The Guardian (17 page)

T
he Lord’s Day dawned with even warmer temperatures. Thin clouds veiled the fair sunrise as Joshua single-handedly watered his beef cattle and got breakfast, too—cold cereal, juice, toast with the homemade raspberry jam left by Ida Fisher yesterday, and black coffee. A second cup of the latter made him break out in a sweat once he’d cleaned up right good for the Sunday gathering, wearing his best black broadfall trousers and white shirt and tan suspenders beneath his black summer vest.

It occurred to him to walk over and thank Maryanna Esh outright for redding up his flower bed, but he didn’t want to embarrass her. Instead, he pictured what it might be like to speak with her later today. Somehow he’d manage to greet her and the children before or after the shared meal on the back lawn. Knowing Tobias, the lad would seek out his grandfather Ezekiel before filing into the barn for church with his mother and siblings. Old Zeke was about as friendly a man as Joshua had ever known. Benuel, too, had enjoyed spending time with good-natured Zeke, who was always looking to tell a story from his boyhood. But since Benuel’s passing, Zeke’s health had gone
downhill some.
Maybe Zeke is someone I could befriend.
Then, thinking on that, Joshua didn’t want anyone, least of all Zeke or Maryanna, to imagine he was worming his way into their lives for ulterior motives.

Joshua went around his house and porch, looking to see if things were up to snuff for today’s meeting. Satisfied, he headed upstairs to the second level of the barn to double-check the tidy stacks of Ausbund hymnals and saw to it that each row of benches was straight. He used this peaceful time to ask God to pour a divine blessing on the day, still concerned things weren’t entirely as spick-and-span as when his wife was alive.

He heard the rattle of the first horse and carriage as it came into the long driveway. Behind it were a good many teenage boys walking single file, duplicates in black trousers and vests and white long-sleeved shirts. They’d come early to tend to the road horses and lead them one by one to the stable to shelter them from the sun as the many families arrived. The same young men would fill a watering trough in the barnyard for the hot, thirsty horses and park the carriages, as well as a few spring wagons for larger families, in an orderly fashion. These young men were the hostlers, and Joshua was mighty grateful for them. He waved now to the oldest of the teens, Caleb Stoltzfus, the bishop’s strapping step-nephew. “Hullo, and Guder Mariye!”

“
Gut
mornin’ to
you
, Joshua!” Caleb called back, looking mighty
schee
today, his light brown hair clean and combed and his face freshly shaved.

“All set to do the Lord’s work?”

Caleb gave a quick nod. “Mighty honored to help. Denki.”

“The gratitude’s all mine.” Joshua nodded and headed out to the road to greet the various families, including the extended Beiler family—Ella Mae Zook, the Wise Woman, smiled as the enclosed carriage made the turn into his lane. The Nate
Kurtzes and Paul Hostetlers came in next, followed by the Mast and Stoltzfus families and then Benuel Esh’s siblings’ families.

But it was impossible for Joshua not to notice Maryanna Esh and her four walking this way, along the road. Maryanna’s blue dress and white apron looked crisply ironed, as did her girls’. Tobias hung back a bit with Benny, and it was obvious the two of them had been scrubbed till it hurt. Joshua tried his best not to stare, but the sight touched him to the core, and he yearned to go and say hello but held back.

Shortly, when his brothers and their families arrived, Joshua quietly engaged himself with the men in his family, walking to the barnyard to wait till the ministerial brethren showed up. It was the oddest thing, but no matter where he stood, Maryanna was in his line of vision, looking prettier than ever. And if he wasn’t mistaken, she’d caught his gaze, as well.

Ida Fisher arrived a few minutes later with her older brother and wife, the carriage creeping into the driveway as they waited for Caleb and the other fellows to unhitch their mare.

Seeing him, Ida nodded discreetly, her smile warm.

Joshua returned a quick nod.
O Lord in heaven, I entreat you for divine guidance.

A reverential frame of mind was expected upon entering into worship with the other members. When the service began later, Joshua focused on the familiar hymns, tuning his ear as the preacher took his place before them to give the first sermon. During the first prayer, Joshua asked for wisdom in finding the right wife.
A man like me needs a helpmate, O Lord God… . If you have put this in my heart, may your will be done.

––

Well into the second sermon, Joshua’s cat began to meow, mildly at first, then more loudly. The ruckus swelled till it was just plain shrill, and folks shifted uncomfortably and turned to look back at the house. As if being attacked by a wild dog, Honey Lou’s caterwauls escalated to the point where they became a disruption to Preacher Yoder’s fervent preaching.

