His New Amish Family

by Patricia Davids

  * * *

  When Clara’s buggy turned into his uncle’s lane on Saturday, Paul was unprepared for the jolt of happiness that hit him. He ignored the warning bells that went off in the back of his mind. He was becoming much too involved with Clara. His idea of strictly being friends could become a problem if he couldn’t keep his feelings for her under control. In spite of that fact, he walked out to greet her. “I see you found us.”

  “We didn’t have any trouble following your directions,” she said as she gathered her picnic basket.

  Toby jumped down. “Where’s the cake?”

  Sophie gazed at Paul with her bright blue eyes. “Where are Clyde and Juliet? I want to meet them. I have their puppets.” She held the toys up for him to see.

  “Clyde and Juliet aren’t here yet but I know where there is some cake and ice cream just waiting to be enjoyed. Shall I tell you? It’s a secret.”

  Sophie giggled and put both hands over her mouth. “I like secrets.”

  He leaned in the buggy and whispered, “So do I. Want me to tell you where the ice cream is?”

  She nodded. He cupped a hand to her ear and whispered directions. He helped her out of the buggy and she took off at a run.

  “No fair,” Toby said. “I’m hungry, too.”

  “Better follow your sister.”

  Paul settled his hands on his hips as he watched Toby race to catch up with Sophie.

  “You are good with kinder. My two are quite fond of you.”

  He grinned at her. “That’s because I’m a kid at heart. Besides, I told you everyone likes me.”

  “Everyone except the string of Amish maids with broken hearts you’ve left behind you.” Jessica Clay came up behind him. She was wearing a pink polka-dot dress. No one would mistake her for an Amish woman.

  “You are simply jealous because I wouldn’t go out with you, Jessica.”

  “Ha. I’m too smart to fall for the likes of you. I meant what I said about him, Clara. He never dates anyone more than three times.”

  * * *

  Clara liked the outgoing Englisch woman. “I must thank you for your generosity in driving people and passing phone messages while Sophie was in the hospital. Don’t worry that I will fall for Paul. I have already been warned that he isn’t husband material.”

  “Warned? Who has slandered my good name?” His expression of pretend outrage was comical.

  Clara arched one eyebrow. “Beverly Stutzman is a member of my church.”

  “Oh.” His teasing manner vanished as a red flush crept up his neck.

  “Busted,” Jessica declared and walked away.

  Paul helped Clara step down. “Beverly is a sweet woman but she’s in a hurry to get married. I’m not.”

  Another buggy pulled up beside them. Charlotte sat in the front seat with a large brown-and-white basset hound beside her. A raccoon with a pink collar sat on top of the buggy making chittering sounds. Charlotte lifted the dog’s front foot and waved it at Clara. “Clyde is delighted to meet you at last,” she called out. “I have told him all about you and your daughter. We are looking forward to meeting your son.”

  The dog looked at Paul and woofed loudly. “Watch out for the dog,” Paul said under his breath. “I meant to warn you about him.”

  “Is he vicious?” Concern for her children instantly took over Clara’s mind.

  “Not vicious but he does lack manners. He has a tendency to jump on people. I’m just warning you.”

  “He’s certainly big enough to knock over Sophie or Toby.”

  “Don’t ask me why but he likes to pick on adults. I’d never seen him misbehave around children.”

  That was a relief. Charlotte got out of her buggy and held her hands up to the raccoon. The animal jumped to her and quickly climbed to the top of her head. She lay down on Charlotte’s kapp and began patting her owner’s face with her little paws. Clyde lumbered ahead of them, occasionally stepping on his own ear in the process. He didn’t seem to mind.

  At the back of the large house, Clara saw lawn chairs had been set up in the shade of a hickory tree. The wide, well-kept lawn sloped down from a lush flower garden outside the back door of the house to the banks of the wide river. Downstream, she could see where a faded red covered bridge gave access to the far bank.

