Grace Given (Touch of Grace)

by Beth Shriver

  “Elsie didn’t tell me you were coming back out.” Mose decided to share after a good twenty minutes of silence.

  “Oh?” Gideon didn’t want him to have any satisfaction that he might be upset with her, but he wondered how obvious it already was.

  At the end of another row Gideon noticed the women bringing out the food. “Praise God for small favors,” he mumbled.

  “Did Elsie set us up?” Mose was staring at her too.

  “I believe she did.”

  “I suppose we’re supposed to tell her everything between us is good.”

  “It would be if you’d stop giving her so much attention.” As soon as it flew out, Gideon wanted to grab it and shove it back in, and instead of feeling better, he felt worse.

  “We’re never gonna get off this thing if you go in that direction.” Mose said it politely, considering it was him.

  “What do we need to do to satisfy her?”

  “Get along I suppose.”

  It was silent again except for the steel wheels crushing fragments of corn stalks. “We’re courting now.”

  “I figured.” Mose turned his head and stared at Gideon. “Congratulations.”

  “Do you mean that?”

  “I think so.” Mose grinned and then started laughing. It was catching; Gideon started in too.

  “Well then, danke.” Gideon wasn’t totally comfortable telling Mose, but he was one person Gideon really wanted to know they were a couple, and he hadn’t laughed like that for a while. “What about you?”

  Mose grinned. “I’m not in a hurry.” He pointed to the row so Gideon would know they were not on line. “You’re off.”

  Gideon held onto his temper, or pride, whichever it was. “This isn’t gonna work with the two of us, and it’s my horse.”

  “It’s my tiller,” Mose shot back.

  Gideon shook his head and let out the breath he was using to hold his temper in. This was going to be a long day.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  BEADS OF SWEAT covered Elsie’s face as she jolted up from her sleep. She flopped back down in her bed and squeezed her eyelids together trying to remember what she’d dreamed. She knew she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, so she got up and knelt by her bed to say her morning prayer. The dream seemed further away now, so she got ready for the day. She remembered tonight was youth singing. That took her mind off of her heavy heart. Now with Jake and Katie settled in, her mind refocused on the Englishers.

  The flash of a picture in Martyrs Mirror came to her. She’d looked up Dirk Williams, the man who saved his pursuer. There was a reason Gideon introduced her to Martyrs Mirror. He didn’t know it at the time, but the timing was all God’s. How many occasions had she referred to the book since the recent trials in her life started? More than she could count. She learned from Gideon’s example to look at the past to better see the future.

  “You’re up early.” Daed stood in the open doorway as Elsie pinned her kapp. He was always the first one up to feed the live-stock and get the milking started if he got to it before Elsie did.

  “Bad dream.”

  “Sorry, honey. What was it about?” When he tapped her on the nose, she thought about how differently it felt when Gideon did the same thing. Elsie didn’t know she could admire a man as much as she did Gideon. Growing into the woman she wanted to be was even more important because of him. Although the trials had been difficult, Elsie decided they wouldn’t defeat her. Yet following through would still be a challenge.

  She sat on her bed and Daed came closer. “I can’t remember, only that it was unpleasant?”

  “Have those Englishers stopped their mischievousness?” He frowned. “They’ve still not hurt you? Not even a hair on your head.”

  “Nee, they’ve become more of a pest than anything.” That is, if they didn’t start the fire, but she didn’t want to mention that.

  “They have to tire of us sooner or later.” His chubby cheeks filled with a smile. “It will pass.”

  She tilted her head. “That’s what Gideon says.”

  “Then it must be true.” As Daed walked out, he hummed and went downstairs. His mood was so different than when Katie was there, as if he built a wall against her to shut out the hurt and the pain. That only made things worse between them, but both were too stubborn to drop their guard.

  Elsie met her mamm in the kitchen. After the morning meal Mamm held out a box of preserves, pickled vegetables, and some stewed tomatoes. “Would you take these to Ruby’s for me?”

