A Pregnant Widow's Amish Vacation

by Samantha Price

  Before long, Jane was asleep. The next thing she knew, someone was knocking on her door talking about dinner.

  “I’m coming!” Jane called back. She rolled over on her side and pushed herself to a seated position. Knowing she would have to leave a shower until after dinner, she quickly fixed her hair and makeup. When she had made herself look decent, she walked out of the room in the clothes she’d been wearing all day.

  Jane had assumed they’d be eating in the large eat-in kitchen, but when she walked in, she could see she’d been wrong. There were two young Amish women working frantically.

  “Where do I go for dinner?” Jane asked one of the women.

  “I’ll take you to the dining room.”

  “Yes, of course, the dining room.” No one had mentioned anything about a dining room. But then again, she hadn’t read the detailed brochure that Lizzie had handed her.

  “This way.” The woman wiped her hands on a tea towel and walked past Jane. Then the young lady took her back down the hall, through the reception area and up a couple of steps.

  “This is a long way from the kitchen, isn’t it?”

  The young lady giggled. “There’s a passageway from the kitchen to the dining room and it connects the two.”

  “That makes more sense. It’s like a horseshoe-shape?”

  “Yes.” The woman stood back once they came to a well-lit room. Jane walked into the dining room to see the family sitting around a large round table. The white tablecloth, the white and blue china dishes were grander than Jane would’ve expected from a humble Amish establishment, but then again it wasn’t the Amish they were catering to—this was for the tourists.

  “There you are,” Lizzie said when Jane walked into the room.

  “I'm sorry I’m late. I didn't know where the dining room was. I thought you would've eaten in the kitchen.”

  Young Gia laughed and when her father touched her on the shoulder, she stopped.

  “The food smells amazing.” As Jane sat down, she saw the food was in white china covered bowls in the centre of the table.

  “We have two girls who do the cooking for us now that…” Lizzie looked embarrassed and didn’t finish what she was about to say. “This is Sarah and the other girl we have working for us is Mary.”

  Jane turned around and nodded hello to Sarah and she nodded back. Jane wondered what Lizzie had been about to say? Now that what?

  Tobias said, “Yes, even though we’ve got the place under construction we still have the girls cooking for us because my wife’s hands are riddled with arthritis.”

  Lizzie looked down at her hands. “Yes they are.” She spread her hands and showed them to Jane.

  Jane gazed at Lizzie’s knobbly hands. “Are they painful?” Something was going on—something that the Yoders didn’t want to discuss in her presence.

  “They are painful sometimes, but only when I move them. It helps if I keep them warm.”

  “We generally close our eyes and give thanks for the food before we eat,” Tobias said.

  “Don’t let me stop you,” Jane said. “I say grace sometimes before I eat. Do we hold hands?”

  Zac frowned at her, and said, “No.” He shook his head while Gia gave Jane a big smile.

  When everyone closed their eyes, Jane followed. She waited for someone to speak, but no one did. After a while, she opened her eyes to see that Lizzie now had hers open, and Tobias was just opening his.

  Sarah, who’d been standing back, stepped forward to serve the food onto the plates.

  “This is a typical Amish meal. I thought we’d have this tonight.” Lizzie said.

  “What is it exactly?” Jane asked.

  Tobias answered, “We’ve got pork chops, sauerkraut, and potatoes. If you don’t eat pork, we’ve got fried chicken. We have two varieties of meat at every meal.”

  “You aren’t vegetarian, are you?” Lizzie asked.

  “No, I like my meat too much.”

  “Good. We like to know by ten every morning if you aren’t eating dinner with us. We have a form for you to fill in and leave at the kitchen if you’re dining with us. All meals are included, but often our guests make other arrangements.”

  “Okay.” Jane nodded. “The food looks lovely and so fresh.” The carrots were almost red and the peas and beans were dark green.

