The Divine Secrets of the Whoopie Pie Sisters: The Complete Trilogy

by Sarah Price

  No sooner had she returned from the appointment at the hospital, her head spinning and eyes aching from the pain, Abe had harnessed the horse to the buggy and, without even a word, had left the house. She had heard the gentle humming of the wheels on the driveway as he had pulled away from the farm. In truth, she had been happy for the silence and the solitude. It gave her time to stretch out upon the bed, a cold cloth to her head, and take a short nap.

  Only, the silence did not last long.

  She guessed it must have been forty minutes later when she heard not one, but two buggies rolling in the driveway. Visitors? She had sat up in the bed, the cloth falling from her head and onto her lap. “What in the world?” she had said out loud as she swung her feet over the side of the mattress and hurried out of the room to peer through the kitchen window.

  Now, as she stood at the window, the color draining from her face, she knew that Abe had finally done it. He was testing her limits, that was for sure and certain.

  Quickly, Lydia hurried to wipe down the counter and put the dirty dishes in the sink. She glanced around and saw the blanket on the sofa, unfolded and messy. She didn’t have time to fold it and store it in the closet. But she was able to push in the chairs around the kitchen table and pick up the napkin that was on the floor.

  “Lydia,” Abe’s deep voice called as he entered the room.

  She turned around, feigning surprise that he had a visitor with him. When she saw the bishop standing behind her husband, she forced a smile and welcomed him to her house. “Wilkum, Bishop,” she said, trying to sound cheerful and inviting.

  The bishop removed his hat and held it before him, his weathered face looking stern as he nodded his head in a return greeting.

  “What brings you to our home today?” she managed to say.

  Abe cleared his throat and averted his eyes.

  She already knew but she wanted to hear it from one of them. Her heart was racing and she felt her palms begin to sweat as both men stared at her. If her head had hurt before, now it was throbbing.

  “Lydia,” the bishop began, stepping forward. “Abe has come to me with a most pressing concern.”

  And there it was, in all its glory. Her husband had gone to the bishop, complaining about her ailments. For sure and certain, she thought, the bishop would see that she was ill and reprimand Abe for being a non-caring husband. She felt a moment of satisfaction at the thought.

  “And…?”

  “Ja, vell,” he continued, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. “He has concerns about your health.”

  Ah ha! Finally, she thought. “It’s about time,” she said, sighing in relief. “I’ve been so ill and in such pain for so long. It’s a wonder that I can barely get to work most days.” She gestured toward the table, inviting the bishop to sit down. Without waiting for his response, she pulled out a chair and plopped down, placing her folded hands demurely upon her lap.

  “I see,” the bishop said, accepting her offer to sit at the table. Abe, however, remained motionless by the doorway.

  “And I get absolutely no support from my family,” she continued, casting a look in Abe’s direction. “In fact, even today, my schwester Leah wanted me to help clean Susie’s house for church on Sunday, even though I was feeling poorly after all those dreadful tests at the hospital!” Her fingers plucked at her apron. “Tobias is always so sick and seems to be all that anyone cares about these days.”

  The bishop squirmed in his seat, avoiding her eyes. “I understand Tobias is poorly again,” he affirmed. “But we are here today to speak to you about you.”

  She smiled at the bishop. “That is most kind,” she said softly.

  “We are here to speak about you getting some help from a doctor for your…” The bishop paused. “Ailments.”

  There was something about the way that he said the word that alarmed Lydia. Her eyes shifted to Abe’s once again but she noticed that he was staring at the floor. “I’ve been to doctors,” she replied cautiously.

  “When was the last time?” Abe asked quickly in response to her statement.

  His contribution to the conversation threw her for a loop. “Ja vell,” she said, stumbling over her thoughts. “Not that long ago, I reckon.”

  Abe took a step forward and placed his hand on the edge of the table, leaning toward her. “Nee, Lydia,” he said. “Two years ago, and just because of the boppli.” She flushed at the reminder and looked away. “And the doctor told you there was nothing wrong with you. It is a matter of marital duty that is required to conceive a boppli and that is why you have not!”

  “Abe!”

  The bishop held up his hand and silenced her. “Lydia, there is an Englische doctor that mayhaps might help you.”

  “A head doctor!” she shot out, her cheeks flushed red and tears getting ready to spring to her eyes. “That is what you are talking about, isn’t it?”

  The bishop shook his head. “He is a doctor that can help you with…” He hesitated over the word, glancing at his hands for a moment. “Depression.”

  Depression? Lydia caught her breath and leaned back in her chair. How on earth could they accuse her of being depressed? Because of headaches and pains? Every day she went to work and did her duty. She couldn’t help it if she felt poorly. Depression?

  Abe leaned down, taking her hands in his. “Lydia, you need to speak with someone and find out what is really wrong with you,” he said with an unusually gentle tone in his voice that she had not heard for quite some time. He stared into her face, pleading with his eyes. “I need my Lydia back, the one that I married and the one that I want to have a family with.”

  “I…I’m not depressed,” she whispered.

  He shook his head. “Mayhaps not but let’s have the doctor determine that.” He squeezed her hands. “We cannot live the rest of our lives like this,” he said. Then, after a brief pause, he stared into her eyes. “At least I cannot.”

