“Yah, it is…” one of them said. They all smiled back at her, obviously thinking nothing strange about Enos being here to talk to their teacher. And that’s how it would stay. She would change what needed changing at school, but she would never shut her heart to Ben again.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Katie paced the kitchen floor, the late-afternoon sunlight flooding through the window. Now she was the one distraught while Mabel sat as calm as a cucumber at the kitchen table. Well, Katie decided, at least she wasn’t shrieking like Mabel had been this morning—though she felt like doing so.
“Norman is bringing Mahlon Bontrager over here? Tonight? To speak with me? How did you finagle that so fast?”
Mabel looked quite pleased with herself. “I went to speak with Norman right after you left this morning. It’s the only way, Katie. Someone has to talk sense into your head. And Norman agrees that you are savable, so he’s making the effort.”
Now she was going to shriek and screech all at the same time. Norman thought she was savable? From what? From the wreck he’d help make of her life? Was he trying to make himself feel better? Likely he was so full of himself he couldn’t see straight. Helping her out—after what he had done? Right.
Katie calmed herself down. “I don’t need any help, Mabel. I’m doing just fine.”
“Is she?” Mabel asked, sending a contemptuous look in Mamm’s direction.
Mamm sputtered, “Ah…well…I’m still trying to think this all through.”
“There’s nothing to think through!” Mabel turned up her nose. “Katie doesn’t know how to run her own life, and so we’re trying to help.”
Katie couldn’t hold the words in any longer. “You steal my boyfriend out from under my nose. You let him spread rumors all over the community that aren’t true. Now you’re getting ready to marry a man who has a terrible temper. You’re as blind as a bat about his problem. And you wonder why I don’t trust you?”
“See?” Mabel shrugged. “What did I tell you? You’re all messed up inside, Katie. And bitter too. No wonder you go sneaking around with that no-good Ben Stoll. You wouldn’t know a good thing if it ran smack into your face.”
“Girls, please!” Mamm begged. “None of this is Christian talk at all. You are to love each other even as you disagree. And say what’s needed with kind words, okay?”
“At least I’m not yelling,” Katie defended herself.
Mabel was glaring at her now, and Katie muttered. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t necessary.”
“Okay.” Mabel took a deep breath. “So why don’t you stop fighting what’s best for you, Katie? Norman’s coming right after supper, and he’ll have Mahlon with him. Beyond that no one can help you but yourself.”
Katie couldn’t keep the words back. “And will the good man have his marriage proposal with him? Is this what this is about?”
Mabel huffed. “Don’t turn smart aleck on me now, Katie. Mahlon doesn’t know why he’s here. Other than he thinks it’s to talk about the wedding. But we want you to see him up close. Then we think you’ll change your mind. All you have to say is that you’ll see him again at the wedding. Just be thankful we’re trying to help, Katie. You should be thankful I’ve relented and allowed you back in my wedding at all!”
“I’ve never seen the likes of this. I’m not talking to the man.” Katie stood by the kitchen window, both feet planted firmly on the floor.
“Yes, you will.” Mabel’s eyes blazed. “You won’t make a fool out of me like that.”
Katie glared back.
“You will talk to him. Won’t she, Mamm?” Mabel said, turning around for reinforcement.
“I think you should,” Mamm said. “It can’t do any harm to speak to him.”
Mamm was still grasping for straws, and Katie knew she should at least cooperate. If for no other reason than keeping a peaceful atmosphere around the house. “I’ll speak with him, but it won’t change anything.”
Mabel looked triumphant. “Just forget about Ben for one night, Katie. And your bitterness. You’ll see clearly what a great opportunity this is. I’m sure you’ll drop Ben by the time Mahlon leaves.”
