The house was silent again, interrupting her thoughts as Bishop Henry got to his feet.
“We can give thanks today that Da Hah’s word has been given to us free from the errors of men,” he said. “This is not within our power to do, but only by the grace that Da Hah gives to weak men filled with the frailties of this earth. So we have one announcement to make today. In two weeks pre-communion church will be held at Johnny Chupp’s, and communion—if there are no objections—will be held two weeks after that.”
Bishop Henry sat down, and the last song number was given out.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Susan took Teresa’s arm and guided her through the rush of women and girls coming in and out of the kitchen. The men were sitting at the long tables in the living room, the steady murmur of their voices filling the room. Near the back wall, Benny Zook was bending over Bishop Henry, whispering into his ear.
Susan’s hand tightened on Teresa’s arm. “Shh…we have to wait right now,” Susan whispered in her ear.
Teresa’s eyes got big.
“It’s prayer time,” Susan whispered.
Bishop Henry’s voice rang out, reaching throughout the house. “If we have now been seated at the tables, let us give thanks.”
Everyone bowed their heads. Susan watched out of the corner of her eye as Teresa looked around for a moment before bowing her head.
“For this food set before us by Your great and compassionate mercy,” Bishop Henry prayed, “we now give thanks. We humble our hearts before You at this noon hour, beseeching Your grace upon our gathering and upon each one who is here. Let us not sin against Your holy name or against our fellow man. And for each of these favors and blessings, we give You thanks. Amen.”
When the murmur of voices resumed, Teresa asked, “Do they always pray like that?”
“It’s the normal thing,” Susan said. “Come, you can help me serve the tables. You’ll learn things, and it will help the people see you in a gut light.”
“But I don’t know how,” Teresa objected, hanging on to Susan’s arm.
“I’ll show you,” Susan said. “It’s not that hard. You carry peanut butter bowls to the tables and pick up the used ones.”
“That’s all?” Teresa asked, almost sounding disappointed.
“Well…” Susan laughed. “There’s also bread to carry, butter, red beets, cheese sometimes, water, and coffee, of course.”
“To those men back there?” Teresa looked over her shoulder.
“Nee,” she said. “I think we can get the women’s table.”
“Is he here today?” Teresa asked as they went into the kitchen.
“Who?” Susan responded without thinking.
“You know who!” Teresa whispered back.
“Oh…” Susan said. “Here I’ve been in my own little world all day and I nearly forgot about him. Nee, he’s not here. I promise we’ll stay away from the men’s table.”
Teresa’s face fell. “I was hoping I would see him,” she said. “But I didn’t dare look very hard. Maybe I wouldn’t recognize his face anyway, since I only saw him that night in the dark.”
“You know you don’t have to marry him,” Susan reminded.
“And leave instead?” Teresa said. “Do you want me to do that?”
“Of course not!” Susan said. “But this just isn’t fair.”
“It’ll be worth it in the end,” Teresa said. “I did hope to see him today. Does he look much different than the rest? I think they all start to look the same after a while. Maybe it’s the beards.”
Susan laughed for a second and then pulled on Teresa’s arm. “Come! They need help at the tables.”
Teresa shrugged and followed her. Entering the kitchen, Susan guided Teresa to the counter where two girls were dishing peanut butter into smaller bowls.
“We’ll take some,” Susan told them. “Which table?”
“The boys’ table,” one of the girls said. “The women’s and the men’s are taken care of right now.”
“Oh…” Susan paused before she turned to Teresa. “Here, take these.” She turned back to fill her hands again. With Teresa behind her, Susan led the way down the basement steps.
“Where are we going?” Teresa asked, taking her time on the steps.
“To the boys’ table,” Susan said.
Teresa was silent, balancing peanut butter bowls with care.
“Hi, Susan,” several of the boys greeted when they arrived. Susan ignored them, leaning between their shoulders to exchange the peanut butter bowls.
