“So Peter, do you and Ruth have plans to farm?” Noah swallowed down the last of his kaffe and set down the cup.
Peter laughed, shaking his head, “Nee, except for the vegetable patch that Ruth will probably get started, we don’t farm at all. The plot is too small. Actually Ruth here managed to get herself work in town at the Amish gift shop, and I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with myself yet.”
Ruth sighed, taking her father’s hand and squeezing it, “He’s a carpenter but too humble to admit it. Back in Ohio he was one of the best carpenters in town.”
“Really?” Noah asked, fascinated. “We haven’t a carpenter in town at the moment worth his salt; it would be good to know where to find one.”
“Well, I’m not sure I’ll be opening a workshop again. Without clients, it’s not much use, is it?”
“Of course, but I’m sure once word gets out…” Ruth started.
“We’ll see,” Peter said. stopping her in her tracks.
Ruth sighed knowing that her father was still adapting to their new normal. Ohio was all he’d ever known and he was much older than her. It would take him some time to accept their new life and decide what he wanted to do with his.
Noah stood up and smiled before tipping his hat.
“Denke for the kaffe and the conversation. I wish you well in your new position at the Amish Gift Shop; I’ve heard Jennifer is a gut Englischer. Peter, if you ever need a hand, just holler. I’ll tell Mamm you appreciate the basket.”
Peter and Ruth both stood up. Ruth waited until her father greeted Noah before saying a quiet goodbye. After he left, she carried the cups to the sink and rinsed them before her father stepped back into the kitchen.
“What wonderful neighbors we have, Ruth. I knew this would be gut for us.”
Ruth nodded, wondering if her father had noticed her interest in Noah. He was handsome and kind…and everything Ruth had never even dreamed about before. “Jah, he is nice.”
“You should start going to singings, dochder. I know you’ve been reticent all this time, but it’s time we stop mourning and start living again. Mamm would want that. She would want you to be happy. She would want us to embrace this new life.”
Ruth sighed, nodding. If he only lived by his own words. “Maybe in a couple of weeks. Let’s just first get settled in.”
“About settling in, did you notice I cleared that patch you asked to plant the vegetables?” Peter asked wiping down the counters as Ruth finished the dishes.
“Jah, Daed. Denke. I’ll buy some seeds with my wages and start planting on Friday. If we’re lucky we might harvest vegetables in a few months.”
“Jah. Good night, my dochder. Sleep well and remember I love you.” Peter retired to his bedroom leaving Ruth alone in the kitchen. She made herself a cup of tea and headed out to the porch. She took a seat in the rocker and wondered how many others had sat there before her, looking up at the sky.
In the distance she noticed the lights still on at the Fischers. He was an attractive young mann and probably already courting, so it didn’t matter that he made Ruth’s heart skip a beat.
The stars were shimmering against the dark sky and for the first time since her mother passed Ruth didn’t look up at them and feel sad for the loss of her mother. She didn’t feel the all-encompassing grief overwhelm her as it always did when she looked at the stars, instead she felt a light start to flicker inside her. A light that flickered new hope, the promise of new beginnings and just maybe a new friendship.
She had expected the adjustment of the move to take its toll, for both her and her father to regret it at sometime, but since arriving in Lancaster everything seemed to fall into place. As if they were following Gott’s plan.
It was a good feeling, although scary at times, it was a good feeling to know she was where she was meant to be. She glanced over at the farm again and noticed the light had been turned out in the barn. Perhaps Noah might be he mann she was meant to meet.
A smile formed on her face as she picked up her cup. It was mid-Fall, and at night the trees that had lost their leaves looked like long spooky arms reaching towards the sky. Winter was slowly closing in; she could feel its icy grip in the cool evening air and wondered if she and her father would be settled in by Christmas.
Or would it be another sad Christmas like the one before?
It didn’t matter, Ruth thought. All that mattered was that she still had her father; she had a new job and a new life to look forward to.
