The Mockingbird's Song

by Wanda E. Brunstetter, Kristin Billerbeck, Kristy Dykes, Aisha Ford, Birdie L. Etchison, Pamela Griffin, Joyce Livingston, Tamela Hancock Murray

  “I agree.” Jared clasped her hand and gave her fingers a tender squeeze.

  Amy’s words felt rushed as she told Herschel how much she appreciated the chance to rent this cozy home. “We’ll have you over for supper one night after Jared gets settled in.”

  He smiled but kept his gaze toward the ground. “That’d be real nice.”

  Amy wandered across the yard to a small garden patch. Maybe I’ll invite Mom to join us when we plan an evening to have Herschel for supper. He may be a little shy, but he’s such a nice man. I believe they might enjoy each other’s company. Of course, I won’t say anything to Mom about it right now. It could even turn out to be a surprise.

  After returning from a relaxing evening at the Kings’ house, Dennis was ready to call it a night. The meal had been good and he’d been able to spend a few minutes alone with Sylvia, so the evening couldn’t have gone much better. He’d even enjoyed sitting on the floor, playing with Allen and Rachel for a while before the meal. Except for Belinda’s cool tone whenever she spoke to him, Dennis had almost felt like part of the family.

  I don’t think she cares much for me, he thought as sat on a chair in the kitchen and removed his black dress shoes. What I can’t figure out is why. Could she be worried that I might ask for her daughter’s hand in marriage some day? He rubbed his chin. Is that a possibility?

  Dennis continued to contemplate things until his cell phone rang. He recognized the number and figured he may as well answer it or she’d keep calling until he finally responded.

  Dennis swiped his thumb across his phone. “Hi Mom, how are you?”

  “More to the point, how are you and why haven’t you answered any of my calls lately? Neither I nor any of your siblings have heard from you for several weeks.” Her shrill voice made Dennis’s pulse quicken. Mom hadn’t been like this before Dad died. At least not with Dennis. Maybe the fact that he was the youngest of five children made her more possessive of him.

  “Sorry for not responding to your messages,” he said, struggling to keep his voice calm. “I’ve been super busy with my new business and some other things.”

  “To busy to call your mamm?”

  “I said I was sorry.” His excuse for not returning her calls was weak, but listening to her carry on about him moving away from her and the rest of the family was hard to take. Especially when she had no understanding of his reasons for leaving Dauphin County.

  Dennis shifted on his chair. Don’t I have the right to make a new start?

  “You broke Sarah Ann’s heart when you moved, you know. She’ll probably never recover from the hurt.”

  Mom’s ridiculous statement caused the muscles in Dennis’s face to tighten. “There is no reason Sarah Ann’s heart would be broken. She and I weren’t even courting.”

  “But you were friends since childhood, and I’m sure she assumed—”

  “Mom, is that why you called—to talk about a relationship that never developed into anything romantic?”

  “Well, uh…no…” There was a pause. “Your brother has some business in Lancaster next week, and I’m planning to come with him. Does the house you’re renting have room for the two of us to stay with you a few nights?”

  I know where this is leading, and boy, it doesn’t leave me with a lot of time to get things ready for company. He bit down on his bottom lip. I’ll need to get the beds ready and stock the cupboards and refrigerator with enough food.

  Dennis’s face warmed, and he fanned himself with the back of his free hand. “Umm…yes, there are enough bedrooms, but—”

  “Good. Gerald and I will see you next Monday, sometime before noon.”

  “Mom, I don’t think—”

  She said goodbye and hung up before Dennis could finish his sentence.

  Dennis felt like his chest had caved in. The last thing he needed was company to interrupt his work schedule—not to mention all the unwanted advice he’d no doubt get from his mother.

  But I’ll get through it, he told himself. After all, it’ll only be for a few days.

