Rebekah's Quilt (2 page)

Samuel’s gleaming white teeth were visible above his inky beard. He stood and ran his thumbs along the inside of his black braces. “Elnora, the English are moving west in droves.” He extended his hand and helped Elnora to her feet. “The Pike is rumored to be the most traveled route in The United States now. We will meet more English, you’ll see.”

Unable to meet his warm and weary gaze, Elnora nodded at the ground.

“Come Wife, let’s go to bed.”

With a heavy heart, Elnora closed her eyes. Though whether it was to hasten sleep or hold in the tears, she couldn’t be sure.

Over the remaining two days of their trip, the wagon train of Amish families, moving south from Canada, only saw each other.

Elnora whispered to Heloise as they approached their final stop. “Not a single wagon filled with English people has passed.”

Heloise, however, was much too charmed with Rebekah to be bothered with watching for English wagons. “Such a good-natured baby!” Her voice was awestruck. “At this age, Joseph did nothing but cry.”

Turning her attention back to the baby, Elnora cupped Rebekah’s silken head in her palm and stroked the blonde wisps above her tiny ears. “And she has so much hair!” Elnora’s voice was equally awestruck.

Heloise narrowed her wise, blue eyes. “That means she will be healthy.”

“We’re home!” Samuel announced. “
Wilkommen
to Daviess County, Indiana Territory!”

Elnora plopped Rebekah into a quilt-lined basket. Her eyes welled as Samuel helped her from the wagon. “Oh Samuel, it looks just like Germany!”

He beamed. “So you are happy then?”

“I am so happy!
Danke
! What a beautiful place to raise a family. And there is ample wood for your woodworking ” Shifting, Elnora gestured wide with one arm toward the thick woods that ringed the clearing. Oak trees that seemed to scratch the floor of heaven stood tall and majestic, their leaves waving in the tender breeze. Shorter, wider trees blooming in varying shades of snowy white and blush pinks punctuated the deep greens and browns of the oaks, giving the entire area a magical feel.      Samuel’s large hand came to rest on her shoulder, disrupting her gracious spiel.

“Dear Wife, I will go in to Montgomery tomorrow to find an English family to take the child. It will be best for everyone if she is with her own kind.”

Elnora sucked in a hard breath and willed the sudden fringe of tears not to spill onto her cheeks. She held Samuel’s gaze. There she saw the same dull ache she felt beneath her ribs.

With a calming breath, the threat of tears subsided and Elnora’s face softened. She patted her husband’s hand. “If it is best for Rebekah, then you must do as you will,” she agreed. The tugging on the tender ends of her shattered heart, however, didn’t concur.

“What do you suppose Samuel found out in Montgomery?” Sarah’s whisper of a voice was edged in curiosity as she rocked both Rebekah and Elijah. The chair, which had been a wedding present to the Waglers from Samuel and Elnora, had held up well as a testament to Samuel’s craftsmanship, despite the numerous long-distance moves. Not a squeak sounded from the rockers.

“He has been gone since before dawn,” Elnora said, glancing at the midday sun. “I expect him back any time.”

No sooner had the words passed her lips than the sound of horse hooves called their attention to the horizon. Samuel was back.

“Here, take Rebekah,” Sarah offered knowingly.

When she was situated in the crook of her arm, Rebekah snuggled against Elnora and sighed a tiny baby sigh.

Oh my, she sounds content
.

Samuel dismounted in one easy motion. “Elnora, I’m back.” Without any tell-tale sign on his tanned face, he strode to where she sat with Rebekah. His black felt hat seemed to loom over her, threatening to unleash its gloomy news all over both of them. Samuel squatted down beside her.

Never one to mince words, he spoke plainly. “I met the Englishman who owns the livery in Montgomery. He gave me good news and bad news.”

Resisting the urge to look down at the angelic girl, Elnora focused on Samuel. “Let us have the good news first.”

“I took a wooden wheel and the owner agreed to buy my woodwork.”

The sides of her eyes crinkled as her lips thinned into a smile of the most genuine sort. “
Ja
that is wonderful Samuel!”

“After business was discussed, I asked if he knew of any suitable English families looking to take in a baby.”

The comfortable sounds of home that had been humming about them faded to silence with Samuel’s words. Elnora’s voice came out in a squeak. “What did the shopkeeper say?”

Samuel glanced down at the child in his wife’s arms. With one large finger, he reached to stroke her tiny cheek. At his touch, Rebekah cooed and began sucking in her sleep. Samuel smiled.

“He said that there are no families willing to take in a child and that they are all pulling up stakes and heading west. Gold fever, he called it.”

Elnora’s eyes widened and she began to sway ever so slightly, dancing with the idea of this perfect baby becoming theirs. Forever.

Samuel’s eyes never wavered from Rebekah. “He said if we happened upon an unwanted child, there are places called orphanages where these children are kept.”

Elnora stopped swaying.

“These orphanages are filled with unwanted children that the English throw away or whose parents have died. Those children have no one.”

Rebekah let out a sweet baby noise and opened her eyes.

“When they get too full of children, as they are now, they put them on orphan trains. They send them from city to city, hoping they will find a home on their own.”

