Amish Celebrations

by Beth Wiseman

  McKenna laughed. “I can do that, Rebecca.” Then she pulled Rebecca into a hug, and without a moment’s hesitation, Rebecca returned the embrace.

  Paul was glad to see McKenna and Rebecca hugging. He needed the two women he loved to have a good relationship. Across the yard he saw that Noah had slipped out of the barn at some point, the way Paul had. Noah was also watching the women talk and embrace, so Paul walked toward him and put a hand on his back.

  “Everyone is going to be okay,” Paul said. “And congratulations on your baptism.”

  Noah nodded. “Danki.” Then he refocused on the women, who were still chatting, before he turned back to Paul. “I am sure about my decision to be baptized into our faith, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want desperately to marry Rebecca.” He hung his head, sighing. “If she’ll still have me.”

  Paul chuckled, which caused Noah to raise his head and lift an eyebrow.

  “You’re still getting married next month, even if Rebecca hasn’t formally said so.” Still grinning he said, “She has this list of everything that needs to be done before the wedding. She’s been driving everyone crazy. So I think it’s safe to say that the wedding is back on.”

  Noah smiled. “I hope so. What about you and McKenna?”

  “It’s too soon to know for sure, but I feel good about the future.” Paul had already spoken privately to his parents and confessed that he wasn’t going to be baptized into the Amish faith. He’d waited for his mother to blow up and blame McKenna, but instead she offered him a weak smile and said they had suspected his hesitation for a long time. She admitted to hoping Paul would change his mind but assured him she didn’t blame McKenna. And Paul was glad about that because he could see McKenna and him together in the future.

  After the women cleared the dishes following the meal, Noah found Rebecca. Folks were already getting in their buggies to head home, especially the families with young children. It was always a long and wonderful day of worship, but the little ones were tired after a three-hour church service and the meal.

  “It was a gut day.” Noah gazed into Rebecca’s eyes, hoping she could feel how much he loved her. He’d said he was sorry dozens of times, but today he wanted to focus on the celebration of baptism. He continued praying that Rebecca would still become his wife, though. He hoped Paul was right, that plans were moving in that direction.

  “It was a gut day.” She smiled in the same manner she had before Noah had almost ruined things. He tried to keep his mind on the blessing of baptism, but it was hard not to drop to his knees and beg Rebecca to commit to him for a lifetime.

  The short conversation ended when Gavin and Penny walked up to them. Gavin shook Noah’s hand. “Thank you for having us at your baptisms. It was a wonderful experience.”

  Penny was looking at the ground, sniffling. Noah had seen her crying throughout most of the ceremony and even occasionally during the meal. The majority of the service was in Pennsylvania Deutsch, but the few Englisch visitors who attended Amish services were always deeply affected. Noah thought maybe for some it was their first time to feel the Holy Spirit and the oneness with God.

  “What did you think, Penny?” Noah tried to read her expression, but he could barely see her face until she lifted her head and looked into his eyes.

  “Do you think it would be possible for us to come back?” Penny’s voice seemed almost desperate, pleading.

  Noah couldn’t recall the bishop allowing Englischers to attend regularly, but these were odd circumstances with Penny and McKenna both trying to start out on their own, away from parents who had negatively influenced them. “I will talk to the bishop,” he said.

  Penny hugged him. “Danki,” she whispered.

  Most outsiders knew a little bit of Pennsylvania Deutsch, and he appreciated the fact that Penny spoke a word in their dialect. But he eased out of the hug fairly quickly as he recalled the trouble of his last hug in the arms of another woman. Thankfully, when he looked at Rebecca, she was smiling the same smile, and glowing.

  “We’re going to go, but God’s blessings to both of you.” Gavin hugged Rebecca before they left.

  After they were out of earshot, Noah shook his head. “They are a hugging bunch of people.”

  Rebecca laughed, which was nice to hear. “Ya, they are.” She paused. “And I think that’s gut. Maybe our people should do more hugging.”

  “Do you think Penny will be okay?” Noah glanced around, and when he confirmed that no one was watching, he reached for Rebecca’s hand.

