Her prayers had been answered!
She nodded to Zed, who was busy outside the big red barn, directing cars and buggies to parking areas. With a glorious swarm of Englishers and a full staff of Amish helpers, the benefit auction was off to a good start. Young boys in black hats and dark jackets waited near the doors for customers who needed help carrying their purchases to their cars.
As Elsie passed through the wide barn doors, her feet felt surprisingly light. Her usual discomfort in large public places wasn’t pressing on her so much today. Maybe because she knew it was worth coming out for this cause. In any case, she avoided the crowd gathering near the auction stage to weave through the stragglers at the back of the barn.
A long line of booths was set up for Amish merchants to sell items like the Fishers’ baked goods and hot coffee and tea, courtesy of Ye Olde Tea Shop. Market Joe and Lizzy were in charge of the Kings’ booth, where they were selling a variety of cheeses. Lizzy wore a bigger gown with more room at the waist for her growing belly, and her cheeks were rosy with good health, thank the Lord. Remy King waved at her from the same booth, and Elsie waved back, smiling at the sight of little Sam grinning up at a customer with his missing front teeth.
Taking in the many familiar faces from her community, Elsie took a breath of pure joy. She thanked Gott for these generous Plain folk who were quick to come to the aid of those in need.
At the far end of the barn was a banner that read: THANK YOU FROM THE LAPP FAMILY. Nearby was a table where the Lapps sold pie fillings from their orchards: peaches and cherries, apples and apricots. Fanny also canned fruits when they were in season, and Elsie knew there was nothing quite as mouthwatering as a pie made from ingredients that were put up in the peak of freshness.
“Elsie!”
Hearing her name, she turned to see Rachel waving at her with James beside her, wheeling himself over the dirt floor of the barn.
Elsie smiled and hurried over to meet them, relieved that James had decided to come to the auction after all. There’d been some doubt, when he told his family that he didn’t want to be wheeled out “like a wounded pet,” just to make people empty their pockets.
But here he was, looking healthy and strong, with Rachel beaming by his side.
“Such a turnout!” Elsie said, hands on her hips. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many visitors here in Halfway at one time.”
“I don’t know where all these people came from,” Rachel said, “but I’m sure glad they’re here.”
James scanned the crowd, his eyes dark and serious, but without the anger that had burned there so recently. “Is that Dylan Monroe, just coming in?”
The girls followed his gaze to the area by the main entrance. “Ya. Dylan and Haley.” Elsie gave a wave to bring them over, but James rolled one wheel around to turn his chair. Then with a brisk shove of his arms, he rolled the chair over toward them.
“James, wait.…” Elsie called, knowing it wouldn’t be easy to navigate through the thick crowd.
Rachel pressed gently on her arm. “There’s no holding him back, and maybe that’s a good thing. I’m just glad he agreed to come today, with all these people going out of their way to help him.”
Elsie lifted her chin, but she could no longer see James beyond the crowd of families and couples, tourists and Amish. “At least he’s out and about.” She turned to Rachel. “And you’re looking a little pale. Have you been chasing James around all morning?”
“Oh, Elsie, I would gladly chase him if I thought he’d have a word for me once I caught up with him.”
Elsie’s heart ached for her friend. “I know it’s hard to take. But like Dylan says, healing takes time, and everyone responds to trauma differently. It’s different for James. We got to walk away from the accident. He didn’t.”
“I know that. It’s just that sometimes I get so worked up, it makes me grit my teeth to think that I would do anything to help him, and he can barely spare two words for me.”
“He’s not talking much to anyone.” Elsie hated seeing Rachel so upset. “And here I thought you were nervous about having your painting auctioned off today.”
Rachel’s hands flew to her face. “That, too! I can barely look at it on display at that end of the barn, with people walking by all with big eyes and talking about it. It’s like having a piece of me out there on display, and that feels wrong.” She touched Elsie’s shoulder. “Promise me you’ll take a turn at a quilting table with me when the time comes to auction it off. I can’t be here to watch.”
