by Sarah Price
By the time the dinner hour arrived, the table was set as well as an additional folding table set up at one end to accommodate all of the guests. Emma assumed her spot next to her daed, and to her delight, Francis sat next to her. After the silent blessing, he immediately began the conversation, sharing his exploits over the past week with the others at the table. Several times he directed his conversation toward her, and Emma felt the color rise to her cheeks at his attention.
With the garden plowed over and the manure spread, the guests had a leisurely dinner. Following the after-prayer, they retired to the living room to continue visiting while Anna and Emma quickly cleaned the dishes.
For the first few minutes they worked in silence, listening to the conversation and laughter that came from the far side of the room where the sun shone through the glass windows onto the sofa, recliner, and folding chairs that had been set up for company. Anna occasionally glanced over her shoulder, smiling to herself as she observed her husband and stepson deep in conversation with the other guests.
When she had a moment, however, Anna quietly cleared her throat and leaned over toward Emma. In a soft voice Anna inquired how she was feeling. Emma was uncertain whether she meant the situation with confessing to Hannah earlier the previous week or the news about Paul’s sudden marriage.
“I’d be telling an untruth if I didn’t say that I have lost quite a bit of respect for Paul,” Emma admitted, lowering her voice so that no one overheard her. “That seems either rash or deceptive on his part, and either way, I am not impressed.”
Anna seemed to digest this, taking her time to respond. She was drying the last plate when she finally turned to Emma. “It’s not up to us to judge,” she replied thoughtfully. “The Bible tells us that we reap what we sow. I do believe you have experienced that yourself most recently.”
Emma understood that statement to reference her dilemma with Hannah. Heat rushed to her cheeks and she lowered her eyes in deference to Anna’s reminder.
“However, since Paul was not interested in your friend and you were not interested in Paul, I see no harm in what he has done. In fact,” she added cheerfully, “I look forward to meeting this Alice.”
Emma only wished that she could mirror Anna’s kind sentiments.
By the time they finished cleaning the kitchen and joined the rest of the gathering, it was clear that the focus of conversation had finally shifted away from Francis. Only now it was focused on Jane. She sat demurely on a folding chair, having apparently insisted that her aendi and grossmammi take their seats on the more comfortable sofa.
Emma moved her own folding chair to the outer skirt of the circle as there was barely enough room to be a part of it. She listened as question after question was asked of the young woman, most of them being directed at her from Francis. For a few minutes it appeared as if no one else was in the room, just the two of them, and Emma felt the heat rise to her cheeks. When she glanced around, she noticed that Gideon, Samuel, and her daed were hanging on to every word that Jane said in response to Francis’s thoughtful questions about her life in Ohio, her g’may, and her family. She also noticed that, unlike the previous week, Jane’s answers flowed much more easily than when she had responded to Emma’s own questions.
The final straw, however, was when Gideon began to squirm in his seat. Something was bothering him; that much was clear. He fidgeted and took deep breaths, clearly agitated over something. Finally he jumped up from his seat and retreated into the kitchen. When he returned momentarily, he held a glass of water in his hand, which he proceeded to hand to Jane.
The gesture was a peculiar one and Emma found herself perplexed. Was it possible, she wondered as she watched Gideon’s staring at the young woman, that he had taken a romantic interest in her? Her suspicions were only further aroused when it was time for the guests to begin leaving: Gideon insisted upon taking Jane and the Blanks home, claiming that, despite their house being in the opposite direction, there was no imposition at all on his time.
“It would be my pleasure,” he said with a slight dipping of his head.
Hetty seemed especially pleased. “Danke, Gideon,” she gushed. “Danke! That would be ever so gut, especially for my maem. It’s such a long distance for her to walk and, vell, we are not as fortunate to have the income or property to keep a horse and buggy.” She leaned over and tapped her maem’s shoulder. “Isn’t that most kind, Maem? Gideon offered us a ride home.” When it was clear that her maem hadn’t heard properly, Hetty repeated the key words again, this time louder. “Gideon. Ride. Home.”
When the gathering disbanded, Emma stood at the kitchen counter, her hands aimlessly drying a plate while she watched out the window. It struck her as odd that she felt a growing ache in her stomach as she saw Gideon help Jane and Hetty into the backseat of the buggy before offering his assistance to Hetty’s maem, who sat next to him on the front seat. As the buggy pulled away, she stared after it for a long while, her mind far away until her daed teased her that the plate was certainly dry by now.
Startled back to reality, Emma gave a weak smile and quickly put the plate away in the open cabinet next to the sink. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what bothered her so much about the possibility that Gideon’s offer to take the three ladies home was not just neighborly kindness but due to interest in a certain young woman from Ohio. It was something that gave her pause to reflect and wonder while she finished drying the dishes.
