Home on Huckleberry Hill

by Jennifer Beckstrand

  She nodded. What else could she do? The thought of being without him broke her heart.

  “You can keep the money in case I ever disappoint you again. I don’t think camping is the answer to any of our problems.”

  “Nae,” Mary Anne said. “This isn’t my money, and it isn’t your money, Jethro. It’s our money, and it always has been.”

  “I know,” he said. “I can’t believe I accused you of stealing that two hundred dollars. It was just as much yours as it was mine, as is the house and the barn and this expensive tent. Everything is ours together. I’m sorry I didn’t see it before.”

  Mary Anne ran her finger along the numbers on the check. “What would you say to using our money to try for a baby?”

  His eyes glistened, and his look made her feel mushy inside. “I’d like that very much.” He tugged one of her kapp strings. “But remember, you will always be enough. If you’re with me, I will never want for another thing in my life. Do you understand?”

  “Jah,” she said. “I know that now.” That knowledge was what freedom truly meant.

  He brought his lips down on hers, and they shared a gentle, desperate kiss that was both an ending and a beginning. Right that minute was the start of their new lives together.

  And the end of her days in a tent.

  Praise the Lord.

  “I see you two have finally come to your senses.”

  Mary Anne snapped her head around. Sarah Beachy stood outside the open door of the tent with her hands propped on her hips and her lips puckered in disgust. Jethro kissed Mary Anne again and faced Sarah with an unashamed look on his face. Mary Anne giggled. “I suppose we have.”

  “It’s about time. My canopy is ruined, Johnny has started eating the bark off trees, and Pine has adopted a flock of wild chickens.” Sarah kneaded a spot on her lower back. “And I’m sure I’ve developed a bulging disc and maybe polio. I’ll be bedridden until Christmas. I hope you’re happy.”

  Jethro squeezed Mary Anne’s hands. “We are. Very happy.”

  Sarah shook her head. “Mammi always said you were thick as a slab of strawberry pie, Jethro, but I had no idea it would take you this long to learn your lesson.” She twisted her lips in what might have passed for a smile. “I suppose nothing important is ever easy. And my boys have gained a great appreciation for their beds and their mamm’s cooking. It wasn’t all bad.”

  “I hope you know how much I appreciate your support.”

  Sarah waved away any talk of gratitude. “We’re family, and family sticks together.”

  “Denki.”

  “And my Aaron has missed me something wonderful. I have you to thank for that, Mary Anne. It’s gute for a husband to cherish his fraa. That’s worth a whole year in the woods.”

  Jethro took Mary Anne’s hand and led her out of the stinky tent. He kept holding her hand in plain view of Sarah. “Should we tell the others they can break camp?”

  Mary Anne smiled. “They’ll be so happy.”

  Mammi and Dawdi came trudging across the lawn, looking as if they’d had a rough time of it last night. Of course they’d had a rough time of it. Their canopy had burned down around their heads. Mammi’s kapp was askew on her head, and her hair stuck out in directions that shouldn’t have been possible. Dawdi’s limp was back, and the dark circles under his eyes looked to be in the shape of two of the Great Lakes.

  Mary Anne didn’t want any delay in the gute news. She ran to Mammi’s side and took her hand. Sarah and Jethro followed close behind. “Mammi, Jethro and I have decided to get back together. I’m moving back into the house, and you and Dawdi can go home.”

  Mammi frowned. “Now, Mary Anne, you don’t have to pretend for my sake. I don’t care that my tent has burned down. I’m determined to stay here until the bitter end and die with solidarity on my lips.”

  Sarah blew out a huge puff of air. “Mammi, you’re even more stubborn than I am.”

  “Nae, Mammi, it’s true.” Mary Anne grabbed Jethro’s hand and pulled him close to her. “I love Jethro, and he loves me. We want to try again.”

