Hope Chest (5 page)

***

The farmers’ market where Rachel and her family were heading was eight miles from their farm. Today the trip seemed even longer than usual, and the cramped quarters in the buggy combined with the hot, sticky weather didn’t help much, either. Rachel had felt a bit cross all morning, and now she was even more agitated.

Dad and Mom rode in the front of the buggy, with Elizabeth sitting between them. Two benches in back provided seating for Rachel, Anna, Joseph, and Perry. Behind them, they’d stashed the boxes filled with produce, plants, and fresh-cut flowers. Mom’s wheelchair was scrunched in back, as well.

The temperature was in the nineties, with humidity so high Rachel felt her dress and underclothes sticking to her body like flypaper. When they finally pulled into the parking lot, she was the first one to jump down from the buggy.

Perry tended to the horse, while Joseph and Dad unloaded the boxes and carried them to the spot where they set up their tables. Elizabeth and Rachel followed, with Anna a few feet behind, pushing Mom’s wheelchair over the bumpy terrain.

Everyone scurried around to help set up their tables, and soon the Beachys were open for business. People started buying right away, and whenever they were between customers, Rachel and her siblings were allowed to take turns wandering around the market.

Rachel took a break around noontime and headed for a stand advertising cold cherry cider. A tall, gangly Amish fellow waited on her. Freckles covered his nose, and he looked to be about nineteen or twenty. Rachel didn’t recognize him and figured he must be from another district.

“It’s a mighty hot day, isn’t it?” he asked, giving her a wide grin.

“Jah, it surely is warm.” She handed him some money. “I’d like a glass of cherry cider, please.”

He bent down and removed a jug from the ice chest underneath the table, then poured some of the cider into a paper cup and handed it to Rachel. “Here you go.”

“Danki.”

Rachel drank the cool beverage quickly, then moved on to another table where Nancy Frey, the Amish schoolteacher in their district, sold a variety of pies.

Nancy smiled up at Rachel. “Are you here with your family?”

“Jah. We’re selling produce and lots of flowers and plants from my folks’ greenhouse.” Rachel pointed across the way. “Our tables are over there.”

“I sure hope business is better for you than it has been here. Pies aren’t doing so well today.”

Rachel licked her lips as she studied the pies on Nancy’s table. “Apple-crumb, shoofly, and lemon sponge are all my favorite.”

“Would you like to try a slice?” Nancy asked. “I already have an apple-crumb cut.”

“It’s real tempting, but I’d better not spoil my appetite, or I won’t be able to eat any of the lunch I brought along.”

Nancy smiled. “How’s your mamm doing these days? The last few times I’ve seen her, she was in her wheelchair. Doesn’t she use her crutches anymore?”

“She does some, though I think it’s difficult for her to walk like a stiff-legged doll. Mom says the older she gets, the harder it is, so she uses her wheelchair more often than the braces these days.” Rachel fanned her face with her hand. “Well, guess I’ll be moving on. It’s awful hot and muggy today, so I think I’ll see if I can find a bit of shade somewhere.”

Nancy nodded. “I know what you mean. If I weren’t here alone, I’d be doing the same thing.”

“I’d be happy to watch your table awhile,” Rachel offered. “Danki, but my sister Emma will be along soon. I’m sure she’ll be willing to let me take a little break.”

“All right then. See you later, Nancy.” Rachel moved away from the table and found the solace she was looking for under an enormous maple tree growing in the field behind the market. She was about to take a seat on the ground, when she caught sight of Silas Swartley. Her heart slammed into her chest as she realized he was heading her way.

***

Silas gritted his teeth as he made his way to the backside of the farmers’ market. He had just come from the Yutzys’ table, and the few minutes he’d spent talking to Reuben’s folks had made him feel sick at heart. They’d told Silas that they had a pretty good inkling of what their son was up to ... or at least they knew some of it. Silas was sure Reuben hadn’t told his folks everything he’d been thinking of late, but then, he hadn’t really told Silas all that much the last time they’d spoken, either.

