The Amish Doll: Amish Knitting Novel (Bonus Knitting Pattern Included) (2 page)

Joshua leaned against the cow for support. “
Jah
, a girl would be
goot
, but
mamm
wants an Appleton boy since Jim and Marilyn run it. They’ll make sure a well behaved boy will come live here.”

“You mean boys. Your
mamm
thinks one would feel too lonely. Ask about two or three boys.”

Joshua closed his eyes and said a prayer.

~*~

Raven smelt the crisp autumn air as she ran down Main Street. She didn’t need to wear a scarf, but she’d made this one on the plane coming up, and couldn’t wait. The multicolored yarn was on sale, but she marveled at what a nice speckled-like pattern it turned into. I wish my life could form a nice pattern. She pulled the scarf tighter around her neck; she always felt like Granny Nora, one of the few people she bonded with in foster care, was hugging her. She’d taught Raven to knit when she was eleven.

Raven saw pumpkins displayed on the grand front porches of the Victorian homes. She remembered the pumpkins she used to carve with her grandmother. The roasted seeds were always eaten at the Harvest Festival, a time to celebrate the protection the Great Spirit had given over their small farms. She sighed and tried not to think too unkindly of Mr. Rowe when he said the house was a Christian house, but Christianity was what divided people, not brought them together. Didn’t religion cause most wars?

She soon saw the town square Mrs. Rowe had told her about. It was a grassy square in the center of town with a gazebo in the middle.  A white banner hung in between two large oak trees,
Annual Fall Festival, October 24-26.
Well, she had two weeks to come up with an excuse not to go, even though the Rowe’s said they haven’t missed it in forty years.

She ran past three antique shops, a craft store, book store, library, and convenience store, but stopped when she saw the Ellington Congregational Church. The white clapboard church with a soaring steeple with a cross on the top, caught her eye. When she looked down, she saw a man come out of the church. He was tall and lanky, walking so fast he was soon to the sidewalk where she stood.  He had a Bible tucked under his arm with several notebooks. “Hello there. Can I help you?” he asked.

“Oh, no, I’m just jogging and stopped to admire the steeple. Sure is tall,” Raven said.

He extended his hand.  “I’m Lawrence Turner, pastor of this church, and your name is?”

She shook his large hand. “I’m Raven Meadows. I just moved here to work at Appleton Children’s Home.”

“So, you’re the new social worker then?” he asked, his dark brown eyes inquiring to know more.

“Well, yes. I came last night. I thought I’d jog around town to see what it looks like.”

“And what do you think?”

“It’s very quaint. Charming,” she said.

“I was smitten by the town when I moved here to be pastor of this church,” he said. “Folks are friendly to a young pastor and have me over for dinner most Sundays.”

“Well, I better get going. Don’t want to keep you,” she said.

“So I’ll be seeing you at Bible Study with the boys?”

“No, I’m not religious,” she said, nervously twisting her hair between her fingers.

“Well, the boys from Appleton come here every Wednesday night and they need a chaperon. The other social workers always came.”

Raven felt heat rise to her cheeks. “It’s not in my job description,” she said evenly. “If you don’t mind, I need to get going.”

Lawrence smiled. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Raven. Hope to see you again soon.”

She nodded and continued to jog past a large hardware store. She could hear her heart pound in her ears and when orange and yellow leaves swirled up at her she swatted them with her hand. I will not attend this local Christian church.

As she turned the corner to head back to Appleton, Raven thought she saw a black van, but on closer inspection, it was an Amish buggy. When she reached the house she saw a handsome
Amish man with blue eyes peeping through long blonde bangs. “Hello, can I help you?”

“
Jah
, I suppose. I’m Joshua Yoder.” He took off his straw hat and shook her hand. “We’d like to apply to be foster parents.”

She felt light headed. Not only was she working in a Christian home, but now the Amish wanted to be foster parents. She motioned for him to walk up and have a seat on the front porch. “Let me get this straight. You’re Amish and want to be considered for foster care?” She collapsed on one of the white wicker chairs. “Need help on the farm?”

Joshua nodded. “A child raised on a farm learns a lot about life. It’s
goot
for them.”

Jim came out of the house, and put his hand up. “Hello Joshua, how’s your mom?”

“She needs that miracle we talked about.”

Jim nodded. “We’re praying hard.” He turned toward her. “Raven, I’ve known this Amish family for years. They’re not asking for a boy to work to death, but honestly believe hard work and being close to God and nature is good. I tend to agree.”

