Promise Lodge

by Charlotte Hubbard

  As Amos leaned his elbows on his knees, he winked at Noah. “Eli, we were all taking that chance when we bought this tract of land,” he answered earnestly. “At last count, we have eight other families seriously interested in joining us—which will keep me in carpentry work for a long while, building their homes. Roman’s found a buyer for Christine’s milk, Mattie and the girls are selling produce, Rosetta’s renting out apartments, and Noah just landed a job making decorative metal gates. Your daughter’s selling what she bakes, and I expect she’ll do quite well at it.”

  Amos paused, widening his eyes at the preacher from Coldstream. “There’s work for every hand, Eli. The folks coming to Promise Lodge will need their buggies repaired, and we’ll soon be installing ductwork and plumbing you can work on,” he pointed out. “God will look after you and your family the same way He’s guided us. You believe that, don’t you?”

  Noah held his breath. When Amish families moved, it was usually to find affordable land, or so their kids could marry into fresh bloodlines—or because of a disagreement with the leaders of their church district. Preachers, however, tended to stay put because they’d been selected by God to serve their community.

  “I—I have to have faith,” Eli replied somberly. “A man can sell a farm and buy a new one easily enough, but all the money in the world won’t keep his family together—or keep his kids safe. We didn’t have to think about that until recently.”

  Noah vividly recalled the desperation on Deborah’s face when she’d shown up at Promise Lodge with her suitcase and that purple handprint on her neck. He didn’t want to think about what might’ve happened to her had she remained at home, where Isaac could’ve found other ways to torment her. Eli didn’t seem inclined to confess that he’d misjudged his daughter, but it was a big admission for him to tell Amos that starting the Promise Lodge colony had been the right move.

  Best to watch, wait, and listen, he thought. The pieces to this puzzle will eventually fall into place.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  As they sat down to supper that evening, Deborah smiled to herself. Rosetta and Mattie had grilled a couple of chickens along with the venison steaks they had originally planned to serve. The women had spent the afternoon snapping the green beans Mamma had brought in coolers from Coldstream, so a large bowl of them now graced the table. They’d opened an extra bag of frozen corn and added two quarts of applesauce to the menu, as well. Knowing how much Deborah’s dat and three brothers could eat, Phoebe had made a cherry slab pie to go with Rosetta’s cupcakes so they would have enough dessert to go around.

  “This meal’s quite a treat, ladies,” Preacher Amos said as he took his place at the head of the two tables they’d placed end to end. “But the real blessing is having you Peterscheims join us today. I pray that the Lord will guide you toward His will, as far as whether you’ll make Promise Lodge your new home.”

  As they bowed for their silent prayer, Deborah’s pulse thrummed. While she was thrilled to see her family, she was unsure of where she stood with her dat. He and her brothers had spent the afternoon with Amos, Noah, and Roman, touring the orchard, the cabin area, and the wooded acres that would soon be sold to incoming families, so he still hadn’t spoken directly to her.

  Will he really uproot the family? Leave the home where he—and his parents and grandparents—have always lived? she wondered as they began passing the meat and vegetables. Deborah hadn’t heard everything her mother had said about that subject because she’d helped Laura and Phoebe at the produce stand all afternoon. But Mamma’s opinion wasn’t the one that counted.

  “Chicken legs!” Johnny crowed as he put two of them on his plate.

  Menno and Lavern held the platter of venison steaks between them, their forks poised as they decided which pieces to take. “I suppose you shot this deer back home, Noah?” Lavern asked.

  “Jah, and I’ve spotted lots of deer—and quail—around here, too,” Noah replied. “Lately, though, I’ve been concentrating on the coyotes. You’ll hear them singing tonight, no doubt.”

  Her brothers’ eyes widened. Deborah could see they were eager for the adventure of moving here, where the countryside was wild and unsettled compared to what they were used to.

  “And just think,” Noah went on in a speculative tone. “If your sister hadn’t joined us, you wouldn’t have the chance to live so close to a lake you could fish in—or the chance to help build a new house. Maybe.”

  Deborah’s eyebrows rose. Was Noah casting that line at her dat, fishing for his reaction?

