“I didn’t know you were interested in Peter.”
“He’s a nice man.”
“Ya, he is. And it’s fine if you’re interested in him. But don’t use him for practice.”
“Practice?”
“Your flirting skills.”
Rose Anna laughed. “Oh, stop being a big schweschder. Peter’s a big boy. He doesn’t need you to protect him from me.”
Her smile faded and she stared down at her hands clasped in her lap. Then she looked up at Mary Elizabeth. “It felt gut to have a man interested in me. I’d think you’d know what that feels like since you and Ben have been going out.”
She sighed. “You’re right. I—just wasn’t sure about what I saw today.”
“I flirted with Peter, and Peter flirted with me. We’ll see if anything comes of it.”
When they arrived home, their dat came out of the barn and greeted them. “I hear we have company coming for supper.”
Mary Elizabeth had nearly forgotten.
“Go inside and help your mudder with supper. Rose Anna and I’ll take care of unhitching Bessie and putting her up.”
“Danki, Daed.” She kissed his cheek and went inside.
“Something smells so gut,” she said when she walked into the kitchen. She sniffed the air. “Pot roast.”
“Your dat’s favorite. Thought Ben might enjoy it. Never met a man who didn’t like a gut pot roast.”
“Or a woman for that matter. Give me a minute to put my things in my room and I’ll help. I’m sorry, Rose Anna and I stayed in town a little longer than I expected.”
Her mudder smiled at her. “It’s fine. Take your time.”
When Mary Elizabeth returned, she washed her hands at the sink and dried them on a dish towel.
“All that’s left is a salad. I made a strawberry rhubarb pie earlier.”
Mary Elizabeth glanced over at the counter and saw the pie sitting on a cooling rack. “Why don’t you make the salad and I’ll get us some iced tea?” Linda suggested.
“Nothing better than a strawberry rhubarb pie.” Mary Elizabeth said as she washed the fresh lettuce, carrots, and big red, ripe tomatoes they’d picked from the kitchen garden that morning. She dried them, picked up a wooden cutting board, and sat at the table.
Linda poured them glasses of iced tea and sat down. “So tell me a little about Ben.”
She smiled as she sliced the tomatoes. “He’s new to town, came here to work for his onkel.”
“It’s been a while since we had a young man come to supper,” her mudder said.
“David was here just last week with Lavina.”
Her mudder gave her a level look. “You know what I mean.”
Mary Elizabeth grinned as she heard the kitchen door open. “Rose Anna, Mamm was just saying it’s been a while since a young man came to supper. Maybe you’d like to invite Peter.”
Rose Anna stuck her tongue out at her and quickly pasted a smile on her face when their mudder glanced over at her.
“Peter Beiler?”
“Ya.” She hung her purse on a peg and walked over to the sink to wash her hands. “What can I help with?”
“Slice some bread?”
Rose Anna nodded and pulled a knife from a drawer. She began slicing the freshly baked loaf.
“We stopped to drop off some crafts to Leah’s new store today,” she told their mudder. “Peter and Sam were working. Mamm, you should see what the women at the shelter created so far. There are so many different things. Not just quilts but table runners for Thanksgiving and Christmas, mug mats—little quilted coasters to put under a hot mug, some little stuffed animals and lots of quilted Christmas ornaments. Some of the children made cute little pincushions.”
Mary Elizabeth didn’t know if Rose Anna was really excited about their work or wanted to deflect questions about Peter. Amish parents gave their kinner privacy about dating and Linda and Jacob had done the same, only discussing David when Lavina had shared her concerns about his problems with his dat. Later, after they reconciled she’d told them she and David were getting married. Mary Elizabeth hadn’t talked about Sam much, but she had the feeling that her mudder had guessed how she felt after he came to supper so often before he left home.
Rose Anna finished slicing the bread and set the breadbasket on the table. She poured herself a glass of iced tea and sat at the table with them, watching as Mary Elizabeth arranged slices of tomato in an artful pattern on top of the salad.
They were setting the table when they heard a knock at the front door.
