“He does,” Ella said, a gentle smile on her face, although Dora couldn’t have seen it in the darkness.
They soon broke out of the fog, and Dora settled back into the buggy seat. She stayed there and breathed deeply until they arrived home.
“I’ll take the horse to the barn,” Dora offered when she had the tugs off and the buggy shaft safely on the ground.
“Thanks,” Ella said, grateful for the offer. She pushed the buggy out of the way while Dora disappeared through the barn door with the horse. Briskly she walked toward the house. Once inside, she stopped in the bedroom to check on Eli. He looked like he was asleep. Certain that this was a trick, she went back to the cupboard to check on the cinnamon rolls. All three plates were still there untouched.
Monroe’s light was out when she got upstairs. She lit her kerosene lamp, wrote a few lines in her tablet about the day’s events, and then blew out the light.
Thirty-nine
The evening before the school picnic, Eli hobbled out to the barn for chores to prove he was up to it. “At least it gets me out of the house,” he muttered darkly, “but my ribs are too sore for milking yet. I squeezed them half to death trying.”
Ella thought he looked healthy today among the other young boys his age, almost as if he had never been injured. When he moved, though, he had a careful way in which he turned his arms. He was in deep conversation with a friend at present but would leave soon to make his phone call to that Englisha girl. Hopefully the girl had come to her senses by now, if Eli hadn’t.
A softball game was organized and in full swing. Ella decided not to play for various reasons. For one, she had Eli on her mind. Not that she could do much about that, but it did feel inappropriate to play with such potentially life-changing things underfoot. Secondly, there were plenty of people to play, so she wasn’t missed.
The crack of the bat came clearly, loud enough so that several heads turned. Ella couldn’t make out for sure who had been up at the plate, but the boy tore around the bases while a wild dash was made to gather the ball from the outfield.
The throw reached third base too late, and the boy made his race for home plate in plenty of time. He bent forward, gasped for air, and flopped out on the grass behind home plate. Ella had figured out by then who he was. He was one of the young Mast boys who dated her cousin.
Ella glanced around and caught her cousin’s eye. She had watched the race too and broke into a broad smile. A sharp pain ran through Ella. How is it to have the one you love, alive and well and out on the ball field? Aden would have been there. He never passed up a chance to play softball, and he was good at the game. I’ll never have that again. Youth has failed me and torn love from my heart like it was a thornbush in the pasture to be uprooted and cast away forever. Now there is only the young bishop who wants my attention, and that I have to get away from.
After lunch and the program, Ella had obtained permission from her mom to drive over and see how the progress on the house was going.
“The footers are poured,” Daniel had whispered to her after the youth singing on Sunday night. Whatever that meant, she planned to find out.
The itch was strong to be involved as much as possible. Daniel wouldn’t object, she assumed. If he did, he could say so. Today, she couldn’t stay long at the site, but if things worked out with her mom, she would return other days with time for actual work.
Her eye caught sight of two boys making their way down the hill from the schoolhouse. One of them was Eli, and the other one was their cousin. Below the hill, the pay phone stood. Surely, Eli hadn’t taken his cousin into his confidence. She could imagine he needed cover for the stroll, but things would not go well with him if the cousin passed on any information.
They soon moved out of sight, and so she could do nothing but worry, distracted with her concern. Clara came up and touched her arm from behind, and Ella jumped.
“Sorry,” Clara whispered. “Do you think I’ll do okay with the program?”
Ella gathered her thoughts together and gave Clara a quick smile. “Ach, yah. You know the lines well. I’ve heard you say them at home many times.”
“But I have to be standin’ beside Paul.” Clara glanced up at Ella. “What if I turn red?”
“No one knows the difference,” Ella assured her. “They’ll just think you’re nervous about readin’ the poem, which is perfectly normal. You don’t have to be ashamed of it, anyway, even if people find out you like him.”
Clara smiled and seemed to relax. “I’ll be glad when it’s over, though. He makes me nervous and shaky.”
“You’ll be a big girl before too long, all grown up and running with the young folks.” Ella gave her a hug. “And Paul can take you home, then.”
“I don’t want to think about that. I try not to think about him at all—especially today when I don’t want to turn red.”
“You’ll do okay.” Ella squeezed her arm. “It’s almost lunchtime.”
“I’m hungry now.” Clara glanced at the table set up with casseroles, meats, pies, and cinnamon rolls.
“Here comes the bishop,” Ella whispered. “I expect it’s time for prayer.”
Bishop Hostetler walked to the front of the schoolhouse, cleared his throat, and began, “It’s time to eat, everyone. Would someone run outside and let the children in the ball field know, and then we can get to all this food. I’m sure none of us are any hungrier than the children are.”
There were vigorous nods from several little boys, and two of the older men went outside. They waved their arms toward the ball field and shouted, “Lunchtime, children!” Young children came at a run from all directions, followed by the more dignified older ones.
Inside the schoolhouse, the bishop said, “We have all gathered now. Let’s us go to Da Hah in prayer.”
