A Home for Lydia (The Pebble Creek Amish Series) (47 page)

“There were boys in our district in Indiana who became involved with drugs. Several tried it only once—”

“While they were on their
rumspringa
?”

“
Ya
.”

“Did you?”

“I did not. I’ll be honest with you, Lydia. I did try alcohol, several times. This was four, no, five years ago when I was eighteen. The alcohol, it wasn’t so bad. It made me feel as if I were floating out there on the river. But the next morning, when I had to be out working in the fields, was terrible indeed.”

Lydia smiled as they turned in the path and headed back toward the parking area. “Like a stomachache?”

“Worse. I decided that anything capable of taking away my love for what I do…well, I wasn’t interested in it.”

“And the other boys, the ones who used the drugs?”

“Two tried them only the one time, but one…he had a real problem, like Jerry. He had to go to the rehab center in our area. It was hard for him and his family, but he was improving the last time I saw him.”

They walked past the office, and Lydia stopped to give Pumpkin
a scratch behind the ears. The orange cat purred like the sound of the
Englisch
automobiles. Both Aaron and Lydia began to laugh until the cat stood, stretched, and stalked away.

Aaron wanted more than anything to lock that image in his memory, of her standing there in the last of the day’s light, bending over the orange cat, the cabins behind her, and in back of that the river moving past.

“Before I can tell you I’m staying, I have to go back to Indiana.”

Her head snapped up.

“I have to speak with my
dat
, and I want to do it in person. I’ve made arrangements to leave first thing in the morning.”

She nodded, her eyes impossibly round and full of trust.

Stepping forward, Aaron once again brushed his lips against hers—like he had the night of the burglary. And like that night, the kiss confirmed everything he already knew.

He was not going to disappoint Lydia.

He would find a way to make this right, but he had a few questions of his own, questions he didn’t have a clue how to answer. Life was incredibly complicated. That was one thing he’d learned in the last few months.

He’d take the bus home and speak with his
dat
. Then he would come back to Pebble Creek.

And when he did, he’d have a question for Lydia.

Chapter 41

M
iriam glanced across the buggy at Mattie. The young girl had been through her preliminary hearing, but she was still awaiting her formal trial regarding the drug charges and the burglary. Aaron wanted to drop the burglary charges, but Officer Tate had explained things weren’t so simple with the
Englisch
legal system.

Jerry and Mattie were wanted in a string of burglaries. It seemed apparent that Jerry was the main culprit, but Mattie would have to testify against him. Up to this point she’d been unresponsive. The trial had been scheduled. Jerry was in jail, receiving medical care and going through withdrawals. Mattie was released to her family, pending the trial and possible future charges.

The family had asked Miriam to act as a counselor with the girl, actually with both girls. Clara also seemed to be having trouble coping with the events of that evening. Today was their first time to meet.

“I left Rachel with Ida, my brother Noah’s wife.” When Mattie only continued staring at her lap, Miriam pushed on. “Rachel has been teething, and she can set up a holler louder than schoolchildren at recess. Ida has seven of her own, so she’s
gut
with
bopplin
.”

Mattie never looked up, but she did trace the hem stitch on her apron with her index finger. “My
mamm
kept juice in ice trays in the
icebox. We’d fetch one and rub it over my
schweschder
’s gums when she’d start to fussing.”

“
Ya
? Did it work?”

“Sometimes.”

“I’ll give that a try.”

That was the extent of their conversation. When the cabins came into sight, Mattie pulled back into the corner of the buggy as if she could become invisible there. Miriam wanted to reach out and comfort the girl, but she was afraid any touch might make her bolt into the woods.

Lydia stepped out onto the porch of the office before they’d even pulled to a stop, and Seth walked out of the barn to care for Belle.

“Should I unhitch her for you?”

“We’ll only be an hour or so.”

“I’ll put her in the shade and give her a few oats.”

“
Danki
.”

She did reach out her hand to steady Mattie at that moment. After they got out of the buggy, the girl stood frozen where they had parked. She showed no intentions of walking toward the office. Clara had joined Lydia on the steps. Because it was a Monday and nearly noon, all of the Sunday guests had left and no one new would be arriving until sometime the next day.

They were alone. They wouldn’t be interrupted.

Mattie stared at the office as if a dozen police officers might jump out and arrest her. She crossed her arms and ducked her head, staring at the ground.

