A Dark Amish Night (21 page)

   “Thank you; it was my mother’s recipe. Why did you leave your job and come here?”

   “Well, I left because of my divorce. I’m here because I’m trying to find my family. I needed to get out of the city, and I know that my birth mother was from this area. I hope one day to find her.”

   Hannah had enough sense and grace to not pry into Dylan’s personal life, so she went on with questions about Dylan as a pastry chef. When she was convinced that Dylan could indeed work in a bakery kitchen, she offered her a job.

   “I can’t pay you much to start, but as the business grows, and if you work out, I’ll give you raises as I can.”

   “That’s just fine by me. What do I call you?”

   “Oh my goodness, I totally forgot to give you my name. You can call me Hannah.”

   “Great, Hannah, when can I start?”

   “Right now would be good.” Hannah was only half joking, but to her surprise Dylan stood up and said. “Okay, where can I find an apron?”

   That night, Hannah was very relieved to be able to have the children sleeping in their own beds at home. Dylan was truly a godsend. She had the counters and shelves filled with all manner of scrumptious pastries and desserts. Everything was in place for the start of the next morning. Hannah was looking forward to a full night’s sleep in her own bed.

   Timothy had been sent home early from school for fighting, and Hannah had been so busy at work she’d not had time to address this problem. Now would be a good time, and she went up to talk to Timothy before he fell asleep.

   “Can I come in?”  She rapped lightly on Timothy’s bedroom door.

   “Yeah, you can come in.”

   Hannah sat beside Timothy as he lay in bed. “You want to tell me what happened today?”

     “Hamish Stutz called you a whore. I punched his face for it.”

   “I wonder where he heard that word. Timothy, this is not the plain folk way. You know that. Your father would be ashamed, but this was bound to happen. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault and I feel like I’ve let you, and Ruth Anne down. I want you to understand that, yes, this is hard, but it will be over with very soon. Everything will be as it should be in just a few weeks. The church will forgive me. You’ll see.”

   “Ma, I don’t care what you did. It seems to me that there are good Englishers and bad Amish. I don’t understand it. Pa always told me the plain folk are good and pure. They live an honest life. But some Amish don’t. I always thought that being English meant that you lived an ungodly life full of sin, and that makes you a bad person, right? But Sheriff Ramsey, he’s a good man. I think he really wants you, and me, and Ruth Anne to be safe.”

   “Timothy, there is good and bad in all people. English or Amish it does not matter, really. People are people. It’s how you choose to live your life. Are you a Christian? Do you believe in Jesus died on the cross for you?” Timothy nodded his head ‘yes’ and Hannah continued. “That’s all you need to know. We repent of our sins just like the bible tells us. We all sin whether or not we are Amish. Now, you need to repent for hitting Hamish Stutz”

   “I don’t think I can repent because I’m not sorry I did it.”

   Hannah did not know what to say to that. How could she blame him? No one wants to hear their mother called a whore. “Well, then I’ll just leave it between you and the Lord, but you better not do that again. I will punish you severely if you cannot behave yourself. It does not matter what people say. You’re better than that, so rise above it. Good night, I love you very much.” Hannah closed the door behind her.
Dear Lord, please be with, Timothy, he needs you. And what do I do about this? You know, I’m kinda glad he punched that kid. Does that make me a bad person or just a bad Amish?

   Hannah thought about what Timothy said about good Englishers and bad Amish. He was so right.
Out of the mouths of babes, isn’t that what the word says, Lord? 
Hannah went to bed. She was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow.

   Dylan proved to be worth her weight in gold. She worked hard with a smile on her face. The customers adored her, and her pastries were a taste of pure heaven. Hannah kept thanking the Lord for sending her, and wondered if Dylan really were an angel sent to help her just when she needed it.     Hannah was working so hard she almost forgot she’d been shunned. She started to go over to the Mercantile to pick up some supplies from Pattie Sue, and then everything came crashing back to her. Pattie Sue’s brother was a suspect in Eric’s murder. Hannah had been shunned just two days after she’d found out about Pattie Sue’s brother. How was this all going to pan out? She had not seen Pattie Sue since before she’d been shunned and had no idea what to say to her about her brother. Now Pattie Sue could not speak to her at all.

  
Was Pattie Sue even at the church when I got shunned?
Hannah could not remember if Pattie Sue had been there or not.
What do I do? I really want Pattie Sue to know that she’s not to blame for her brother. But until this shunning time has passed there’s no way to tell her.
Hannah went back into the bakery. She would just have to get supplies elsewhere for now. Maybe Dylan could help her with that since Dylan actually had a car.

   On her first Sunday morning as a shunned outcast, Hannah got ready for church. Her children were dressed. Hannah told herself this was only temporary, but she dreaded this day. It had not been so bad being shunned while she worked during the week. Not having Amish customers was the only thing. Today, though, her shunning would be in full force. She would have to sit at the back of the church. No one would speak to her or look at her. It would be as if she did not exist.  If she did not go to church, it would be noticed. People who did not attend church during their shunning periods were excommunicated without any further notice.