  “I’m grateful to God for giving Deborah the gut sense to come here,” Mamma said as she passed the corn. “Much as I’ve missed her, I was relieved to know she was safe amongst our friends.”

  Deborah watched the color rise in her father’s face as he cut his steak. He was seated across the table, all the way down by Amos, and he hadn’t met her eyes since he’d first gotten out of the van.

  “I sent Deborah away for the gut of all concerned—and to protect her,” her father stated.

  “Without so much as fare to pay a driver,” her mother murmured. “Might as well have sent a little lamb into the woods.”

  The dining room got painfully quiet.

  Deborah stopped chewing for fear she’d choke. Her mother never challenged Dat. And now Mamma had made her objections known in front of Preacher Amos and their friends, not to mention the younger kids. The kitchen clock ticked away several tense seconds.

  Dat frowned at Mamma from his end of the table. “Did I not keep her name out of the papers, Alma? Did I not defy our bishop and the Ordnung by giving information about the fire to Sheriff Renfro?” he countered stiffly. “This isn’t the time or the place for questioning the decision I made the night of the fire, when Deborah didn’t come home.”

  Mamma sucked in her breath. “So when is the right time for granting her your forgiveness, Eli?” she asked in a halting voice. “Surely what we’ve learned about Isaac has tipped the scales in Deborah’s favor, yet you’ve refused to speak of her at home—and now you’re acting as though she’s not in the room with us,” she pointed out. “What sort of example is that to your other children? Why must you keep ignoring her, breaking her heart—and mine?”

  Deborah’s mouth opened but no sound came out. Her four siblings sat wide-eyed, caught up in this unprecedented contest of wills. Christine took Deborah’s hand while Laura slipped a supportive arm around her shoulders.

  Across the table, Noah appeared stunned—but not sorry—about the conversation his remark had started. “Forgiveness doesn’t come easy,” he said, smiling kindly at Deborah. “I had my doubts about Deborah’s story when she came here, too, and I still resented the way she’d broken our engagement. But I believe she was the innocent victim of two drunk, out-of-control boys—in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he insisted. “I’ve come to trust her again. I love her, matter of fact.”

  Deborah’s breath escaped her in a rush. Once again the room had become extremely quiet, yet she thrummed with strength—and with the joy of Noah’s public declaration of his feelings.

  Noah set down his utensils to focus on her father. “Forgiving Deborah has made all the difference, Preacher Eli,” he continued earnestly. “She’s told me she wants to make a home with me here at Promise Lodge, but she feels torn. Deborah wants to live near her family—but even if you Peterscheims move here, that’ll be a thorny situation if you’re not speaking to her.”

  Deborah’s heart welled up with fierce pride. Imagine Noah speaking out this way, despite her father’s objection to the direction this conversation had taken!

  “Let’s allow Eli to eat his supper,” Preacher Amos suggested, encompassing everyone in his gaze. “A man shouldn’t be cornered, when it comes to requesting or granting forgiveness. He should act of his own free will, in his own gut time.

  “But none of us should ignore the opportunity to forgive, either,” Amos continued solemnly. “Who knows what tomorrow may bring? It�
��s a church Sunday, so it would be a blessing if all our hearts were free of guilt and worries, ready to worship our Lord.”

  The meal continued without much further chatter, until the three younger boys expressed their excitement over Phoebe’s slab pie and the cupcakes Rosetta had baked. Although Deborah felt prickly, being the indirect cause of such an intense discussion, she was also gratified that Noah and her friends had spoken on her behalf. As she considered what her mother had risked to voice her criticism of Dat’s attitude, Deborah sensed that the Peterscheim family had come to a crossroad. They all seemed eager to start fresh in Promise, yet the undercurrent of conflicting wills and opinions wouldn’t go away just because Mamma had spoken out. Deborah ached for the resolution of this intense conflict, even as she knew she couldn’t bring it about.

  When the men and boys went out to tend the livestock, Mattie placed her hands on Mamma’s shoulders. “Sit at the kitchen worktable and give that bum foot a rest,” she insisted. “We can pass you the silverware to dry. And we can lend an ear—or a shoulder—if you need to release your frustration, too.”