  Near the tree, a picnic table covered with a blue checkered cloth held a birthday cake with a single candle and several dozen gifts. She added her own offering for a one-year-old—six pairs of sturdy socks.

  Anna waved and rose from her lawn chair amidst the group of women. A shout rose from the men in the horseshoe pit. Most of the men were either engaged in the game of horseshoes or watching and shouting encouragement to the participants. The exception was an Englisch fellow who lounged in a chair near the women. Clara noticed several of the partygoers weren’t Amish.

  Anna steered Clara toward an empty chair. “Let me introduce everyone you haven’t met.” She gestured toward an Englisch couple. “This is Nick Bradley and his wife, Miriam.”

  Clara was sure she had heard the name before but she couldn’t recall where. Anna gestured to the young mother with a toddler on her lap. “You have met Mary but this is our birthday boy, little Nicky.”

  Mary smiled fondly at her child and then looked at Clara. “Nick and Miriam are my parents and the reason my children are spoiled. My husband is the one who just made a ringer.”

  Clara glanced that way. “They all look like they are enjoying the game.”

  “The Bowman brothers manage to give every competition their all,” Nick said.

  It was fairly easy to pick out the brothers, for they looked alike with some variation in their hair color. She was finally able to match the husbands to the wives she had met except for one. Noah wasn’t in the game but another man was. Clara hazarded a guess. “The tall, burly fellow is not a Bowman.”

  A woman with a baby about six months old in her arms laughed softly. “That one is my husband. You are right—he is not a Bowman.”

  “That is John Miller,” Anna said. “He is a good friend as well as a good neighbor and a fine blacksmith. This is his wife, Willa, and his mother, Verna.”

  Willa shifted the sleeping baby in her arms so Clara could see him. “And this is Glen, who arrived last Christmas morning.”

  “A precious gift any day.”

  “You are so right,” Willa said.

  “And no party would be complete without the twins,” Verna declared as a pair of girls raced up to her chair. “Lucy and Megan, this is Clara Fisher.”

  “Hello,” they said in unison.

  Clara smiled at them. “Are you enjoying the party?”

  “Yup,” one of them said.

  The two blonde, blue-eyed girls were carbon copies of each other. Clara couldn’t tell them apart. They kneeled on a blue-and-white patchwork quilt spread on the grass in front of the chairs. Sophie sat shyly to one side with her arm around Clyde. The dog seemed well-behaved to Clara.

  “Toby said you have yellow eyes,” one of the twins said and moved closer to Sophie.

  The other twin leaned in, too. “They don’t look yellow to me. They look blue.”

  “They only get yellow when I’m sick,” Sophie told them.

  Another Amish woman came out of the house with a pitcher of fruit punch and one of iced tea. Her gaze settled on Paul standing behind Clara. “Go away, Paul. We women want to talk about the men and we can’t do that if you are standing here.”

  Paul swept one hand toward her. “This is Fannie Bowman. If you couldn’t guess, she is the wife of another cousin. Noah Bowman.”

  “It’s good to meet you, Clara. I’ve heard a lot about you and your children. Now scram, Paul. Men are not welcome until we are done gossiping.”

  “That includes you, Nick,” Anna said.

  Nick heaved his tall
frame out of the folding lawn chair. “Come on, Paul. Let’s see if we can get in the horseshoe game. I’ve been waiting to settle the score with you since Hannah’s birthday.”

  “Where is Hannah?” Miriam asked.

  “Noah has taken her and some of her friends riding. He promised to have them back before we cut the cake.”

  “Here come some more of our friends,” Willa said. Clara turned to see Debra Merrick and another woman approaching.

  “Clara and Sophie, how nice to see you again,” Debra said. “Let me introduce Janice Willard, the midwife who delivered Glen and Nicky, Rebecca’s Benjamin and many other babies in our community.”

  Two nurses were soon peppering Clara with questions about Sophie’s illness, her treatments and the planned liver transplant. Clara could tell that they were genuinely interested in her daughter’s well-being.

