They tiptoed back to the basement, careful not to slam the door or make any noise to alert the boys that they weren’t inside their mini barn.
They filled two bottles with water. Carefully, they sneaked up behind the boys and squeezed the bottles as hard as they could. The boys yelled and screamed, running back to their mini barn. Lily and Hannah chased behind, laughing and squirting water.
The noise brought Uncle Elmer outside to see what the ruckus was all about. His gaze took in the soaked sheets on the ground, then shifted to the empty bottles in the girls’ hands. He listened, eyes twinkling, to Hannah’s explanation. “Okay, I think there has been enough excitement for one evening,” he said. “Time to get some sleep. Hannah, you go inside and bring some dry sheets out for the boys. Then it’s time to get to bed. No more visiting each other’s mini barns. Understand?”
“Yes,” chimed five voices.
Lily went back to the girls’ mini barn and sat on her blanket, waiting for Hannah to come back. Hannah returned and sat next to her. They both laughed at turning the tables on the boys. It was so easy! They were too wide awake from excitement to go to sleep.
“Do you think Samuel Yoder took Teacher Rhoda home from the singing again tonight?” Hannah asked.
“Probably,” Lily said. “Mama says that they’re courting.”
“I hope they don’t get married until we turn sixteen,” Hannah said. “I think weddings will be more fun after we’re old enough to be a part of the youth group.”
“I just hope she waits to get married until we graduate so we can help with the wedding. Just four more years.” Lily stretched out on the blanket and leaned on her elbows. “I wonder what they do.”
“Who? What?” Hannah asked.
“Samuel and Rhoda,” Lily said. “I wonder what they do for courting.”
The girls lay quietly for a moment, chins on their palms, pondering the mysteries of courting. Hannah’s face lit up. “Why don’t we go see? Teacher Rhoda’s home isn’t very far away. Only through the woods and over a few fields. We could run over and peep through their windows.”
“But it’s dark outside,” Lily said. “And your father said we need to stay in our mini barns.”
“No, he didn’t,” Hannah said. “He said we couldn’t go visiting in each other’s mini barns. We won’t be doing that.” Which was an example of how Hannah reasoned. “I have a flashlight and the moon is shining brightly.” She jumped to her feet. “Come on. Let’s go!”
“In our nightgowns?” Lily asked.
“Of course!” Hannah said. “No one will see us.”
Lily held her breath as Hannah opened the door. The hinges creaked noisily, echoing in the still of the night. She was sure that Uncle Elmer could hear it and would come see what they were doing.
It was a warm night. There were no other sounds besides chirping crickets, singing katydids, and the distant sound of a few night birds trilling in the woods. Lily and Hannah hurried out the driveway and across the road. Along the way, they discussed what they were going to do, knowing it was wrong but lured by its daring.
Then they came to the woods. The trees rose like towering giants. The moonlight sifted through the branches and cast flickering shadows on the floor of the woods. Every step they took seemed to make noise. Twigs snapped, leaves crunched. The woods seemed alive with spooky noises. Lily’s heart beat fast as she tried to stay close to Hannah. She wanted to go right back to the mini barn and call it a night. Hannah wasn’t scared at all. She just kept on marching through the woods in her nightgown, shining the flashlight on the path ahead of them.
Lily was relieved to come out on the other side of the woods. Now there were only two cornfields and a hayfield to cross before they reached Teacher Rhoda’s home. The cornstalks weren’t even up to their knees yet, so walking through the field was easy. They followed the rows and stepped over plants.
Unfortunately, the plan started to unravel as soon as they entered Teacher Rhoda’s yard. A dog started to bark. Loud and scary. Lily and Hannah stopped in their tracks. The dog ran around the corner of the house, barking at them. But when he saw them, he wagged his tail and came over to be petted. Lily stroked his head and whispered, “Please don’t bark anymore.” The dog wiggled all over as if he understood what Lily had said.
Hannah pointed to a window. “I think they must be in there. Do you see the lamplight?”
