Abram's Daughters 03 The Sacrifice (16 page)

All during the ride to Hickory Hollow, Dat sat stiff and Blf, holding the reins. Leah felt awful sorry for Mamma and ^Ht'il she could be sitting next to her, patting her hand if ^H In', Dear, dear Mamma . . . two of her girls were gone ^H 11 ii1 house . . . and the Fold.

^H)| course, none of them knew for sure if Sadie had ever ^Hld acceptance into an Ohio church community, so Leah ^Htcil she ought not to jump to conclusions. Still, they all ^BrU'il Bishop Bontrager would have heard something if ^H| was a repentant member of a "high" church, one with ^H)iv relaxed discipline in short, just plain more worldly. ^H.imW pondered this while taking in the sky and trees, now ^H i il leaf and stark as could be against the wispy clouds and ^Hcly blue sky, hinting of gloomy gray days, blowing snow, ^Hti y winds. Soon heavy snows would put everything into ^H motion once again.

^H hc shivered suddenly, eager for Mamma's newborn babe, lowing full well the great joy an infant could offer a '< Miuk'd soul. In the eyes of her heart, though, she could not ii" i^liic ever holding her own baby, hard as she tried. "Oh, ! I mi 'II come, surely it will, once you and Smithy Gid are

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husband and wife," Aunt Lizzie had assured her the other day when she'd confided this.

Once I am a wife . . .

The words still seemed somewhat foreign to her, yet she knew her heart was ready to both give and receive love again."Once you're married, you'll forget you ever loved Jonas," one quilter had cheekily whispered in her ear during a break for coffee and sticky buns.

Leah didn't see how she'd ever quite forget the relationship she'd had with Jonas, maybe because he had been her girlhood love. But, in due time, Mamma had recently insisted, Leah's injury of the heart would mend "a hundred percent."

When they neared Cattail Road, tired from traveling, Dal announced they were coming up on Hickory Hollow.

Leah liked the sound of the small place and wondered how it got its name. She knew what a hollow was a holler the People called it but just why was the nearly invisible dot on the map named Hickory? Was it because of the many hardwood trees growing nearby, most originating from the walnui family? She'd heard her father speak of a farmer there who made hickory rockers as a hobby. Dat had purchased several rocking chairs some years back from the older gentleman. Whatever the source of the name, Leah was eager to lay eyes on the well-forested landscape once again.

Once they arrived, Dat jumped out and hurried around the carriage to help Mamma down, seemingly more compassionate toward her than at the outset of the trip.155if i c e '

Nun1 for some good fellowship, Leah thought, breathing a jpvtal Ni^h at having safely reached their destination, as ^J| Bt Dat's improved mood. They all could use a carefree Skull, what with Mary Ruth gone to live with Englishers. ^Birlnis' the ride up, Aunt Lizzie had talked softly to Leah, H^iin ylad to cradle sleeping Lydiann in her arms. "Noah ^mn/ky will be mighty glad to see us," Lizzie had said. HlLully Lydiann, I would think."

H4lich loo long since we've visited, ain't?" ', . , Htllc had nodded. "We ought not to be so distanced from

Be .':

BftiiU'diately Cousins Peter and Fannie Mast came to H Lt'ah shook herself, not so much physically as mentally. HttivJ not allow herself to think about the Mast family. How she leaned down and kissed the tip of Lydiann's tiny Hj"U'r little sister's eyes blinked open. "Lookee where we H)W. You slept nearly all the way, dear one." Hit' continued to hold Lydiann close for a moment, till HftT girl awakened. Then she rose and got down out of By^Ky herself,*still carrying her sister. BX/hat a nice December day!" Lizzie commented as they Hvt-J Becky and Noah into their Dawdi Haus, filling up ly nil the places for sitting in the small front room. mi in I Reeky served hot spiced cider to each of them, H)l for Lydiann, who seemed glad to sit off away from the

1 at the small kitchen table, drinking a cup of chocolate Leah pulled out a chair to be near Lydiann, noticing B) and Mamma's sister-in-law, Becky, was moving slower, I limping on occasion. Uncle Noah, with his long graying H, was, too.

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Goodness, they look older than I thought they might. She wondered how long it would be before Dat and Mamma began r< > show their age and slow down. Uncle Noah was lots older than Lizzie, for sure, and a number of years ahead of Mamma, too. She observed Aunt Becky, who had seemed to be trying very hard not to stare at Mamma's swollen stomach.