Katie shut her mouth tightly and turned to go up to her room. She took her time going up the stairs. Not only did she need to collect herself, but she knew some of the bitter feelings needed to go. Harboring such things, even with how nasty Mabel was acting, was no excuse. She would explain the situation to Ben when she saw him the next time. He would understand. Their love had already weathered so much, it could also handle this, hard though it might be. Oh, how she wanted to fly into his arms this very moment and bury her head in his chest. How comforting that would be. Already the memory of being with him seemed distant, though she’d seen him only yesterday. Would Ben come visit soon? He hadn’t said when, only that he would come. That’s what she would think about tonight while speaking with Mahlon. And if her face turned red, he would probably take it as a compliment even as she explained that there never would be a serious relationship between them—if Mahlon even brought the subject up. Likely he was ignorant of Norman and Mabel’s scheming.
Changing into her everyday dress, Katie went back down to the kitchen. Mamm was busy with the food, but Mabel was nowhere in sight.
“May I help with something?” Katie asked.
“The soup needs preparing.” Mamm motioned toward a pile of vegetables on the table. “The recipe’s on the third page.”
Carolyn came in to help soon after that, but Mabel didn’t make an appearance until just before the men came in from the barn. She was dressed in her Sunday best, which provoked an immediate reaction from Leroy. “What’s all the lavishness about?”
“I just have on my usual dress I wear when Norman visits,” Mabel shot his way.
Leroy looked perplexed. “The wedding’s not yet, for crying out loud.”
“You’re all so confused,” Mabel said. “Don’t even try to straighten out that muddled head of yours.”
Leroy huffed. “Is it me or has Mabel turned into a crabapple lately?”
“It’s the wedding,” Willis said, as if marriage explained all of life’s woes.
“Norman and Mahlon are coming to talk about the wedding plans tonight,” Mamm said.
Leroy and Willis looked even more perplexed as everyone sat down at the table. Jesse led out in prayer. With the “amen” spoken, food became the focus, and platters were passed around at a rapid pace.
“So why is Mahlon coming over?” Willis brought the subject up with Katie as they walked into the living room for the evening devotions.
“You wouldn’t believe it,” Katie said, which drew a glare from Mabel. Katie wanted to say more, but that would only create additional conflict.
“Why are you in your everyday dress,” Willis asked, giving her a quick glance, “while Mabel’s in her best outfit?”
“Because Mabel’s getting married, and I’m not.”
Mabel glared again, and Katie shut up. It was useless anyway.
Jesse cleared his throat, and everyone fell silent. He began reading, “I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice…”
Katie listened to the words of Psalm 9. They were gut words for her tonight. She had so much to praise Da Hah for. Truly, how great was Da Hah even when enemies gathered around, just like the psalmist was saying. She felt like that—surrounded by enemies. But this, of course, wasn’t true, she corrected. Mabel and Norman and even Enos were doing what they felt was the best for her, wrong though they were. Da Hah’s hand would see her through this. And the love in her heart for Ben would survive…and his love for her.
Jesse had just finished reading when Norman’s buggy could be heard coming down the lane.
“He can wait,” Jesse said. Kneeling, they prayed even as footsteps sounded on the front porch. Norman must have seen what they were doing through the living room window because he didn’t knock until after they had all
risen to their feet.
Mabel raced to the door, opened it, and rushed outside.
Katie couldn’t hear the conversation, but Mabel soon stuck her head back in the doorway and motioned for Katie to come out.
Katie had her plan ready. It had come to her while Jesse was praying. This situation wasn’t Mahlon’s fault, and she should be nice to him. He probably didn’t even know what was going on.
Mabel was all smiles when Katie stepped outside. “Norman and I have some plans to make, so if the two of you would sit on the porch swing, we’ll be back before long.” Mabel didn’t wait for an answer as she led Norman through the front door with a gentle tug on his hand.
“Hi!” Katie greeted them, giving Mahlon a warm smile.
He turned quite red.
“Do you want to sit on the swing?”
“Ah, yah, I suppose,” Mahlon said.
Katie sat on the swing as Mahlon also found his seat.
“So how was your day?” Katie asked.
Mahlon hesitated. “Okay, I guess. I worked on the farm.”
