Uncle Plats

by Aqua Allsopp

  Becky laughed. “Me too! Maemm, did you meet a man?”

  “I sat next to a very nice man at the dinner gathering last night, ya.”

  “Is he like Datt?” Sarah wondered if Hodiah caught the tone Becky used when asking the question. Eli had been a strict father to the girls. He was disappointed that Sarah had not given birth to a boy. It had caused some tension between them. For a while, Sarah had expected to live her life in discontentment with a man who was unhappy with her. Before he had Gotten sick, Eli had been a daily complainer. Becky was seven years old. Though they had tried, they just couldn’t seem to get pregnant again. He wanted to blame her for it but she would not allow him to make her feel bad. He’d been sick the last year, dying slowly from pancreatic cancer. He was the only person in the history of the community who had been diagnosed with that form of cancer. There were only three other incidents of cancer in the last twenty years in her Amish community.

  “I don’t know him very well, Becky,” Sarah replied in a light tone, hoping Hodiah had not caught on to the implication, “but I do not think he’s much like your Datt.”

  “Okay.” Becky fell quiet, staring out at the road. Sarah glanced at Hodiah, wondering if she understood why the child had asked the question. Hodiah looked thoughtful. When she didn’t say anything, Sarah let it go. Whether Hodiah thought anything or not, the older woman wasn’t going to inquire about it. Sarah was glad.

  “We’re almost to the school, Becky. I see Phoebe and Leah up there. Do you want to walk the rest of the way with them?”

  “Oh ya, Maemm, Danki.”

  Sarah slowed down to a stop by Becky’s friends and let her daughter jump down.

  “I’ll see you at the school, Becky. Be careful.”

  “All right, Maemm.” Becky smiled at her friends. They immediately began to chat. Sarah got the horses moving again, smiling at Hodiah.

  “It is a blessing to see the girls with their friends, smiling and laughing and enjoying themselves. Things were very tense for the last year. I could see how hard it was on the girls.”

  “You must also consider them when you think of getting into another relationship. There are certain aspects you must keep in mind.”

  “I’m not sure I want a relationship at this time but Luke might change my mind, should he decide to pursue something. I would consider him to be a viable suiter. You said you know him well. Do you think he would be a gut husband? He has never been married. Perhaps he does not know how to share his life with someone other than Gott.”

  “I think he is ready for it. I would recommend it.”

  “I don’t know if I will see him again. He is not from this community.”

  Hodiah laughed. “You will see him again. He is with Aaron as we speak.”

  Sarah’s heart skipped a beat. Luke was here in her community. “He is?”

  “Ya. He is.”

  *****

  Luke was comfortable in the Duggins Creek community as soon as he stepped foot in it. The farms were well-cared for, the people were friendly and he felt welcomed by all. Not that he expected any different. Even the people in the city treated him well. He had been told all his life that he had a face anyone could talk to, whether they shared the same culture or not. It had given him an edge when he negotiated land deals for his Amish friends.

  At the dinner the day before, Bishop Aaron Yoder gave him information about land the community wanted to purchase in order to expand. There were several families wanting to move from the other districts but there was no room for them. In order accommodate the influx, Aaron had asked for Luke’s help.

  He stopped his buggy in front of the community building where the Bishop and other men were inside working. He went in, greeted by the sound of hammers pounding, men talking, several loud generators running and power tools being used.

  He went straight to the Bishop, who was leaning over a long plank of wood, making marks on it with a pencil.

  “Bishop Aaron,” he called out. The Bishop stood up straight, turning to look at him. He smiled immediately and held out one hand.

  “Brother Luke! How are you today?”

  “I am well, Bishop, Danki.”

  “You have come to help us reconstruct this old building?” Aaron asked, pumping Luke’s hand with a firm grip.

  “I can always help if you need me to, Bishop. I had planned to discuss the land you were looking to purchase. I would like to speak to the men who currently own it but I need to know more about it before I do any inquiring.”

  “Ya. I agree, that is a gut idea. Unfortunately, I cannot get away from here at this time. Perhaps we can have dinner this evening and discuss it?”