“Lydia and Clara are the only ones here, Mattie.” Touching her softly on the arm, Miriam turned her attention toward the girls. “Seth is taking care of Belle. It will be just us girls.”

Mattie glanced up, though she still didn’t move a step forward.

“I made us a light lunch,” Lydia called out. “Some sandwiches.”

Mattie had begun to shake, and Miriam knew there would be no forcing the girl into the office. She looked out and over the grounds of the cabins. They had appeared so forlorn that first day when she
and Gabe and Grace had first driven up with Aaron to see his
onkel
’s place. Now the property had the appearance of a well-tended park. Miriam remembered her days teaching, when the weather would grow warm and the students would become restless. Her cure had been for everyone to take their lunches outside to eat.

“How about we sit at a picnic table?” Miriam suggested.

Lydia shrugged.

“I’ll help you carry things. Clara, would you walk Mattie down to the table?” Instead of waiting for an answer, Miriam climbed the steps, patting Clara on the arm as she passed her.

Once in the office, she and Lydia watched out the window as Clara and Mattie made their way down the path. The girls walked with a good foot in between them, neither talking or even acknowledging the other was there.

“How’s Clara?”

“How’s Mattie?”

The questions were uttered nearly simultaneously. For the first time since picking up the young girl, Miriam felt some of the tension in her shoulders ease.

“Quiet,” Miriam said. “She’s very quiet. Barely utters a word, and when she does I have to lean forward to make out what she’s saying.”

“Clara’s not much better, and to think there was a day when I wanted her to stop talking.”

“These things take time. It was a shock for Mattie, who probably thought they would never be caught. No doubt she envisioned a better ending—the young usually do.”

“And what of Clara? I still don’t understand her connection. Certainly it was traumatic to be here, but…”

“Perhaps today we’ll find out.”

“Mattie looks as if she’s lost even more weight.” Lydia craned her neck to see better out the window. “I believe she could blow away if we have a big wind.”

“Your lunch looks
gut
, Lydia. Maybe we can convince her to eat. Maybe the fresh air will help her appetite.”

They gathered up the sandwiches, cups, and pitcher of tea.

“Did Aaron get to the bus station okay this morning?” Miriam asked.

“I suppose. He was gone when I arrived.”

“When will he be back?”

“He didn’t say.”

“Oh.” Miriam paused, wondering how best to proceed or if she should just drop the subject. Finally she asked, “Were you able to have a talk with him before he left?”

She tried not to smile when Lydia blushed all the way to her prayer
kapp
.

“
Ya
, we did. He answered a lot of my questions, but I still don’t understand why he has to go home or why he has to see his parents.” Lydia shook her head, frustration creasing her brow. “I miss him already, and he only just left.”

“Time apart is difficult.”

Lydia thought about that, and then she motioned toward Mattie and Clara. “Do you think these meetings will do any good?”

“I don’t know, but we’re called to support one another, and that’s what we’re going to do. It’s up to us to be the string that holds this package together. Those two look as if they’ve each lost their best
freind
.”

“Mattie has.”

“She’s going to have to find another, and I have a feeling the gal sitting beside her is a very good candidate.”

“Maybe that’s what Clara wants, but she doesn’t know how to say so. They certainly don’t look like
freinden
. We could put Seth and Aaron in between those two, they’re sitting so far apart on that bench…” Lydia’s words trailed off as they reached the picnic table.

They didn’t have long to wonder about what the girls were thinking. The meal had barely started when the shouting began.

Miriam had bitten into her sandwich, ham-and-Swiss on rye, when Clara threw out the first words. She’d moved across the table from Mattie when she’d stood to help Lydia with the food.

“It’s not my fault, so you can stop staring at me that way.”

“Did I say it was your fault, Clara Fisher?”

“Maybe your words weren’t necessary. Maybe the scowl on your face was sufficient.”

Mattie pushed her plate away, though she’d yet to take a single bite. There were two spots of color on her cheeks, and her hands were balled into fists in her lap. Miriam didn’t move other than to place her sandwich back on her plate.

She was reminded of the years she’d spent teaching at the Plain School on Pebble Creek, the same creek now slipping peacefully by a few yards in front of them. There was nothing peaceful about their lunch, though. The tension could be sliced with the butter knife Lydia had brought to cut their sandwiches.

But like those teaching days, Miriam realized this time it might be best if she remained quiet—as long as the silverware did not start flying.