by Amy Clipston
He turned back toward the pasture. If he cut across the pasture and continued about a half mile, he would wind up on Naomi’s road. He wondered if she was home. And if so, would she want to visit with him? He hadn’t seen her since Wednesday, and he missed her. He wondered if she missed him too.
Caleb snickered to himself. He sounded like a lovesick teenage boy.
“Dat?” Susie’s voice sounded behind him.
He faced her and swallowed a shiver. “Susie?” he asked with a smile.
She jammed a hand on her little hip. “You know you’re going to catch a cold, ya?”
He nodded. “Ya. I know.”
She smiled. “Janie says you’re a wunderbaar gut dat for what you said to Irene Wagler.”
He grinned. “I’m froh she approves.”
“I like Naomi more than I like Irene,” she said.
“Ya, I know,” he said. “I can’t blame you.”
“Are you going to come inside or do I need to get you your coat?” She frowned, and her face reminded him of Barbara’s when she disapproved of something Caleb had done.
“I’ll be in shortly,” he said, rubbing his arms.
She gave him a confused expression, shrugged, and closed the door.
He looked back up at the sky and prayed for strength and help for dealing with both his sister and the uncertainties of the upcoming move from Ohio to Pennsylvania.
CHAPTER 13
It’s a regular blizzard out here,” Naomi commented, climbing from Lilly’s buggy. She helped her siblings out of the back and then grabbed her bag of gifts. “Lizzie Anne and Levina, grab those platters of cookies and carry them in please. Sylvia, please take the bag with the gifts for the kinner.”
“I can’t believe the snow.” Lilly tented her hand over her eyes to block the raging flurries. “I don’t know how we’re going to find our way home.”
Stepping on the sidewalk, Sylvia slipped and then righted herself. “Maybe we’ll have to stay the night.”
Naomi chuckled. “I don’t think Sadie has enough room for all of us.”
Naomi, her younger siblings, and Lilly made their way up the steps to the porch. A buggy bounced up the drive, leaving tracks revealing its path, and Naomi spotted her parents and Elam emerging from the buggy into the snow. Elam stowed her parents’ horse and Lilly’s horse, and her parents began their trek through the blowing snow to the stairs. Naomi waited for her parents while Lilly and Naomi’s siblings disappeared into the house, carrying the food and gifts.
“Naomi, you should go inside,” Titus said on his way up the stairs. Moving past her, he held the door open. “Go on. You’ll catch a cold.”
“Danki, Dat,” Naomi said with a smile. She gestured for her mother to go in first. “After you, Mamm.”
“Danki.” Her mother smiled as she stepped into the foyer. “I assume the kinner brought in the food and gifts?”
“Ya.” Naomi followed Irma into the family room and then helped her remove her cloak.
They hung their cloaks on the pegs on the wall, jamming them on top of the pile and then stepped into the family room, clogged with people talking and laughing. Irma disappeared into the crowd, shaking hands and greeting friends while smiling.
Naomi scanned the group, her stomach fluttering as she searched for one certain face: Caleb’s.
“Naomi!” A little voice yelled as a hand pulled on the skirt of her frock. “Frehlicher Grischtdaag!”
Naomi glanced down into Susie’s smiling face. “Oh, Susie.” She hugged the little girl. “Frehlicher Grischtdaag to you too! I have something for you.” She perused the crowd, looking for one of her siblings and her bag of gifts.
“I have something for you!” Taking her hand, Susie yanked Naomi toward the far side of the family room. “I’ll have to find my gifts.”
They crossed the family room, and Naomi glanced through another doorway into a smaller sitting room, where she spotted Caleb standing with Timothy Kauffman and Hezekiah Wagler. The three men were talking and laughing while holding mugs, which she assumed were full of Robert’s famous hot cider.
Susie dug through a large shopping bag and then pulled out a small doll. “This is for you.”
Naomi held the doll up and examined it. The tiny, cloth doll wore a blue dress, black apron, and black winter bonnet, and held a little sign that said “Friends.” Tears filled Naomi’s eyes as she looked at Susie. “It’s schee.”
Susie beamed. “I got it for you because you’re mei freind.”
