by Sarah Price
“I wanted to ask you to share a glass of ice tea with me on the porch,” he said, his voice soft and low.
“Ice tea?”
He reached out his hand toward her. “Please,” he pleaded.
Wiping her hands on her apron, she frowned. What on earth, she thought. “Well, reckon I should pour you a glass, then.” She glanced at the counter. The bread could wait; it only needed a bit more kneading. “I made some fresh meadow tea yesterday,” she said, hurrying to the refrigerator to take it out. He was still standing there, waiting and watching as she took two clean glasses down from the cabinet and poured the cold, fragrant tea into them.
He held the door open for her and she slipped by him. To her surprise, there was another bouquet of flowers already on the porch bench. This one was bigger than the previous flowers that he had left on the table for her. Carefully, she moved them and sat down, making certain that she was far enough away from Menno that her leg didn’t brush against his.
For a few minutes, they sat there in silence. The birds were chirping from the dogwood tree by the corner of the house. In the field, the cows were wandering through the pasture, calling out to each other from time to time. The sky was perfectly blue and the air just right for early September.
“I wanted to talk to you,” he finally said after he cleared his throat. “’Bout the other day in the hayfield.”
“No need to apologize,” she said quickly. “I understand your distress, Menno.” She just wanted to get back into the kitchen, away from him and his overpowering presence. He was trying and she recognized that. Still, her own feelings were jumbled inside of her and she couldn’t help but want to just run away.
But he had more surprises for her.
“I wasn’t going to apologize,” he said.
She frowned and looked at him. “Why ever not?”
That sparkle in his eye grew deeper and she realized that there was a hint of a smile on his lips. She hadn’t seen him smile too often and it made him appear much younger. “Because I meant it,” he said. “I meant what I said to you.”
Oh help, she thought.
“Mayhaps I didn’t go about it the right way,” he admitted, his eyes scanning the fields for a moment. “But I meant what I said to you, Mary Ruth.
Her heart raced and she felt her palms begin to sweat. She didn’t have to look into a mirror to know that her neck was bright red and the color was traveling up her cheeks. “Menno…” she began softly. “You’re still grieving.”
“I have a promise for you, Mary Ruth,” he said, ignoring her. His hands fiddled with the glass and he stopped staring at the field. Instead, he made certain to maintain constant eye contact with her. “You stay here and you marry me. Be a fraa for me and mother for my kinner,” he started. “And I promise that I will always be a right gut man to you. I will take gut care of you and work very hard to prove myself worthy of you so that, one day, I have your love.”
Stay here and marry me.
She stared at him, repeating his words to herself. She didn’t know this man and she certainly didn’t love him. However, she knew that she loved his children. From what she had heard from everyone, he was a godly man and had been most kind to his wife, Martha. Now, as he stared at her with crystal blue eyes full of hope, she wondered why he had chosen her. Marriage was forever. She was not a replacement wife.
This isn’t how it’s supposed to happen, she wanted to shout. There was supposed to be a courtship and shy buggy rides. In her mind there were stolen glances at church service and whispers when no one was looking. But not once, in any of her dreams about finding a man to love, was there a previous wife who had just been killed in a farming accident that left the family grieving.
“Menno, I don’t know what to say,” she said, her voice soft and even. “It’s a very flattering offer but I…”
“I will make you very happy,” he said, interrupting her. “I will work hard every day to win your heart.” He took a deep breath. “I know you are not Martha and she is never coming back. But you are Mary Ruth and I see God’s blessing working through you.”
If her heart would beat any faster, she was afraid that it would jump out of her chest. Her head felt dizzy and she wanted to run away. This isn’t happening, she told herself. This isn’t real.
But it was real.
“Menno,” she said slowly, avoiding his eyes. She didn’t want to see the hope that was there. “I really think I need to finish that bread.” She didn’t wait for his response but quickly stood up and, without another word, she started to open the door.
