by Sarah Price
“Oh no, not at all,”Priscilla said quickly, not wanting the bishop to worry that she could be unhappy with the situation at the schoolhouse. Her sincerity reassured him and she was pleased to see him relax.
“That’s gut,”he said.“I was concerned, Priscilla, for I had heard some whispers about an issue with one of the Byler children. I did receive your letter and spoke with the parents. But now these other stories…”He shook his head, his weathered hand rising to his white beard and tugging gently on it.“Is that what you wish to speak about?”
Again, she was caught off guard. How had he already heard about that? She wondered if Anna, his niece and a friend of hers, had said something to him. She hadn’t seen much of Anna recently so she wasn’t even certain Anna knew what was being said.“I…I hadn’t thought to bring that particular matter to your attention,”she stammered.“I certainly know that I didn’t write a letter to you asking for the child to be dismissed. In fact, I’ve been working with him every day, one on one, and seeing some progress…if only in his comfort level.”
“That is gut of you,”the bishop said, clearly pleased with her efforts.
“Besides, if the parents haven’t spoken to me with any concerns regarding how I am helping Morgan, then I take that type of talk as simple gossip,”Priscilla added.
To her surprise, the bishop smiled.“As is my feeling, Priscilla.‘Fret not yourself because of evildoers, neither be you envious against the workers of iniquity.’It’s right gut advice from the Bible, ja? And something I sense needs to be practiced more by others in our g’may.”He stopped walking and turned to face her.“I will be speaking with Susie about her gossip. I will not permit that in this district. Gossip stings of two things that God does not tolerate: lies and pride.”His voice was stern and strong.
“Ja,”she agreed meekly, feeling awkward as he stood before her. She was surprised by how direct the bishop had spoken to her about the silly rumors that Susie Byler had been spreading throughout the church district and community. She was even more stunned that he admitted that he would be talking with Susie.
“On a different subject, I did some speaking to some people that I know among the Englische,”he said.“I told them about your letter and what you noticed about that Morgan boy.”
“You did?”That was right gut news indeed. She hadn’t heard from the bishop since Stephen had gone to deliver her letter. While she had been working with Morgan Byler as much as she could, she still noticed that he was having difficulties. However, the more kindness and attention that she bestowed on him, the more confident and willing he was to try.
“Seems a lot of good can be done by moving him to the front of the classroom and having him repeat instructions back to you,”the bishop said, pausing to tug at his beard.“There is also something called phonetics which can help. They are sending me some material which I’d like you to use with the boy.”
“Oh that’s wunderbaar!”She could scarcely contain herself from clapping her hands.
“There were some other tips and advice to help such as visualizing words and using memory tricks,”he said.“Now that the issue has been identified, the school board will work with the regular teacher to help him overcome it. Apparently, it’s a common learning disability among the Englische. Mayhaps with Amish, too, but we just haven’t dealt with it.” He smiled at Priscilla, nodding his head as he added,“I’m impressed that you picked up on it. Mayhaps we can help other children, too.”
“Danke, Bishop!”she said. She couldn’t wait to learn more about how to help little Morgan.
“Now, what did you wish to speak to me about then?”he asked in an abrupt manner, changing the subject back on course.
Priscilla’s mind seemed to reel. This was the moment. A moment as important as when she had agreed to marry Stephen. It was the moment that would set the rest of her life in motion. When she looked up at the bishop, she took a deep breath and said,“I’m interested in taking the kneeling vow and becoming a baptized member of the church.”
Immediately, she felt a weight lift from her shoulders. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, she thought. The relief that she felt was almost overwhelming. She was committing herself to God and to the Ordnung, to a life of living“Plain”. It was a decision that made her very happy.
The bishop could see the relief in her eyes and reached to pat her hand.“That is right gut, Priscilla. I will be starting the baptism instructional during service in two weeks. I will be looking for you during the second hymn.”
“Danke,”she replied. She wondered who else would be joining her at the baptism instructional. She knew that young women usually attended earlier than young men. She also knew that the youths tended to join just prior to getting married, although some of them took the kneeling vow before announcing their upcoming weddings.
Quite often, when daughters informed their parents that they were going to take the instructional for fall baptism, that was the indication to plant extra large gardens full of tomato plants and celery, two staple ingredients used in the preparation of the wedding feasts. The rest of the congregation would watch to see which youths left the church worship room for the instructional sessions each Church Sunday during the summer months. The women would whisper their speculations about which of the youths were getting married in November and December.
The only thing that Priscilla hoped and prayed was that one of them would not be Susie Byler.
Chapter Six
It was Wednesday evening after supper when the family was relaxing together, sharing the latest news and enjoying each other’s company. Priscilla was crocheting some potholders to put into her hope chest while her mammworked on a baby blanket for a neighbor’s new baby girl. Her daed was sitting at the table, enjoying a cup of black coffee while reading the Budget.