  As Lizzie went on to explain about the mashed potatoes and how the meal was cooked, and how they’d grown all their vegetables in their garden, Jane was feeling too miserable to listen. Every now and again, she’d smile and nod in the appropriate places wondering why Lizzie was still talking. Surely the food would get cold.

  When everyone at the table was silent, Jane knew that was her time to make a comment. “Ah, well, it looks and smells delicious.”

  “The proof is in the eating,” Zac said. “Help yourself please, Jane.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll give you a hand,” Tobias said as he stood and proceeded to heap food onto Jane’s plate.

  “Not too much. I can’t eat a lot at one time.”

  When everyone had food on their plates, Lizzie looked at Jane. “Go ahead and start eating.”

  “Okay.” Jane smiled at everyone before she took a mouthful of mashed potatoes. She nodded as she ate. Her obvious delight over the potatoes seemed to please everyone, and they began eating as well.

  “Will Mr. Walker be joining you?” Zac asked before he spooned a forkful of potato into his mouth.

  Lizzie looked at Zac and said quietly, “The booking was only for one.”

  Jane was taken aback by Zac’s question, but she’d been wondering where Gia’s mother was, so he was being just as curious. Perhaps Zac’s wife was one of the women in the kitchen, but wouldn’t she have eaten with the family? She cleared her throat. “Mr. Walker is not in the picture.”

  Zac raised his eyebrows. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be nosey.”

  Gia looked up at her father. “You’re always telling me not to be nosey, Dat.”

  “You’re quite right, Gia, and do you remember what else I always tell you?”

  “Don’t talk at the dinner table?” Gia asked.

  “That’s right.”

  “Sorry, Dat.”

  “There you go again, talking at the table.”

  Gia smiled and pressed her lips together with her fingers.

  “That’s better, now not another word,” Zac said.

  Lizzie added, “Dinner is adults' time to speak, Gia.”

  “Have you had the B&B for a long time?” Jane asked Lizzie before she remembered that she’d already been told that it had been in Tobias’ family for many generations.

  “It was Tobias’ great-grandfather's. He built the original house. At the time, there was a lot more land than it has now. Various parcels of land were given to the children over the years when they married. Now it stands on just over sixty acres.”

  “That’s a lot of land,” Jane said.

  Tobias said, “This used to be a farm-stay B&B a few years back.”

  That would make perfect sense. Derek would’ve found out she didn’t like being around farms and getting dirty. “You mean the people who stayed here would have to do farm work?”

  Zac laughed loudly. “I can see by the look on your face that you can’t think of anything worse.”

  “No,” Tobias said. “They could do work if they wanted to have the real farm experience, but we’ve never forced anyone to help out.” Tobias chuckled.

  “Don’t mind them, Jane. How would you know if you’ve never been here before?”

  Jane smiled at Lizzie. “I’ve never stayed at one of these places—a B&B, I mean. I’ve always stayed at hotels.”

  “Five stars I’d guess,” Zac said. When Jane looked at him, he said, “That’s a compliment, because you look like the kind of lady who would have the very best of everything.”

  “Stop it, Zac! I don’t know what’s gotten into you,” Lizzie said.

  “Leave him alone, Lizzie
. Miss Walker knows he’s only having a laugh.” Tobias’ blue-green eyes twinkled.

  “Yes, that’s quite all right. I know a joke when I hear one.” And Derek sending me here is a joke—a joke on me for coming here and leaving him at work with the O’Connor account.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Walker will you forgive me?” He placed his hand over his heart, but she was certain from the look in his eyes that he didn’t mean a word of his apology.

  “Of course. There’s nothing to forgive. Nothing at all.” She wouldn’t let Zac see that she was bothered by all his nonsense. Jane turned to face Lizzie. “This food is delicious. It’s the nicest meal I’ve had for some time.

  “What brings you here by yourself Ms. Walker?” Zac asked.

  His father gave him a sideways glance as though Zac had been instructed not to ask the guests their personal details.

