by Sarah Price
“Did he leave, then?” She had only been gone for a few minutes. Why had he left so suddenly?
“Your beau?” Becca asked, her eyes on the game. “He said he’d be right back.”
“And don’t call him that,” Kate whispered in case Samuel reappeared unexpectedly. She sat down beside Miriam and glanced at her tiles.
“Hey! No helping her! That’s not fair!”
“Life isn’t fair.” David pushed away from the window and rolled over to the table. He looked at the board for a long minute before reaching out and swiping at it with his hand. Tiles flew through the air and Becca jumped up from her seat.
“What’d you do that for?”
“Why do you care? You were losing anyway!”
Kate scrambled to her feet and began picking up the tiles. Heaven forbid Samuel walked in to see what David had just done.
“Stop picking those up, Kate.”
She paused and looked up, surprised to see Samuel standing at the doorway. His expression was changed. Gone was the jovial smile and sparkling eyes. In its place was a scowl, as if a cloud of darkness shadowed his face.
Without question, she got back to her feet.
“David, you pick up those tiles,” Samuel said.
David laughed. “Are you serious? I can’t pick them up.”
“You had no right to ruin the girls’ game. And Kate should not clean up after you.” He walked toward her, reaching out to touch her arm and gently pull her away from the mess. “You did it. You clean it.”
Becca watched with wide eyes and Miriam looked down at her hands in her lap. Kate, however, could only stare at Samuel, speechless at the transformation in him. “I . . . I don’t mind,” she whispered.
“I do.”
David pushed his wheelchair away from the table and crossed his arms over his chest, defiantly glaring at Samuel.
Samuel placed his hand on Miriam’s shoulder. “Girls, let’s go outside and leave David to figure out how to fix this wrong. He might not be able to walk, but he sure can still use his brain.”
No one questioned him. Miriam quietly stood up, pausing to set down three tiles that had landed in her lap. Becca practically ran to the door while Samuel guided Miriam and Kate outside and onto the porch. They could hear David grumbling from inside the kitchen and the sound of a kitchen chair falling over.
Kate turned to look at Samuel. “We really shouldn’t leave him alone.”
“I beg to differ,” he replied. “What he needs is more alone time, Kate. Time to think about behaving better and trying harder. The sacrifice was done months ago. It shouldn’t still be happening.”
He directed them down the porch steps. “Let’s take a nice walk, shall we? See how many robins we can see.”
Becca and Miriam ran off ahead of them, turning down the dirt lane that ran through the farm and toward the back fields. Kate walked beside him, her mind reeling over what had just happened. Had Samuel witnessed David’s outburst? Had he truly just spoken so harshly to David? She worried that David would call out for Maem, disturbing her sleep. Or what if he fell again and couldn’t get up? For a moment, she almost turned around to hurry back to the house.
“Don’t even think about it,” he said, as if reading her mind. “It’s a beautiful day and you deserve some fresh air, Kate.”
She wasn’t so certain about that, but said nothing in response.
“The way I look at it,” he began. “David is unhappy and seems intent on making others unhappy, too. That’s sure not the way to live, Kate. You are entitled to walks and smiles and laughter.” He paused. “And respect.”
Her feet stopped moving. “Respect?”
Samuel stood before her. “Ja, Kate. When he behaves so poorly and expects you to clean up after him, he is disrespecting you.” He glanced up at the sky as two birds flew overhead. “The way I see it is no one should be disrespectful to my girl.”
She caught her breath. Had she heard him correctly?
He reached down and touched her hand, his fingers entwining with hers. Gently, he squeezed her hand and lifted it toward his lips. After softly kissing the back of her hand, he smiled. The sparkle was back in his eyes. “Unless you feel otherwise, of course.”
She didn’t know how to respond. Just a few short weeks ago, his attention had seemed to come out of nowhere. Now he was professing his affection and, with that, his intentions for a possible future together. She knew these things happened. She just never thought they would happen to her.
“I . . .” She paused, uncertain how to respond. “Nee, Samuel,” she finally said, lifting her eyes to meet his. “I don’t feel otherwise.”
One more kiss on her hand, and then he released it. “Good!” he announced with flourish. Gone was the solemn Samuel from inside the house. He grinned as he started walking again. “Now that we have that settled, let’s see how many robins we can count. Can’t let Becca win too easily, now, can we?”
Thirty minutes and twelve robins later, they returned to the house. The kitchen was quiet and, to Kate’s amazement, the Scrabble tiles were picked up. For a moment, she worried that Maem cleaned them until she noticed the broom and long-handled dustpan in the corner. Clever, she thought, impressed that Samuel had influenced David to actually take responsibility for cleaning up his own mess for once.
“I reckon I best get going,” Samuel said. “Time for chores soon.” He started to walk toward the door but hesitated. “I reckon you won’t mind if I swing by here to pick you up for the singing tonight, then?”
Too aware that Becca and Miriam heard him, she flushed and looked down at the floor. “I hadn’t asked my daed about going.”
Samuel tried to hide his smile. “No worries there. I already asked him.”
