He chuckled and hugged her to himself. “I was praying you’d stay and if Gott answered my prayers then I told Him I would find the courage to ask you something. Will you marry me, Heidi?”
His words were blurted out and it wasn’t even a romantic moment. Heidi’s eyes filled with tears when she thought that Agnes would’ve liked a proposal like that. Now she realized she wasn’t only back where she belonged, she was going to get to live out all those precious moments she’d missed, both happy and sad. “I will marry you.”
“Do you really mean it?”
She nodded as she willed the tears not to fall. “I do.”
“And you’re not going to think of leaving—ever?”
“Never again.”
He chuckled. “I’m the happiest man in the world. That's the best Christmas gift ever.”
As they hugged again, she knew that all the success she’d worked so hard to achieve and all the money in the world paled in comparison to the riches she had with Derek and the community. These were riches that wouldn’t fade.
He jumped to his feet, reached over and picked up her bag and swung it over his shoulder, while she held on tight to her grandmother’s book.
“Before you take me home, I want to visit Dat.”
“He’s at your place where we just left him.”
Heidi laughed, remembering she still lived with her parents. She’d get to spend time with her father all over again. “Good.”
As she rode in the buggy next to Derek, he couldn’t stop talking and making plans for their future. He worked with his brother, Ben, in a dairy farm and thought he was going to do that forever, but Heidi knew he’d end up doing what he loved for a living.
“Your folks will be so pleased you changed your mind about going.”
“Jah, they will be.” She couldn’t wait to see her father again, and see the younger version of her mother.
“You go on ahead and I’ll be in soon,” Derek said as soon as they arrived.
Heidi jumped down from the buggy and burst into the house. Her parents were in the living room. Her father was reading his Amish newspaper and her mother was eating something. Both had teacups on a low table in front of them, by the backdrop of a crackling fire. “I’ve decided not to leave.”
She stared at her father and wanted to run and hug him, but they never did that in their family.
He simply nodded. “What made you change your mind?”
“I … I can’t say.”
Her mother smiled at her. “I’m so happy. I would’ve worried about you every single day.”
“Nee, we would’ve left you in Gott’s hands, Heidi,” her father said.
A knock sounded on the door. “That’s Derek. He drove me back. Come in, Derek.”
Derek walked in with her bag and Heidi took it from him and pulled out her grandmother’s book and handed it back to her father. “It was a very interesting book, Dat.”
“You read it?”
“All of it. And I read a lot of the recipes.”
“And you don’t want to keep it?” he asked.
Heidi shook her head. “Nee.”
He chuckled. “Perhaps you’ll want to give it to one of your kinner when they’re thinking about leaving the community?”
She stared at him open-mouthed. Did he know something about the book?
“You liked it?” her mother asked.
“Nee, I mean, jah, it was interesting.” She looked back at her father. “I want you to keep it here, Dat.”
“You’re giving it back to me?”
“That’s right.” Heidi stared at her father and he gave her a knowing smile. She didn’t want to risk keeping it in case it had something to do with her travels. Then she remembered she didn’t have it with her when she’d been hit by that car. She’d left it at the café.
“What’s in that book?” her mother asked looking between the two of them.
“It’s a kind of ‘travel’ book,” Heidi’s father told his wife.
It was then she wondered if her father had traveled across time somehow too. She looked around her childhood home; it was weird to be back.
“I’ll keep the book with me until you want to share it with the kinner you’ll have some day.”
“Who did she marry? Did Agnes marry Malachi, Dat?”
He chuckled. “That’s a complicated question. My father was Bruno King.”
“Oh. What happened to Malachi?”
“Who’s Malachi?” her mother asked, looking at her husband.
Heidi said, “A friend of Agnes, and by the way she talked about him I was hoping that they would end up marrying, that’s all.”
“My mudder did marry a man called Malachi Arnold.”
“She did?” She stared at her father.
“Jah.”
“What happened to him?”
“I’m being confusing. Malachi was my vadder, but I don’t remember him. He died when I was two, and when I was five, Mamm remarried. When I got older, I changed my name to King because he was the only vadder I ever knew.”
Heidi blinked back tears. “That’s so sad. He died?”
“He did.”
“She found love again, Heidi,” her mother said. It was just like her mother to disregard emotions. They were always hidden in their family.
“You knew all that, Mamm?” Heidi asked.
“Jah, I just didn’t know his name was Malachi. I knew your vadder’s real Dat died.”
“I’m so sad. He died so young.”
“He went to—”
“A better place, I know, but he didn’t get to see his son grow up.”
Her mother gasped and Heidi realized her mother thought she shouldn’t have said it for some reason. Heidi had always been out of step with her parents. “Sorry, Dat.”
“I would like to remember him, but I don’t. Bruno King treated me as his own right from the start.”
Heidi thought back to Agnes and how she’d gotten to know her well. She was going to say what was on her mind and they’d have to deal with it. “I feel like I know Agnes now from her diary, and I’m just so sad that she married Malachi and then he died.”