  “That would be gut, ya.” Luke nodded, speaking loudly over the noise. “Do you know where I might find Sarah King?”

  Aaron smiled. “The school. She’s the 3rd grade teacher. Are you considering courting her?”

  “I only met her yesterday, Bishop. But ya, I had thought about getting to know her better. We got along quite well at the dinner.”

  “She is a gut woman. She recently lost her husband, you know.”

  Luke nodded. “It was my understanding it has been six months. She did not seem to still be in mourning last night.”

  “No, she is doing well with the changes. She has two brothers who take care of her needs, as well. They are married and have children of their own but they always find time to help her. As we all do. We have plans to do some work on her house to prepare it for the winter as soon as we are done with this project here.”

  “I would like to help with that.”

  Aaron raised his eyebrows. “Are you planning to move to our community? Won’t Sully-Mills miss you?”

  “I am sure they will miss me, should I choose to leave. But for now, I am taking a vacation, visiting your community here.” Luke looked around at the hard working men. “You have a lot of work left on this building, don’t you?”

  “Ya, we are really just starting.”

  “What kind of work does Sarah need done? Perhaps I could offer my assistance.”

  “I’m sure she would be grateful for that.” Aaron gave him a sly grin. “But first, you must speak to her about it. And you should speak to her brothers, introduce yourself, so that they are familiar with you. They have always been cautious with Sarah, especially since Eli passed. Eli did not…he did not particularly make Sarah happy.”

  “They weren’t happy together?” Luke was somewhat surprised. While he and Sarah were conversing, he’d thought it strange that she was casual about her husband’s death but it had been six months and he figured some people just don’t grieve very long. He hadn’t assumed immediately that the woman and her husband had not Gotten along well.

  “It was not a gut match.” Aaron shook his head. “Come, let’s get out of this noise to talk for a moment before you go.”

  “Are her brothers here?” Luke asked as he followed Aaron through the door he’d initially come through onto the front porch, where boards were warped under his feet. The pillars holding up the roof had paint chipping off them. They looked somewhat weakened. Luke looked up at the roof, hoping it would not fall on their heads while they stood there. Aaron noticed him looking.

  “Don’t worry. If the roof was going to come down it would have already. That is why we have put up these extra support beams.”

  Luke moved his eyes over the thick planks of wood the men had pushed up under several low-hanging areas of the porch. He nodded. “I see that.”

  “Benjamin and Elijah are not working here. They work in the stables for the families on the West side.”

  “That’s too bad. Do you think it’s wise for me to visit Sarah without speaking to them first?”

  “They are not concerned with old traditions, Luke. I think you would be safe to speak to their sister again. It cannot harm anyone.” Aaron pulled a pipe from his back pocket and proceeded to fill it with a lightly scented tobacco from a small sack. He moved off the porch and Luke followed him do
wn to the grass.

  “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “I’ll tell you what I will do,” Aaron lit the pipe with a match, “I’ll send a message to my wife, Hodiah, to invite Sarah and her children to our home for dinner. We will also send a message to Benjamin’s wife…her name is Esther and Elijah’s wife, Rhoda. They have eight children between them and Rhoda is pregnant. We will have them all over for dinner.”

  “That is quite a lot of work for you. Are you sure you want to do that on such short notice?”

  “It will not be the first time such an event has happened,” Aaron chuckled. “And it will most likely not be the last.”

  “All right, then, I do appreciate it.”

  “I don’t want to rush you into anything you aren’t prepared for.” Aaron’s tone was light and amused. His brown eyes sparkled at Luke. Luke grinned.

  “I am prepared for anything.”

  Aaron laughed out loud. “You have never been married, Luke. Never come close to marriage. You have no idea what it’s like, do you?”

  “No but I’m willing to give it a chance.”

  The men both laughed.

  Luke was surprised to see a car parked in front of the school, looking awkward among the buggies that were parked in the lot. He stepped down and passed the car, glancing in curiously. There was a briefcase in the front seat.

