Amish Sweethearts

by Leslie Gould

  When Lila told Reuben good-bye and thanked him again, he smiled and then said, “I’d do anything for you, Lila. You know that.”

  She believed him.

  That afternoon Lila contemplated walking down the lane to see if Shani was home, thinking she should ask her if she’d invite Trudy over more often while Lila was gone. But then Lila would have to decide whether to ask about Zane or not. She knew he’d left for Afghanistan. Shani, Joel, and Adam had gone to Texas to tell him good-bye and then had returned with his truck.

  Lila put on her coat and boots and walked down the back steps. An icy wind howled through the tops of the trees. Dat was working at the lumberyard but would get off in time to pick up Trudy, so Lila didn’t need to go out. She looked out over the field toward the poplars and wondered what the weather was like in Afghanistan. She imagined it was hot, but she actually knew nothing about the country. Perhaps she’d pick up a book at the library.

  A sense of dread overtook her. Zane was off to war. She knew he was a translator, but she also knew he carried a gun. Would he have to kill? She shuddered. He wouldn’t come home the same if he did—she was sure of it. She’d never forget the sorrow and anger in Joel Beck’s eyes after his time in Iraq. But she’d never know what happened to Zane, not more than what Shani or Eve told her. Tears stung her eyes, and she blinked quickly, turning back toward the house. She wouldn’t go over to Shani’s—not now. She’d call once she was at her grandparents’ house. Maybe she’d be able to leave a message, a quick one, and not have to ask about Zane at all.

  On Thursday she packed her things in the back of the buggy and then she and Simon took Trudy to school.

  “I really love Beth,” Trudy said as they turned onto the highway.

  “I thought she was supposed to be mean,” Simon teased.

  “Strict,” Trudy corrected. “And she is, but she’s still really nice. She reminds me of you, Lila.”

  Simon snorted.

  Lila rolled her eyes. “Strict is good,” she said.

  “No, you’re not strict,” Simon joked. “You’re definitely mean.”

  Lila gave Trudy another hug after they climbed down from the buggy, and then Lila walked in with her and told Beth that she was going to help her grandmother after all.

  “I’m so glad,” Beth said.

  “Thank you for encouraging Dat to allow it,” Lila said in a soft voice.

  Beth nodded, a glimmer in her eyes.

  Trudy hung her coat in the entry, but Lila lowered her voice anyway. “I’m worried about Trudy. I’ve never been away from her.”

  “I’ll show her extra care and kindness,” Beth said, patting Lila’s arm. “Don’t worry. I’m fond of all my students, but Trudy already has a special place in my heart.”

  “Denki.” Lila sensed Beth was genuine. And she suspected that her love for Trudy had something to do with her being motherless. The woman had a good heart.

  Lila hugged Trudy one last time. “When will I see you?” Trudy asked.

  “Soon,” Lila answered. “I’ll let Rose know when she can bring you for a visit. Could you make Mammi a card?”

  Trudy nodded, her lower lip quivering.

  Lila hugged her again and hurried out the door as Beth wrapped her arm around Trudy. Once she was back in the buggy, Lila asked Simon if they could stop by the library on the way into Strasburg. “I want to get some books for Mammi,” she said.

  “Doesn’t Mammi have her own books?” Simon joked, turning the horse back onto the road.

  Lila ignored him. She planned to look for a few quilting books and some historical biographies. Mammi liked that sort of thing. And it might be just what she would need to pass the time. Lila pulled the wool blanket up to her shoulders and stared at the white landscape as her brother drove down the Strasburg Pike. A strip of fog had settled across a field, hiding the bases of three silos on the far side. Their tops appeared as if they were suspended from the sky. Ahead, a willow tree hung heavy with ice. A border collie ran along the fence line, barking. Lila closed her eyes, trying to imagine what it would be like with Simon gone. She was almost glad she wouldn’t be at home. As much as he annoyed her, life would be so much duller without Simon around.

  The library was new and built on the edge of town, surrounded by fields. When Simon pulled into the parking lot, Lila asked if he was coming in. He held up his phone and grinned. “But it’s so cold out,” she said.

