by Beth Wiseman
“Hello, Aaron,” Hannah said cheerfully. Then through those clenched straight teeth, she turned to Leah. “Hello, Leah.”
“Hi, Hannah.” Aaron gently touched Leah’s arm and coaxed her to his side, nudging her to walk with him up the cobblestone steps that led to the Grabers’ front yard. It was an obvious attempt to avoid Hannah, and Leah silently scorned herself for the wrongful and confusing feeling of pride that swept over her. This wasn’t a date with Aaron, anyway. She’d made that quite clear.
She saw Rebecca Miller standing in the front yard with some other girls. Ben Weaver was standing off to one side with two young men, and Leah smiled. Everyone knew Ben was in love with Rebecca, and he was never far away from her. But ever since Rebecca’s twin sister, Lizzie, died five years ago, Rebecca just hadn’t been the same. She was a few years older then Leah, but Leah could remember when Rebecca was much more outgoing. Leah had always heard that twins shared a special bond.
“Hi, Rebecca.” She eased from Aaron’s side and walked toward Rebecca, who smiled slightly. They began to chitchat about the food spread out before them: a variety of dips and chips, several desserts—and Kathleen’s Lazy Daisy Oatmeal Cake. After the events at breakfast that morning, Leah had lost herself outside, worked in the garden, brushed and fed the horses, and did anything that would keep her away from everyone. She’d forgotten that she’d asked Kathleen to help her make the oatmeal cake. Probably best, she thought, remembering the scrambled eggs.
As Leah chatted with Rebecca, she saw Hannah cozying up to Aaron, laughing and carrying on. That’s my date. Two other girls joined the conversation, and Leah excused herself and walked toward Aaron and Hannah.
“Ach, Aaron, you’re so nice to say that,” Leah heard Hannah say. She turned toward Leah. “Aaron was just saying how much he always enjoys my tomato pies. It’s his favorite kind of pie.” She swiveled back to face Aaron and pointed toward the table. “You better get yourself a piece before it’s all gone. What’s your baking specialty, Leah?” Hannah raised an eyebrow and smiled.
Hannah Beiler knew good and well that Leah wasn’t much of a baker. Leah recalled the quilting party last month where she showed up with a cheesecake, at her mother’s insistence. It really didn’t taste so bad, but her mother told her later that perhaps crushed pineapple was not the best choice for a topping. “Strawberries, cherries, or blueberries, Leah,” Mamm had said.
“Too many to choose from,” Leah responded with a shrug. Then she turned to Aaron. “I’m going to go in and say hello to Amanda and her mother.”
“I’ll come with you.” Aaron eased to Leah’s side once again, and before she turned to walk toward the house, Leah told Hannah, with a smile, “See you in a bit.”
Hannah’s face fell flat, and she forced a grin.
“Danki for saving me,” Aaron whispered as they walked side by side to the front porch.
Leah glanced in his direction. “Saving you from what?”
“Hannah attaches herself to my hip every time I’m around her, and I have no interest in her in that way.”
Leah faced forward again. “She’s very pretty.”
Aaron shrugged. “I hadn’t noticed.” Then he smiled at Leah in a way that caused her to instantly recall what he had said to her before they arrived, when he compared her to Rose in her story. Rose, he said, was beautiful on the inside and outside.
“Hmm,” she mumbled.
Aaron opened the screen door for Leah and followed her into the Grabers’ kitchen where Amanda was scurrying around with her mother. At twenty-four, Amanda was the oldest of seven brothers and sisters. She wasn’t particularly social, and Leah didn’t know her all that well. But Amanda had made a special point of taking a large helping of Leah’s pineapple-topped cheesecake at the quilting party last month, then told everyone it was the best cheesecake she’d ever had.
It was an untruth, but Leah had found it so endearing that she longed to know Amanda better.
“Can I help you with anything?” Leah walked to Amanda’s side while Aaron stood in the kitchen full of women, looking rather lost.
