Second Chances (12 page)

I
N THE NEXT
few days, the frequency with which Freman visited the Mussers' farm quickly
dispelled any of Anna's hopes that she might be able to avoid his company. With Salome
inviting Anna to visit, or her nephews pulling her next door, Anna could not escape
hearing Freman's voice as he chatted with Leah or Hannah. Each day, he brought along
goodies from the general store: pickled mushrooms, a shoofly pie, or farmer's cheese.
One day he even added some fresh-cut flowers, careful to offer them to Salome for
fear that his intentions could be misconstrued by giving them to any other potential
recipient.

From what she learned from Mary, who was only too happy to share the latest news
with her husband and sister after the two boys went to bed Saturday evening, Freman
had returned to the area with one, and only one, intention: to find a wife.

“Clearly we shall have a wedding to attend this season!” Mary gushed. “We should
start cleaning the flower beds and make certain to remove the dying petunias. They
never did get very bushy.”

Cris sat at the head of the table with the two women on either side, a coffee cup
by his one hand and a small bowl
of popcorn by the other. He was reading
The Budget
,
the weekly newspaper to which most Amish households subscribed; it was his only
deviation from reading the Bible. “
Ja
, I hear you, Mary,” he said as he reached for
a handful of popcorn. “This is
wunderbarr
popcorn!” He glanced up, looking first
at Mary and then at Anna, one eyebrow lifted in an inquisitive kind of way.

“Brewer's yeast,” Anna said softly. “I added brewer's yeast to the salt seasoning.”

Despite having initiated the conversation, Mary showed no interest in discussing
popcorn. Instead she continued rattling off her list of tasks that needed attention
for the upcoming wedding, a wedding she had already scheduling in her mind. “And
the front door should be painted, Cris. It took such a beating from the sun and the
heat this summer . . . ” She waved her hand in the air. “Dreadful. With a wedding
at your
maem
's, we can't have tongues wagging that we don't care for our
haus
!”

“A wedding? You're putting the buggy before the horse, my
fraa
,” Cris said lightly.

Mary huffed at the slight. “Why, I think I know enough to recognize when a man is
interested in a woman! And your sisters . . . why, one of them would be a right
gut
companion for Freman!” She turned to Anna, unaware of the pain she had just inflicted
on her own sister. “I heard he has a lovely business in Indiana. A carpentry store
that makes sheds. He has a whole staff of people,” Mary said. “That's why he can
visit for so long, you see. He's become quite successful.”

“I see” was the only reply that Anna could muster.

While Mary continued rambling on with various bits and pieces of gossip that she
had picked up, Anna
retreated within herself. She remembered that Freman had an affinity
for carpentry. It was one of the very reasons why Lydia Rothberger had expressed
concern for his interest in Anna. Carpentry was not a very successful business for
an Amish man, according to Lydia. And after all, Freman did not come from a family
that specialized in working with wood. There was no business to pass from father
to son. And, even more important, Holmes County was overrun with carpenters, and
many of them were out of work.

To Anna, it didn't matter whether or not Freman was successful; at least, not in
the way that Mary talked about. Instead Anna felt her heart swell with joy that,
despite the doubt that so many people had expressed in him, Freman was following
his dream. No one had been able to persuade him otherwise.

If only I had been as brave
, she pondered.

She looked up, startled at the harshness of Mary's voice.

“I said could you answer the door! Someone is knocking.” She frowned and stared back
into her coffee cup. “Would you have them wait, then?”

If Anna wanted to ask why Mary hadn't answered the door herself, she made no such
inquiry. Instead, she quickly stood up and hurried to the door, surprised to see
Leah and Hannah standing there with smiles on their faces.

“The sun is setting, Anna, just over the field,” Hannah said. “We're going to go
walk to see it. It's the perfect night!”

“Come with us!” Leah urged.

From the kitchen came the sound of a chair's legs scraping against the floor. Before
Anna could respond to
the invitation, Mary stood behind her and peered over her shoulder.