Elnora gasped and instinctively clutched the child closer to her breast.

Samuel sighed and stood, turning to look at his wife. “Wife, you know what we have to do.”

Elnora shook her head infinitesimally. “Oh, Samuel.”

Face widening into a gleaming grin, Samuel cupped his hands round his mouth. “Families, please come here! I have an announcement!” Leaning over, he plucked the baby from Elnora’s arms.

When everyone had gathered around the Stoll’s, Samuel spoke again.

“I would like to introduce you all to our daughter, Rebekah Elnora Stoll.” The fatherly glimmer shining again in Samuel’s eyes.

Sarah’s husband, Simon, clapped Samuel on the back. With a teasing note in his voice, he chimed, “If we keep acquiring family members, we will have to call this settlement the Stoll Inn!”

Samuel guffawed, his infant daughter proudly displayed on his arm. “You’re right, Simon. This place may become a regular village inn!”

Elnora’s meek voice whispered so that only Samuel could hear. “Then perhaps we should call our settlement Gasthof.”

Samuel’s free hand found hers and gave it a squeeze. “How clever, dear wife. The German word for inn. I believe that fits our new home perfectly.”

CHAPTER ONE

“Happy birthday, Daughter.” Elnora’s voice was downy soft in the gray light of dawn. “My precious girl, how does it feel to be twenty-years-old today?”

Rebekah yawned. “Good morning Ma. I stayed up too late again.” Turning toward her mother, Rebekah tried to will herself to wake. “I simply can’t get my stitches straight on my quilt.” Slowly, her eyes opened. The rays from the rising sun were already peeking into her window.

“Oh no, I have to milk Butter!” The heavy sleepiness gone, Rebekah sat up, suddenly very awake.

Elnora’s hand came to rest, feather light, on her shoulder. “Don’t fret, child. I milked Butter for you. I wanted you to sleep in on your special day.”

Rebekah eased back down into her covers. “Thank you, Ma.” A slow grin teased the corners of her mouth upward. “You know Pa wouldn’t be too happy about your milking the cow in your condition.” She reached out and patted Elnora’s immense belly.

“You let me worry about your Pa.” She placed one hand on her round stomach and the other on the small of her back.

Rebekah thought she saw a faint grimace flicker across her mother’s face. Propping herself up on one elbow, she couldn’t stem her curiosity. “Ma, are you alright?”

“I’m alright. I think your seventh brother or sister will be here earlier than we thought.” Elnora smiled. “Perhaps he, or she, wants to share birthdays with you.”

Rebekah rose, folding her legs over the side of the bed that her father had crafted just for her. “I would love that.” She smoothed her golden, waist-length locks. “Mmmm, is that cinnamon I smell?”

Elnora retrieved Rebekah’s horsehair brush from the dresser and eased herself down on her daughter’s bed. “I thought you would prefer cinnamon cake to chocolate.”

Careful to remain still, Rebekah grinned as her mother ran the coarse-bristled brush through her hair. There weren‘t many snags hidden in it this morning since she had brushed it smooth the night before. “You were right! Oh, did you happen to check on Cream when you milked Butter?” A flash of worry over her favorite cow’s condition caused her brow to furrow.

Elnora set the brush on the nightstand. The bedframe creaked as she rose up. “Cream was fine. She wasn’t very hungry, so I think she will be birthing her first calf soon.”

“Springtime is my favorite time of the year, especially when it comes early.” Rebekah flung herself back onto her quilts.

“Oh my girl, you make my heart glad.”

Rebekah fiddled with a lock of her hair. “Is Pa working in the field?”

Elnora placed both hands on her back and stretched. “Yes, you know your Pa. Trying to get as much done as he can in good weather.” Elnora paused. “It’s supposed to be a mild rest of the season. But he’ll be in this afternoon for your birthday get-together.”

“Will the Graber’s be coming?” Before the words were fully off her tongue, Rebekah’s cheeks began to burn.

Pulling back a curtain, Elnora gazed out the window. “Heloise and Lucas will be coming tonight. But not Joseph.”

“Oh,” Rebekah’s voice was muted. “Why won’t he be coming?” She tried, unsuccessfully, to mask the crestfallen note in her voice.

Elnora slid open the dresser drawer and selected Rebekah’s brightest head covering. “Well,” she began, holding the gauzy bonnet out to her, “Joseph won’t be coming tonight, because he is walking up the path to our house right now.”

Rebekah’s jaw went slack. The sinking feeling in her stomach immediately began to soar, propelling her out of bed.

Elnora’s voice fluctuated with girlish twinges as Rebekah rummaged in her dresser. “Shall I tell him you’ll be right down?”

“Oh yes, Ma, please,” Rebekah managed as she plucked a plain, dark green dress from her modest selection.
Green for spring.

Seeing her mother standing at the top of the stairs, Rebekah suddenly called from her bedroom. “Ma, wait!” With the dress and matching cape flung over her arm, Rebekah dashed to her mother’s side. Wrapping her arms about her in a tight embrace, she spoke into her shoulder. “I love you, Ma. Thank you for a beautiful start to my birthday!”