Holding hands, the girls tiptoed up the porch steps. They froze when a wooden board creaked underneath their feet. They crossed the porch to peek into the living room window. The dog followed behind them and sat down, his tail beating a steady thump, thump, thump against the floor. Lily and Hannah peered inside. Samuel and Rhoda were sitting on a sofa, eating popcorn from a bowl and talking.
What a disappointment! Had they walked all this way in the middle of the night just to see them talk?
Hannah was disappointed, too. “Let’s go,” she whispered. They turned around and started down the porch steps. The dog walked beside them, his toenails clicking against the wood. Hannah walked down a few steps and then jumped to the bottom. The dog crossed in front of her to dart after Hannah, causing Lily to trip. She tumbled down to the bottom of the stairs.
Lily jumped up, smoothing her nightgown. Suddenly, the door opened and there stood Samuel and Teacher Rhoda.
“What are you girls doing here?” Teacher Rhoda asked.
Lily and Hannah looked at each other. How awful to have been caught spying on them! “We wanted to see what people do when they are courting,” Hannah said.
Samuel and Teacher Rhoda stood looking at them. Lily wished she could disappear. She felt so foolish—standing at the foot of the porch steps in her nightgown. The silly dog sat beside her like they were best friends.
Lily managed to look disinterested. “Well, we’ll just be on our way. We won’t bother you again.”
“It’s about time I head for home,” Samuel said. “I can give you a ride.”
“We can walk,” Lily and Hannah said at the same time. What if he were to tell Uncle Elmer? Oh, this was terrible.
“Nonsense,” Samuel said. “Let me go get my horse and we’ll be on our way.” He didn’t sound mad. He sounded amused.
Quiet followed as Lily and Hannah climbed on Samuel’s buggy and sat there like stones. Miserable stones. This fun spying adventure had turned out to be a disaster. What would their parents say when they found out what they had done?
Samuel’s horse trotted briskly down the road. Lily was torn between wanting this ride to be over and not wanting to get home. “Lily is spending the night at our house,” Hannah said.
“It’s always nice when cousins can have fun together,” Samuel said. But instead of taking both of them to Uncle Elmer’s house, Samuel turned into Lily’s driveway. He jumped off the buggy and tied his horse to the hitching post. He waved to Lily to climb down. Then he walked up to the front porch with her.
Lily wanted to run and hide when Samuel knocked on the door. She heard Papa’s footsteps and then the door opened. He looked back and forth between Samuel and Lily.
“Lily and Hannah thought it would be fun to spy on a courting couple,” Samuel said.
Papa looked at her. “Ah. I see. I’m sorry, Samuel. Lily, go inside.”
Lily ran up the stairs to her room and jumped into bed. She could hear Papa and Samuel talk for a little and then the crunch of buggy wheels on the gravel driveway as Samuel took Hannah home.
Papa and Mama came into Lily’s bedroom. They stood looking at her. Lily felt as if she had never been looked at so much in her life as she had this evening. She wanted to pull the covers up over her head. She didn’t, but she wanted to.
“I’m sorry to hear what you and Hannah did tonight,” Mama said.
“Little girls have no business wandering the countryside at night and peering into other people’s homes,” Papa said. “No more sleepovers until we’re sure we can trust you to behave. I want you to promise us that you will never go s
pying on anyone ever again. Not ever.”
“I promise,” Lily whispered. That, she thought, wouldn’t be hard to remember.
Uncle Jacob preached the main sermon at church that week, his first. He did a fine job of preaching. He was Lily’s favorite minister, and not just because he was her uncle. His preaching was so easy to listen to that even she could understand what he was talking about.
Everyone sat down after the benediction. Lily reached for the hymnbook, tucked under the bench, expecting to hear him announce where church would be held next.
But no! Uncle Jacob rose to his feet for a special announcement. “Two young people, with the blessings of their parents, want to get married. They are Samuel Yoder and Rhoda King. The wedding will be a week from Thursday.”
Hannah nudged Lily with her elbow. “Told you,” she whispered. Then Uncle Jacob sat down and the song leader announced the last song. Everyone started to sing as if nothing unusual had just happened. Lily tried to see if Teacher Rhoda’s face was turning red. Lily would feel mortified if she heard her name announced in church for everyone to hear. It was another very good reason to not get married.
