Abram's Daughters 04 The Prodigal (9 page)

"I s'pose I worry too much."

"Jah, but then all mothers do," Lizzie replied with a knowing smile.

She had noticed for some time now that Aunt Lizzie no longer called her "honey-girl," as she had all her growing-up years and beyond. Did she think Leah too old for the nickname? She didn't know and dismissed the thought as they settled into their study of Scripture, reading aloud the entire

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fifty-fourth chapter of the book of Isaiah. When Leah came to the final verse, the one she'd found underlined in Mamma's old Bible, she asked Aunt Lizzie about it. "Do you have any idea why Mamma would have marked this one?"

Lizzie looked down for a time, then, raising her face, she said slowly, "My sister Ida your dear mamma was rebuked harshly by Preacher Yoder, a good many years back." She paused and sighed, her hand at her throat, and then continued. "Your mamma went to speak with Deacon Stoltzfus one day, unbeknownst to any of us "

"Not even Dat?"

"Abram would've put a quick stop to it had he known."

"Why'd Mamma go to speak to the brethren?"

Lizzie put her finger in the Bible to mark the page. "Well, she had oodles of questions. . . passages in the Good Book puzzled her no end."

"Did she share this with you?"

Lizzie nodded. "Oh, we had our talks, just the two of us."

Leah held back a bit, not wanting to push too much. "I hope Mamma got her answers."

Lizzie straightened in her chair and slowly opened the Bible yet again. "That she did . . . and then some."

Leah inhaled deeply and reread the underlined passage. No weapon that is formed against th.ee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.

According to Aunt Lizzie, Mamma had gone over Dat's head, taking her issues to the preacher, of all things, who apparently admonished her to remain silent. Mamma had been judged for her curiosity. . . no, for her intense hunger for the Lord Jesus, a hunger Leah now shared for "the living Bread" as she read through Mamma's cherished Bible.

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I "The worst of it," Lizzie added, "was that Ida lost her E peace." , ;

"She spoke up?"

I "Talked back . . . kept askin' even more questions, trying In defend herself when she was to be silent," Lizzie explained. j "Not a gut idea, I should say. And for this she was threatened with the shun."

The air went out of Leah and she began to understand more fully Mamma's tremendous pain during Sadie's seemingly endless shunning. When she had composed herself, she noticed a tear roll down Aunt Lizzie's face. "Sometimes it's ever so hard. ..."

Leah reached out a hand to comfort Lizzie. "Did the preachers succeed in putting the Bann on Mamma?"

"They came close . . . but Abram managed to get the I upper hand with her, at least till all the dust had settled and I the bishop wasn't keeping such a close eye on them." Lizzie I attempted to blink back more tears but failed. I Leah offered her a handkerchief from beneath her own sleeve, feeling sorry for bringing up such a painful topic.

I Leah listened as Lydiann excitedly repeated herself about I"goin' to eat supper at Carl's house tonight." The family was lull bundled up, and both buggy seats were rather full and spillling over, what with Abe on Leah's lap and Lydiann and Sadie I bunched up together so Dat, Aunt Lizzie, and Dawdi John "could squeeze into the front seat.

Quite surprisingly, a handwritten invitation had arrived in I In- mail from Dan and Dottie Nolt on Friday. To Leah's

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further amazement, Dat had instructed her to accept. How all this had come about, she was unsure, although they had been sufficiently warned by Lydiann, hadn't they? Still, Leah found it interesting that Carl had managed to get his parents to invite Amish folk for a New Year's Eve supper, even with Mary Ruth's help. Leah could only hope they as a family weren't sitting ducks to be influenced toward Mennonite ways. That would not go over whatsoever with Dat.

Suddenly feeling playful, she bounced her knees, and Abe laughed. "Mamma's got awful bony knees," he said as she jostled him.

Dawdi John craned his neck in their direction. "Ya best be thankful you ain't sittin' on my knees, young man."

To this Lydiann let out a giggle. "Oh, Abe ... I say you oughta be glad ya have a place to sit at all. Or maybe you'd rather walk."

"Well, it ain't so far to the Nolts' place," Abe shot back.

"Remember when Abe was a little tyke?" Dat said more to Lizzie than to the rest of them. "I used to balance him and Lydiann both on my knees."

"Oh, I remember," Lydiann said.

