by Beth Wiseman
“Amos,” David said, this time his tone subdued. “Why don’t you and I geh outside and talk? Judith and Dinah can talk alone too.”
“I think that’s a gut idea.” Aenti Judith rose. “I’ll cut some of that coffee cake Dinah made yesterday.”
“I’m not hungry,” Amos said.
“That’s a first.” Judith’s chuckle disappeared quickly. “Amos. Talk to yer daed. We’ll be waiting here for you.”
Amos didn’t want to have this conversation. He’d already said his piece back in the kitchen, and he meant it. He was happy, like his brother and father were. He wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t incapable. He was different, and for once that was fine by him.
“Amos.” Daed looked over at him as they stood on the patio. He pulled out a chair. “Have a seat.”
“I don’t want to sit. I don’t want to talk. I want to get married.”
His father sat down. “Mei leg is bothering me, so do you mind if I sit?”
Amos felt bad. He sat down next to him.
“I think I might have handled this wrong.” Daed looked at Amos. It was dark outside, but the gas lamplight from the kitchen shone enough light on the patio that Amos could see his father’s face. “You surprised me, sohn. That’s all.” He shook his head. “You always surprise me.”
“I’m getting married.” Amos wasn’t going to budge.
“I know that’s what you want to do. You’ve made that clear.” He ran his hand over his face. “Now I need to make myself clear. Marriage isn’t easy. The love you feel at first, it’s special. Exciting. But after a while, when the newness wears off, you’re only left with each other.”
“Right.”
Daed frowned. “What do you mean, ‘right’?”
“I don’t want to be with anyone else. I want to be with Dinah.”
His father didn’t say anything, and Amos could tell he was thinking. He was also rubbing his palm across the back of his neck, something he did when he was upset. But for once Daed stayed calm. “Amos, you’ve never been on yer own. You don’t know what it’s like to pay bills, to keep a bank account . . .” He sighed. “You can learn that stuff. What will be the hardest thing for you to learn is how to understand yer wife.”
Amos frowned. “I understand Dinah.”
“You don’t know Dinah. She’s been here only two months.”
“How long did you know Mamm before you loved her?”
Daed sat back in his chair. “That’s not a gut example. Yer mamm left. I loved her, but she didn’t love me enough to stay.”
“Dinah won’t leave me.” Amos couldn’t explain how he knew this was true. He just did. “And I won’t leave her.”
“Amos . . .” His father’s shoulders slumped, and he gave Amos a crooked smile. “Why don’t you at least sleep on it?”
“But I sleep on mei bed.”
“I mean think about it overnight. We can talk again in the morning.”
His mind wouldn’t be changed by morning. He knew he wouldn’t have any trouble falling asleep tonight. And if he was lucky, he would dream about Dinah again.
“Dinah, this isn’t like you.” Judith leaned over the table, genuine worry on her face.
Dinah hoped Amos and David’s conversation was going better than this one. Her aunt was definitely trying to talk her out of marrying Amos.
“You don’t do things impulsively,” her aunt continued.
“I-I don’t do much of anything.”
“And now you want to take care of Amos?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Nee. I want to m-marry him. That’s not the same thing.”
“Dinah, Amos is—”
“I k-know how A-Amos i-is! And I love him for it. There’s a lot he doesn’t know. I understand that. B-but I want to teach him. I w-want us to learn about l-life and each other t-together.” Her lower lip trembled. “I’ve been so sheltered, Aenti Judith. By mei own choice. Amos has shown me that I don’t have to be a-afraid anymore.”
Aenti Judith didn’t say anything for a long while. Then she touched Dinah’s elbow. Dinah unfolded her arms and clasped Judith’s hand. “I don’t want either of you to get hurt.”
“Neither do I. God never p-promised us life would be easy. But it will be easier facing it with Amos.”
Her aunt closed her eyes. “What will yer mutter say?”
“She’s always wanted me to get married.”
Aenti Judith looked at her. “That’s true. She has.” Tears shined in her eyes. “I’ve prayed for Amos from the moment I met him. That he would be happy. Safe. And loved.” She wiped away her tears from beneath her glasses. “I don’t know why I was surprised that you want to marry him. You’re both special. I can’t think of a better woman to be Amos’s wife.”
Dinah started to cry, and she and Judith hugged each other. Amos and David walked into the kitchen just as the two women were drying their tears on a dish towel. Amos went to Dinah and knelt by her side. “You’re crying,” he said.
“Happy tears.” Dinah smiled. She touched Amos’s face. “They’re happy tears.”
“Does this mean we’re getting married?”
She looked at her aunt, who nodded, then at David, who was frowning. Finally, he gave a small nod. Dinah would take it. “Ya, Amos,” she said, grinning. “We’re getting married.”
Epilogue
Two months later
Amos yanked on the collar of his white shirt as he stood in the living room. Despite it being January, the room felt hot. Stifling. That was a new word he learned from Dinah last week. He liked that word. Stifling.
