Kate's Song (11 page)

“No problem,” said the doctor. “I’ve got to go in to the college for a few hours, so it’s no trouble at all.”

Kate settled into her seat and glanced at Miriam out of the corner of her eye. Miriam seemed determined not to speak, and Kate nearly resolved to remain silent. If she did not say anything, Miriam would not be able to find fault with anything that came out of her mouth. But she soon thought better of it. Nathaniel glanced back at the two of them anxiously, and Kate knew it was her responsibility to break the ice.

“Nathaniel tells me you delivered a baby this week,” Kate said with forced enthusiasm.

“Jah, Ervin Stoltzfus’s boy.”

“How much did he weigh?”

“Seven pounds,” Miriam said, looking out the window.

Kate persisted. “What did they name him?”

“Ervin Junior.”

Nathaniel craned his neck to look at his mamm as if to prompt her into a friendlier conversation. “He is the first boy after five girls.”

“Oh, what a nice blessing for them,” Kate said. “I am sure they were mighty proud to have a boy yet.”

Miriam propped her elbow on the arm wrapped around her waist and looked at Kate. “There is nothing wrong with a girl baby.”

“Oh no, of course not, but after five girls, a boy would be a nice surprise.” She glanced at Miriam for any kind of response. She didn’t get one. “My sister-in-law Ada has five boys. I know she would look on a baby girl as a true blessing.”

Miriam said nothing—simply went back to staring out the window. Getting Miriam to say more than three words at a time proved much like pulling teeth.

Nathaniel cleared his throat. “Tell Kate about the Miller twins, Mamm.”

“She does not want to hear about the Miller twins.”

“Oh, jah, I would love to.”

Miriam turned herself so she could look at Kate straight on. “I want to hear of your time at the academy.”

The heat traveled up Kate’s face.

“How do you pay for tuition?”

“The professor got me a job at a bakery in the mornings, and I taught voice lessons in the afternoon to kids from some local high schools. Plus I was awarded two grants, one scholarship, and a student loan.”

“You’re rich,” Dr. Delange said from the driver’s seat.

“Were you in any plays?” Miriam persisted.

“Operas. And concerts.”

“How did they have you dress? Like as not, you weren’t in Amish clothes,” Miriam said.

“For both operas, I dressed as a nun. Once a French nun and once an Italian nun.”

Miriam’s eyes narrowed. “Surely you did not always perform as a nun.”

Nathaniel glanced uncomfortably at his mother then fixed his eyes on Kate.

“Nae,” Kate said. “For auditions or recitals I borrowed formal dresses from my professor or one of the other girls at the academy.”

Miriam turned to face forward, as if she were finished with the conversation. “Huh,” she grunted. “I never cotton to such vanity.”

She folded her arms, leaned her head against the window, and closed her eyes, blocking any further attempts at conversation. The gesture did not escape Nathaniel’s notice. His attempt at a reassuring smile came out more like a wince, and he tried persistently to include Kate in his conversation about fly-fishing for the rest of the trip.

The doctor dropped them off on a central street corner in La Crosse in the rising heat. Kate pulled a slip of paper from her pocket and got her bearings.

“Do you know where you are going, Kate?” Nathaniel said.

“Jah. Directions to the music shop are clear enough.”

“We will come with you. Then we can go to the distributor and Mamm’s stops after.”

Kate shook her head. “I know you are pressed for time. I will go and meet you here at noon.”

“Are you sure?”

“After strolling down Kilbourn Avenue in Milwaukee, I can walk anywhere by myself.”

Nathaniel grew a concerned look. “Is that a dangerous place?”

She smiled. “I’ve never encountered any sort of trouble on the streets of Milwaukee. I’ll be fine.”

“I know you will.” Nathaniel gave her one last glance before taking his mother by the arm and disappearing down the street.

Kate wandered the other way, directions in hand, looking for the little music store Dr. Sumsion instructed her to find. Her professor had asked Kate in her last letter to buy the music to an obscure little opera by Chabrier. Ach, Kate detested singing French. Her German came out flawlessly with its forceful consonants and powerful vowels, but her French? Kate’s diction was atrocious, and she had to concentrate faithfully to keep whole phrases from sounding like she had a stuffy nose. But Dr. Sumsion insisted that Kate needed the practice during the long summer absence, and the song would leave Kate breathless, literally, when she rehearsed it.