Leah had to smile. "I don't think that's quite possible, dear."

"But I do!" Lydiann insisted.

Dawdi John chimed in, "Well, now, ya must be a mighty schmaert one to recall what happened when you was hardly out of diapers."

"Ach, Dawdi!" Lydiann said a bit too loudly.

"Now, Lyddie," Dat scolded over his shoulder.

"Shh," whispered Leah, patting the heavy woolen robe on top of Lydiann's lap.89he ^Prodigal

I I ytfi:iiin continued muttering but did not say anything muii1, .iikI Leah was grateful. It wouldn't do to have a lippy Lydl.um on board, not this night. With Dat's word of rebuke, pelu i reigned but for the muted, yet heavy thud of the Hjrui'.1-.' hooves against encrusted snow. Sleigh bells sounded in m$ distance, joined, as they passed another Amish farmhouse, K tin' familiar peal of a supper bell.

f When they arrived at the Nolts', Leah noticed Carl was Bun iiij; up against the front room window, peering out. For a M*p| Ing moment she recalled her excitement as a girl going to li'.n young Jonas and her other Mast cousins; then she got Ini nl the enclosed buggy and turned to offer her hand to l.y.li;mn and Sadie as they stepped down and onto the snow. I 11 i (iok no time at all for Lydiann to also spot Carl. "Lookee line, Mamma," she said, tugging on Leah's arm. "My best I in id's waitin' for us." With this, she took off running, emliin.issing Leah thoroughly and, no doubt, Aunt Lizzie, as well. I I );if, meanwhile, tied the horse to a boulder as Lizzie Id|Til Dawdi John up the shoveled walkway, both moving (early as slowly as cold blackstrap molasses.

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Xlis smile contagious, Carl Nolt told each person where to sit at the long trestle table, which reminded Lydiann of their own at home. When it was her turn, he led her to the place beside Aunt Lizzie. "Denki," she said, and he grinned the wayhe had when he was Joseph in the Christmas play, leaning near baby Jesus as their teacher had prompted him. She couldn't help but think Carl had a kind face. Like the realJoseph must've had.

When Carl seated himself across the table from Lydiann, she was ever so glad, because this way she could observe him without much effort. Her curiosity about his adoption was going to get the best of her sooner or later, though she didn't quite know how to bring up the topic. What was it like to be an orphan, anyway? She couldn't imagine it, really, except, of course, she herself could be considered a half orphan, having her sister Leah as a substitute mamma. So, in a way, maybe she did understand Carl's family situation better than she realized. Maybe that was why she liked him as a school chum, although Abe and Carl were also good pals, since the boys

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I'luyi'il Together at recess and ate lunch together at noon.

She wondered if Mary Ruth had taught Carl to read some INmisylvania Dutch, or. . . was it possible his uncle, the one win > enjoyed attending Amish farm sales, had instructed him? II :.i i, maybe that was something she could ask Carl about here In'lnio too long.

.lah, I will, once school starts up again, she decided.

I call, who had been awake since four-thirty that morning, WiiN beginning to tire of table talk come nearly eight o'clock. I ionic Nolt had served supper much later than the Ebersols were used to, though Leah hoped no one suspected how weary >>hc Iclt. She sat straight as she listened intently to the talk U-i ween Dat, Dawdi John, Dr. Schwartz, and Dan Nolt, with iHCiisional remarks from the women, especially Aunt Lizzie ai id Dottie. Leah had not been surprised to see the doctor and I iirrnine arrive ten minutes after Dat reined the horse into I be driveway, although the fact that the Schwartzes and Roben were also invited something Lorraine had shared with her Saturday had completely slipped Leah's mind, and she hiuI Tailed to mention it to Dat prior to their coming. Still, I 'ill seemed to be faring well, and he appeared to try to iiu hide Lizzie, seated next to him, in the conversation with i be Nolts, whom he seemed more relaxed talking to than kiihert Schwartz, not surprisingly. Aunt Lizzie, for her part, w.is not at all shy about entering in, seemingly comfortable Hiking about everything from the snowy weather to Dottie's delicious recipe for chicken with mushrooms.

I )r. Schwartz and Dan discussed something they'd read in

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the newspaper about a professional baseball team called the Dodgers and a proposed new stadium for downtown Brooklyn, New York. Leah could merely guess what such an enormous place might look like, having witnessed only their Amish young folk playing baseball or cornerball in meadows at one gathering or another. Meanwhile, she noticed how Sadie's face became drawn, her lips tense, whenever the doctor spoke, and Leah's heart felt especially tender toward her suffering sister.

