Ella took a deep breath. “He’s not coming back.”
He turned to look fully at her. The sunshine caught the side of his face, lit up his beard, and made his eyes blaze with light, “Ach, Ella, this is too much for me.”
“Perhaps for me too, but not in the way you mean.”
“I understand,” he said softly. “I am not worthy even of this.”
She was surprised to see tears in his eyes. “You may come to visit,” she said. After a pause, she continued. “Let me say it another way. I would like it if you would come to visit. Perhaps we can get to know each other slowly…a little at a time if it suits you.”
He reached out and touched her hand. “Perhaps it would be best that way. More can come later perhaps—as Da Hah moves. I do not wish to act too quickly.”
“Yah, that would be best.”
“Then we understand each other,” he said, touching her hand again.
She nodded and watched him step up into the buggy, slap the reins, and touch the brim of his hat by way of saying goodbye. Then he was gone. Still she stood and watched until his buggy disappeared in the early morning light.
“Are we going in the house?” Mary asked, tugging on her dress.
“Yah,” Ella said, “we are. Come, let’s go.”
By midmorning Ronda came down the basement steps and knocked gently on the wood railing. “I’m ready to quilt. Is it okay if I come down?”
“You are always welcome,” Ella said.
The two women quilted quickly, adjusting the frame twice before the lunch hour approached. Finally, after a particular long silence, Ronda cleared her throat as if to speak.
Ella waited, keeping the smile off her face.
“Did you and the bishop get things worked out?” Ronda asked, trying to sound casual.
“Yah, satisfactorily I think,” Ella said, maintaining a straight face.
“Oh, Ella, don’t keep me in suspense any longer! You’ve been torturing me all morning. And what were you and Preacher Stutzman talking about this morning?”
“He just dropped off the girls.”
“Ella, I’m going to scream!”
Ella burst out laughing.
“Well, at least it must not be bad news,” Ronda said. “Did you get things patched up, then?”
“I have made up my mind,” Ella whispered. “I told the bishop not to come back, and I told Ivan this morning he could start seeing me. I have decided to follow my heart in loving the girls. Time will tell if my heart will also lead me to Ivan.”
“Ivan, is it? What did he say?”
“He was nice enough. He didn’t push things.”
“And he’d better not,” Ronda said, glaring out the window, “or he will have to answer to me. He should appreciate what he’s getting. And what did the poor bishop have to say? I do sort of feel sorry for him. He just lost the best girl he could ever have gotten.”
“The bishop thinks I’m making a mistake, of course.”
Ronda simply sighed.
“And now,” Ella said, “we had best focus our attention on this quilt. We have a business to attend to.”
Late that evening and after the girls were in bed, breathing deep even breaths, Ella sat down to write by the light of the kerosene lamp.
Dear Journal,
Another day has passed with my girls. I now call them “my girls,” but only to myself. They are so dear and make their way deeper into my heart every day. Who would ever have thought it would happen so.
I told Ivan today that he could see me. We are starting slow. I don’t trust myself completely yet, and I don’t know if I can ever really love him. I suppose, in a way, it doesn’t seem right to give the man hope, but Mamm thinks there is no wrong in it, and so I guess I will try.
Ivan seems very understanding. He touched my hand this morning in a way that only a man could. And even though my heart didn’t jump with joy, as it would have if Aden had touched me, at least it didn’t grow cold around the edges as it did when the bishop did so.
As for the bishop, I do hope he finds happiness with someone. It’s strange that I should be the one who turned him down—the first woman he says he’s really loved. But if you ask me, all of life is strange in that way. The bishop might as well find out the same thing.
I’m not sure he’s fully aware that his chances with me are really over. I expect he’ll wait to see what happens with Ivan and me.
Good night, Journal. I plan to sleep well tonight. I can hardly keep my eyes open. The house is still and peaceful this evening. It is full of people, as houses are meant to be, and well kept—not by me, I should hasten to say—but by Da Hah’s gracious care.
Discussion Questions
1. Ella’s Wish opens with Clara and Ella relaxing in Ella’s new home. What do you think is at the root of Ella’s desire to be left alone? Should she have stood by that resolve?
2. Do you think Ella handled Daniel properly when he arrived to declare his love?
3. As Bishop Miller and Preacher Stutzman’s profiles are given, where do your sympathies lie?
4. Ella spends a day at her parents’ home helping in the hay field. Do you think this strengthened and encouraged her for the conversation the family had that evening?
5. Did Ella take too much responsibility for Eli’s waywardness?
6. Was Ella wise to rent out the upper level of her home to Joe and Ronda?
7. Do you think Preacher Stutzman was looking for reasons to pursue a relationship with Ella when he went to her home to ask if she could watch his girls?
8. Why do you think Ella had recurring dreams about marrying Bishop Miller?
9. Would a relationship between Preacher Stutzman and Nancy Weaver have worked out?
10. Why did Ella continue the relationship with Bishop Miller for as long as she did?
11. Why didn’t Ella accept Preacher Stutzman’s marriage proposal?
12. Do you think Ella will marry in book three? If so, to whom?
About Jerry Eicher…
As a boy, Jerry Eicher spent eight years in Honduras, where his grandfather helped found an Amish community outreach. As an adult, Jerry taught for two terms in parochial Amish and Mennonite schools in Ohio and Illinois. He has been involved in church renewal for 14 years and has preached in churches and conducted weekend meetings of in-depth Bible teaching. Jerry lives with his wife, Tina, and their four children in Virginia.
