Mother For His Children, A
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Ruthy took the woman’s hand and leaned forward to exchange the holy kiss, just as all the women in the line greeted each other. “It’s so good to meet you. I’m Ruthy Mummert.”
Annie gave her another smile, and then turned to face the front again as the congregation moved into the house. As she removed her bonnet, Ruthy reached up to check her kapp, but then realized that she stood out in this crowd. Not only was she a stranger, a visitor as Annie had graciously said, but her kapp was also the heart-shaped Lancaster County style. These women all wore stiff, cone-shaped kapps.
Never mind, she told herself. They all knew she was visiting today. Waneta could help her make a new kapp before the next church Sunday.
Ruthy followed Waneta to a seat, ignoring the curious looks that followed them. She and the girls filled an entire bench on the women’s side, and she glanced over to see that Levi and the boys filled their own bench on the men’s side.
Ruthy was relieved when one of the men sitting near the front started the singing at a signal from the bishop. She had let her mind occupy itself with thoughts about how these people would welcome her, but the familiar songs brought her back to the worship of God. She held the songbook for the twins, moving her finger along the lines of the Deitsch words so they could follow.
A month ago she had been at home, surrounded by her friends and celebrating Old Christmas. Everything in this meeting was different, but still so familiar. The hymns were the same, the prayers were the same, and the ministers followed the same lectionary, preaching on John the Baptist today. By the time the second sermon began, she’d forgotten everything but their words. She may be far from where she grew up, but she was still home.
* * *
After dinner Levi sent Elias and Nathan out to the buggy shed to check on the horses. The sun had come out during the morning service, but it hadn’t tempered the cold at all. If anything, the air was even more bitter. There could be another storm coming. He took a cup of coffee with him and went to look out the front window.
John Stoltzfus came to stand at the window with him, looking through the bare maple branches toward the northwest sky.
“Looking for weather?”
“Just a feeling I have.” Levi kept his eye on a shadow lying on the horizon. A cloud bank could mean snow.
“I see your new housekeeper arrived safely.”
“Ja, she did. Her name is Ruth Mummert, from Bird-in-Hand in Lancaster County.”
“I thought you had hired someone older.”
Levi turned to John, the meaning behind his words becoming clear. “Believe me, I thought I did. There was a bit of a miscommunication, but she’s working out well. The children like her.”
John stroked his beard. “Your sister, Eliza, stopped by to see me the other day.”
He should have known Eliza wouldn’t let the matter rest. Sometimes a meddling sister was worse than having no sister at all.
“She’s concerned about you, having an unmarried young woman living in your house.”
A cold stone turned in the pit of Levi’s stomach. He had never considered how Ruth’s presence in his home might appear until Eliza mentioned it. “She lives in the Dawdi Haus, separate from the rest of us.”
“This is thin ice, Levi. I know you would never want to show your children a bad example, and you would never take advantage of the situation, but things happen.”
The vision of Ruth in the kitchen wearing nothing but her nightgown flashed through Levi’s mind. John was right. Things happen when you least expect it.
“So, did Eliza suggest a solution?”
John laced his fingers over his stomach and looked out the window again. “She did, but I’m not sure I like it.”
“She told you her idea to take Nellie and Nancy to live with her?”
John nodded. “It’s a hard thing to contemplate separating children from their family, but she did have a point. Your children need a mother.”
“Ja, they do. But I’m not having much success in finding them one.”
Clearing his throat, John lowered his voice even further. “You know how much I had hoped my Ellie would accept your proposal.”
“But that wasn’t God’s will.” Ellie Miller had been a convenient choice, but he didn’t love her. He would never have made her as happy as she was with Bram Lapp. “Now you can see why I hired Ruth Mummert, can’t you? I had expected her to be older, since she was a maidle and willing to move such a long distance, but she’s here now. I can’t very well send her home again, can I?”
“I can see your point, but it’s still something the ministers will need to talk over. As pure as your intentions may be, we must avoid the appearance of evil.”