“There is another diary. More than one, come to think of it,” her father said.
That was such good news. “When she got back home, she wrote more?”
“Jah, when she married my vadder, Malachi.”
“She was just falling in love with him when she wrote that diary all about her travels. I’m sad they didn’t have a long and happy life together.”
“Jah, you said that already, more than once,” her mother said.
“Tomorrow is guaranteed to none of us, Heidi.”
Heidi stared at her father. She was sure she had read something like that in Agnes’s diary.
“Remember, it’s here for your kinner to read one day,” Dat looked at the diary that now sat atop the low table in front of the couch.
“Speaking of Heidi’s future kinner ….” Everyone looked at Derek, and then he said, “I have asked Heidi to marry me and she has agreed.”
Mrs. King gasped. “Is that why you came back, Heidi?”
“Maybe,” Heidi smiled and stared into Derek’s eyes.
Derek leaned over and said to Heidi, “I’m going to the bishop’s haus now and tell him you’ve agreed to marry me and let’s see how fast we can do this.”
Heidi nodded. The faster the better, as far as she was concerned.
“I hope that’s all right with the both of you,” Derek said to Heidi’s parents.
“We’re happy if Heidi ’s happy,” her mother said. “I’ve always wanted a son, and now I’ll have one.”
He smiled and looked at Mr. King, who hadn’t said a word. “Mr. King?”
“You’re my dochder’s choice. I’ve raised a sensible maidel.”
When her father smiled, Heidi knew both of her parents were happy, each in their own way.
“Derek, how about milk and cookies, or some kaffe?”
> “Nee, denke, Mrs. King. I have the bishop to speak with.”
Heidi couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her lips. After Derek had said goodbye to her parents, she walked him out of the haus.
At the front door he turned around, and said, “I’m so happy, Heidi. We’ll have a wunderbaar life together. I’m going to start looking for a home for us.”
She nodded and it was hard to keep from him that they’d buy the old Henderson home and have three beautiful children. There were so many things she wanted to tell him, but first, she’d have to wait and see if things happened the same as when she’d lived them. “There has never been anyone else I’ve ever considered marrying.”
He laughed. “Good to know. And it’s the same with me.”
“We’ll have a happy life together.”
“Can I stop by and see you tomorrow?”
“Of course you can. Stay here the whole day if you’d like to.”
He gave her a huge grin before he got into his buggy and drove away. She watched the buggy through the half-opened front door until it was a tiny speck in the distance and then until it disappeared altogether.
Even though it seemed she was taking a giant step backward, being back at her parents’ again, she headed inside to spend as much time as she could with her father. She might even find out more about Agnes’s life.
Heidi’s mother was more than a little surprised when she asked if Mamm had the ingredients on hand to make Mammi Agnes’s Christmas cake. Heidi had seen it in the diary somewhere. When she saw it had to be served hot, she decided to make it on Christmas Day, if time permitted.
Agnes’s Fruit and Nut Christmas Cake (with date and walnut topping).
Cake Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups dates, finely chopped
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup boiling water
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
1 cup walnut pieces
Flour
* * *
Method:
Heat oven to moderate heat, about 350°F
Combine dates and baking soda, then pour boiling water over the top and let stand.
Combine sugar, butter, eggs, baking powder, cinnamon, nuts, and enough flour to make a thick mixture.
Pour into a baking dish, place into oven for 40 to 45 minutes.
* * *
Topping recipe:
2 cups chopped dates
2 cups chopped walnuts nuts
2 cups water
2 heaped tablespoons flour
coconut for sprinkling just before serving.
* * *
Combine first four ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat
Cook until thick.
Spread over cake while hot.
Sprinkle with coconut while still hot and just before serving.
Chapter 23
December 25
On Christmas morning, Heidi was delighted she had woken up in her parents’ home. When she was enjoying breakfast with her parents, there was a knock on the front door.
“I’ll get it.” Heidi ran out to the front door hoping it was Derek. She flung it open to see Derek’s smiling face and behind him soft snowflakes fell. It was as pretty as a postcard.
“Happy Christmas.” Derek handed her a small package.
“Oh, no. I haven’t got you anything.” They had exchanged small Christmas gifts the day before she’d been due to leave, and she hadn’t expected anything else. “I wasn’t supposed to be here,” she mumbled looking at the parcel.
“I don’t need anything. Having you here is my gift. Anyway, this is something I saved. I’ve had it for a while.”
She pulled him inside out of the cold and closed the door. “What is it?”
He placed it into her hands. “It was something I was saving to give you on a very special day. I thought it would be on the day you came back.” He chuckled. “But since you didn’t leave this is a very special occasion, for me at least.”
Heidi could hear her parents talking in the kitchen and was glad they were giving them a quiet moment alone together.
“Open it. Let’s sit by the fire,” he said.