Joshua wished he’d closed the windows to the upstairs room where he’d put the cat. But when the preacher himself paused in the midst of his rhythmic delivery, his serious eyes fixed suddenly on Joshua, it crossed Joshua’s mind that he should go immediately and see what the world was happening. Then, to compound the problem, the parrot began to call and screech like it, too, was being assaulted.

Honey Lou’s upsetting Malachi!

And it didn’t stop there. In short order, there was a duet—if not a duel—going on between the kitchen downstairs and the guest room upstairs. It sounded like the bird was trying to out-holler the cat.

O dear Lord, I beseech Thee for help!

Standing quickly, Joshua was conscious of heat rising from his neck to his face as he kept his gaze on the barn floor while making his way out of the somber meeting. Nevertheless, if he was not mistaken, Maryanna Esh actually sputtered as he walked past the benches of womenfolk. He groaned inwardly. What had started out as a glorious Sunday had rapidly deteriorated. Heaven knew Maryanna would be the first to say it was Joshua’s fault for keeping
“those wretched indoor pets.”
And his hopes of getting Benuel’s widow to accept an invitation to go riding had just flown quickly out the window.

––

Maryanna had not erased the memory of Joshua Peachey’s ill-mannered parrot calling out her name the other day. Oh,
goodness, now her neighbor’s pets had literally stopped the sermon. When the unreasonable man finally took leave of his seat and exited, it was all she could do to curl her toes in her best black shoes and hold her breath as he walked past her row. What if that horrid bird started shouting out names next?
What then?

She felt light-headed at the dreadful thought. Everyone would know the truth about Joshua—that he’d either taught the bird to say her name, or that it had heard him speaking of her so much the parrot had begun to mimic him. Her neck turned stiff and sore, and she had visions of the People turning and staring at
her
next, as if such a thing were her fault.

As a result, Maryanna did not hear another word Preacher Yoder spoke, and she silently pleaded for the bird’s beak to remain shut during the solemn moments when they all turned to kneel at their benches.
If this is the last prayer you ever see fit to answer, O God, I ask for mercy in this matter!

With Leda on her right and little Sarah on her left, Maryanna folded her hands so tightly, it reminded her of when she’d squeezed Sarah’s hairpins into her palms, frantic with concern. And right then, she again thanked the Almighty for returning her baby safe and sound.

Suddenly, the hushed serenity was broken by Joshua’s all too audible voice, as in the house he reprimanded first the parrot, and then, a few moments later, the cat. “‘Tis the Lord’s Day,” he was heard to say. “You must be still. You must!”

To make matters worse, in another minute she could hear one window after another being closed upstairs, followed by a loud clattering, like a cage or something else metal falling. Maryanna could not imagine what was going on. She did know one thing, however: Suzanne would be just horrified. And it
was beyond her what Joshua’s dear, patient wife must have had to put up with.

As for herself, Maryanna did not care to know what had set off Joshua’s raucous animals. It was anyone’s guess.

Doesn’t the man have any sense?

J
odi dragged out of bed much later than usual Sunday morning, heavyhearted with the memory of the dismal turn in her conversation with Trent last night. She couldn’t remember the last time they’d disagreed so vociferously. Raising the blind, she peered out and was glad to see a slight cloud cover. In the yard below, three robins flicked water about in the stone birdbath. The sight was restful, and she briefly considered Maryanna Esh and her little family, wondering if they were already sitting in church.

Inadvertently, Jodi bumped the window, and the pretty birds flew away.

With a sigh, she assumed that Trent, too, had managed to locate a house of worship to attend while here in town.

Groaning, she made her way to the closet to decide what to wear for her morning run. Prior to Karen’s passing, Jodi had rarely missed church and even looked forward to going. When she and Karen had visited their parents in Jersey, all of them enjoyed the early morning service and then went out to one of Dad’s favorite Italian restaurants for lunch.

“Everything’s changed,” she murmured sadly as she reached
for her long white skirt. She wanted to see what it was like to run dressed like Rosaleen and Barbara Yoder. She pulled on the skirt and top she’d worn the day of Sarah’s return to Hickory Hollow and combed her hair into a ponytail. Carrying her athletic socks and running shoes, she meandered down the short hall to the sun-drenched kitchen, where she noticed Trent’s roses on the counter. She’d taken her time arranging them after he headed off to a hotel nearby to unwind before bed.

Red roses for love …

She added water to the vase, then went to the fridge and grabbed a cup of natural yogurt and cut up a few strawberries to mix in. She sat at the bar to enjoy the light, simple breakfast, along with some organic apple juice she’d purchased at a nearby Whole Foods. As was her habit, she’d wait until after her run to eat more heartily.

