by Sarah Price
He squeezed her hand briefly then, letting it go, he placed his hand on her shoulder and gently guided her back to the large room over the barn where the fellowship meal was about to take place.
“Do you believe this?” Leah hissed under her breath to Rachel. “I’m speechless! She didn’t even tell us.”
“I sure hope she knows what she is doing,” Rachel sighed. “She’s awful young to be a mamm to those kinner.”
“It’s so soon! Martha only died in the early summer!”
Rachel clicked her tongue, disapprovingly. Still, her mind wandered to her own husband and his demand that she’d consider marrying Menno when he passed. It wasn’t uncommon for a husband to suggest such a thing and Rachel knew that it would have been a potential solution to the farm situation. With Elijah refusing treatment, the inevitable was bound to happen. She would become a young widow with a large farm to tend to and no farmer to do so. Perhaps her unhappiness with Mary Ruth marrying Menno was because she was worried about her own future and had considered Elijah’s suggestion?
She shook her head. He’s not dead, she scolded herself. There is still a chance. “Vell, if this is what she wants and what God has planned for her, then we must support her,” Rachel forced the words from her lips. “And, she will be living in our district which is right nice, ja?”
Leah waved her hand at Rachel. “Mother of four, at that age? She’ll be needing us close by for advice, that’s for sure and certain!”
Rachel changed the subject. “What about the other one? That Steve!” This time, she smiled. Besides the shock of Mary Ruth and Menno’s upcoming marriage, the congregation was also buzzing about Mimi Hostetler getting married to their brother. “I had wondered why he bought that buggy but I never suspected Mimi to be the reason!”
Leah scoffed. “Seems our siblings are right gut about keeping secrets, ain‘t so!”
The voices in the large room seemed to shift and Rachel looked up in time to see Mary Ruth and Menno walk through the doorway. She hadn’t even noticed that her sister had left. Clenching her jaw, she lifted her chin and approached the couple to offer her congratulations. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of envy that her youngest sister had somehow won the heart of Menno Yoder, a man much older than her and already established with his own farm and family. It just didn’t seem fair when her own world was falling apart so quickly.
Instead of attending church service, Steve had picked up Mimi from her home. It was official. They were to be married in three weeks from Thursday. He knew that many members of the congregation were certainly surprised, both at his church and at hers, when the deacons had announced it. He was grateful that they did not have to attend the service on that day. Instead, the young couples were allowed to enjoy dinner alone at their mamm’s houses, a time to be alone and talk while the rest of the community learned about their engagement.
Mimi had packed a picnic lunch at Steve’s request. Now, as they drove along the tortuous road, they seemed giddy with excitement, knowing that their engagement was finally public knowledge.
“Three weeks,” Steve said, holding Mimi’s hand while they drove down the road.
She laughed and leaned against him. “I’m so happy,” she whispered.
“Did your mamm make the list? I’ll have to start visiting people to invite them this next week,” he said. It was pat of the ritual. The groom would travel the district, dropping off invitations to the family, friends, and church members. Between the two households, there would be close to 400 people in attendance at their wedding, which would be held at Mimi’s parents’ house.
Mimi laughed again. “Did she make the list? She had the list done the same night that she found out!”
He laughed with her, pleased that her mamm was overjoyed. After all, starting the guest list right away was paramount to an immediate approval!
She hadn’t asked where he was taking her but suspected she knew the answer when he crossed over the main road and drove the horse down a side lane. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining through the trees, covered with multi-colored leaves. In just another week or so, the leaves would certainly start falling, layering the ground in a blanket of reds, oranges, and yellows.
By the time they were to wed, the trees would be bare and winter at their doorstep.
“I thought you’d like to see your future home,” he said as he pulled the buggy into a driveway.
She smiled and looked around. “Is this it?” she asked, taking in the pretty white farmhouse and long white dairy barn. The smell of the cows hit her nose and she winced for just a moment. It was strong and pungent, a touch of acidity to it. “Suppose that it will take time to get used to,” she teased.
He raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“The smell from the cows.”
He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t even notice it anymore. At least I don’t have pigs!” They both laughed, knowing that the smell from a cow barn was nothing compared to that of a hog farm.
He stopped the buggy and helped her climb down before he made certain to properly hitch the horse to the rail. He turned around and watched as Mimi stood there, staring at everything. The garden was behind the house, already cleared from the previous summer harvest. The house had a wraparound porch with a swing that just begged of future family evenings with a glass of meadow tea, sharing the details of the day with Steve.
She took a step toward the barn and peeked inside the door. “Look at all of these cows! Whose cows are they?”
Steve followed her, pausing to push the door open further so that they could walk inside. “Some are mine, some belong to the tenants. He’ll take his herd when he finds a new farm. We’ll buy some more in the spring and breed some of the ones that I already have.”
She nodded.
He took her hand and led her down the aisle between the wall and the cows. “Between the fields and the cows, we’ll have a lot of work to do but I’ll remember my promise to your daed, Mimi.”
“Promise?”