  “I am still researching how to make a filtered light tent. I had hoped to have the information for you today but there isn’t a lot of literature on the subject. I still haven’t found what type of plastic film is best.”

  “Are you talking about the window film that blocks UV light?” Helen asked.

  “Yes.” Debra looked hopeful. “Do you know anything about the different types of film?”

  “I know a little,” Helen admitted.

  “Luke knows a lot more,” his wife, Emma, said.

  Helen nodded. “Mark and I purchased the film for our new display windows in the bakery from Luke’s hardware store. Luke said it would reduce the amount of heat coming in during the summer and keep our furnishings from fading. Would you like to talk to him about it?”

  Debra and Janice looked at each other. “Yes, we would,” Janice declared.

  “I’ll get him,” Emma said.

  A few minutes later, Luke approached the group of women with an apprehensive look in his eyes. “I don’t know what it was but I’m pretty sure I didn’t do it.”

  They all laughed. Debra pulled a sketchbook from her bag. “We are investigating the use of UV-blocking film in the treatment of jaundiced infants.”

  “How can I help?”

  Debra opened her sketchbook. “This is a tent made of plastic film. Would you be able to obtain the materials to build something like this?”

  He took the sketchpad from her. “Do you want the frame to be wooden or metal?”

  “I’m not sure it matters.”

  “The cheapest would be a wooden frame. How big do you want it?”

  Debra looked at Clara. “What do you think?”

  “Six feet by six feet. Large enough to cover her sandbox.” If Sophie had a place to play and to keep her occupied, she was more likely to remain outside in the light.

  “Sure, I can order that for you but I thought you wanted something for babies?”

  “I do,” Janice said. “I have several pictures in my car if you would like to see what we have in mind.”

  The two of them walked away. Debra grinned at Clara. “It seems there aren’t many problems that the Bowmans can’t solve.”

  Clara caught sight of Paul watching her. “They are a remarkable family.”

  Before long, Sophie and the twins were busy playing with the puppets and with Clyde. Charlotte looked on with Juliet. As the women around her chatted happily, Clara was amazed at the number of people gathered for a one-year-old’s birthday party and at the number of non-Amish people who had been welcomed. It seemed that Bowmans Crossing was more than a group of houses near the bridge over the river. It appeared to be a gentle and welcoming community.

  Miriam Bradley came over and sat beside Clara. “I understand you are facing some problems with your uncle’s estate. Paul has told us about it. My husband, Nick, would like to ask you a few questions. Do you mind?”

  It clicked in Clara’s mind where she had heard the name before. “Your husband is the sheriff.”

  He and Paul came up behind her and settled in chairs on either side of her. “I am off duty today,” Nick said. “Today, I am the proud grandpa of a darling little boy and nothing else.”

  Clara glared at Paul. “Is this why you invited me?”

  “I did know that Nick would be here and I hoped that you would speak to him but that wasn’t the reason I asked you to come. I invited you because I wanted you and your children to have an enjoyable afternoon. You have all been through a lot lately. I thought you deserved a little cake and ice cream.”

  “If you don’t wish to speak to me, I understand,” Nick said. “I would like to say that Ralph Hobson is well-known to my department. We have had many complaints about him in the past, mostly from the Amish. He takes advantage of their reluctance to report him. I would be interested in hearing what you have to say about him and this forged revocable trust and amendment he showed you.”

  Paul leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “Clara, I believe you when you say your uncle would not leave the farm to Ralph. I’m asking you to trust Nick. He may be able to help you.”

  “In what way can he help me?”

  “You said that your uncle used an attorney to draft the original trust.”

  Clara nodded. “I don’t know his name.”

  Nick met Clara’s gaze without flinching. “There are not many attorneys that work with Amish clients in this area. I can easily check to see which of them had your uncle as a client. If they have a copy of the original, it will be easy enough to compare signatures on the two documents. Let me do some checking for you. You don’t have to file a complaint unless you want to.”

