“The truth is that we are not cousins at all.”
Jonah turned pale. “Abby that’s not funny. You shouldn’t joke about that. How do you figure we aren’t cousins?”
Abby took a deep breath and held it for a minute. When she let it out with a whoosh, all her anxiety went with it. “We aren’t cousins because Jacob Yoder is not my real daed. My real daed is an Englischer named Eddie Monroe.”
Jonah sat up suddenly, ignoring the intense pain in his head. “What are you saying? That you’ve known all this time we weren’t cousins, and you let me suffer through the agony of wanting you and thinking I could never have you?”
“I left the community when I found out five years ago. When I came home, I thought it was over between us, so I didn’t say anything. But when I talked to you the other day, I realized we both still had strong feelings for each other, and I prayed about it for the right way to handle the situation. I didn’t mean for you to be hurt by any of this, but I didn’t want to tell you that the reason we couldn’t be together was because of a lie my own mamm had told. I felt like I was betraying both of you.”
Jonah held her hand tightly. “Go with me to Florida. We can be together there.”
Abby couldn’t answer him. She’d run away once already and that didn’t solve the problem. But she had to admit, the chance to marry Jonah held more weight with her emotions at the moment.
The sound of breaking dishes from outside the bedroom door caused Abby to jump from the edge of Jonah’s bed.
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CHAPTER 20
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Rachel stood outside Jonah’s door holding his breakfast tray, waiting for a break in Abby’s conversation with their cousin so she wouldn’t interrupt. But when she heard her schweschder say they didn’t share the same daed, she felt like she couldn’t breathe. And when she heard her cousin ask Abby to run away with him to Florida, Rachel had heard enough and threw the breakfast tray to floor, storming down the hall to pack her things. She was angry and had to get away from Abby. She wouldn’t stick around and watch her schweschder hurt her or the rest of the familye by selfishly running away again. She had to get home—to get her mamm to fix things somehow.
When Abby reached the doorway to Jonah’s room, she found a tray on the floor, a ceramic bowl full of oatmeal had split down the middle; oatmeal spilling from the gap. A puddle of orange juice glittered with bits of the broken glass spread across the middle of the path between her and her schweschder, who’d ducked inside the spare room and slammed the door shut.
Abby’s heart pounded in perfect rhythm to the sound of horses hooves coming from outside. Jonah had a visitor. Scrambling to pick up the mess, Abby wondered just how much of her conversation with Jonah that her schweschder had overheard. Perhaps staying here had not been her best idea yet, but Abby didn’t trust herself anymore to make the right decision about this situation. How could she leave here with Jonah and try to have a normal life with him when this mess would forever be held over their heads? But on the other hand; how could she possibly turn down his offer?
Abby mopped up the spilled juice with the linen napkin. She could hear the kitchen door swing open and a voice call out. It was Caleb.
“We’re up here,” Abby called out. “Will you grab the broom near the door and bring it up to me?”
Caleb was soon up the stairs, broom in hand.
“What happened here?”
Abby grabbed the broom from him and began to clear the broken glass from the hallway. “Rachel dropped the tray. I’ll have it cleaned up in no time.”
From down the hall, the door to the spare room swung open forcefully, and Rachel stepped into the hallway, tears staining her red-rimmed eyes. “Why don’t you tell him the truth? You and I both know I threw that tray down on purpose.”
Caleb walked toward his distraught younger schweschder. “Why would you do such a thing?”
Rachel leered at Abby. “I’d tell you to ask your schweschder, except she isn’t your schweschder.”
Caleb’s eyes widened as he turned to Abby. “What is she saying?”
Tears filled Abby’s eyes, and she found it difficult to breathe. “Rachel, I’m sorry. I never meant for you to find out this way. I’m still your schweschder.”
Rachel stormed down the hall toward them. “You’re half right about that because you and I are only related by mamm; you and Caleb aren’t related at all. And neither are you and Jonah. I guess that’s why you’re planning on running off to Florida with him.”
Abby couldn’t face the looks from both of her siblings that seemed to cut right through her. She let the broom drop to the floor and ran down the stairs. Caleb called after her, but she grabbed her coat and ran out of Jonah’s haus.
Caleb stepped over the mess of dishes and food that still littered the hallway, and turned to Rachel. “Get yours and Abby’s things together. I’ll be taking you home.”
Rachel did as she was told.
Caleb walked into his cousin’s room and closed the door. He crossed over to the bed and looked Jonah in the eye for several minutes before composing his emotions enough to speak. “Are you planning on running off to Florida with Abby?”
Jonah felt vulnerable lying flat on his back, and tried to push himself up on his elbows. When he’d managed to position himself so he could lean his back against the headboard of the bed, he closed his eyes momentarily until the severe pounding in his head let up a little. “I asked her to go with me. I’d like to marry her. I love her. I always have. And now that she tells me we aren’t really cousins after all, I won’t let anything stop me from having the life I’ve dreamed of having with her for several years now.”
Shivering, Caleb crossed to the open window and closed it. “What makes her think she isn’t related to you or to me?”