CHAPTER FOUR
Gott's Forgiveness
Noah finished his chores early on Saturday morning. Today was Eli Yoder’s annual Fall barbeque and everyone in the community made an effort to attend every year. Apart from the wonderful meal that would be presented, Noah always looked forward to the gathering.
Today he was eager to attend, wondering if the Yoders from Ohio would attend. When he had delivered their welcome basket he couldn’t help but notice sadness in both Peter and Ruth. He could understand that Peter still mourned his first wife but couldn’t comprehend why Ruth would marry a grieving mann.
It was none of his business, he had told himself time and time again, and yet whenever he glanced in the direction of their home, he wondered about her. Why did a young girl as pretty as she was, marry a widower? Would he still be able to give her kinners? Thoughts that he knew weren’t right, kept haunting him, kept him thinking about the beautiful young woman. He had seen sadness in her eyes as well and believed it to be because she was still competing with Peter’s love for his first wife.
After washing and tidying himself after dealing with the morning milking, he checked on his parents before preparing the buggy. Eli Yoder started hosting an Annual Fall Barbeque almost ten years ago. Noah still remembered the first one as if it were yesterday. He was a boy of just ten years old and didn’t understand what the big fuss was about. But in the years to come he soon learned it was their community’s way of giving thanks. To thank Gott for all the blessings He had bestowed upon them in summer; the fruitful harvests, the good weather and of course the profits that would carry most of the farmers until the next harvest.
Noah was proud to be part of a community that took a day to give thanks. To be part of a community that would put chores and duties aside for a day to celebrate the harvests. Even though they were milk farmers and most of the community didn’t even farm, they gave thanks as a community.
By the time his parents stepped out of the haus, Noah had already hitched the horse to the buggy. It was a thirty-minute ride to Eli Yoder’s farm on the other side of the hill and they spent it talking about what they would expect today. They also debated whether or not their new neighbors would be in attendance. Noah had burned to tell his parents about his experience at the Yoders; about Peter’s love for his first wife and the sadness that lingered in Ruth’s eyes. It wasn’t his place to judge and his parents would probably see it for themselves when they met them.
They arrived at Eli Yoder’s a little later than everyone else, as always. The chores on a dairy farm never ended, especially if you had a cow in the throes of calving or a calf that refused to drink. The drive was lined with buggies in various shades of black, some faded from years of harsh summers and brutal winters.
As soon as they approached the crowd of people gathered on the front lawn, Eli Yoder moved to greet them.
“Welcome, welcome. I was hoping I’d see you today. I want to introduce you to my bruder, he just moved here a week ago,” Eli said triumphantly as he beckoned another mann closer.
Noah was surprised to see it was Peter Yoder. Peter’s face lit up in recognition at seeing Noah. “Noah, it’s good to see a familiar face.” Peter held out his hand and shook it.
“Mamm, Daed, meet our new neighbor, Peter Yoder,” Noah said turning to his parents.
Once the introductions were made. Eli smiled broadly. “I knew I could rely on you to make them feel at home. They’ve only visited Lancaster a few times in the past; it’s stil
l quite foreign to them,” Eli laughed.
Peter shook his head with a sigh, “Jah, the most foreign part is seeing you more often than I’d like and less often than you’d like.”
Everyone laughed at the teasing and Noah felt his eyes searching for Ruth in the crowd. Why wasn’t she with her husband? He would’ve liked to introduce her to his mamm.
“Noah, do be a gut boy and fetch us something cool to drink. I swear the ride out here takes longer every year,” his daed said.
Noah smiled as Eli laughed, “Not letting age get the better of you?”
Their voices faded as Noah headed to the kitchen where he knew he would find a fresh supply of cold juice. On the way he stopped to greet friends, elders and family members, and by the time he arrived in the kitchen he was also parched.
