Amish White Christmas Pie

Will released a noisy yawn and rolled over. Seeing Pop’s side of the bed was empty, he pushed the heavy quilt aside, scrambled out of bed, and raced over to the window. When he lifted the dark green shade and peeked through the frosty glass, his breath caught in his throat. The ground and trees in the Stoltzfuses’ backyard were covered in white!

 

“Pop was right; we’ve got ourselves some snow!” Will darted across the room, slipped out of his nightshirt, and hurried to get dressed. He figured Pop must be outside helping Mark Stoltzfus do his chores
.

 

When Will stepped out of the bedroom, his nose twitched, and his stomach rumbled. The tangy smell coming from the kitchen let him know that the Amish woman named Regina was probably making breakfast
.

 

“It didn’t snow on Christmas like Pop said it would, but it’s sure snowin’ now!” Will shouted as he raced into the kitchen
.

 

Regina Stoltzfus turned from the stove and smiled at Will, her dark eyes gleaming in the light of the gas lantern hanging above the table
. “Jah,
it sure is. It would have been nice if we’d had a white Christmas, but the Lord decided to give us some fluffy white stuff today, instead.”

 

Will wiggled his bare feet on the cold linoleum floor, hardly able to contain himself. “I can’t wait to play in the snow with Pop. Maybe we can build a snowman.” He rushed to the back door, stood on his toes, and peered out the small window. “Is Pop helpin’ Mark milk the cows?”

 

Regina came to stand beside Will. “Your dad’s not helping Mark do his chores this morning,” she said, placing one hand on his shoulder
.

 

Will looked up at her and squinted. “He’s not?”

 

She shook her head
.

 

“How come?”

 

“Didn’t you find the note he wrote you?”

 

“Nope, sure didn’t. Why’d Pop write me a note?”

 

Regina motioned to the table. “Let’s have a seat, shall we?” When she pulled out a chair, he plunked right down
.

 

“After you went to bed last night, your dad had a talk with me and Mark,” she said, taking the seat beside him
.

 

“What’d ya talk about? Did Pop tell ya thanks for lettin’ us stay here and for fixin’ us Christmas dinner yesterday?”

 

“He did say thanks for those things, but he said something else, too.”

 

“What’d he say?”

 

Regina’s eyes seemed to have lost their sparkle. Her face looked kind of sad. “Your dad said he would leave a note for me to read you, Will. Are you sure there wasn’t a note on your pillow or someplace else in your room?”

 

“I didn’t see no note. Why would Pop leave a note for me?”

 

Regina touched his arm. “Your dad left early this morning, Will.”

 

“Left? Where’d he go?”

 

“To make his delivery, and then he—”

 

Will’s eyebrows shot up. “Pop left without me?”

 

She nodded. “He asked if we’d look after you while he’s trying to find a different job.”

 

Will shook his head vigorously. “Pop wouldn’t leave without me. I know he wouldn’t.”

 

“He did, Will. That’s why he planned to leave you a note—so you would understand why.”

 

Will jumped out of his chair, raced up the stairs, and dashed into the bedroom he and Pop had shared since they’d come to stay with Mark and Regina Stoltzfus a few days ago. There was no note on the pillow. No note on the dresser or nightstand, either. Will ran over to the closet and threw open the door. Pop’s suitcase was gone!