The Amish Bride

by Mindy Starns Clark

  He turned toward Penny. “You are not Ella’s mother, no? You don’t like look her. You don’t dress like her.”

  Penny simply said, “I’m a friend. I gave her a ride. And I’d like the same packet, please. I may be interested as well.”

  “Wonderful. We happen to have room, just for you.” He smiled encouragingly at Penny and then waved us off. “As you can see, I am busy. See you in May.” He turned to Elizabeth and said, “Sorry. Everyone wants to learn to bake.”

  She ignored him.

  Pierre addressed his students again. “First, the cake must taste delicious. Then you can worry about decorating it, non? Who cares how pretty a cake is if it does not taste divine. That includes the frosting…”

  We followed Elizabeth back through the kitchen and back to the front counter, where she retrieved a packet for Penny.

  “I need a price sheet too,” I said. Even though Mammi had already paid, I still wanted to know what her investment was.

  After we thanked her, Penny said quietly, “Pierre seems a little disorganized.”

  She laughed. “Oui. But he really knows his stuff. He taught at the university for a couple of years. A lot of college students in the hospitality program take classes from him now.”

  “What about you?” Penny asked.

  “Moi?” She laughed again. “I was born and raised here in South Bend, but I graduated from the Chicago Culinary School.”

  My eyebrows shot up.

  “Have you heard of it?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Of course.”

  “It’s a good school. But ours is too, even though we’re small and we don’t have accreditation.”

  Penny and I both thanked her. I studied the price sheet. It was comparable to other programs I’d seen. More expensive than the community college in Lancaster but not outrageous. Not enough to make me feel guilty that Mammi was the one paying. After all, she’d paid for Ada to go to Switzerland. She could pay for me to go to baking school.

  On the way home, Penny asked, “What would you think if I signed up and went with you?”

  “I think that would be great.” I meant it. If I stayed, I’d have a ride, and it would be nice to have someone to discuss the classes with. I had a feeling Rosalee wouldn’t exactly be enthusiastic.

  When we got back to Nappanee, Penny parked in front of the café and then walked in with me to talk with Kendra and Wes about carrying baked goods from Plain Treats in the restaurant. No one was in the dining hall, so we pushed through the kitchen door, Penny calling out, “Knock, knock!”

  Both of my former bosses were sitting on stools and having a cup of coffee, but they seemed happy to see me and fine with the interruption.

  I handed each of them a business card.

  “Rosalee makes pies. Sticky buns. Rolls. Bread. Pastries. All homemade with farm-fresh ingredients from old Amish recipes.”

  “You are quite the saleswoman,” Wes said. He stood and put his coffee cup on the butcher block in the middle of the kitchen. “What do you think?” he asked Kendra.

  “It would save us some time.” She turned toward me. “How are the prices?”

  “Amazing. Rosalee’s overhead is really low.” At least I assumed it was. The building was paid for. My compensation was room and board. I had no idea what she paid Luke and Millie, but I couldn’t imagine it was that much.

  “I’ll let you know,” Kendra said.

  Pleased with my first marketing venture, I told them I’d bring them a sample the next time I came in.

  That evening I wrote a list of the pros and cons of going to Pierre’s baking school. I was sure I would learn a lot. I wouldn’t have to hear about Freddy if I stayed in Indiana, but at this point I wasn’t sure it was worth being away from Ezra to do that. Working for Rosalee was a pro, but I probably wouldn’t learn that much from her. It was more likely that it would simply confirm what I did know.

  I did enjoy being at the Home Place, but I wasn’t sure living here was going to help me decipher the rest of Sarah’s book, even though Mammi seemed to think so. On the other hand, it was only for three months. It wasn’t as though it was for an eternity. But when it came to a rocky relationship, which I considered Ezra’s and mine to be right now, three months was a really long time.

  Being away from Ezra, of course, was the biggest con. Missing him was an ache that didn’t stop. Everything reminded me of him. The motorcycle that passed us on our way to the Home Place. Luke’s straw hat. The alfalfa growing in the field. Every sticky bun in the bakery. The blue sky. The rain. Rosalee’s milk cow mooing in the field.