Dr. Sumsion had either forgotten or chosen to ignore the fact that Kate had no access to a piano in Apple Lake, nor would she be fortunate enough to locate an accompanist among her Amish neighbors. At least she could look it over and become familiar with the passages before she returned to Milwaukee.
If
she returned.

Kate
,

Enclosed is a list of songs I want you to learn for the Felsted competition. You are a sure contender to win the whole thing this year. Don’t underestimate the importance of preparing while you are at home. Do your vocalises every day and become familiar with the pieces
.

Dr. Matthews thinks I am pushing you too hard, but I told him that you of anyone are capable of incredible things when you put your mind to it. The people in Apple Lake have no idea what an amazing talent they have living in their midst
.

Sincerely, we miss you terribly and want you to come back. Don’t stay away too long. You’ll want to be back in plenty of time for school in September
.

Much affection, Dr. Sumsion

The tugging and pulling on Kate’s heart intensified with every letter from Milwaukee, whether from Maria or her professor or one of her other friends. They truly loved her there. But then she thought of Elmer and Mamma and Dat. She loved them like her own soul. Could she turn her back on them and the world she grew up in?

Kate could not have been more than four blocks from where the Englisch doctor had dropped them off when her directions sent her around a corner and down a narrow street with run-down buildings and unkempt lots. It seemed unlikely she would find a music store down this street, no matter how out-of-the-way it was. Halfway down the street, Kate stopped and examined her paper. Apparently she had taken a wrong turn, and an uneasy feeling crawled up her spine. She snapped her head to the left as a noise caught her attention. Three men, perhaps slightly younger than she, stood in the narrow space between two buildings, smoking cigarettes and staring in her direction.

Her heart beat faster, and she scolded herself for being so skittish. She’d heard too many horror stories while living in Milwaukee. Surely she had nothing to fear in a small place like La Crosse.

“Hey, Amish girl!” one hollered. “You wanna smoke?”

The three exploded with laughter, and Kate thought it the wisest choice to ignore them and walk away. A boy with a bottle of beer in his hand called to her. “Amish girl, he offered you a smoke.”

Lowering her head, Kate quickened her pace and kept walking. The boy suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking her path on the sidewalk.

“Hey, look, guys! It’s a
pretty
Amish girl.”

“Aw, leave her alone, Mark,” said his friend.

Mark studied Kate’s face with bloodshot eyes and a look she’d seen a time or two at the academy. “I thought all Amish girls was ugly as sin.” He stepped closer. Kate could smell the drink on his breath.

He reached out a hand to touch her, and she stepped back, lifting her head and squaring her shoulders. “Please let me pass,” she said, mixing her confident tone with disdain. She hoped that if she sounded unafraid, the boy would think better of picking on her.

His expression flared with anger. “There’s an Amish girl at the store who won’t even look at me. Or talk to me.”

Kate’s heart beat in her throat. Could she walk away and hope he gave up? She moved to her left and took a quick step before Mark grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

Her mind raced through ideas for escape.
How did Maria avoid a slap from her boyfriend when he was drunk and angry?
But thinking of Maria brought back all the emotion associated with that horrible night.

Stop it, Jared! She hasn’t done anything to you! Get away from the baby!

At that moment, the memory of the terror was so palpable Kate could barely stand. “Let go of me. Leave me alone.” Even helpless as she was in Mark’s grasp, the notion came to her that she didn’t want to hurt this young man the way she had hurt Jared. Too frequently in her dreams she saw Jared’s ashen face as the paramedics lifted him onto the gurney—and the blood soaking the bandage around his head. That night, with Maria and the baby in trouble, desperation had transformed Kate into someone she didn’t recognize. And she never wanted to be that person again.

She turned her face away so his foul breath wouldn’t make her sick.

The other man came up behind her and snatched her wrist roughly. Pain traveled up her arm.

“Please, let me go,” Kate begged, as she pulled as hard as she could to free herself from both men.

