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

by Sarah Price

  “You’re going to miss church on Sunday,” Leah said evenly. She raised her eyebrows as she met Sadie’s gaze. “There’ll be an announcement after service, for sure and certain.”

  Sadie knew what that meant. After the worship service and before fellowship, the bishop would ask that all of the members remain seated while the unbaptized members and kinner left the room. If the weather were nice, they would go outside and enjoy the fresh air. If it was raining, however, they would retreat to the barn or basement, depending on where the service was being held.

  The bishop would have several announcements. The first would be to alert the g’may about Sadie’s surgery. If they hadn’t already heard the news, there would be gasps of disbelief and stunned looks on their faces. Those who had believed the vicious rumor that Lydia had started would lower their eyes in shame. It would take a few minutes to calm down the congregation before they could vote on how to help the Miller family with the upcoming medical bills.

  And then the bishop would announce the shunning of Lydia.

  Sadie wasn’t certain whether or not there would be gasps of disbelief and stunned faces at that news. Surely many of the members would feel that it was a long time in coming. Others might feel relief, vindicated for having believed the awful lie spoken from Lydia’s lips about her youngest sister being pregnant.

  Sadie nodded her head at Leah’s statement.

  “You want visitors at the hospital, then?” Leah asked her.

  “Nee!” Sadie didn’t mean to sound so forceful when she said the word. The thought of people coming to the hospital, visiting her while she recovered and dealt with the loss of her breasts, all the while knowing that they, too, had thought the worst of her, made her feel nauseous.

  “I understand” was Leah’s response.

  “Reckon I’m going for a walk, then,” Sadie said. “Need some time to think.”

  Rebecca offered to walk with her but Sadie shook her head, appreciative for the offer but wanting to be alone. After all, she thought as she stepped off the porch and began to walk toward the road, it sure did seem like the only person she could trust anymore was herself . Try as she might to swallow the bitterness and resentment that she felt, she knew that it would take some time to heal those open wounds.

  Part Four

  Just as I fell away from God through sin,

  And came under His wrath,

  Likewise He has regenerated me,

  To be His child again,

  In His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ

  Who himself has become my mediator,

  So that I would not be lost.

  Ausbund Song 112 Verse 17

  Therefore if any man [be in Christ,

  He is A new creature:

  Old things are passed away;

  Behold, all things are become new.

  2 Corinthians 5:17

  The Rebirth

  Leah didn’t know if she could stand another woman stopping by the house to drop off the whoopie pies for Mary Glick’s wedding. She was thankful that she had decided to pull Rebecca from school, needing her help at home to prepare for the delivery to the Glick’s home. With her thirteenth birthday just around the corner, Rebecca could certainly run interference for her. She had enough to focus on with Sadie recovering upstairs and needing her drains tended to every four hours.

  She should have known better.

  The community’s interest in Sadie’s well-being started immediately following the worship service on Sunday. No sooner did the bishop announce Sadie’s surgery the day before than all eyes turned to stare at Leah. She ignored them at first, but found it hard to do when, during the fellowship meal, so women approached her to inquire about Sadie.

  “How is she, the dear girl?”

  “When does sweet Sadie come home?”

  “Do you know what stage it was at?”

  The concern on their faces angered Leah. While she realized that they genuinely cared about Sadie, she also suspected that most of them had not hesitated to spread Lydia’s claims of Sadie expecting a boppli. Of course, Leah knew how the gossip started. Elmer and Manny must have returned home, both still stunned with Lydia’s accusation. Elmer certainly confided in Jenny, both of whom undoubtedly confronted Manny.

  As the women crowded around her, asking her to send Sadie their regards, Leah looked over their heads and sought out the only pair of eyes that dared not approach her: Jenny Yoder.

  Certainly Jenny knew what Leah thought about her for, without a doubt, it was from Jenny’s lips that the story had started to spread.