  That evening, because he hadn’t returned any of my texts, I wrote a letter to him. I was chatty at first, explaining why I moved in with Rosalee. I told him I’d met Millie and Eddie but not Tom or their parents.

  Honestly, I felt a little timid about meeting Darryl Kline, but I didn’t say that.

  Then I told him about the school in South Bend. I’m not sure if I should go or not, I wrote. I’d like to come home as soon as I can. I’m so thankful you said you’d wait for me.

  Soon I was finished, but as I folded the letter and tucked it into an envelope, I thought suddenly of pretty Ruth Fry, Sally’s cousin who had come out from Ohio to work as a mother’s helper until Sally’s baby was born. How thrilled she must be to have Ezra back in town—and all to herself, no less.

  Swallowing hard, I said a quick prayer that Ezra would remain a man of his word. He’d said he’d wait for me.

  Please, Lord, let it be so.

  SEVENTEEN

  Three days later it was my birthday, but I didn’t tell Rosalee. I didn’t expect a gift from home because Mom didn’t believe in birthday presents, but I thought maybe she would call. Or perhaps Ezra would.

  After supper that night, Rosalee served one of the lemon meringue pies that hadn’t sold. For a moment I thought maybe someone had told her it was my birthday, but it was soon obvious no one had. It was just a day like any other day, except that after I’d done the dishes I asked Luke if I could go back to the dairy with him and see inside the house, where my grandmother and my mother and her sisters had once lived.

  “Take my coat, but don’t be too long,” Rosalee said from where she sat at the kitchen table, working on her books. “It will be dark soon.”

  Luke grabbed a flashlight from the shelf on the mud porch, and I picked up the wool coat on our way out. The evening was cold and growing colder. I hoped it wouldn’t freeze. We passed the garden and walked along the trail beside the barn, silently. When we reached the woods, Luke took the lead. The breeze stirred the pine trees towering above us.

  “That’s the tallest one,” he said, pointing upward. “It’s a red pine, and taller than they usually get. It’s probably two hundred years old or so.”

  The trunk was bare on the bottom half and then, about where the branches started, the bark had a reddish tinge to it. I squinted in the dim light. “Is that a nest up there?”

  Luke nodded. “It belongs to a family of magpies. They can get pretty noisy.” He started up the path again at a faster pace.

  The trail stopped at a stream and Luke jumped across. He extended his hand to me and I took it. He blushed and let go as soon as I was safely on the other side.

  When we reached the edge of the woods, he pointed to a gate and we headed toward it. He opened it by pulling on a handle contraption on the side.

  “Did you design that?” I asked.

  He nodded.

  As we passed through, I caught a glimpse of the farmhouse. It looked even smaller than it had on Sunday when I’d come here with the flat tire, but I decided I was comparing it to the Home Place, which was huge by anyone’s standards.

  “Luke’s brought a girl home,” a manly voice called out.

  I turned toward the barn. A tall, broad-shouldered young man was sauntering toward us. Eddie was skipping beside him.

  “It’s Ella!” Eddie rushed toward me and in a minute he had taken my hand.

  Luk
e started to say something, but before he could the man had his hat off and his hand outstretched.

  “I’m Tom,” he said. “Luke’s big brother.”

  He was a little taller than Luke and much broader. His hair was lighter than Luke’s and his eyes a softer gray. He smiled at me. He didn’t have the family dimples, but his eyes were bright and lively.

  I introduced myself, explaining I was Rosalee’s cousin.

  “Oh, I’ve heard all about you,” Tom answered, resting his hand on Eddie’s head. “First from Ezra and then from Luke.” He smirked. “I mean Eddie.”

  I winced, wondering what Ezra had told him, and what he meant by referencing both of his brothers. I ignored his comment.

  “My mother lived here when she was little. I was eager to see the place, and Luke was kind enough to invite me.”

  “Ah, yes,” Tom said. “The Lantz family. The one all the troubles started with.”