  “How long do you plan to be?”

  She shrugged. “Not long.”

  “I’ll come in if it gets too cold.”

  She opened the buggy door and jumped out, wrapping her scarf around her neck as she hurried into the library. Heaps of snow had been plowed around the edges of the parking lot, and the sidewalk had been shoveled so many times that there was nearly a tunnel leading to the entrance. The library had just opened for the morning, and not many patrons were inside. She hurried to the section where the geography books were kept. She’d get the book on Afghanistan first, in case Simon did come in. She didn’t want him asking questions about her interest in the country, or more accurately teasing her about it. It took her a few minutes, but she finally found one.

  She then hurried on to the biography section, pulling a book on Dolley Madison, one on Eleanor Roosevelt, and another on Helen Keller. Then she headed to the shelves that held quilting books. After picking out three, she glanced at the computers and contemplated checking her e-mail. She could send Zane a short message. But she decided against it and turned toward the check-out desk as Simon came through the front door, rubbing his bare hands together.

  “What’s that?” he asked as the librarian slid the book on Afghanistan across the scanner, picking it up before Lila could slip it into her bag. Her face grew warm.

  He flipped it over and smiled at Lila, but not his regular grin. It was more of a sympathetic expression. “Who are you thinking about in Afghanistan?”

  She ignored him, thanked the librarian, and slipped the other books into her bag.

  “Lila,” her brother said.

  She walked toward the exit, sensing him behind her as she pushed through the door, continued on through the snow, and then toward the buggy. Just as she reached it, something hit her in the back of the head. She swung around. Simon had a second snowball in his hand and the book tucked between his other arm and side.

  “Don’t you dare,” Lila hissed and started to cry.

  Simon tossed the snowball into the air and caught it. Lila stared at him, tears rolling down her cheeks. He dropped the snow. Lila climbed into the buggy.

  When Simon was settled on the seat he handed her the book but didn’t say anything. Once they were back on the highway, he reached over and patted her shoulder.

  The gesture made her cry more.

  “You can’t tell me you don’t love him,” Simon finally said.

  She wasn’t going to tell Simon anything.

  He glanced at her and said, “You can’t marry someone you don’t love.”

  “Reuben is a hard worker and kind.” She paused. “And he’s Amish.”

  “Zane is a hard worker and kind too. And he loves you.”

  “What do you know about love?” Lila asked.

  “More than you think,” Simon answered, turning his attention back to the road. “And obviously more than you.”

  Mammi hugged Simon one last time. “Call us any time. Day or night.”

  “I won’t be able to call during boot camp,” Simon said. “But I’ll call as soon as I’m done.”

  “Write then,” Mammi said.

  “Ach, you know I’m not much for that.”

  “Do you have envelopes and stamps?”

  Simon shook his head.

  “I’ll be right back.” Mammi headed over to her desk in the corner.

  Simon turned to Lila and spoke softly. “I know you’re worried about Zane, and me too. But don’t be. He’s going to be all right. I will too. But you should worry about yourself.” It was quite the spee
ch for Simon.

  Lila hugged her brother. “I’ll be fine.” As she pulled away, she added, “You’d better write me too. Even if it’s a few lines to let me know everything’s okay.”

  He nodded. “I’ll be praying for you, sis,” he said.

  Tears threatened Lila again. Simon had never mentioned prayer before. “Denki. I’ll be praying for you too.”

  Mammi returned with addressed, stamped envelopes.

  Simon thanked her. Dawdi opened the front door and then walked out with Simon. She’d try not to worry about him. She didn’t think he had any idea what he was getting into, but out of all the young Amish men she knew, she thought Simon would be best able to handle the Army.

  Lila put her things away in her room, and then Dawdi drove Mammi and her over to Thread by Thread. An older woman who went to the same church as Mammi and Dawdi was working. There was one customer in the shop, an Englisch woman.