  Now, three days later, the outpouring of kindness from the women continued. News of Sadie’s return from the hospital, delayed until Tuesday evening, seemed to spread throughout the g’may like wildfire. With Mary Glick’s wedding the following day, most of the women who stopped by were dropping off their whoopie pies.

  Leah shook her head as she heard Rebecca talking with another woman who didn’t seem to get the hint that they were far too busy to stand around chit-chatting and listening to people pretend they had not spread gossip about the ‘dear girl’, sweet Sadie.

  “Who is it now?” Sadie asked when Leah shut the bedroom door.

  “Oh, no one important,” Leah said, sitting down on the side of the bed. “How are you feeling?”

  “Sore.”

  Leah nodded. “I bet.”

  On Saturday, Leah managed to get to the hospital by eight in the morning. The kinner were fed and given a list of chores to do. By the time Michelle pulled into her driveway, Susie already in the passenger seat, Leah felt anxious, her nerves raw and her temper short. She needed to get to that hospital and know that Sadie was all right.

  The surgery took longer than anticipated. The tumor was larger than originally thought. Neither x-ray nor ultrasound measurements were very accurate due to the peculiar position of the tumor and the fact that it was, at times, contiguous with the chest wall, made it too close for a clean margin. When the doctor told Leah that news, she felt her knees buckle and she reached out to Susie for a steady hand to hold her upright.

  “What does that mean?”

  “Nothing right now,” the doctor tried to explain. “Chemotherapy and radiation are a must, of course.”

  Of course, Leah thought wryly. She bit her tongue to keep it still.

  “And we’ll just have to watch it. There are new treatments. That’s the good news. Preventative treatments. Once we test the tumor and lymph nodes, we’ll have a better idea of what type of cancer it is.”

  None of that sounded promising to Leah at the time. But Michelle spent hours researching chest walls and breast cancer. She printed out dozens of articles from scientific and medical journals, websites and magazines. Only after spending hours trying to read them did Leah begin to breathe a sigh of relief: Cancer was not a death sentence.

  “It’ll quiet down here in a few days, I’m sure,” Leah reassured Sadie.

  She watched as Sadie rolled her head to the side. During the entire surgery and hospital stay, Sadie had been a brave soul. She never once complained, even when there was a minor complication with her white blood cell count that resulted in her extended stay at the hospital. Before she left on Tuesday, she managed to get dressed and visit with Tobias, pretending as if nothing had happened, despite the ache in her chest. If he noticed that she moved slowly or had a double mastectomy, he never said anything. Instead, he told her all about the miracle of God finding a donor to help save his life.

  Sadie merely smiled in response, letting him chatter on, oblivious to her pain.

  “I don’t want to see anyone,” Sadie said. Her voice was determined and her eyes narrowed as she spoke.

  “I don’t blame you.” Leah patted her arm. It had been a long and hard day for Sadie. She understood how her younger schwester felt. “Now, let’s see about those drains, ja?”

  An hour later, Leah sat on the porch, peeling husks from some corn as she watched the cows in the field. Thanks to Rebecca’s help, t
he whoopie pies delivered by the women were now safely at the Glick’s residence. One thing to cross off her list, she thought with a satisfied smile. Next would be the order for the convention. But Leah knew that, based on the dry run for the Glick’s wedding, the order would be fulfilled and then it would be time to concentrate on rebuilding the store.

  She set down the ear of corn that she husked and stared into the distance. A horse and buggy trotted along the road half a mile or so away, the noise carrying in the early autumn breeze. Next door, she could hear the kinner laughing as they played in Esther’s kitchen. The joyful noise warmed her heart.

  Shutting her eyes, she felt the urge to pray: Our precious Heavenly Father, with the darkness comes Your light. With Your presence, the day's burdens seem farther somehow. Watch over us, stay beside us and protect us as we renew ourselves both in body and spiritual growth. Fill our hearts with Your peace and restore us. Amen.