  “Ya, I do,” she said. “And I think McKenna will be all right too. They are both strong women.”

  Rebecca’s eyes drifted somewhere over Noah’s shoulders, and when he turned around, he saw McKenna and Paul talking. “What about them? Do you think they will be all right too?”

  Rebecca kept her gaze on her brother and McKenna. “Ya, I do. Maybe not in the way I always thought, but this is Paul’s journey, and he has to follow his heart and God’s guidance.”

  Noah was having a hard time keeping his emotions in check as he swallowed back a lump in his throat, still fighting the urge to ask Rebecca if they were going to be married for sure.

  “I see lots of new beginnings in the works for all of us.” She smiled as she squeezed his hand. “Now let’s get down to business.” She reached into the pocket of her black apron and pulled out a piece of paper. Grinning, she said, “There’s this list I need to talk to you about. There are several items you need to take care of.”

  Noah smiled as he silently thanked God for the day’s many blessings.

  EPILOGUE

  ONE YEAR LATER

  Rebecca and Noah bustled about the house, readying things for their first formal supper gathering with friends. They moved into the main house a month ago when Rebecca’s parents insisted they were ready for a slower-paced life. “Semiretirement,” her mother called it when they moved into the daadi haus, leaving Noah in charge of the farm. Like Paul and Rebecca, their parents had been tending the farm since they were children. Rebecca was sure they would still be actively involved but was happy to see them slowing down.

  Paul moved out and bought a small house in Bird-in-Hand right after Christmas, and he had taken the blessings of his family with him. He and McKenna were still dating, and Rebecca was excited to be playing hostess to them in her own home. She and Noah had lived with her parents in the months after the wedding, so it still felt strange with just her and Noah.

  She raced to the door when she heard the knock.

  Paul laughed as she threw open the door. “It still feels weird to knock on the door of the house I grew up in.”

  “I told you, you don’t have to knock.” Rebecca waved an arm. “Come in.” Then she hugged McKenna, and McKenna kissed her on the cheek the way she always did.

  “It smells so good in here.” McKenna brought a hand to her chest, and it was impossible not to notice the ring on her left hand. Rebecca couldn’t contain her gasp, and McKenna grinned, then held out her hand for Rebecca to see.”

  Both women embraced. “I’m so happy for you.” Then she hugged her brother. Rebecca had grown to love McKenna just like a sister, and now she would be. “Do you have a date?”

  McKenna smiled. “Actually, we do, but not for a wedding. We were wondering if you and Noah would come to our baptism at the church we belong to.”

  Rebecca blinked back tears. “Of course we will.” She knew her brother and McKenna attended a nondenominational church in Bird-in-Hand that they really liked.

  “We were going to wait until Gavin and Penny got here to make the announcements, but I guess the ring gave it away.” McKenna glowed, and Rebecca bubbled with happiness.

  “They’re always late to everything,” Noah said when he walked into the room. He shook Paul’s hand, then hugged McKenna, knowing the kiss on the cheek was coming, and also knowing no one thought a thing about it anymore. Occasionally, Rebecca recalled the way they’d all been brought together by just such an em
brace. If things had happened any other way, they wouldn’t be exactly where they were meant to be. “I hope Penny doesn’t bring a dessert.” Noah rolled his eyes.

  Rebecca frowned at him. “You will eat it if she does.”

  Noah cringed. “She’s an awful cook.”

  McKenna and Paul laughed. “We’ll struggle through it somehow,” Paul said.

  Penny had reconciled with her parents but told them she was never going home. She had other plans for her life, and she’d made good on them. She’d married Gavin two months ago. They were all thrilled for the couple.

  McKenna’s mother had completed a recovery program, but she’d recently relapsed, and it weighed heavy on McKenna’s heart. But Rebecca’s future sister-in-law was also pursuing her own life. McKenna was back to attending college courses after she’d acquired a full-time job at the Pequea Valley Public Library, the place she and Paul had met.

  Life had truly been good to all of them.