Kate heard a roar behind her as a large hand forcefully shoved Mark away from her and back five feet. In relief, Kate looked up to see Nathaniel, eyes ablaze, daring the second man to come closer. He released Kate’s wrist and bolted down the street with a speed Kate would not have believed possible.

Nathaniel then turned and advanced on Mark. Kate didn’t know what he was planning to do, but she didn’t want to find out. She touched his arm before he could move any closer to the much-smaller man and gently nudged Nathaniel toward her. The gesture accomplished what she wanted it to. Nathaniel’s rage evaporated as he shifted his attention to her and cradled her face in his hands. The compassion in his eyes calmed her pounding heart considerably. She lifted her hand to her cheek. It was wet. She must have been crying.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

Kate nodded. Not hurt. More shaken up than anything.

The boy in the alleyway disappeared, but Mark scowled and unwisely rushed at Nathaniel, his fists raised and flailing. Without hesitation, Nathaniel turned and punched Mark squarely in the mouth. The powerful blow sent Mark to the ground, sprawled unconscious on his backside.

Panting heavily, Nathaniel looked at his fist as if his hand had acted of its own accord. A look of horror spread across his face.

“Kate,” he murmured, “what have I done?

The deliveries of cakes and cookies and Yankee Bean Soup started up again as soon as the community learned of the incident. That Kate had been forced to endure such an attack made her the recipient of much sympathy.

Dat went without dinner again the next day before calming down enough to hear the story, not just from Kate but from Nathaniel as well. With his middle daughter getting into all sorts of scrapes lately, he insisted his nerves were frayed and he was wasting away to nothing. He thanked Nathaniel for looking out for his daughter and asked if he would consider a permanent position as Kate’s guardian.

Elmer tried to stifle a grin when he heard about it. “Of course we must forgive him, but maybe we can take comfort that the boy felt a bit of God’s wrath through Nathaniel.” This response prompted a cry of shock from Mamma, who was appalled that Elmer harbored such vindictive thoughts. She promptly sent him out to shovel manure in the barn.

Ben and Joe looked at Nathaniel in wonderment but said nothing about the incident. If they expressed admiration for Nathaniel’s actions, Aaron might accuse them of a interest in violence.

Aaron, who came over to the house too often, laid the blame entirely at Kate’s feet. “Kate, your worldliness has brought misfortune to more people than just yourself. Nathaniel was never in a lick of trouble until you returned home and dragged the innocent man down with your worldly ways. You should be ashamed of yourself. It is better that you leave him alone and return to Milwaukee. He should not be made to suffer for your stiffneckedness.”

And Ada was not above repeating gossip. “I am telling you this for your own good, Kate. Many people think you are worldly and vain. If you would settle down and quit trying to upset the apple cart, things would be better for you.”

Even as bad as Kate felt, Nathaniel was having a worse time of it. Distraught at what had happened to Kate and so ashamed of resorting to violence, he practically begged the police officer in La Crosse to put him in jail and throw away the key.

It hadn’t taken more than a minute after Nathaniel laid Mark out flat before a police car rolled down the street and pulled next to the alleyway. A thin, balding officer, who seemed in no particular hurry to investigate, got out of his car and sauntered up the sidewalk.

“Officer Hansen. The neighbors called me,” the police officer told them, gazing with apparent disinterest at Mark who, by then conscious, sat on the ground gingerly massaging his jawline. Mark must have had more than one brush with the law, because the officer didn’t even bat an eye when he saw the young man.

“Is there some kind of trouble?” the officer said.

“We was just messing around,” Mark said.

“We? What, you got multiple personalities now, Mark?”

Mark pointed indignantly at Nathaniel. “That guy hit me.”

“Stop talking and let the lady tell me.” Officer Hansen hooked his thumbs in his belt and turned to Kate. “Are you hurt, miss?”

“No,” Kate said, still trying to catch her breath. “He blocked my way and then he and his friend grabbed my arm. They wouldn’t let me go. Nathaniel pushed them away, and this boy tried to hit Nathaniel.”

Officer Hansen studied Nathaniel. “What do you have to say?”

Nathaniel stood stunned and mortified. “He was scaring Kate, but I shouldn’t have hit him. I take full responsibility.”

“He probably broke my jaw,” Mark protested.