  On Monday, when Dennis headed for the house to wash up and fix lunch, a black van pulled into the yard. It caught him off guard at first. Then he realized the vehicle belonged to his brother. Gerald had never joined their Amish church and attended a Mennonite church, so he’d owned a vehicle since he’d turned eighteen. Both of their parents had made an issue of it, but their eldest son had a mind of his own.

  Just like me, Dennis thought as he moved toward the vehicle. Only I chose to remain Amish and join the church.

  A few seconds later, Dennis’s mother and his tall, gangly brother got out.

  “It’s so good to see you,” Mom shouted as she hurried toward Dennis. The short, slender woman could certainly move fast for a woman in her early sixties.

  Dennis met his mother halfway and gave her a hug. “It’s good to see you too, Mom.”

  Tears welled in her blue eyes and she sniffed. “It’s been far too long.”

  Dennis didn’t bother to remind her that he hadn’t been in Strasburg all that long. “Why don’t you go on up to the porch and wait for me while I help Gerald with the luggage?”

  “Okay.” She reached in her handbag and pulled out a tissue, dabbing at her eyes, before heading toward the house.

  Dennis greeted his brother with a hearty handshake. “It’s good to see you.”

  Gerald grinned and gave his neatly trimmed beard a tug. “Same here.”

  “So what kind of business do you have here in Strasburg?” Dennis asked.

  “It’s not in Strasburg. It’s in Lancaster, but I figured if I was gonna come this close to you I oughta bring Mom along.” Gerald placed his hand on Dennis’s shoulder. “She really misses you, and so do the rest of us, for that matter.”

  “I miss my family too, but I needed to start over—someplace where there was a lot of horses and people who needed them to be trained.” And where there weren’t so many reminders of Dad.

  “I understand, but Mom thinks you left because of Dad’s untimely death. She believes you might blame yourself, somehow.”

  Dennis’s spine stiffened. “Why would I be to blame for him getting shot? That was Uncle Ben’s fault, not mine.”

  “But you were out hunting with him that day. Have you ever wondered if you’d been paying close attention to what was happening, things might have gone differently?”

  “You’re right, I was there, and of course, I’ve wondered how I might have made things turn out different somehow. But I had no idea when Dad invited me to go hunting with him and Uncle Ben that an accident would occur. If I’d known, I would have tried to prevent it from happening somehow, or at least talked Dad out of going into the woods that day.”

  Gerald shook his head. “No one could stop our daed from doing anything he set his mind to. Dad liked to hunt, and he’d go out as often as he could to find his next trophy. Some folks in our community said he was the most adventuresome person they knew.”

  Dennis kicked at the gravel beneath his boots. “You’re right about that. Dad loved to get out into nature, even when he wasn’t hunting for deer. He enjoyed showing people his collection of antlers too. I used to like listening to his stories when I was a boy.”

  “Same here.”

  Dennis reached into the van and grabbed a small suitcase, along with a tote bag, which he recognized as his mother’s. Glancing back at his brother, he asked, “So what kind of business dealings will you be having in Lancaster?”

  Gerald took out his suitcase and they began walking toward the house, where their mother still waited on the porch. “I’ll be talking with a Realtor about the possibility of buying a couple of vacation homes that have come on the market near Bird-in-Hand.”

  Dennis stopped walking and turned to face his brother. “Why would you want to buy vacation homes? If you, or any of the family, wants to vacation in Lancaster County, you’d be welcome to stay here.”

  “No, the homes aren’t for us. It would be an
investment, and I would give part of the proceeds to Mom, so she never has a need.”

  “What needs would she have that aren’t already being met?” Dennis asked. “She’s still living with Dorcas and her family, right?”

  Gerald bobbed his head. “But it would be nice for our mother to have some money of her own and not have to rely on others when she wants to buy something. Don’t you agree?”

  “Jah, I suppose.” Dennis wasn’t sure their mother would accept such a gift from Gerald, but what his brother chose to do was none of his business.

  Clymer

  “I talked to my sister today,” Ezekiel said as he took a seat at the kitchen table to eat the lunch Michelle had prepared.