“It’s perfect.” Leaning down, Naomi engulfed Susie into a hug and squeezed her tight.
When she stood, she felt someone’s stare focused on her. Glancing over, she spotted Caleb watching her. He nodded and smiled, and she returned the gesture before turning back to Susie.
“Now, I hope you don’t think this is gegisch, but I got you something too.” Naomi put the doll into the pocket of her apron and then reached into her bag and pulled out the quilt she’d shown Susie during the quilting bee. “This is for you.”
“For me?” Susie gasped as she hugged the quilt to her chest. “I love this so much! I will sleep with it on my bed every night. Danki, Naomi.”
“Gern gschehne. That’s not all.” Naomi then pulled out a flat box. “This was my favorite game when I was your age.” She held her breath, hoping Susie would like it.
“Scrabble!” Susie’s green eyes rounded with excitement as she draped the quilt over her arm. “Oh, Naomi! Danki!” She hugged Naomi again, and Naomi chuckled. “Will you play with me?”
“Of course,” Naomi said. “I think it’s too crowded to play here now, but I promise we’ll get in at least one game before you and your dat head back to Ohio.”
Susie examined the box. “Then you’ll play more when we get back, right?”
“Ya,” Naomi said. “If you bring it each time you visit, we’ll play it. I don’t think my game at home has all of the pieces anymore.” She gripped the handles of her shopping bag, wondering when to give Caleb his special gift.
“Not when we visit.” Susie looked up. “I mean when we move here.”
Naomi gasped. “What did you say?”
Susie grinned. “We’re moving here. My dat said he found a house.”
Stunned, Naomi was speechless. She looked toward Caleb and found him nodding while listening to Hezekiah. Her heart filled with warmth and hope of a possible future with Caleb and Susie. Maybe they could be a family? Was this what Lizzie Anne had been talking about with her verse about waiting for the Lord and putting hope in Him? Was it God’s time for her like Lilly had said?
She glanced back at Susie. “Are you certain?”
Susie nodded. “Ya. I heard my Aenti Sadie say something about Dat working for Irene’s daed.” She frowned. “I hope that isn’t true. Irene doesn’t like me. She doesn’t smile at me. She invited my dat over for supper and said I wasn’t invited. She’s not very nice.”
Naomi swallowed a groan as her hopes evaporated. Caleb’s plans included Irene, not Naomi. “Oh,” she said, her voice barely a whisper over the conversations floating around them.
“Irene is always smiling around my dat,” Susie continued, looking disgusted. “She always wants to be with him alone. She acts nice around him, but she’s not really nice at all.”
Speechless, Naomi listened as her frown deepened.
“She acts like I don’t exist,” Susie said, gripping the box and the quilt in her arms. “She doesn’t even want me in the room with her and my dat.” She glowered. “My dat says I have to respect adults and use my manners, but I don’t want to use my manners around her.” Her expression softened. “But you’re always so nice to me. You’re mei freind and I could never be friends with Irene. I know it’s not Christian to say that, but it’s the truth.”
Naomi nodded again. She couldn’t form the words to express the emotions that were weighing down on her shoulders. She felt her spirit wilting, like a thirsty flower in desperate need of water.
�
�I want my dat to be with you, not Irene. I don’t understand why he even talks to her. Irene would never bake with me or quilt with me. She would never even play a game with me.” Susie placed the flat box and the quilt on the bench next to her and began to open the box. “Can we play now?”
“I don’t think that would be a gut idea,” Naomi said, hoping her anxiety didn’t show on her face. “There are too many people here, and I’m afraid the pieces will get lost.”
“Oh.” Susie looked disappointed. “I can’t wait to play. Maybe we can go up to my room.” She nodded toward the sitting room behind them. “Or maybe my dat’s room on the coffee table? We could spread the game out and play.”
Naomi glanced toward the sitting room and spotted Irene standing next to Caleb while her father chatted. Caleb and Timothy both laughed at something Hezekiah said, and Naomi’s heart sank. She’d been so wrong about Caleb. And now that he was going to move here, she’d have to see him and endure the sting of her heartache just as she had to endure seeing Luke Troyer and Timothy Kauffman. She felt herself falling into a pit of despair, as if her heart were being smashed into a million pieces right before her eyes.