  “Someone is probably missing something they need,” he murmured. He stepped up on the concrete walk that led to the front doors of the school. It was a beautiful day. He knew the kids in the school were probably dying to be out enjoying it.

  He could hear the sound of children playing, talking and laughing when he opened the door and stepped inside. The building was long, stretching out from one side to the other and curving around to form a U. There was one classroom for each grade and one teacher per class. Only the children in the community attended the school. It was the same in his community. He noticed a small windowed room almost immediately to his left. Inside there was a table, a chair and a telephone. Just beyond the small room was a door with a sign that said “office”.

  He went through the door.

  A woman was sitting behind a large desk. There were papers all around her. She seemed to be searching for something among them, scanning one and then flipped to the next. She looked up at him, a look of surprise crossing her face.

  “Hello,” she said.

  “Hello. I’m looking for Sarah King. I believe she teaches third grade? I don’t want to interrupt her class if they are doing something important.”

  The woman raised her eyebrows. “Everything the children are taught is important, sir. Your name?”

  “I’m Luke Fisher. I’m from the Sully-Mills community, just here visiting.”

  “Our classrooms go in numbers from Kindergarten to eighth grade, meaning the first door you see will be Kindergarten, the second will be first grade and on. Please feel free to visit Sarah’s class. But be quiet while you do.”

  Luke chuckled. “I will do that, Danki, sister.”

  The woman nodded, her silver hair bobbing when she did so. She pushed glasses up further on her nose and looked back down at the papers. He felt dismissed and backed out the door slowly, pulling it closed behind him. The halls were quiet now. He wondered where the laughter and talking had gone. He could smell food cooking and realized he had come when it was close to lunchtime. The children must have been in recess and were now back to their studies.

  At the third door, Luke stopped and looked in through the small glass window near the top of the door. His eyes settled immediately on Sarah, who was standing in front of the class, holding a book open so the children could see it, pointing at something in the book. He smiled, pulling in a deep breath. She was a beautiful woman. She didn’t need the makeup he saw on the city women. Her eyes were big and blue. Her cheeks had a natural blush to them and her lips were a pretty red rose color. Her natural beauty struck him as awesome. She was wearing a long blue dress with the whitest apron he’d ever seen. He wondered how she managed to keep it looking so clean and crisp when she had to deal with a lot of small children all day.

  He moved his eyes to the children, who were watching Sarah with attentive eyes. They were calm and looked happy to be there. Sarah must have asked a question because all of a sudden the room erupted in children raising their hands and calling out to her. They were so loud that he could hear them through the closed door. He figured that would be a good time to interrupt, so he grabbed the handle and pushed open the door, poking his head in and smiling at Sarah.

  She did a double-take, not expecting to see his face at her classroom door. He was pleased that she looked happy to see him. His heart beat harder in his chest. He could see a future with the woman. He hoped she could feel the same way.

  *****

  “Gut morning, Sarah, children.” He swept his eyes over the small group. There were about ten children in the room, almost an even mix between girls and boys. They were seated in small desks in three rows. The first and second row had four desks side by side. One desk in each row was unoccupied. The last row had four and all the desks were occupied. They all smiled at him.

  “Gut morning!” They called back almost in unison.

  “It’s almost afternoon now, Mr. Fisher. Soon we will be saying gut afternoon, won’t we, class?”

  “Ya, Mrs. King!” was the group response.

  “Come in, come in,” Sarah walked toward him, waving her hand. She passed him, closing the door softly behind him. “It is nice to see you. Did you come to check on my students and make sure they are behaving?”

  Luke could tell she was teasing the children. She didn’t fool them. They didn’t look scared.

  “Ya,” he said, seriously, though the edges of his lips were raised in a small grin. “Making sure they are learning their lessons.”

  “We are, we are!”

  Sarah lifted her hands. “All right, settle down, children. This is Luke Fisher. He is from Sully-Mills. Do any of you know someone in that community?”

  “I have a cousin there!” said one child. Sarah nodded.