“We need bread over here,” a boy hollered from the end of the table.
“I only have so many hands!” Susan retorted.
“I think everyone has forsaken us down here,” a skinny boy said. “How are we to get enough food if no one serves us?”
“I guess you can go get some yourself,” Susan said to roars of laughter from around the table.
Teresa followed Susan’s example, leaning in between the boys’ shoulders and coming out with empty peanut butter bowls.
The girl was gut at most everything. There was no doubt about that, Susan decided.
“We’ll be back with more food for you poor starving creatures,” Susan told them.
Laughter rose again.
On the way upstairs, they met two girls coming down, their hands filled with more peanut butter in bowls.
“I think they need bread and cheese,” Susan mentioned while passing.
“They’re trying to find more people to help,” one of the girls said. “They’re a little shorthanded right now.”
“Do we have to go back down there again?” Teresa asked at the top of the stairs.
“Yah,” Susan said. “As long as they need help with the food.”
“Who was the boy sitting beside that lover boy of yours?” Teresa asked.
“Teresa!” Susan said. “Don’t talk like that about Thomas—especially here.”
“Sorry,” Teresa said.
“That was Deacon Ray’s son,” Susan said. “His name is James. Why?”
“He was looking at me like I was a ghost or something. Do I look awful? Can they see I’m not Amish? I mean…I prayed to God last night—really hard, that I would look exactly like the rest of you.”
“You look just fine,” Susan said, her eyes traveling up and down Teresa’s outfit. “You look exactly like the perfect Amish girl. So ignore the boys however they look at you.”
Back in the kitchen they filled their hands with plates of bread and cheese, traversing the basement steps again. The other girls had completed their transfers and were waiting at the bottom of the steps for Susan and Teresa to pass.
“I see someone has mercy on us,” the skinny boy said as the girls approached the tables again. “I’ve only had one piece of bread so far, and they’re going to chase us off the table soon.”
“Then you’d better be stuffing your mouth right quick,” Susan told him as she handed him a piece of bread.
Again laughter filled the space around them.
Susan placed another bread plate on the table and motioned for Teresa to place her bread and cheese in the middle of the table before moving to the other end. When she returned, she saw Teresa standing with her eyes cast down, her hands clasped in front of her.
Looking across the table, Susan saw James staring at Teresa, his dark eyes intense, his eyebrows pulled downward.
“Come,” she whispered in Teresa’s ear, taking her arm.
To the creaks of the stairs they made their way back up, meeting the two girls waiting at the top, their hands filled with platters again.
“I’ll be right back down,” Susan told them.
“I’m not going back down there,” Teresa whispered. “I’ll go take care of Samuel.”
“That’s a good idea,” Susan assured her. “It wasn’t nice of James to be looking at you like that.”
“Do I look so sinful?” Teresa asked, tears welling up.
“You look like a
very gut Amish woman,” Susan said, squeezing her arm. “Don’t let a boy’s stare scare you off so easily.”
Filling her hands again, Susan made her way back to the basement door, passing the two girls at the top of the stairs. They nodded as they passed. Thomas and James were engaged in deep conversation, their heads together when Susan arrived. Looking up, a soft, hopeful smile broke across Thomas’s face. Susan looked away. With her head held high, she deposited the bread plate and peanut butter bowl at the other end of the table, returning to the top of the stairs just as Bishop Henry’s voice vibrated through the house. “If we have all eaten now, let us give thanks.” Susan paused as the people in the house quieted.
Bishop Henry’s voice continued from the living room. “And now we give thanks, oh mighty God, for what we have eaten. As our bodies have been strengthened, so let our spirits also be strengthened by Your great mercy and grace. Be with us through this coming week, and keep us from evil. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
As the women began moving around in the kitchen again, Susan took one of the bowls filled with soapy water and washcloths set out on the counter, following the two girls back down to the basement. The last of the boys’ backs were disappearing out the door. Their knives and forks were strewn everywhere, and drips of peanut butter and beet juice dotted the table.