Chapter Thirteen
EMMA COULD HARDLY believe what Gideon had just said to her. How had he come to this conclusion? He barely knew the man! She was sitting on the sofa, staring at him with her mouth agape, stunned by his words. It wasn’t often that she was held speechless, but Gideon had managed to do just that. It took her a long moment to compose herself before she was able to speak.
“Gideon, what do you mean that you don’t like Francis?”
The thought was disconcerting. To not like Francis Wagler? From the few interactions that she had with the man, he had been pleasant and cheerful, and his presence lit up any gathering. With great pleasure Emma had witnessed his attentiveness toward his new maem, Anna. Wherever he went, people seemed to flocked to him like moths to a lantern. Even today, after worship service, Francis was surrounded by a group of young men and quickly had them laughing, the center of attention and clearly admired by all.
Gideon frowned, leaning forward and rubbing at his forehead. “I didn’t exactly say that, Emma,” he said, his voice sounding stressed. “Once again, if I dare say, you are putting words into my mouth!”
Was she? She wasn’t too sure of this.
After the worship service Gideon had offered to bring her home since Henry had previously made plans to visit and play Scrabble with the Glicks. The grueling week ending with those dreadful long days left Emma exhausted, and she begged to be excused from any social obligations. Even during the sermons Emma fell asleep twice, and when it came time for the kneeling prayer at the end of the service, she could barely keep her eyes open. The last thing she wanted was to accompany her daed in his social visits. Thankfully Gideon noticed her fatigue and insisted upon taking her home, for which she was secretly grateful. Considering how tired she was, the walk home seemed daunting. Even if it were only a mere mile, she knew it would feel like ten!
To her s
urprise, after Gideon stopped the horse in front of her house, he got out of the buggy as well. She watched as he pulled out the horse’s halter from under his seat and quickly put it over the horse’s head, covering the bridle with it and securing the reins. He hooked a lead rope to the underside of the halter, clipping it to a small round metal piece, and tied the horse to the hitching post. Then, without even asking permission, he accompanied her inside the house as if he intended to visit.
For a split second his boldness took her aback. It was most unusual for a man to visit with a woman alone in a house. Such a situation was reserved for courting couples, and even then, being seen to enter a vacant haus could cause many tongues to wag. In fact, a young woman chanced having questions raised about her reputation if she were caught alone in a house with a young person of the other gender. Certainly the bishop would want to question the couple as to their intentions.
However, since this was Gideon, and he was a member of the extended family, even if only by marriage, she pushed the thought out of her mind and decided that an hour of company was not necessarily a bad thing, especially because he was a dear friend.
At first the visit seemed awkward. She became conscious of the fact that she had never really been alone with Gideon in the house for an extended period of time. During his frequent visits over the years, Anna or her daed was usually home. Of course, there were times Daed might leave to take his daily walk or to tend to a task outside of the house, but that was usually at the tail end of Gideon’s visit and therefore would not be construed the same way as Gideon visiting Emma when she was home alone. Emma had never really given a second thought to such short periods of time spent alone in Gideon’s company. His frequent presence in the house seemed very natural, even expected. Today, however, was different. It certainly spoke volumes about his comfort level with the Weavers to have accompanied her into the haus.
The initial conversation focused on her. She didn’t mind that at all and actually appreciated his concern, especially when he asked her about her week helping Irene. Certainly he must have learned from his bruder that Irene had fallen ill. Emma had told him about Irene and the kinner, sharing stories about Little Henry and John Junior, who seemed to be the most mischievous boys that either one of them had even known.
“Reminds me of a young girl who shared a similar gleam in her pretty blue eyes,” Gideon teased lightly.
Emma ignored his comment and proceeded to tell him about having gone to market for Jenny Glick.
“Such long days,” Emma sighed, shaking her head wearily. “And the long commute in that packed van! I am so glad that my quilting brings enough income to avoid having to work at the market every week.”
Gideon nodded in agreement. “I reckon days at market are no different than working a dairy farm. Rise before the sun, retire with the moon.”
“I do prefer to work at home,” Emma admitted. “It’s nice to be near daed and to enjoy the comforts of home and community.”
“You do that rather well,” was his reply. She wasn’t sure whether Gideon meant that as a true compliment or a comment in badinage. She certainly was not one to shirk obligations or labor. But the fact was that she preferred working indoors to outdoors, solitude to exposure. She had always found the stares and the questions from the Englische tourists and visitors at the market rather odd and uncomfortable.
The pleasant tone of the conversation, however, suddenly shifted when Emma inquired about how Francis was working out as a carpenter at his storage building business. His response caused Emma to question him.