“I’ll get it,” Rose Anna said, but Mary Elizabeth grabbed her apron sash and pulled at it.
“I’ll do it,” she told her schweschder firmly.
“Of course,” Rose Anna said, giving her an impudent grin.
“What’s all that about?” she heard their mudder asking her schweschder as she walked to the door. If she knew their mudder, Linda would get Rose Anna to confess.
“Gut-n-owed,” Ben said, his smile wide and welcoming when she opened the door.
“You’re right on time.”
“You must be Ben,” her dat said, walking into the room from the kitchen. “I’m Jacob. This is Linda, my fraa,” he added as she joined him. “And this is Rose Anna, one of Mary Elizabeth’s schweschders.”
Mary Elizabeth noticed that Rose Anna smiled at him, but the wattage was drastically reduced from what she’d given Peter earlier that day.
They moved into the kitchen and took seats at the table.
“Something smells very gut,” Ben told Linda. His eyes lit up when she served the platter of pot roast surrounded by potatoes and carrots from their garden.
“You have a fine farm here, Jacob,” Ben said as he helped himself to a big serving of the pot roast. “It makes me a little homesick for the family farm back in Indiana.”
That led to an animated discussion between the two men over similarities and differences in farming methods and crops and all manner of things. Linda gave Mary Elizabeth a sympathetic smile as she attempted to change the subject twice and then gave up.
“Ben? Strawberry rhubarb pie?”
He groaned. “One of my favorites. I’m not schur I have room after two helpings of that pot roast.”
“Three,” Rose Anna murmured.
He grinned. “Three,” he agreed, looking sheepish. “Ya, Linda, I would love a piece.”
“Be happy to show you around after dessert,” Jacob said.
Ben finished the pie in record time, and the two men were out the back door.
“Well,” Mary Elizabeth said wryly, watching them leave. “The two of them make a lovely couple. I’m so glad they hit it off.”
Linda burst out laughing.
9
I’ll be glad when summer is over,” Lavina said as she ladled blueberry preserves into jars. “Ben seems nice.”
Mary Elizabeth screwed lids on the filled jars. “He is.”
“Daed schur likes him.” Lavina stopped for a moment to wave a small paper fan at her face. “Oh, each summer feels hotter than the last one. I don’t mean to question God about why He made harvest the warmest part of the year but . . .” she trailed off.
Something made Mary Elizabeth look at her, hard. Lavina looked flushed, and her eyes were overly bright.
“Sit for a minute.”
Lavina swiped the back of her hand across her forehead. “I’m almost finished. I’ll sit then.”
Mary Elizabeth took her schweschder by the arms and pulled her over to a chair and pushed her into it. “You’ll sit now. Take a rest and I’ll get you some cold water.”
She got the pitcher of cold water from the refrigerator, and when she turned, she saw that Lavina had quietly slid from her chair to the floor in a dead faint. She bobbled the pitcher and nearly dropped it.
“Lavina!” She rushed to put the pitcher on the table and knelt beside her schweschder on the floor. She chafed her hands and patted her cheeks. “Lavina! Please, wake up.”
“What am I doing down here?” Her face paled and her hands clutched at her abdomen. “The boppli! Is the boppli allrecht?”
Mary Elizabeth covered her hands with her own. “Stay calm. I’m schur he’s allrecht. You fainted.”
“Don’t be silly. I never faint,” she said indignantly.
She struggled to sit up. Mary Elizabeth stood and helped her to her feet then pushed her back into the chair.
“Then I guess you were just seeing if your floors were clean enough to eat off them.”
Mary Elizabeth quickly poured her a glass of water and thrust it into her hands, then reached for a dish towel and soaked it in cool water. She pressed the cloth against the back of Lavina’s neck.
“That feels wunderbaar,” Lavina said with a sigh.
“I want you to go lie down for a while. I’ll finish this up.” She gave Lavina a stern look. “If you don’t do as I say, I’ll go call David.”
“Nee! You’ll just worry him.”
“Then do as I say.”