  What was he saying? She felt a moment of panic. How could it have come to this? Was he so uncaring that he would threaten to leave her? It was impossible. Amish couples did not leave each other. At least not if they wanted to stay in the church.

  She looked at the bishop and noticed that he stared at her, point blank, with no wavering of his eyes. There was no question about it. Abe was drawing the line in the sand. If she did not see this doctor, if she did not find the power to fight for herself and her marriage, Abe was willing to leave the church and her. She would be banned and no longer accepted within the community. Even her family could no longer share meals with her or permit her to visit their homes.

  The wind was knocked out of her lungs and she realized that she had no choice. The tears began to fall from her eyes and she quickly covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders heaved as she sobbed. She wished that both men would leave her to her sorrow. But she knew that they would not. They had confronted her and she had no choice but to agree to do their bidding.

  With a heavy heart, she wiped her eyes and looked up at her husband. He was watching her, a look of hope on his face. Her expression was solemn as she finally nodded her head. “I will see this doctor, Abe,” she whispered. “For you.”

  Sadie

  When his buggy pulled into the driveway, Sadie could hardly contain her smile. It seemed like weeks since she had last seen Manny. So much had happened, so much that she wanted to tell him. Yet, she knew that the timing wasn’t right. Not yet.

  “Hullo Sadie!” he called out from his buggy. He stopped by the barn and, after pressing down the brake, quickly jumped down and hitched his horse to the post. He hurried to greet her with a friendly wave.

  “Why Manny!” she said, a smile on her face for the first time that day. “Whatever are you doing here?” She knew that it was time for the pre-supper afternoon chores at his house. She couldn’t imagine why he had driven to visit her, especially during the middle of the week. On Sunday, they would attend the evening singing together. That was their usual time for visiti
ng and, if it was dark enough, kissing in the solitude and privacy of his buggy.

  She had been sweeping the front walkway, needing the time to clear her head after the long day that she had been through. They had only just returned from Susie’s house, the long walk home taken in silence. Neither Leah nor Sadie had known what to say after the discovery of the empty alcohol bottles under Susie’s sofa.

  “Wanted to stop by and see my girl,” he said, a happy grin on his face. “Been missing you, Sadie Miller.”

  The color flushed to her cheeks. When he talked like that, she felt her heart race and her pulse quicken. She knew that it was coming to the time when he was going to tell her that he intended to speak to the bishop about announcing their upcoming wedding. The timing was soon for an autumn wedding. Yet, he never did seem to actually state those words.

  “Why Manny Yoder,” she teased. “You know you’ll see me at church, ja?”

  He reached out and tugged on the string of her prayer kapp. “You know that’s not what I mean,” he teased back. Releasing the string, he shoved his hands into his front pockets. “Anyway, I wanted to see how today went. How your bruder is doing at the hospital.”

  Tobias. Yes, she should have known that everyone knew about Tobias. The Amish grapevine spread faster than poison ivy on an itchy arm. “Saw him earlier,” she said. “They are running tests and giving him a lot of medicine to keep him feeling better.”

  “That’s gut,” he replied, nodding his head. “And the blood tests?”

  Sadie caught her breath. How had he known? Certainly that had not yet circulated among the g’may. “Vell, we won’t know for a few days, I reckon,” she slowly admitted, omitting the fact that she had not been considered a donor from the very start. She had known it, from the moment that the doctor gave her results of the pathology report, but hadn’t shared that information with the rest of her family. With all eyes focused on Tobias and his medical needs, she didn’t feel it was necessary to share her own issue with the cancer in her breast.

  Oh, she had managed to slip away and visit the breast surgeon’s office while the family had been waiting to have their own blood tested. Dr. Conceicao had been good enough to see her, despite not having made an appointment. The visit had been short and to the point: She needed to have the cancer removed as soon as possible.

  The time was soon coming for telling. Sadie knew that much was true but simply couldn’t face it. There was too much going on within the family. No one was immune. It tugged at Sadie’s heart that she would add to the issues and devastation that was already flooding through the lives of her schwesters.

  And then, there was Manny. Would he still want to marry her if she did what the doctor said? Removing her breasts seemed so dramatic and unnecessary, especially for a small little lump. She was leaning more toward that lumpectomy, knowing that she would want to breast feed her future boppli. Still, she had to admit that she just didn’t know enough about it.

  Manny nodded his head and glanced up at the sky. The sun was starting to dip down, the warmth of the day having given way to a gentle breeze and the cool early evening air. “Reckon I best be returning to my daed’s,” he said; but he made no move to return to his buggy. For a long moment, he stood there, studying Sadie’s face, a soft smile on his lips.

  “Manny?”

  He glanced around and, when he realized that no one was there, he took a step forward. Leaning down, he whispered into her ear, “Reckon it’s time you and I had that talk, Sadie.” His breath caressed her skin and she shivered. “Mayhaps we won’t go to that singing but will spend some time alone…talking.”

  She knew what that meant. Her heart fluttered and she lifted her brown eyes to look at him. “Talking?”