Reuben had always had a mind of his own, even when they were children attending the one-room schoolhouse together. Silas remembered one time when Reuben had skipped school and gone to the lake for a day of fishing. When he’d come back to school the following day, Reuben had expressed no repentance. The ornery fellow had bragged about the three fish he’d caught and how he’d gotten out of taking the spelling test they were supposed to have that day. Even though Reuben had to stay after school every day for a week and do double chores at home, he hadn’t been tamed in the least.

Silas drew in a deep breath. He figured he’d best forget about Reuben, because it wasn’t likely that his stubborn friend would listen to anything he had to say. Might be best for him to concentrate on Anna, since she suddenly seemed discontent with her life. He hoped to change all that, though. If Anna would agree to court him, maybe soon they could talk about marriage and settling down to starting a family of their own.

Silas had decided to head out to the field behind the market to think things through, when he noticed Anna’s little sister Rachel sitting under a giant maple tree.
Hmm ... she might be the one I need to talk to.

He hurried across the grassy area and plunked down beside her. “Hey, Rachel. What’s new with you?”

***

Rachel couldn’t believe Silas had taken a seat beside her, but it tickled her pink that he had. “Not much new with me,” she said. “How about you?”

“Same old thing, I guess.” Silas removed his straw hat and fanned his face with the brim. “So, what are you doing out here by yourself?”

“Trying to get cooled off.” For one crazy moment, Rachel had an impulse to lean her head on Silas’s shoulder and confess her undying love for him. She didn’t, of course, for that would have been far too bold. And it would have only proved to him that she really was quite immature.

“Sure is a warm day we’re having. Whew! Even under the shade of this big old tree, it’s hot.”

She nodded and looked upward.

“What are you lookin’ at?”

“Oh, I thought I heard a bluebird whistling.”

Silas tipped his head way back. “Really? Where is it?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe I’m just hearing things—hoping a bluebird might show itself.”

Silas chuckled. “I thought I was the only one who liked to listen for the bird sounds.”

“You’re not alone; that’s one of my favorite pastimes.”

He glanced over at the people crowding around all the market tables. “Say, Rachel, I was wondering if we could talk.”

“I thought we
were
talking.”

He grinned and dropped his hat to his knees. “I guess we were, at that. What I really meant to say was, can we talk about your sister?”

Rachel frowned. She might have known Silas hadn’t planned to talk about her. She shrugged, trying not to let her disappointment show. “What about Anna? She’s the sister you were referring to, right?”

Silas lifted his gaze toward the sky. “Of course, I meant Anna. It couldn’t be Elizabeth I want to talk about. I’m no cradle robber, you know.”

Rachel felt as though Silas had slapped her across the face. Even though he was speaking about her twelve-year-old sister, she still got his meaning. She knew Silas wouldn’t dream of looking at her because she was five years younger than he. Besides, what chance did she have against the beauty of her older sister?

In a surprise gesture, Silas touched Rachel’s chin and turned her head so she was looking directly at him. Her chest fluttered with the sensation of his touch, and it was all she could do to keep from falling over. “Did you hear what I said, Rachel?”

“I—I believe so, but what was it you wanted to say about Anna?”

“You and your sister are pretty close, isn’t that right?”

She gulped and tried to regain her composure. “I used to think so.”

“Anna probably talks more to you than anyone else, correct?”

Rachel shook her head. “I think she tells her friend Martha Rose more than she does me these days.”

Several seconds went by before Silas spoke again. “I suppose I could talk to Martha Rose, but I don’t know her all that well. I’d feel more comfortable talking to you about Anna than I would to her best friend.”

Rachel supposed she should feel flattered that Silas wanted to speak with her, yet the thought of him using her only to learn more about Anna irked her to no end.

“Okay,” she said with a sigh. “What is it you want to know about my sister?”