She probably thinks Mamma shouldn't be out in public, thought Leah. After all, there were probably only three weeks left before they'd know if Abram's daughters would be weL coming a brother at long last. At least two of us will be on hand to help Mamma with the new one. Leah was thinking of Aunt Lizzie and herself; naturally Hannah and Lydiann would benowhere near the birthing room. Just then she wondered if Dat would ban Mary Ruth from the house even on the joyous day of Mamma's delivery.

Mamma's voice drew Leah back to the moment. "A new

baby will help keep my Mann and me young longer," she said right out. "Ain't so, Abram?"

Dat appeared sheepish now and said nothing.

Leah found his lack of response intriguing. "Well, now, that's the truth," she whispered playfully to Lydiann, reaching over to tickle her head as the toddler reached up and grabbed Leah's fingers with an unexpectedly strong grip.

"Schweschder . . . Lee ah," Lydiann surprised her by saying.

"Jah, that's right. I am your sister." She laughed softly. Wouldn't Mamma enjoy hearing about Lydiann's sweet words? She would be sure to tell her on the ride home to Gobbler's

Knob. ..... ... ., , ... .... , . ,-,

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I \lt.er sitting and talking about the weather and whatnot,

I > II us asking about both Hannah and Mary Ruth, Aunt

I'. I y brought out a small tray of crackers and several kinds

|| 11 H-oses, along with sliced apples. "Help yourself," she said,

pttrrlng about the room while balancing the tray in one

piul. Her wooden cane had made its appearance, but no one

Itl n word about it.

I [ Inele Noah and Aunt Becky talked of their own friends

|tnl relatives, including one Ella Mae Zook. "The dear

miiiiiin's known for her mint tea and mighty lovin' heart,"

pun I Becky said. "She's even got herself a nickname."

I "Oh? What's that?" asked Mamma.

I "Some folk nowadays are callin' her the Wise Woman."

I I Jncle Noah grimaced and made a peculiar sound in the

I,. I of his throat. "What women don't go 'n' think up. . . ."

If ili thought she heard him mutter.

I Hut the real news from Hickory Hollow that day was

bout Sadie. "I h%ar Sadie's in the family way," Aunt Becky

Hid, grunting as she sat down.

I Mamma's face at once brightened and then instantly

IttKKod. Dat right away turned and stared hard at the window.

Leal) didn't know if he was struggling with the mention of his

If Ml horn's name or just what.

I She kept waiting for someone, anyone at all, to make a

Hininder that there was to be no mention of Sadie's name in

Iho midst of the Gobbler's Knob folk by Bishop Bontrager's

iti'roe and Dat's own wishes. Of course, the Bann did not

Include Hickory Hollow. r : V

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s m > n158 i .' . ''KJeaerty J^ e w i s ".

"When did ya hear?" Mamma managed to say. ,

"Just yesterday," Aunt Becky replied.

Right then it seemed Mamma and Becky Brenneman weir the only two in the room and communing on some cherished level.

"Who told ya?" Mamma asked, eyes wide. \ ,.: ,

"A cousin of a friend of Ella Mae's."

"Anything I can read for myself?" Mamma said, shocking Leah and evidently Aunt Lizzie, too, as Lizzie's hands flew Co her throat.

Aunt Becky shook her head. "No. Sorry, Ida." ::.

"Simple hearsay, then?"

"Either she's expecting a baby or she ain't," Aunt Becky replied, accompanied by a severe stare from Uncle Noah.

"No more!" Abram's head was bowed low, as if in prayer. Raising his face to them, he spoke again. "Best leave things be."

Glancing around the room at Dat and Mamma . .. and Aunt Lizzie, too, Leah saw pain mirrored on their faces. She felt the urge to speak up like Mary Ruth had been doing lately. Trembling, she had to will herself to remain silent and simply let the news of Sadie's first baby as a married woman sink into the hollows of her mind. Seeping slowly, surely inci > her splintered heart.