“I’m happy to do some quilting with you. I was planning on it.” With a store to run, Elsie didn’t spend a lot of time quilting, but from the time she was a young girl she had been taught how to make neat, tiny stitches.
At that moment a large group moved off and Elsie saw James heading their way, with Haley and Dylan walking alongside him.
“Good morning, ladies.” Dylan nodded, asking Elsie how her family was doing. She explained that Emma was here with the little ones, while Fanny had stayed home for some needed rest.
“These two have never been to an auction before,” James said.
“It’s true, and I didn’t know what to expect, but this is really cool,” Haley said, looking around. She wore a quilted jacket with a hood trimmed in fake fur—Elsie had heard customers discussing the fuzzy white fabric—and worn-out blue jeans, and as she spoke, she caught everyone’s attention. So bubbly and outspoken, Haley was always good to have around. “I didn’t realize you’d have all these booths in the back of the barn. I thought it would be just the auctioneer guy shouting out at us.”
“There are plenty of other things for sale,” Elsie said. “Like coffee. I was just thinking of getting a cup.”
“That sounds good.” Haley took two dollars from her purse. “I’ll go with.”
“I can get it for you,” James said.
Haley cocked her head to one side. “Aren’t you the guest of honor here?”
“I’ve got nothing else to do, and I’m sick of being waited on.”
“That’s what I like to hear from my PT patients.” Haley handed him the money. “Go for it, James.”
Watching the exchange, Dylan shrugged. “I’ll go along. I could use a cup, too, and I don’t like being waited on either.”
The women watched as the two men disappeared in the throng.
“You’re good with him,” Rachel said. “He talks to you.”
“Only because I just about knock it out of him,” Haley said. “And Dylan and I have been visiting him a few times a week for more than two weeks. We’ve logged in some time together.”
Rachel shook her head, a pout shadowing her face. “I visit him nearly every day, but he still won’t talk to me.”
Haley winced. “I’m sorry, honey. I don’t know what to tell you besides the fact that trauma can put a huge strain on a relationship. But I think you’re feeling that firsthand.”
“Give it time, honey girl.” Elsie couldn’t imagine the hurt Rachel was feeling, being turned away by someone she cared for. “It takes a century for Gott to make a sturdy oak tree. Relationships don’t grow overnight.”
“I know that in my head,” Rachel said. “But my heart just isn’t listening.”
Elsie understood how it was to have a wayward heart that didn’t obey orders from the brain. She tried to keep her own heart in check every day, when it warmed at the sight of Ruben, when laughter filled the store, when his gentle care cloaked her in a feeling of love.
Such a wonderful thing, to be loved by a good, kind man!
But Elsie kept reminding herself that it would not last forever. In a matter of days, Ruben would have to return here to help his father run Zook’s barn during the busy season. He would be gone from the store, eventually gone from her life, as it was meant to be.
She swallowed past a knot in her throat as she imagined that he would move on and find another girl. Ya … and he would marry and have babies and make a family with someone else.
The thought of Ruben’s bright, happy future weighed her down with regret, and she quickly swung away from the other girls only to come face-to-face with the object of her sadness.
Ruben.
He was walking toward them with an older man beside him.
“Jacob Fisher!” Haley’s golden eyes gleamed as her voice bubbled up over the noise of the crowd. “Look at you, walking strong. You look great!”
She was right. His first week back at church, old Jacob could walk only with help from his sons. But now, he had a spring in his step again, and his skin had the warm hue of a sun-kissed peach.
Jacob tipped his hat to her. “I’m better now. A heart at peace gives life to the body.”
“I guess so. The last time I saw you, you were hooked up to oxygen in the hospital.”
“I’ve been back on my feet a few weeks now, thanks to the merciful Father in heaven.” He patted his torso and grinned, winking at Haley. “The ribs are better, and no more problem breathing.”