“Can you tell me how to make her pay me some mind? I’ve tried everything but stand on my head and wiggle my ears, yet she still treats me like yesterday’s dirty laundry. I tell you, Rachel, it’s got me plumb worn out trying to get sweet Anna to agree to courting.”

Sweet Anna?
Rachel thought ruefully.
Silas, you might not think my sister’s so sweet if you knew that she has no plans to let you court her.

Rachel felt sorry for poor Silas, sitting there all woebegone, pining for her sister’s attention. If she wasn’t so crazy about the fellow herself, she might pitch in and try to set things right between him and Anna. “I think only God can get my sister thinking straight again.” She looked away, studying a row of trees on the other side of the field.

“You’re kind of pensive today,” Silas remarked. “Is it this oppressive heat, or are you just not wanting to help me with Anna?”

Rachel turned to face him again. “I think a man who claims to care for a woman should speak on his own behalf. Even though my sister and I don’t talk much anymore, I know her fairly well, and I don’t think Anna would like it if she knew you were plotting like this.”

Silas’s forehead wrinkled. “I’m not plotting. I’m just trying to figure out some way to make Anna commit to courting. I thought maybe you could help, but if you’re gonna get all peevish on me, then forget I even brought up the subject.”

Now I’ve gone and done it.
Silas will never come to care for me if I keep making him mad.
Rachel placed her trembling hand on Silas’s bare arm, and the sudden contact with his skin made her hand feel like it was on fire. “I—I suppose it wouldn’t hurt if I had a little talk with Anna,” she mumbled.

A huge grin spread across Silas’s summer-tanned face. “You mean it, Rachel? You’ll really go to bat for me?”

She nodded slowly, feeling like she was one of her father’s old sows being led away to slaughter. First she’d promised Dad to help Anna and Silas get together, and now she’d agreed to speak to Anna on Silas’s behalf. It made no sense, since she didn’t really want them to be together. But a promise was a promise, and she would do her best to keep it.

CHAPTER 4

That Sunday, church was to be held at Eli and Laura Yoders’ place. They only lived a few farms from the Beachys, so the buggy ride didn’t take long at all.

Many Amish carriages were already lined up near the side of the Yoders’ house, but Dad managed to find an empty spot near Eli’s folks’ home. Joseph helped Mom into her wheelchair, while Dad unhitched the horse and put him in the corral; then everyone climbed out of the buggy and scattered in search of friends and relatives to visit before church got started.

Rachel noticed Silas standing on one end of the Yoders’ front porch, and she berated herself for loving him so much. She was almost certain he would never love her in return. She wasn’t sure he even liked her. She either needed to put him out of her mind or figure out some way to make him take notice of her.

Silas seemed to be focused on Anna, who was talking with Martha Rose Zook and Laura Yoder at the other end of the porch.
Guess I’d better speak to Anna soon, before Silas comes asking if I did.
Rachel joined her sister and the other two women, but she made sure she was standing close enough to Anna so she could whisper in her ear. “Look, there’s Silas. He seems to be watching you.”

“So?”

“Don’t you think he’s good-looking?”

Anna nudged Rachel in the ribs. “Since you seem so interested, why not go over and talk to him?”

Rachel shook her head. “It’s you he’s interested in, not me.”

“I think we’d better hurry and get inside. Church is about to begin,” Anna said, conveniently changing the subject.

Rachel followed her sister into the Yoders’ living room, where several rows of backless, wooden benches had been set up. She would have to speak to Anna about Silas later on, even though she knew it would pain her to do it.

The men and boys took their seats on one side of the room, while the women and girls gathered on the other. Rachel sat between her two sisters, and Mom parked her wheelchair alongside a bench where some of the other women sat.

All whispering ceased as one of the deacons passed out the hymnals. In their usual chantlike voices, the congregation recited several traditional German hymns. Next, one of the ministers delivered the opening sermon. This was followed by a time of silent prayer, where everyone knelt. Then Deacon Shemly read some scripture, and Bishop Wagler gave the main sermon.