She finished her second blue potholder that evening and snipped the end of the yarn with the small scissors that hung around her neck on a twisted thread. Each potholder took her approximately forty minutes to crochet. She was using dark blue yarn for the two that she was working on that evening. Whenever she had more items to add to the hope chest, she still had to go into the attic. But her daed had promised her that he would bring it downstairs. Priscilla couldn’t wait. She wanted to see her hope chest every day. It represented her future. Everything that she put into it, from blankets to the wedding quilt to the dainty crocheted table runners were symbolic of the happiness that she hoped to have with Stephen.
“Where did Jonas and David go?”Priscilla asked as she set the potholder on the table, flattening it with her hand.
“Running with their supper gang, no doubt,”Mamm said, laughing.“You know those boys. Using the extra daylight to visit with their friends after chores.”
In the distance, Priscilla could hear the gentle humming of a horse-drawn buggy approaching from the road. The air was still that evening so noise carried further and clearer. At first, Priscilla ignored it. Buggies often traveled past the farm throughout the day. But when the noise grew louder, Priscilla set down her crochet hook and yarn. She stood up and hurried over to the kitchen window in order to peer outside. From where she stood, she could see the barnyard. There was a buggy in the driveway but the way that it was positioned made it impossible to see who had arrived.
“Got company, Mamm,”Priscilla said, looking over her shoulder.
“My word,”Mamm replied, setting down her own crochet materials and getting up from her seat.“At this hour of the evening and on a Wednesday?”She clicked her tongue as she joined Priscilla at the window and peered outside.“I hope nothing has happened,”she said under her breath. Together, they looked back outside, waiting to see who had come visiting.
“Best go see who it is,”her daed sighed, folding the paper neatly before he stood up and walked toward the kitchen door. He reached for his straw hat, sliding it onto his head then opened the door to head outside.
Priscilla and her mammwatched as Daed walked around the side of the buggy. They could s
ee him wave to someone and, after exchanging greetings, he glanced back at the house. Mamm frowned and touched Priscilla’s arm.“Something’s wrong,”she whispered.“Did you see his face?”Without another word, Mamm walked to the kitchen door, waiting to find out what had happened.
Priscilla stayed at the kitchen window. So, when Stephen walked around the side of the buggy, she saw him first.“Mamm, it’s Stephen!”she gasped. Stephen had never come calling during the week on an evening. Occasionally, he might stop by on his way home from an errand. But courting days were almost always on the weekends.
The screen door squeaked as it opened. Daed stood there, holding it open, and waited for Stephen to join them. Neither Mamm nor Priscilla said a word. They knew better than to ask. If Daed wanted them to know, he would share the information with them. Instead, they both stood there, waiting for what was surely bad news.
They didn’t have to wait long.
Stephen walked into the kitchen first, his face tense and a rolled up paper under his arm. Without seeing it, she could tell that it was The Budget, the weekly newspaper that all of the Amish families read to learn the latest news in the different communities around the country. He nodded at the women, but he avoided Priscilla’s eyes. That made her feel nervous. What could possibly have happened that would make her Stephen look so stressed?
It was her daedwho spoke first.“Priscilla,”he said softly, clearing his throat.“We want you to sit down.”
Her heart began to race as a dozen different scenarios raced through her mind. Whatever was wrong had to do with her, not the entire family. What could it possibly be? Had something happened to a student? To the schoolhouse? “What is it, Daed?”She looked at Stephen.“Stephen? What’s wrong?”
“Seems we have ourselves another little problem with that Byler girl,”Stephen said slowly. From the expression on his face, she knew he struggled to maintain his composure.“I’m going to show you something, but I need you to remain calm, Priscilla.”
Calm?“Oh help,”she muttered. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. What had that girl done now?“I don’t think I want to know,”she said softly. She wished that she could will her heart to stop pounding. Just the mention of Susie’s name was enough to send her into a tailspin from heaven toward earth.
“You must hear this,”he said, his voice soothing and gentle.“Just know that we will get through this together.”
At this, Priscilla opened her eyes and turned to look at him. Whatever it was, she realized, it was bad. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what Susie could have done this time. Hadn’t she already done enough? And why now? Things had been going so well for so long. What could have caused her to start bothering Priscilla again?
Stephen met her gaze this time as he handed her a newspaper to read. Her hands felt something being put into them and, when she looked down, she was surprised to see The Budget. Now, she thought, I’m confused.
“What does The Budget have to do with me or Susie?”she asked, not understanding why he had handed her the paper, the weekly periodical for Amish throughout the country.
Leaning down, Stephen pointed to a section of the folded newspaper. EPHRATA NEWS, it said. Priscilla frowned as her eyes quickly read through the“news”from their town that had been submitted for publication in the Amish newspaper.
“The Byler family reported that the new teacher and her special friend visited their cousin’s house to tell them that their son is not able to attend school anymore since he can’t learn. The bishop is investigating and is said to be considering shunning the couple from the church district.”
Priscilla felt as if someone had physically hit her. The wind was completely knocked out of her lungs. Her heart raced and she felt a throbbing at her temples. For what seemed like an eternity, Priscilla sat at the table, staring at that paper in her hand as she felt an overwhelming feeling of dread and disbelief. Her eyes re-read the words in complete doubt that she had read them correctly the first time.
