Mother For His Children, A (6 page)

“Some coffee?” Ruth handed him a cup as she sat on the bench.

“Denki.”
Levi sat on the bench beside her and took a sip from the steaming cup.

“We were just discussing your situation,” Eliza said.

“What situation is that?” Levi took a cookie from the plate Ruth had set on the table behind him and took a bite. A piecrust cookie, just like his
mam
had made. Ruth Mummert was full of surprises.

“A young girl, living in the same house as an unmarried man.” Eliza leaned the rocker forward. “You know how that will look to the community.”

Levi glanced at Ruth. Her face was growing red, but she tilted her chin up as she returned his look.

“I've done nothing against the
Ordnung,
sister. Ruth is no different than any other helper I might hire to work on the farm.” Levi kept his voice sure and strong, but at the back of his mind a whisper of doubt crept in. What would the ministers say about this situation? After all, it wasn't what he had expected when he made the arrangement.

“I still think you should follow through on what we agreed.”

All doubt disappeared.

“We never agreed to anything, Eliza. I am the head of this family, and I would never agree to send any of the children away.”

Eliza drained her coffee cup and then looked at Levi. “You would if the ministers insisted.”

She was right, of course. If the ministers decided it would be best if the girls went to live with Eliza, he wouldn't have any choice but to submit to their decision. He had hired Ruth Mummert to avoid this, but Eliza seemed intent on pursuing her plans. If only she had remarried when she had the chance twenty years ago, then she might have her own family and wouldn't be so interested in taking his.

Eliza planted her cane in front of her and hauled herself to her feet.

“I must be getting back. Susie needs milking on time, you know.”

Ruth hurried to fetch Eliza's bonnet and shawl from the hook by the door. “You'll miss seeing the scholars. They'll be home in another hour.”

“
Ne,
I can't wait that long.”

Levi saw Sam peering around the door from the front room. “Sam, go ask Elias to hitch up Aunt Eliza's rig for her.”

Sam edged past Eliza and then scooted out the door. His sister had never been friendly with the children, so why was she so insistent on raising Nellie and Nancy?

“We'll make the trip to see you next, some Sunday after the snow melts.”

Eliza smiled as she pulled his sleeve until he bent down for her kiss on his cheek. “I may be seeing you sooner than that, little brother. You never know.”

Levi walked with her to her sleigh. Elias held Ginger's reins as the horse tossed his head. The short rest in the barn had renewed his fire.

“That's a pretty feisty horse you have, Eliza. Are you sure he isn't too much for you?”

Eliza smiled at him from her seat as she wrapped a wool horse blanket around her legs. “Don't worry about me, Levi. I can handle him.”

She nodded to Elias and he let go of Ginger's head. The horse lurched forward, but before they reached the end of the lane Eliza had him settled into a controlled trot. At the corner she turned Ginger neatly onto the snowy road and headed north.

Levi shook his head and reached back to massage his tense neck muscles.

“Did she ask you to let the girls come live with her again?” Elias asked, watching Eliza drive away.

“
Ja,
but it won't do her any good. I told her our family was staying together.”

Elias turned to him, a younger version of himself. When had the boy gotten so tall?

“Is that why you brought Ruth Mummert here? To keep the family together?”

“
Ja.
With Ruth here, Eliza doesn't have any good reason for going to the ministers to ask for the girls.”

Elias rubbed the back of his own neck. “I sure hope it works.”

 

Chapter Six

S
unday morning dawned bright and crisp. By the time the sun rose above the horizon, the Zook family, plus Ruthy, were crowded into the family buggy on their way to Sunday meeting at John Stoltzfus's. Elias followed behind in his courting buggy. He and Waneta would be staying at the host house until after the young folks' Singing in the evening.

Ruthy sat on the front seat with Levi, Sam and Nellie scrunched between them. She pressed her knees together to keep from shivering, either from the cold or from being nervous about meeting this new church community. Since last week had been an off Sunday, this would be her first church service with Levi and his family.

“When will it be our turn to have church again,
Dat?
” Sam's words came out in puffs in the frigid air.

“Don't even mention that!” Waneta said, her teeth chattering as she sat with her other sisters and Jesse in the second seat. “It's so much work to have church.”

“Now Waneta,” Levi said, “you know you had plenty of help from the women the last time it was our turn.”

“
Ja,
but they talked about you the whole time. I heard Minnie Garber say you should marry one of her daughters so your house could be taken care of properly.”

Ruthy turned around and laid her hand on Waneta's knee. “You've done a wonderful job keeping house, and you have nothing to be ashamed of. Some people just don't think before they talk.”

“
Ja,
daughter. Ruth is right.” Levi gave her a smile that made her forget her cold toes. “Don't let Minnie Garber's words fester. Forget them and forgive her, and all will be well.”

Waneta nodded. “You're right.”

“So, when are we going to have church at home again?” Sam asked. “I want to show Johnny my calf.”

“You don't have a calf yet,” said David from the backseat.