  Lila had spent enough time in the quilt shop to know where everything was, but Mammi gave her a quick tour anyway and then took her into the back room that doubled as an office and storage. Mammi showed her the safe, the filing cabinet, and the overstock. “Dawdi will handle all of the deposits,” Mammi said.

  A bolt of green fabric caught Lila’s attention. For a moment she thought it was a camouflage pattern, but on closer inspection it was a pattern of leaves.

  “Would you want to help me with a project?” Mammi asked. “While you’re here.”

  “Of course,” Lila said, although she couldn’t imagine that Mammi would have much energy for projects after her surgery.

  “I’m making a quilt for Simon,” Mammi said. “And I already asked if Eve and Shani would like to make one for Zane at the same time. Single quilts so they won’t take long. I think it would be nice for our soldiers to have some love from home to keep them warm.”

  Lila nodded. She couldn’t think of anything better for Zane and Simon. But she wasn’t so sure she wanted to spend time with Shani and Eve as they made something for Zane.

  She couldn’t stop herself from thinking about Zane, no matter how hard she tried. Although she did want to learn about Afghanistan, the less she actually heard about Zane the better. But she couldn’t tell Mammi any of that.

  “I’d be happy to help make the quilt for Simon.” She didn’t imagine Mammi would be able to handle much handwork while she recovered. “In fact if you do the planning, I’ll do the work.”

  “Good,” Mammi said. “Actually the squares are all cut and ready to be pieced. I’ll show you when you get back home.”

  Lila stayed at the quilt shop and worked with the older woman until late afternoon, and then she walked back to Mammi and Dawdi’s house, along Main Street and the stately brick houses that she so admired. The sun was setting, and she was thankful for the sidewalk. It was much safer than the roads around home. As she walked, bundled in her heavy coat, scarf, and mittens, she prayed for Mammi and then for Simon, Trudy, and Rose. She prayed for Daniel and Jenny and then Dat. As she neared Mammi and Dawdi’s cottage, she whispered a quick prayer for Zane too.

  That evening, after a dinner of beef stew, she began piecing the squares for Simon’s quilt. Mammi had used the green fabric Lila had seen in the storage room, along with browns and purples. At bedtime, she packed the cut pieces to work on the next day at the hospital.

  She awoke early, and as she dressed, in relative warmth compared to home, she thought of Reuben doing the milking for her and whispered a prayer of thanks, realizing she hadn’t prayed for him the evening before. Then her mind wandered to Zane. She remembered the book about Afghanistan and opened it and started reading. It started out describing the geography of the country, some of the most varied in the world. The highest mountain was over twenty-four thousand feet. Rivers cut through many of the valleys, creating rugged landscapes. She kept reading.

  “Lila!” Dawdi called up the stairs. “Breakfast is ready.”

  She shut the book quickly. She’d intended to fix it, but she’d gotten lost in the geography of Afghanistan. She slid the book under her pillow and hurried to the stairs, chastising herself for acting like Rose.

  Five hours later Lila and Dawdi were sitting in the waiting room of Lancaster General Hospital when Shani appeared in the doorway. “Eve told me Leona’s surgery was today,” she said as she started toward them. “Any word yet?”

  Lila shook her head. “She’s been in surgery for three hours.”

  Shani sat down beside Lila. “The surgeon should be out soon.”

  Dawdi leaned forward and asked Shani how Zane was doing.

  “Good. We had an e-mail several days ago. They’d finished their orientation and were headed to the field.”

  “Where is he?” Lila asked.

  “The eastern part of the country, but that’s as much as he said.”

  Close to Pakistan, then. Lila exhaled. “Will he be able to communicate much with you?”

  “He has his phone, so I’m hoping he can call.” Shani shrugged and then smiled. “If not, I’m sure he’ll e-mail when he’s back at base.”

  Lila nodded, and Dawdi asked how the weather was there.

  “Sounds as if it’s cold where he was going. They’ll be in the mountains.”

  Zane would likely be traveling around in rugged terrain with people shooting at him, perhaps. Not wanting to dwell on that, Lila asked, “How’s Adam doing?”

  “Fine. He’d love to see Trudy sometime.”

