by Sarah Price
“That is my husband John and son Elijah,”Mary said as she waved her hand toward the two men wearing straw hats and black coats. Both had long beards, John’s more gray than Elijah’s. They lifted their hands and waved back, only mildly curious to see the car in the driveway.“That Englische dressed fellow is Ethan. He works in the lumber mill with them.”
“Lumber Mill?”Elizabeth asked with curiosity.
Mary gestured toward the forest of trees behind the farm buildings.“John’s family cuts wood to sell to other Amish families in the area and also to some of the construction companies.”She said it without any pride or boastfulness in her voice.“His two bruders and oldest nephew live in the houses on the other side of the property.”She gestured toward the right.“You probably saw the split in the lane, ja?”
Elizabeth nodded.
“We have acres of land here as well as a second tree farm in another county. Our oldest sons lives there. Ships us the trees.”She glanced at Elizabeth.“You seem surprised.”
In truth, she was. She had never given much thought as to where lumber came from.“I always imagined lumber came from…more industrial types of places.”
Mary shook her head.“Good thing not! Otherwise how would I feed all of these children and grandchildren!”
At that, Elizabeth heard herself laugh.
They continued walking, crossing over a small hill. The path was gravel, and large trees, the leaves colored in vibrant reds and yellows, lined the walkway.
“This used to be the original house,”Mary said.“The farm has been in the family for years, you see.”
Elizabeth nodded, curious as she saw a small stone cottage at the end of the path. Part of the walls were wood, simple clapboard and painted a light yellow that seemed cheerful enough. It was one floor and looked to be no more than two rooms. She couldn’t imagine an Amish family living there, especially since they were known for having so many children.
“My great-grandfather came here from Lancaster,”Mary explained as if reading her mind.“Land was cheap then. He bought as much of it as he could. This hauswasn’t built until he was older. Retired here for his life right with my great-grandmother.”
“Life right?”
Mary nodded, pausing at the door of the house.“The right to live the rest of his days on the property without paying the bills.”She didn’t wait for Elizabeth’s response as she flung open the door and stepped aside to let Elizabeth enter. Following close on her heels, Mary hurried to light the lantern on the mantle of the fireplace. A soft glow eliminated the room and helped Elizabeth see just how perfect the cottage truly was.
There were, indeed, only two rooms. The main room consisted of the kitchen and living room. Both were modestly decorated. A floral sofa, kitchen table and chairs, and another rocking chair made up the furniture. The walls were painted white and plain, decorated with only a few knick knacks. The kitchen held a propane refrigerator and a wood burning stove, with cabinets lining one wall. Walking to the kitchen cabinets, Elizabeth opened them. They were fully stocked with dishes, pots, pans, and silverware. All of the amenities she would need during her stay. There was also a fully functioning sink.
She wandered down across the room to a door and, after looking at Mary who nodded, she opened it. A simple bedroom with bright white walls and green shades on the windows. No window dressings, no dressers. Just the bed, a small table as a nightstand, and a ladder back chair. She glanced up and saw hooks on the walls. She knew enough about the Amish to suspect that the hooks were for clothing.
“It’s lovely,”Elizabeth said, leaving the door open.
“There’s a bathroom off the kitchen,”Mary said, pointing toward a small door that Elizabeth hadn’t noticed.“A tub shower, if that’s not a problem.”
“Not a problem,”Elizabeth replied. She preferred soaking in a hot tub to taking a shower. The former was definitely more relaxing in her mind than the latter.
“Ja well, if you like it, we normally do a weekly rental or, if you plan to stay longer, monthly is possible. This time of year, we don’t get many visitors so the price is just $125 a week, $100 if you stay for four weeks or more.”
She quickly calculated that four hundred dollars for a month was much cheaper than the cabin she used to rent with William. Not that they ever stayed for a month.“That’s quite reasonable.”Elizabeth replied.“I’d be staying until the holidays.”