  Mammi eyed Jethro as if he might have a dread disease. “But Mary Anne, Jethro came to your birthday party and hogged all your cake in a grapefruit. He tried to kidnap us in the RV. He got rid of all your kitchen chairs. Are you sure you want to forgive him?”

  Mary Anne laughed. “I’m sure, Mammi. And he’s not as bad as all that. He saved you from the fire and always brought fresh towels out to the barn bathroom. Once, he gave me a maple bacon doughnut.”

  Mammi’s mouth fell open. “Maple bacon? Whoever heard of such a thing?”

  Mary Anne had to smile to herself. The thought of a maple bacon doughnut was appalling to the woman who made oyster spinach salad for special occasions. “I’m serious, Mammi. I love Jethro. I never want to be without him again.”

  Mammi thought about it for a few seconds. She must have been counting Jethro’s faults in her head. Then she bloomed into a smile and clapped her hands with as much enthusiasm as a weary eighty-five-year-old woman could muster. “I told Felty how it would be, didn’t I, Felty?”

  “Jah. You’re smarter than a whole roomful of scholars, Banannie.”

  Mammi patted Mary Anne’s cheek. “If you can stand to live with him, I won’t stand in your way. Solidarity is over. We’re moving home, Felty.”

  Was Mary Anne seeing things, or did Dawdi kick up his heels? She was probably imagining it. Dawdi was eighty-seven. Kicking up anything would for sure and certain put him in the hospital.

  Mammi looked at Sarah. “Do you think your boys could help us move our bed back to our house?”

  “Jah. It won’t take but two hours.”

  “But what about my chickens? It will take all of us to round up my chickens.”

  Jethro glanced doubtfully at Mary Anne. Nobody but Mammi held out hope for the chickens. “We’ll do what we can. I think there’s still one under your bed.”

  Mammi smiled and nodded. “Sharon. She’s always been the most loyal.”

  Sarah looked to the east side of the house and narrowed her eyes. “Is that a goat?”

  They heard it—or rather them—before they saw it. A whole herd of goats bounded around the side of the house, making all sorts of noise and running in every direction. Most of them headed straight for Jethro’s beautiful patch of green lawn, where they wasted no time in eating as much as they could. Cousin Titus followed behind them with a shepherd’s crook in his hand, a toothpick between his teeth, and his wife Katie by his side. Katie was the sweetest, quietest girl Mary Anne had ever met, but she was the perfect fraa for Titus, who was as simple and guileless as a child.

  Titus grinned when he laid eyes on their little group standing in the middle of the lawn with the unruly goats. “Hallo, Mammi and Dawdi! Jethro and Mary Anne! I heard there was a protest or something. Katie Rose and I decided to come and help, but we couldn’t leave our goats at home. I hope it’s okay that we brought them. They just need a little grass and a tub of water and they’ll be fine.”

  “Ach, Titus,” Mammi said. “You were always so thoughtful that way. No wonder you’re one of my favorites.”

  Sarah looked up to the sky. “The Lord works in mysterious ways, and not a minute too soon.”

  Mary Anne reached out for Katie’s hand. “It’s so kind of you to come, but Jethro and I have decided to try to work things out. I’m moving back into the house, and everyone is taking down their tents and going home.”

  Katie gave Mary Anne a half smile. “Ach. I’m froh you’ve worked it out but disappointed we won’t be able to camp. Titus and I love camping.”

  Titus smiled at Katie Rose as if she were the sun, the moon, and the stars—the best part of his life. It warmed Mary Anne’s heart. That was how marriage should be. “Maybe we could camp here anyway. You wouldn’t mind camping a few extra days, would you, Sarah, just to keep us company?”

  Sarah’s glare could have peeled all the paint off those chairs Mary Anne had painted
. “Titus Helmuth, you’re going to take those goats back to your farm right this minute, and you won’t breathe another word about camping. Is that clear?”

  Titus’s jaw dropped, and his toothpick dangled from his bottom lip. “I suppose so.”