She glared at Mr. Rowe, then looked politely at Joshua. “I’ll get you the application.” She went inside and got some paperwork from the box labeled “desk stuff”. When she went back out on the porch she heard Joshua talking to Mr. Rowe.

“Here’s a couple dozen ears of corn. I figured the boys would enjoy it.” Joshua turned to look at her and their eyes locked. His eyes seemed to want to reach out and help her, for some reason. But why? She lowered her gaze and handed him the paperwork. “Well, we’ll get this paperwork done and returned in no time,” Joshua said.

“The background criminal check will take a while,” Raven said. “Get that done first.”

“But that can be faxed and the whole process expedited. I’ll pay the expense,” Jim said.

“
Danki
,” Joshua nodded. “I’d best be going. Have more corn to pick. I’ll bring more over in a few days.”

Jim waved at Joshua as he left. “You were awfully rude to my friend, Raven. Why? The Amish are wonderful people.”

Raven took her hair out of a ponytail and shook it free. She remembered some Amish men coming to the reservation. Her grandfather didn’t like them. They were cowards and wouldn’t fight the men, instead standing silent as they were slapped around. She didn’t think they’d make good role models for the boys at Appleton. “I’ve never cared for them. They’re strange, still living in the Dark Ages.”

“When you get to know them, your opinion will change. They’re good Christian people.”

Raven felt fury heavy on her cheeks. “I met Lawrence, your pastor. He asked me if I’d chaperone the boys on Wednesday and I said no.  I’m not religious and if I’d know this was a Christian home…”

Jim’s eyebrows shot up. “You’d what?”

“Maybe have turned down the job…”

“I see…are you of a different religion?” he asked.

“If I had to pick one, it would be the one of my ancestors: the Longhouse religion I grew up with. I’m half Native American. I’d deny my roots by being a Christian.” Fatigue ran through her from head to toe and she excused herself, wanting to lie down in her room

Joshua drove down Main Street and thought of Raven. Was she prejudiced against the Amish, or was she just cold toward
everyone? He prayed that she didn’t treat the boys like she’d treated him. Certainly Jim wouldn’t hire someone who was unkind. Maybe she was having a rough time adjusting to her new job. He silently prayed for her, and then he prayed for a kidney match for his
mamm
.

Soon he passed Eb’s house. When would he come to his senses and repent before the People? He missed talking to him, but Eb was under the ban. No amount of persuading could convince Eb that God hadn’t forgotten him. Yes, he’d suffered great loss, but to go down the road of sin wasn’t right under any circumstances.

He saw Eb on the front porch and couldn’t help but wave, but he soon saw he was drinking again. Didn’t he realize that he could ruin his liver with all this alcohol? Joshua felt like stopping and having words with him, to talk sense into him. His
mamm
secretly tried. She saw life as a gift and hated to see people abusing their bodies.  Eb never listened to anyone.

To his surprise, Eb walked toward the road, waving for him to stop. He looked straight ahead until Eb ran up by his horse. “Do you have any money I can borrow?”

Joshua wished he could talk to him but didn’t look his way, until the buggy stopped. Eb had taken the horse by the bridle.

“I’m flat broke,” Eb said. “Need to go get some pills from Doc Mast, but don’t have the money.”

Joshua glanced over at him. He knew he shouldn’t but Eb always grabbed his heart. When he was a kid, Eb played marbles with him. He was the one who helped him get over his fear of plowing behind a draft horse. “How much?”

“Twenty dollars,” Eb said, green eyes filled with shame.

“This is for medicine and not alcohol, right?” Joshua knew from his
rumspringa
years this amount of money was more than enough to make a man drunk.

“Absolutely. I’ve never lied to you Joshua, you know that.”

Joshua knew exactly what Eb meant. He’d lied to Eb several times growing up. Being neighbors, he helped with chores since Eb only had a daughter. How many times had he cut corners to make his work faster? How many times had Eb sat him down, like a father, and read him an Amish parable about honesty? His teaching had set him straight. How could he do the same for him now? “I don’t have twenty dollars on me, but I’ll put it in the hiding place, alright?”

He saw Eb look up at him with warm misty eyes. “I miss you, Son.”

Joshua wanted to get down off the buggy and embrace this dear man, even give him a holy kiss on the cheek, but how could he? Eb wasn’t leading a holy life. He looked at the car that pulled into Eb’s driveway. He saw it was Lawrence Turner. Maybe the English pastor could help him.