“Blackmail,” Lavina muttered. But she picked up the glass of water and went upstairs to her bedroom.
Mary Elizabeth followed her and made sure she loosened her clothing and lay down. A breeze drifted in the window and cooled things off.
“You stay here for half an hour.”
“Bossy,” Lavina muttered. But she gave Mary Elizabeth a wan smile. “If I could ask God anything, it wouldn’t just be why harvest has to be in the hottest season. It’d be why women have to be pregnant in the summer.”
“What’s all this about being pregnant in the summer?” Waneta, David’s mudder, asked from the doorway.
“Just a little complaining,” Lavina told her apologetically. “Nothing’s wrong.”
“I’m making her take a rest,” Mary Elizabeth said, giving Waneta a meaningful look. “Maybe you can take over and I can finish the preserves?”
“Schur,” Waneta agreed, sitting down on the side of the bed. She patted Lavina’s hand. “I was pregnant with David in August, you know.”
“So like dat, like sohn.”
“Exactly. The Stoltzfus men are demanding for schur. Well, you’ll forget all about this discomfort when your boppli gets here.” She sighed. “I’ll admit I can’t wait. I’m going to be a grossmudder.”
Mary Elizabeth left them and went downstairs. She finished up the blueberry preserves and cleaned up the kitchen, then started lunch. A quick survey of the contents of the refrigerator revealed most of a baked chicken and a big bowl of boiled potatoes. Cold chicken sandwiches and potato salad would be filling and a nice meal that would help the men to cool off from a hot morning in the fields. She sliced the chicken and arranged it on a plate, then set it in the refrigerator.
She made the potato salad and put the bowl in the refrigerator to keep cold. Now all she had to do was think of something for dessert and she was done. She spied a pail of strawberries on the counter. A check of the freezer revealed a frozen pound cake. Perfect. She set it on the counter to thaw, then cleaned the strawberries, sugared them, and set them in the refrigerator. Now, if her luck held, there’d be cream for whipping or ice cream, and she’d have strawberry shortcake, a summer favorite. She looked in the refrigerator again. No whipping cream but there was ice cream. Probably better than the whipped cream on such a hot day.
A short time later, the men began filing in to wash up. She had the table set and poured glasses of iced tea for them.
“Where’s Lavina?” David wanted to know the minute he walked in and didn’t see her.
“Taking care of something upstairs,” she told him breezily. “It was my turn to make lunch.”
He washed his hands and then started for the stairs. Lavina met him and smiled.
“I thought I heard you come in,” she said. She glanced over at Mary Elizabeth. “What can I do to help with lunch?”
“Bring your appetite,” she told her. “It’s all ready.”
She got the bowl of potato salad and platter of cold chicken from the refrigerator and put them on the table.
“Are you allrecht?” David asked her as he pulled out a chair for her. “You look a little flushed.”
“I’m fine,” she said, meeting Mary Elizabeth’s gaze. “It’s summer. It’s warm.”
“That it is,” David said. “I’m grateful for your help today, John.” He used a big fork to spear two slices of chicken and heap them on top of a slice of bread, then passed the platter to his bruder.
“Sam said to tell you that he should be able to come next Saturday. Figures he and Peter will be finished with Leah’s new shop this week.”
“Gut. I can use the help.”
Conversation lagged as the bowl and platter and bread basket were passed around and everyone began eating. Hard work meant big appetites. Mary Elizabeth got up twice for more iced tea and lemonade. A quick glance at Lavina’s plate showed she wasn’t eating much, but she was eating.
David was watching her, she saw. He leaned closer and whispered something in her ear. She smiled and ate a little more.
Lavina had been so blessed to marry David. They’d gone through a lot with him leaving after years of not getting along with his dat. She’d persuaded him to return and now he’d not only recovered but Lavina and David had their happy ending: they were married, had taken over the farm, and were looking forward to the birth of their first boppli.
The two of them had known each other since schul, had only had eyes for each other for years, and had weathered such storms to be together.