An awkward silence fell between the two women. Elizabeth waited for Mary to say something while Mary seemed to be doing the very same of Elizabeth.
“Maem!”
Mary looked over her shoulder and called out something in a language Elizabeth couldn’t understand. Then, returning her attention to Elizabeth, she excused herself.“Needed in the barn, I reckon. You decide and let me know, then, ja?”
“I’m good, Mary,”Elizabeth said quickly.“I’m quite pleased and would love to stay here.”
At this, Mary smiled again, a twinkle in her eyes.“Very well!”She started toward the door.“You get yourself settled then, and we can talk more this evening. You can stop by the main house later to drop off the rent, ja? Or in the morning if that suits better.”She didn’t wait for a response as she hurried out the door, again calling something out that Elizabeth could not understand.
She watched Mary disappear down the path and around the corner toward the barn.
Just like that, Elizabeth thought. An exchange of a few pleasantries and Mary must have decided that she was safe enough to stay at the farm. They were as trusting of her as she was of them, she realized.
She returned to her car to open the trunk and pull out her two pieces of luggage. She left the box of food; she’d retrieve that later. Instead, she wanted to unpack her bags and get a closer inspection of the cottage. Something about staying on the farm appealed to her. For the first time in almost a year, she felt excited. How fortunate that she had stopped at the diner the previous evening! It was as if Carl Carlson was an angel, put into her path to guide her to the Troyers’farm and this very cottage.
When she returned to the car to collect the box of food that she packed, she glanced toward the barn. Two other Amish men were walking across the driveway. A younger child followed behind, probably no more than five years of age. Elizabeth stopped and watched for a moment, mesmerized by the sight of the child. He resembled the men in dress and mannerism. Despite the cool air, he wore no coat and there was a tear across the backside of his pants. He didn’t seem to mind as he hurried to keep up with the other two men, one most likely his father and the other his grandfather.
She shut the trunk and started to turn around when she noticed they waved to her. With her hands full, she couldn’t wave back but she managed to nod her head and smile. She couldn’t help but wonder how often people stayed at the Troyers’farm. It was a reasonable rate, although this was the non-tourist seasons. Still, like Mary had stated, without the luxuries of electricity, Internet, and television, most Englischers would most likely prefer the motels along the main road.
Not me, she thought, as she carried the box into the house. She was looking forward to her first night at the farm, a night she would spend unpacking her clothing and box of food before she most likely collapsed in the bed to sleep.
CHAPTER 5
On her first morning, the noise of cows awoke Elizabeth. The gentle bellow interrupted her slumber, followed by a gentle moo, as if in response to the first noise. Lazily, Elizabeth sat up, disoriented as she rubbed her eyes for a moment, trying to place where she was. The room seemed unfamiliar but in a comforting way. Unlike the dark bedroom she shared with William for over thirty years, this one radiated with light that streamed through the bedroom window. She saw her suitcase on the floor by the chair and remembered exactly where she was: Holmes County, Ohio.
Getting up, she slowly made her way to the window and bent down to peer outside. A long line of black and white cows wandered along the fence line of a paddock about twenty yards from the cottage. Eliz
abeth found it amusing that they walked in a line, single file, as if following each other like school children in the hallway. It must have been a path they walked every day for the grass was trodden down to dirt. Funny, she thought as she turned away from the window. Never thought of cows as creatures of habit.
After quickly getting dressed, she walked through the bedroom door into the kitchen. It took her a moment to orient herself. The kitchen area was in the corner next to the front door. The stove beckoned her and she headed toward it to prepare some coffee. Without electricity, she needed to heat up some water and rely strictly on instant coffee. There was no Mr. Coffee to help her wake up this morning. Luckily, she had packed a box of essentials, instant coffee and sugar being the first two items she put into it. With those two items, Elizabeth knew she could face the day, even if she didn’t have any milk to soften the bitter taste of the coffee.
“Definitely a caffeine morning,”she said out loud.