Dinah called her mamm and told her they were getting married. Then Dinah went back to New York. She was gone for two weeks. That was hard, not seeing her for that long. Then she came back with her belongings, including a cat named Fido. “I couldn’t leave him behind.” She and Fido now lived in Judith’s old house. After today it would be his house too. A wedding present from Judith.
He looked around the room, which was filled with people. Dinah’s brothers and their families took up most of the space. He liked her brothers, even though they teased Dinah. But Dinah didn’t seem to mind anymore. She barely stuttered in front of people now. Her father and mother had said she had changed, and he was glad. Last night her daed had thanked Amos for making his daughter happy.
Amos didn’t need to be thanked. He wanted to make Dinah happy. God knew she made him happy. She had taught him so much in the past few months. He was reading a lot better now, and not just poetry, although poetry was his favorite. She helped him learn how to budget money. How to pay bills. He found out that she knew everything there was about running a household. She knew a lot of things, and he wanted to keep learning from her.
He looked at Jeremiah, who was standing next to him. His brother grinned. Both he and Anna Mae had come. Anna Mae was with Judith upstairs, helping Dinah. Jeremiah and Anna Mae had worn their Amish Sunday clothes. Amos didn’t know they even had them anymore. He was glad they had decided to dress Amish today.
Jeremiah had talked to him right before bedtime. He had explained to Amos what happens after the wedding. How children came into the world. Amos didn’t have the heart to tell him he already knew. Dinah had explained all that to him too.
He heard movement on the top of the stairs, and a few moments later Dinah showed up. She was beautiful. So beautiful. None of the poetry he’d read or artwork he drew could compare with how she looked right now, wearing a dark blue dress, black stockings, and a black bonnet. She smiled, and he stopped breathing. At one time he had wondered if he would ever find love. If he would ever marry. It had seemed impossible. He should have known better. Nothing is impossible with God.
He and Dinah proved that.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Dinah held some resentment toward her mother for pushing her into doing something uncomfortable—leaving home and visiting her aunt. Sometimes God makes us uncomfortable so we can grow and change. Discuss a time where God wanted
you to do something out of your comfort zone.
2. Amos’s special gift is his ability to see beauty in everything. What gifts has God given you and how do you share them with others?
3. Dinah’s confidence grows as she feels appreciated and accepted by Amos. How does Amos’s total acceptance of Dinah mirror God’s acceptance of us?
4. Amos wishes he were normal, but Dinah says he’s exactly the way God wants him to be. What would you tell Amos?
5. Amos’s family underestimates him and are overprotective, but they love him deeply. What lessons did they have to learn from Amos and Dinah’s relationship?
6. Do you think Amos and Dinah will have a good and strong marriage? Why? What advice would you give them?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Amos and Dinah’s story is extremely significant to me. As a special education teacher I’ve had the privilege of meeting and working with so many extraordinary students and their parents. They have touched my life and my soul, and I thank them for the many lessons they have taught me over the years. Thank you also to my editors, Becky Monds and Jean Bloom. I keep repeating myself but they are fantastic, and I appreciate their insight and encouragement. A special thank-you to Kelly Long for her critique and support of this story. And as always, thank you readers, for going on another journey with me. Blessings to you all!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kathleen Fuller is the author of several bestselling novels, including A Man of His Word and Treasuring Emma, as well as a middle-grade Amish series, the Mysteries of Middlefield.
Visit her website at www.kathleenfuller.com.
Twitter: @TheKatJam
Facebook: Kathleen Fuller
Mischief in the Autumn Air
Vannetta Chapman
For Kris Stutzman
GLOSSARY
aenti—aunt
dawdi haus—a smaller dwelling for aging parents, usually connected to an Amish home
danki—thank you
dat—dad, father
Englischer—non-Amish person
freind—friend
Gotte’s wille—God’s will
gut—good
haus—house
kapp—prayer covering
kinner—children
nein—no
Ordnung—set of rules for Amish living
wunderbaar—wonderful
youngie—teenaged to young adult
ya—yes
The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our
land will yield its harvest.
—PSALM 85:12
Come, ye thankful people, come,
Raise the song of harvest home;
All is safely gathered in,
Ere the winter storms begin.
—HENRY ALFORD, “COME, YE THANKFUL PEOPLE, COME,” 1844
Prologue
Sugar Creek, Ohio
April
Martha Beiler stared out across her porch and yard, oblivious to the cold rain splashing against the porch rail, wetting her shoes and apron.
“What does it say, Martha? And why are you standing there in the cold? Land sakes, dear. I thought something terrible had happened.” Fannie had hurried across the small pasture that separated their two farms. Carrying an umbrella and wearing sensible shoes, she was dryer than Martha. Though twenty-two years older than Martha’s forty, they’d long ago become fast friends.
“Let’s go inside. You can put on dry clothes while I heat some water for tea.”
