The Stranger

by Linda Maran

  “You might be interested to know that my mother held two jobs and worked long hours. She was never happy to leave me alone, but she wanted to save enough money to get us our own place. I’m sure if that had happened she would have been home to eat meals with me again.”

  “Ach, Kristen. I’m sure your mamm did the best she could in her situation. She was a gut mudder.” Aunt Elizabeth stopped sweeping and gave Kristen’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.

  Kristen forced a smile, and then moved to sweep the other side of the barn…away from Aunt Miriam and her comments.

  ~*~

  Anna ran into the barn. “Come. The kaffee is ready and there’s a loaf of bread set aside right out of the oven for us to budder and eat.” She went over to Kristen and took hold of her hand. “I helped bake the bread this time.” The flour all over Anna’s blue dress testified to that.

  Kristen admired the joy such a young girl expressed in learning to be a good Amish homemaker.

  When she was Anna’s age, she didn’t even make toast very well. Always dry and burnt. Let alone make bread from scratch. Her mom baked her own bread once in a while but seemed sad each time she’d knead the dough, never asking help from Kristen on that task. Now, she was grateful that she wasn’t asked to be part of the kitchen detail. Surely, she’d mess up on some important task, like forgetting to add the yeast to the water, or setting the oven to the wrong temperature. She knew how to scramble eggs only because she’d made them so often for herself before heading out to school. She hoped she’d get another chance to be up before everyone else again to redeem her fork mishap. She’d get it right the next time.

  The kitchen smelled like a bakery, and Kristen’s mouth watered.

  Mary and an older woman cut thick slices of warm crusty wheat bread, and a tub of creamy, whipped butter and a variety of fruit jams graced the table.

  Another woman Kristen had never met before stood at the stove stirring a pot of oatmeal. She turned when Kristen walked in.

  “Hullo. I’m Lucy Krantz. You must be Kristen.” Her light brown eyes sparkled when she smiled, and Kristen instantly liked her.

  “Lucy is Sadie’s mamm, Kristen,” Aunt Elizabeth told her as they sat at the table.

  Kristen had to make an all-out effort not to frown. The mere mention of Sadie had changed her mood. But why?

  The older woman slicing the bread turned to her now. “And I’m Katie Mast.”

  “Any relation to Jacob Mast?” Kristen asked, almost quicker than her mind formed the question.

  “Jah. He is my baby brudder. Raised him since he was born when our mamma passed. He’s my only sibling. Never thought he’d move away from our familye home. I miss him so.”

  Kristen nodded. The older woman was attractive with gray eyes that contrasted well with the silvery gray hair that showed under her kapp. Why hadn’t she ever married?

  The sound of heavy footsteps caused Kristen to look up. John, Daniel, and Uncle Jonas stood there. They hung their hats on the wooden pegs and came to the table.

  John’s thick hair was mussed, and his face held the anticipation of a young boy at a candy counter as he eyed the steaming sliced bread.

  Her stomach did a flip-flop. Maybe this was why the thought of Sadie caused her mood to sour. She didn’t want to lose him. As a special friend, that is. They could never be anything more than that. Could they?

  No, no, no. What was she thinking?

  “Go ahead. Eat yourselves full.” Mary passed the bread to her father, who then passed it along to the others. When all of their plates held bread and each bowl brimmed with steaming oatmeal, they bowed their heads for the silent grace.

  Kristen wondered what they said to God in their silence. Were they thanking Him for the food? For a new day? For one another? And why didn’t they say grace out loud?

  After Kristen had buttered her bread, she raised her eyes and looked at Uncle Jonas.

  “Uncle, why do you all say grace before and after meals in silence?”

  “The silence gives us the reverence needed for prayer.”

  “What are you praying?”

  Everyone looked up.

  Did she ask such an unusual question?

  “In the morgen, usually the Lord’s Prayer. Other times, a simple prayer of thanks.”

  “Ah. OK.”

  “Do you know the Lord’s Prayer, Kristen?” Anna asked with half a mouth of bread in her cheeks.

  “Anna, swallow your food before speaking. You’ll choke yourself gut,” Aunt Elizabeth chided.