  I gave him a questioning look. “What kind of troubles?”

  “You haven’t heard?”

  “The only trouble I know of is that my grandfather died here.”

  He nodded. “Ya, pulled to death by his team.”

  “Tom.” Luke stepped a little closer. “She probably doesn’t want to hear about all that.”

  Tom shrugged. “It was all downhill from there, from what I understand.”

  I glanced down at Eddie, who was looking up at Tom and hanging on every word.

  “Why don’t we discuss it some other time,” I said, discreetly gesturing toward the little boy.

  Catching on, Tom tousled his littlest brother’s hair. “Isn’t it about time for you to get to bed?”

  “Nah,” Eddie bellowed. “It’s too early.”

  “Let’s walk Ella to the house.” Luke took Eddie’s other hand. “And introduce her to Mamm.”

  “She’s resting,” Tom said.

  “Where’s Daed?”

  “Working on the irrigation in the far field.”

  Luke nodded and started toward the house anyway. I told Tom it was nice to meet him, and then Eddie pulled me along to keep up with Luke.

  There was a swing in the oak tree on the side yard that I hadn’t seen the other day. Grape vines grew up a trellis next to a small outbuilding. Chickens poked around in the grass.

  Luke gave me a quick look and blushed again. It was obvious he and Tom were nothing alike.

  As we neared the back door, it opened and Millie stepped out, a throw rug in her hand.

  “Ach!” she cried out. “You startled me.”

  Eddie laughed, but Luke reached up and patted her shoulder. “Sorry. I wanted to introduce Ella to Mamm.”

  “She’s on the sofa.”

  Eddie snuck by Millie.

  “Go on.” She smiled at me as I passed by her. Even though it was cold out, she was sweating. I could see why once I entered the house. It was like an oven inside.

  “Mamm’s been chilling,” Millie explained.

  I followed Luke through the kitchen. The table was small, only big enough for six people, and it had been completely cleared, the dishes drying in the rack.

  I could hear Eddie’s sweet voice, and when we entered the living room, I saw him kneeling beside the couch. He was talking to a small woman who was reclining there, her hand in her young son’s.

  “Who’s here?” she asked.

  “Ella,” Eddie answered.

  “Mamm, I brought Rosalee’s cousin for you to meet.” Luke stopped in the middle of the room.

  His mother stirred a little and then shifted to her elbow.

  “Well, hello,” she said, rising to a sitting position. She pulled the quilt closer as she lowered her feet to the floor.

  I said hello, offering her my hand. She took it, holding it gingerly for just a second.

  “I’m Cora,” she said. “So you’re Ezra’s friend?”

  “Ya,” I answered. “We’ve known each other since we were little.”

  “He seemed like a nice young man. We were sorry it didn’t work out. We could have used the—” She stopped in midsentence, as if she just remembered why Ezra left.

  Ignoring her irritating faux pas, I wanted to ask if I could look around the house, trying to imagine Mammi and Mom and Aunt Klara and Aunt Giselle living in the place. But that felt too forward, and no one offered me a tour. I did notice a stack of library books on a chair though, mostly because the top one was a how-to book on drawing.

  Millie stepped into the room. “Daed and Tom are headed in for our Bible reading.”

  “I’d better walk you back,” Luke said as he picked up the stack of books. I wasn’t sure if he noticed me glancing at them or was picking them up because his father was on his way.

  “I’ll be fine on my own.” I put out my hand for the flashlight.

  Luke shook his head, opening the bottom door of a cupboard under the window. He stashed the books inside.

  “But you’ll miss your family time,” I said.

  He looked at his mother.

  “Go ahead,” she said. “It’ll be all right this once.”

  Eddie hugged me goodbye, and I told Millie I’d see her the next day. As we walked down the back steps, I didn’t see Tom or his father, but as we passed the barn I heard their voices, which were kind of loud. It wasn’t as if they were arguing, maybe just having a lively discussion. Luke didn’t say anything, and in a few minutes we were back in the woods.