As Gideon sat in Henry’s recliner, he stared at her with another of his side looks, one that clearly conveyed his never-ending disapproval. “What I said,” he began again, speaking slowly and carefully, “was that I have gained the suspicion that he cares more for his own pleasure than for a hard day’s labor. How you can possibly construe from that statement that I don’t ‘like’ Francis is beyond me.”
She almost smiled at how Gideon mimicked her when he spoke the word like.
“And for such a young man, he seems far too independent and worldly, in my opinion.”
“You seem rather determined to find flaws in his character,” she pointed out.
“Mayhaps,” Gideon owned. Candor was one of his traits that she both admired and disliked. Gideon was never one to pretend to be someone he was not. However, that same trait caused him to speak his mind, sharing his thoughts and opinions even when they were not popular or sought. “But it is quite easy to do in this particular case,” he added.
Emma leaned forward and pointed her index finger at him. “Ah ha!” she said, unable to hide her pleasure at having tricked Gideon. “There! You are judging him. One does not often judge someone who is in good favor! Therefore, you admit you do not like him!”
Gideon laughed. “You are in my good favor, yet I find myself judging you rather often.”
“Bah!”
“It’s true,” Gideon confessed, a sparkle in his eye and light tone to his words.
While there was truth to his statement, Emma took it good-naturedly. “Indeed, you do it as frequently as possible, it seems!”
He laughed. “You certainly seem to give me just cause!” A comfortable silence befell them, the gentle teasing having created a warm feeling in the room. It lingered for just a few long seconds before Gideon spoke again. “You speak of my judging Francis. What say you of Hetty’s niece?”
The rapid shift away from Francis caught her off guard. “Jane? What of her?”
He eyed her carefully. “It is most apparent that you are not very fond of Jane.”
“Me?” Emma placed her hand upon her chest. Try as she had to hide her dislike of Jane, it was clear that Gideon was not going to be deceived. Still, unlike Gideon, she tried to maintain her innocence against his accusation. “Oh, heaven! Whatever would give you that impression?”
“My dear Emma,” he said, shaking his head with that all-too-familiar amused smile on his face. “The deep sighs, the glazed look, and your unusual silence during any conversation involving her speak volumes. You forget how well I know you!”
“And I, you!” Emma shot back. It unexpectedly irritated her how much Gideon presumed about her, all the while not considering or admitting his own attentiveness to the young woman. “For as much as I may not be partial to Jane and, indeed, count the days for her return to Ohio, I sense that you, on the other hand, dread that day!” The words slipped out before she could stop them and she immediately caught her breath, staring at Gideon with wide eyes, not quite believing that she had just uttered those words.
He sat in the chair, left thumb under his chin and his index finger rubbing back and forth above his upper lip, a familiar gesture he often adopted when pondering someone’s words. The longer he waited to respond, the more Emma braced herself for a reprimand. Surely it was coming, she reasoned, for she had spoken far out of turn about something that, once again, was not her business.
Oh, she knew that she was correct in what she had said, for she had noticed on more than one occasion that Gideon seemed to favor the pretty young woman from Ohio. Hadn’t he hurried to get her water, concerned for her comfort when she was responding to the barrage of questions from the group? Hadn’t he insisted upon going out of his way to
take her home? And how many times had she caught Gideon staring at Jane during service? It wasn’t hard to count them, for much to Emma’s discomfort, Jane had sat between her and Rachel.
Clearly Gideon was smitten with Jane. Only it wasn’t until this moment that Emma realized how much his attention to Jane truly bothered her. She had always presumed Gideon would remain an old buwe. He was well into his thirties, and during the time that she had known him, he had not shown an inclination toward marriage. There was actually a time, not very long ago, when she wondered whether he would ever marry or if he was just as comfortable remaining an unmarried man, an old buwe. She knew several men in the g’may who preferred to leave these matters up to God and readily accepted the fact that a fraa and some kinner were not what He had in mind for them. They may have tried to court someone, but after a rejection or two they took it for granted that such things were not in His plans.
Of course, if Gideon were to take a wife, Emma knew that his frequent visits to their house would cease. He’d be obligated to spend more time with the family of his fraa. And once there were boppli . . . Emma shuddered at the thought. Why, if Gideon fancied Jane and married her, Emma would most likely see him only at family gatherings that included his bruder John and Irene. Even worse, her daed would be devastated at the loss, that was for sure and certain.
During the time that these thoughts raced through her mind, Gideon remained quiet. He too was reflecting upon her words, and she couldn’t read his reaction. Certainly, she thought, another of his lectures would follow, and she braced herself for the inevitable.