He stopped walking and turned to look at her. Had she forgotten already, he wondered. “My promise that I’ll help you to adapt to being a farmer’s wife.” He lifted his hand and gently touched her cheek. “We are a team,” he whispered and, with just the slightest of hesitations, he leaned down and brushed his lips against her, the first and last first kiss for both of them.
When he pulled away, she averted her eyes and lowered her head. He chuckled to himself and lifted her chin so that she had no choice but to meet his gaze.
“You blush over a kiss?” he asked softly. “With your soon-to-be husband?”
She shook her head. “Nee,” she responded. “I blush over how you make me feel.”
“Ah,” he said, a twinkle in his eyes. “God arranged for us to meet last summer, Mimi. It was His plan and what you are feeling is the Lord moving inside you, telling you that you are walking the very path He intended for you. For us.” He paused and smiled. “I feel that same way. It’s God telling us how pleased He is that we listened to Him.”
“God’s plan,” she repeated softly and nodded. That was exactly how she was feeling. Nervous? A little. Excited? Yes. Confident? Absolutely. “Yes, I believe you are right, Steve.”
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Now, let’s go look at the house. The tenants said it would be OK if I brought you over to walk you through it so that you could start planning for furniture and housewares. They even invited us for supper, although we might decline so that we can visit with your parents and I can get that long list of people to invite.”
With a jovial bounce to his step, he pulled her alongside him as they hurried to the house. For Mimi, it was the first time that she would enter the house where her future laid. For Steve, it was the next step in his life, one that he had never thought would come to fruition: the day that he took his intended through the home that he had dreamed would soon become a home full of laughter, love, and life.
Mar
y Ruth hadn’t expected her parents to show up at Menno’s farm after the church service. She had returned home with him to start preparing the list of guests to invite to the wedding. The kinner were laughing and getting excited, crowding around Mary Ruth and teasingly calling her Mamm. Even Menno seemed relaxed and at ease with the family scene that unfolded in the kitchen.
So when Miriam and Elias walked into the house, a silence befell the room, interrupting the moment of joy and happiness. The kinner crowded around Mary Ruth, little Emma crawling onto her lap and burying her face against Mary Ruth’s shoulder.
“Gut nochmidawk,” Menno said, taking a step forward to reach out and shake Elias’ hand, welcoming them to his home.
Reluctantly, Elias returned the gesture.
“Mary Ruth,” Miriam started. “Might we have a word in private with you and Menno?”
Mary Ruth frowned, caught off guard by the unexpected visit as well as her mother’s peculiar request. She set Emma on the ground and turned to Melvin. “Mayhaps you could take the girls to the barn and check on those kittens, ja?” She didn’t wait for him to nod his head and take Emma by the hand, quietly and obediently leading his sisters out of the kitchen.
The adults waited until the outside door shut behind the kinner. The room was silent, the only noise being the soft tick-tock of the clock that hung on the wall by the sitting area.
It was Miriam who started, taking a deep breath before she said, “I understand that you have an announcement, Mary Ruth. At what point were you going to discuss it with us?”
Trying to appear non-perplexed, Mary Ruth kept her shoulders squared and lifted her chin. “I tried to write you a letter,” she said. “It just didn’t come out right.”
“And hearing of this from the deacon, that’s right?” Miriam asked, her voice sounding irritated although she was trying to remain calm. “Ten days?”
Menno cleared his throat. “Mayhaps I was wrong for not coming to talk to you,” he said apologetically. “Under the circumstances, I didn’t right think about it.”
“Circumstances?” Miriam asked, her face paling. “Oh help,” she said, clutching her chest and sinking into a chair.
“Nee, nee,” Mary Ruth said, reaching forward to touch her mamm’s hand. “It’s nothing like that! Do you truly think so little of me?”
Understanding the hidden insinuation, Menno stepped up again. “Miriam, Elias, please understand that Mary Ruth has been living out here with her sisters. This happened very quickly and, being that it is my second marriage and I’m not a young man, I hadn’t given thought to approaching you. I forget that Mary Ruth is…” His voice trailed off.
“Is what?” Miriam asked sharply. “Quite young to become a mamm to your kinner? She could practically be their older sister, Menno.”
“Miriam,” Elias said gently, placing his hand on his wife’s shoulder. “We have to trust that Mary Ruth and Menno have discussed these issues. We have to believe that this is the Lord’s will and we must support them.”
“I love the kinner,” Mary Ruth said forcefully. “They need a mamm and I want to be their mamm.”
Miriam snapped, her gaze going from Menno to her daughter. “Love the kinner?” She exhaled sharply. “What about the father? Do you love him?”
“Miriam!”
She ignored Elias and stared at Mary Ruth, waiting for an answer. But the expected answer did not come out in the open. Mary Ruth looked away, wishing she was brave enough to shout out “Yes, I do!” But those were private thoughts and not something she wished to share with her parents. She hadn’t even expressed that to Menno, waiting for a moment when he, too, would be comfortable telling her how he truly felt. She only prayed that, one day, she would hear those words from his lips. So, rather than confirm how she truly felt, Mary Ruth simply replied, “We are right gut friends, Mamm. That’s all you need to know.”