Beginning at the end, Susan washed each utensil and glass, wiping the area clean before setting everything back where it belonged. One of the girls brought a water pitcher and refilled the washed glasses.
“So how’s it like to be back home again?” the oldest of the girls asked.
“Oh, gut,” Susan said, smiling. Both of them were too young for boyfriends. They were obviously curious about the world she’d lived in. The less said about that time, the better.
“So you really lived in New Jersey?” The question came with a quick glance over the shoulder at the basement stairs.
“Yah,” Susan said. “With the sister of the woman I cleaned house for in Livonia.”
“Are there Amish people living there?”
“I saw two couples once,” Susan said, “on the day the town had a festival.”
Behind her the basement door slammed, admitting the first of a long stream of younger boys for the next table setting.
“Then there were only Englisha people living in the town?” the older girl asked, her eyes large. Obviously she already knew and must be wanting to confirm her information.
“It was a big city,” Susan replied, not really answering the question as she held up her hand to the onrushing line of young boys. “We’re not quite ready yet.”
“But we’re hungry!” the first boy in line insisted. “You have some places clean.”
“I’ll sit anywhere,” the one behind him seconded.
“Then help yourself,” Susan said, motioning toward the places behind her with a wave of her hand.
When all the places were clean and set, Susan carried the dirty bowls of water to the basement sink where she and the eldest girl emptied them.
“What is it like to live amongst the Englisha people?” the girl asked in a whisper.
“Very different,” Susan said, “but you kind of get used to it.”
The girl’s eyes got even bigger. Susan led the way upstairs, placing her empty bowls on the counter. She fled into the living room, where she found Teresa holding baby Samuel. They were surrounded by older women.
“Give Samuel to Mamm,” Susan said, bending over to whisper in Teresa’s ear. “We get to go eat now.”
“Oh!” Teresa said. “I hadn’t thought about eating.”
“Well, you should think about yourself more,” Susan advised, waiting until Teresa got up before guiding her over to where Mamm sat on the couch. Wordlessly Mamm held out her arms, and Teresa handed her the baby. With Susan at Teresa’s side, they moved toward the girls’ table. They had just seated themselves when Bishop Henry made the announcement for prayer and led out.
“My first Amish church meal,” Teresa whispered when the prayer was done. “What do I do? I’ve been watching the tables, and I still have no idea.”
Susan smiled. “You take a piece of bread, spread butter on it, and then add the peanut butter. In between bites you chew on the cheese or red beets, whichever fits your fancy. And coffee is either while you’re eating or afterward.”
“I’m going to be a real Amish woman yet,” Teresa asserted, spreading butter on her bread eagerly.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The late afternoon sun shone through the living room windows, sending long shadows across the thick, homemade rugs covering the hardwood floors. Deacon Ray sat in his rocker, reading the week’s edition of The Budget while eating from his bowl of popcorn.
“Daett!” James called, coming out of the upstairs doorway. “So what’s up with this Englisha woman?”
“Nothing is ‘up’ really. Why? Did you notice her in church today?”
“Yah,” James said. “She was serving tables with Susan.”
“That’s gut,” Deacon Ray said. “Thankfully the Hostetlers are teaching her how to work.”
“Is this true about her planned wedding with Yost Byler?” James asked.
“You shouldn’t worry your head about the Englisha woman,” Deacon Ray said. “You have your own troubles with girls, I should say. What happened with that Geauga County girl you were interested in?”
“Rose?” James frowned.
“Whatever her name was,” Deacon Ray said. “I can’t keep track with how fast you keep putting them through. Maybe you should think about settling down soon.”
“I’m still young, Daett,” he said. “You know that.”
“Perhaps, but soon the gut ones will be gone, James. You know they don’t keep lying around if no one picks them up.”