“Is your fall plowing done? I’ve heard you’re pretty industrious. I figure you’re one of those early ones, you know, someone who always gets things in on time. My guess is you never get your hay cutting rained on now, do you?”
Mahlon turned red again. “I…well…I…I mean…well, that’s a little much to say, really. I’m not that gut a farmer. But I do try to get things done on time.”
The poor man was way out of his depths, Katie thought. Mabel was meaner than she’d even imagined.
Katie kept smiling. “Now don’t be modest, Mahlon. You’ve got all your fall plowing done, don’t you?”
He finally grinned. “Yah, I finished last week.”
“And how many hay cuttings have you had rained on this year?”
Mahlon didn’t hesitate now. “None. But that might have been an accident…or the blessing of Da Hah. I pray hard about such things.”
Katie nodded. “I suppose all farmers do. I expect Jesse does, and Leroy and Willis. Farming keeps one close to Da Hah through prayer.”
Mahlon showed a greater interest now. “Did you grow up on a farm?”
Katie shrugged. “I don’t know if you’d call it a farm. Mamm had five acres or so left by the time I was old enough to help with the chores. We kept two cows, but it wasn’t really farming.”
Mahlon smiled gently. “Your daett died when you were young, didn’t he?”
“Yah,” Katie replied. Did Mahlon remember her as “Emma Raber’s odd daughter”? she wondered. Likely not. He probably had others things on his mind back in those days.
Mahlon was gazing across Jesse’s fields. “I’ve always been on a farm, from little on up. I don’t know any other way of earning a living. Lydia was born on a farm too. Lots of acreage. Her daett’s one of the best farmers around. Sort of in our families on both sides, I guess. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“She was your wife, yah? You still miss her a lot, don’t you?” Katie reached over to give Mahlon’s hand a quick squeeze.
Tears sprang to Mahlon’s eyes. “More than I can ever say. I didn’t know how much I loved her until she was gone. But I guess it’s always that way. And now I’m left wishing I had loved her better. Lydia deserved so much more than anything I ever did for her.”
Katie touched his hand again. “But she’s in the arms of Da Hah now. Don’t blame yourself, Mahlon. We all do the best we can.”
He wiped his eyes. “We always wanted children, but I suppose that wasn’t Da Hah’s will either. It was related to her illness, it turned out. Those were short years we had together. All of them are treasured greatly in my mind.”
“I’m sure they are.” Katie gave his hand another quick squeeze. Mahlon was a nice man. Perhaps some gut could come out of their time together in spite of Mabel. They spoke on into the evening—about Mahlon’s farm, the corn harvest, the coming silo filling.
Finally Mabel and Norman appeared at the front door. She took in the two of them chatting away, and her smile grew broad. “Well, Norman’s ready to go. I see you two are getting along just fine.”
“Yah,” Katie said, giving Mahlon another warm smile. Let Mabel draw the wrong conclusion.
“Then let’s go,” Norman said, leading the way off the porch.
“Now that was easy, wasn’t it?” Mabel smiled at Katie while the two men were climbing into the buggy.
“It’s not what you think,” Katie replied. Then she turned and headed inside and up the stairs for bed.
Chapter Twenty-Five
On Thursday afternoon of that same week, after school had been dismissed, Katie sat behind her desk as the clock on the wall ticked the minutes away. Had she done the right thing today? The question wouldn’t stop whirling in her mind. Noah Stoll, Ben’s brother, had been caught cheating. He’d been copying answers from Abram Kuntz’s arithmetic book. At least that’s what Abram claimed when he ran in to report the infraction during the first recess. Abram said he’d spotted Noah peering over his shoulder and writing down the correct answers immediately afterward. This was a charge that sounded perfectly possible, since the temptation could be strong for those pupils struggling with arithmetic.