As soon as the song ended, Samuel and Teacher Rhoda rose and walked outside. By the time church was dismissed, they had driven off in Samuel’s buggy.
How mysterious! Lily wondered what could be so important that they were missing out on church lunch and an afternoon of visiting with their friends. She searched out Mama to ask, “Where did Teacher Rhoda and Samuel go?”
Mama smiled. “They went to write wedding invitations.”
That would mean they had to write hundreds of invitations. Weddings were huge events—everyone was invited. Lily’s hands felt achy just thinking about writing so many invitations.
Another excellent reason to never get married.
36
Teacher Rhoda’s Wedding
It was a beautiful summer morning in June. The sky was bright blue and the air had a touch of sweet summer breeze. Not too cold, not too hot. Just right. As soon as breakfast was over, Lily dressed in her dark blue Sunday dress. She still needed help pinning her cape and apron so she ran downstairs to find Mama. Everything had to be perfect, even Lily’s pins. Today was Teacher Rhoda’s wedding day!
Mama was dressed in her dark blue Sunday dress, too. All the women and girls would wear blue dresses.
It still troubled Lily to think Teacher Rhoda was going to marry a brother of Aaron Yoder. She hoped Teacher Rhoda wouldn’t regret that decision. Had she really thought this through? Lily thought not. After all, every family gathering would mean that Teacher Rhoda would have to see Aaron. She could never, ever avoid him. Lily shivered. How dreadful!
From every direction, horses and buggies were streaming toward the farm where Teacher Rhoda would be married. So many people came from neighboring church districts. Buggy horses walked up every hill and Jim had to slow down and try to walk patiently behind them.
When they reached the farm, Lily felt alarmed. There were so many people! Too many. She would get swallowed up in this sea of people. If she were nine, she would be expected to stay by Mama’s side. Now that she was ten, she could be with her friends. But she couldn’t find any friends.
Then she spotted Effie Kauffman. Even Effie’s face was a welcome sight today. She hurried through the crowd to join Effie; soon Beth, Malinda, and Cousin Hannah found them, but no one had anything to say to each other. They felt shy and awkward, waiting until it was time to go out to the barn. Teacher Rhoda’s family had set benches in the neatly swept haymow for all the wedding guests.
When the service began, Lily soon grew bored. Weddings were just like church. The preachers kept talking and talking and talking. Didn’t they ever run out of words? She wished they would hurry along and get to the main event: the wedding ceremony of Teacher Rhoda and Samuel Yoder.
Lily glanced up at the clock that someone had hung on one of the rafters at the far side of the barn. It was almost noon. No wonder she was hungry. Bishop Henry started to slow down his windy preaching. That was a good sign. Lily wanted to clap when she heard him say, “Samuel and Rhoda, if you are still willing to be married, you can come stand in front of me.”
Lily watched as Samuel and Teacher Rhoda walked up and stood next to each other in front of Bishop Henry. Their backs were turned to the rest of the room. Teacher Rhoda looked pretty in her blue dress and crisply starched white cape and apron. She seemed tiny compared to Samuel.
Bishop Henry asked Samuel and Teacher Rhoda some questions. They answered so softly that Lily almost couldn’t hear them. Next, the bishop asked everyone to stand while he read a prayer. At the end of the prayer, everyone sat down. Bishop Henry reached for Samuel and Teacher Rhoda’s hands and clasped them together. He prayed for a blessing on their married life. And then Samuel and Teacher Rhoda went back to their seats.
Lily felt let down. All of this excitement . . . for that? Getting married didn’t look like much fun.
As everyone sang the final song, Teacher Rhoda’s father signaled to a few men. They left the barn to hitch horses to several buggies. It was time for the cooks and table waiters to get the meal ready for the guests.
Everyone waited patiently until the bridal party drove away. Then, the barn came alive! Jostling and bumping occurred as everyone tried to leave at the same time. Women and children went to the house to get their bonnets. They visited with each other in small clumps in the yard while they waited for buggies to drive up to the house. Lily was glad to see Papa heading toward them in the buggy. Lily and Mama climbed in the buggy and followed other buggies down the road to Teacher Rhoda’s home.