“I’ll be sure to keep a distance between us. She’s a great help to me, with the girls and all. I treat her no differently than I would a hired farm worker.”
John gave Levi’s shoulder a pat. “That’s what I would expect. You’ll let me know if anything changes?”
The stone turned again in Levi’s gut. John was asking him to be accountable for his actions...and his thoughts. He would keep his distance from Ruth Mummert—he had to for his children’s sake. “Ja, John, I will.”
Levi’s eyes followed John as he moved through the big front room, opened to twice its normal size for the church meeting. The older man stopped to talk to several men as he made his way toward the kitchen, including Bram Lapp, his son-in-law. The man who had married Ellie Miller last fall had become a good friend, but what would he think about this matter with Ruth? Bram had spent twelve years living an Englisch life in Chicago—he had witnessed much worse situations than this...but the people there weren’t Amish. They weren’t living under the Ordnung.
Ach, he was making a mountain out of nothing. Ruth was a lovely young woman. He ran his fingers through his beard. A young woman with the kinds of skills, strength and determination that made a good wife. He had to make sure he kept distance between them, for his family’s sake.
Levi took a sip of his cooling coffee and stared at the cloud bank. If rumors started hinting that he had any romantic feelings for Ruth, Eliza would be sure to press the point with the ministers. He took another sip. He had to keep his children together, no matter what.
* * *
Ruthy was glad to take chubby Elias Beachey from Annie’s tired arms. The six-month-old sat happily on her lap while she visited with her new friends.
“Was it hard to leave your home to come out here to Indiana?” asked Ellie Lapp, Annie’s sister-in-law.
“Some.” Ruthy shoved her mind away from thoughts of Elam and Laurette. “I miss my mam and daed, but it’s an adventure, ja?”
“It certainly would be, caring for Levi Zook’s ten children!”
“They aren’t so much work. They’re all gut children, and Waneta is such a big help.”
Ellie nodded toward a quiet corner where Waneta was standing with a young man. “And with you to run the house, she may even have some time for courting.”
Ruthy watched Waneta’s face as the young man spoke to her. She remembered feeling that way when she was sixteen, when she and Elam first started courting.
“Do you know anything about that young man? Is he baptized yet?”
Annie laughed and Ellie smiled at Ruthy. “Ja, I know him. That’s my brother, Reuben. He’s nearly eighteen, and taking baptism instruction with Bishop. He’ll treat Waneta well, don’t worry.”
“I thought Reuben had a special girl already,” Annie said.
“He did. He was taking Sarah Yoder home from Singings last summer, but this fall she decided she’d rather ride with a new boy from the Shipshewana district who has been coming.”
“Ach, poor Reuben.” Annie leaned over and jiggled the baby’s foot.
“He was fine with the way it turned out. They had
been friends since they were little, but he told me the spark just wasn’t there.”
Annie grinned at Ellie. “You mean the spark he sees when Bram looks at you.”
Ellie blushed like a new bride, and Ruthy remembered that Ellie and Bram had only been married a couple of months before. “The way Waneta’s looking at Reuben, I’d say he found it with her.”
“How about you, Ruthy? Did you ever look at a boy like that?”
“Ach, ja,” Ruthy said with a smile on her face, but it was hard to get the words past the lump in her throat. “Hasn’t everyone?”
“We’ll just need to get busy and find a husband for you here in Eden Township,” Ellie said.
“Ach, Ellie,” said Annie, “the only single men are Roman Nafziger and Levi Zook, unless you count Bishop Yoder.”
Ruthy saw the elderly bishop’s shaking hands in her mind. Annie had to be joking.
“And you can hardly count Roman Nafziger, either,” Ellie said. “He’s older than Dat.”
“Then that leaves Levi.” Annie nodded and leaned toward Ellie with a conspiratorial whisper. “We have our work cut out for us, there.”
“Why?” Ruthy asked. “Levi seems like a nice enough man.”