He didn’t recognize her at first as he walked directly to the juice dispenser. After pouring three glasses of juice and carefully gathering them all up at once, he turned and almost slammed straight into her. “Ruth, I’m sorry I didn’t see you there.”
Ruth laughed, clutching a hand to her throat, “Neither did I. I was just admiring the kitchen cupboards. This is Oregon pine, hard to come by these days.”
Noah frowned, “I thought Peter was the carpenter, you seem just as intrigued.”
Ruth smiled with a shrug, running a finger carefully over the carved door, “You live with a carpenter, you tend to get an appreciation for good carpentry skills. I have no idea how long ago these were installed but they’re beautiful. Built solid as a rock, would last at least another fifty years if well looked after.”
“That’s why I enjoy it too,” Noah heard himself say, surprised by the declaration.
Ruth turned to him with a curious frown, “Are you a carpenter as well?”
Noah laughed, “Nee, I’m a dairy farmer, but a mann can dream.”
Ruth’s smile faded as she looked at him with blue eyes that he knew he couldn’t deceive. “What is your dream, Noah Fischer?”
Noah had never told anyone of his dream to become a carpenter. He knew his parents needed him and that it wouldn’t be in his future, but he found himself telling Ruth, “I’ve always wanted to be a carpenter. To take a simple piece of timber and turn it into something ageless, something that would last long after I disappear from this world.” There, he said it. For the first time he said the words out loud.
“Then why don’t you pursue that dream?” Ruth asked stepping closer and surprising Noah. He didn’t know why but it didn’t feel wrong speaking this intimately with another mann’s wife, it felt good. Something about Ruth made him want to tell her everything in his heart. Instead, he just answered her question.
“Because Mamm and Daed need me at the dairy, because there is no one under whom to apprentice, because I can’t be the first Fischer to stop the familye tradition of being a dairy farmer.”
Ruth smiled and nodded, “I understand, in a way, but you have to follow your heart, Noah. Otherwise, why work except to keep you alive? You don’t just want to be alive, Noah, do you, you want to live?”
Noah felt his heart tighten in his chest. The words Ruth had just spoken were the words he had been pushing from his mind for years. For the first time, he looked at a woman with more than passing appreciation, he looked at her with interest.
Realizing it was inappropriate, he glanced at the glasses in his hands, “Excuse me. My parents are probably parched by now.”
He escaped the kitchen so quickly he didn’t have a chance to look back. Didn’t have a chance to reconsider what he had just told another mann’s wife. Noah vowed to pray for Gott’s forgiveness the moment he was home, because he needed a little help not to covet his neighbor’s wife.
All right, he admitted, approaching his parents, a lot of help.
CHAPTER FIVE
Starting Over
After their meeting in the kitchen Ruth avoided Noah for the rest of the afternoon. The strong attraction she had felt for him had startled her. She wasn’t sure what to make of it and needed a little time to recover before interacting with him again.
She met so many new friends: Jamie Sacks, who joined the community a few years ago and now lived with her newborn and her husband a few farms over; Eva Hauptfleisch was the same age as Ruth and excited about her wedding coming up in a few weeks. Ruth knew that one conversation did not make a friendship, but she believed that both women would become her friends over time.
She had been so reticent to leave the known for the unknown and yet today she realized that apart from the names and faces, the community was very much like the old order community they had left behind. You had the nosy old spinsters who considered it their business to know everyone’s affairs. The elders who looked on from a distance, who Ruth knew would always support their community. The youngsters who were eager to go on rumspringa, who Ruth knew would return to strengthen the tight bonds of their community.
The values were the same, Ruth mused, it was only the location that differed.
She spent the afternoon trying to remember all the names of the people she had met, trying to remember where they lived, so that the next time she met them she would recognize them.
She thought about her own life and how things had changed and especially how she enjoyed her new job. She had never thought she would enjoy being a shop assistant and yet she enjoyed every minute of telling Englischers about her culture and her life choices.