  Mamma hobbled to the chair Christine had pulled out for her, weariness etched around her eyes. “I don’t know what came over me at dinner,” she murmured. “I suppose being around you sisters again, seeing the way you’ve all moved forward, gave me the strength to spell out what’s been going on since Eli sent Deborah away. I—I got to feeling so down and out, I had to take her chair away from the table. Couldn’t stand to look at it sitting empty during our meals.”

  “I don’t know how I’d get from one day to the next without my girls,” Christine agreed quickly. “We’re glad you’ve come, Alma. We’ve missed you and your family.”

  “And I could hardly sleep without you being in our room, Deborah,” Lily admitted. “I heard every little noise during the night, and well—it was just so lonely.”

  Deborah hugged her younger sister as her eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I should’ve called you sooner, Mamma. Should’ve come home and—”

  Mamma’s upraised hand silenced her. “No, Deborah, you were obeying your father. It’s Eli who’s caused this separation within our family, by making a snap judgment,” she insisted. “Noah’s right. You’re a gut girl who was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Isaac Chupp and his buddy roughed you up for calling the police. None of this was your fault.”

  “It’s gut to be with you, Sister,” Lily murmured, resting her head on Deborah’s shoulder. “And I’m glad to see you looking so happy, together with Noah again.”

  “We’re all pleased about that,” Mattie said. She had a pensive expression on her face as she glanced at her two sisters. “What say we have Noah put up one of the extra beds in Deborah’s cabin, so these three Peterscheim gals can catch up with each other?”

  Rosetta’s eyes sparkled. “And Eli can bunk with Menno, Lavern, and Johnny. We’ll have a girls’ cabin and a boys’, just like when we camp at state parks for family reunions, jah?”

  “Number ten’s probably the best cabin for the fellows, because we’ve got a couple of beds made up in that one,” Mattie mused aloud. She smiled at Mamma. “It’s a little ways into the woods, farther away from the lodge—”

  “So the fellows will have to make do. They won’t have you to choose their clothes or to pick up after them,” Christine remarked. “I like it! I’ll fetch fresh sheets.”

  “You and I could probably set up that bed, Rosetta.” Deborah felt a grin relieving her previous downhearted mood. “That way, it would be all said and done, with the suitcases put into the two cabins before the guys could fuss about it.”

  Mamma was chuckling. “Why, this is sounding like a vacation, letting Eli tend to the boys. Lily and I will be here bright and early to help with breakfast tomorrow, though. We brought some ripe bananas and a couple of jars of Deborah’s favorite plum jam, and we took two pork roasts from the freezer before we left,” she added as she gazed around the circle of women. “They’re in the cooler, and they should be ready to fix for tomorrow’s dinner—if that’s all right with you, that is.”

  The three sisters nodded eagerly. “Sounds like we’ve got a gut start toward a restful, tasty Sabbath,” Rosetta said. “Deborah, once we set up the other bed in your cabin, why don’t you and Lily put on the sheets and take care of the luggage? The rest of us can get the canners and the jars out. We’ll make short work of those green beans your mamm brought.”

  After Deborah, her sister, and Rosetta set up the bed in her cabin, Rosetta returned to the lodge. Lily chuckled as she unfolded the bottom sheet and tossed one end of it to Deborah. “It’s just like old times, with all the women tending to what needs to be done,” she remarked happily. “I sure hope Dat decides we should move here, because . . . well, if you and Noah hitch up, you won’t be coming back to Coldstream, ain’t so?”

  Deborah sighed. If her family remained at their farm three hours away, she’d have some adjusting to do—yet today’s terse discussion at the table, when Noah had spoken up in her defense and Dat had remained unmoved, had shifted her loyalties. “Jah, that’s the way it’ll be,” she stated gently. “Maybe if you and Mamma come for enough visits and Dat gets left behind to tend his preaching duties and his welding—and the boys—he’ll see the move to Promise Lodge as a solution to a lot more problems than Isaac Chupp has caused us.”

