Mending Fences

by Suzanne Woods Fisher

  Amos took a sip of coffee. “It goes against my better judgment. Especially when we’ve been getting so many lightning storms.” He looked out the window to see a bright blue cloudless sky.

  “FEAR NOT. I’VE GOT A TRICK OR TWO UP MY SLEEVES, BOYS.”

  Amos and Luke exchanged a look that said much.

  That afternoon, the sky darkened with rain clouds, and it almost relieved Amos to see them. He felt a little sorry for Luke, but he simply would not, could not allow him to put a lock on Bob’s stall. He loved that horse like a member of the family. No way was he going to put that fine horse in harm’s way. No way.

  As Amos stood outside the house to watch the clouds gather, he realized Fern had slipped up beside him. How did she manage to do that so quietly? He thought he was alone, and suddenly, there she was.

  A metaphor, he realized. That’s just how it was when they met. He was alone, needing a partner, and one day, she arrived. He hadn’t expected Fern to fit into his household the way she did, to nurture well his three daughters, nor did he ever expect to grow to love her like he did. But she did, and he did, and she was a treasured gift to him. Someday, he would tell her so.

  “Amos, what would you think if we let Luke sleep in the house? Maybe a night or so.”

  “Nope.”

  “All day today, I’ve been wondering if we aren’t being a little too tough on him. He’s been working hard for you. And he’s trying to get through his fence-mending list. He’s doing well, Amos. Other than that first slip-up, he’s been making strides. It’s pretty remarkable, to see him not excusing himself like he used to. Look how concerned he’s been with Alice Smucker’s welfare.”

  “Yup.”

  “But you still won’t let him sleep in the house.”

  “Nope.”

  “Because of Izzy?”

  “Because he’s doing well out there. He’s got a problem, caused by living creatures, and he needs to find a solution. He doesn’t need anyone to rescue him. He’s had too much of that. You know how soft Rose has always been on Luke. She can’t bring herself to draw a line in the sand with him. She felt sorry for him, losing his father at such a young age, and ended up hobbling him with kindness. I’m actually glad she and Galen are in Kentucky. If she were here, imagine what she’d be doing right now.”

  Fern sighed. “She’d be camped outside of Bob’s stall all night long, just to make sure her boy got a good night’s sleep.”

  Amos laughed. “Rose King is a fine woman, but it’s God’s gift to Luke that she’s away right now. I’m not sure he’d be making these changes if she were here.”

  Fern crossed her arms against her thin chest.

  “Still disagree with me?”

  “No. No, I don’t. I see your point.” She tucked her arm around his elbow. “However did you get so wise, Amos Lapp?”

  He covered her small hand with his big one and gently squeezed. “By living with a difficult woman.”

  She yanked her hand away in mock horror and he reached out to hug her and they stood there, watching the gray clouds above them. Say something, Amos. Don’t miss these opportunities that God has given you to say what needs to be said. Time is running out. He swallowed. Speaking from the heart had never been easy for him. Say it, Amos. He could feel God’s Spirit practically giving him a kick on his backside. Say it. Again, he swallowed past a lump in his throat. “Fern, you know, don’t you?”

  “What?”

  He cleared his throat. “You know all you mean to me, don’t you?”

  “I do.”

  “Good.”

  They stood in that spot for a long, long time, his arms around her, his chin tucked on top of her head, woven together like woof and warp in a comfortable hug, until the rain began. First one big drop, then another, and soon they broke apart and hurried into the house.

  Two nights later, Luke set a foolproof, much-too-expensive live trap near Bob’s stall. He had bought it at the Hay & Grain, reassured by the owner that it was guaranteed not to kill the wild animal. “Use bacon,” the owner said. “Raccoons love raw bacon.”

  And didn’t Luke know that? This time, he stuffed the bacon to the far edge of the trap, making it more difficult to get to. The sky was clear, the forecast predicted no rain, so after a lengthy discussion over supper, Amos relented. Luke could fasten Bob’s stall latch with a lock and key, as long as he slept with the key on a cord around his neck. Luke thought it best not to overthink that Amos was willing to risk his potential strangulation.