How can I possibly move forward with our engagement?
she wondered, realizing how strange it was that the man she loved was in Lancaster but she didn’t feel like contacting him. The whole thing boiled down to one simple fact: She did not want to be a mother.

What point is there in communicating every day as planned?

Everything about Trent’s change of heart made her wonder what had truly transpired. She didn’t understand where he was coming from.

Noticing the cat’s empty dish, Jodi went to pour some fresh food before doing her stretches and warm-ups. She itched to check for email and possible phone calls regarding her resume.
But it’s the weekend,
Jodi reminded herself. What chance was there of a nibble on a job?

As she rinsed out the yogurt dish, she recalled the things Trent had said. Sharing her heart with him had never been so exasperating. And if he
did
call today and want to see her
before driving back to Vermont, wouldn’t the elephant in the room inevitably spoil that visit, too?

Is it best not to see him?
Not if he was going to pressure her for a commitment to pray, especially for the purpose of getting her to change her mind.

She gritted her teeth as she pulled on her socks and shoes. “Why is this happening now?”

She removed her phone from its charger and checked the weather. “Lovely,” she whispered when she saw that the dew point was already miserably high at seventy-two. But she was eager to run despite that. Pushing herself physically always helped to manage stress, and a run down Hickory Lane might prove to be interesting, considering the Amish folk were attending house church.

“It’s Sunday,” she declared to the cat as she reached for her purse and car keys to drive there. “I won’t be long,” she promised.

After the shared meal, Joshua kept an eye out to calculate when might be the best time to discreetly approach Ida Fisher. She and several other women were in his kitchen now, finishing up the dishes. Thanks to the ruckus during Preaching, his heart was in his throat.

A few minutes later, Ida was walking alone toward the carriage, her brother and his wife having been called by the deacon. Increasing his pace, Joshua fell into step with her, offering a smile. Her eyes instantly brightened, and he took that as an encouragement.

He helped her up into the carriage, then stood below, reminding himself to breathe. “I wonder if you might like to go
riding with me in the next week,” he said so quietly he scarcely heard himself.

“Sorry?”

He repeated his request, ignoring the rapid beat of his heart. “I’d like to take ya riding sometime, if that’s all right.”

“Oh,” Ida said and broke into a smile. “Well, would ya like to come for dinner instead?”

He was stunned. “Why, sure. Denki.”

“When’s a
gut
evening?”

“Anytime, really.”

“Well, ya have to eat anyways, so just pick the day.”

This was much too easy!

“How’s next Saturday, then?” he asked.

“Just fine.” She nodded warmly. “Come around five o’clock.”

Joshua agreed.

“I’ll see you next weekend, Ida.”

“All right.” She waved good-bye.

Pleased, he hurried toward the stable to see how the young men were managing the many horses, matching them up to the right carriages and all. But as he watched, his earlier elation began to dissipate, and he began to feel foolish. Truth be told, his heart did not sing at the thought of sharing a meal with Ida, and now he’d be doing just that. He looked toward his house, and there was Maryanna Esh calling softly to Sarah, who was still mingling with other children. Benny, Leda, and Tobias waited patiently with Maryanna, evidently ready to walk home.

I should have asked her first,
he thought, kicking himself.

Tobias spotted him just then and made a beeline to Joshua. “I didn’t see ya earlier,” the boy said, face flushed and grinning.

“I’ve been here all day.”

“Just had to ask ya—what happened to make Honey Lou and Malachi carry on during Preachin’?”

Joshua should have guessed Tobias would start with that, but he didn’t mind—the boy shared his love for pets. “Honestly, it was the rabbit that got things goin’.”

“Oh?”

“When I left church to check, I found Shadow running around out of his cage. Got loose somehow or other.”

Tobias’s eyes grew wider. “I hope Honey Lou didn’t try ‘n’ catch Shadow.”

“Well, Shadow’s still cowering under the bureau, I’m afraid. Poor thing’s had a fright.”

Tobias frowned hard. “Shadow’s not hurt, is he?”

“Not to worry, son,” he reassured him.

Benny ran over to get his brother, and Tobias said he’d see Joshua tomorrow. “I’ll come help water the steers.”

“Denki.” Joshua glanced at the boy’s mother, but Maryanna looked away. “Wait just a minute,” he said. “I’ll walk down there with ya.”

Benny looked surprised, but Tobias stayed right beside him, matching Joshua’s purposeful stride toward their mother.