  Anna chewed, and then swallowed, all the while her eyes upon Kristen awaiting her reply.

  “Yes, I know the Lord’s Prayer. I’d hear my mother say it sometimes. When I was ten, I asked her to teach it to me, and she did. She told me it’s the only prayer I’d ever need. That it covers everything.”

  “Jah, that it does,” Uncle Jonas said as he reached for another slice of bread.

  “So, I’ll say the Lord’s Prayer, then,” Kristen told them. When she looked up, John smiled at her. He looked pleased with her response.

  “One day you might like to take lessons toward baptism into the faith. Then you’ll better understand about our prayers and why we do things the way we do,” Aunt Elizabeth said.

  Before Kristen had a chance to answer, Aunt Miriam spoke up. “Very few Englisch can live the Plain life, Lizzie. Why, even some Amish can’t, as we already know.”

  Kristen’s hands formed into fists under the table. She was tired of Aunt Miriam’s snide remarks and bitter attitude toward her and her mom. Time she spoke her mind.

  “And maybe very few Amish, if any, could survive in the Englisch world. But my mother did. She must have ridden buggies here, but she learned to drive a car in the city. She probably walked these country roads all the time, but she also walked the confusing streets of the city and found her way around. She held two jobs and never missed a day. In my opinion, she was very brave to leave all she knew for a whole other way of life and make a real go of it.”

  For a moment it felt like prayer time again by the silence that ensued. No one uttered a word.

  Kristen didn’t care. She’d spoken her piece. Now, maybe Aunt Miriam would think twice before she opened her mouth to her.

  ~*~

  John wanted to applaud Kristen for standing up to Aenti Miriam. Instead he remained quiet to allow the heat to settle some. Finally, he reached over and took the slice of bread from Kristen’s plate.

  “John, what are you doing?” Kristen reached to grab her bread back but missed.

  “I’m giving you a thicker slice. That way you won’t come after mine like you did the last time.” He was determined to break the ice. When Daed chuckled, he knew he’d succeeded.

  “That was ham, not bread,” Kristen told him with a flushed face.

  “Jah, and the bread the ham was sitting on was mighty thick, too. So, I’m thinking you might have your eye full on my piece here, since it seems I have the thickest slice.”

  Kristen’s upset expression relaxed and a hint of a smile formed in her brown eyes.

  “Suit yourself, John Wagler. Get me another slice then. With butter, please. And jam.”

  This time Mamm and Mary chuckled as they watched John fork a thicker slice of bread onto Kristen’s plate, then pass the butter to her, followed by the jam.

  “No, sorry, not the strawberry jam. The blueberry,” she said with all the seriousness of a school teacher, her eyes focused on the jams.

  “I’m thinking I should have left you with your original slice,” John told her as he switched the jams, pushing the blueberry toward her. “Anything else?” He folded his arms across his chest and awaited her response, doing his best to repress the smirk pulling at his lips.

  “Well…no. This is fine...for the time being.” She smiled full force now as she buttered her bread.

  Little Anna giggled, but Katie and Lucy, along with Aunt Miriam, wore stoic expressions.

  She stood then chuckled as she made he
r way to the ice chest to get the container of orange juice.

  Lucy cleared her throat and began to talk about the quilting bee that would be held at her house the following week while Daniel and Daed took a second helping of oatmeal. Katie got involved in the quilting conversation and things seemed back to normal. Almost.

  Aunt Miriam sat there. Silent. Still stoic, with a deep grimace across her face as she ate her oatmeal. She’d finally met her match in Kristen Esh.

  ~*~

  After breakfast, Mary headed for work and John, Daniel, and Uncle Jonas went out to the fields.

  Rebecca Miller showed up with a pair of rubber gloves.

  Kristen, Elizabeth, Miriam, and Anna went back to the barn to make it as clean as it could be for Preaching on Sunday.

  Lucy, Katie and Rebecca stayed in the kitchen to clean up and wash the floor.

  “When will the benches come, Mamma?” Anna asked as she held the shovel for Aunt Elizabeth to sweep some pieces of cut hay and dust into it.