“But I will when spring comes, won't I,
Dat?
”

Levi nodded. “You and Jesse will both have calves of your own to raise this spring.”

“Will I have it before we have church?”

Sam wouldn't let go of a question until he got an answer.

“
Ja,
probably. It will be our turn to have church in May.”

Satisfied, Sam settled back into his seat.

Martha leaned forward and touched Ruthy's shoulder. “Are you nervous about meeting all these people? They're all strangers to you.”

Ruthy gave Martha a smile. “I'm trying not to be. You're right, I've never met them, but we're all part of the same church, aren't we? They're just brothers and sisters I haven't met yet.”

“There are a lot of nice people in our district, aren't there, Waneta?”

Ruthy turned around to see a blush creep up Waneta's cheeks at her sister's words. Could there be a special young man Waneta was anxious to see?

Before long Levi's buggy was just one in a long line of black buggies heading west along the road. The fields here, only a few miles from Levi Zook's farm, were smaller, often with a creek dividing them and wooded strips following the path of the creek. Of all the things that were different between Indiana and Pennsylvania, the flat land around Levi Zook's farm was the hardest for her to get used to. She had been missing the rolling hills of
Daed's
farm, but this part of the district almost seemed like home.

Levi pulled to a halt at the top of the farm lane, where the buggies in front of them had stopped to let out their families. Ruthy got out with the children, ignoring the curious stares of the women waiting to enter the house. She had told Waneta she wasn't nervous, but she was glad she had the girls around her. She held Nellie's and Nancy's hands while Martha and Waneta stood behind her. Levi took his place in the men's line, one hand on Jesse's shoulder, the other holding Sam's hand. Ruthy didn't need to look around to know the older boys would be with their friends, being old enough to sit together on the front rows directly behind the ministers.

The woman in line in front of Ruthy turned to greet her. Holding a baby in one arm, the young woman's blue eyes twinkled from inside her bonnet, but she spoke in the soft tones appropriate for the day. “Good morning. It's always nice to see a visitor. My name is Annie Beachey.”

Ruthy took the woman's hand and leaned forward to exchange the holy kiss, just as all the women in the line greeted each other. “It's so good to meet you. I'm Ruthy Mummert.”

Annie gave her another smile, and then turned to face the front again as the congregation moved into the house. As she removed her bonnet, Ruthy reached up to check her
kapp,
but then realized that she stood out in this crowd. Not only was she a stranger, a visitor as Annie had graciously said, but her
kapp
was also the heart-shaped Lancaster County style. These women all wore stiff, cone-shaped
kapps.

Never mind, she told herself. They all knew she was visiting today. Waneta could help her make a new
kapp
before the next church Sunday.

Ruthy followed Waneta to a seat, ignoring the curious looks that followed them. She and the girls filled an entire bench on the women's side, and she glanced over to see that Levi and the boys filled their own bench on the men's side.

Ruthy was relieved when one of the men sitting near the front started the singing at a signal from the bishop. She had let her mind occupy itself with thoughts about how these people would welcome her, but the familiar songs brought her back to the worship of God. She held the songbook for the twins, moving her finger along the lines of the
Deitsch
words so they could follow.

A month ago she had been at home, surrounded by her friends and celebrating Old Christmas. Everything in this meeting was different, but still so familiar. The hymns were the same, the prayers were the same, and the ministers followed the same lectionary, preaching on John the Baptist today. By the time the second sermon began, she'd forgotten everything but their words. She may be far from where she grew up, but she was still home.

* * *

After dinner Levi sent Elias and Nathan out to the buggy shed to check on the horses. The sun had come out during the morning service, but it hadn't tempered the cold at all. If anything, the air was even more bitter. There could be another storm coming. He took a cup of coffee with him and went to look out the front window.

John Stoltzfus came to stand at the window with him, looking through the bare maple branches toward the northwest sky.

“Looking for weather?”

“Just a feeling I have.” Levi kept his eye on a shadow lying on the horizon. A cloud bank could mean snow.

“I see your new housekeeper arrived safely.”

“
Ja,
she did. Her name is Ruth Mummert, from Bird-in-Hand in Lancaster County.”

“I thought you had hired someone older.”

Levi turned to John, the meaning behind his words becoming clear. “Believe me, I thought I did. There was a bit of a miscommunication, but she's working out well. The children like her.”

John stroked his beard. “Your sister, Eliza, stopped by to see me the other day.”

He should have known Eliza wouldn't let the matter rest. Sometimes a meddling sister was worse than having no sister at all.

“She's concerned about you, having an unmarried young woman living in your house.”

A cold stone turned in the pit of Levi's stomach. He had never considered how Ruth's presence in his home might appear until Eliza mentioned it. “She lives in the
Dawdi Haus,
separate from the rest of us.”

“This is thin ice, Levi. I know you would never want to show your children a bad example, and you would never take advantage of the situation, but things happen.”

The vision of Ruth in the kitchen wearing nothing but her nightgown flashed through Levi's mind. John was right. Things happen when you least expect it.