“He’s nice enough, but...”
“But nice,” Ellie said, finishing Annie’s sentence. She gave Annie a glance that looked like a warning. “He’s a nice man who needs a wife. Who knows? Ruthy may be just what he needs.”
“Ja,” Annie said. She regarded Ruthy thoughtfully, as if seeing her for the first time. “Ja, she may be just what Levi needs.”
“Now don’t start getting any ideas. I’m not going to get married.”
“You’re too young to settle for being a maidle,” Ellie said.
“I just don’t plan to get married.” Ruthy bit her lip. God had made that clear when Elam picked Laurette over her.
She was relieved when Ellie’s and Annie’s husbands chose that moment to gather their families for the trip home. She wasn’t ready to explain her reasons yet, and wasn’t sure if she ever would be.
* * *
Ruthy shivered as the family got out of the buggy when they reached the farm later that afternoon. The wind had turned to the northwest and it had a bite. She hurried into the house with the children and Levi, while the older boys took the horse and buggy to the barn. Once in the shelter of the back porch she was part of the friendly jostling as the children removed their coats and boots.
“Dat, can we make popcorn?” James asked.
“Popcorn sounds wonderful-gut!” said Nancy.
Ruthy waited until she saw Levi Zook’s nod, and then said, “I’ll make the popcorn, James, if you’ll go into the Dawdi Haus and start a fire in the stove for me.”
Sam took her hand as they went into the kitchen together. “Don’t go to the Dawdi Haus yet. Stay with us. Dat always reads to us on Sunday afternoon, and you can sit with me.”
Ruthy glanced at Levi. He had avoided meeting her eye during the trip home from the Stoltzfuses’, and hadn’t joined in any conversations. She didn’t want to intrude on the family’s routine if he was uncomfortable with it.
Sam saw her glance and turned to Levi. “Please, Dat, Ruthy can stay with us, can’t she?”
Levi didn’t look her way as he gave his son a brief nod. “She can stay if she wants to.”
“You want to, don’t you, Ruthy?”
She looked down into the little boy’s face. “Ja, sure. I’ll make popcorn first, and then I’ll be in.”
Martha had already gotten a heavy pan onto the stove and was building up the fire. Ruthy went down the chilly hall to the Dawdi Haus and changed into her everyday apron.
An afternoon with the family would be fun. At home, the folks would be doing almost the same, sitting together in the front room. Sometimes they read together, but most often they sat and visited with whomever came by. She checked her kapp before going back to the kitchen and the warmth of the main house.
“Does Waneta often stay for the Singing?” Ruthy salted the fresh batch of popcorn Martha dumped into the clean dishpan.
“She went once or twice last summer, but no boy asked to bring her home.” Martha started another batch of popcorn. “I don’t know what made her decide to stay today.”
If Martha hadn’t seen Waneta and Reuben talking together after church, Ruthy wasn’t going to be the one to spoil the surprise.
“Maybe she heard someone special is going to be there.”
“You could have stayed with Elias and Waneta, couldn’t you?” Martha looked at her. “I mean, you’re still young enough, right?”
Ruthy swallowed. Go to the Singing? Ne, she couldn’t.
“I’d rather spend the afternoon here.” She salted the popcorn again. “I enjoy the rest.”
Nathan and James stomped their feet on the back porch floor as they came in, adding to the happy confusion of voices drifting into the kitchen from the front room. At home the house was quieter, with only Ruthy and her parents there, but in the Zook household noise abounded.
Ruthy smiled as she stirred melted butter into the popcorn. She liked it. She had always enjoyed visiting her cousins’ large family when she was growing up—something was always happening, and it seemed that no one was ever wanting for company there. The spoon in her hand slowed, and then came to a stop. She and Elam had talked of having a large family, but now those dreams were dead. All of her dreams had died with Elam’s betrayal.
She shook her head, dispelling the thought.
“Here’s the cider,” Martha said as David brought the jug up from the cellar. “I’ll take it into the front room and send Nancy and Nellie back for the cups.”