  “Knock, knock, it’s us.” Penny burst through the door, Gavin trailing behind and carrying a cake. Unlike Rebecca’s brother, Penny always announced herself and stepped over the threshold before anyone responded. Always a ball of energy, she blew a wisp of hair that had fallen from beneath her kapp. Rebecca was still getting used to seeing Penny wearing Amish clothes. If anyone had told her a year ago that Gavin and Penny would end up being baptized into the Amish community, Rebecca never would have believed it. But it fit for them. They’d attended worship service every other Sunday since the day of Noah and Rebecca’s baptism. After they attended classes to prepare for their own baptisms and completed the ceremony, they were married.

  Penny still carried some of her sassiness around, but everyone in the community loved her. She had worked hard to master their dialect, but her cooking and baking skills left much to be desired. None of them had the heart to tell her so, least of all Gavin, who adored her.

  “What do we have here?” Penny marched to McKenna and grabbed her hand, then jumped up and down. “You and Paul are getting married!”

  “We are.” The women embraced.

  Once everything settled down, they all moved to the kitchen of the home Rebecca and Paul had grown up in. They’d chosen different lives from each other, but all were in God’s plan.

  They bowed their heads before the meal, and Rebecca knew in spite of their various paths they were united in their prayer.

  Thank You, Lord, for your abundant blessings. And for new beginnings.

  A PERFECT PLAN

  PROLOGUE

  Priscilla glanced around the yard at all the guests. Warm August temperatures allowed for an outside celebration, and it never rained on her special day. Mamm went all out for birthdays, but this year was the biggest yet. In addition to a beautiful pineapple layered cake that her oldest sister, Naomi, made, there was a ham, barbecued string beans, scalloped potatoes, creamed celery, homemade breads, jams, jellies, chowchow, and a variety of pies and cookies. She smiled as she turned away from the main food table.

  Ten oblong tables spanned the front yard, topped with simple white coverings. On each table, Mamm’s blue Tupperware party bowls were filled with peanuts and chips, with a platter of pickles and olives in the center. Everything was perfect, right down to the decorations. Her sister Hannah had been put in charge of filling the balloons with helium, and yellow and blue bundles were tied to the head chair at each table. Priscilla’s place setting had double the balloons from every color in the rainbow.

  “I think everything turned out lovely.” Naomi waved her arm around the yard. “And look how many guests showed up. There must be a hundred people here.”

  Priscilla took another look around the crowd and was happy to see that some of the folks were starting a game of volleyball on the far side of the yard. Then her eyes landed on someone. “What is Chester Lapp doing here?”

  Chester Lapp was handsome and well-respected in the community. He was a fine carpenter. Her father had purchased two rockers from Chester for the front porch. But he was nineteen. Why would he want to come to her sixteenth birthday party?

  “Why shouldn’t he be here?” Naomi folded her arms across her chest and grinned. “Our family has known his family forever. We even share a phone shanty.”

  “I know that.” Priscilla rolled her eyes. “I’m just surprised he’s here. I mean, I rarely see him socially. Just at worship, and he hardly ever goes to Sunday singings. I wonder who invited him.”

  Naomi scratched her cheek as she took a deep breath and looked away.

  “You did, didn’t you? Why?” Priscilla narrowed her eyebrows at her sister. Naomi was twenty-two and always playing matchmaker for someone. “I barely know him.”

  “Maybe you should get to know him better.” Naomi breezed across the yard, turning back once to wink at her sister.

  Priscilla sprinted a few steps to catch up with her. “Why do you say that? Has he said something? Tell me, Naomi.”

  Naomi stopped alongside Priscilla and whispered, “Let’s just say he has asked about you more than once.”

  “When?” She tried not to get too excited as her eyes drifted in Chester’s direction.

  “Once when I saw him in town, a couple of months ago. Then I ran into him last week at the hardware store in Bird-in-Hand. He asked about you then too.” Naomi shrugged. “So I invited him to your birthday party.”

  Priscilla twisted her mouth from side to side as she studied the tall, handsome man. “I’m still surprised that he came.”