He had a clear voice that carried well, trembling only slightly for an older man. His long beard was a solid grey already, and his step was still steady. His gaze was that of a man used to the exercise of power. Ella had known him all her life.
When he was done with the prayer, a line immediately formed. Ella waited until her cousin and Dora came forward and then joined them. She noticed Eli and his cousin coming back up the hill at a slow walk. He didn’t look sheepish, but she doubted if that meant much. When Eli did what he thought was right, he didn’t look sheepish, regardless of what others thought. He had a strength that could well turn into a weakness, as far as Amish ways were concerned.
With her plate full, Ella found a seat beside her cousin.
“I see you found some of my mamm’s chicken casserole,” her cousin said with a glance at her plate.
“Looks gut,” Ella told her with a smile. “I didn’t know it came from your mamm.”
“Mamm tried it for the first time. The recipe came from her sister in Holmes County. That’s kind of dangerous, I thought, to use a recipe for the first time here, even if your sister says it’s good. I told her she ought to practice on us first, but that’s how mamm is. She likes to try new things right away.”
Ella lifted a spoonful of casserole to her mouth and carefully savored the bite. “I don’t think you’re mamm could go wrong,” she said. “She’s known for her tasty cooking. Tastes really delicious.”
“Still makes me nervous,” her cousin muttered. “The way mamm does her things.”
Ella glanced nervously in Eli’s direction as the conversation rose and fell around them. Eli was in the middle of a real big laugh about something with boys gathered around him. Certainly the joke wouldn’t be about any Englisha girl. Likely as not, it was a cover for his actions. Eli usually stayed pretty calm in public.
Ella finished her lunch and then helped clean up the tables. Containers of leftover casseroles and pies were taken back out to the buggies, and the place was swept up quickly. They were barely done when the senior teacher walked up to the front of the schoolhouse.
“And now for our school program,” he announced. “If all of you will pleas
e find seats, we can begin.”
Ella quickly found a front-row seat and sat down. Halfway through the program, Clara’s part came up. She stood there bravely beside Paul, her chin firm, though Ella thought her fingers trembled a little. Her voice was strong and steady as she went through her part of the poem without a hint of any blushes. Paul was a nice young man, and it was easy to see why Clara would be charmed by his attentions.
Ella didn’t dare show her pleasure until Clara had taken her seat. When Clara glanced back, she gave her a big smile. The red then spread slightly up Clara’s neck, but disappeared a few minutes later. Clara will soon be all grown up, married, and gone before I can blink an eye. Me? I will be nothing but an old maid, stuck safely in my house. The dark thoughts had come quickly, and Ella caught herself before her glumness showed on her face. Life has to be taken one step at a time, and today has sufficient trouble of its own. I know what needs to be done today, and the rest will work itself out in its own good time. Life will be less attractive than when Aden was here, but still I must step onward.
With the program over, she got the horse ready with Monroe’s help. No one gave her strange looks when she drove away. Already other buggies were hitched up to leave. Her heart hurt as she drove down the gravel road and past the creek and Aden’s old home place, but already the pain was a little less.
She followed Daniel’s directions and found the site on the corner of Chapman and Young. The land rose gently in the west, a great mound of dirt off to the left. With the horse tied to a fencerow, she approached the activity at the house site. Daniel waved and came to meet her.
“Well, I’ve come,” she told him with a smile, a little breathless from the walk in from the road.
“We’re layin’ block today and for the rest of the week, really,” he told her. “Come on up close, and you can watch.”
“Can’t help much with that,” she said, “but I want to come back later and actually help out. We had our school picnic today, and I have to get home for chores before too long.”
“I heard,” he said, grinning. “Ours will be next week.”
He led her closer to where blocks were brought in by hand and placed on boards. Several men moved about, trowels in their hands, spreading mortar and setting the blocks in place one by one.
“How many men have you got,” she asked, “working for you full-time? Surely, not all of these. That would be a lot of men to keep busy!”
“No,” he said and shook his head, “these are masons. Only four of us make up the usual crew. Presently we are just helping them because we don’t know much about layin’ block.”
Ella watched with fascination.
“I can help carry several of those things in,” Ella said, pointing to the block pile. “They don’t look too heavy.”
“You sure?” Daniel tilted his head sideways. “They’re heavier than they look.”
“Ach, yah,” she said. “I’d like to help, and this, at least, would be a start.”
Daniel waved his hand toward the wall he was on.
“Okay, strong woman, I’ll take some over here.”
Ella grabbed the block with both hands. The rough edges bit into her fingers, and she found the block heavier than she expected, but she managed—to the encouraging smiles of the boys around her.
“She can do it, yah,” one of them with a big smile on his face said after her third trip.
Ella felt joy rise in her heart. The work of the house building would do her a lot of good. Surely Da Hah was in this. His ways were mysterious, but she would just continue to follow where He led.
“Got to go,” she told Daniel a few minutes later. “Chore time for me.”
“We’ll be here most every day unless it rains,” he said.
“I’ll come when I can,” she said and smiled with happiness in her heart.