Miriam shook her head. “Well, I shall pray to the good Lord that friendship is the start, then,” she reluctantly replied. It was all that she could say for, in her heart, she felt that Mary Ruth was rushing into this marriage, but truth be told, she was now an adult and parents did not have to bless the union. “And where, pray tell, will you be having this wedding in ten days?”
“Here,” Menno answered for Mary Ruth. “We want to have it here, at our home.”
“Here?” Miriam covered her mouth with her hand. That explained why the date was announced without talking to her and Elias first. Most weddings were held in the bride’s house. Why would they choose Menno’s home?
Menno could see that she was confused. He pulled the chair out from under the table and sat down next to Mary Ruth. “We want new and gut memories to be born again out of this house. We want people to see this as Mary Ruth’s home now. It’s a second marriage for me and, I’d have a smaller gathering except for the fact that Mary Ruth is young and this is her first marriage. We want to celebrate and have joy in the house that so recently was filled with such sorrow. Sorrow that your daughter has helped us all to overcome and for which I am very grateful. We all feel that Mary Ruth is part of this family. ”
For the first time, Elias spoke. “Menno, Mary Ruth,” he began. “I wish you well in this marriage. I understand the reasons behind it and, though surprised, I can see that you have both worked together to plan it.” He ignored the sharp look from Miriam. “A marriage born of friendship is destined to be strong. So, while I am a bit taken aback by how fast this has happened, I can honestly say that I support this marriage and I am happy to welcome you and your kinner to the family.”
Miriam started to turn to look at him, ready to contradict what he said, but he squeezed her shoulder, avoiding her look. As the head of the family, Elias’ word was final. If he accepted the marriage, she would have to accept it as well. With a reluctant sigh, she knew that the fight was over, if indeed there had been anything to fight. Instead, it was time to start planning a wedding.
Elijah hadn’t taken the news of Mary Ruth and Menno’s wedding in good stride. Instead, he seemed to sink further into depression. When Rachel told him the news that had been announced at church service, he had all but sworn under his breath. His brow had furrowed together in a scowl and he looked away from his wife.
“Should’ve been you,” he had mumbled.
“Stop that,” she had snapped back. “If you’d only get the treatment, we might not have to worry about this!” She hated the tone in her voice and immediately regretted the anger she had felt.
For several days, he didn’t speak to anyone in the house. Instead, he continued to decline as he withered away in his chair. Rachel did her best to milk the cows and tend to the barn chores along side her older sons. Slowly, however, she noticed that the house was becoming dirty, laundry was piling up, and things were simply just starting to fall apart.
When the important chores were finished, she headed over to Leah’s, hoping to escape the doom and gloom that lingered over her household. While the children were at school, it was unbearable to stay there, watching her husband slowly die.
Leah’s house wasn’t much better. The baby cried incessantly as his teeth were starting to break through his gum line. Leah simply rocked him all day, not tending to the house chores. Her own husband avoided spending much time at home, most likely disgusted with how Leah focused all of her attention on baby Jacob and none of her attention on her responsibilities around the house. Rachel started to take over the kitchen duties, cleaning her sister’s house rather than her own.
As the weekend approached, they also started cooking for the wedding that was just days away. Bread needed to be baked. Pies needed to be made. Casseroles needed to be prepared.
No one spoke negatively about Mary Ruth’s upcoming marriage or the unconventional manner in which she was approaching the wedding. The rest of the church district didn’t seem to care that the wedding service would be held at Menno’s house. For a second marriage, some of the traditions were often modified. In fact, after getting over
their initial surprise and gossip about the suddenness of the marriage, many of the older church members thought that the union made good sense, at least for Menno.
Miriam had insisted on coming over to help Mary Ruth clean the house from top to bottom. While the kinner were at school, Mary Ruth spent her days at Menno Yoder’s house with her mamm, scrubbing the walls and floors, washing the window shades and shaking out the sheer white curtains. Every inch of the house was cleaned and re-organized so that it had, in fact, transformed into a new home.
By Friday, Miriam insisted that Mary Ruth return home. It was time to work on her wedding dress. A simple pale blue fabric was purchased from Miller’s Dry Goods Store and Miriam attacked the task with full steam. By Saturday evening, the dress was finished and Mary Ruth took her time pressing it, being certain to use extra starch so that there was no worry about any wrinkles. She also bleached and starched her prayer kapp, taking extra care to iron the strings that would hang over her shoulders, tied in a loose, neat bow at her throat.
“You are supposed to spend your wedding night here,” Miriam said, her voice full of reproach. “You always have to do things your own way, don’t you?”
“Mamm, please stop,” her daughter answered, rolling her eyes.
“I just don’t see why you couldn’t have waited until spring,” Miriam snapped. “More and more couples are doing that, now! It would have been more proper to the memory of Martha!”
“Mamm!”
Mary Ruth spun around, tired of hearing the criticism. Her mamm had never been so vocal with displeasure over anything. It was beginning to grate on Mary Ruth’s nerves, especially since she knew that it was not proper for her mamm to be so negative about the wedding.