“Mary Ruth!”
She turned around and, despite herself, she looked at him.
He stood up and held his hat in his hands again. There was a look of humility about him but also a look of peace. “You saved me and I want to spend the rest of my life thanking you for that. Real actions, not just words, to show you how much I care about you and for what you have done for me and my kinner.” He slid his hat on his head and gave her a small smile. “You think on that, ja?” This time, it was Menno who didn’t wait for a response but turned around and walked down the steps of the porch and headed toward the barn.
She stood there, her hand on the door and one foot inside of the house. His house, she realized. Her eyes watched him as he walked away, taking in his broad shoulders and confident walk. There was something about him that had changed and she realized that, indeed, he was saved. With a heavy heart, she walked through the doorway, determined to finish her chores and get home as fast as she could. She needed space and time to digest what he said and why her own heart had fluttered when he had smiled at her.
On Saturday morning, Katie sat at the kitchen table, helping her mamm make cookies. With church to be held the following day at a neighbor’s farm, Anna had been selected to bring some desserts. Katie had offered to help with the cookies, an easy enough job and one that she particularly enjoyed since it meant she was able to eat little pieces of the dough when her mamm wasn’t looking. While Katie plopped the sugar cookie dough onto the baking sheets, her mamm was making shoofly pies. Ella had stopped over to help and was bustling with good news.
“John David thinks he found a farm,” she gushed, her eyes sparkling and her cheeks pink with excitement. “And it’s just down the road!”
Anna gasped at the good news. It was hard to find farms in the area and many young couples had to move far away or accept jobs outside of farming if they wanted to stay in Lancaster County. “You don’t say!”
“Um hum!” Ella nodded, happily working the dough into a pie pan while Anna prepared the pie filling. “He just took a day off to be down there yesterday. It’s at the end of the lane and quite a fine farm. The older couple won’t be moving until March…moving into the grossdaadihaus with their younger children in New Pequea. But they just can’t handle the farm alone anymore.”
Katie listened as Ella described the farmhouse and it’s twenty acres. While small by most farm standards, Ella said she didn’t mind. It was the perfect size to get started and would allow John David to keep helping his daed, Isaac, and Steve with their own farm work.
As the talk shifted to a spring garden and crops, Katie’s mind wandered. She thought about Melvin and wondered if she would see him later that day. Her onkel, Steve, had volunteered to drive her over to the Miller’s farm to take care of her pony that afternoon. But everyone suspected that the invitation had a hidden purpose: he wanted to sneak in a visit with Mimi after helping with the haying.
The door to the grossdaadihaus opened and Miriam walked inside. She was carrying a box, which she set on the table. “Katie,” she said to her granddaughter. “Ask Steve if he’ll drop this off for Rachel. I promised her some of my chow-chow. It’s Elijah’s favorite.”
Ella laughed. “Not the same chow-chow recipe that you gave to me this summer?
Miriam turned to look at her future daughter-in-law, a questioning look in her expression as she pondered Ella’s question. Then, as if in
a moment of clarity, she nodded and smiled. “Ach, ja! I reckon it is!”
With a twinkle in her eyes, Ella gestured toward a box on the table. “I bought some myself to give to the family! John David loves it so and I wanted to thank you for sharing the recipe with me!”
With a friendly clucking of her tongue, Miriam shook her head. “Well, don’t that beat all!”
Wiping her hands on a towel, Anna hurried over to the box and pulled out one of Ella’s jars of canned beans. The pretty colors of green beans, kidney beans, corn, and lima beans looked fresh and packed just perfect in the glass jar. She handed it to Miriam and teased, “Let’s send that along and see how it compares!”
“Oh Anna!” Ella laughed and the other ladies joined in. “I’m more than certain I could never do as good a job as Miriam.”