Kate’s mouth dropped. So that was where he’d gone when she’d been upstairs with Maem! He must have gone out to the barn to speak to her daed. She couldn’t even imagine how that conversation went. Yet, part of her was glad that Samuel had thought to be so polite. Acknowledging an intention to court someone’s daughter was unusual but not unheard of among the Amish. For Kate, knowing that Samuel had already spoken to her daed, and apparently received his blessing, lifted a burden of uncertainty from her shoulders.
“I’ll take your silence for a yes again, and I’ll be here by six.” He gave her a friendly wink before disappearing through the door. She stood in the middle of the kitchen, staring after him. In such a short period of time, so much seemed to have changed. Was it possible that the dark cloud hanging over their house was slowly lifting?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Later that evening, Kate was at the sink with Miriam, washing and drying the supper plates when she heard the sound of horse’s hooves clattering on the driveway. Miriam glanced up and looked out the window, gasping when she saw the buggy.
“What is it?” Kate asked and peered over Miriam’s shoulder. “Oh help!”
Samuel stopped the open-topped buggy at the corner of the barn and got out to tie up the horse before heading to the house. She hadn’t expected him to arrive for her in a courting buggy. And she never would have imagined Samuel Esh owning one that looked like this one!
Unlike most courting buggies, which were handed down from brother to brother or shared with cousins, this one appeared to be brand-new. And it was varnished wood instead of painted black. The front seat was padded and covered in a deep-royal-blue velour. From the looks of it, this was one of the first times Samuel had driven it. There wasn’t one speck of dust or dirt on the metal wheels.
Kate turned around and covered her face with her hands. “That’s so . . .”
“So what?” Becca asked as she ran over to the window, standing on her tippy-toes to peer out the window. When she saw the buggy, she began to giggle.
“So open!” In an open buggy, everyone would see them arrive. It was a public acknowledgment
of their courtship, and one that Kate wasn’t certain she felt prepared to make. So far as she knew, Samuel never had driven in the courting buggy with Ella.
Becca made a face at Kate. “I thought he wasn’t your beau!”
“Hush yourself!” Miriam hissed, chasing her with a damp dishcloth. “Leave her be!”
Becca skipped away, laughing as she called out. “Maem! Best be planting more celery in the garden! Bet we’ll be having a wedding this fall! Samuel’s come calling for Kate in a courting buggy!”
“Becca!” Miriam and Kate said it in unison, but Becca ignored them, running up the stairs to share the good news with her maem.
Since the door was open, Kate could only pray that Samuel hadn’t heard her sister. But when she let him inside, the playful smirk on his face told Kate that her prayer was too late.
“What’s this I hear about the Zooks starting a celery farm?” he teased, removing his hat as he stepped inside.
Kate stared at the floor, her cheeks turning bright pink. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, wishing that she could throttle Becca for having shouted that.
He laughed. “Whatever for, Kate? Personally, I happen to be quite fond of celery.”
Lifting her eyes, she managed to smile at him. He always seemed to say the right thing. His relaxed mannerism and playful teasing had a magical way of disarming her. She immediately calmed down as she realized that he hadn’t taken offense at Becca’s words, especially her teasing about planting extra celery, an unspoken indication among the Amish that a wedding was expected in the upcoming months.
During the ride to the youth singing at the Kings’ house, Samuel talked about his upcoming week and the spring recital at the schoolhouse on Wednesday afternoon. “You planning on going to it?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Nee. Maem will want to go, so I should stay with David, I reckon.” She noticed the muscles in his jaws tense at the mention of her brother. “Can’t leave him alone for too long.”
He stared straight ahead and did not respond.
His silence startled her. Had she said something to upset him? Rather than ask, she remained silent, rethinking what she had said and worrying about why he seemed disturbed. The encounter with David earlier certainly had not set well with Samuel. However, she sensed that something else was afoot. She knew he’d tell her if he wanted to. It wasn’t her place to pry into his business.
When they reached their destination, Kate saw that several of the young men who’d arrived early were outside playing volleyball. Samuel waved to them, glancing briefly at Kate and smiling when he saw her chew on her lower lip.
“You like playing volleyball?” he asked as he directed the horse to pull up alongside the last buggy. The tension from the moment before was gone; the pensive, quiet Samuel replaced by the one with sparkling eyes and a teasing tone.
“Haven’t played it in a while.” Truth was that she felt uncomfortable playing sports. Even when she had attended school, she preferred reading to running around the school yard.
“So I take that answer to mean yes,” he said, laughing. She groaned but couldn’t hide her smile as she did. Once again, her reluctance to answer right away had put her in the position of agreeing.
“I reckon I could give it a try,” she said. “Just don’t hold out much hope for our side, Samuel.”
He laughed again as he stepped on the brake and dropped the reins. “No disappointments, I promise,” he teased and reached for her hand, holding it a few seconds longer than necessary as he helped her down from the buggy.
It turned out the volleyball teams were short more than a few players, so Samuel and Kate found themselves warmly welcomed. Despite her feelings toward sports, Kate joined the side that most needed teammates, greeting those around her with a shy smile. She knew they had witnessed her arrival with Samuel and certainly speculated about their courtship. If she had wanted to hide it, that was impossible now.