  Earlier that Day

  “I’ve come to a decision,” Esther said as she stood before Leah. The older kinner were at school, having left shortly after breakfast. Rebecca, however, was busy watching the little ones next door. Leah had sent her there when Esther appeared on the threshold of her kitchen, a fierce look upon her face and fire in her eyes.

  Oh help, Leah thought. Not today!

  “What now, Esther?” She didn’t mean to sound exasperated but it was all that she could do to not want to shake Jacob’s wife. While she did not agree with pre-marital relations, Leah knew better than to throw stones at another for past indiscretions. After all, what Jacob did was years ago and, frankly, before his baptism. Furthermore, he had been as surprised as Esther by the news about Tobias.

  “You have no idea what I am going through!” Esther shouted back.

  “Calm down, now,” Leah said, glancing over Esther’s shoulders to make certain no one could overhear. “Sit down and let me get you some coffee. No sense alerting the entire neighborhood.”

  Esther made no move toward the table. “I don’t want to sit and I certainly don’t want coffee.”

  Leah fought the urge to roll her eyes.

  “What I do want,” Esther continued. “Is the bishop to counsel us.”

  Leah fought the urge to groan. Not the bishop, she thought. Anything but the bishop. “Now hold on there, Esther,” Leah began, choosing her words carefully. “You best be thinking this through.” Gently, she placed her hand around Esther’s shoulders and guided her to the table. “We have an awful lot on our plates right now and I fail to see how the bishop can help.”

  “I made up my mind,” Esther snapped.

  Leah wasn’t so certain.

  “And what will the bishop do, Esther? What, exactly, do you want him to do?”

  “Why, he’ll make Jacob confess!”

  Leah nodded her head. “Ja, that’s right and true. He’ll be forced to confess. Confess that he only found out about Tobias last week. Confess that, during his running around years, he dated an Englische woman. He sure will have to confess that.”

  Esther watched Leah carefully, as if trying to figure out where she was going with her words.

  “And then what will happen? Did you think that through, Esther?”

  Leah’s question caught her off-guard. “What…what do you mean?”

  “I didn’t think so,” Leah said softly. “Why, people will surely talk, don’t you think? Wondering why his fraa went to the bishop over something that happened fifteen years ago? Such an old transgression and it was well before he met you and even before he took his kneeling vow. Sure, he sinned. But wasn’t it Jesus who said, ‘Let he who is without sin cast the first stone’? It sure would look like you were casting stones just for the sake of hurting and embarrassing Jacob.”

  Esther was quick to deny what Leah said. “I’m not trying to embarrass him!”

  “Oh, don’t get me wrong! I’m sure many of the women wouldn’t blame you. They might even sympathize with you, I reckon.”

  “I don’t want sympathy.”

  “And Tobias will learn the truth,” Leah continued. “He’ll be wanting to move over to your side of the house.” Pausing, Leah rubbed her chin with her thumb and finger as if considering something new. “Why, that might not be such a bad thing, I reckon. Will give Jacob and Tobias time to develop their new relationship and bond as father and son instead of bruders. And I sure wouldn’t mind not having to do the extra wash or cook the extra food. He sure can eat a lot, that boy.” She laughed. “And your little one won’t mind. Might be nice to have a big bruder around the house.”

  A frown crossed Esther’s face. “I see what you are doing, Leah Mast!”

  Leah held up her hands and feigned innocence. “I’m just telling you the truth, Esther. And I won’t be hearing you stating otherwise.”

  She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “You think I can just forget about this? Move on as if nothing has happened, then?”

  Something snapped inside of Leah. She felt as though the pressure of a thousand tons broke through the floodgate. Leaning forward, Leah pushed her face close to Esther’s and lowered her voice. “It’s called forgiveness, Esther,” she said in measured tones. “Have you ever heard of it?”

  Esther tried to look away.