“You are a model of recovery,” Haley said. “Are you still doing physical therapy?”
“I do the exercises at home, everything they told me to do. The doctors got me breathing again and the Almighty took care of the rest.”
“I’m happy to see you back on your feet, Jacob,” Haley said. “Often, patients your age are laid up for a long time.”
“Ya. I never felt such pain in my eighty-two years. But it’s all behind me now, thanks to your quick thinking.” Jacob touched his gray beard, his weathered hand quivering ever so slightly. “My family is grateful that you were there that day, Haley.”
“We’re all grateful,” Ruben said.
“Thanks, but I didn’t really do anything that any normal Good Samaritan wouldn’t have done.”
“That’s the important thing, Haley.” Jacob squinted, looking around the group to be sure everyone was listening. “We must all be like the Good Samaritan.”
“And that’s why so many folks are here today,” Elsie said, still overjoyed by the great turnout. “People want to help.”
“Ya,” Jacob said, turning back toward the door. “I’d better check on my cart. The boys were unloading more trays of cookies and whoopie pies. We almost sold out.”
Ruben offered to help, but Jacob assured him he had it in hand. As the older man made his way toward the door, Haley asked Ruben a few questions about the auction.
While they chatted, Elsie was glad to have the excuse to remain quiet and simply gaze up at the young man who’d earned a special place in her heart.
Sometimes she imagined that her lips still tingled from the kiss they had shared last Saturday night. A wonderful kiss, but forbidden fruit, all the same.
It would be hard to let him go … but that moment was down the road apiece, and she wouldn’t let the shadows of a future storm ruin her current joy. She needed to live each moment, each day. As Dat used to say, savor each drop you can squeeze from life.
James and Dylan returned with the coffee, and they were followed by George Dornbecker, who introduced his wife, Cookie. Elsie was glad to see George back to his old self, joking with a twinkle in his eyes. He told James that he was buying a new van with wheelchair access to help the young man get around. Cookie explained that their son Tyler was going to be driving part-time so that George could cut down his hours.
“It’ll be good to have another Dornbecker driving us,” Elsie said. Being Amish, she understood the custom of passing a business on to a family member. “But I hope you teach him some of your jokes.”
Emma came over to tell Elsie and Rachel that they were needed at the quilting tables, and they said their good-byes and headed over to the area sectioned off from the auction. Behind her, Elsie heard the announcements that the auction would begin shortly, and she thought of all the wonderful items people had donated in a sweep of generosity.
Somewhere on one of the auction tables was the box that had been in her family for generations. In her mind she could picture the box, with cherries painted on its sides, the metal hasp, the message painted inside from her great-great-grandmother.
It worried her a bit to think that she was the one responsible for letting it go, but she reminded herself that it was a material possession. It wasn’t helping anyone by sitting around in the window of the shop.
Dat used to say that generosity tasted much better than stinginess.
And so, the box would soon belong to someone else.
39
Elsie followed Rachel around the partition and paused at the sight of Amish women seated at the edge of a large table. From here she saw the backs of four white kapps with heads bent intently over work. On the other side of the table, four Amish women were similarly lost in their stitching, their right hands working the top of the quilt as they chatted.
Such a lovely sight—like daisies growing together in a field, all stretching in the same direction toward the sun.
Elsie wondered why she had avoided quilting bees in the past few years. Quilting was an important part of social life for Amish women. How had she forgotten the sweet serenity that came from so many hands and hearts working together?
Today, three tables were set up with quilt tops ready for the fine, even stitches from loving hands. If one woman was working on a quilt top alone, it would take weeks of steady work to finish it off. But here, with so many skilled hands stitching away, the three quilts would be done by the end of the day. Elsie knew that each quilt would fetch at least four hundred dollars, and if the bidding got going, a single quilt might bring in thousands. She was happy to pitch in for James.
“Girls?” One of the older women motioned Rachel and her over to a far table. “Kumm. There are two empty seats here.”