“Thomas said I could take Eunice off his hands,” James offered.
Deacon Ray laughed. “I see he’s not offering Susan.”
“Nee,” James said. “But that would be a catch now, wouldn’t it?”
“Are you doubting yourself, James?” Deacon Ray looked up from his popcorn. “Perhaps you’d be the one to tame her down. It sure looks like Thomas hasn’t been able to. The girl is an unsightly mess, the way she trotted around the Englisha world. And now she’s brought home this unwed woman with a child. Thankfully for all of us, Yost is interested in marrying the Englisha. Of course, even then the woman might up and leave. I noticed Yost wasn’t in church today. He probably doesn’t want to scare her away.”
“So it is true then?” James asked again.
“Is what true?” James’s mamm asked, coming up from the basement. “I thought I heard you two chattering up here.”
“Yost and the Englisha girl,” Deacon Ray replied, transferring another piece of popcorn to his mouth.
“Oh that.” Ruth sat on the couch. “It all sounds a little impossible to me. But the woman did seem nice enough today. She even helped with the boys’ table in the basement. Susan seemed to be taking gut care of her.”
“I think they’re both up to something,” James said.
“Oh?” Deacon Ray looked up from the newspaper.
“Surely not, James,” Ruth disagreed. “Susan seems right settled down since she’s come back.”
“I don’t know.” James shrugged. “It’s all a little fishy to me. Susan disappears suddenly, supposedly over a little fight with Thomas. I mean, what’s the big deal? Who doesn’t fight with their girlfriend?”
“You just quit yours,” Ruth said. “Why do you do that? I thought Rose was a gut match for you.”
“Maybe she quit me,” James said with a smile.
“I suppose she could have,” Ruth allowed. “But I don’t believe it. And you could still write the girl a nice letter and get things straightened out, couldn’t you?”
“I don’t think so,” James said. “Things didn’t go too gut with Rose.”
“Well…” Deacon Ray rocked, his eyes o
n the magazine. “Things might not work out quite like Yost thinks either. I’d be surprised if the girl even makes it to the instruction classes that start right after communion. And mind you, we’re not putting them off for her, nor are we waiting until she can speak German. She either learns fast or waits for the fall classes.”
“I wouldn’t be too hard on her,” Ruth interjected. “And the articles of faith are written in English, so she’ll be understanding those. It’s only the ministers’ questions that may be asked in German.”
Deacon Ray grunted his agreement.
“I think I’ll get ready for the hymn singing,” James said, getting up. “There’s supper served tonight for the young people.”
“Maybe we’ll come afterward,” Deacon Ray said. “But I wouldn’t worry about the Englisha girl. The ministers are aware of what problems might lie ahead.”
“I just hate to see Thomas involved with all that mess,” James said. “He ought to take Eunice up on her interest and forget about Susan.”
“Now, James,” Ruth said, “we all have to come to our own understanding of things. So don’t go pushing Thomas away from Susan.”
“He’s not listening to me anyway,” James said as he went up the stairs. Once in his bedroom he quickly changed his clothes. He walked back downstairs and out to the barn. After hitching his horse to the buggy, he drove out of the driveway, turning toward the hymn singing. He gave his horse its head. With a rattle of wheels, he didn’t slow much at the next turn, sliding the buggy sideways on the gravel. With a smile he let the reins out again. Perhaps this was why he couldn’t keep a girlfriend, although he never drove like this when he had a girl along. But perhaps she still picked up on his reckless ways or saw how tight the reins went out the storm front. Girls were like that.
Nee, he decided. It wasn’t that at all. Whatever kept him and girls from getting along, he simply wasn’t going to worry about it. The right girl would come along when she was supposed to. Mamm was right though. Rose had been a nice girl. True, she came from another community, so there might have been some adjustments, but Rose would have made them. She had made that fact abundantly clear. Still, he had not asked to see her again on his last trip to Geauga County.
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