The Amish Millers Get Married BOXED SET Books 1-3 (Amish Romance Book Bundle: The Way Home, The Way Forward, The Narrow Way) (Boxed Set: Amish Millers Get Married) (24 page)

Galatians 5:22-23.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Chapter 11
.

Sheryl had not returned, and Martha had no idea where she was. She had called her cell repeatedly, but it appeared to be turned off. Martha had no idea if Sheryl was paying the rent, or what was going on. She would need to speak to her soon.

All Martha could do was to continue her work as a short order cook, and try to raise funds to pay for the lawyer by selling chocolates at the upcoming farmers' market. The market was open every Saturday, but she hadn’t been able to get there for some time. Now she needed every cent. She had no idea how much lawyers cost, apart from the fact that they were sure to be horribly expensive.

Martha was melting chocolate over a water bath when there was a knock at the door. She hurried to the door, hoping it was Sheryl, although Sheryl did of course have her own key. "Sheryl," she said hopefully, opening the door.

"Not last time I looked. Hey, you don't look happy to see me." Gary was standing in the doorway, dressed in better clothes than the usual casual clothes he wore around the apartment.

"Oh Gary, come in. Come to the kitchen and talk; I'm tempering chocolate."

"You're what?"

Martha beckoned to Gary and hurried back into the kitchen.

"I've been away at a conference, just in case you were wondering where I was. Did you miss me?"

Martha looked over her shoulder. "Oh, you were away?"

Gary looked crestfallen. "Well, that answers my question. Where’s Sheryl?" He reached over to a small bowl and picked up some chocolate which he shoved into his mouth.

"No Gary!" Martha said sharply. "That’s the seed; you can't eat it."

"It tastes like chocolate to me, not seeds," Gary said in a confused voice through a mouthful of chocolate.

Martha shook her head. "No, I mean yes, it's called the
seed
but it’s about a quarter of the chocolate - I have to add it in later. Don’t touch any more."

Gary shrugged. "Fine, if that's how you feel. So anyway, where's Sheryl?"

"I haven't seen her since I was arrested," Martha said without thinking.

"What?" Gary's voice rose to a shriek. "Did you say
arrested
?"

"Yes, so I'm making chocolates to pay for my lawyer. I’d make you some coffee and sit down and talk, but I've started tempering the chocolate for the cherries and I can't stop now or I’ll have to do the whole thing all over again." Martha was flustered; having interruptions while tempering chocolate was bad at the best of times, but now she'd have to explain the whole situation to Gary. "I have to really concentrate 'cause even a small amount of water can make the chocolate seize. I'll tell you everything, but I'll have to do this while I talk, if that's okay."

"Sure." Gary walked over to her. "Does it bother you if I watch?"

"No, that's fine." Martha took a deep breath. "The police said that Sheryl's been stealing thousands of dollars worth of designer dresses and handbags, and they think she must be running an organization and that I'm part of it, 'cause when they came with the search warrant, I was wearing stolen clothes."

"Hey man, that's heavy."

Martha looked up at him and then stirred the chocolate. "I didn’t know they were stolen, obviously. I had no idea Sheryl was stealing things. The police don’t believe me, of course."

"Did you tell them you were a simple Amish girl unfamiliar with the ways of the world and straight off the farm?"

Martha looked up from the digital probe thermometer and shot Gary a sharp look, but he didn't appear to be joking; in fact, he looked quite serious.

"I told them I was on
rumspringa
and that I'm Amish, but they didn’t seem to think that made any difference. So I was arrested and I haven't seen Sheryl since."

Gary let out a long whistle. "Serious. You do have a lawyer, don't you?"

Martha put the thermometer down and shook her head. "Not yet, Moses is getting a lawyer for me."

Gary grunted. "Moses, your Amish boyfriend." It was a statement rather than a question.

Martha shook her head. "
Nee
, he's not my boyfriend." As soon as the words were out, she wished she had avoided the subject. She did not want to encourage Gary; she had given up any idea of having him as an
Englisch
boyfriend. Now he might see her saying she wasn't dating Moses as an open invitation to pursue matters further.

"Anyway," she continued, "that's why I'm making these chocolates, to pay for the lawyer. I can’t imagine a lawyer would be cheap."