  Elsie grinned. “I’m sure Katie is eating well at Ruby’s.”

  Mamm quickly glanced at her. “Well, of course she is. With our family shrinking by the day, I don’t want this food to go to waste.”

  “I don’t mind the ride over. I’d like to see how they’re getting along.” Elsie was almost out the door when her mamm spoke.

  “Ask your brother if they need anything, will you?”

  “Jah.” That was Mamm’s way of saying see what he missed eating and she’d make it for them.

  When she got to Will’s, she watched him working in the field. His thick brown hair glowed in the sunshine and his muscles bulged from the strenuous activity. He was tall like her daed. He seemed lonely, all by himself—so different than when they were growing up when he and Daed worked together.

  Elsie rapped on the front door and stepped inside. “Ruby.” She heard someone bustling around in the kitchen and headed that direction. She placed the basket of food on the counter and turned to her sister-in-law.

  Ruby’s face went flush when she saw her. “Oh, Elsie, I’m so glad to see you.” She dropped the potato in her hands and wiped them on a towel.

  “Is something wrong?” Elsie thought of all the things that could be upsetting her. Was Katie being her difficult self? Or did Jake come by and say something without thinking, which was so common for him to do. Or was it Will?

  “Katie seems upset, but I don’t know why.” She glanced over Elsie’s shoulder and continued. “I’ve tried to talk with her, but she says she’s fine.” Katie came in, and they both turned to her.

  Katie’s face turned almost the same crimson color Ruby’s did when Elsie first walked in. “What brings you here, sister?”

  Her tone warned Elsie to be cautious, but she wouldn’t play into her antics either. “Is everything working out here for everyone?” Elsie looked at Ruby first and then to Katie.

  “Sure,” Katie rummaged through the basket, deterring the conversation. “Thank goodness, homemade jams.”

  Elsie looked to Ruby for her answer. “I’m not sure.”

  “What do you mean?” Elsie asked Ruby but was looking at Katie.

  Katie huffed out a breath. “It’s hard to be here is all.”

  “Where, at our home?” Ruby’s eyes misted. Elsie put a hand on her shoulder.

  “I’m sure it has nothing to do with you, Ruby.” Elsie stared into Katie’s eyes.

  “Nee, it’s . . . ” She exhaled. “Are you going to singing tonight?”

  Then it all fell into place. “Jah, oh, I see.” Elsie’s eyes softened, and she went to her sister. She was hard to love at times, but deep down she had a soft spot, and Elsie was grateful to see that side of Katie again.

  “I used to have so much fun at those.” She loosened her arms from around Elsie’s waist. “It’s times like these that I don’t feel ready to have a baby.” She put a hand on her belly that Elsie noticed had definitely grown since she moved in with Will only a few weeks ago. “But then I feel this little one move or kick, and I fall in love with her all over again.”

  “Her?” Elsie smiled.

  “Just a guess.” Katie grinned back. “It’s hard for Jake to be at his parent’s house and me here. But I know it’s temporary.”

  Ruby stared at the two of them, bewildered. “So, it’s not my cooking?”

  A bubble of laughter trickled out, and then Katie joined in. Ruby smiled her relief.

  “You’ve gotten better,
Ruby.” Katie’s encouragement was exactly what Ruby needed, and Elsie gave a little prayer of thanks. She bid them good-bye so she could get her work done in time for singing.

  As Elsie made her way back to the buggy, she heard the pounding of a hammer behind the house. She curiously walked back to see a skeleton structure of a small building, a shed or maybe a chicken coop. Jake gingerly stepped across the wooden beams as he made his way over to her. “What brings you here?” He jumped down and landed on both feet, bending at the knees.