Jonah winced against the pain in his head, and ignored the dizziness he felt from sitting upright. “She told me her real daed is an Englischer named Eddie Monroe. You don’t share the same daed or mamm the way you thought you did. After your daed married Abby’s mamm, you became siblings my marriage only. Since I’m your cousin, I’m not hers. Which means we are free to marry.”
Caleb collapsed into a chair in the corner of Jonah’s room. If what his cousin was saying had any truth to it; that meant his daed had been lying to him for the past fifteen years. Unless he didn’t know the truth either. Was it possible he only thought he was Abby’s daed all these years, and his mamm—Abby’s mamm, had lied to all of them?
Caleb turned to Jonah. “How long has Abby known?”
“She found out five years ago. That’s why she left the community.”
It was obvious to Caleb that he’d misjudged Abby. It was Abby’s mamm he needed to confront.
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CHAPTER 21
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Abby wandered around in the snow, the wind stinging her cheeks with tiny ice crystals. Before she realized, she found herself standing before the set of mulberry trees beside the school house. Funny how she always ended up here—where it all started.
Lowering herself onto the snow-covered swing that hung from one of the trees, Abby was reminded that there were no students in attendance. They’d been out of school for the past few days after the teacher, Nettie Graber, had fallen on the icy steps and broken her right leg and her left arm. The replacement, Nettie’s niece, Katie, was due in from Nappanee next week.
Abby relished the solitude, but wished for Jonah to be by her side. She struggled to understand how things could have gotten so far out of control, but this was a perfect example of how one little lie could hurt so many people. This was too big for her to continue to push aside. She wasn’t even sure how she would have the strength of spirit to forgive her mamm. She thought she had forgiven her, but new pain and anger plagued her, leaving her wondering if she’d ever be able to get past this hurt.
The look in Caleb’s eyes were of judgment—for her—eve
n though Abby was just as much a victim of the aftermath of the lie as he and Rachel were. Did he blame her for what her mamm had done? As the sound of a buggy neared, she looked up, noting that it was her Onkel Seth. She ran to the road to greet him.
Seth signaled the mare to stop when Abby approached. “You look frozen to the bone. What are you doing out here? You must have three inches of snow in your hair.” he reached down and assisted her into the buggy and handed her a lap quilt. Despite being out of the wind, Abby continued to shiver, her teeth chattering so much she couldn’t speak.
Seth clicked to mare, and they began to move slowly along the slushy road. “From the look of you, I’d guess you could use someone to talk to. I was on my way over Jonah’s place so I could talk to you about something, but I don’t want to add to your burdens.”
Abby pulled the other lap quilt around her shoulders. “I could actually use the distraction. Maybe if I can help someone else solve their troubles, it might take my mind off of my own.”
Seth smiled. “Fair enough. Do you want me to drop you back at Jonah’s?”
Abby shook her head. “Caleb and Rachel are there now. Take me to the bakery. Maybe I could help Aenti Lillian for a while.”
“That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. Lillian won’t go back to the bakery. We’ve been to the B&B the past three days and she refuses to meet Ellie. I’m worried the girl is going to go back to Ohio and change her mind about letting us adopt her boppli.”
“I’m not going to tell you that worry is a sin because I’m guilty of doing an awful lot of worrying myself lately. But it seems to me that if you want Aenti to do anything, you have to let it be her idea. Or at least let her think that it’s her idea.”
Seth steered the horse toward the bakery. “I’m not sure I follow that line of thinking.”
“Well you know the expression, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink? It’s sort of the same principle. When you go to the B&B, don’t ask her visit with Ellie. Wait for her to decide on her own. As for the bakery, you’ll have to bring her, but not ask her to bake anything. If you bring her for a visit with me, she will naturally pitch in to help, and it will be her idea, not because either of us has asked her to do it.”
Seth set the break. “That makes sense. Will you be here for a while? I’d like to bring her by today. It’s still early enough that the two of you could have a pretty productive day. I could have her here in less than thirty minutes. What you do think?”
Abby stepped out of her onkel’s buggy. “I think that’s a gut idea. Tell her I need someone to talk to; that will get her here. And Gott knows I need to talk.”
“I’ll be back with her as soon as I can.”
“Denki, Onkel Seth.”
Abby turned to leave, but swung back around. “One more thing…maybe Aenti Lillian needs a simple reminder of why you married her in the first place.”
Seth smiled. “Denki, Abby. I know just the thing.”
Abby watched him drive off, and then turned toward Jonah’s haus. Noting that Caleb’s buggy was still there, she knew Jonah was in capable hands for the time being. And knowing her bruder would not leave his cousin alone in his weakened state, Abby let herself into the bakery, grateful she’d had the key in her coat pocket.
Tying on a clean apron, Abby was eager to have something to occupy her hands and her mind. Before long, she was humming her favorite hymn, and mixing enough batter for several tins of cinnamon muffins. She intended to send some home with Caleb, and some with her aenti.
But given the circumstances, there was no way Caleb would tolerate her staying with Jonah—not even with a chaperone. She wouldn’t abandon Jonah in his time of need, even if it meant having to speak to the Bishop. She guessed that her bruder was making arrangements to stay overnight with Jonah, and Abby would be agreeable with that, as long as no one stood in the way of her spending the day with him. She would get her aenti to come back to the bakery for a few days, until Jonah was back on his feet again.