"That's for sure. So who are you selling these chocolates to?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? The farmers' markets. I used to go there quite often; it's how I saved up enough money for the rent here."

"Wouldn't your family pay for the lawyer?"

"
Nee
,
nee
," Martha said, and then amended it. "No, no, I don't want my
familye
to know. My
mudder
,
err
, mother, would be most upset and she'd force me to go home immediately. I don’t want to go home until I've finished my
rumspringa,
especially now that I have that chocolate contract in place."

Martha turned her attention to adding the seed to the mixture and stirring it with a spatula.

"So you
are
going home then?" Gary said after a few moments.

Martha looked at Gary. "What do you mean?"

"I thought you had no intention of returning to the Amish at all, and now you're saying you'll go home after you finish your
rumspringa
."

Martha stopped dipping a small strip of parchment paper into the chocolate and stared at Gary. "I said that?" She thought over her words. Did she really intend to return home? Or did she wish to remain an
Englischer
?
My subconscious mind clearly thought I was intending to return home
, she thought. Martha was confused, so confused in fact, that she stared at Gary so long trying to make sense of her thoughts that the chocolate cooled too much and went hard, and she had to start the tempering process all over again.

1 Corinthians 1:17.

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power

Chapter 12
.

Martha and Gary arrived in Gary's car early in the morning at the farmers' market. Martha had accepted Gary's offer to help at the markets as she was so overwrought with everything that had been happening. There had still been no word from Sheryl, but Martha had visited the leasing agent who had informed her that Sheryl's rent was up to date and in advance by one month. That gave Martha a little breathing space, she'd figured.

Martha usually enjoyed her day at the markets, with its family friendly and energetic atmosphere, but she was feeling quite down about the whole situation of her arrest. She was also frustrated by the injustice of it all. There was a good chance she could go to jail, but she couldn’t let herself think about that now.
Gott
knew was she innocent, and
Gott
was the supreme judge.

The open air market was held every Saturday and attracted vendors of all descriptions selling their products: food, crafts, quilts, art, and candles to name but a few. Vendors set up either side of the pathway, and Martha was glad that Gary was there to help her put up the gazebo folding tent.

Soon there were bright blue tents lining both sides of the pathway, and Martha was pleased to see she was again between a bakery and an organic vegetable grower. That would mean people were thinking about food when they reached her stall. She herself was thinking about food; the aroma of freshly baked bread was tantalizing and reminded her of home and of the fact that she hadn't had breakfast.

Gary did prove to be of help, although he was quite absent-minded at times. He took out the cartons of chocolates as Martha had instructed and helped her set them up. The official time for the market to start was still half an hour away, but people were already drifting through. Although Martha had allowed herself plenty of time, she felt she was rushing to set up in time. She was grateful for Gary's help, but sometimes doing things oneself was the fastest way to get things done; instructing took time.

"Rebecca!" Martha saw Rebecca, the youngest of the four Miller sisters, approach. The two of them had always been close, just as Hannah and Esther had always been close. Martha hugged Rebecca and Rebecca returned her hug, but then when they pulled away, Rebecca's eyebrows were raised. It was not usual in Amish communities to show affection, at least not in public.

"You’re so
Englisch
now," Rebecca said, looking Martha up and down. Before Martha could reply, she added, "And I really miss you.
Mamm's
got a steady stream of
menner
coming to the
haus
. She wants to get me married off as soon as possible."

Martha laughed. "
Jah
, she's always been like that."

"
Jah
, but I'm the only
maidel
left at home, so she's turned all her attention to me."

Rebecca looked so downcast that Martha tried to cheer her up. "Come on, then, have a chocolate.
Denki
for helping me too."

"I always help you at the markets, Martha." Rebecca's mouth was still turned down at the sides.

Martha had forgotten about Gary, who was standing behind the stall. "Oh Rebecca, this is Gary. He lives in the apartment above me."

The two exchanged greetings, and then Rebecca leaned in close to Martha and whispered, "Is he
de bo
?"

"
Nee
,
nee
, he's not my boyfriend," Martha whispered hurriedly, glancing at Gary who was clearly pretending he wasn't listening, but was.