“Leah, hello.” Amanda wiped her hands on her black apron and smiled. “No, you two go enjoy yourselves. We’re just finishing up a few things in here, and we’ll be right out.”
Leah nodded and turned to go back outside. Aaron followed, but when the screen door closed behind them, he gently grabbed her arm. “Please don’t lead me back over there to Hannah.”
“But she makes your favorite kind of pie.” She didn’t try to hide her cynical tone.
“Very funny.”
After everyone stuffed themselves silly with food, they sang several songs in four-part harmony—something not allowed during worship service. Then some of the guests began to leave, while others started a late-night game of volleyball. The Grabers’ outside lights lit the space well, and a full moon shone on the area. Aaron had joined some of the other young men near the barn, and Leah was outside watching the volleyball game and pretending to be interested in the conversation around her about an upcoming tea party. Thank goodness I’m punished to the house and won’t have to attend.
Hannah, who was hosting the tea party, rattled on about the foods she would be preparing. Leah glanced at Rebecca, who was eyeing Ben on the volleyball court. She hoped a courtship could develop between those two. They’d arrived at the singing separately, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything.
After all, she had arrived with Aaron, and there was certainly no courtship going on there. But she had to admit that it had bothered her when Hannah tried to get cozy with him earlier.
Leah saw Aaron walking toward them from the barn, and she wondered if he was ready to head home. Maybe if she got home early enough, she’d be able to do a little writing before she went to sleep.
Aaron strolled across the yard toward Leah. He was ready to go and hoped Leah would be too. It was going to be another long night of reading. Another long week. He couldn’t help but wonder what his reward would be for reading another book, since that seemed to be how Leah worked. For now, he’d take what he could get, in an attempt to spend more time with her and get to know her better.
“Hello, ladies,” he said as he approached Leah, Rebecca, Hannah, and two of Amanda’s sisters. He stopped near Leah. “I was wondering if you might be ready to go?”
Leah nodded with a yawn. “Ya, I think so.”
There was no mistaking Hannah’s disappointment. Hannah had a striking appearance, and she was known in the community as a good catch for any young man. On several occasions, Aaron’s mother had mentioned what a fine wife Hannah would make. And Aaron knew she was right. She just wasn’t the person for him.
They said their good-byes, and Aaron offered Leah his hand and helped her into his buggy. The feel of her hand cradled in his sent a tingle up his spine. He looked up at the thick clusters of stars that dotted the clear skies above them and decided to take a chance.
“Why are we going this way?” Leah asked when Aaron turned left instead of right out of the Grabers’ driveway.
“It’s such a beautiful night, I thought we’d take the long way. Is that okay? I reckon we really didn’t talk much about your book, and I know that was the deal.” He smiled in her direction to let her know he was just fine with the arrangement.
“I—I had a gut time.” She seemed hesitant with her comment, but her lips curved into a cautious smile. “So I guess it was a fine deal.”
“So when would you like to get together again and hear my thoughts on this latest book?”
“Hmm. I don’t know. There is the issue with mei daed.” She turned to face him, and in the moonlight he could see a twinkle in her eye. “But maybe if I work really hard on my chores, and if Edna continues to feel better, then maybe he’ll let me go do something. But, Aaron . . .”
“Ya?”
“I was thinkin’ . . . I reckon it was hatt for you to read my book so fast, like you did. Probably too much to ask.”
“
Not at all. I enjoyed it.” Aaron knew he was willing to read the other one equally as fast if it meant he’d get to see her again. “What about a picnic Saturday after I get off work, if your daed will allow it? I only work until eleven that morning.” She seemed hesitant, so he added, “I’ll have the book finished by then. We could talk about it and have some lunch.”
Aaron knew that at some point he was going to need Leah to want to spend time with him without having to bribe her. But for now, he’d take however much of her time he could get, and with whatever strings attached.
“I guess I could ask Daed if it would be all right.”
Aaron smiled at the thought of sitting quietly with Leah somewhere and having a picnic. It seemed much more intimate than a Sunday singing. “That sounds gut. I’ll have mei mamm make us a picnic lunch.”