Tucking the Ella’s jar into the box, Miriam sighed. “I’m sure they will both appreciate the gesture. Especially Elijah.” Her eyes looked tired and there were dark circles under her eyes. She tried to smile at Katie as she said, “I want you to give Rachel this letter.” Miriam tucked a small white envelope into the box. “Can you remember that?”
Katie nodded.
Ella looked up. “How is Elijah doing, Miriam? Has he made a decision yet?”
“Nee,” Miriam said. “Rachel is still praying that he changes his mind.” She paused. “We all are, I reckon.”
“What’s wrong with Elijah?” Katie asked.
Anna glanced at her daughter. Clearly Anna didn’t want to discuss Elijah’s health situation in front of her daughter. The last thing she wanted was to scare her, to have Katie wonder about the possibility that their own daed could fall ill. There was no reason to cause the children alarm. “Could you run out to see when the hay cutting will be over? Steve should get going soon if you’re to have time with that pony before he brings you back home. And the others will have to start the late afternoon milking soon anyway. And check that the other kinner are not bothering your daed.”
“But…?”
Anna put her hands on her hips and gave her daughter a stern look. “Now, Katie!”
For a moment, Katie stared at her mamm, wanting to ask more about Elijah. The way her mamm was chasing her outside clearly meant that something was happening. She didn’t know why her mamm was sending her out of the house, but knowing that she had to be respectful, Katie obeyed and left the kitchen. After all, if she got in trouble with her mamm, there might be no visit to the Miller’s Farm to see Butterscotch.
The church service was held at the Miller farm that Sunday. Even though the farm was old, the house had a typical room separated from the kitchen with a folding door. On church Sunday, the door would be folded back and between that room and the kitchen, the congregation would gather to worship.
No one ever complained about the close quarters. It was a time to join together, to sing praises to the Lord, and to cleanse the mind and soul for the upcoming week. That was how Mary Ruth looked at it. She often found herself reflecting on her own words and actions, finding fault with herself and praying for forgiveness and strength.
As usual, Mary Ruth sat with the other young, unmarried women and listened to the words of the hymn being sung by the congregation.
If we would be like Christ,
We must at all times
Love one another on earth,
Yes, not only with the tongue,
But with true deeds,
As John writes.
Those who only love with words,
Behold where love dwells.[3]
She stopped singing as the rest of the people continued with the next verse. In her head, Mary Ruth repeated the hymn. God wanted His people to not just speak the Word but to live the Word. Wasn’t that something Menno had promised to her? That he wanted to show her with actions, not words, how much he appreciated what she had done? How she had saved him?
Love one another on earth. Her heart pounded as if the words had been sung just for her. God had a plan for His people and sometimes it wasn’t the plan that the people expected. God didn’t want people to love sparingly but completely. At all times. Who was she to question His plan for her?
Stunned with the realization, Mary Ruth looked around the room. On the opposite side, the men were seated on benches facing the center of the room. Her eyes scanned their faces until they fell on Menno. He was staring at the bishop, unaware that he was being observed from the other side of the room.
Melvin was seated next to Menno and the three little girls sat on the other side. At one point, Menno looked down at his dochder, Suzanna, and gave her an encouraging smile. He seemed to point to something in his hand and Mary Ruth realized that he was pointing to the location of the verse in the Ausbund. The young girl must have lost her way in the song and was trying to find the word in the line. There was a kindness in his gesture, one that caught her off guard. Actions, not just words, she repeated the lesson from the hymn.
As the little girl returned her attention to the chunky book that Menno was holding, Menno took the opportunity to glance up and his eyes scanned the room. At that moment, he caught sight of Mary Ruth watching him. He kept singing but tilted his head slightly, both surprised and curious at her attention.
Quickly, she looked away, her cheeks flooding with color.
After the service, Mary Ruth set about helping the women prepare the serving platters of food. The men quickly transformed the hard wooden benches into tables and the children ran outside, enjoying the beautiful September day. With the sun shining and the air crisp, it was the perfect day for playing tag and swinging on the swings in the Miller’s backyard.