“A walk? Why, I'd like to go on a walk! I've been cooped up all day, haven't I, Anna?”

Leah's expression of joy quickly changed to one that was more serious. “It's a long
walk to the top of the hill, Mary.”

“Long and steep,” Hannah added.

Mary clicked her tongue and reached for her sweater that hung on the wall. “Well,”
she huffed. “I don't think that should stop me at all!”

Gratefully, only Anna saw the look exchanged between Leah and Hannah. Over the past
few days, Anna had heard more of her share from both parties in regards to what they
truly thought of the other. For Mary, she focused on how often her husband's family
slighted her or didn't include her in certain events or outings. For Leah and Hannah,
they expressed how comfortable they were around Anna and lamented the fact that it
was not she who had accepted their brother's offer of marriage.

To all of this, Anna remained silent, knowing that there was nothing she could add
to either conversation that would be remotely useful.

By the time Mary had fetched her shawl, for she claimed fear of catching a chill,
Cris too stood outside and waited with Leah and Hannah. Anna glanced up toward the
second-story windows, silently wondering about leaving both
kinner
alone in the house.
Seeing the concerned look on her sister's face, Mary scoffed and waved her hand dismissively.

“Oh, Anna! They are both sound asleep. We won't be gone more than . . . what? . .
. thirty minutes?” She gave a small laugh. “A nice walk will do us all good,
ja
?”

Behind her, Leah and Hannah looked at each other, a gentle lifting of their eyebrows
saying more than words could express about their thoughts of Mary's behavior. Cris,
however, sighed and shook his head. “I best catch up with you women,” he said as
he started walking toward the house. “I'll fetch Mother to keep an eye on the
kinner
,
then.”

Mary gave a short, exasperated sigh and started walking in the opposite direction,
leaving the other three women behind as she mumbled about Cris worrying so much about
sleeping children. Lowering her head, Anna fell into step behind her sister, embarrassed
both by the clear disregard felt by Mary for her own children and by her sisters-in-laws'
clear disdain for Mary.

The four women walked down the lane, the sun curving in the sky as it dipped toward
the hill behind the back fields. True to Leah's words, the incline of the hill was
steep. Additionally, the dew upon the grass darkened the hem of her dress. The air,
however, remained cool.

Leah and Hannah ran ahead, laughing as they ascended the hill. Anna walked slower,
more out of kindness to Mary, who struggled along the forged path.

“My word,” she complained, slipping once on the grass. “Is there not any other place
to see that sun set? And where is that husband of mine?” She reached for Anna's extended
hand and righted herself. “You'd think he'd be here to assist me!”

“He's coming now,” Anna said as she glanced over her sister's shoulder. “And with
someone else too, it looks
like!” She squinted as she tried to see who accompanied
him. “
Mayhaps
it's Raymond?”

Mary straightened her dress and looked in the direction of her husband. “
Nee
,” she
said. “He's too tall to be Raymond.” After a brief hesitation, Mary smiled. “Why,
that's Freman Whittmore!” She laughed and clapped her hands together once. “I bet
he's come calling for Hannah!”

The words tore through Anna and she looked away, ashamed at the way her heart pounded
and her palms sweated.
You had your chance
, she told herself.
And you threw it away
to please others
. She knew that she had no right to deny happiness to either Leah
or Hannah. If Freman was intent on marrying one of the Mussers' daughters, Anna would
express her joy and happiness for that union in public, even if she cried in the
solitude of her own room.

As Cris and Freman approached, Mary began waving, a wide smile on her face. Anna
wondered at her sister's overt jubilation at Freman's presence, especially given
her less-than-gleeful mood just moments prior.

“What a
wunderbarr gut
surprise, Freman!”

He nodded his head in her direction, his eyes briefly meeting Anna's before he looked
toward the top of the hill. Seeing Leah and Hannah waving at him, he lifted his hand
in response before returning his attention to the two women standing before him.
“A lovely sunset indeed,” he said, his voice flat and emotionless.