  It was growing dark in the shadows of the trees, and I realized I was glad I wasn’t doing this alone after all. I startled as an owl hooted, probably the same one I’d heard outside my window at night. Luke smiled when I jumped, and then I laughed.

  After we crossed the creek, I asked why he worked for Rosalee instead of for his daed.

  “Rosalee pays me.”

  “But it sounds as though your family needs help”

  “We do, but cash pays the bills. Some days I don’t get to Rosalee’s at all, but on all the days I do, I work for my daed when I get home.”

  “What sort of things can you do at night?”

  “Tonight I’ll work on the fence by lantern light.”

  “Oh,” was all I could answer. After a moment of silence, I asked, “Is your mamm all right?”

  “Mostly. She’ll be fine for a year or two and then she’ll have a bad spell. It comes and goes.”

  I thought of Ezra calling Luke’s daed a tyrant, but I wasn’t about to bring that up. When we reached the edge of the woods, I said I could make it the rest of the way to the house. Luke handed me the flashlight.

  “Take it back with you,” I said.

  He smiled. “I don’t need it.”

  He waved and started on this return trip home.

  As he disappeared into the trees, my phone rang. I looked at it instantly, hoping someone had remembered my birthday. It was the number for Will and Ada’s barn phone. It was Ezra! I stayed put at the edge of the trees, not wanting Rosalee to overhear my part of the conversation.

  My heart pounded at the sound of Ezra’s hearty, “Happy birthday, Ella!”

  “Oh, I’m so glad you called,” I said, backing up against a tree to steady myself, surprised at the warm rush of tears that filled my eyes. “How are you?”

  “Mostly fine,” he said. “Everyone’s still really annoyed with me.”

  “I take it you don’t have your cell.”

  “Ya. Will took it. It’s probably in his underwear drawer. Not that I’m going to go looking for it in there.”

  Or on his dresser where he could read my texts. I cringed. Hopefully the battery was long dead.

  “I wrote you a letter,” I said. “Did you get it?”

  “Not yet. What did you say? Besides that you still love me?”

  I couldn’t help but smile. I told him what I’d written, that I couldn’t decide about the baking classes.

  The tone of his voice changed. “I thought you were going to stay and go to the school. That’s what Ada said your mammi told her.”
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br />   Once again impressed with the speed of the Amish grapevine, I explained that Mammi had paid my tuition, but I wondered if I should come back to Lancaster instead.

  “But why, Ella? You’ve always wanted that.”

  “Not more than I want to come home.”

  “It’s not a good idea, not now,” he said.

  Dumbfounded, I stuttered, “Mom will get over it. She’ll have to let me home once I show up—”

  “It’s not that. Everyone is watching me like birds of prey. I’m that itty-bitty mouse they are ready to tear apart with their talons and beaks.”

  I knew he was exaggerating. “Ezra,” I pled. “I can’t take any drama right now.”

  “I’m not kidding. It’s horrible around here.”

  “You don’t want me to come home?”

  “Of course I do. But you should wait. Why not do the cooking school? It’s what you want, right? Deep down? And someone else is paying for it! It’s a win-win situation.”

  “Except for not being around you.” I wanted him more than school, truth be told.

  “Nothing’s going to change with me. I’m going to take classes to join the church. Sell my bike. We can figure the rest out when you come back.”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Please, Ella. If you come back now, it’s only going to make things worse for both of us.”

  Instantly my eyes filled with tears, only this time they weren’t the happy kind.

  “Go to school. It’s a great opportunity for you. Then come back here and open a business.”

  The tree trunk dug into my back, so I stood up straight. “Will you help me?”

  “Sure. It will be a family business. Our kids can help. They can frost the cookies.”

  I brushed away my tears, trying to be brave, smiling at the thought of a bunch of little Ezras licking their fingers. The subject of kids must have made him think of his nieces, because he started describing the twins chasing kittens through the barn. We talked for a few more minutes, and then the owl hooted again, startling me again, and I stepped away from the trees.

  “I need to go,” he said. “Will’s been getting me up at four.”

  “When will you call again?”