Leah giggled. “Aaron Lantz, do you think I’m not able to prepare us a lunch?”
“No, of course not,” he immediately responded.
“I am quite capable of making chicken salad sandwiches and some side items for a picnic, and I wouldn’t want your mamm to have to do that.” She laughed again. “Unless you’re scared?” Her mouth spread into a wide smile, and her eyes gleamed from the light of the moon.
“I’m a little scared,” he teased back, loving the sound of her laughter. “But I’m willing to take the chance, I reckon.”
“I’ll have Edna get word to Abner by Saturday, whether or not I can go.”
Aaron smiled. Then he kept up his end of the bargain for the rest of the way home, as he recalled some of his favorite parts of Leah’s book.
Chapter Eleven
MARIAN STRIPPED THE SHEETS FROM THE BED AS JAMES fastened his suspenders. Monday was wash day, and she wanted to get the sheets downstairs and into the pile.
“I think it’s lovely that you are letting Leah go on the picnic with Aaron on Saturday.” She turned in his direction and winked. “Sometimes there is cause to bend the rules a bit, no?”
James sighed. “How can I not? A boy is actually interested in Leah, and it’s for sure that he knows she is lacking in skills. I’m sure his sisters have told him of this.”
“Maybe all that’s not important to Aaron. Maybe he just likes Leah for the person she is.” Marian scooped the sheets into her arms. “Besides, Leah has been trying harder lately, helping more around the house.”
James sat down on the bare mattress pad. “But this trying harder cannot be just to gain her freedoms. It should be a way of life. Edna is much better, but I would still like to see Leah stay around the house and work on her skills. This exception is for Saturday only.”
“Did you see the way Aaron looked at Leah during worship service yesterday? It was very sweet. He really seems to like her a lot.”
James looked toward the ceiling and folded his hands together. “Danki, Lord.” He turned toward Marian and smiled. “I was worrying the girl might live with us forever.”
There was a knock at the bedroom door. “Mamm?”
“Come in, Leah.” Marian bunched the sheets up and balanced them on her hip.
Leah pushed the door open and came in. “Daed, I made your lunch. It’s in your pail on the kitchen counter.”
Marian smiled at James. “Isn’t that nice, James? That’s a chore I won’t have to do this morning.” She turned to her daughter. “Danki, Leah.”
Leah hesitated near the door. “Daed, I was wondering . . .”
“What is it, Leah?” James finished tying his shoes and stood up.
“I was wondering if I could meet Clare and Donna for lunch today in town? I haven’t seen them in—”
“No.” James folded his arms across his chest. “I am allowing you to go to your picnic on Saturday, but that is all for now. You are making great strides, Leah, with your household chores, and I would like to see continued improvement. I waited much too long to enforce these rules. Your sisters can’t be expected to do more than their share.”
“But I’ve been doing my share, plus more,” Leah argued.
“Edna is not one hundred percent yet, and I’d like you to keep doing what you are doing.”
“But, Daed—”
“Leah, that’s enough,” Marian said. “Be grateful that your daed is allowing you to go with Aaron on Saturday.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
When the door closed behind Leah, Marian asked her husband, “How long are you going to keep this up, James?”
“Until it becomes natural for Leah to pull her share of the load around here, instead of coming in late for every meal, not helping with preparations, laundry, gardening, and other chores. And until she realizes there is no place or time in her life for these fanciful stories of hers. I am pleased with what I see, and I would like to make sure these are habits she will keep up with.”
Marian kissed her husband on the cheek. “I’m going to go take these to her. She said she would start up the wringer and get the clothes washed today.” Marian grinned. “In the past, Leah has made herself scarce on Mondays. I know she dislikes doing the clothes, yet she offered this morning.”
James twisted his mouth to one side. “It wonders me what the girl has prepared me for lunch. After I tend to the fields, I plan to touch up the red paint on both the barns in the far pasture. If it doesn’t make wet later in the day, that’s my plan.” James scratched his forehead and sighed. “That’s a lot of work for a man to do on an empty stomach.”