  All that mattered was that Luke was finally going to get a good night’s sleep, after a solid week of nighttime Bob visits. His weary eyes sagged shut, colossally relieved. He had finally outsmarted that cunning raccoon. He yawned once, twice, and rolled over, pleased with himself, as he slipped into sleep.

  Sometime in the middle of the night, Bob stood over his cot, breathing heavily.

  “NOOOOooooo!” Luke winced. “What in thunder is going on in this barn?”

  Izzy waited impatiently on the porch for Luke to come out of the barn. When he did, she cupped her mouth to shout down to him. “Did it work?”

  He lifted his head at the sound of her voice. “No! He picked the lock. Then he helped himself to the bacon without tripping the trap.”

  “What?”

  As Luke reached the bottom of the porch steps, he lifted his palms in the air. “I surrender. The raccoon has a higher IQ than I do.”

  Izzy raised a finger in the air. “Do not think like that. We’re not giving up that easily. That raccoon is going to be evicted from Windmill Farm.”

  Luke gazed at her, sleepy, disheveled, in a pair of old pants and a badly wrinkled shirt. “But how?”

  She lost some of that guarded edginess she always had in his presence, and felt herself soften. “That I don’t know. But I’m going to figure it out.”

  Slowly, Luke’s tired face eased into a smile. He was smiling sweetly and not grinning like he was laughing, and she couldn’t help it, she felt her lips lift in a smile in response.

  Now, why did she do that? She didn’t want to give him any encouragement.

  fourteen

  Luke replayed that moment at the porch over and over in his head. Izzy Miller had actually smiled at him. It hadn’t lasted long, but it was a real, honest-to-goodness smile. She’d laughed plenty of times, mostly at him, but never once had she smiled. He thought of that smile, of how it spread slowly across her face. It felt like a gust of sun-warmed air on a cold winter day, coming at you when you least expected it. It was that astonishing to him, that memorable.

  He pulled his attention back to the book about phobias he was reading and his smile faded. The plight of Alice Smucker continued to plague Luke. As he came to the end of the chapter, he read of a method that might help acclimate Alice Smucker to snakes. He paced around the little tack room, working out the details in his mind. However, this method would involve Big Teddy Zook. As soon as he finished his chores for the day, he scootered over to Teddy’s.

  “What do you think?” Luke thought this idea of his was pretty amazing.

  Teddy seemed less impressed. “So let me get this straight. You want me to bring over a cage full of nonvenomous snakes to Alice Smucker’s house.”

  “Yes, but not for a while. We have a couple of stages to go through before we get to that.”

  “We? Like, I’m in on this?”

  Luke bit the corner of his lip. “I was hoping you’d help. Being the snake expert that you are.”

  Teddy liked that. “So what are these stages?”

  “This psychologist, the one who’s had such success with overcoming phobias, says to start with a series of experiences of graduated difficulty, starting with having the phobic—that’s what he calls his patients—become very knowledgeable about whatever they fear. He says the more the phobic knows, the better.” He paused to make sure Teddy was following along. He seemed a little guarded, but interested. “So the first stage is simple. I thought you could tell Alice what y
ou know about snakes.”

  “What makes you think she’ll listen?”

  “Because she took that children’s book I left on her doorstep. You could tell her the things you taught me—like how to tell if they’re poisonous or not. Their habits and habitats. What they like to eat.” The experience of feeding the frozen mice to the snakes danced through his mind. “Hold on. Scratch the food thing.”

  Teddy’s bushy eyebrows puckered together. He was turning skeptical, so Luke picked up his pace.

  “If that works, if she’ll listen—and I think she will—then we move on to the stuffed snake. After that comes holding a toy snake. Those rubber types, the kind that can wiggle at the end of a stick. Then comes a snake skin that she can look at. Maybe even touch.” He clapped his hands together. “And then comes your snakes in a cage.”

  “See, I don’t get that part.”

  “So she can look at them, first from a distance. Then she can get closer and closer.”

