A Man of His Word (13 page)

Gabe nodded, only half-listening to what John was saying. “I’ll see you this afternoon.”

After grabbing his coat and hat, he rushed to the shop. Aaron was already at work sweeping the floor, even though it didn’t need it. He had swept it thoroughly the day before.

“Aaron,” Gabe called.

Aaron looked up, then set the broom aside before shoving his hands in his pockets and lumbering over to Gabe. “What can I do for you?”

His standard question. Since starting work two days ago, Aaron Detweiler hadn’t said much and mostly kept to himself, but he always asked Gabe and John what he could do for them. Gabe had confidence that he was leaving the shop in good hands. “I’ve got some errands to do, and I’ll be gone most of the day.
Daed
’s inside the main house, but I don’t want him working out here today. I’m closing up the shop, but I hope you’ll do a few things for me.” Aaron nodded and listened carefully to Gabe’s instructions. “When you’re done, just let
Daed
know before you go home.”

Aaron nodded again but remained silent.

“
Danki
.” Gabe hurried out the door and hustled to the end of the driveway. He sprinted along the road to the telephone box situated in between his property and the Fishers’, his neighbors. The church’s
Ordnung
allowed the Millers to use cell phones for their business, but they hadn’t made the switch yet. Four families, including his, shared this telephone for business or emergency purposes only. Today constituted an emergency. He called Guy Thompson, a fellow he knew who ran a taxi service for many of the Amish. As the hollow-sounding ring repeated in Gabe’s ears, he prayed Guy was home.

“Thompson,” a man with a low, gruff voice answered on the fourth ring.

Gabe offered a quick, silent prayer of thanks. “Guy, this is Gabriel Miller.”

“Hey, Gabe. How are you?”

“Doing all right,” Gabe said, but that was far from the truth. Inside the dense wool of his gloves, his palms broke out into a sweat while his stomach churned. Confronting his brother was the last thing he wanted to do, and he knew he needed God’s help to keep his temper when he saw him. He fought to keep his tone steady. He didn’t need Guy asking any questions. “I need a ride. Are you available today?”

“Sure am. Where you wanna go?”

“Gates Mills,” Gabe said, letting out a frosty breath. “I need to see my brother.”

Moriah’s eyes ached as she struggled to open them. Somehow she had managed to fall asleep, but she didn’t know when or how. She had only agreed to go upstairs to placate Gabe, who had insisted she get some rest. Thank the Lord he had been there last night. What would she have done without him? Uncharacteristically, he had been kind to her, giving her comfort, trying to reassure her that everything would be all right, even though she could see in his eyes how deeply Levi’s betrayal had affected him. When he told her she had to sleep for her baby’s sake, she finally, albeit reluctantly, agreed.

But when she’d begun to climb the stairs, the tears came again. Over and over she had asked herself how Levi could do this—to her, to their families, to himself, to their community. Didn’t he realize what it meant for him to leave their faith? He had agreed to live by the tenets of their church for the rest of his life when he had been baptized. How could he break that vow? And why would he break their marriage vow?

She couldn’t shake the thought that somehow his leaving had to be her fault. What she had done to fail him. What she could have done differently.

She’d cried until she had fallen asleep.

Now, with bright winter sunshine streaming through her window, she forced herself to wake up. Breathing in the air of a new day, her sorrow multiplied as she looked around her bedroom. The room she had shared with Levi for the past four months. Every bit of her surroundings reminded her of him. She spied the open closet door, taking in the dark outline of his black Sunday suit. He had looked so handsome in his stark-white shirt and black vest. Her gaze fell on his spare pair of work boots, one boot lying sideways as if it had been cast asunder.

She sat up and threw off the covers. The emptiness of this room, the dreams that would be unfulfilled, they all assaulted her.

She glanced down and saw that she wore the same dress she’d had on yesterday. Shoving away her thoughts, she rose from the bed and trudged to the closet, swallowing the lump in her throat. As she reached toward her dresses, she tried to ignore Levi’s shirts, particularly the one she’d sewn and given to him on their one-month anniversary. She had commemorated each monthly anniversary with something special. Last night was to be the most special of all.

Blinking back tears, she grabbed the first dress she touched and carried it to her bed, tossing it on top of her scattered bedclothes. Within minutes she had stripped off her wrinkled dress and was in her underclothes, her exposed skin pebbling in the cold air. She hadn’t bothered to start the small propane heater in the bedroom last night, and she felt the chill seep into her. But instead of dressing, she shut the closet door and stared at her reflection in the mirror hanging on the back.

Her hand went to her flat stomach. Soon the new life inside her would grow, stretching out her belly more than she would think possible. She remembered when her youngest sister, Ruthie, had been born. Her mother had been so swollen Moriah thought she would pop. She wondered if her baby would do the same thing to her.

Her teeth started to chatter, but she didn’t care. The cold numbed her, both outside and in. She could stand here forever, not feeling a thing. No pain. No regrets. No heartache.

Nothing.

“Moriah?”

The faraway sound of her father-in-law’s gravelly voice travelled up the stairs.