Mama handed a wedding gift to Lily for her to carry while Mama followed with Paul. Lily felt important as she carried the gift into the house. Papa had made a beautiful magazine rack and Mama had wrapped it in several towels. Lily was sure Teacher Rhoda and Samuel would like their gift best of all.
“Lily, you can take the gift upstairs,” Mama said. “Place it on the bed with the rest of the gifts.” Lily walked up the stairs. She wasn’t sure which bedroom had all the gifts. She tiptoed down the hallway and peeked in a room where she heard voices. There were Samuel and Teacher Rhoda! They were sitting on the floor, opening gifts. The bed was buried under a mountain of gifts. Teacher Rhoda smiled when she saw Lily at the door. “Come in!”
Lily handed her gift to Teacher Rhoda, feeling shy. She couldn’t look at Samuel. Then she wondered what she should do next. She would have liked to have seen what all the gifts were but none of the other little girls were in that room, so she thought she should leave. Seeing all those gifts made her think twice about getting married. It was the first sign that getting married might be fun. Someday.
Lily turned around to leave Teacher Rhoda and Samuel to their gifts. She saw Hannah wave to her down the hallway. In another bedroom, the girls had gathered to sit and chat until it was time to eat. Teacher Rhoda’s father was the one who called up the stairs, announcing it was time to eat. He directed each person so he or she would know where to sit. There was a certain way to do everything in Lily’s church, especially weddings.
The little girls were seated last, so Lily spent time looking over all the tables. They were set with beautiful chinaware. Every family had loaned their best china for the wedding. She tried to see which table held Mama’s china. Samuel and Teacher Rhoda had come to their house just this week to borrow it. Beth nudged her. She pointed to the table where the girls were supposed to sit. “That’s our china,” she whispered.
Lily admired the pattern. It all looked so beautiful.
After everyone had been seated, Bishop Henry spoke over the noisy hum of visiting. “Now that everyone has gathered to eat, let’s have a moment of silence as we thank the Lord.”
The room grew quiet until Bishop Henry lifted his head and cleared his throat. Then the visiting began again—quietly at first, then louder and louder. From where Lily sat, she could watch the bridal party. Teacher Rhoda looked very ha
ppy as she sat next to Samuel.
Soon, the table waiters carried big platters and bowls to the table: golden fried chicken and bowls of steaming mashed potatoes, followed by sweet corn and a seven-layer salad. Everything looked so delicious! But Lily took only small portions. She was waiting for the best part. Dessert. Weddings always had plenty of desserts.
First, the table waiters brought out fruit and several cakes. They looked good, but Lily ate fruit and cake at home. She passed on those. Next came pies. Every variety Lily could think of: cherry, apple, peach, blueberry, mixed fruit, lemon, vanilla, banana cream, pecan, shoo-fly, and several other kinds that she didn’t even recognize. The only one she wanted was cherry pie. That was Grandpa Miller’s favorite and that was her favorite.
But she was still waiting for something even better. Pudding! There were three kinds: tapioca, chocolate, and vanilla layered, and Lily’s favorite: traditional Sweetheart Pudding. It was layered with sugared, toasted nuts and had a graham cracker–streusel topping. As she spooned it into her mouth, it tasted even better than it looked. Sweetheart Pudding was the second reason she might consider getting married someday. Gifts first—then pudding.
After everyone was done eating, the table waiters cleared off the dishes. They left the water glasses. Teacher Rhoda’s father handed everyone a songbook. Visiting quieted as someone announced a song and everyone started singing. Lily liked singing. All afternoon they sat there and sang one song after another. Waiters kept fresh, cold water in everyone’s glasses. Now and then, bowls of candy were passed around the tables. Lily always took a piece and put it in her pocket. Soon her pockets were filling up. She was still full from the delicious meal. The candy would taste even better if she saved it to eat later.
Too soon, the singing was over and it was time to go home. The wedding celebration would last until late at night, but Lily wouldn’t be old enough to stay with the youth until she was sixteen.
A Big Year for Lily Page 17