After pouring the boiling water into the mug, the wonderfully strong aroma immediately warming up the room, she headed outside to enjoy the morning.
As she stepped outside, she breathed in the fresh air, not minding the pungent cow smell attacked her nostril. It reminded her of her grandfather’s farm and brought back memories from her youth.
Birds were singing and the sun shone through the trees as it rose. Next to the white rocking chair just outside the front door and under a small overhead, she noticed the morning paper. How nice, she thought as she made her way to the chair. The chilly air awakened her senses and she relaxed, listening to the cows in the paddock behind her cottage.
She had always been a morning person. After William left for work and the children climbed the three steps into the yellow school bus, Elizabeth always tried to find a few minutes to sit out front, watch the world wake up, and relax her mind before starting her day. Despite living in a small house, she worked hard to ensure that it was spotless. A clean house and a home-cooked meal greeted her family every day that they returned from work and school. That was her gift to them.
Even in West Virginia, the autumn weather lingered longer than usual. Cooler mornings made way for warm afternoons. The leaves on the trees had yet to drop, their vibrant colors hinting at the foliage that was yet to come. Elizabeth didn’t mind. Autumn, after all, was her favorite season. Summer heat drained her and winter cold depressed her. While spring cheered her up, it tended to rain more in recent years and then summer would rear its ugly head with oppressive heat and heavy humidity. Autumn. Yes, that was her favorite time of year.
Elizabeth was still sitting there, soaking in the sounds of the morning while sipping the remnants of her coffee, when she saw Mary walking toward the cottage. She emerged around the corner of the barn and strode down the pathway carrying a basket.
“Gut mariye!”Mary called out as she approached.
“Good morning.”Elizabeth replied, a smile on her face at the sight of Mary Troyer. She wore the same blue dress she had worn yesterday and, upon her feet, she wore black Crocs. Instead of a handkerchief, however, she wore the stiff, cup-like prayer kapp that was so typical of the Amish in Holmes County. Elizabeth wondered about the significance of the head covering but knew better than to ask.“How are you today?”
Stopping a few feet from the cottage, Mary shifted a box on her hip. Something rattled from inside. Glass.“Why, I’m as right as rain this morning. Did you sleep well, then?”
Elizabeth loved the sing-song lilt of Mary’s voice when she spoke. She had an interesting accent, one that sounded different than other people Elizabeth had met from Ohio in the past. Despite having visited Ohio for years, William had never been one to linger and mingle with the locals. He permitted Elizabeth her annual tours of different attractions and markets. But his main interest was in returning to the cabin to read and relax.
“Oh I slept well, Mary. Really well.”Elizabeth responded.“Best sleep I’ve had in a while.”
Mary walked up the steps and onto the porch.“Gut, gut, that’s nice to hear. Must feel like home then.”
“I had John drop off the paper for you,”Mary said, gesturing to the folded newspaper.“He read it before breakfast. Thought you might be interested in some of the local going-ons.”
“I didn’t hear him,”Elizabeth admitted, realizing that Mary and her family must have been up for hours while she still slept in the quiet of the cottage.
“Ja well, my John is a quiet man.”Changing the subject, Mary continued.“I brought you a few things. I know you didn’t have a chance to go out yet so, I brought you some eggs, butter and a loaf of fresh bread.”
“Fresh loaf of bread?”She should have known. She could smell the yeasty scent of homemade white bread.
“Made it this morning.”When Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, Mary laughed.“The butter, too!”
“My word!”Elizabeth’s mouth dropped open.“What time is it anyway?”
“Nine o’clock,”Mary responded, a quick glance at the sun.“Mayhaps a few minutes before, anyway.”
“I guess it’s true what they say about the early bird…”
Mary set the box on the ground beside Elizabeth’s chair.“Why, I’ve been up for almost four hours already!”She laughed again, her eyes crinkling into small half-moons and the corners wrinkling toward her brow-line.“I take it you think that’s early then, do you now?”