  “The bench wagon always brings them the day before Preaching. We’re almost done here. All we have to do is run a wet mop over the floor boards to get up the rest of the dust.”

  Aunt Miriam came over with a bucket of water and three mops. She handed one mop to Kristen and another to Aunt Elizabeth. Then she took the third mop, dunked it in the pail of water, and started mopping at the other end of the barn. Without a word.

  “Is that a car I hear outside?” Aunt Elizabeth looked toward the open barn doors.

  “Maybe it’s an Englisch neighbor, Mamma.” Anna ran out of the barn to investigate. “Mamma, Mamma!” Anna screeched.

  Aunt Elizabeth dropped her mop and ran.

  Kristen followed with Aunt Miriam.

  “What is it, child?”

  “Mamma, it’s the same car that me and Kristen saw that morgen. The man threw something out of the car window and then drove away quick.”

  Kristen’s heart raced in panic. She looked down the road, but there was no sign of a car. When she turned her gaze back to the house, Aunt Miriam held a white envelope in her hand.

  Aunt Elizabeth and Anna were at her side.

  Kristen walked over to them.

  “I found it on the ground here. It has a rock inside to weigh it down.” She undid the scotch tape, removed the note, and handed it to Kristen.

  “If you care for the girl, send her back to the Englisch world where she belongs.” Her hands shook.

  “Another one of those notes! Ach! Who is doing this?” Aunt Elizabeth threw her hands up for a moment, and then took the note from Kristen.

  What did this mean? Was it a threat? Kristen wished she could go home to her mom. She had to face the hard reality that she no longer had a mother and no home other than this one. The very one that the writer of the mystery notes wanted her to leave.

  She turned her eyes to Aunt Miriam. Aunt Miriam had told Aunt Elizabeth that Kristen didn’t belong there.

  9

  Mary helped Kristen put her hair up into a proper bun and then placed a black prayer kapp over her head. She gave Kristen a burgundy dress with hooks and eyes, and then, with a reassuring smile, left to ready herself for Preaching.

  Uncle Jonas and Aunt Elizabeth planned to show the notes to Bishop Ebersol after church service was over. She didn’t know what the Bishop could do about the notes. But the family thought it best to alert the community so that there would be more watchful eyes out for Kristen’s safety.

  Still early, and once again, Aunt Elizabeth had made it to the kitchen before her. The table was set and pancakes sizzled on the stove. A dozen or so were already on a platter.

  “Goede Mariye, Kristen. I see you are dressed for Preaching.”

  “Yes. Mary helped me. Do I pass for Amish?”

  “Ach, Kristen. You don’t have to pass for anything. But I’m glad you decided to dress Plain for the service. It’s best to blend in at such things.”

  “I figured as much. I had enough staring from Jacob Mast to last me a lifetime.”

  “I’m sure you won’t have anyone staring at you today. Maybe a head turned your way now and again because you’re a new face in the congregation. But once we introduce you at the common meal afterward, their curiosity will be satisfied.”

  “I hope so. Can I help you with anything?” Kristen walked over to the stove. The pancakes smelled wonderful.

  “Jah, please get the container of juice from the ice chest and put it on the table. And the maple syrup, too. Have you tasted our pure maple syrup yet?”

  “No. I love maple syrup. Do you make it here?”

  “Nee, we buy it from a local Englisch farmer. He taps his own maple trees each year and runs a small business from his haus. Anna likes the maple candy.”

  “And I like the maple ice cream you make, Mamm.”

  Kristen turned to the familiar voice and smiled. John walked in and returned her smile threefold. His gaze lingered for a moment on her attire, and he smiled again. Not more than a minute later, Uncle Jonas and Daniel came in, followed by Anna, with a basket of eggs in her hand.

  “Anna, please call up to Mary and tell her that breakfast is ready. I think she’s fussin’ too much for Preaching.”

  “Jah, OK. Levi Miller is back from Lancaster and Mary gets all red in the face when she sees him at Preaching.” Anna giggled, placed the eggs on the counter, and scooted off toward the stairs.

  “Levi Miller is a fine fellow,” Uncle Jonas proclaimed as he took his seat at the table.