  “I’m not.” Naomi grinned, then walked away.

  Priscilla kept her eyes on Chester, but jumped when he turned around and caught her staring. She quickly looked away and began straightening one of the paper tablecloths that had blown up in the wind, but she could see him moving toward her out of the corner of her eye.

  “Happy birthday.”

  She looked up and smiled. “Danki.” Then she began to line up the bowls and pickle tray so that everything was evenly spaced on the table. She could feel Chester’s piercing blue eyes on her, and slowly she lifted her eyes to his again. An easy smile played at the corner of his mouth as he looped his thumbs beneath his suspenders. If it weren’t for his traditional clothing, Chester wouldn’t look much like an Amish man. Most men kept their hair in a bobbed haircut, bangs in the front, straight on the sides. Chester’s hair was dark and curly above his brows and ears; his wavy locks didn’t resemble much of a bob. Priscilla wondered if his beard would be curly as well someday, after he was married.

  “It’s a great party.”

  Priscilla pulled her eyes from his and went back to the task at hand. “Ya, it is. Danki for coming.” She pushed one of the blue bowls an inch or so to the right, making sure it was the same distance from the pickle tray as the other bowl.

  “What are you doing?” Chester folded his arms across his chest, still grinning.

  “What?”

  “You’ve been moving those bowls not even a quarter-inch back and forth. I think they are perfectly spaced now.”

  Priscilla felt the heat rush from her neck to her cheeks. “I wasn’t doing that.”

  “Ya, you were.”

  “No.” She folded her arms across her chest, mirroring his stance. “I wasn’t.” She pulled her eyes from his and kicked at the grass with her bare foot.

  He was right. She needed things to be in perfect order, but she wasn’t going to apologize for it. She enjoyed organizing things. She’d recently alphabetized recipe cards for Naomi, and her mother was thrilled when Priscilla organized her sewing supplies, grouping her thread colors together and sorting material by color and fabric. Other people appreciated her need for things to be in order—but Chester was making fun of her for arranging a couple of bowls.

  “Are you gonna be at the singing on Sunday?”

  Priscilla found his eyes and wanted to look away, but couldn’t. “Uh, ya. I usually go.”

  “How about going with me?”

  She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing
came out. Chester Lapp was older, handsome, and asking her to be his date for a Sunday singing. She’d be wound up like a top in preparation for it. Finally she took a breath and spoke. “I can’t. But danki for asking me.” She turned and darted off before he could say anything more.

  Chester tipped back his hat and watched Priscilla hurry across the grass. Even in her haste, she was as graceful as a snowflake riding the breeze on a winter morning. He pulled off his hat, scratched his head, then replaced the hat, all the while keeping his eyes on her.

  He didn’t know that much about her. Beautiful, yes. She was petite with strawberry blond hair, and her blue eyes gleamed when she talked. It seemed like she’d blossomed into a young woman overnight, and she was old enough for him to ask out now. He’d accepted Naomi’s invitation to the party hoping to get to know Priscilla a little better. Maybe asking her to a Sunday singing was too forward. But Chester knew that he had more in common with Priscilla than she realized.

  While Chester was talking with Naomi, he’d casually mentioned that he planned to go skydiving before he was baptized into the faith. Naomi had burst into laughter. When she came up for air she said, “My sister has always wanted to do that. We think she’s ab im kopp, but she says she will do it before she’s baptized.”

  Chester didn’t know any other young Amish woman who would consider such an endeavor, though it was perfectly allowable prior to baptism. This Priscilla King intrigued him.

  Priscilla balanced her youngest sister, Sarah Mae, on her hip as she chatted with her guests. Her best friend, Rose, walked up and whispered in her ear, “I need to talk to you.”

  Priscilla excused herself, and she and Rose eased away from the crowd.

  “I just overheard Chester Lapp telling Naomi that he asked you to a Sunday singing.” Rose thrust her hands onto her hips. “And you said no! Why?”

  “I don’t know him.” She thought about the way Chester made her uncomfortable earlier, teasing her about the bowls.