Her stomach twisted, and she glanced at Susie. “I’m not feeling well. I think I need to go get something to drink.”
Susie hoisted her game and quilt. “I’ll come with you. Let me just run these upstairs.” She trotted through the knot of people toward the stairs.
Naomi moved past familiar faces, nodding and shaking hands on her way to the kitchen. She reached the kitchen doorway and stopped when she spotted Sadie speaking to one of her quilting friends.
“Oh, ya,” Sadie said. “Caleb and Susie love it here. In fact, he put a bid in on Riley Parker’s place. You know, the one by the furniture store.”
“Oh, right,” her friend said. “The one with the little workshop.”
“That’s right,” Sadie said. “But I told him not to open a shop. He can work for Hezekiah Wagler.” She smiled. “Caleb and Irene would make such a wunderbaar couple. As we all know, Susie needs the guidance that only a mamm can supply.”
Naomi’s stomach clenched and bile rose in her throat. She had to make a quick getaway before she became physically ill. She spun on her heel and rushed through the crowd toward the front door.
“Naomi!” a voice called.
Naomi forged ahead, ignoring the voice.
“Wait!” A hand grabbed Naomi’s arm and pulled her off balance, causing her to stumble.
Naomi turned to find Lilly studying her.
“Where are you going?” Lilly asked.
“I don’t feel well,” Naomi said. And it wasn’t a lie. She felt as if she were going to be sick, and she couldn’t allow herself to be sick in public, especially in Sadie Kauffman’s home.
Susie rushed over to them. “Naomi! Let’s go get a drink.” She took Naomi’s hand.
“I’m sorry, Susie.” Naomi touched the girl’s cheek. “I’m not feeling well, so I’m going to head home. Danki for the gift.”
Susie frowned. “But I thought we were going to spend time together.”
“Not tonight.” Naomi glanced down at the bag containing Caleb’s gift. She held it out. “Would you please make sure your dat gets this? Tell him that it’s from me, ya?”
Looking disappointed, Susie took the bag. “Okay.”
“Good night.” Naomi leaned down and kissed Susie’s cheek. She then hugged Lilly. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
Lilly shook her head. “You shouldn’t go out into that blizzard alone. Let me find Elam for you.”
Naomi touched Lilly’s shoulder. “I’ll be fine. When I was seventeen, I left the house alone to get some medicine for Amos because he was really sick. On the way back from the store, my buggy broke down in the snow not too far from here. I had to leave the horse and buggy and walk home in a blizzard. I found my way, and everything was okay.” She pulled on her cloak. “I know I can do this.”
Before Lilly could respond, Naomi slipped out the door. She almost slipped twice on her way down the porch steps. The snow swirled around her, blinding her vision and soaking her cloak as she slowly moved down the driveway.
I can do this. I have to do it. I can’t fall to pieces in front of Caleb, the Kauffmans, and the rest of the community.
Stopping at the pasture fence, she considered which route to take home. Although she couldn’t see much beyond the fence, she knew that if she crossed the pasture, she could then cut through two farms and find her way to her road. It looked similar to the route she’d taken when her buggy had broken down years ago.
Heaving a deep breath, she began to trudge through the snow, shivering and gritting her teeth. The further she moved, the less she could see in front of her.
What was I thinking? This is a bad idea.
Naomi glanced back in the direction of what she thought was Sadie’s home, but she couldn’t see the outline of the house, not even the pitch of the roof.
She turned completely around in a circle and couldn’t see anything except for snow. Her teeth chattered, and her eyes filled with frustrated tears.
I’m lost.
She looked straight up toward the white sky, and large, moist flakes blinded her.
Naomi gazed in the direction that she thought was the road and then trudged ahead two steps. She then moved forward, and her foot landed in a hole, causing her ankle to twist in an awkward direction. Screaming out loud, she wobbled, fell, and rolled down a hill. The sting of pain shot like lightning from her ankle up her leg.
She tried to lift her leg, but she couldn’t move it. Taking a deep breath, she attempted to sit up, but the sting in her ankle forced her to stop.
