by Sarah Price
The bishop’s eyes shifted over her shoulder toward the door. There was something in his expression, the way it changed, that made Belle curious. It was almost as if he were hiding a smile, and his eyes suddenly looked less tired. Almost simultaneously, a hush fell over the gathering, and from where Belle stood, she could see that the others in the room were also staring in the same direction as the bishop.
Belle turned around to see what had caught their attention.
A tall figure stood in the doorway. Adam. His black felt hat was planted firmly on his head, his face tilted in such a way that the scars on it were hidden from view. His eyes moved across the room until he spotted Belle.
Before he had a chance to approach her, the bishop hurried to greet him.
“Adam, it’s right gut to see you.”
Adam nodded. “Danke.” Belle could hear the trepidation in his voice. He was nervous about being there. And yet, he had come. She felt a presence beside her and noticed that her friends were standing next to her, as if surrounding her with support rather than leaving her to stand there all alone.
“Had you come a few hours earlier,” the bishop said in a half-teasing, half-serious tone, “you might have caught the sermon.”
Belle saw several other people watching the exchange, their curiosity greater than their manners.
While Belle watched, Adam glanced around the room, clearly too aware that everyone was watching him. “My apologies, Bishop,” he managed to say. “Perhaps next service.” His eyes caught hers, and he hesitated, just long enough for her to feel the heat rise to her cheeks. “If you’ll excuse me,” he said to the bishop in a soft voice, his eyes still watching Belle, “I’ve come to fetch my fraa.”
“Reckon I must go now,” she said to her friends.
Ella leaned forward and whispered, “See? In due time . . .”
Belle blushed and tipped her head down. “I’m rather pleased that he came for me, I admit it.”
With an encouraging smile, Ella started to step away from her. “It is rather romantic, isn’t it?”
Sadie hid a smile, and Anna Rose’s eyes widened. “Romantic? Oh, help.”
Belle hoped that her cheeks were not as red as they felt. She hurried over to where Adam waited for her, just inside the doorway. He took a step aside to let her pass him. “You bring anything with you?” he asked.
“Nee. Too far to carry anything anyway.”
As they walked across the porch and down the steps, two children ran across the walkway, laughing. One of them tripped and fell on the walkway. Immediately, Adam bent down to assist him. But the boy looked up and, upon looking into Adam’s face, recoiled. His tears of pain turned into those of fear as he scrambled to his feet and ran toward the house.
Belle placed her hand on Adam’s arm. “The more you are around people, the less they will react like that.”
Even though her gentle words were meant to soothe him, she could tell that he was hurt by the boy’s reaction. He said nothing as he walked farther away from the house. Belle followed, her heart hurting for the pain that he surely felt. She couldn’t imagine how anyone could go through life with people rejecting them as soon as they walked into a room. Adam’s confidence must have disappeared years ago. No wonder he seemed so bitter.
When he helped her into the buggy, she looked directly into his eyes. “Danke, Adam.”
The muscle between his eyes twitched. “For . . . ?”
“Fetching me. While walking is nice, especially in such weather, so is riding in the buggy.”
He made a noise deep in his throat acknowledging her words of appreciation. For a few moments, he focused on backing up the horse and buggy before turning the horse to head down the driveway and toward the road. Only then did he speak again. “Did you see your family, then?”
Even though he was looking straight ahead, she shook her head. “Nee, they weren’t there.”
He made another noise, almost a scoffing sound.
“Funny thing is . . .” she began cautiously, “I heard that many wunderbarr gut things are happening for them these days. That Daed is doing quite well. Apparently people are ordering his new grill. In just the two weeks since we’ve married, things are starting to look up for my daed.”
He glanced at her, a concerned expression on his face. “What are you saying, Belle?”
She lifted her shoulders in a simple shrug. “Just that it’s interesting how everything improved for them so quickly.”
His eyebrows dipped together as he frowned. “Would you go back on your word now?”
That hadn’t been what she meant. Still, his reaction amused her. She laughed. “We’re married, Adam! Whether I would or would not, the answer is that I couldn’t.”
“You could, Belle. You know that.” He paused, and she could see the tension in his face. “We are married, but we are not”—he pressed his lips together—“husband and wife.”
Belle realized what he was insinuating. A marriage that was not consummated was not really a marriage at all. “I don’t think God looks at it that way, Adam.”
He remained silent.
“Adam, we vowed to God that we would be husband and wife. If for whatever reason you do not wish to act upon that, so be it. But I will never go back on my promises to God.” She reached out and placed her hand upon his. It surprised her when he jumped at her touch. “Nor to you. It doesn’t matter how we came together. What matters is that we are together.”
Something seemed to relax in his shoulders.
Swallowing, Belle decided to take advantage of being in the buggy with him. There was no way for him to simply walk away if he didn’t like what she said. “And part of being together is being truthful with each other.
“Please, Adam. You need to talk to me. I can take almost anything, but not your propensity to keep silent when you don’t like the conversation.”
His hands tightened on the reins. But once again, he kept silent.
Would she ever be able to break through his walls?
Chapter Eighteen
“Belle Hershberger!”