~*~

Raven shook each boy’s hand and told them to take a seat in the large living room. She looked at the overstuffed chairs and felt they were calling her to lie down and take a nap. “I want you boys to know that all the rules I’ve written down are fixed and not changeable. But if you ever need to talk to me, just let me know. I grew up in several foster homes and understand your feelings of being invisible. I want you to know that I see you.” She turned to Jim and waited for him to comment, but he didn’t. “Mr. Rowe has provided you with a wonderful home but you all want to be placed in foster homes, is that correct?” She saw all six heads nod in agreement. “Can I ask one of you to share why you don’t want to live here until you’re eighteen? It’s a beautiful place.”

She saw a small framed boy with mousy, straight brown hair in his eyes raise his hand.  “You’re Timmy, right?”

“Yes. Ma’am,” he said.

She looked at her chart. “At twelve, what makes you want to be put in another home?”

He looked puzzled. “Everybody wants a real family. A place to belong, right? We hear some foster kids get adopted.”

Raven’s breath caught in a gasp. He said out loud something she was never able to say…a place to belong. She willed back tears. No foster parent ever wanted to adopt her. She asked if anyone else had a reason they wanted to be adopted. Another hand went up. “Yes?”

“I’m Chad, but everyone calls me Bud. I’m eleven.” He looked over at Mr. Rowe and his chubby cheeks swelled up as he smiled. “It’s nothing against Mr. Rowe and he knows it. We all like it here, but we agree with what Timmy said. We want a permanent mom and dad.”

Another boy raised his hand. “
Ya
, one that will be with you after you turn eighteen,” he said.

Barely able to speak, Raven asked him his name. “Charles, but everyone calls me Chuckey. Oh, and I’m twelve.”

Raven straightened herself in her chair. “I have another question. Do you boys know we can take you to Jamestown on Wednesday night for activities? You don’t have to do something here in Ellington.”

Bud’s eyes grew round. “That’s Bible Club Night. We love it. Pastor Turner’s cool.”

“But I see they have karate at the YMCA that night. Wouldn’t you boys like to do that?”

A boy shook his white hair so fast she thought he looked like a bobble head doll. “No way.  I’m beating everyone in Bible Trivia,” he blurted. “Oh, my name is Paul, and everyone calls me Paul, too. I’m eleven.”

“How about the rest of you? Doesn’t Karate sound like a guy thing to do?” Raven asked.

Bud raised his hand. “We like Bible Club. Jesus was a guy. We think it’s a guy thing to do, right Mr. Rowe?”

Jim nodded in agreement, but Raven saw him hide a snicker. She observed the boys, her eyes narrowed. “How is it that all six boys want the same thing? Do they give you candy at Bible Club?”

“No,” Bud said. “Pastor Turner gets us some but…” he turned to Jim, “we aren’t allowed to take any.”

Jim clapped his knee and roared. “Bud, you will not get me to change my mind. You can feel sorry for yourself all you want.” He patted his lean stomach. “Some of us are watching our weight, remember?”

Bud glared at Jim, but then laughed. “I know, I know.”

Raven wasn’t convinced all six boys wanted to go and knew they were being bribed somehow. She’d go to Bible Club and find out for herself. “Okay, so it’s Bible Club on Wednesday and the activity for the month is what?”

A short thin boy with a large black afro that matched the color of his skin raised his hand. “The Fall Festival, Ma’am. I’m Toby, and I’m eleven.”

“Once again, boys,” Raven said. “We have a van and you’re not limited to Ellington. We could go to Cockaigne Fall Festival and ride the ski lifts. How about that?”

The boys all shook their heads in disagreement. “We’re helping in the festival here,” Chuckey said. “We’re doing the dunking booth.” The boys got up and gave each other high fives. “We’re going to dunk Mr. Rowe good,” he said with a vengeance, then high fived the boy next to him again.

Raven looked at the boy laughing with Chuckey. He hadn’t said a word. “You’re Cliff, right?” she asked him.

Cliff’s face matched his red-colored hair. He pushed up his wire-rimmed glasses and nodded.

“And how old are you?” Raven asked, empathizing with the boy’s shyness.

“Ten,” Cliff said.

“Everyone calls him Cliffy, not Cliff though,” Chuckey interjected.

Raven hid her grin by putting the pencil to her lips. She remembered her childhood friend, Jody, who she hid behind. Jody always told her Raven would take her “funny bone” if she’d take her “shy bone”.