Marian smiled. “I will have you an afternoon snack, as usual. So, James Petersheim, you won’t starve today if it is something not of your liking.”
Her husband grumbled as he walked out the door. Marian followed along behind him, toting the sheets, hopeful that Leah would stay on course.
Aaron waited until he was able to catch his mother alone Monday morning.
“Mamm?”
“Ya, Aaron.” She pulled a loaf of bread from the oven and placed it on a rack by the stove. “Your daed and Abner are already milking the cows.”
“I’m heading out there, but there’s something I wanted to talk to you about first.”
Sarah Lantz pulled the kitchen mitt from her hand and placed it on the counter, then wiped a trail of sweat from her cheek. “I try to use this oven in the earliest part of the day, but yet this August heat is still unbearable.” She looked up at Aaron. “What is it, dear?”
Aaron glanced over his shoulder and into the den. Seeing it was all clear, he asked, “Where’s Auntie Ruth?”
“I imagine she’s still sleeping. You know your aunt doesn’t rise as early as we do.”
Aaron didn’t figure there was much he could tell his mother that would surprise her about Auntie Ruth, but Aaron had continued to be bothered about Auntie Ruth’s comments.
“Did you know that Auntie Ruth thinks she is going to die soon?”
His mother scrunched her face. “What? Why would she think that? She’s not sick, that I know of.”
Aaron shrugged. “I don’t know, Mamm. She said that she is going to drop dead soon.” Aaron paused. “Do you think she’s done gone crazy?”
Sarah patted her forehead with a napkin and took a deep breath. “I never know what to think about your Auntie Ruth.” His mother took a seat at the kitchen table. “I remember when I was a girl, Auntie Ruth wasn’t much different than she is now. Except she’s slowed down with age.” She smiled and shook her head. “Do you know that Auntie Ruth came for a visit once when I was twelve or fourteen, and she announced to the entire family that she was going to join a convent and become a nun?”
Aaron knew he needed to get out to the barn and help his daed and Abner, but he’d never heard this story. He sat down across from his mother. “A nun?”
Sarah laughed. “Ya. Of course, she changed her mind later, but I remember the look on everyone’s face when she made the announcement.” She paused. “Auntie Ruth is a spiritual person, but I reckon she is confused sometimes about her relationship with God. She often thinks God is telling her things.”
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br /> “But doesn’t God tell us all things—that little voice inside of us when we listen?”
“I suppose so. But, well . . . it’s different with Auntie Ruth. Another time when I was young, she told me that God told her that He didn’t approve of me dating a boy outside of our district.” She smiled. “I don’t think it was so much that God didn’t approve, but that my parents and Auntie Ruth didn’t approve.” She shrugged. “That boy was your father, and all is gut.”
“I’ll go on to the barn. I just wanted you to know what she said.”
“I wouldn’t give it too much concern, Aaron. I love Auntie Ruth, but we all know she is a little—different.”
By Saturday, Leah was more than ready to go on a picnic—with anyone.
She packed the chicken salad sandwiches she’d made, along with some chips, sweet pickles, and two pieces of apple pie that Kathleen made the day before. She added two paper plates and some napkins, then closed the wooden lid on top.
“Leah?” Her mother walked to where Leah was standing at the kitchen counter, then placed a hand on her arm. “Your daed said that your chicken salad is quite gut and that he very much appreciates the way you have been making him lunch this week.” She paused, grimacing a bit. “But he was wondering if, perhaps, you could make him something different next week.”
Leah smiled. “I guess I finally mastered something in the kitchen, and I went a little overboard.”
“Did you make chicken salad sandwiches for your picnic with Aaron today?”
“Ya, I did. I also made a tomato pie, Mamm, but it didn’t come out right.” Leah pointed to the pie on the kitchen counter, with one slice missing. “I tried it, and it doesn’t taste anything like yours and Kathleen’s. It tastes—grainy. So I snatched two pieces of apple pie that Kathleen made, instead.”