  He pulled away, just enough so that no one would suspect anything improper or intimate being said between them. “Planning for our future, Sadie,” he said. “It’s time we settled this and made it known, wouldn’t you agree?”

  Her eyes grew wide as she realized that there was no turning back.

  “I want the g’may to know that you are Manny’s Sadie,” he said, the pride apparent in his voice. “And I want the bishop to announce our intentions after communion.”

  “Oh,” she gasped. She had known it was coming but she had never suspected that it would be like this. So matter of fact. So determined. So….Manny. Yet, she couldn’t agree to this. Not without him knowing the truth. A marriage started with secrets was not one that would be built on a firm foundation.

  “That is…” he suddenly stammered, realizing that she had not responded with an affirmation of similar feelings. “If you feel the same.”

  She wasn’t certain how to respond. She needed to tell him. If anything were to happen to her, if she were to find out the worst, she knew that it would be wrong to drag him into a marriage. But, as she stared at him, a look of desperation staring back at her, she knew that she loved him. It didn’t matter if angels were knocking at her door.

  “I…I do feel the same,” she said quickly before adding, “It’s just sudden, that’s all.”

  A look of relief swept over his face. His sparkling blue eyes and ruby colored lips that hinted at a smile lit up his face. “It’s not sudden, Sadie,” he said lightly. “So I have your permission to speak to the bishop, ja?”

  Short of denying him, Sadie had no choice. She nodded her head, knowing that any apprehension on her part would merely be seen as female shyness by him. His eyes twinkled and he gave her another grin. For a long moment, no words passed between them. There was nothing to say. She had just agreed to become his wife and, despite the mixed emotions that she was feeling, she knew that he was the only man for her.

  “That makes me right happy,” Manny said softly. He glanced around, making certain that no one was watching before he leaned down and planted a soft kiss upon her lips. “Right happy indeed.”

  Dear God, she prayed, enjoying the feeling of his arms pulling her close and holding her tight. She felt safe in his arms and knew it was where she belonged. Please don’t take me too soon. Angels might sing in heaven but I sure would miss this man.

  Part Three

  For God has prepared for us

  A joy which remains forever.

  Therefore let us strive sincerely

  Here on earth a short time,

  That we attain the eternal crown

  Which the Father would give us,

  With Christ His Son.

  Ausbund Song 120, verse 6

  For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord,

  ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

  plans to give you hope and a future.’

  Jeremiah 29:11

  The Barn

  Leah leaned against the barn’s doorway, staring across the paddock with unseeing eyes. Her head was covered with a soft scarf instead of her usual prayer kapp. The hem of her dress was torn up the side and her black socks were covered in dirt. She wore plastic clogs on her feet, one with a ripped strap, and mud encased both shoes. Indeed, she had barely paid attention to her usually pristine and clean appearance.

  It had been a long day and a traumatic one at that! Yesterday had been eventful enough but paled in comparison with today. Never in her life would she have imagined that so much could have taken place in just a single day! God had surely been busy watching over His flock, that was for sure and certain. For a moment, she felt a wave of emotion wash over her. Her knees felt weak and she could barely stand. The doorframe held her up but it was God who kept her standing.

  “You all right, then, Leah?”

  His voice startled her and she jumped as he placed his hand on her shoulder. Her nerves were rattled. That much was for sure and certain. Realizing that it was Thomas, she lifted her own hand to cover his. “I just can’t believe it,” she said. “All that power and strength!”

  Thomas gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze but did not respond.

  “I reckon it was right gut that the kinner were home t
hen, ja? And Sadie and Michelle made it here just in time. A miracle!”

  “We were lucky, I reckon.”

  Leah shook her head. “Nee,” she corrected gently. “God protected us. I just pray that He protected others.” Just as suddenly as relief had swept over her, a new thought jumped into Leah’s head. She reached out and grabbed at Thomas’ arm. “Oh Thomas!” she exclaimed. “What about Lydia and Susie? It went in that direction, didn’t it?”

  They both glanced toward the west where the path of destruction had torn through their fields, knocking through fences but not having touched their home. They couldn’t see over the hill to find out what path the swirling winds had taken but it had clearly been along the fields before shifting toward the road at some point. Indeed, both of her schwesters lived in that direction and, depending upon which way the storm had traveled, either Susie or Lydia could have been impacted.

  “Reckon I best go harness up the horse and check on the neighbors as well as your schwesters,” her husband said. Then, with an encouraging smile, he reluctantly left her side. “Make certain those kinner stay close to the house, fraa” he warned. “Just in case another one comes by, ja?”

  She couldn’t find words to respond, so she merely nodded her head. The soft scarf slipped and fell to the ground. For a moment, she stood there, head uncovered, with her brown hair shining in the sunlight. She didn’t have to look at Thomas, as he studied her, to know that he was noticing her wide part that exposed her scalp and the grey hair that was beginning to appear. The thought almost made her laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked, but his voice sounded tired and weary.

  She shook her head as she leaned down to pick up the scarf. Shaking the dirt from it, she replaced it on her head. “Reckon you were looking at my grey,” she said with a faint smile. “Reckon I just earned a whole new collection to go along with it!”