  “Snakes are pretty boring in a cage. They don’t snap or snarl or bite or hiss. They sleep most of the time.”

  Luke pointed at him. “Teddy Zook, you’re a genius. That’s exactly the kind of thing Alice needs to know.”

  “So, let me get this straight. The end result is that you want me to bring snakes in a cage to her house.”

  “Maybe just one. Now that I think on it, too many might scare her.”

  “And you want me to leave the snake in the cage at her house.”

  “Outside her house. So she knows exactly where it is.”

  “This is a lady who hates snakes. What if she tries to kill it?”

  “No, no. I’m sure she won’t try to kill it. And it’s just for a short while, Teddy. I’m trying to help her overcome her phobia. The book I’ve been reading says that if a person feels safe around the object of fear, it’ll help take down those fears a notch or two. Like, if she can actually look at the snake, in the cage, on her terms, she’ll become comfortable with it.” Unlike when he had the garter snake in the bag, only to have Alice open it and get freaked out. That was not good.

  Big Teddy wasn’t buying Luke’s logic to overcome snake phobia, that was apparent. “Teddy, come with me. Tell Alice why you love snakes so much.” He was banking on the fact that Teddy was a tenderhearted man and at least willing to give it a try. He loved snakes that much.

  But Teddy was not so easily swayed. “You find me a Massauga rattlesnake in that marsh, and then I’ll help you with Alice’s phobia.” He took a few steps out and stared at the swampy creek, hands on his hips. “I know she’s out there.”

  Luke glanced behind Teddy at the murky creek that lined his acreage. Oh, boy. “Teddy, that could take a while. What about this? I promise to help you look for this snake, for as long as it takes. But in the meantime, we get started on overcoming Alice’s phobia.” He stuck out his hand for a shake. Teddy eyed him carefully. “Alice Smucker . . . she needs our help.”

  On that note, kindhearted Teddy returned Luke’s handshake.

  Luke and Teddy stood on the front step of Alice Smucker’s house and knocked. Knocked and knocked.

  “She’s not home,” Teddy said.

  “Oh, she’s home all right. She’s always home.” Luke saw the curtain move. He knocked again. “Alice, we just want to talk to you.”

  A voice behind the door finally called out, “Do you have any snakes?”

  “No. None. I promise. We just want to talk. I brought Teddy Zook along with me.”

  The door cracked open to reveal an eye.

  “Alice, I’ve been wondering something. Why is it you don’t like snakes?”

  The door shut.

  Luke knocked again. “Alice, I don’t have any snakes with me. I promise.”

  Teddy frowned at him, then knocked on the door. “Alice, it’s Teddy Zook. I have a better question. What is it about snakes that frightens you?”

  Luke jabbed his elbow at Teddy. “Good question, man.” He leaned closer to the door. “Alice, what do you think? Why do snakes bother you so much? Other than that time when I tossed that snake in your buggy. I can see how that took you over the edge.”

  Teddy’s eyebrows shot up. “You did what?”

  Luke lifted a palm. “Long story. Harmless snake.”

  “You don’t treat snakes like that. Or women, either.”

  The door opened again, a little bit wider. Alice eyed Teddy. He noticed. “Alice, I’m sorry if you’ve had a bad experience with snakes.” He glanced at Luke with a scowl. “Most of them are completely harmless. Not only harmless, but beneficial to farmers.”

  The door opened wide enough to show Alice’s entire face. “If snakes are so harmless, then why did Satan use it to tempt Eve in the Garden of Eden?”

  “Well, that’s an interesting thought, Alice.”

  “And then it was cursed. Had to slither on its belly. It’s right there in Genesis.”

  “That’s true.”

  It was? Luke hadn’t read that part of the Bible before. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t read much of any Scripture. That was going to change, though. He scratched his head. First he needed a Bible.

  “Alice, I don’t think the serpent was the problem. It had been created by God and called good. That’s right there in the first chapter of Genesis.”

  The door opened wider still. Teddy was handling her so well that Luke knew enough to keep his mouth shut.