In her memory, Elizabeth could see the clock, the big red numbers flashing from the nightstand: 4:47. William would read out and hit the snooze button. Just once. He’d force himself to sit up when the buzzer went off again, eight minutes later at 4:55. Elizabeth would have loved to snuggle in under the covers and sleep in. The children didn’t wake up until six o’clock anyway. But Elizabeth refused to let William get ready for work in a dark, empty, lonely house.
“Not so much,”Elizabeth admitted, trying to shake the image of the clock out of her head.“I used to get up at the same time every day to see my husband off to work.”
“Ah.”It was just a noise, a simple noise, that slipped through Mary’s lips. But Elizabeth understood what it meant. There was a connection between Mary and Elizabeth. They both suffered in silence, arising at an ungodly hour in order to begin the day alongside their early rising husbands and children. If she were a betting woman, she’d place the black chip on the spot that wagered Mary never complained either.
“I want to thank you again,”Elizabeth said softly,“for welcoming me into your home last evening. That was a lovely supper and you have a wonderful family.”
Mary tried to look humble at the compliment. The sparkle in her eyes gave her away.
“It…it wasn’t easy coming out here,”Elizabeth heard herself say.
“I can imagine.”
Three simple words. But the way that Mary said them meant the world to Elizabeth. Yes, she thought. I bet you can! If Elizabeth knew one thing about the Amish, it was that change did not come easy to them. New rules were debated about among the church members and mandated by the church leaders. There was as little change as possible among the Amish, and only permitted when it was required for their tight-knit community to survive.
“You probably think I’m crazy.”
A hint of a smile crossed Mary’s lips.“Why would you say that, Lizzy?”
Elizabeth paused at the use of the nickname Lizzy. Only William called her that. Everyone else stuck with plain old Elizabeth.“Amish women don’t just up and leave their homes to travel hundreds of miles away and stay with strangers.”
She made a clicking noise with her tongue.“Now, now,”she started, wagging a wrinkled finger at Elizabeth.“Don’t be presuming to know so much. There’ve been plenty of youngens’who take advantage of their rumschpringe and explore more than they should of this world.”
“Rumschpringe?”She couldn’t help but repeat the word. She had never heard of it before.
“Ja, rumschpringe. Their running‘round years.”Mary shook her head, clearly disapproving of it.“Before they
join the church, they are allowed time to explore. Most don’t do much…maybe a movie on weekends or a cell phone for a year. But some of those young ones…”She shook her head again.“My, how times have changed!”She looked up, her eyes bright and fierce.“Why, word has it that the Schrock boys flew on an airplane to Mexico!”
Not wanting to admit that a flight to Mexico sounded absolutely dreamy to her, Elizabeth settled for keeping her mouth shut and followed Mary’s example by shaking her head as if disapproving.
“Imagine that!”Mary said loudly, her eyes wide and her lips pressed tight together.“Mexico! They don’t even speak English down there!”
Elizabeth suppressed a smile. To a woman who, most likely, had never lived anywhere other than within a five mile radius of the farm, Mexico probably seemed like a million miles away. And the idea of visiting a country where people spoke a foreign language might have seemed as if the two Amish boys had visited a different planet to those left behind.
“What happened when they returned?”
Mary looked up, the fire slowly dissipating from her eyes.“When they returned? Nothing happened. They both took the kneeling vow last year and one of them is getting married in two weeks.”At this thought, her expression softened.“Ruby Hostetler. Now, she’s a fine young woman. Spent her running‘round years closer to home and staying out of trouble.”Suddenly, as if realizing what she had said, Mary lowered her eyes and softened her voice.“Of course, it’s not my place to judge a person for decisions they make.”
Elizabeth took a sip of her coffee, letting the silence of the moment act as the transition to their conversation. Clearly, there was nothing more that needed to be said about Amish youth and rumschpringe. When she felt as if enough time had passed, she looked up and said,“I guess you could say this is my rumschpringe. Only I’m doing it later in life.”