  “That’s right, Martha, you do, don’t you?”

  “Ya, my mother’s brother moved their family there so they could be near his wife’s family.”

  “Do you get to visit them often?”

  Martha shook her head. “No, not really. We don’t travel much.” She looked at Luke. “Do you know my cousin?”

  He grinned. “I wouldn’t be able to tell you without knowing her name, would I?”

  Martha laughed in a delighted way, a sound that made Luke’s smile widen. “No, I guess not. My uncle’s name is David. Their last name is Lapp. My cousin’s name is Deanna. She has three brothers!” Martha added the last part as though she was terribly glad she didn’t have three brothers of her own. Luke and Sarah both chuckled. Sarah looked at him.

  “So do you know the Lapps, Luke?”

  “I do, as a matter of fact.” He nodded. “Gut people, through and through.”

  Martha smiled.

  “To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?” Sarah asked. She moved around him to sit at her desk, holding out her hand to the chair that was next to it, facing the class. He took a seat and directed his response to the classroom.

  “I came to see your teacher. We had a conversation yesterday and I was hoping to continue it today.”

  “But Sarah is teaching us. She can’t leave us here to teach ourselves.” One of the boys spoke up.

  Sarah shook her head. “I’m not going to leave, Isaac, though I can always give you children a test to keep you busy if I chose to step out and speak to Luke.”

  “You wouldn’t do that, would you, Sarah?” Isaac looked surprised and dismayed.

  Sarah shook her head. “No. I wouldn’t do that. But I could.”

  Soft laughter and words of relief floated through the group of children.

  Sarah looked at Luke. “We have a very structured class schedule,” she said
. “It would not be gut to disrupt that schedule but an unexpected visit from someone outside the community can be seen as an opportunity to learn new things, don’t you agree?”

  He nodded. “I do agree with that, Sarah. And I might be able to help with the studies. What are you working on today?”

  “The children have been learning about Gott’s creatures. We have been memorizing water creatures and today we are focused on the dolphin.”

  “Oh? And what have you learned today?” He turned his focus to the class once again. Several children lifted their hands. He pointed to one of the children in the front row.

  “The dolphin is a fully aquatic marine mammal.” The boy stood up as he answered. “They are intelligent by nature and are part of the whale family.”

  Luke nodded. He looked at Sarah, distracting himself with thoughts of her beauty and grace. “You are teaching them well.”

  “Danki.” Her cheeks flushed.

  “Who else can tell me a few facts about dolphins?” Luke asked. He nodded and pointed at one of the girls in the second row. She stood up.

  “There is no way to know exactly how many dolphins there are. They use echolocation to hunt and to navigate through the waters. They can be very playful. I would like to go to a zoo and see one someday.”

  A call of “me too” went through the room.

  “Settle down, children,” Sarah said.

  “Did you know that I can sing?”

  Sarah laughed. “Somehow that does not surprise me, Luke. Why do you mention it?”

  “I know a song about dolphins.”

  “Do you? Please sing it for us.”

  Within minutes, Luke had the children singing along with him. It was a repetitive song, easy to remember. Luke was somewhat surprised he remembered it himself. It was something his mother had taught him as a child. She sang to him at night, one of the only openly affectionate things she did for her three sons and two daughters.

  Sarah watched as Luke directed the children in the sing-along. Her heart was a bit shaky. She hadn’t felt strong feelings for a man since the early days of her marriage to Eli, who had quickly extinguished those feelings after the birth of their first daughter. She’d come to accept the fact that she would be unhappy for the rest of her life. When Eli became sick, she didn’t want to see hope for a happy future in it. She had prayed for forgiveness for those feelings daily from the first day. It was difficult for her to sort through her mixed feelings. She regretted the relief she felt when he finally died. It had taken too long and he had been in too much pain. The feelings she’d had at the beginning of their marriage never returned. But she wouldn’t have wished that kind of pain on anyone. Her community allowed modern medicines but nothing had stopped the progression of the cancer in Eli’s body. What had started as a small tumor quickly grew, overtaking other organs and bone.