More Amish fiction from Jerry Eicher…
Little Valley Series
A Wedding Quilt for Ella
Ella Yoder’s wedding with Aden Wengerd and the building of their dream house is set for June. But when Aden is suddenly taken from her, Ella begins to doubt God’s love.
When her family pressures her to marry the new young bishop, Ella asks for six months to heal from Aden’s death. Meanwhile, Aden’s brother, Daniel, helps Ella build her dream house based on a drawing by Ella’s sister, Clara, which is now sewn into Ella’s wedding quilt.
Can healing come through a house…a quilt…a community?
Watch for book three in the Little Valley Series, coming in August 2011.
The Adams County Trilogy
Rebecca’s Promise
Rebecca Keim has just declared her love to John Miller and agreed to become his wife. But she’s haunted by her schoolgirl memories of a long ago love—and a promise made and a ring given. Is that memory just a fantasy come back to destroy the beautiful present…or was it real?
When Rebecca’s mother sends her back to the old home community in Milroy to be with her aunt during and after her childbirth, Rebecca determines to find answers that will resolve her conflicted feelings. Faith, love, and tradition all play a part in Rebecca’s divine destiny.
Rebecca’s Return
Rebecca Keim returns to Wheat Ridge full of resolve to make her relationship with John Miller work. But in her absence, John has become suspicious of the woman he loves. Before their conflict can be resolved, John is badly injured and Rebecca is sent back t
o Milroy to aid her seriously ill Aunt Leona.
In Milroy, Rebecca once again visits the old covered bridge over the Flatrock River, the source of her past memories and of her promise made so long ago.
Where will Rebecca find happiness? In Wheat Ridge with John, the man she has agreed to marry, or should she stake her future on the memory that persists…and the ring she has never forgotten? Does God have a perfect will for Rebecca—and if so how can she know that will?
Rebecca’s Choice
Popular Amish fiction author Jerry Eicher finishes The Adam’s County Trilogy with an intriguing story of a young couple’s love, a community of faith, and devotion to truth.
Rebecca Keim is now engaged to John Miller, and they are looking forward to life together. When Rebecca goes to Milroy to attend her beloved teacher’s funeral, John receives a mysterious letter accusing Rebecca of scheming to marry him for money. Determined to forsake his past jealousies and suspicions, John tries hard to push the accusations from his mind.
Upon Rebecca’s return, disturbing news quickly follows. She is named as the sole heir to her teacher’s three farms. But there’s a condition—she must marry an Amish man. When John confronts Rebecca, she claims to know nothing. Soon Rachel Byler, the vengeful but rightful heir to the property, arrives and reveals secrets from the past. Now the whole community is reeling!
Hannah’s Heart Series
A Dream for Hannah
Having grown up in the Amish faith, author Jerry Eicher (over 100,000 copies in combined sales) treats his fast-growing readership to his firsthand knowledge in A Dream for Hannah.
Hannah Miller’s Amish faith is solid. Her devotion to her family and Indiana community is unquestionable. Yet her young spirit longs for adventure and romance. As troubling circumstances give her good reason to spend the summer at her aunt’s Montana horse ranch, Hannah soon discovers she has much to learn about life and love.
Her heart is awhirl with emotion as she dreams about her future. Sam, the boy Hannah has known all her life, is comfortable and predictable. Peter is the wild one, the boy who is on rumspringa. And Jake is unpredictable, intriguing, and living in the Montana wilderness.
Hoping for a dream come true, Hannah must decide how to fulfill her heart’s desire while staying true to her faith.
A Hope for Hannah
Growing more popular with each new novel, author Jerry Eicher continues the Hannah series with this intriguing glimpse into a young Amish couple’s early marriage.
Hannah Byler is now married. She and Jake live in a small Amish community near Montana’s Cabinet Mountains, and the rough log cabin is far from everything Hannah holds dear. Anxious about her new role as wife and soon-to-be mother, Hannah understands she must learn to control her anxious heart if her marriage is to survive.
Just as the young couple settles into their new routine, Jake loses his timber job and answers the call to ministry. With winter pressing in and money scarce, Jake and Hannah discover hardships can either drive them apart or draw them closer. Determined to find hope despite fearful conditions, they struggle to survive in this harsh land and bear their responsibilities with grace.
Coming Fall 2011: A Baby for Hannah
Table of Contents
Amish fiction by Jerry Eicher…
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-one
Twenty-two
Twenty-three
Twenty-four
Twenty-five
Twenty-six
Twenty-seven
Twenty-eight
Twenty-nine
Thirty
Thirty-one
Thirty-two
Thirty-three
Thirty-four
Thirty-five
Thirty-six
Thirty-seven
Thirty-eight
Thirty-nine
Forty
Forty-one
Forty-two
Discussion Questions
About Jerry Eicher…
More Amish fiction from Jerry Eicher…
AmishReader.com
Ella's Wish (Little Valley 2) Page 27