As they sat in front of the fire, it reminded Heidi of their warm and lovely home—the home they would have one day. She still felt dreadful about not having a gift for him. Slowly, she pulled on the ribbon and untied it, and then she pulled the paper aside to see something familiar. She gasped. It was the white china clock that sat—well, would sit—atop their mantel over their fireplace. If it hadn’t been for this clock, Heidi never would’ve known if the whole thing of traveling between two life-paths had been real or imagined. She found it ironic that a clock, a timepiece, was the object that confirmed that everything about her two alternative futures wasn’t just a dream, and that she had traveled back in time to be reunited with Derek.
“Do you like it? I saw it and I knew you’d either love it or hate it. I know you’re a practical girl and you don’t like little bits and pieces or useless objects around the house.”
It was true, that’s why she’d had no clutter in her cold unfriendly New York apartment. “It’s a clock, though. It’s not useless and I love it.” Heidi stared at it, not being able to believe it. “It’s beautiful. I love it,” she repeated.
He smiled and looked a little shocked. “You do? Really?”
“Jah. It’s beautiful. When we get a haus of our own, I’ll put it on the mantel right in the middle.” She looked into his hazel eyes and saw that he was pleased. This was shaping up to be the best Christmas ever.
Derek left for home then to spend Christmas Day with his family, but first he asked if he could come back around five o'clock and take her to have desserts at his family's home. Her parents said that would be fine.
Heidi helped her mother prepare their Christmas dinner, a small but delightful feast for the three of them. She even had enough time to make Agnes’s Christmas cake, and also paid special attention to Dat, knowing how much she'd miss him when Gott took him home.
When five o'clock came, she was ready and waiting. She said goodbye to Mamm and Dat, and ran out the door to Derek's buggy. She was a little nervous about how his parents felt now that she'd agreed to marry their son. As if reading her mind, Derek looked over at her and smiled. "Don't worry, Heidi. They're happy you stayed, and happy we're going to get married. I was driving them crazy when I thought you were leaving. And the bishop says we can choose a wedding date in late January. He was good enough to confirm that with me when he stopped by the haus early this afternoon."
Heidi gave him a smile at that news, still feeling nervous.
Her worries evaporated when Mrs. Miller greeted her with a hug, and Mr. Miller gave her a big smile. Yes, she thought, this truly is the best Christmas ever.
Heidi and Derek’s wedding day.
January 29
* * *
Heidi was dressed and brushing out her hair in her bedroom. The wedding was to be held in her parents’ house. She felt well prepared for marriage now, thanks to Agnes. She felt as though she’d traveled along with Agnes, and she’d also had the experience of her many lonely years away from the community to make her appreciate home and family that much more. Just as she decided to begin sectioning her hair for braiding, a knock sounded on her door.
“Come in.”
Her mother opened the door with something in her hands. “Your vadder found something he thought you might like.”
“What is it?” She tossed the hairbrush onto the bed and sat down.
Her mother sat down next to her. “These are Agnes’s other diaries. Your vadder said the dark green one is the one she continued directly after her travels, the black one’s when she got married, and the brown one is when she had Dat.” Her mother absently started braiding one side of her daughter's hair as they talked, so Heidi started in on the other braid.
“I’m so pleased to have these. I can’t wait to read them all.” She’d read them one at a time and hope that none of them would take her back to New York. She never wanted to go back there. Never would she read them when she was tired or about to fall asleep, just in case.
“He said for you to keep them.”
“I will. And also, I think I will get that other one from him because it had so many good recipes.”
“I had a little look at these and they have recipes in them too.”
“Oh, good.” She took her eyes off the diary, and looked at her mother. “I can’t believe I’m getting married today.”
“Make sure you remember it because it’s going to be one of the most important days in your life. The joining together of man and woman in Gott’s sight is not to be taken lightly.”
Heidi nodded. “I know.”
“You’re old to be getting married. I’m glad you didn’t wait longer.”
Heidi was just past her twentieth birthday and didn’t think she was old to be getting married. For an Englischer, it would be very young to be getting married, but to the Amish it was old. She knew she was blessed to find a man like Derek and she didn’t see any reason to wait to marry him. She already knew what was out there and there was no one like him.
“I better go down and supervise the food.”
“Denke for being a good mudder.” She gave her mother a hug.
“Don’t make me cry,” her mother said.
“Don’t you make me cry.”
Her mother gave a little laugh before she walked out the room.
Heidi wasted no time in pinning up her hair. She placed her prayer kapp over the top and then sat down and opened the green book to find out exactly what happened when Agnes came back to her community. She didn’t have much time, so she’d have to skim across the pages because she couldn’t wait to know.
* * *
I first saw him at the Sunday meeting at the Millers’. He hadn’t been to my parents’ haus and I hadn’t seen him for months. No one talked about where he was and neither did I ask. I just waited and prayed to see him again. We’d traveled in the warm weather and now it was winter. I looked at him and he looked away from me. When the meeting was over, I hurried over to him as soon as I saw he was alone. I asked him how his dog was. He said his dog was fine, just getting slower due to his age. I was so pleased the dog hadn’t died. Then I asked why he hadn’t been around.
In Time for an Amish Christmas Page 17