  After she and Lily carried the suitcases to the two cabins, they returned to the lodge. As they stepped onto the porch, Deborah pointed toward Rainbow Lake. “Looks like Preacher Amos and Mattie’s boys are showing Dat and our brothers a gut time, so maybe—oh, look! Lavern’s caught a fish!”

  Lily shielded her eyes with her hand, watching as her twin reeled in a fish that Noah caught in a net. “Hmm,” she murmured. “The boys love to fish but they don’t often get the chance, what with it being an hour’s ride to the state park. Could be Lavern’s just set another kind of hook.”With

  Deborah laughed at her sister’s astute observation. “With you and me and Mamma praying on it tonight, maybe we’ll have our answer soon. Let’s help with the canning so it’ll go faster.”

  When they entered the lobby, the steamy scent of boiling green beans filled the air. In the kitchen, large pots of beans were bubbling on the stove while Rosetta and her sisters washed quart Mason jars and set them in the oven to sterilize them. Mamma sat at the worktable placing canning lids into the metal rings that would seal the jars. On each of the two gas stoves, two pressure canners were steaming.

  “Here come four more hands!” Phoebe said when she saw Deborah and Lily. “This job’s going to go so fast, I bet we’ll be finished before—”

  The phone jangled and Deborah hurried across the kitchen to answer it. “Hullo? This is Deborah—at Promise Lodge,” she added, in case potential new residents were calling.

  “Deborah, it’s Frances Lehman. It’s been nearly a week, so I thought I’d give you an update from our end.”

  Deborah smiled, raising her eyebrows at the women who were following her conversation. “Frances, it’s gut to hear from you,” she replied. “I hope everything’s going well?”

  “We’ve gotten a nice bid on our farm, so we’re starting to pack,” Frances replied with a delighted chuckle. “It’s going to be quite a job, but we believe Floyd’s original statement still stands: God is indeed leading us to Promise Lodge, or the pieces wouldn’t be falling into place so quickly. We’ll be there as soon as we can! Give everyone my best.”

  Grinning, Deborah hung up the phone. “The Lehmans are coming! They’ve gotten a bid on their farm.”

  “I’m so glad that’s settled,” Mattie said with a nod. “There’s a family who needs a new beginning.”

  “Floyd Lehman is a bishop,” Christine explained to Mamma, “and his younger daughter had a run-in similar to Deborah’s but with a more . . . permanent conclusion.” With a glance at Lily, she silently conveyed the adult nature of the situation. “We’ll have lots
of ladies—of all ages—here soon.”

  “And who knows? Maybe another bishop or two will move here and we’ll need a drawing of the lot to determine who will lead the Promise Lodge colony,” Rosetta remarked. “Let’s just say Bishop Floyd’s rather outspoken and set in his Old Order ways—not that that’s always a bad thing.”

  Mamma’s laughter lifted the lines around her eyes. “Sounds like there’ll be no shortage of church leaders—fellows all wanting to do things the way they’ve always done them in their previous districts, I suspect.”

  Laughter filled the kitchen as Rosetta carefully carried one of the steaming pots of beans from the burner to the end of the worktable. “But we women are no strangers to managing such men, are we, Alma?”

  Deborah smiled as she, her sister, and the Hershberger girls gathered around the pots with cups and wide metal funnels to fill hot jars with beans. Help us work this out according to Your will, Lord. Forgive us our debts . . . as we forgive our debtors.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  As thunder rumbled on Sunday morning, Rosetta quietly descended the back stairs and entered the kitchen. She set her lamp on the windowsill so its glow would light most of the large room. It was insanely early to be up, but her circling thoughts had made sleeping impossible. She felt unsettled about the Peterscheims’ situation—which remained unresolved because Preacher Eli seemed determined to withhold his final decision about leaving Coldstream, not to mention his forgiveness for poor Deborah.

  And although Frances Lehman’s call had excited her, Rosetta wondered yet again why she hadn’t heard from the Kuhns. Last Sunday their chatter had filled the kitchen with their hopeful plans for Ruby’s bees and Beulah’s cheese, and Rosetta missed them. As she filled the two metal percolators to make coffee, she realized she hadn’t even taken down their phone number before Delbert drove them home.