    It was the most difficult morning. The shame she bore was like a stiff, heavy, and confining coat around her that threatened to smother her. Ruth Anne could feel the tension, as did Timothy. Only Ruth Anne was fussy and cranky where Timothy was sullen and withdrawn. Even though the children had not been shunned, none of the other children who normally played with Timothy and Ruth Anne came close to them today. It did not escape Hannah’s notice that little Hamish Stutz had a really awful dark black eye.

   Hannah cried silently the whole walk home. Timothy brooded and Ruth Anne pouted. All three of them felt the effects of being shunned. Hannah did not know if she could endure two more Sundays like this one.
Lord, give me strength.

   Quinn followed in his patrol car a safe distance behind Hannah and the children as they walked home. It was obvious Hannah was crying. The shunning had to be brutal. He longed to comfort Hannah, but those days were over. He would have to be content with watching the woman he loved suffer from afar. He wanted to shout at the Bishop and the other church members that Hannah was not to blame. Let them punish him, but this would not make Hannah and the children’s lives any easier.

A Dark Amish Night

Chapter Eighteen

      Monday morning was a blessed relief for Hannah. Work always helped her move forward. Timothy did not want to go to school, but Hannah explained that now was a time for them to show the community that they did indeed belong. Even though it seemed as if no one was paying attention to them, they were, in fact, being watched very closely. Timothy finally agreed to go to school. Hannah realized that her boy was growing up. Way too fast for her liking. He had been through so much with the death of his father, getting hurt in the woods, and now this shunning.

   Pouring muffin mix into muffin tins, Hannah thought about how cruel life had been for her children. It just did not seem right that her children, especially Timothy, should have to endure this shunning with her. Her community had always been there for her. Maybe that’s why it hurt so much. It felt surreal to know that a community she had always depended on for support could now just turn its back on her. It wasn’t that she wasn’t grateful for everything. The church had taken care of her, moved her, gave her a loan to start her business, and paid off Timothy’s hospital bills. But something nagged at her. How could they do this to her, just turn on her like this?

   One thing for sure, she never wanted to endure this again. But what if Timothy or Ruth Anne should ever have to be shunned for any reason? Hannah would just die before she had to shun her own children. Things that were once so clear to her and an integral part of her everyday life were starting to unravel in her mind.
This is just part of the shunning, Hannah, don’t give into it. You have to keep your eyes on the goal. What is the goal anyhow?
Hannah was conflicted, but was determined to get through this so her life might return to normal.

   Dylan was outside on the sidewalk in front of the bakery. She was passing out some free samples of her work. Most people were eager to sample her sweets, but three Amish ladies walked right past her. The three of them swished their skirts away and did not even glance at her. Dylan was taken aback. Most Amish were not overly friendly to her, but none had been outright rude like this before. She went in to talk to Hannah about it.              

   “Oh, Dylan, I’m so sorry. It’s not you. It’s me. I’m being shunned at the moment.”

   “You’re not being shunned because you hired me, are you?” Dylan was incredulous and more than a little defensive of her new friend, Hannah.

   “Oh no, this happened before I hired you. It’s a long and complicated story. One day, when this is over, maybe I’ll feel free to share it with you. I only have about two more weeks of being shunned. It’ll pass.” Hannah managed a weak smile that did not fully convince Dylan of Hannah’s resignation of her plight.

   This whole shunning thing was permeating every part of her life. Hannah wondered if, when this was all over, it really could go back to normal.
Just get through this. I know I can just get through this.

   Quinn, like Hannah, threw himself into his work. On Thursday morning, he made his mind up to talk to Peter Yoder on the square that evening. There were no more leads on McVey, and Quinn was not going to make a ‘rookie’ mistake by focusing entirely on suspect number one while ignoring suspect number two.

   The Amish menfolk gathered in the town square that evening, as they usually did. Quinn noticed that they gathered in groups of three to five with men coming and going from each group at their leisure. As sheriff, he was generally accepted in their midst. But this evening there was a different feel with an underlying tension. While the men did not openly shun him like they did Hannah, it was clear he was not as welcome here as he once had been. Quinn did not care if he made people uncomfortable. He was not here to socialize. He was looking for a killer and that gave him the right to intrude if necessary.

   When he found Peter standing with a group of three other men he approached them and held out his hand for Peter to shake.

   “Evening, Peter, Ephram, Abe, Mr. Fisher.” Quinn was glad to know them all by name. It was obvious that Quinn made them all very nervous. He could see in their eyes they were having a hard time deciding just how to treat him. Mr. Fisher, the oldest in the group, openly eyed Quinn with suspicion and a hint of scorn.

   “Say, Peter, I was wondering if I might have a word with you.”

   Peter seemed like he was trying to find a way out of having to talk to Quinn alone. Quinn smiled to himself he had Peter in a tight spot. There really was no way for Peter to gracefully bow out.

   “Sure, Sheriff.” Peter walked away from the group and Quinn walked beside him.

  “So, what can I do for you, Sheriff?”

   “”Well, I was hoping you could tell me about your time in prison. See, I pulled your rap sheet. You’ve done some time. Haven’t you?”

   Peter blanched white as all the blood drained from his face. His hands got shaky and sweat started to bead on his brow. Quinn took note of how nervous Peter got.