  “And Cindy’s bringing the dessert,” Mamm said, eyes shining.

  “Oh, this will be so nice!” A little like Christmas, Anna thought.

  ———

  In her old room, Anna unpacked for the night, leaving some things in her small suitcase. Looking around, she was reminded of the contrast between this very familiar room and the one where she was staying at Glen and Sadie’s. Her bedroom here was about the same size, but since so many of her personal items had been moved to Strasburg, it felt deserted and lifeless.

  She looked out the window and took in the large backyard and the long rope swing on the tree nearest the house. Dat had put it up for Wayne and the other boys long before Wanita and Anna were born. Her gaze traveled to the clearing just before the woods that she loved so, its path nearly grown over with grass and weeds now.

  Sighing, she went to sit in her cozy tan chair with its matching hassock and put up her feet, continuing to make comparisons as she looked around the room. I’ve managed to make the adjustment to living without electricity in a fairly short time, she realized with a glance at the pretty electric lamp on the dresser and the reading lamp on the small table near her bed.

  To think I expected it to be so hard . . .

  Chapter 26

  Sadie had invited both Molly and Eva for supper, and they’d arrived early, which was quite all right, considering it had been some time since Eva had gotten out of the house. We’ll have more time with her this way, Sadie thought as Glen helped Eva up the few porch steps and offered his favorite rocking chair, with its padded seat. He began talking with her while Sadie and Molly headed indoors.

  Molly sat down at the table with a great sigh, her eyes pink.

  “What’s a-matter?” Sadie asked, going over to sit with her.

  Tears welling up, Molly began to pour out her woes, her lower lip quivering as she struggled not to cry. “All the way here, Mamma wanted to know why we were leavin’ the house. ‘Why are ya taking me away?’ she kept saying.”

  “This is awful hard on you, dear.” Sadie reached for her niece’s hand and squeezed it gently.

  “The worst of it was . . . she wanted to know where I had taken her daughter. Me.” Molly’s eyes glistened as she brushed tears away. “It’s becomin’ so difficult to do this alone, Aendi Sadie. I could use more help—anyone in the family who can spare some extra time.”

  “We’ll talk ’bout that while you’re here.” Sadie encouraged her to breathe deeply and to enjoy these moments while Glen was occupying Eva’s attention just now. “And Anna’s gone, so maybe you’d like to go in and stretch out on her bed.”

  “Are ya sure?” Molly was sniffling.

  “I can see you’re all in. Help yourself.”

  Molly was up in a jiffy, thanking her. “I really needed to get out of the house today. Denki, Aendi!”

  “Have yourself a gut long rest.” Sadie watched her go, her heart breaking.

  She could hear Glen out there reading the newspaper to Eva now. Poor man, he’s probably run out of things to say.

  Anna’s sister-in-law Cindy called to Anna as Wayne and their sons—Henry, ten, and Alan, eight—and their youngest child, Gracie, age six, made their way up the porch steps and into the house.

  Going to meet them, Anna talked first with Cindy, eyeing her pan of peanut-butter dream bars through the plastic cover. “You’ve been busy today, jah?” she said.

  Anna then greeted Wayne, saying it was really nice to see them again.

  Wayne grinned and removed his straw hat. “Guess ya had to leave town so you’d miss us.”

  Laughing, Anna nodded. “You’ve always been the biggest tease in the family,” she said, patting young Alan’s shoulder and taking his little straw hat when he handed it to her. She gave it to Henry, who went to hang it, as well as his own and his father’s, on the row of wooden pegs.

  Cindy smiled. “He certainly is.” She carried the pan over to the counter and placed it there, removing the covering. “But in Wayne’s defense, it was his idea for me to make these bars.” She glanced at her husband.

  “I take all responsibility for the satisfaction of your taste buds, Anna.” Wayne chuckled and smacked his lips.

  Anna went over to squeeze little Gracie, who whispered that she was starting school next month. “First grade,” she said with a grin, one of her upper front teeth missing.

  “Already?” Anna acted surprised.

  Gracie nodded her head and glanced at her parents with big eyes.

  “She can hardly wait,” Cindy said as Anna’s mother removed a stack of dessert plates from the cupboard over the sink.