Her first inclination was to believe Abram, until she thought of the fact that Noah had never shown any signs of cheating before. Nor was he having a hard time learning the arithmetic they were studying. Noah could work out the early introduction problems in fractions blindfolded. In fact, she’d caught herself thinking just yesterday of how proud she was that Noah came from such a smart family. The thought was very sinful, of course, and one she should never have entertained. She might be in love with Ben, but that was no excuse for such loose thinking.
In the end, she’d called in Noah from the playground for a quick conference at her desk. Noah had come in frowning at being interrupted from his precious minutes of playtime.
“Tell Noah what you told me,” Katie directed, while looking at the stony-faced Abram.
“I saw you looking over my shoulder and copying down arithmetic answers,” Abram accused.
Horror flashed over Noah’s face. “I did no such thing. I know how to do fractions better than you do.”
Abram shot back, “I saw what I saw! You were cheating.”
“I did not!” Noah declared.
Katie motioned to Noah. “Go get your tablet.”
He did, opening it to the last page full of fraction problems. Katie studied them. Several had been erased, so she flipped back several pages. The same pattern existed there. Noah must correct his answers frequently, which might be part of the reason he received such gut grades. Which could also be what Abram had noticed him doing. This was a trait that shouldn’t be reprimanded but praised.
Katie checked several more pages, finding the same pattern.
“He cheated!” Abram declared. “Didn’t he?”
“I’m afraid it’s not conclusive.” Katie closed the notebook. “I see no evidence to back up your claim, Abram.”
“Do you think I’m lying?” Abram’s face was red again.
“Nee, I think you might have been mistaken. I don’t think Noah was cheating. He often erases his answers and corrects them.”
Abram huffed. Apparently he wasn’t giving up so easily. “Then check my two answers where I saw him cheating, and see if they are the same.”
Katie shrugged. “That might work if you have the wrong answer. But if you both have the right ones, then they would be the same.”
Abram thought long and hard on that before going back to his seat. He returned with his notebook. “Check them anyway.”
Katie did, and the answers in both notebooks matched. They also matched the answer key. She showed both boys the matches. “See, this proves nothing. So I think we’d better just let it go. And from now on, Noah, don’t look over Abram’s shoulder during school time. Okay?”
Noah nodded and was gone, racing back toward the playground. Abram didn’t
move.
“You can go now,” Katie said, waving her hand toward the playground.
“It’s because he’s Ben Stoll’s brother,” Abram said. “That’s why you’re protecting him.”
Katie’s heart sank. She’d honestly not even considered that angle, but now it was out in the open staring at her. It wasn’t true, but such accusations didn’t have to be true to create trouble. They just had to look true. And now this looked very suspicious.
“It’s true, isn’t it?” Abram was obviously waiting for the answer he wanted.
Katie took a deep breath. “It is not, Abram. You are mistaken. And you are out of line saying such things to me. I won’t allow thoughts like that in my classroom. Do you understand?”
Abram glowered for a few moments before retreating to the playground. Nothing more was said all day nor would it be said tomorrow, Katie decided. At least not by Abram. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t tell his daett the story, and that might mean another visit from Enos. And then most of the community would hear the tale. People would cluck their tongues and shake their heads. If a teacher was capable of bringing an inappropriate book like Tom Sawyer to school, she might also play favorites regarding her former boyfriend’s brother. Yah, that’s what they would think, Katie decided. It would make perfect sense to them.
What a mess! And she had no one to blame but herself. Tom Sawyer was out of the schoolhouse and back in Willis’s hands. Following a brief explanation and apology to the students, she’d started reading aloud a “safe” book, one written by Christmas Carol Kauffman. But the damage had been done, and such a blunder wasn’t easily undone. To say nothing of the accusation that she was too easy on students who transgressed. Now this situation with Abram and Noah might add fuel to the fire.
And there was Mabel’s wrath that still had to be faced at home. She hadn’t said anything all week to anyone but Mamm about the visit from Norman and Mahlon on Monday night. Mabel assumed, no doubt from seeing how Katie had engaged Mahlon all evening in conversation, that her plan was working.
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