If only she wasn’t so confused about Noah Fischer. It was as if one moment he looked at her as if she were an angel and the next as if she were an intruder. She wasn’t sure what to make of it and pushed it aside. She would think about him later. For now, she had something to discuss with her father.
“It was nice meeting so many people today, Daed, wasn’t it?” Ruth asked later that evening after they had returned home. Despite having enjoyed a large lunch, Ruth knew her father would appreciate a light dinner before retiring for the night. She fixed sandwiches from last night’s left-over grilled chicken and paired it with freshly brewed kaffe.
Seated at the kitchen table with the kerosene lamp for light, and the last few crickets for company, chirping before winter chased them away, Ruth turned to her father.
“Jah, it was nice. Eli has made a good home here. He has many friends, gut friends. It seems you made some friends as well?” Peter asked, pushing the plate aside after finishing his sandwich.
“I did and I learned something too. I bumped into Noah Fischer in the kitchen, and do you know what he told me?” Ruth gathered the plates and hoped her father would be as excited as she was at the possibilities in her mind.
“The neighbor’s boy? What did he tell you?” Peter asked, mildly intrigued.
“He told me that he’s always loved working with wood. That when he has the time, he muddles in carpentry but has never had any real training. He’s always hoped to become an apprentice but since the last carpenter in the community passed, he wasn’t sure the opportunity would ever arise.”
Peter rubbed his index finger and thumb over his beard in thought. “That is interesting.”
“I know, isn’t it?” Ruth continued, bubbling with excitement. “Daed, instead of asking Uncle Eli for employment, why don’t you start your own workshop up again? There’s room in the shed. We can clear out what’s inside and set up your equipment again. They don’t have a good carpenter at the moment; I think the community will welcome such a service.”
“Ruth,” her father started with a heavy sigh. “It’s a gut idea, my dochder, but business will be slow at first. What if we don’t get by?”
“Daed, I’ve got work. I’m sure my wages will see us through until you’re on your feet. Besides, how much can two people possibly need with my vegetable garden also bearing fruit?”
“Why?” Peter asked looking curiously at his dochder.
Ruth sighed, shaking her head, “Daed, I can see you miss Ohio, you miss your workshop. I don’t think we should go back, but I do believe we should con
tinue doing what makes us happy. Woodwork has always made you happy and with Noah as an apprentice, you could create an inventory quicker.”
“Where will I sell my pieces?” Her father seemed to be searching for reasons not to go ahead with the idea that placed light in his eyes for the first time since her mother passed.
“I’ll talk to Jennifer Thomson at the gift shop. They carry handmade Amish merchandise, I’m sure she’ll be elated at the thought of having unique Amish furniture on hand as well.”
“What if this doesn’t work?” her father asked, shaking his head for what seemed to be the fiftieth time.
“Daed, we didn’t know if moving to Lancaster would work, but we did it anyway. If we don’t take chances, then what are we here for? I know you don’t want to work for Uncle Eli. I know that you only spoke to him about a job because you want to care for me. For years you’ve been caring for me and then Mamm, let me do the caring for a change. Sleep on it, consider it.”
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “I’ve always wanted an apprentice.”
“Exactly. See? Maybe things are falling into place and we just have to open our eyes to let them.”
“Jah. But wait with everything first. Don’t tell Noah, don’t tell anyone just yet. I need to think this through first. I need to set up the shed; I need to make sure the lumber here is affordable.”
“I’ve got it; you want to get your ducks in a row before you want anyone to know.”
“More or less. When did you start taking care of me, Ruth?” her father framed her face with his hands and smiled tenderly. “You remind me so much of your mother.”
Ruth placed a hand over his, “Then I’m honored. We’re going to make a happy life here, Daed. We’re going to build a new life, one where we can cherish Mamm’s memory instead of being haunted by it.”
Amish Dreams (Amish Romance) Page 2