Mary laughed, still giddy and behaving like a young girl in a way that brought color
to Anna's cheeks. She averted her eyes when her sister gushed, “God blessed us with
this cool evening air. A welcome change from the heat,
ja
?”

“Oh, now, Mary, what heat? I would say God's taken right
gut
care of us this summer,”
Cris countered. “Not too hot and the crops received just enough water.”

Anna started walking again, more than eager to put a little distance between herself
and the discussion behind her, and noticed Hannah returning to Cris and Mary. Now
she wished that she had volunteered to stay behind with the boys.

Clearing his throat, Freman mumbled, “Excuse me,” and quickened his pace. With more
energy in his step, he passed them and hurried ahead to join Leah, who stood on the
crest of the hill.

Despite not wanting to, Anna's eyes trailed after him, watching his back as he walked
up the incline. His broad shoulders certainly spoke of his work ethic; no man who
lazed about could be so strong and muscular. The straw hat that sat atop his head
looked new, the brim perfectly maintained, an indication that he did not work outdoors.
Farmers frequently removed their hats to wipe the sweat from their brows, damaging
them in the process. Since replacing hats wasn't always practical, farmers were easily
identified from those Amish men who worked mostly indoors.

At the top of the hill, already waiting for the others, Freman and Leah stood facing
the setting sun. Engaged in admiring the beautiful colors that filled the horizon,
neither one noticed Anna. Not wishing to interrupt them or be viewed as eavesdropping,
Anna stood slightly apart from them, wishing that the others would hurry up and finish
their ascent. Despite the distance between herself and the couple, Anna could not,
however, avoid
overhearing their conversation since their voices carried on the evening
breeze.

“What a lovely view,” Freman said, his hands behind his back as he stared toward
the sun. “I have missed such beautiful sunsets. I believe that God paints Ohio's
skies with a special brush.”

Leah glanced up at him, a look upon her face that Anna couldn't help but observe:
adoration. Clearly Anna was not the only one who had noticed that Freman was particularly
partial to Leah Musser. As far as Anna knew, the young woman had not courted before,
and as she was almost twenty-one, the thought of marriage would certainly be at
the forefront of her mind.

“Ohio is rather spectacular,” Leah said.

“Have you traveled outside of the state?” The question was asked with genuine curiosity.
“Indiana? Pennsylvania?”

She shook her head. “
Nee
, I have not.”

Anna glanced over her shoulder, seeing Mary slip on the grass, her flat-bottomed
shoes not providing enough traction. Luckily, Cris was close enough to catch her.

“It's nice to see other places,” Freman said. “Of course, there is no place like
home.”

“It must be nice for your
schwester
to return to Ohio after so many years away,”
Leah stated.

“Ah, Sara.” He smiled, glancing down at Leah, and for the briefest of seconds, noticing
Anna standing apart from them. “She is most content to be wherever George is, I assure
you.”

Leah sighed. “Home is where the heart is,
ja
?”

Another glance in Anna's direction preceded his reply. “For most, although some may believe that the heart is where home is, instead.” He
didn't wait for Leah to
comment nor did he look at Anna to see her reaction. Instead,
he glanced at the sunset once again. “George and Sara had yet to return from his
sister's
haus
when I left. I pray they have caught this glorious gift from God, although
I should worry more about that new horse of theirs. He's apt to upset the carriage.”

“Prone to spooking, then?” Leah asked.

“Indeed.” Freman shook his head. “It's a wonder my
schwester
is willing to ride with
George at all, being knocked about so!”

To this, Leah smiled and, in a gesture so unexpected and rare, caught his attention
by touching his arm. “Oh, Freman, you might look at it as being knocked about and
riding within a cloud of danger, but I can assure you that if I felt the same way
about my husband as Sara feels for George, I'd never want to be left at home, either.”
She tilted her head and looked toward the sun so that her eyes were downcast. “I'd
want to be by his side always. There would be no amount of persuasion to convince
me otherwise.”