"What’s happening with Moses then?" Rebecca whispered, while Gary took a step closer while looking off into the distance.

"Nothing, nothing at all." Martha gave her
schweschder
a stern look.

"This is
me
you’re talking to," Rebecca whispered, but more loudly this time. "Don’t try to fool me. I'm not
ferhoodled
; I know you too well."

Martha held up her hands in exasperation, but then her first customer for the day arrived, which saved her from Rebecca's questions. Martha tried to concentrate on the customer's questions, but she kept one ear on Rebecca, who was now questioning Gary.

When the customer left, Martha turned to Gary. "Thank you so much for bringing me here and helping me set up. Now that Rebecca's here, I’ll be right for some time, if you want to go off and explore the markets."

Gary scratched his head while he apparently thought over her suggestion. "Okay, sure. I’ll come back from time to time to see if you need help."

Martha made to thank him but Rebecca spoke first. "See that cream colored tent over there?" She pointed and Gary nodded. "They have the best apple butter, and apple snitz and apple cider too."

Gary's face lighted up and he hurried away. "So, tell me what's going with Moses now," Rebecca demanded, her hands on her hips.

"Nothing's going on with Moses, truly."

"But you like him, don’t you?"

"
Jah
." Martha nodded furiously. "But he’ll never leave the Amish."

Rebecca shrugged. "So? Surely that's a
gut
thing."

Martha was exasperated. "I don't know why no one takes me seriously, not even my own
familye
. I've said for ages that I was going to be
Englisch
, and not come back to the Amish, and have a chocolate business."

Martha expected Rebecca to be annoyed, but she simply said, "You can have a chocolate business
and
be Amish."

"Yes, but…" Martha's voice trailed away.

"So what's it like being
Englisch
?"

Martha thought for a moment. "Well, if something goes wrong, there's really no one to call on for help. I mean, you could ask a neighbor or a friend, and they might give some sympathy or help a little, but there's no certainty of complete help like you get from the community. You have to go out to a store to buy milk and eggs, plus it’s very lonely too. I wasn't expecting that. There's a feeling of isolation. There's an emphasis on how you look and even I've caught myself looking in shop windows at my reflection lately, even though the
Englisch
have mirrors everywhere. There's a big emphasis on personal appearance."

Martha would have gone on, but Rebecca stopped her. "Is there anything
gut
about being
Englisch
?"

Martha rubbed her chin. "Well, there's the freedom, and cars are much faster than buggies."

"Do you have a license to drive a car?" Rebecca popped a chocolate coated cherry into her mouth.

"Well, no."

"So you have to be driven anyway, and that's the same as being Amish, isn't it?"

Martha had to admit that Rebecca was right. Still, there must be good things about being
Englisch
, and, as Martha served the next few customers, she tried to think what they were.

"I wonder why that is," Rebecca said to herself when a large group of customers left.

"What's that?"

"The customers never come one at a time; there are no customers for a while, then they all come at once."

Martha laughed. "That's true, but at least it gives us a bit of a break. Anyway, how are Hannah's twins?"

"Oh they're so cute," Rebecca gushed. "Hannah wants you to come and see them again soon. You will, won't you?"

"Of course." Martha was hit with pangs of guilt, as her visits to Hannah and her
bopplis
had been infrequent. Had she still been living at home, she would have visited Hannah and the
bopplis
every day.

Martha had just finished wrapping chocolates for another customer when Rebecca tugged on her arm and nodded to her left. Martha followed the direction and saw Moses approaching.

Martha was hit with a sudden coldness followed by dizziness and an unpleasant churning in her stomach. Laura, the waitress from work, was walking with Moses. Laura had not mentioned Moses to her lately, so Martha had thought she had lost interest in him.

The two walked over to Martha's stall, smiling. Martha introduced Rebecca to Laura. "I found Laura at the markets," Moses said pointedly.

Martha wondered if he'd said that to reassure her that the two of them had not come to the markets together.
Still, I'm not dating Moses
, she thought,
so why would he feel it necessary to say that? Or perhaps he is interested in her and doesn’t want anyone to suspect.
Martha found it hard to think clearly with Moses and Laura standing opposite her, looking for all the world like a happy couple.