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' will nhout her washday routine the Monday after the I iiry I lollow visit, washing and hanging out clothes with

11 I nun Leah and Hannah, who took turns tending to I' mil throughout the morning hours. Ida refused to give in

* I. Ju^cd pain that wracked her middle. Surely this was

11. ii \\< more than the result of too much brooding over Mary 'it moving out so awful sudden ... and the disquieting .ill' Sadie being with child and lo, at the selfsame time ill ii(,(iiin. Sterne as when I was carrying Lydiann. What was it mi Iht firstborn and herself? Was it the tie that binds, as H| so often referred to regarding mothers and daughters? wasn't wise to waste time wondering or worrying when Htul plenty to accomplish, just as she did every day but Hny. I ler "vacation" was nigh upon her, and that would H well and good once her baby arrived. She knew instincBy I his was to be her last child, just as Lizzie seemed to yN know when the weather was changing and rain or m was headed their way. For her own sake, she must not ill on either Sadie or Mary Ruth any longer, though it was

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mighty hard not to, especially when Mary Ruth showed up later that afternoon, long after the noon meal.

"I need to speak with you, Mamma," she said, her pretty face close to the screen door.

Ida hurried to the back door. What'll Abram say if hecatches her sneaking round here? She didn't care so much to be finding out.

"'S'okay if I come in?" Mary Ruth was rutsching around, squirming to beat the band.

"Well, jah, all right," Ida said, not going all the way to the door, but motioning quickly to her.

They scampered like frightened cats upstairs to what was now Hannah's bedroom. "I had to see you," Mary Ruth said. "Even if it means I get a tongue-lashin' from Dat." Then she began to cry. "I want, more than anything, to share what's happened to me. I just never thought..."

"Now, now, dear girl," Ida said, cradling her. "I know your heart's taken over, that's all. We all struggle so at one time or 'nother."

"Then you do understand, Mamma? You don't hate me for what I must do?"

She shook her head. "Believe me, there is not a speck of anything but love in me for you and your sisters. Never doubt that, Mary Ruth."

"I hope Dat will allow me to visit sometimes, see the new baby, too. I'm not under the Bann, for pity's sake." Mary Ruth was sitting on the side of the bed where, till now, she'd always slept.

"That, you're not." Ida felt all in now, wondering whether qr not to say what she wanted to. And then she did, surprising

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HjlNell, "This should never have happened you bein' sent HVtty, Vonr lather is of the old school, so to speak. And, well, Hlimin' I am, too, 'cause I'm married to him. He's mighty tei mined not to let his opinions slip to the side not 'bout HJuhci rducation nor spending time with Mennonites, neither* ."

H 11 icy looked at each other, basking in the love only a Hoihor and daughter can know. "So then, I'm bein' shunned v I Ml: alone?"

I "Sad to say, but seems so. No reason for it, really . . . you

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Hi h'i baptized yet."

B

Mary Ruth hung her head. "I can't put aside my hopes and i* iiiis -and my newfound joy in the Lord Jesus." She began Hi -.liaiv the arrangement she had with Dan and Dottie Nolt.

11 icy want to help me with my studies; then next semester

t limning in January I'll start school at Paradise High

II i i 11u In ml.

"' These plans of yours, they've been simmerin' inside ya for vr so long." Ida knew this was true. Oh, the light of advenluic lilled evafy part of her talkative girl.

I "I'm ever so happy in one way . . . and awful sad in

iini her."

1 "Jah, I 'spect so, but there's nothin' to be done 'bout it,

lew, is there?" she said, feeling the tightness in her stomach Ruin.

I " 'Tis awful nice that I live within walkin' distance of you

fluid Dat." Mary Ruth's pretty blue eyes glistened and filled

Wilh tears once more. "I can only hope and pray Dat will see

the light of God's Word, that he'll understand I must follow

the Lord's call. Honestly, Mamma, I've found such life at my

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new church. And, oh, the preaching! I hesitate to say the things I feel . . . that I know without a scrap of doubt. I wish you could know this same peace and joy this overflowing love for everyone round me."

A tight throat kept her from acknowledging that she, too, fully understood and had long embraced this sacred hope had opened her heart wide to it long ago, though out of necessity keeping it secret.

At last she found her voice. "I have prayed this might come to you, dear one. For all my children, really. And now I see that it has. Oh, Mary Ruth!"

Mary Ruth's eyes, bright with tears, lit up again. "Then, are you sayin' you walk and talk with the Lord just as I do?"

Ida was eager to say she, too, was a believer and in every sense of the word saved set free from her sins. Openly she told Mary Ruth these things, sharing her belief that people can "stand up and be counted for the Lord" no matter where they find themselves. "Yet just 'cause I've opened my heart to God's truth and attempt to live it out day by day, I don't feel I must leave the community of the People behind. I want to be a shining light right here in Gobbler's Knob."

"Oh, Mamma, you're a beacon! You surely are." Mary Ruth gripped her hand and rose when Ida did.