Mr. Rowe looked at his watch and popped out of his chair. “The bus will be here any minute. We need to join hands and pray.”

Raven couldn’t believe what she’d just heard, but two hands took hers and she heard them take turns praying out loud.

~*~

Raven rubbed her eyes, dreading this day; the Yoder’s home visit, and at 6:30 a.m. of all things. She was invited over for breakfast. Jim sure must want them to be foster parents, since he expedited the paperwork so quickly, but why?

She started combing her hair, and thought of Joshua.  Yes, he seemed sweet, but why did he seem familiar to her? She’d never been to Cherry Creek or Ellington, thinking both towns were small, so why bother? She spent most of her growing up years in Salamanca or Jamestown.

When her hair was detangled enough, she clipped it back and dressed quickly. Raven looked in her closet and grinned to think the boys wanted to help unpack her things, even women’s clothing.  She was fond of them already, but of course children were easy to get close to. She scanned her wardrobe and grabbed black pants and a blue blouse, Amish colors. Why did they so freely wear black? She was always told as a child it was a color of magical power and to be feared if misused.

Raven tip-toed down the hallway and steps, not to disturb the boys, and was soon driving down Main Street out toward Cherry Creek. She looked at her GPS. It was only five miles away. She turned on the radio to light jazz and soon started to see some Amish houses. They were all white with navy blue curtains peeping out. Large red barns were built close to the houses. The morning sun shot beams through the thick clouds.  Was it a good sign?

She pulled into the Yoder’s driveway that was to the right of their house. She saw a man staggering to a large maple tree behind the barn. Was this Mr. Yoder and was he drunk? She saw him reach up into a birdhouse to pull something out. He smiled as he counted money. What on earth? She opened her car door and he turned to look at her, and tears filled his eyes. She heard him call out to her with outstretched arms, “My love.” He looked at her as
if something from a vision. She ran up the steps onto the Yoder front porch and knocked hard on the door.

Joshua opened the door. “Are you alright, Raven?”

She didn’t know what to say, but blurted out, “Is that man out there in the yard your dad?”

“My
Daed’s
washing up for breakfast in the utility room.” Joshua stepped out on the porch to look across the yard. “I don’t see anyone.”

“Maybe he was a helper, then,” she gasped, her heart in her throat. Her eyes met Joshua’s and she felt everything come into focus again and then felt oddly at ease. Stepping inside the house, she looked over the large living room. It was so sparse. No stuffed chairs or couch, only two wooden benches with spindled backs faced each other, separated by a chest-type coffee table. Two Amish rockers were placed in the corners of the room. Oil lamps hung from oak sconces. She found the simplicity charming.  

Joshua led her into the kitchen, but when her eyes met Susanna’s, she was not prepared. The woman sat in an Amish rocker in the corner next to the wood burning stove. Her light hair was the color of her skin. Her eyelids looked like window shades, half down, but no doubt, the light in her eyes shone through. She went over to shake her hand. “Hello, Mrs. Yoder. My name is Raven Meadows.”

“Call me Susanna. We Amish aren’t real proper, going by Mr. and Mrs.” She shook her hand warmly.

“I love your shawl.” Raven noticed the blue yarn looked homespun.

Susanna pulled the shawl closer around her. “It’s called a prayer shawl. A friend in Pennsylvania made it. Said that with each stitch, a prayer was said for me. It makes me feel like someone’s hugging me all the time.”

Raven had seen books in craft stores for prayer shawls, but didn’t realize they really helped anyone. But Susanna seemed to feel special; remembered in her illness. “I knit. Do you?”

“
Jah, on my knitting loom. Some days I get one row done, and feel like it’s an accomplishment. Would love to learn to knit with needles, though. Something different.”

“I’ve taught others to knit. It’s so easy. Maybe I can teach you.”

“I’d like that.”

Raven saw a man come in from a room off the kitchen. He came over and shook her hand, green eyes twinkling. “I’m Rueben, Susanna’s husband. Nice to meet you.”

She smiled at the man, but couldn’t help gawk at his long black beard; it needed trimmed. “Shall we start the interview?”

“Not until we eat,” Rueben chuckled. “I’ve been out choring since four this morning and I’m famished.” He looked at Joshua. “I smell pancakes. What else you got?”

“Plenty of eggs and sausage. Toast, too, and left over apple pie from last night.”

Rueben licked his lips and rubbed his hands together. “I’ll take the pie first.”