  “Did Eve tell you I’ll be staying with Mammi and Dawdi for a month?”

  “No,” Shani said. “I didn’t know that worked out.”

  Lila nodded. “It happened rather quickly. I’ll be helping in Mammi’s shop too.”

  Shani’s face lit up. “So you’ll be part of our quilting group, then?”

  “Mammi just told me about it yesterday.” Lila bent down and pulled the square she’d been working on out of her bag. “Mammi did the cutting, and I’ve started the piecing.”

  “For Simon?” Shani asked.

  Lila nodded.

  “He hasn’t been by since we got home from Texas. When does he leave?”

  “Next Wednesday.” Lila wondered if Shani and Joel would go down to the house and seek Simon out to say good-bye, chancing an awkward encounter with Dat. They probably would. They weren’t as intimidated by Dat as Lila was. Shani’s eyes drifted past Lila, a serious expression on her face.

  Lila turned. The surgeon walked toward them, still in his scrubs. “She’s in recovery,” he said. “The lump was bigger than we thought, but I think we got it all. You can go on down and see her.”

  Lila and her grandfather must have both appeared a little shocked, because Shani asked, “Would you like me to go with you?”

  Dawdi nodded.

  “Follow me,” Shani said.

  A few minutes later they were all standing at the end of Mammi’s bed. Shani stepped to the side of the bed and took her hand. “Leona, Eli and Lila are here.”

  Mammi turned her head to the side and opened one eye. Shani stepped back and Dawdi stepped forward. He took Mammi’s hand from Shani, and then leaned down to kiss Mammi’s cheek. Tears filled Lila’s eyes as Shani stepped to her side and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. “I can only imagine what you’re feeling.”

  Lila nodded, guessing Shani assumed she was thinking about her mother. For a long moment she hadn’t thought of Zane at all. At least Shani wasn’t guessing about that.

  “By tomorrow she’ll be doing much better,” Shani said.

  “I hope I’m able to take good care of her,” Lila said.

  “You will,” Shani answered. “And if you have any questions, call me. I’ll help.”

  “Denki,” Lila said, meaning it with her whole heart. She knew she could count on Shani.

  13

  On the third Saturday of February, Shani, Joel, and Adam sat around their kitchen table. The smell of bacon hung in the air as they stared at the screen of their laptop, waiting to hear the
tone of Zane’s Skype call.

  “Maybe they were delayed,” Joel said.

  Shani swallowed hard, trying to rid herself of the anxiety creeping up her throat. Zane had sent an e-mail the night before saying they were back at base for a couple of days, and he’d try to Skype. Try, she reminded herself. She shouldn’t have gotten her hopes up.

  “What time does your quilting start?” Joel asked.

  “In a half hour, but that doesn’t matter. I’d rather wait.” It was already a half hour past the time he’d hoped to call.

  “I’m going to go get my book,” Adam said.

  “Good idea,” Shani responded as he left the kitchen. A moment later she heard him running up the stairs.

  “It’s nine p.m. there,” Joel said.

  Shani nodded, wondering if Zane’s team had gone off base for the day or if they had a day of rest. She knew the MRAPs they traveled in weathered IEDs and grenade rockets better than the Humvee Joel had been riding in, back in 2004, but nothing was completely safe.

  She jumped at the jingly tone of the Skype call, but then relief washed through her and she quickly pushed the Accept button, silently saying a prayer that she wouldn’t overwhelm Zane with her concern. She needed to stay calm.

  At first the photo was pixilated. Then it was fuzzy. Finally Zane’s face appeared. He wasn’t the clean-cut soldier she’d last seen. He wore a beard, at least as much of one as she’d ever seen on him. Joel pushed the microphone button twice and said, “Can you hear us?”

  Zane waved, and then his voice came through, “Hello.”

  “How are you?” Shani asked.

  Adam returned to the room, his book in hand, and positioned himself behind Shani.

  “What are you reading, Bub?”

  “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.”

  “Ahh, I love that one,” Zane said, and just like that they were all talking as if he wasn’t in Afghanistan at all.