  “Please, Zac, Tobias, you can call me Jane. It’s rather an enforced vacation, as I told you earlier today. I work hard at my job and my boss made me take a break for the next few weeks.” She looked down at her food annoyed with herself for agreeing to a four-week vacation. How did Derek pull it off and do so without someone in the office whispering about it and telling her what he was up to? Unless the girls in the office were now on his side.

  “You look sad for someone having a vacation,” Zac commented. “Aren’t vacations supposed to be happy?”

  “Zac,” his father said in a low voice as if to say, ‘mind your own business.’

  “It’s the first vacation I’ve had since my husband died; I suppose that’s why I don’t look happy. It’s been quite an adjustment.”

  Zac looked surprised.

  “My mudder died,” Gia said.

  That explained the absence of Zac’s wife, the little girl’s mother. “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. We have something in common, Gia. We’ve both lost people dear to us.”

  Gia’s eyes widened. “Maddie says Mamm didn’t go to heaven.”

  Lizzie gasped. “Gia! Don’t talk like that.”

  “Who’s Maddie?” Zac asked his daughter.

  The dinner conversation was suddenly getting more interesting and Jane was glad the focus was on someone else. Lizzie and Tobias were definitely uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking.

  “Maddie is the Willems’ dochder,” Lizzie said. “And I’ll be having a word with Maddie’s mudder.”

  “Is your husband in heaven, Ms. Walker?” Gia asked.

  “We don’t ask people things like that,” Zac said.

  Gia sighed and looked at the food on her plate. “I was just asking,” she said in a tiny voice.

  “Eat your food,” Zac said sternly. “No talking at the table. You’ll do well to remember that.”

  A change in the conversation was needed, and then the next question was directed at Jane.

  “What kind of work do you do that keeps you working so hard?” Zac asked.

  “I’m in advertising.” Looking at their blank faces, she added, “I’m an advertising executive. I pitch campaigns to firms looking to sell more of their products—companies such as airlines or department stores.” Jane hated the out-dated word, ‘pitch,’ but thought that might be a term that the Amish had heard before.

  Lizzie nodded as though she understood and Tobias continued eating without saying a word.

  “Sounds impressive. We should be pleased to have you in our little corner of the world.” Zac smiled at her.

  “And we are pleased,” Lizzie said staring at Jane.

  Tobias cleared his throat. “You might be able to help us with our new campaign and our relaunch party.”

  Lizzie looked open-mouthed at her husband. “You can’t ask that of Miss Walker. She’s our guest.”

  Jane wanted to correct Lizzie and tell her that Miss was a sexist term and she preferred to go by, ‘Ms,’ but because she didn’t want to risk offending, she let it go. “I’d be happy to. I prefer to do something all the time—I like to keep occupied. And please, call me Jane.”

  “We’d pay you of course,” Tobias said.

  Jane shook her head. “No need to do that. You’d be doing me a favor—honestly.”

  Tobias chuckled and Jane noticed that Lizzie shot him a look of disdain before she turned back to Jane. “We’ll pay you,” she said with a final nod.

  “No!” Jane shook her head. She’d be pleased for the distraction that might save her from going stir crazy.

  “We’ll see. We’ll come to some arrangement. I guess we shouldn’t talk about such things at the table.”

  “This food is wonderful.” Jane said knowing that the Amish food was an attraction for tourists visiting the region. It was all over the brochures she’d skimmed through in her room. “And the rooms—well, my room is clean, bright and spotless. I was really impressed when I walked in.”

  “Was your husband also in advertising?” Tobias asked.

  “You don’t have to answer that.” Lizzie shot her husband another glare.

  “That’s okay. I don’t mind talking about him. It might do me good.” She shook her head. “He was in sales. He worked for a car company, and he traveled a lot.” Yes, and that was a perfect cover for his sordid affair.

  Once they’d finished their main meals, the two women who’d been in the kitchen came out of nowhere to clear the dishes. Once the dishes were gone, the dessert was served.