  Aunt Elizabeth smiled without looking at him.

  When everyone was seated, the silence for prayer ensued. Kristen recited the Lord’s Prayer. As she finished, Uncle Jonas cleared his throat signaling that prayer time was over. The silence for prayer was exactly long enough to recite the words. A small step of progress in her newfound routine. She smiled to herself. She might get the hang of this yet.

  ~*~

  John was readying the trough for the horses to have a drink when they arrived on this hot morgen. They would be hosting about ten families for the home church service, plus the bishop, deacon, and their families.

  Their district wasn’t very large, and John liked it that way. He remembered when they’d gone to a church service in Lancaster while visiting Daed’s gut friend there. The district was much larger, and it took many hands to get the horses unhitched from the buggies to tend to them. The roads were congested going over to the haus with many Englisch drivers and all the buggies headed in the same direction. This was much better. No tourists. Hardly a car on the road, except the local Englisch who lived among them and respected the presence of buggies.

  He couldn’t imagine moving away from Montgomery County to Lancaster County. And he knew he had to make it definite to Sadie…today. They hadn’t spoken since they’d had that conversation about Lancaster on her front porch last Sunday. The matter needed to be settled.

  Once he readied the trough and checked the barn to make sure all the benches were arranged with enough leg room between each of them, he opened the barn doors wide. Whatever breeze there was outside would enter inside during the service and bring some relief from the rising heat.

  Just as he finished, the bishop, his wife, and son arrived, followed by the deacon and his family. In the next half hour, buggies arrived within minutes of one another. Daniel came out to help lead the horses to the water trough and then guide them with their buggies off to the side, in the shade, to be tied securely to the hitch post. When they were about halfway done, Lucy Krantz walked over.

  “Goede Mariye, John. I came to give you this note from our Sadie.” Lucy wore her usual warm smile, but it did not reach into her eyes.

  “Won’t she be here today?”

  “Nee. She’s in Lancaster helping her onkle at his farm. Doing some cooking and haus chores for him.”

  John felt foolish for letting an entire week go by without contacting Sadie. He took the letter and tipped his hat to Lucy in thanks, saying nothing.

  There
was still at least fifteen minutes before the service would begin. He walked behind the barn to read Sadie’s note in private.

  Dear John,

  I decided to go help my onkle at his house with some cooking and cleaning. He has always been so good to me. I would have told you I was leaving, but my heart felt sure that your decision about Lancaster is final.

  Maybe a good frau-to-be would abide by her beau’s wishes and forget all about her dreams and plans. I am sorry that I am not able to do that. I truly feel that God wants me here in Lancaster. That the remainder of my days should be here on this farm.

  For this reason, I wish you well and thank you for the time we have spent together. You are a good man, John Wagler. You deserve a frau who will stand by you in your new venture, and I trust that God will find me a husband here who will stand by me in mine.

  Sadie

  John folded the note and stuffed it in his pocket. Sadie was gone. He assumed that her onkle already had a few potential prospects of marriage for her. If she was willing to leave so quickly, without even a good-bye in person, then she surely had made up her mind to go without him. He held no resentment toward her. He, too, had made up his mind. He would stay in Montgomery County. All Sadie had done was to make it official. Their courting was over now for sure and for certain.

  When John walked back toward the entrance of the barn, most of the families were settled on the benches. The women and their children on one side, and the men and older boys on the other. His attention was drawn to his own familye. Kristen sat next to Anna, then came Mamm and Mary. Daed and Daniel walked to their bench off to the left where the men sat.

  Kristen had her head down and looked as if she’d been Amish all of her life. Would she ever grow accustomed to their ways, to the mountains, the fields and streams, as she had her former home by the ocean? If she did, maybe she would consider being baptized into the faith. Maybe she would consider…Nee, he shouldn’t be thinking of such things. Kristen was familye, even if they weren’t related by blood, they were related by circumstances. Surely Mamm and Daed would not find his feelings acceptable. He must trample them down, like horses hooves on wet earth.

  He took a seat at the back on the last bench so that he could go out every so often to check on the horses. Three hours was a long time for them to be untended in the warmth of this day.