  Sarah nodded. “Gute. I’ll go pack.” She made a beeline for her tent. No doubt she’d be ready to go in less than an hour.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Mary Anne had never seen anything quite like it. Mammi had assured her that people would come, but surely even Mammi couldn’t have expected this crowd. There had to be at least fifty Englischers plus that many more Amish folks lined up at the starting line. Many of the Englischers were dressed in colorful clothes with fancy running shoes. Some of the Amish also wore fancy shoes. Others had on their plain black work shoes.

  All these people had come to the First Annual Mary Anne and Jethro Neuenschwander Fund-Raiser 5K. Mary Anne hadn’t been completely comfortable that Mammi had named a race after her, but Mammi had been insistent.

  “We can’t call it the First Annual Mary-Anne-and-Jethro-Want-to-Have-a-Baby Race, or the Dash for Infertility,” Mammi had said. “That would be completely inappropriate.”

  Mammi had also liked “First Annual” attached to the title. “Then people can have something to look forward to next year.”

  A 5K had been Alice Swanson’s idea. “It doesn’t cost much, and people love to run—even the Amish. I’ve seen them.”

  Alice, Judy, and Dennis had helped Mammi make flyers and post the race on Facebook and other sites on the Internet. They charged twenty dollars to enter the race and another ten dollars for a T-shirt. Lia, Lily, and Mandy had organized a bake sale at the top of Huckleberry Hill, right on Mammi and Dawdi’s wide front porch, and Dawdi had offered to give tours of the house and barn for ten dollars apiece, with a special treat baked by Mammi at the end of the tour. The Englischers loved anything Amish—even Mammi’s baked goods. Dawdi had already given three tours and the race hadn’t even started yet.

  Dennis had mapped out a circular route so the 5K started and ended on Huckleberry Hill. Several of Mary Anne’s cousins plus her in-laws stood along the route to direct people where to run, and Sarah and her boys had set up three water stations along the way, just in case a runner got thirsty.

  It was a rare October day, not cold or rainy at all, as if Heaven was smiling down on their effort to raise money for the treatments ahead. Mary Anne pressed her hand against her heart. Gotte was so gute. How could she bear so much happiness?

  Jethro had been working at the registration table, collecting money and handing out T-shirts. He climbed the porch steps and sidled next to Mary Anne as she gazed at the crowd of runners waiting for the race to start. “We were only missing one T-shirt, but Alice found it.” He scooted closer so his arm brushed against hers. “I . . . I can’t believe it, Mary Anne.”

  “I know,” she whispered to keep her voice from cracking. “All these people. They don’t even know us.” Maybe she shouldn’t touch him in public like this, but Mary Anne slipped her arm around Jethro’s elbow. She craved the comfort of his steady and dependable touch. He kept her grounded, and the way she felt right now, she thought she just might float off the ground. “Should we tell her?” she said, watching Mammi as she bustled among the runners, making sure everyone’s shoes were tied correctly and checking to see if they had applied enough sunscreen.

  Jethro placed his hand over hers and smiled. “Not yet. We don’t want to spoil her fun, and we only found out ourselves this morning.” He tugged her backward, past the busy bake sale and into the house, where all was quiet. Dawdi had suspended all tours until the race was over. Jethro wrapped his arms around her and kissed her like he was trying to make up for lost time. They parted, both of them breathless and wildly happy. “Mary Anne, my precious ruby. I’ve been wanting to do that all morning. I only have so much willpower.”

  She grinned. “Me too.” She moved in for another kiss, confident that they had at least five minutes before someone came to find them. She held on to Jethro as tightly as she could.

  Even though she knew she had many hard miles and long years ahead of her, Mary Anne’s heart was filled to overflowing. She was learning to trust Gotte and Jethro, learning to let go of her fears, learning to speak her mind and let Jethro speak his. Learning to truly give her heart to someone who might break it, willing to be Jethro’s rock and to let him be hers.

  They needed each other now more than ever.

  There was a baby coming in the spring.