Belle almost did not turn at the sound of her name. After three weeks of marriage, it still sounded unfamiliar to her ears. But soon she realized that someone was calling to her. It was Elizabeth Grimm, Anna Rose’s cousin. With her blond hair and bright green dress, she stood out among the dark shelves of Troyers’ store.
“I didn’t see you there,” Belle said, putting aside the book that she had been reading. Linda had told her that Ella was busy in the back storeroom, but would soon be out to say hello. Belle had been passing the time by browsing the books.
“You were quite engrossed in that book.” Elizabeth laughed, the sound cheerful and kind. She was older than Belle but had always been good to her. “I had hoped to visit with you after church on Sunday, but I was told that you left early. I wanted to tell you I was sorry to have missed your wedding the other week.”
At the mention of the wedding, Belle paused. A lot of the community had not been at the wedding, mostly because it had been held outside of the normal marriage season. Yet, in hindsight, Belle could hardly remember who had or had not attended. The day had been a blur, and the memory of it seemed two lifetimes ago. So much had changed in her life over the past few weeks, especially since she had married Adam.
“How have you been?” Elizabeth smiled politely.
“Gut, right gut,” Belle responded, hoping that her voice did not catch and betray the truth. “And you?”
“Oh, just fine enough. Been a bit tired recently,” Elizabeth admitted. “Change of seasons and all, I reckon. It’s tough with teaching, too.”
Belle had forgotten that Elizabeth was the schoolteacher. “That would just about make anyone tired, I’m sure.”
For a few more minutes, they exchanged pleasantries before Elizabeth said goodbye, leaving the store with her package under her arm.
Belle sighed and reached for the book that she had been reading. She flipped through th
e pages, trying to find the spot where she had left off. But she knew that she should not spend Adam’s money on a book. She had come to town to purchase some vegetables. Right before she had left, Adam had harnessed the horse and hitched it to the buggy, asking her yet again if she wanted him to drive her. But Belle knew that he needed to bale the hay that he had cut three days before. Rain was forecast for the following afternoon, and wet hay could not be baled. So she had declined his offer and drove herself into town.
However, Adam still had one more surprise for her. Just as she had been ready to leave, he slipped some money into her hand, his fingers lingering a second or two longer than necessary, and told her to treat herself to something nice.
Her first thought had been to purchase a book. She spent her evenings alone, her only companions the characters in the stories. While she wasn’t necessarily complaining, she was feeling a void in her life, one that could not be filled by her imagination alone.
But now, as she stared at the shelves lined with all sorts of literature—inspirational, romance, spiritual—she knew that it would be selfish of her to use his money for that. After all, she had just bought a book recently, and she needed to be more practical, even if Adam had wanted her to buy something special.
As Belle wandered through the Troyers’ store, her eyes fell upon the fabric section. Perhaps, she thought, I’ll buy some cloth for a new work dress. Certainly Adam would approve—or at least not disapprove—of that acquisition.
She hurried over to the shelves and let her fingers gently touch the edge of each bolt. So many beautiful colors: blues, purples, greens, pinks, and even a few reds, a new and exciting color that the church leaders must have just recently approved for their congregation. But, as for Belle, she still favored bright, sunflower yellow.
“Belle?”
She looked up, glad to see Ella, laden with a large cardboard box, walking through the door from the back storeroom.
Ella set down the box that she was carrying and slapped her hands together to shake off the dust. She smiled at Belle as she walked over to her, her bare feet barely making any noise on the hardwood floor.
“So what brings you to town on a Wednesday? Besides books, that is,” Ella teased gently.
“Just picking up some vegetables.” She didn’t mention that she was also hoping to see her family on the way back. Given what Ella and Sadie had shared with her on Saturday, Belle felt particularly hurt by their neglect, but she didn’t want to go into that with Ella. “And thinking I might buy some fabric,” she added, her hand lingering on one of the bolts.
“Making some new shirts for Adam, then?”
Belle made a face. “For Adam?”
Ella nodded and pointed to the fabric beneath Belle’s hand. “That’s a particularly good one for work shirts.”
“Yellow?”
“Nee, the white one that you have your hand on, goose.”
Belle turned to look and saw that, indeed, she had touched not the yellow bolt of fabric but the one next to it, which was a heavier white polyester/cotton blend. There was the slightest hint of a pattern to the fabric, and Belle could tell that Ella was correct: it would wear well. Still, she hadn’t wanted to make a shirt for Adam, but a dress for herself. For a moment, she stood there and fingered the white material. Perhaps Ella was onto something, she thought. When was the last time someone had made Adam anything? And he was always wearing those long-sleeved shirts. It was hot working outside, and his two shirts looked almost threadbare. If she bought enough material, she could make him a nice, short-sleeved work shirt to carry him through the Indian summer and then make him a long-sleeved one for the winter.
“Why, that’s a splendid idea!” She pulled the fabric from the shelf and set it down on the cutting table behind her. “May I have four yards of fabric, please?”
Ella nodded as she took the fabric from Belle. “Let me give you five yards, just in case. Adam seems rather tall and broad in the shoulders.”