“So, did Eliza suggest a solution?”

John laced his fingers over his stomach and looked out the window again. “She did, but I'm not sure I like it.”

“She told you her idea to take Nellie and Nancy to live with her?”

John nodded. “It's a hard thing to contemplate separating children from their family, but she did have a point. Your children need a mother.”

“
Ja,
they do. But I'm not having much success in finding them one.”

Clearing his throat, John lowered his voice even further. “You know how much I had hoped my Ellie would accept your proposal.”

“But that wasn't God's will.” Ellie Miller had been a convenient choice, but he didn't love her. He would never have made her as happy as she was with Bram Lapp. “Now you can see why I hired Ruth Mummert, can't you? I had expected her to be older, since she was a
maidle
and willing to move such a long distance, but she's here now. I can't very well send her home again, can I?”

“I can see your point, but it's still something the ministers will need to talk over. As pure as your intentions may be, we must avoid the appearance of evil.”

“I'll be sure to keep a distance between us. She's a great help to me, with the girls and all. I treat her no differently than I would a hired farm worker.”

John gave Levi's shoulder a pat. “That's what I would expect. You'll let me know if anything changes?”

The stone turned again in Levi's gut. John was asking him to be accountable for his actions...and his thoughts. He would keep his distance from Ruth Mummert—he had to for his children's sake. “
Ja,
John, I will.”

Levi's eyes followed John as he moved through the big front room, opened to twice its normal size for the church meeting. The older man stopped to talk to several men as he made his way toward the kitchen, including Bram Lapp, his son-in-law. The man who had married Ellie Miller last fall had become a good friend, but what would he think about this matter with Ruth? Bram had spent twelve years living an
Englisch
life in Chicago—he had witnessed much worse situations than this...but the people there weren't Amish. They weren't living under the
Ordnung.

Ach,
he was making a mountain out of nothing. Ruth was a lovely young woman. He ran his fingers through his beard. A young woman with the kinds of skills, strength and determination that made a good wife. He had to make sure he kept distance between them, for his family's sake.

Levi took a sip of his cooling coffee and stared at the cloud bank. If rumors started hinting that he had any romantic feelings for Ruth, Eliza would be sure to press the point with the ministers. He took another sip. He had to keep his children together, no matter what.

* * *

Ruthy was glad to take chubby Elias Beachey from Annie's tired arms. The six-month-old sat happily on her lap while she visited with her new friends.

“Was it hard to leave your home to come out here to Indiana?” asked Ellie Lapp, Annie's sister-in-law.

“Some.” Ruthy shoved her mind away from thoughts of Elam and Laurette. “I miss my
mam
and
daed,
but it's an adventure,
ja?
”

“It certainly would be, caring for Levi Zook's ten children!”

“They aren't so much work. They're all
gut
children, and Waneta is such a big help.”

Ellie nodded toward a quiet corner where Waneta was standing with a young man. “And with you to run the house, she may even have some time for courting.”

Ruthy watched Waneta's face as the young man spoke to her. She remembered feeling that way when she was sixteen, when she and Elam first started courting.

“Do you know anything about that young man? Is he baptized yet?”

Annie laughed and Ellie smiled at Ruthy. “
Ja,
I know him. That's my brother, Reuben. He's nearly eighteen, and taking baptism instruction with Bishop. He'll treat Waneta well, don't worry.”

“I thought Reuben had a special girl already,” Annie said.

“He did. He was taking Sarah Yoder home from Singings last summer, but this fall she decided she'd rather ride with a new boy from the Shipshewana district who has been coming.”

“
Ach,
poor Reuben.” Annie leaned over and jiggled the baby's foot.

“He was fine with the way it turned out. They had been friends since they were little, but he told me the spark just wasn't there.”

Annie grinned at Ellie. “You mean the spark he sees when Bram looks at you.”

Ellie blushed like a new bride, and Ruthy remembered that Ellie and Bram had only been married a couple of months before. “The way Waneta's looking at Reuben, I'd say he found it with her.”

“How about you, Ruthy? Did you ever look at a boy like that?”

“Ach, ja,”
Ruthy said with a smile on her face, but it was hard to get the words past the lump in her throat. “Hasn't everyone?”

“We'll just need to get busy and find a husband for you here in Eden Township,” Ellie said.

“
Ach,
Ellie,” said Annie, “the only single men are Roman Nafziger and Levi Zook, unless you count Bishop Yoder.”

Ruthy saw the elderly bishop's shaking hands in her mind. Annie had to be joking.

“And you can hardly count Roman Nafziger, either,” Ellie said. “He's older than
Dat.
”

“Then that leaves Levi.” Annie nodded and leaned toward Ellie with a conspiratorial whisper. “We have our work cut out for us, there.”

“Why?” Ruthy asked. “Levi seems like a nice enough man.”

“He's nice enough, but...”

“But nice,” Ellie said, finishing Annie's sentence. She gave Annie a glance that looked like a warning. “He's a nice man who needs a wife. Who knows? Ruthy may be just what he needs.”