  “Jesus preaches about loving our enemies. It is not up to us to cast stones or seek revenge. What you are proposing sure does sound like vengeance to me.” Moving away to give them both more personal space, Leah tilted her chin in the air as she stared at her sister-in-law. “And I don’t think the bishop would like the sounds of that, now, would he?” Leah stood up and smoothed down the front of her black apron.

  Esther glared at her.

  Leah didn’t care. Instead, she merely lifted an eyebrow and added, “Besides, I think one shunned member of the family is enough for now, ain’t so?”

  Esther stood up quickly, the chair falling over behind her. Despite the anger on her face, Esther also looked worried. Leah knew that her words struck a chord with the woman. If there was one thing she understood about Esther, it was the fact that she would not want to be the focus of gossip or speculation. And if that thought didn’t shake her nerves, the thought of the bishop reprimanding her for not showing proper forgiveness, possibly even making her confess in front of the congregation before the next communion, certainly did.

  Leah took a deep breath when she heard the door to the house slam shut behind Esther as the woman left. It might take some time, Leah told herself, but the waves of that storm were definitely weathered.

  Whoopie Pie Place

  Manny stood at the door of the house, a box in his arms and a shamed look upon his face. Leah hesitated, just long enough to let him know that she knew the truth and wasn’t as forgiving as she ought to be. With her lips pressed together, she opened the screen door and let him walk into the house.

  “Been a while since we’ve seen you, Manny,” she said, her words dripping with sarcasm. “Sure hope everything is well over at your place.”

  “Mamm asked me to drop these off,” he said as he set the box on the counter. “She also included some of her drop sugar cookies. Thought the kinner might like them.” His eyes darted around the room as if he was looking for something. Or someone.

  “Danke, Manny,” Leah replied, trying as hard as she could to maintain a polite tone. What was it she had said to Esther earlier that very day? Forgiveness was a trait that Jesus preached about. It was not a destination to achieve but a starting point in the journey required for healing. “You be sure to thank her for us.”

  “And she said to let you know that she’s ready for the convention order.”

  “So many things to share with us,” Leah said. “It’s a wonder that she didn’t come herself.” Immediately, she regretted her words, knowing that they didn’t sound very forgiving at all. Oh help, she thought to herself. I’ll just ask the Lord to grace me with my own forgiveness later.

  Manny lowered his eyes and shuffled his feet. He looked nervous an
d tense. “Truth is that I wanted to see if Sadie was around,” he admitted. “Heard about her condition…”

  “You mean her cancer,” Leah interrupted abruptly. She hated the way the word ‘condition’ had rolled of his tongue, knowing full well that the word was ambiguous as it had multiple connotations. As soon as he said it, Leah knew that it was a word used frequently in the past week to describe Sadie’s situation. Condition. A word he had grown used to hearing and even probably uttered on more than one occasion. Only, Leah knew, the definition of the word ‘condition’ had not meant ‘cancer’ at the time.

  “Uh, ja, cancer.” The color flooded his cheeks and he refused to meet her eyes. “Cancer, that’s right.”

  “She’s resting upstairs and in no shape for visitors.”

  Leah’s words seemed to deflate him. Disappointment shadowed his face and his shoulder drooped. “I see,” he mumbled. “Ja, vell…”

  “You be sure to thank your mamm, now,” Leah said, indicating that it was time for Manny to leave.

  No sooner had he walked out the door than Susie walked in, Merv along with her. “What was that about?” she asked, looking over her shoulder as Manny’s horse and buggy headed away from the house.

  Leah waved her hand dismissively. “What does it say in Proverbs? ‘Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.’ Manny’s trustworthy spirit appears a bit broken these days, it seems.” She noticed that Merv held a box in his arms. “What’s this?”

  “Dora made some whoopie pies,” Susie replied, her eyes sparkling.

  “She did, now, did she?”

  For a moment, Leah watched the interaction between Susie and Merv as she directed him to put the box on the floor by the door. He didn’t argue. He didn’t appear stressed. Instead, he did as he was told without saying a word. This, Leah thought, is not the Merv from the previous week.