“Denki, Martha,” Ruthy said, dumping the last pan of popcorn into the dishpan. “We’ll bring the popcorn in right away.”
She followed Martha into the front room, where the children were gathered in a circle on the floor and Levi sat in a chair near the stove with his feet on a stool.
“Ruthy, you sit here.” Sam patted the chair facing Levi’s on the other side of the stove.
She hesitated, seeing a scowl on Nathan’s face.
“Ne, Sam,” he said, “that’s Mam’s chair.”
“Nathan, your mam doesn’t need it anymore.” Levi’s voice was quiet, but everyone in the room fell silent when he spoke.
Ruthy looked from Nathan’s defiant face to Levi’s sad one. She wasn’t the only one who had lost dreams. The children’s mother hadn’t been gone long, and it wasn’t her intention to take the woman’s place.
“I’d rather sit on the floor. I can reach the popcorn better if I do.”
Sam snuggled up to her as she settled on the floor between him and Nellie. The little girl leaned toward her and Ruthy put her arm around her shoulders. Ach, what a family. The little ones missed their mother’s touch, but the big ones didn’t need cuddling anymore. She would need to remember to tread lightly around their feelings.
Martha handed her a cup of cider and she settled in to listen as Levi opened the Martyrs Mirror, the story of the persecution of Christians in centuries past. When he didn’t start reading right away, she glanced at him. He was watching her with a look she couldn’t fathom. Was he beginning to resent her presence the way Nathan did? Is that why he was so quiet on the way home from church?
When their eyes met, Ruthy quickly looked away, reaching for the big bowl of popcorn. As Levi started reading the story of the martyrdom of Ignatius, she found herself caught up in the familiar tale as if she had never heard it before. He instilled life into the ancient words, elaborating on the simple text until she felt as if she were standing in the Roman amphitheater with the brave bishop, the roars of hungry lions ringing in her ears.
Nellie shivered and Ruthy pulled the girl closer, laying her cheek on top
of her starched white head covering. Glancing at Sam, she nearly laughed at the rapt expression on his face.
Levi mimicked the lion’s roars as he neared the end of the story, and then his voice rang out with Ignatius’s final words. She watched him, captivated by the changing expressions on his face as he told the story. He was a wonderful father to teach his children in this way.
He finished with a cacophony of lion roars as the poor priest was devoured at the end, and then was abruptly silent.
“Dat,” asked Jesse from his spot on the other side of Sam. “What happened next?”
Levi looked around the circle, his gaze halting when he reached Ruthy. She felt her face growing red, until he finally finished the story.
“Ignatius fell asleep, happy in the Lord, a faithful martyr of Jesus Christ.”
Nancy put her hand on Levi’s knee. “That’s where our mam is, nicht wahr? She’s with Jesus?”
Levi’s eyes filled with tears, and he looked away from Ruthy. “Ja.” His voice was husky and he cleared his throat as he covered Nancy’s hand with his own. “Ja. Your mam is happy with her Lord, just as the Bible tells us.”
Ruthy’s own eyes filled with tears as Nancy laid her head against her daed’s knee. Beside her, Nellie sniffed. Pulling her handkerchief from her sleeve, Ruthy gave it to Nellie.
Levi cleared his throat and reached for the empty dishpan. “Are we out of popcorn already?”
Ruthy took the pan as she stood. “I’ll make some more.”
She put a smile on her face, but Levi wasn’t looking at her. She fled to the kitchen, happy to leave the family alone. Why had she let herself be talked into joining them this afternoon? She would have done better to stay in her own rooms and take a nap.
As she measured popcorn into the heavy kettle, she felt small arms encircling her waist. It was Nellie.
“What is it?” Ruthy knelt down to look into the little girl’s face.
“I just wanted to tell you I’m glad you came to live with us.” Nellie sniffed again as she gave Ruthy’s handkerchief back to her. “Dat used to get so sad.”