  Alice poked her head through the door. “What about the time when the Lord sent venomous snakes among the Israelites? They bit the people and many died. Numbers 21.”

  “Well, that was similar to the situation in the Garden of Eden. The problem wasn’t the snakes—they were just a vessel for God to use, or for the devil to use in the Garden. The problem was that the people had been complaining against God and Moses. Remember that God told Moses that the people were to take that which had hurt them and lift it up to him. He turned even a snakebite into a blessing and victory. It’s a metaphor, Alice. The ‘snake’ in our life can be redeemed and turned to power.”

  Alice was listening, and Luke was amazed. She’d lost that haunted look on her face and was focused entirely on Big Teddy Zook. On what he was telling her.

  “Alice, if a snake has hurt you, we’d like you to give us a chance to redeem it. If you’re willing, we’d like to help you get over your fear of snakes.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “How?”

  “By showing you how good they are, what purpose they have in God’s creation. I can teach you all about that, so you can understand them better. They’re quite beautiful, Alice. I think a sensitive person like you could appreciate the wonder.”

  Alice’s hand went up to the tendrils of curls on her neck. She was blushing. Alice Smucker was actually blushing at a compliment paid to her by Big Teddy Zook. Well, well. Wonders never ceased.

  On the way home, Luke glanced at Teddy. “I didn’t realize you were such a Bible student.”

  Big Teddy shrugged. “I do listen to the sermons.”

  “I listen.” Most of the time. Not always. But Luke did usually listen to David’s sermons. His thoughts drifted off when it was the other ministers’ turns. He drifted off. “In fact, I’m going to look up those verses you talked about with Alice.”

  “Good.”

  “Genesis and Numbers, right?”

  “Right. Exodus too.”

  “Uh . . . Old Testament or New?”

  Teddy squeezed his eyes shut, cringing. “Old Testament.”

  “Got it. I’ll read it today.”

  “Genesis, Exodus, and Numbers?”

  “Yes. Today I will read them. You’ve got my word on it.”

  “The whole books? Every chapter?”

  “Of course, the whole books.” He glanced at Teddy. “Why? Are they long?”

  fifteen

  July slipped into August. Just before the bishop wrapped up the church service one Sunday, he announced that baptism classes would begin soon. Any who wanted to be baptized
this fall, David said, should join the classes. Jenny was sitting next to Izzy and jabbed her with her elbow. “You should do it.”

  Izzy hadn’t given much thought to baptism. None. “What would that mean?”

  “That’s how you become Amish, Izzy. For good.”

  “Just like that? I’m Amish?”

  “Well, that plus a couple of weeks spent listening to the ministers explain the 18 Articles of the Dordrecht Confessions.”

  “What are those?”

  “Um, well, doctrine, I guess you could say. Mainly, you hear what it means to be Amish.”

  “You’ve done it?”

  “Of course. Can’t get married without being baptized.” Jenny squeezed Izzy’s hand. “Think about it.”

  So she did. Izzy thought of little else. Later that week, David stopped by to speak to Amos about deacon business, so Izzy kept an eye on his buggy while she was in the farm stand, hoping to catch him before he left Windmill Farm. When she saw the buggy come down the driveway, she waved him to a stop. “David, I’d like to ask you something.”

  David climbed out of the buggy and tied the horse’s reins to the fence in a loose knot. He walked around the farm stand, giving it a once-over. “This is impressive. So Luke designed it?”

  “He did. And Teddy Zook helped build it.”

  David smiled. “Quite a team. Wouldn’t have expected that.” He looked it over once more, then turned to Izzy. “So, what’s on your mind?”

  “I’ve been thinking . . .” She fiddled with the edges of her apron. “I’d like to join the baptism classes.”

  He nodded once but made no comment.

  She waited for him to say something, anything, but after a long moment, she lifted her face. “Would that be all right?”

  “You want to bend at the knee?”

  Bend at the knee? Oh, he meant to kneel. Last fall, she’d seen a baptism. And she’d seen Luke kneel to make his confession, back when he first returned to Stoney Ridge in May. “Yes. Yes, I do.”