  “My goodness! I hadn’t quite expected to have so much food.”

  “I’m not allowed to say ‘my goodness,’” Gia said.

  Zac leaned over and said quietly, “You don’t correct adults, Gia. And you keep forgetting that you don’t talk at the table unless someone speaks directly to you.”

  Have I said something wrong? Jane wondered what was wrong with what she’d said. Now she would have to be careful, not only to be mindful of cursing, but anything else that the Amish wouldn’t normally say—especially with a child around. “I’m sorry if I said something wrong.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I’m the one who’s sorry. Gia isn’t used to being around… she’s not used to being here at the B&B with a lot of people.” Zac gave Jane a smile, which seemed sincere.

  Jane knew that Zac meant that Gia hadn’t spent much time around Englischers, which were what the Amish called people like her.

  “You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to,” Mrs. Yoder said to Jane regarding the food.

  “Oh.” Jane gave a little laugh. “I love apple pie. I’m sure I can squeeze some in.”

  Sarah cut the pie and passed Jane a piece, after generous dollops of cream and ice-cream had been added.

  “I made the ice-cream,” Mrs. Yoder said. “The girls made the apple pie.”

  Jane waited until everyone had dessert in front of them before she started. “Mmm, it’s delicious—all of it.”

  “Thank you,” Lizzie said.

  “Tell me what plans you have for the place and how it’s going to be different than it was before,” Jane said, hoping her mind could be kept busy and away from her late husband.

  Lizzie said, “We’re making the rooms better and adding more en-suites. People don’t like having to leave their rooms and go down the hallway to shower.”

  Zac added, “After we get the house renovated, I suggested to have some self-contained cabins erected.”

  Lizzie nodded. “That’s some time away, if we do well after the renovations. Seems everyone who comes to stay wants everything self-contained, their own bathroom, and a small tea and coffee making area with a small fridge. Not everyone wants to join us for dinner.”

  Tobias chimed in, “Some have dinner with us some nights, but then want to experience some of the restaurants around town and about the place.”

  Lizzie said to her husband, “She asked about the B&B, Tobias.”

  He motioned with his hands about a yard apart. “I’m trying to give her the broad view of things. You mentioned the dinner.”

  Lizzie turned back to her. “Does that answer
your question, Jane?”

  “Yes, you’re giving people what they want, which is great. And people like their own private bathroom. When was the Rose Room renovated?”

  “I did that one a couple of years ago,” Zac said.

  Jane looked at Zac. “And you and Gia live here too?”

  He nodded. “We moved back recently.”

  “It’s certainly a huge house.”

  “It’s been added onto over the years,” Zac said.

  Gia yawned a big yawn.

  “Looks like it’s close to someone’s bedtime,” Tobias said smiling at Gia.

  “I’m not tired.” Gia frowned.

  Chapter 5

  Let no man despise thy youth;

  but be thou an example of the believers,

  in word, in conversation, in charity,

  in spirit, in faith, in purity.

  1 Timothy 4:12

  * * *

  After dinner, Jane went back to her room. It’d been awhile since she’d had a lovely home-cooked meal like the one she’d just had. She had to admit that she liked the whole Yoder family—although Zac seemed to have a chip on his shoulder.

  Jane grabbed the robe behind the door and headed for the shower. Even though she normally preferred to relax in the tub, tonight she was so tired she didn’t want to run the risk of falling asleep in the bathtub.

  “If I drowned in the bathtub, all Derek’s dreams would come true. I’m not going to give him that satisfaction.” There were only two reasons to continue living; one was her soon-to-be-born baby, and the other was keeping her job away from Derek. The company only had room for five account executives, and Derek had obviously seen her as the weakest person to target. The other four account executives were men.

  Once the shower's hot water jets were pulsing against Jane’s bare skin, she wet her hair only to realize she hadn’t brought her shampoo with her. “Just my luck.”