  “I’d rather play for longer,” Henry said, going over to plop down at the table. “Summer’s too short.” He leaned his elbows on the tabletop and dramatically rested his blond head in his hands.

  “Now, son,” Wayne said, “there’s plenty of summer left.”

  Henry turned to look out the window. “Can us kids sit outside to eat Mamma’s dessert?”

  Wayne gave him a look. “Be polite.”

  Anna wondered how long before Henry, who was known to push the limits, would ask this again, even though the children were expected to stick around to visit with family.

  “It is awful hot in here,” Dat said. “Why don’t we all just go outside and eat?”

  Henry hopped up from the bench and began to hurry over to the counter to get his dessert, but Wayne whispered something in his ear. With a sheepish expression, Henry stepped back to let Anna’s father and Wayne be first instead.

  When they were all outside on the big porch, Anna was reminded of all the many family gatherings here and under the towering backyard trees. She slowly ate Cindy’s scrumptious dessert, savoring every bite. Once the boys had devoured their own desserts, she watched Henry and Alan take turns on the rope swing. Little Gracie, meanwhile, was sitting on the porch steps, playing with a doll she’d brought from home, talking to it quietly but glancing up every now and then toward the boys like she hoped to have a turn on the swing, too, eventually.

  In time, Henry and Alan headed out to the stable with Wayne and Dat, and Gracie quickly claimed the swing, now sitting with her dolly on her lap as she swayed back and forth.

  Anna listened as Cindy talked about their four older children—two close-in-age sons who were in Big Valley for the summer working on Wayne’s uncle’s farm, and their two older daughters, both of whom were skilled seamstresses.

  Soon, the conversation turned to Mammi Eliza, and Cindy mentioned she’d talked with Wanita just this morning. “Evidently something strange happened last night.”

  Mamm frowned. “Everything all right?”

  Cindy assured her that it was nothing to worry about. “I guess Mammi Eliza just said something about needing to get to a stone wall. She seemed real insistent.”

  Anna perked up her ears. “She said that?”

  Cindy nodded. “Wanita said Mammi kept repeatin’ it while rockin’ in her chair, awful anxious.”

  Mamm sighed. “She’s terribly confused.”

  “What do you think she meant by it?” Anna asked.

  “Wanita couldn’t get Mammi to say anything more than that.” Cindy shook her head. “It was downright peculiar. Usually she doesn’t fix her mind on things like that.”

  “True.” Anna was intrigued. It’s no coincidence, she decided.r />
  Glancing at the day clock, Sadie realized that Molly had been sleeping for an hour. Not wanting to disturb her, she stood at the back screen door, where she could see Glen reading now to himself while Eva napped, her double chin resting on her chest, her mouth crumpled closed.

  Sadie stepped outside and motioned for her husband. “Do you think we should wait on supper?” she asked, explaining that Molly was sound asleep in Anna’s room.

  Glen headed inside with her and looked at the clock. “Well, it’s already suppertime.”

  Nodding, Sadie said she could wait another half hour, if he could.

  “S’pose so,” he said quietly, looking out the door at Eva, still dozing. “She wasn’t makin’ much sense today. It’s hard to see her like this.”

  Sadie recalled her time on the porch with them earlier, before coming in to put the finishing touches on supper. “We really ought to get more help for Molly than just one day off each week,” she suggested. “Molly brought up that she’s really strugglin’. Poor thing’s tuckered out.”

  Glen touched her elbow. “Well, you can’t keep adding things to your day, dear.”

  He means at my age, she thought.

  A smile crept across his bearded face, and he reached for her hand. “We’ll get more help for Molly. I’ll spread the word to the family.”

  Sadie looked into his dear face, her heart swelling with love.

  Sunday afternoon, Anna took Mamm with her to Wanita’s. On the drive over, Anna mentioned that she hoped her most recent visits with Mammi Eliza hadn’t caused any anxiety. “You know, because she seems to connect me with Strasburg now.”

  “I don’t think you should be concerned about that,” Mamm said, clutching her purse in the front passenger seat. “I really don’t.”

  “Well, she’s been talking about a stone wall ever since I first said I was going to Strasburg. And it seems like it might have upset her.”

  Her mother nodded. “True, but according to the doctor, her failing memory has more to do with the progression of the disease than anything we say to her. At this point, the way she remembers personal experiences might just be faulty.”