The talk that most interested her, though, came from Mary Ruth's lips here lately, she and Dottie had spent an entire day making cottage cheese. "And, not to boast, but Dottie caught on real quick," Mary Ruth said, eyes shining with the telling.

"We made butter, too." Dottie nodded, apparently pleased with the end result of their labor.

Aunt Lizzie's face broke into an even wider smile. And Leah thought Lizzie's heart must surely be gladdened by the news that Mary Ruth was passing along some of the Old Ways to Dottie. What a nice thing, Leah thought, wondering if Dat might also be heartened at this domestic talk. But one look at her father made it clear he was now caught up in conversation with Robert, despite Dat's seeming reluctance to approach him at the start of the evening.

How odd for Dat to meet Mary Ruth's beau this way, contemplated Leah. But as the evening wore on, she felt it hadn't been such a bad idea, seeing that Dat and the doctor's elder son were getting along quite well.

She dared not think too hard on that herself, however each time she pondered how truly odd it was for Derek's brother to be sweet on one of Sadie's sisters, she felt a bit ill.

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m think (he same union that had given life to thoughtless fctty had also produced well-mannered Robert. She knew Mfhiiiul what an upstanding young man Robert was, for she'd ud nnipk' opportunity to encounter him while cleaning his BtrtluTs house.

I: Amidst the comfortable talk of the adults, Leah noticed Will,inn smiling at Carl across from her. But, by the time desi'l whs served, Lydiann's face had become serious, a sharp Bill nisi to her earlier high spirits.

I I rah sighed, wondering what might be bothering her dear I)!. W;is it possible she was dreading the end of a wonderfulIti id evening? After all, the two youngsters were close friends, though she sometimes wondered how Dat felt about Carl's Ifckly visits with Lydiann and Abe and, occasionally, Sadie, well, who had been known to join the children on the floor km i In- wood stove, playing games. Surely Dat wouldn't want I) risk a Mennonite youngster as a close playmate to Lydiann hil A hi-, and she had recently considered recommending to III11 (hut the children not continue attending the one-room tonji'iown School, which met the needs of the growing pin! population of Plain and fancy children alike. Besides, fcrir had been talk amongst the People of building an Amish In loom school in Gobbler's Knob, following the recent liicolidation of public schools. But so far nothing had been Iiiit- io make this happen, although with the divine appoint-

41 ii hilling upon Gid, there might be more interest now, fed;illy if Leah took it upon herself to voice Dat's concern huit Carl, Lydiann, and Abe becoming too friendly.

Sadie's first reaction upon laying nervous eyes on Robert IWiirCz was of absolute surprise, not because he reminded

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her of Derry, but because in every way he did not. Mary Ruth's beau was nothing at all like the brother she remembered even his mannerisms were unlike those of the dark-haired, dark-eyed boy who'd captured her heart, only to smash it to pieces. Robert's thoughtful demeanor and the way his eyes genuinely admired her sister were a marked contrast to the almost leering way Derry had always looked at her.

Recalling her youth, she realized anew what a tease she had been, seeking out fancy English boys to flirt with nearly every Friday night. It was no surprise she'd attracted the unwholesome advances of a young man such as Derry.

All that's behind me, Sadie thought, wishing she might have done things differently, yet recognizing her weakness for male attention. She still found it difficult to live without a man, no matter that she was a widow and drawing close to thirty years old.

"It was nice you could finally meet my father," remarked Mary Ruth as she and Robert sat together in the formal parlor. Such a pleasant room it was, with several windows facing north, toward the vast woods, which could readily be seen during daylight hours. Framing the wide doorway, gleaming wood reflected the light of two reading lamps mounted on the wall behind the settee.

All the good-byes had been said, and Mary Ruth had enjoyed the evening immensely, except that her twin and her newly expanded family had stayed snug at home, which was understandable with a newborn in the house.

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H "Vniir (.bid's quite a talker," said Robert. "I wasn't sure

Him! in expect."

H "i )i ice you get acquainted with him, Dat's not one to shy

Itmii '.peaking his mind, that's for sure."

H < Mmm to the window, Robert stood silently.