When she had a moment to compose herself, she looked up, her eyes wide and full of disbelief. It didn’t make sense. She stared at her daed and Stephen, uncertain of what to say. In all of her life, she had never seen anything like this. How on earth could someone just publish something that was complete lies? And in The Budget, of all places!
“Priscilla,”Stephen started. However, he, too, was unable to form words.
“I…I don’t know what to say,”she said, her heart racing. “The bishop is going to shun me?”She stared at her daed and her mamm. Then, the words of the little news article hit her. And Stephen. She turned to look at him.“And now she’s dragging you into this?”She felt the tears start to swell in her eyes. It was beyond belief that anyone could be so cruel and heartless.“It’s all lies!”she whispered.
“We know it is lies,”Stephen said.“Everyone will know it is lies. That’s all she speaks, Priscilla. Falsehoods and meritless accusations.”
Priscilla looked at her parents, her eyes wide and frightened. She needed to know that they believed her. That they, too, knew the words were false.“We never went to her house!”she blurted out.
“Nee,”Stephen admitted.“We did not. But I did take your letter to the bishop who must have gone to talk to the parents.”He gestured toward the newspaper and scoffed.“This whole thing is complete nonsense.”
Her daed clenched his jaw and reached for the paper. While he had been reading The Budget that evening, he hadn’t noticed the blurb since it was buried in one of the back pages.“I haven’t seen no bishop here,”he said angrily, no longer able to control his temper.“If Bishop Zook was going to shun you, he’d be here already! If ever there was an unchristian person in our community, it is that woman!”
Mamm reached for the paper and took a moment to read it. The color drained from her face.“Oh my,”she muttered and looked up, staring at her husband.“That woman is plain crazy.”
“Something is wrong with her,”Daed snapped, throwing the paper back onto the table in disgust.“And I won’t stand for it!”
Stephen tried to calm down Priscilla’s daed. “Now hold on,”Stephen started, his tone respectful despite reproaching Priscilla’s daed.“Since this situation has been made public, we need to speak with the bishop about it. Disputes of such a nature are best left to be handled by the authorities of our district and that’s Bishop Zook.”
Daed sighed.“Ja, you are right,”he said.“Besides, with the bishop’s name being dragged into it, too, he will certainly have a word or two to say about this matter.”
Priscilla stared at the two men, tears starting to stream down her cheeks. She felt shame at the thought that people would read those lies and she knew that they would talk. Some people would even believe it. She had learned that from the issues surrounding her donation of tomatoes for the charity auction and later regarding her quilting bee.“Everyone will read that! They will all know that it is about me! And now she’s bringing Stephen into it!”
“I suppose we shouldn’t just presume that she did it,”Stephen said.
“Of course she did it,”Priscilla replied, her voice cracking.“Who else would do such a terrible thing?”She wiped at the tears that started to fall from her eyes.“You told me yourself that she had threatened to‘expose’me…whatever that was supposed to mean.”
Now that he had calmed down, Daed shook his head.“I’m headed over to the bishop right now,”he said, reaching for the paper again. His eyes skimmed the article one last time and the muscles in his jaw tensed.“Someone will answer for this. I’ve stood quiet for too long in regards to that woman.”
“My buggy is hitched already so I can take us there,”Stephen said. He looked over at Priscilla and spared her a soft smile to reassure her that all would be well.“Best let us handle this,”he said gently.“Don’t want you getting involved any more than necessary, ja?”
She nodded her head, still stunned by the brazenness of that crazy Susie Byler. How dare she publish something so full of lies? What typ
e of Christian person would publish something like this in the media, knowing only too well that it was yet again, one of her ridiculous attempts at making herself look more important and more righteous in the eyes of the readers? What was she trying to prove? That she, Susie Byler, was better than her, Priscilla? That she wanted to be construed as a better person, a better Christian?
Perhaps she believed that denigrating a fellow member of their community would make her look more important? Or was she just a poor tortured soul that craved all the attention and was feeling jealous because deep down she realized that Priscilla was more successful than her in everything she had considered being her own, guarded “territory”for so long: Growing the best tomatoes, quilting the nicest patterns and, now, providing better guidance to young members of their community than she, Susie Byler, ever could? What was she thinking? Didn’t she realize that these unfounded accusations would ultimately cause her own demise? Did she really think that the community was blind, that these readers would not see through her lies and fake accusations?
But Priscilla was strong and pure in her beliefs. As her ancestors had done for nearly half a millennium, she had chosen the Christian way of turning the other cheek and letting God work His remedy as He saw fit. That was the way of the Amish. Yet she could not help thinking that there were other religions with good God-fearing people among them harboring different beliefs than her own. She had read somewhere the expression of“an eye for an eye”and she knew that ultimately Susie’s eye would be taken. Her beliefs, however, forbade her to be the one taking that eye and she knew that it would be dealt with through the hand of God. And, reflecting on this, despite the contempt that was threatening to invade her soul, she could not help but feel pity for that self-destructive Susie Byler, this poor tortured soul. It was just a matter of time, she pondered…