  “That was quite a jump.” Elsie looked up at the distance he’d cleared and shook her head. He was never cautious when it came to the barn raisings or building dawdihaus’s for the grandparents in the community. He always took on the wildest horse in the herd to break and was the first to take a dare. This was one of those times she appreciated Gideon even more. “How are things here with Will and Ruby?”

  “Gut, but it’s strange not sharing a room with my wife.”

  “Jah, I can see that, but you will be soon enough.”

  “Living here makes me want our own place.” He stuck a thick blade of grass in his mouth and chewed. “Think we might stay.”

  She was relieved for the two of them and their little one on the way. She wanted to be a part of this child’s life, and not from many miles away. “I’m glad to hear that. Have you told anyone?”

  “Nee, but I plan to at the baptism.”

  “And Katie agrees?”

  “She’s why I’m doing all this.” He spit the wad of grass out of his mouth.

  Elsie paused. “The commitment you’re making isn’t for Katie; it’s between you and God.”

  “I know all that. It’s about doing the right thing.” He said it so proudly, like he was doing a favor for someone.

  Elsie wasn’t sure how to approach this. Jake knew what the commitment meant and what his part in that was. He met with the leadership council before church each week to be reinstated. They had gone over all of this with him. But was he doing this for the right reasons? “Have you talked to the deacon or bishop about your motivations in joining the church?”

  “Ah, Elsie. You are always so good to follow the rules.” He cocked his head to the side and grinned.

  “If that were true, I wouldn’t be talking to you.” The first weeks had passed by quickly, but it had still not been the full six weeks since Jake was shunned. Yet Elsie was too concerned about her sister’s welfare because she couldn’t talk to him.

  He grunted, amused by her response. “But still, how can I compare to your ideals?”

  She pulled back as if a gust of wind hit her. “This has nothing to do with me. It’s about you and why you’re going through ceremony and why you should live here or not.” He had done it again—pulled her in and shocked her back out again. But this time she wouldn’t let him persuade her to fix this. Gideon was one being considered for the ministry and would be observing the ceremonies; whose better hands to leave Jake’s fate to?

  “I’ll be praying God’s direction for you, Jake. And patience for me.” With that she turned away, knowing the conversation wouldn’t go where she wanted it to. Then she realized she’d given too much favor to Gideon. It was in God’s hands.

  Elsie took quick steps away from Jake when she heard him chuckle at her last words. She got into her buggy and went straight home. Then Elsie got ready for singing and waited for Gideon on the porch swing. Solomon came out when Gideon pulled in. He walked over to Gideon as he rubbed the back of his neck.

  “I’d like you to keep the top off when you go to singing.” The more conservative groups rarely put the top on, especially when there wasn’t a chaperone. Gideon’s group was not concerned, but Elsie knew he would respect her father’s request.

  “I have no problem with that, Solomon, unless it rains,” Gideon grinned.

  “Don’t even say it.” Solomon wagged a finger at him. “Have fun you two.” Solomon shook Gideon’s hand instead of giving him the usual slap on the back, tipping Elsie off that he must be feeling sentimental.

  As soon as he turned the horse around, Elsie was filling Gideon in on her day. “Why are you so quiet? Am I talking too much?”

  “Nee, this is different for me to go to singing with you instead of with Yonnie.”

  She laughed. “Did you hear they picked out names? The Virginians are the Purple Martins and your group is the Meadow Larks, along with the new community.”

  “They are a ‘higher’ group like we are, so it makes sense.”

  “I’ve never liked being called the ‘low’ group.”

  “You conservative Virginians.” He grinned and shook his head in jest.

  “We’re not near as conventional as we used to be.”

  “Are you comfortable with the changes?” His eyebrows drew together as he waited for her answer. These were decisions they would have to seriously think about when they were announced as a couple.

  “In some ways, yes. But it’s become more confusing, and that’s caused problems that we didn’t have before. Everyone used to know what the customs were and the consequences if you didn’t follow them. Here everything is questioned between the two group’s councils, and when they don’t agree, there’s friction.”