“Honey, are you awake?”

Her body began to shake violently as the cold set into her bones. She noted that John’s voice was steady, and she realized Gabe hadn’t told him about Levi. She briefly wondered why, but figured he had his own reasons. She wouldn’t say anything either, not wanting to be the one to break the bad news to him. She also didn’t want to raise his suspicions, so she quickly dressed, then pinned up her hair with shaky hands before fastening her
kapp
. Slipping on her shoes, she went downstairs, hoping her father-in-law wouldn’t notice the redness in her eyes.

John stood at the bottom of the staircase, one gnarled hand resting on the simple banister. “
Gude mariye
,” he said, his kind gaze giving her a once over. “Gabe said you were feeling poorly last night. Are you doing any better this morning?”

“I’m f-fine,” she said, unable to keep her teeth from chattering.

His good-natured expression changed to one of concern. He reached out and touched her forehead with the rough pads of his fingers. “Goodness, you’re freezing.” John put his arm around her shoulders and shook his head. “Chilled to the bone. Didn’t you have the heat on last night?”

“I forgot,” she said as he led her to the kitchen. “Guess I was too tired last night.”

“You must have been. Well, we’ll warm you right up.”

They walked into the kitchen, and her cold body welcomed the heat emanating from the stove. The aroma of fresh coffee comforted her as she sat down at the table.

John walked over to the stove and picked up the percolator. “Gabriel made some coffee before he left. Thought you might want some. Would you like a cup?”

Bless Gabriel. Moriah wrapped her arms around her body. How stupid of her to stand upstairs and freeze. That’s all she needed to do—catch a cold and get sick. She had more than herself to think about now.

“Or would you rather have some tea?” John turned and looked at her. “My own special brew. Will fix whatever ails you.” He smiled.

Not knowing what John’s “special brew” consisted of, or if it would be safe for her baby, she shook her head. “Coffee will be fine.”

John poured her a cup of coffee. “Sugar? Cream?”

“Black,” she said, even though she hated the taste of black coffee. But she didn’t want to put him to any trouble. Knowing Gabriel, he had probably asked his father to stay with her. Yet another reason to be grateful for her brother-in-law. She needed the distraction of John’s company.

Her father-in-law placed the mug in front of her, then set his own mug in front of him before he sat down.

“Where’s Gabriel?” Moriah said, breathing in the scent of the strong beverage. Her stomach performed an unexpected summersault. Maybe she should have had the tea instead.

“I don’t know. Said he had to go somewhere, and he’d be gone most of the day. He left Aaron in charge of the shop.”

Moriah nodded, bringing the drink up to her lips. She surmised Gabriel had gone to see Levi, to convince him to come back to the community. A glimmer of hope flickered inside her. Levi’s return would be the best thing for everyone, but where would they go from there? Levi didn’t love her. He didn’t want her. How could she deal with that?

She would have to accept it with patience and humility.

Her father-in-law leaned forward, his smile slipping somewhat. “Moriah, are you sure you’re all right? You’ve turned awful pale all of a sudden.”

Her belly bubbled and gurgled, and nausea rose up in her throat. Perspiration beaded on her upper lip. The coffee suddenly smelled putrid and rank. She shoved away from the table, her hand covering her mouth.

“Moriah?”

Flying to the bathroom, she slammed the door behind her, kneeled over the toilet, and threw up.

“You should really try some of my tea,” John said from the other side of the door. “Does wonders to settle the stomach.”

Chapter 6

O
h my, these dogs are howling.” Gladys Johansson plopped her ample behind on the low concrete-topped brick wall directly across from Mary Yoder’s restaurant. The plump waitress slipped off one of her tennis shoes and rubbed her chubby foot. Wisps of her dyed-red hair swayed in the cold breeze, revealing her silvery roots. “Yep, I’m gonna have me a good soak in the foot tub tonight. Just me, my bubbles, and some trashy reality television. The perfect way to spend an evening.”

Rachel grinned as she sat next to her Yankee coworker. Mary Yoder’s Amish Kitchen was owned by Yankees but employed both the Amish and outlanders. It was only two in the afternoon, but Gladys obviously planned to begin her evening as soon as possible.

Their morning shift had just ended, and Rachel was waiting for Christian to pick her up. He had made the offer after the singing last Sunday evening and she had accepted. Two days had passed since then, and she was kind of looking forward to seeing him.

Gladys shoved her foot back in her shoe, wiggling her heel back and forth until it was completely encased in white leather, then bent over and tied the laces. After one last stretch, she stood, then slung her black purse over her shoulder and turned to Rachel. “Sure you don’t want me to give you a ride home, honey? It’ll only take a few minutes. I’ll just bring my car around and off we’ll go.”

Rachel tugged her navy blue
reck
closer to her body, the wool blend soft and warm. Despite the cloudless sky, the sun offered little heat. February in Ohio could be brutal. “No thanks, Gladys. Christian is coming to pick me up.”

“The fellow who’s had breakfast here a few times? The one who always sits at one of your tables?”