But there was still the matter of Jonah’s question.
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CHAPTER 22
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By the time Lillian was dropped off at the bakery, she was nearly frantic with worry for Abby. The way her husband described finding her crying in the school yard was enough to break her heart for her niece. She had an idea Abby’s troubles involved Jonah in some capacity, and she was the person to help.
Her husband promised to come back in two hours to pick her up after he went into town for a few supplies. Lillian was looking forward to a nice talk with Abby, but more than that, she was eager to be at the bakery again. Truth be told, she missed it. The feel of flour between her fingers, the smell of freshly baked bread. She was so happy that for the first time in nearly two months her husband hadn’t tried to convince her to go back to the bakery, she found herself wanting to be there more than ever.
Walking inside, the jingling of the bells on the door alerted her niece, who was hard at work, that she’d come to help her. Grabbing an apron from a peg on the back wall of the kitchen, Lillian felt ready to dive into baking.
“I’d say by the amount of things you’re preparing, you’re either planning on opening the bakery for the day, or this problem of yours is bigger than I can help you with.”
Abby looked up her with sad eyes. “Maybe a little of both.”
Lillian grabbed a section of bread dough and began to knead. “How’s Jonah? He must be feeling a lot better if you’re here instead of at his haus.”
Abby sighed. “Caleb and Rachel are with him. They’re both upset with me. I’ve really made a mess of things.”
Lillian covered her bread dough with cheesecloth and set it aside. “Tell me what happened.”
“I told Jonah the truth about us not being real cousins, and he asked me to go to Florida with him. I’m not sure I can do that, even though it’s probably the only chance we will have of leading a normal life together.”
Lillian gave an encouraging smile. “Is that what you want to do?”
Abby pulled a tray of heart-shaped cookies from the oven. “I will miss my familye—especially Rachel. She’s the only schweschder I have. When I first came back, she was distant and didn’t trust me. Now she trusted me and I let her down again. She was standing outside of Jonah’s door and heard our conversation. She’s upset that he asked me to go to Florida with him.”
“What about Caleb? What did he say about it?”
“Ach, Aenti, Rachel had already told him before I had a chance to explain it to him. You should have seen the look on his face. He blames me for what my mamm did. I don’t want him to have anger and unforgiveness for me or for my mamm. I remember when we first met how much he wanted a new mamm. He was so happy that we had joined him and his daed to make a familye. But now I think he wishes we hadn’t.”
Lillian hugged Abby, who’d begun to cry. “Don’t say such things. It might take a little time for the shock of it to sink in, but he will remember the love he has for both of you. Caleb hasn’t forgotten what it felt like to lose his own mamm, and how excited he was when your mamm became his mamm too. Just give it some time.”
Abby wiped her tears with the edge of her apron. “I don’t think I have much time left. Jonah is planning to leave in just a few days. If I don’t go with him, I fear I may never see him again.”
Lillian grabbed the bowl of pink icing and began to spread it on the cooled cookies. “Have you talked to your mamm yet?”
Abby placed another batch of heart-shaped cookies into the oven. “I gave her a chance to do the right thing and she said she couldn’t do it. She isn’t going to go to the Bishop, so I guess I have no other choice but to go to Florida with Jonah.”
Lillian choked up at the thought of it. “If you leave, I will miss you, and so will your familye. I know how much your mamm missed you when you left five years ago. She cried a lot. She put up a brave front, but I could see the s
adness in her eyes.”
“I know how much it hurt her, so why doesn’t that make her want to do whatever it takes to make this right? Why do you suppose she won’t go to the Bishop? She mentioned it might be worse for my daed if she did that. Do you think Jacob could be excommunicated for this?”
Lillian bit into one of the heart-shaped cookies. “These are so gut. You’ve made a lot of progress with your baking skills.”
Setting the cookie down, Lillian chose her words carefully. “Bishop Troyer is a very understanding and lenient mann, but your daed is the head of the familye, and that means it is his responsibility to uphold the bylaws of the community. What your mamm did, well…he went along with it, and that could mean strict discipline for him.”
Abby swallowed a lump in her throat. “He’s been a gut daed to me. Better than my real daed could have ever been. I don’t want him to be hurt in all of this. I think he was just trying to be honorable and do what was right in the situation. My mamm is the one that put Jacob’s name on my birth certificate. She is the one that didn’t speak up and tell the truth from the very beginning. I know she was only trying to protect me, but her decision has hurt me more than it could have ever protected me.”
The jingling of the bells on the front door moved the two of them out of the kitchen. Rachel stood at the doorway with her eyes cast downward.
“Caleb sent me down here to get you and bring you back to Jonah’s haus.”
“How did he know I was here?”
“He could smell the cookies. He said to bring some with you.”
Abby smiled. That was a gut sign. If he wanted cookies, that meant he was ready to talk to her. If only she could say the same for Rachel.
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CHAPTER 23
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Under the Mulberry Tree: Book Three Page 7