  Clara glanced to where her children were lining up to get a piece of cake. She wasn’t doing it for herself; she was doing it for Sophie. She looked at Nick. “I don’t want to file a complaint unless I have to but I can’t stop you from asking questions.”

  “Fair enough. I don’t want you to go against your beliefs. I see the riders returning.” He rose and walked toward a half dozen young girls riding Haflinger ponies. The girl in the front waved to him and galloped up to him.

  Charlotte came and sat in one of the empty chairs. “Have you made a decision, Clara?”

  “About what?”

  “Moving in with me. You said you would consider it.”

  “You truly want us to live with you?” Clara glanced at the women sitting around her. Was Charlotte being serious?

  Charlotte’s smile widened. “I think it is the perfect answer. I have plenty of room now that Helen and Mark have moved out. I liked having them here, I don’t mean to imply otherwise but both Clyde and Juliet are ready for a change.”

  “I have two young, active children. Are you sure that won’t be a problem?”

  “Not as long as their young, active mother looks after them. If you are thinking I shall be worn out, perish the thought. Juliet and Clyde keep me every bit as busy as children would. Perhaps more so. Last summer, I had five grandcoons underfoot. They made for a difficult but rewarding time. Clyde, what’s your opinion?”

  The dog woofed twice.

  Charlotte looked at the raccoon on her shoulder. “Juliet, do you have an objection? No? There you have it. Clyde has said it is an excellent idea and Juliet has no objections.”

  “It’s very kind of you, Charlotte,” Clara said, “but Sophie needs to sleep under special lights and that requires electricity. Would you object to a generator being used for that?”

  “I have no idea. Clyde, do we object to electricity?”

  Clara didn’t know how she felt about having a dog make this major decision. Clyde tipped his head to the side as if considering the idea. Then he got up and loped toward the children playing by the edge of the river.

  “Well, there you have it.” Charlotte grinned.

  The women all glanced at each other. Helen leaned over and laid a hand on Charlotte’s arm. “We didn’t hear Clyde’s decision.”

  “Really?
I thought he was perfectly clear.”

  “Just so there is no misunderstanding, what did he say?”

  “He said he did not care for the noise and smell of a generator but it would be a small inconvenience and having the children stay at the house would more than make up for it.”

  “He said all that?”

  Charlotte patted Helen’s hand. “I have often said that you are a lovely person but you don’t listen well. I know people say that about me but I hear everything. Clara, how soon do you think you and your children can move in? Of course, you will want to see the house first. Why don’t we run over there? It’s only two miles. I don’t really mean that we should run. I would fall over in a dead faint before I reached the covered bridge. The horse could run but I always say never run your horse unless you absolutely have to. Getting them to stop could be a problem.”

  Anna rose to her feet. “I think the house tour should be delayed until after we sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Nicky and everyone has had their cake and ice cream. Charlotte, will you help me serve?”

  “Indeed, I will.” She got up and followed Anna into the house.

  Helen patted Clara’s shoulder. “I hope my aunt didn’t scare you off, Clara. She really is a wonderful woman even if she is a little bit scatterbrained sometimes. It would relieve my mind to know someone was living with her. The house is quite nice, plain and roomy. She has a lovely flower garden, too.”

  Anna and Charlotte came out with a stack of plates and three tubs of ice cream. Anna called to the children, who came running for the treat. The men left their game and crowded around the table. After everyone sang to Nicky, he was allowed to grasp handfuls of his own cake and stuff them in his mouth. Charlotte began cutting the sheet cake while Anna topped each piece with the waiting child’s preference of chocolate, strawberry or vanilla ice cream. The mothers in the group helped settle the youngest ones on the quilt while the cake and ice cream were being passed out.

  Paul moved to stand beside Clara. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

  “My head is spinning. I thought I was coming to let my children enjoy an afternoon of playing with new friends but it seems I have acquired new friends of my own, a place to live, a new treatment for Sophie’s jaundice and I find the sheriff is willing to look into my cousin’s dishonest dealing.”