Melvin wandered into the barn to visit with Butterscotch. Just the day before, Katie had insisted that he’d come with her to groom and ride the pony. They had taken turns, laughing as Butterscotch ran through the pasture when they climbed on the pony’s back, their fingers holding her mane and their legs dangling by her side.
Leaning his head against the side of the stall door, Melvin watched the pony grazing on some hay. There would be no grooming on Sunday, lest he get an earful from the bishop. Truth be told, he would never dare to consider doing anything to the pony if Katie wasn’t around, too. After all, he reasoned, it was her pony.
Still, he enjoyed being near Butterscotch. He could hear Katie’s voice, giving him instructions and telling him the proper way to handle the pony. She was very good at taking charge and he liked that about her. He didn’t have to think, to wonder, just follow her instructions. If only she lived close by, he thought, not for the first time. Quite often, he found himself waiting all week for her visits, anticipating the funny stories she would tell him or the adventures they would go on, taking turns riding Butterscotch and trotting through the fields.
“What are you doing in here, Melvin?”
He was surprised to see Mary Ruth walk through the door. In her black dress with freshly starched white apron and bib, she looked more stern than usual. He had grown used to her smile when he ran in from the barn or came home from school. He enjoyed his talks with Mary Ruth almost as much as he enjoyed listening to Katie.
“Thinking,” he responded.
She leaned against the stall door. “About?”
He sighed and glanced at her. There was a grave hesitation in his voice. Rather than answer her question, he had one of his own. “Can I tell you something?”
The serious tone of his voice struck her. Whatever could be wearing so heavily on his mind? “Of course, Melvin,” she said.
“Do you think it’s possible to meet someone and know that they are the one for you at my age?” He looked away, trying not to look directly into her eyes. “I mean…well…I know love comes with time and all but I sure do get on well with Katie.”
Mary Ruth sighed. “Oh Melvin,” she said gently. “You have so much time ahead of you.”
“But it happens, right?” He plucked at a loose piece of wood on the stall door. He stared at the pony and his eyes glazed over. “We sur
e do have fun on Saturdays when she can come out here to take care of Butterscotch. She is awful smart about horses, Mary Ruth. And I can talk to her.” He looked at Mary Ruth. “Really talk to her. She understands how I feel about my mamm passing and all. She knows me in a way that others sure don’t. I’d say that she’s as gut a friend to me as any of the boys at school.”
“Friends are special, indeed,” Mary Ruth said gently.
He frowned, apparently not feeling as if Mary Ruth truly understood him. Taking a deep breath, he stared at her, his eyes strong and bright. “I mean, if we grow up as friends and all, that would be a right gut way, I think. But does it ever happen that friends at our age actually become more than friends at a later age?”
She didn’t know how to respond. She had thought she would know when she met her soul mate, the one that God had chosen for her. At one point in time, she had envisioned long buggy rides and picnics by the river. She had envisioned little notes slipped into her hand at church Sunday or small pebbles tossed at her bedroom window late at night on a Friday.
It had never happened for her. Not yet, anyway.
On the other hand, it had happened that way for Rachel. Elijah had been her soul mate. He had taken her home from singings, driving the horse and buggy the long way in order to spend more time with Rachel. He had tossed small pebbles at her windows at night to visit with her when the rest of the family was sleeping. They had taken the kneeling vow together and announced their engagement shortly thereafter. After so many wonderful years together, now they were faced with the very strong reality that forever would only be a few more months.
So yes, Mary Ruth thought, it can happen. But just because it does, it doesn’t mean its going to work out in the way envisioned.
“I’ve heard of such things, ja,” she admitted slowly, not wanting to upset or discourage Melvin. “But it doesn’t always happen the way we have it planned in our minds.” Placing a hand on his shoulder, she smiled gently. “Time will tell if friendship can grow into love. But it’s a right gut start to be friends, Melvin.”