Sobbing, Naomi rolled to her side and prayed that someone would come and find her while the bitter cold air closed in around her, prickling her skin like thousands of tiny icicles.
CHAPTER 14
Caleb smiled and nodded, wondering if Hezekiah Wagler would ever take a breath. Irene stood across from her father and chimed in frequently, adding details to the man’s endless stories about his business, mechanical techniques, old friends, and family memories. Caleb was surprised Irene was even speaking to him, but she acted as if nothing had happened the previous day.
Glancing toward the door, Caleb noticed that the crowd in the main family room was dissipating. Timothy had left the conversation to join his fiancée and her family quite a while ago. Caleb had hoped Timothy would return and rescue him from the Waglers, but Timothy was a smart man and had stayed away. Caleb wondered how long it had been since his best friend had abandoned him. Had it been more than an hour? Had Caleb missed the entire Christmas party?
Susie, Janie, Nancy, and Linda scampered into the sitting room and gathered around the coffee table where Susie opened a Scrabble board game box. Taking out the contents of the box, the girls giggled while setting up their letters. Caleb swallowed a sigh of relief. This was his chance to break away and try to find Naomi. He couldn’t wait to give her the special Christmas gift he’d picked up for her.
“It’s been nice talking to you, Hezekiah. I’m going to go see what my dochder is doing,” Caleb said, stepping toward the group of girls. He glanced at Irene and nodded. “Frehlicher Grischtdaag.” He then stepped over to Susie. “What are you girls up to?”
Susie gestured toward the game. “It’s Scrabble, Dat. Naomi gave it to me for Christmas.”
“Want to play, Onkel Caleb?” Janie asked while putting letters on the letter stand.
“No, danki.” Caleb nodded toward the door. “Have you seen Naomi?”
“No.” Linda shook her head.
“She left a long time ago,” Susie said.
“She left?” he asked.
“Ya, that’s right,” Susie said.
“A long time ago?” Caleb asked, glancing at the clock on the bookshelf. Could it really be close to seven? Disappointment coursed through him. How had he managed to miss Naomi? She was the one person he was truly looking forward to seeing
tonight.
“Ya,” Susie said. “She wasn’t feeling well.” She stood. “But she left me something to give you.” Taking his hand, Susie pulled him toward the door. “Come upstairs with me.” She glanced at her cousins. “Don’t start the game without me. I’ll be right back.”
Susie and Caleb walked through the family room, and Caleb was surprised to see that nearly everyone had left. As he started up the stairs behind Susie, Lilly approached him.
“Frehlicher Grischtdaag,” she said with a smile.
“Same to you,” Caleb said with a nod. “Susie told me Naomi wasn’t feeling well. I’m sorry that she left.”
Lilly frowned. “Ya. It came on suddenly, and she said she had to leave. I tried to encourage her to stay, but she was determined to go.”
Caleb pursed his lips. A feeling of suspicion rained down on him. Why would Naomi leave without speaking with him? Could she have been upset with him, and if so, why?
“Lilly,” Miriam called, stepping into the family room. “Are you ready to go? Timothy said the snow looks pretty bad out there. We should get on the road.” She looked toward the stairs. “Hi, Caleb. Frehlicher Grischtdaag.”
“Merry Christmas to you too, Miriam,” Caleb said with a nod before trotting up the stairs after Susie. He found her in her room sitting on the bed while holding a large bag.
“This is for you from Naomi.” She held it up. “Open it! It’s very heavy. I can’t wait to see what it is.”
He opened the bag and his eyes rounded as he pulled out the antique drill he’d shown her at the flea market on Wednesday.
“Oh, Naomi,” he whispered. She’d gone back and bought him exactly what he’d wanted. He examined the antique drill, and his heart filled with warmth for the beautiful, soft-spoken young woman. A small piece of paper fell into his lap, and he read the words written with a flourish:
Dear Caleb,
Please accept this small gift as a token of our new friendship. I’m so glad that God saw fit to bring you and Susie into my life. I look forward to sharing the holidays with you and Susie, and I pray that with God’s blessings we’ll share many more together.