“You sure you want to?” he asked, his brow creased. “We can manage.”
“I want to,” she assured him.
He got down off the wooden plank and walked her to the road. She untied her horse and got in while he held the horse’s bridle. With a quick wave, she went past him and turned left, down Chapman road toward the south.
At home, after chores, she caught Eli alone. “I want the whole story,” she whispered. “And I mean the whole story.”
“I called her,” he admitted sheepishly, “but don’t be tellin’ Mamm and Daett because I suspect I’ll see her once, and then it’ll be over with.”
“You’d best not see her at all,” Ella said, but that stubborn look crossed his face, so she dropped the subject.
Later in her room, Dora stepped in. Ella told her and wrote the event in her tablet but hoped with all her heart the matter would go no further. Eli could make an awful mess out of his life if he wasn’t careful about this.
With a prayer on her lips, she gazed at the stars for a long time, and then blew out the light.
Forty
Ella sat at the kitchen table, staring off into space. There was work to do and plenty of it. I really should get up and get started, but I wonder what Daniel is doing at my house right now. Is he setting walls yet, or, perhaps, he’s ready to work on the subfloor. Daniel said yesterday that the first load of wood from the lumberyard in Randolph is going to arrive today. How wonderful it would be to watch them unload it and marvel at that pile of lumber that will become my house! But today is a day to be home, and that is that.
“Why don’t you take all week off and spend it with your house building,” Dora said, popping her head into the kitchen. “I can see your mind isn’t here, and I’m willing to take the extra load. If you ask nicely, I’m sure Eli and Monroe will also agree to help wherever they can.”
“Oh, would you?” Ella said, leaping to her feet. “I would so love that, but I don’t want to put an extra burden on everyone.”
“If you help chore in the mornings and evenings, that will be enough until the house is done,” Mamm called from the living room. “I can understand that your heart would be with the house building.”
“Oh, Mamm,” Ella said, rushing to the kitchen doorway, “you are being way too nice.”
“It’s the way it should be,” Mamm said as a matter of fact.
“And I’m getting better at milking,” Eli said from the couch. “First one cow at a time, and now I’m almost back with my full load. I might even venture out to the fields today.”
“So that’s decided,” Mamm said. “Now let’s all get busy with our work.”
“Then I’ll go work on my quilt,” Ella said, “and thank you all so much. One more day with the quilt, and then I’m off to Chapman Road to watch the house.”
“That’s a good girl,” Dora said, slapping her on the back. “Now get busy.”
Ella laughed, running down the stairs.
“You’re going to trip and kill yourself,” Dora hollered after her.
“I was being careful,” Ella said. “Now you get back to work.”
With a smile Ella pulled a chair up to the quilt. Dora was often the one in a dark mood, but deep down she was the sweetest thing. How wonderful it was that things were slowly returning to normal. Even Eli might soon be well, and she would have her house completed soon.
Ella stitched rapidly, taking only a short break for lunch. An hour before chore time, she finished and stood to stretch her weary back. With a sigh she climbed up the stairs.
“Eli’s already left for the barn,” Dora said, busy at the stove.
“But it’s early,” Ella said, glancing at the clock.
“He won’t start before it’s time,” Dora said. “He just needed to get out of the house.”
“Then I’m going to make sure he doesn’t,” Ella said, walking toward the front door. “And thank you so much for taking on my extra work.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Dora said, frowning. “You’d do the same thing for me and then some.”
After chores the next morning, Ella hitched the horse to the buggy and drove ou
t of the lane at a fast clip. The sun hadn’t been up long, and perhaps Daniel wouldn’t be on the job site yet. She wanted to be there early just in case.
While driving down the hill and past the schoolhouse, she waved to the teacher walking into the schoolyard. At the bridge, Ella never slowed. She took the winding roads at a fast trot. Finally arriving at the site, she tied up along the fencerow and walked up the hill. Already men were pulling boards off the pile of lumber and busily cutting with saws.
“So the strong woman is back,” Daniel said, laughing heartily.
“I’m here to help,” she said. “How fast things have changed since I was here last.”
“That’s because we’re such good workers,” Daniel said.
“You’re also full of yourself right now,” she said, “but tell me what to do.”
He pointed toward the floorboards. “How about putting nails in those?”
“If you show me a few times,” she said, taking a deep breath.
“Well,” he said, picking a nail out of his pouch, “this is how you hold it.”
“I already know that,” she said.
“But there’s more to it than that,” he said. “You place four nails in between these marks and pound them in.”
“I can also do that,” she said, picking up more nails.
“Practice there first,” he said, pointing toward a piece of wood.
Grimly Ella bent over and started pounding away.
“Again, just for practice,” Daniel said.
Slowly Ella repeated the maneuver, and Daniel waved his arm toward his men.
“We’re ready to go, so bring another board in,” Daniel said. “That was really good work, Ella.”
“You’re just saying so.”
“No, I’m not,” he said, moving the next piece of board in place and nailing one section while Ella pounded her nail in as quickly as she could.
A Wedding Quilt for Ella (Little Valley 1) Page 25