  “Which one? You have two sisters you know.” Michelle chuckled and poked Ezekiel’s arm.

  The children followed suit with giggles of their own. Angela Mary may have understood what was so funny, but surely not little Vernon.

  Ezekiel tweaked the end of his daughter’s nose. “The sister I spoke to was your aunt Amy.”

  “What did she have to say?” Michelle questioned.

  “I’ll tell you as soon as we’ve finished praying.” Ezekiel bowed his head. Dear Lord, he prayed silently, Please bless my family back home, as well as our family here. Help us to be receptive to Your will at all times. Thank You for this food, as well as the hands that lovingly prepared it.

  Ezekiel opened his eyes and cleared his throat, at which point, Michelle also opened her eyes. The children’s eyes were already open, and he wasn’t sure if they’d ever closed them. He supposed it didn’t matter that much, as long as they learned the importance of prayer and thanking God for His many blessings. As Angela Mary and Vernon grew older, they would understand more about traditions.

  “So what did Amy have to say?” Michelle prompted as she handed Ezekiel a plate of cold chicken left over from last night’s supper.

  “She said that she and Jared met with Herschel Fisher last week and toured the home he has for rent.”

  “Oh, that’s right. You did mention when you talked to your mother last week that she’d told you Herschel offered them the opportunity to rent the house he owns in Strasburg. It’s the same one Jesse used to rent from him, right?”

  Ezekiel nodded and put some macaroni salad on his plate.

  “Did they like the house?”

  “Jah, and Jared’s already moved in.”

  “That’s good news. I bet Amy’s excited.” Michelle forked some of the chilled salad into her mouth.

  He nodded. “That’s an understatement. When I listened to the message Amy left, her voice was at least an octave higher than normal. My poor ear is still vibrating from the experience. Oh, and wanna know what else she told me?”

  “Sure.”

  “She’s going over to Jared’s this evening to cook supper, and they’ve invited two guests who don’t know the other one is coming. I think my sister is up to something.”

  Michelle tipped her head, looking at Ezekiel through half-closed eyelids. “Who are the guests?”

  “My mamm and Herschel.” He took a bite of chicken.

  Michelle’s eyes widened. “Why would they invite them both without telling the other?”

  Ezekiel shrugged. “Can’t say for sure, but Amy did say the meal is to thank Herschel for letting them rent the house for a reasonable price.”

  “And the reason for your mamm’s invitation?”

  Ezekiel leaned closer to his wife and whispered, “I believe my sister may have matchmaking on her mind.”

  “Between Herschel and your mother?”

  “Jah. He’s a kind person. You never know—Herschel Fisher might be just what my mamm needs.”

  Michelle put her hand up to her mouth. “Oh my.”

  Strasburg

  “I still don’t understand why you felt the need to invite me to supper this evening. Honestly, I’m going to feel like an extra wheel on the buggy being with you two,” Mom said as she and Amy headed with Mom’s horse and buggy toward the rental where Jared was staying.

  “Please don’t feel that way, Mom. We like having you around. Besides, I wanted you to see the homey place and maybe give some ideas on how we might make it even cozier.”

  “I’m sure you and Jared can figure that out on your own without my opinion.”

  “Bouncing ideas off you could help with some decisions I’m not sure about. Also, I thought you deserved a night off from helping cook supper and doing dishes.” From the driver’s seat, Amy glanced at her mother. She noticed a smile form on Mom’s lips.

  “That’s nice of you, but don’t expect me to sit idly and watch you cook the meal this evening and not offer to help.”

  “You can offer, but Jared and I will be doing the cooking.”

  Mom’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “You are blessed if your future husband likes to cook. I could never get your daed to do any kind of cooking except when it came to using his outdoor grill.”

  “I do remember, but Dad had many other good qualities.”

  “How well I know.” Mom released a lingering sigh. “I still miss him so much, Amy. Life has been different without your daed around. But with the Lord’s strength and the help of my loving family, I’ve been able to keep going.”