Elsie put her coat over the back of a chair and sat down at the finished quilt top held in place by clamps at the edges of the table. She pushed back her sleeves. Someone had left needles, a thimble, and scissors atop the quilt, and she slipped the thimble onto her finger and threaded one of the needles from the pack. It had been a while since she’d held a needle, but her hands seemed to recall what to do. Before long, she found a steady rhythm.
Sitting beside her, Rachel asked about Fanny.
“She wanted to come, but you know she’s got to stay off her feet. Emma brought Will and Beth, and our neighbor Marta Kraybill is keeping Fanny company.”
Just then Elsie spotted her older sister coming toward the table. Emma’s pretty face was lit with a sweet smile as she came around the table and leaned close to Elsie.
“Guess what just happened? I just saw the box get auctioned off.”
The little wooden box. The air went still around her as Elsie pictured it. “Did someone buy it?”
“Ya, and for a pretty penny. It sold for five thousand dollars. Isn’t that amazing? Think of all the medical bills that’ll pay for.”
Elsie nodded, trying to tamp down the bitter taste rising up in her throat. Probably just indigestion. Too much coffee. She should have known better.
“I just wanted to let you know, since it was your good idea to donate it,” Emma said, squeezing Elsie’s shoulder. “I’ll get back to the little ones. Verena’s minding them, but they can be a handful.”
Elsie thanked her sister, keeping her head bent over her stitches because she knew Emma would be able to read her consternation with one glimpse of her face.
“That’s good news,” Lois Mast, the bishop’s wife, said from beside Rachel. “So many good deeds to help Jimmy Lapp and his family.”
Other women chimed in, but Elsie stayed on task.
“How’s the Country Store going?” Rachel asked. “You don’t seem to mind having Ruben helping out there.”
“Why would I mind, when more hands make light work?” Elsie asked, glancing past Rachel to Lois Mast, whose head was bent to her task, her eyes unreadable beyond the glare of her glasses. “Ruben has been a big help.” She wanted to say more, but her feelings for Ruben could not ever be known by folks like
Lois Mast, the bishop’s wife, or Candy Eicher, who kept lifting her eyes from the quilt to peer across at Elsie. No, it was best to stick to a safe topic.
“Have you done any new paintings lately?” Elsie asked.
“None at all. My paint box has been dry since the accident.”
“Dear Rachel. That’s not like you. I don’t know how many times I’ve run into you and you have paint smeared on your hands from fitting in some painting here and there.”
“My days are full, with helping out at home and going to visit James.”
“And James needs you now. I was just thinking of that lady at the gallery in the city. Remember Claudia Stein?”
“I know.” Rachel sighed. “I got a note from her, after she heard about the accident. She’s still interested, but she’s going to have to wait till summer if she wants a collection of paintings from me.”
“Harvest comes not every day,” Elsie said. “I’m sure Claudia will understand that. Your pretty paintings are certainly worth waiting for.”
Just then a short Englisher woman with silver-streaked hair came up to the quilters’ table and paused. “There you are, Elsie.”
Glancing up, Elsie recognized Nancy Briggs, the mayor of Halfway. A woman in her fifties, she wore her hair in a pretty cloud around her face, though that was her one “fancy” feature. Her quilted down coat, boots, and denim jeans were very practical, well suited to her down-to-earth nature.
“I’ve been looking for you. Got a call from your neighbor Marta, and it looks like Fanny is having the baby.”
“Dear Gott in heaven.” Elsie flushed at the mention of such news in public. She stuck the needle into the fabric and rose from the table. “But it’s too soon … and the doctors wanted her to go to the hospital.”
“Sounds like there isn’t time.” Nancy pointed a thumb toward the auction. “About ten minutes ago I sent Anna Beiler over to your place with a driver, and Marta told me Doc Trueherz was already on his way. I’m sure they’ll call an ambulance if they need to get her to the hospital.”
A Simple Faith Page 23