  “True, but overall our two groups have done well together compared to some others who couldn’t get along. Some even went so far as to pack up and go back up north.” Gideon steered Betsy up the lane and parked beside the many decorated carriages.

  Some were dropped off, but others from the Purple Martin parents who had younger teenagers stayed to supervise, as well as the parents who were from the new community. The ages ranged from sixteen to well into their twenties. This time together wasn’t so much testing their limits as it was a time to socialize and find a life partner.

  Volleyball nets were set up in a row on a grassy area in Omar’s yard. The teams were varied as far as age and gender. They played with vigor, diving and flying up to spike the ball. This went on for hours until it was time for supper.

  Gideon found Elsie in the crowd and wiped the sweat from his brow. “Great group of newcomers.”

  “Jah, that’s gut.” It was nice to finally meet the new Amish. She also wished Katie was part of this. But she was married and with child, living a completely different life than before she left.

  They filed into Omar’s home, which was set up the same as when they had church. The men went into the kitchen, and the women sat opposite of them in the other room. The first song was chosen, and one member stood up and led. The chorus was always loud, but with the added group their voices were even louder. Gideon grinned at her, obviously feeling the strength from the added voices.

  The temperature in the room increased due to so many people together and the gas lamps. In the second hour they sang faster tunes, all in German. Elsie watched Gideon sing with the boys, belting out notes from deep inside of him. Then she sang with the girls during another part of the song. Cups of water were passed around to cool down parched throats.

  The parents sang along with them and then left to prepare the snacks. Plates of cookies, small whoopie pies, popcorn, and chips were passed around, as well as drinks. The low mumble of voices filled the room and warmed the bishop’s home.

  They slowly wandered out, leaving in their buggies. Some of the guys asked a girl if she needed a ride home, which was their way of showing interest in courting. Others went to the barn where they sat and talked a while longer.

  “This was our first singing,” Gideon mentioned as Elsie walked with him to his buggy.

  “We’ve been dozens of times; do you mean with the new group?” Then she realized what he was saying. She beamed at him and stopped. “Jah, it was.”

  He took a step forward and reached for her hand. “But you’ve never let me hold your hand at singing before.”

  She scanned the area to see if anyone was looking, pushed up on her tiptoes, and gave him a playful kiss on the cheek. “And you’ve never kissed me at a singing before.”
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  “I’d like to, but I’m trying to be a gentleman.” Although Gideon was a couple years older than Elsie, he still knew to be discreet. But he wouldn’t be treated like a youthful teenage boy either.

  She watched him look around and meet eyes with Omar, who smiled and gave him a nod.

  “But I think I just got permission.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  ELSIE TUGGED AT the weeds creeping into her garden. The chili peppers were starting to come in. She was partial to the spicy vegetable, which they didn’t have in Virginia. The sweet potatoes and tomatoes were growing strong, but the squash wasn’t doing so well.

  The end of the summer was full of work for the upcoming autumn events. Those being baptized or married would need to complete their preparations, attending meetings with the church leadership until the ceremonies. And there would be the announcements of those courting. Then fall harvest would consume their time until the winter months.

  “You’re working hard.” Jake’s voice used to waken her spirit, but now she anticipated something was wrong each time she saw him.

  “I shouldn’t talk to you, Jake.” It was well after the noon meal with plenty of chores to be done.

  “Came to see Solomon.” He stuck his hands in his pockets, something most Amish didn’t have, and watched her analyze him.

  “He’s in the back of the barn.” She wanted to ask him what he was up to but didn’t want to give him the pleasure. Daed hadn’t given him a second of his time since he’d returned and most likely wouldn’t until Jake made himself right with not only the ceremonies but also with the family.

  “Is he doing some woodwork?”

  She nodded. He didn’t move, as if reluctant to talk with Solomon. She gestured to the weeds she’d let get the best of her vegetable garden.