  Amy held the reins with one hand and reached over to clasp her mother’s hand. “Of course you do. The love you and Dad had was strong and true. A part of him will always be with you and with us too.”

  “Jah, that is for certain.”

  They rode quietly for a while, and then Amy asked a question. “Do you think if the right man came along that you would ever remarry?”

  Mom didn’t respond for several seconds, and then she said in a near whisper: “Perhaps, but it’s doubtful. He’d have to love me deeply, and I, him.”

  “Do you think Monroe might be in love with you?” “I believe so—or at least he thinks he is.” “How do you feel about him?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “He’s just a friend from the past. I have no strong feelings for him, but I suppose that could change down the road.”

  “I see.” Amy decided it was best to move on to another topic. “It was good to see that business in the greenhouse picked up a bit today.”

  “Jah, and it helps to make the time at work move along faster when we keep busy. I am hoping as the summer progresses we’ll see even more customers.”

  Amy relaxed her shoulders. “In spite of the new greenhouse moving into the area, it hasn’t really hurt our business that much, thanks to the tourist trade.”

  “True. Even so, we need to come up with more things people would be interested in purchasing. Maybe we should run an ad in the local paper when we have our next sale. Since we can’t count on business from the flower shop Sara used to own, we need to think of other ways to increase our business.”

  “And even though ads cost money, they usually pay for themselves in sales,” Amy said.

  “Agreed.”

  Amy loosened her grip on the reins a bit. “Mom, there’s something else I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

  “Oh, what’s that?”

  “Jared and I have been talking about whether I should work or not after we’re married.”

  Mom sat very still, looking straight ahead. “What have you decided?”

  “We agreed that I should continue working at the greenhouse until we’re expecting our first child. After the boppli is born, my responsibility will be to take care of my family, and I can’t do that and work in the greenhouse too.”

  “I understand, and when the time comes, we’ll just have to make do.” Mom’s voice trembled a bit.

  Amy couldn’t help feeling guilty, but at the same time, her responsibility would soon be to Jared and any children they had. She was about to mention that perhaps her mother could hire someone outside the family to work in the greenhouse, but the rental house came into view.

  As Amy turned the horse and buggy up the driveway, she spotted Herschel standing
in the front yard, talking to Jared.

  “I see Herschel is here,” Mom commented. “Did you know he was coming?”

  Amy nodded. “Jared invited him for supper to say thank you for allowing us to rent this place for a reasonable fee.”

  Mom’s cheeks colored a bright pink. “I hope Herschel doesn’t mind me being here. He’s quite shy around women, you know.”

  Amy reached across the seat and patted her mother’s hand. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Let me get the horse secured, and then we can go inside and I’ll show you around.”

  Seeing Herschel’s surprised expression when he looked her way, Belinda could only assume that he had no idea she’d been included in their supper plans. She noticed the dressy, aqua shirt he wore. It made his silver-gray hair and beard stand out more than usual. Belinda didn’t mean to gawk, but this was the first time she’d realized what a handsome man he was.

  Hoping he hadn’t seen her staring, she looked in the direction of the house her daughter and future son-in-law would occupy once they were married. Feeling a bit unsure of herself, Belinda stepped up to Herschel. “Good evening. I hope you don’t mind that I’m joining the three of you for supper. Amy extended the invitation, and I presume you didn’t know.”

  “No, I did not, but it’s nice that you’re here.” He offered her a timid smile as well as a warm handshake.

  Belinda thought it was kind of cute how a grown man could have such a shy streak.

  “Why don’t the three of you go inside while I put your gaul away?” Jared gestured to Belinda’s horse. “You’re going to be here a while, and he’d become too restless if he remained at the hitching rail.”

  “I’ll help you,” Herschel was quick to say.

  “Danki, I appreciate that.”

  When the men headed for Belinda’s horse, she followed Amy into the house. She stopped in the living room and peeked out the front-room window, watching as Herschel and Jared began leading the horse to the barn.