That’s the way things were between them—the other’s kitchen felt as familiar as their own. When Fannie tugged on her arm, Martha nodded in agreement, folded the letter, and slipped it back into the envelope. She stopped only to scoop up the barn cat and set it in the basket away from the rain. Twenty minutes later, Martha and Fannie were at the old oak table, hot cups of tea in front of them.
Fannie read the letter again and then passed it back to Martha. “Your aenti wants you to come.”
“There are conditions.”
“Attend church, help around the house, plant a spring garden.” Fannie’s finger ran down the page. “Oh, and no pets. Well it’s not as if you would have taken Bandit with you.”
“I suppose whoever buys this place might allow him to live in the barn—he is a good mouser.”
“He spends at least half his time on my back porch. You know I will continue to feed him.”
Martha nodded, one problem resolved. What of the dozen or so others? How would she ever find the strength to sell all they owned and move two hundred and fifty miles west?
“You’re blessed to have family who will provide you a place to live.”
“I have a place to live.” Martha sipped the tea, though she’d rather have been out walking in the rain, trying to make sense of what her life had become.
“Ack. You have your husband’s farm, which should fetch you a goodly amount. You’ll be able to pay off the bank loan and have some left over to live on.” She tapped the letter that sat between them. “Especially if you stay at your aenti’s and accept the job she mentions.”
“At an auction house? I know nothing of auctions.”
“We have them every year for the school.”
“That is different and you know it. The auctions in Shipshewana, they are famous. Tourists come from all around. Life there is nothing like our quiet life here in Sugar Creek, Fannie.”
“Perhaps not, but it seems to be where Gotte is directing you.”
“Do you really think so?” Martha swiped at her hair and pushed the tea aside. Crossing her arms on the table, she leaned forward and studied her best friend. “Do you think I should go?”
“I think that Melvin would like to know that you are taken care of and that you are with family.”
“But you’re my family.” The words were an ache in Martha’s heart. How could she leave the life she and Melvin had built together, the only true home she had ever known, and the dear woman sitting across from her?
“I will always be your freind.” Fannie reached forward and covered Martha’s hands with her own. “We can’t understand why Gotte chose to call Melvin home when He did, or what His intentions are for sending you to Shipshewana. But this?”
She gestured again toward the letter. “This is a blessing for sure and for certain. It will solve all of your financial problems.”
Martha nodded, pulled her hands away, and picked up the letter. “But working at the auction? I can’t imagine—”
“You’ve always been gut with numbers. Remember when my Stephen couldn’t fathom the math in his textbook?”
“We had that Mennonite teacher from Millersburg.”
“Who thought he should be able to read his books while the children learned on their own.”
Martha smiled for the first time since the mailman had dropped off the letter and changed the course of her life. “Stephen was so worried. He used to rub at his forehead when something troubled him.”
“Still does. I’m certain it’s why his hair has receded there.” Fannie touched the right side of her own forehead, indicating the spot where Stephen’s hair had fled. “But my point is that you helped him then and in fact, helped all of my children with their math. I was never good at it, and Leroy certainly didn’t have time, what with trying to pull a living from this place.
“We managed though. We’ve made a gut living and a gut life.” Martha felt as if she could not sustain one more loss. Leaving this woman and her church community would be like leaving a part of herself among the hills and valleys of Sugar Creek.
“That we did.” Fannie stood, walked around the table, and pulled Martha to a standing position. “Be strong, dear. Gotte has a plan. He always has a plan for His children.”
Martha knew that Fannie was right. The problem was that it wasn’t a plan she understood or liked. Nonetheless, it would do no good to behave as a child and be pulled from her home kicking and screaming. She could either let it go voluntarily or wait for the bank to kick her out. Best to
follow the path her aenti was providing. She understood that truth, but she didn’t have to like it.
Chapter One
Shipshewana, Indiana
Eighteen months later
Martha stood with a ledger in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. “Maybe you should call the police.”
“Because people were seen inspecting our merchandise?” Eli Wittmer ran a hand along his jaw, something he tended to do when he was aggravated.
At six feet and thin as the coatrack he stood next to, Eli never failed to make Martha feel short and dumpy. She was short, and she tended toward chunky. Neither was Eli’s fault, but still she liked him less for it. She realized the feeling was shallow and illogical. When he frowned at her so, she became shallow and illogical. That certainly was his fault.
Martha had no doubt that she had once again tried her boss’s patience, which was an incredibly easy thing to do.
“Something’s not right. I saw them early this morning when I walked through to make sure everything was set up for the opening.”
“Our auction barn is open to buyers at seven a.m.”
“But they’re not supposed to touch the merchandise. They’d pulled out one of the dressers and were inspecting it.”
“Buyers often do, in spite of our signs warning them to only look.”
“And Joey Davis saw them last night, after we had already left. He came by to tell me about it earlier.”
She’d finally caught his attention. Eli pulled off his hat and ran his hand through curls that were still ridiculously chestnut brown with no hint of gray. She’d suspect the man used hair dye if she didn’t know him better. Not only was it not allowed by their Ordnung, but Eli was too tight with money to spend even a dime on something so superfluous.