Things hadn’t worked out with the Stoltzfus bruder Mary Elizabeth loved. She’d been convinced that Sam was the man God had set aside for her. But things hadn’t worked out for them the way they had for Lavina and David.
Now it seemed that He’d brought Ben into her life. She’d been a little anxious about going out with him since he’d just moved to the community. . . . She hadn’t gone to schul with him or seen him at church or youth activities. But after just a few dates it felt like they’d always known each other.
They had months to get to know each other before the marrying season—the time after harvest ended. If that seemed too soon, they would wait until next fall to get married.
But as she watched the way Lavina basked in the love and caring from her mann, Mary Elizabeth couldn’t help wondering if she and Ben would be in the same situation—married and expecting a boppli—next year.
Well, it was all up to God, and His will.
She thought about how John said Sam was coming to help David with the farm next week. She hadn’t been friendly to Sam the last time they saw each other. Guilt swamped her. She was happy seeing Ben now, wasn’t she? Couldn’t she forgive Sam and treat him in a more Christian way next time they saw each other?
As she got up to serve dessert, she decided she’d find a way to apologize to him this week.
* * *
Sam glanced up when a shadow fell over the doorway of Leah’s shop.
“May I come in?”
He couldn’t see her face with the sun at her back, but he recognized her voice.
Mary Elizabeth.
“Schur. Come in. Set the box down and let me clean my hands so I can help you with it.”
“It’s allrecht. It’s not heavy. Just more stock for the shop when it opens.” She walked into the back room and set it on a shelf.
“Where’s Peter?” she asked when she returned.
“He’s out doing an estimate for a new job for us,” he told her as he finished spreading stain on the newly sanded wood floor in a corner. He sat back on his heels. “In one of my not-so-brilliant moments, I forgot to ask him to get my lunch out of his buggy before he left.”
“You’re not driving your truck?”
“I didn’t today. It’s in the shop. I’m hoping the repair won’t eat up all the money I made on this second job,” He stood. “Well, that’s done, and I didn’t paint myself in
to a corner.”
Last week he hadn’t had his mind on the job, and he’d done it. But she didn’t need to know that. He began cleaning his hands on a rag. “I guess I could grab a sandwich from the shop down the street but . . .” he trailed off as he looked down at his work-stained clothes.
“Tell you what. I haven’t had lunch. Why don’t I go get us a sandwich?”
Sam stared at her. “That would be nice. But why would you do that? Last time we talked you weren’t happy with me.”
She looked away. “I’m sorry. I’ve been thinking about it, and I want to apologize.”
He shrugged. “There’s no need.” But as he watched her he saw that she twisted her hands, a nervous habit he remembered she had. “Thank you for apologizing, but let me apologize, too. I’m sorry I hurt you so much. Maybe we could just leave it at that. Be friends.”
“I’d like that. Now, shall I get you your usual? Roast beef sub, mustard, pickle, lettuce, and tomatoes? And a bag of chips and a can of root beer?”
“You still remember?” He thought for a moment. “Turkey sub, provolone, light on the mayo, black olives, tomato, but no lettuce. And Diet Coke. Never Diet Pepsi.”
She grinned. “I guess we know each other pretty well. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Oh, here, let me give you the money.”
“I offered, so it’s my treat.”
She was gone before he could object.
While she was off getting lunch, he found a couple of empty ten-gallon buckets for them to sit on and turned a box over for a makeshift table. A clean drop cloth served as a tablecloth. He stood back and viewed the results. Not bad. Then he wondered if he should have gone to the trouble. He’d done the usual things when they dated. Taken her for picnics, drives and very, very seldom, a restaurant, but always an inexpensive one since he had little money.
And Peter had said she was dating some guy who was new to the area . . .
Oh well, it wasn’t like he’d lit candles or anything. It was sandwiches in the middle of the day in the midst of construction.
She was back soon. “The lunch rush was over, so it didn’t take long.” Her eyebrows went up when she saw the cardboard box table and the bucket seats. “Clever. I didn’t much like the thought of sitting on the floor. Even though the job you did refinishing it looks great.”
Seasons in Paradise Page 10