While Ella cut the fabric, she talked to Belle about the recent happenings in town. Mary Esh had a new baby. John Paul Stoltzfus was courting Rachel Mast. And Elizabeth Grimm had sent her own cousin, Gideon Grimm, home from school after he put a tack on some girl’s chair—something Elizabeth had neglected to mention to Belle during their earlier conversation.
To Belle, it sounded as if life was continuing as normal for the townspeople’s lives—babies, courtship, even though she felt as if everything had become stagnant in hers.
When she had finished the rest of her shopping, Belle drove the horse and buggy away from Echo Creek and toward her father’s farm. She was anxious to see what, exactly, was happening with her family. It took her several minutes to remind herself to release her disappointment in their lack of concern for her well-being. While she would have thought they might have visited her, she couldn’t fault them for not doing so. After all, they had responsibilities at the farm, especially now that it appeared her father was doing so well.
When she pulled into the driveway to her father’s farm, she stopped the buggy midway between the main road and the house. Her mouth fell open, and she could hardly believe what she saw. The fencing along the first paddock was completely new. A herd of black-and-white Holsteins grazed in the grass, which, because of the cows’ presence, was no longer overgrown. The barn door was open, not because the hinge was broken, but because it had been repaired and propped open by a rock. And the once-broken windowpane in the side of the barn had been replaced.
The house itself appeared the same until she managed to move beyond her surprise and urge the horse farther down the driveway. Before she exited the buggy, she noticed that the sagging porch was now straight and the clothesline hung taut. Even more surprising was the fact that dresses hung from the line, waving in the warm afternoon breeze. Six dresses, to be exact, and in new, bright colors that had never adorned that clothesline when Belle had been living there: lilac, deep purple, hunter green, and even those pretty reds.
“Oh, help . . .” Belle whispered as she scrambled down from the buggy.
The porch door opened (no creak), and her sister Susie came running out, a big smile on her face. “Belle!” She met her sister at the edge of the grass and embraced her. It was a greeting that caught Belle off guard. “Oh! It’s just right gut to see you, Schwester!”
Belle waited until Susie released her. “It appears much has changed since I left.”
Susie laughed, clearly delighted to see Belle but also with a jovial enthusiasm that was foreign to Belle. “Kum in and sit a spell. I have so much to tell you!”
“And Daed? Verna?”
“Daed’s in Liberty Village with Verna.”
At first, Belle thought she hadn’t heard her sister properly. “Liberty Village? Whatever for?”
Glancing over her shoulder at Belle, Susie’s mouth opened, and she made a small gasping noise. “Why, that’s just the thing! You won’t believe what has happened around here since your wedding!”
Inside the house, the kitchen appeared much the same as when Belle had left—which surprised Belle almost as much as what she had seen outside. Neither Susie nor Verna had ever been much for house chores—or any chores, for that matter. Yet the kitchen was near spotless. It was as if Belle had cleaned it and walked away, and not one person had used it since. The smell of baking bread, however, let Belle know that someone was indeed using the kitchen. Baking, in fact. But who?
“Cows? Fencing? Fresh wash drying on the line? And bread baking?” Belle gave Susie an incredulous look as she sank into a chair at the kitchen table. “What on earth . . . ?”
Sitting across from her, Susie clapped her hands and laughed once again. “Isn’t it wunderbarr? Why, just after your wedding, everything happened at once! A letter came to Daed with a certified check. An attorney in Liberty Village has a client who wants to invest in selling Daed’s grills. Can you believe it?”
Belle felt as if her heart would jump into her throat. Ella and Sadie had mention
ed that someone wanted to invest in her father’s grill, but they hadn’t mentioned a certified check from an investor! That sounded like nothing except trouble as far as Belle was concerned. Her father had never been good at managing money properly. “Please, Susie, don’t tell me that Daed bought the cows, the new horse and the new buggy and made all of these repairs with that money?” She felt ill at ease even suggesting such a thing. If her father had squandered that money, what legal problems lurked in his future?
“Well, nee, not at all!” Susie leaned forward, putting her elbows onto the table and lowering her voice as if she wanted to share a big secret. “That’s just the thing. You see, everything else around here . . . why, it was done by your husband!”
“Adam?” Belle almost choked on the word. “Adam fixed the fence and barn door and porch and—”
Susie nodded. “Ja, he most certainly did. Came around early in the morning and late at night to do it, too. Scared Verna half to death when she heard him banging on the barn door with that hammer one morning before sunrise!”
This time, Belle let her mouth hang agape.
“At first, we reckoned he figured it’s his property, so he might as well take care of it,” Susie said in a soft voice. “But then he spoke with Daed about keeping some of his herd here. He even hired a boy in town to come out for the early morning and evening milkings! Why, we don’t have to do a thing; the boy even tends to our cows.”
Now it began to make sense. With so much work on his own farm, it was practical for him to keep some cows at her father’s farm, which was closer to town and, therefore, easier to hire someone to help care for them.
“And the horse? Buggy?”
Susie could hardly contain her joy. “Why, another miracle! The bishop came around with them. Said that the community had pooled their resources to buy them for Daed. Like Amish Aid when someone’s sick, ja?”