“Kate! Get it!” someone yelled from the row of players behind her.
To her surprise, she managed to hit the volleyball back over the net. When it bounced off the ground, a friendly cheer erupted from her teammates and Samuel gently clapped her on the back.
“Well done, Kate!”
She smiled, pleased with his compliment and not quite certain how to respond. Not wanting to look proud, she felt that she had to say something. “Just luck, I’m sure,” she finally responded.
“If that’s luck, let’s keep it going!” John called out.
They were still playing when Kate noticed a buggy pull in, pausing just briefly before parking next to Samuel’s. When two young women emerged, she almost caught her breath: one of them was Ella. With her dark-green dress and crisply starched prayer kapp, she was the image of a perfect Amish woman. Kate glanced at Samuel, wondering if he had noticed her arrival at the gathering, but it looked like either he hadn’t noticed or was choosing not to pay attention.
Kate tried to return her attention to the game but couldn’t help noticing the way Ella’s eyes were drawn to Samuel, a look of anguish on her face. Seeing the jilted woman’s reaction told Kate more than she cared to know. Clearly Ella still held feelings for Samuel.
“Watch out, Kate!”
Just in time, she turned as the volleyball missed her shoulder. She smiled apologetically and gestured toward Verna. “Mind if I step out? I’m getting tired,” she said.
Verna and Hannah sat on two folding chairs on a patch of grass near the refreshment table. When they saw Kate headed in their direction, Verna quickly retrieved a third chair and set it next to Hannah’s.
“My, my,” Verna said. “I saw that great volley, Kate! I never knew you had it in you.”
Hannah laughed at Verna’s teasing. “Think about how many games we could have won back at school when we played against the boys!”
Kate sat down and shook her head. “Trust me: that was just luck.”
A group of women approached the refreshment table, Ella among them. Kate fidgeted in her chair and smoothed down her skirt. While Kate liked to think that she was on friendly terms with all of the young women in the g’may, her tendency toward shyness meant that her close friends were limited in number. Ella was older and seemed to be on friendlier terms with Esther and Sylvia as well as a few of the other unmarried women further into their twenties. Her reputation as a righteous woman was well known among the community.
Kate’s awareness of Ella’s presence made her feel uncomfortable. She couldn’t help but wonder what had happened between Samuel and Ella. It was impossible to think of either one doing something distasteful, something that might cause one to quit the other. That thought worried Kate more than anything else, forcing her to remain perplexed over Samuel’s interest in her. Even more troublesome was her increasing anxiety that whatever had occurred between Samuel and Ella might not truly be over and, one day, he might want to return to his previous girlfriend.
“Did you hear me, Kate?”
She snapped out of her thoughts and returned her attention to Verna. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
Hannah removed her eyeglasses and wiped them on the edge of her black apron. “Ferhoodled,” she mumbled.
“Hannah!” Kate glanced over her shoulder, hoping that no one else overheard.
“Everyone saw that fancy courting buggy of Samuel’s,” Verna said, her voice low enough so that Kate didn’t have to worry about eavesdroppers. “Heard he bought it just the other week from Pequea.”
“I wish you wouldn’t talk about it.” Kate felt the heat rise to the tips of her ears.
Slipping her glasses back on, Hannah raised her eyebrow. “I heard his maem was right put out by how much he spent on it.”
“I can only imagine!” Verna leaned forward. “But I also heard he worked an extra job for four months or so to pay for it!”
At this news, Kate pe
rked up. An extra job? Certainly he had planned the purchase of that courting buggy long ago and that obviously meant he had intended to buy it for courting Ella that spring. Now, however, it was Kate riding beside him, not Ella.
“Doing what, Verna?” Kate asked.
She shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t quote me on this, but I heard he worked evenings at the Smart Shopper. Stocking shelves or something like that.”
“You’d think he’d want to save his money up for something more important than a courting buggy, at least that’s what I say.”
Kate glanced at Hannah, surprised by the comment. The courting buggy did seem like a frivolous purchase, especially when, most likely, he had access to other buggies. With so many children in the family and Samuel being one of the older unmarried sons, he would need to save his money for purchasing a farm for his future family. Certainly the Esh farm would pass down to one of Samuel’s younger brothers. Samuel’s parents were not old enough yet to retire to the grossdaadihaus and, with younger children still in the house, they wouldn’t be for quite a few years. By that time, Samuel would be well situated on his own farm, wherever and whenever he managed to buy it. However, to Hannah’s point, spending thousands of dollars on a new courting buggy was money not saved for that future farm.
Frivolous. It wasn’t a word that she would have associated with Samuel. Turning around, her eyes searched the crowd of young men until she spotted him. He was laughing with Isaac and another young man. The volleyball game was winding down, and the young men were talking and laughing as they headed back toward the barn where the singing would take place.
As he walked past where Kate sat with her friends, he caught her eye and smiled. There was nothing irresponsible or thoughtless about Samuel Esh, not to Kate. While she couldn’t explain the purchase of the courting buggy, she could at least rest assured by the knowledge that he worked at an extra job in order to buy it.