The HOPE of SPRING (3 page)

He went to the table and sprinkled a little salt on the potato before popping it into
his mouth.

Mom grinned. “I see you still like eating raw potatoes.”

“Some things never change,” Jonah answered, enjoying the uncooked morsel. “I’ll take
another chunk if you don’t mind.”

“So, where are you going?” Mom asked, handing him one more piece.

“Over to the Kings’ place to speak with Meredith. Remember, I told you last night
that I planned to go over there after Dad and I finished up at the buggy shop today.
I want to see about buying her husband’s gaul.”

Mom thumped the side of her head, pushing her covering slightly askew, and exposing
the light brown bun at the back of her head. “I’d forgotten about that,” she said,
readjusting the covering. “I assume you’ll be taking your daed’s horse and buggy?”

“Yep, that’s right.”

“You’re welcome to ride over to the Kings’ on my scooter.” Mom grinned, reminding
Jonah of a young schoolgirl. Truth was, his fifty-six-year-old mother was so thin
and petite she could almost pass for a teenage girl if it weren’t for the few wrinkles
on her forehead. Dad often teased her, saying she was his child-bride.

“Think I’ll stick to Dad’s horse and buggy,” Jonah replied with a chuckle. “It’ll
take me less time, and won’t be as hard on my legs as a scooter.”

“That’s true,” Mom agreed, “but at least with my scooter you won’t have an unruly
horse to deal with on the road.” She looked past Jonah toward the door. “Where’s your
daed?”

“Out in the barn. Said to tell you he’ll be in soon.” Jonah stepped up to Mom and
gave her a hug. “I’m going to wash up and change into some clean clothes, then I’ll
be heading over to see Meredith.” He snatched a raw carrot before heading out of the
room, and smiled when he heard Mom crunch one, too.

Ronks

Meredith had been resting on the sofa most of the afternoon, and her youngest siblings,
Owen and Katie, were getting on her nerves. They were either fussing at each other
or running through the house, hollering at the top of their lungs. Owen, who’d turned
three last November, had started walking by the time he was ten months old and never
had any trouble keeping up with six-year-old Katie. Mom had been trying to keep the
little ones quiet today, but every time she got them interested in doing something
in another room, they’d end up back in the living room. With Meredith’s teenage sisters,
Laurie and Kendra, both working at the farmers’ market today, and thirteen-year-old
Nina visiting a friend after school, Mom was short-handed this evening.

“You’d better give me that!” Katie shouted as she raced past Meredith, chasing after
Owen, who had taken her doll.

Meredith grimaced.
I wonder if I’ll feel this way when my own baby is born and starts fussing or being
too loud. I hope not, because I don’t want to be an impatient mother.

Meredith loved her family, but she wished she could go back to the quiet of her own
house. She didn’t remember that the antics of her younger brothers and sisters bothered
her before she got married like they did now. Maybe that was because, for over a year,
it had just been her, Luke, and Fritz, with no energetic little ones underfoot.

Adding to Meredith’s frustration were all the things she wanted to get done at home,
and the preparations she wanted to make for the baby. But there was nothing more important
than the safety of her unborn child, and most of her aggravation was from not doing
anything except lying around. Hopefully, she could get started on making those head
coverings soon.

She glanced around the room. Not much had changed in the large home where her family
lived. From the looks of the furniture, one would never know that seven children were
still being raised in this house. Most of the pieces were still original and had been
here when Meredith was growing up. Mom had a knack for taking good care of things
and teaching her children to do the same. With a little sanding and some varnish,
Mom had brought new life to some of the old pieces of furniture she and Dad had purchased
at auctions a long time ago. Meredith had been told that some of the pieces in this
room had been handed down to Mom and Dad from their parents. She remembered Dad saying
once, “If you take care of what you have, it’ll last a long time.”

Looking around, the proof was here, right down to the large oak table and chairs in
the dining room. A lot of celebrations had been held around that table, and many great
memories were made with family and friends.

I hope I can be a good role model for my child, like my parents still are with all
of us
, Meredith thought. She closed her eyes, breathing in the wonderful aromas coming
from the kitchen. Was that fried chicken she smelled? She hoped so. Mom’s fried chicken
was the best.

“I’m sorry if the little ones are disturbing you,” Mom said, dashing into the living
room, hoisting Owen onto her hip, and taking hold of Katie’s hand. “Your grandma and
I have been busy fixing supper, and we figured either Stanley or Arlene would keep
an eye on the little ones, but things didn’t quite go as planned.”

“Where are my little bruder
un schweschder
?” Meredith asked.

“Stanley’s in the barn doing some chores, and Arlene’s resting upstairs in her room.
She came home from school this afternoon complaining of a
koppweh
.”

Meredith sighed. “Arlene’s not the only one with a headache. My head’s pounding so
hard I can barely think.”

“Why don’t you go to your room and lie down?” Mom suggested. “I’ll call you when supper’s
ready.”

“Maybe I will.” Meredith swung her legs over the side of the sofa, and had just started
across the room when a knock sounded on the door. “I’ll get that,” she said, looking
at Mom. “You’ve got your hands full right now.”

Mom nodded and hurried into the kitchen, with the two little ones in tow.

When Meredith opened the front door, she was surprised to see Jonah Miller.

“
Wie geht’s?
” he asked with a smile.

“I’m doing okay,” Meredith replied, making no mention of her headache. “Come in out
of the cold,” she said, opening the door wider.

“Danki.”

When Jonah stepped in, Meredith motioned for him to take a seat in the rocker, and
she returned to the sofa.

“I want to thank you for calling 911 for me.” Meredith looked at Jonah, feeling shy
all of a sudden. “Your timing was perfect.”

“You’re welcome, and I’d have to say that it was God’s timing, not mine, that brought
me to your house. I’m glad you’re doing better and were able to come here to stay
with your folks.” Jonah removed his straw hat and raked his fingers through the ends
of his dark, curly hair. “Uh … the reason I’m here is to talk to you about your husband’s
gaul.”

She nodded. “My daed said you were interested in buying the horse, but there’s something
you need to know.”

“What’s that?”

“Socks can be a bit spirited, so he may not be what you need. Luke seemed to be the
only one who could handle the horse effectively.”

Jonah smiled. “I’ve had spirited horses before, so I’m not worried about that.”

Meredith sucked in her lower lip as she mulled things over. Jonah was probably right
about handling Luke’s horse. It was just the thought of giving Socks up that made
her feel like crying. Unfortunately, it was another reminder that the love of her
life was gone and would never be back.

At least she had warned Jonah about Socks being feisty. The rest would be in Jonah’s
hands if he ended up buying the horse. “How much would you be willing to pay for the
horse?” Meredith questioned.

“Does two thousand dollars sound okay?”

“Oh, no,” Meredith said with a shake of her head. “That’s way too much money.”

Jonah leaned forward, looking at Meredith with a most sincere expression. “I checked
the horse over before I left your place yesterday, and I think Socks is worth every
bit of that.”

Meredith sat for several seconds, then finally nodded. She needed the money. She just
wished she didn’t have to part with Luke’s horse. If only he hadn’t been killed on
that bus. If he’d just stayed home like she’d wanted him to do, instead of heading
for Indiana to buy his uncle’s business. Would she ever stop regretting that she hadn’t
tried harder to convince Luke not to go?

Oh, Luke
, she thought, fighting back tears,
I don’t think I’ll ever get over losing you.

A
s Meredith headed down the hall from her room, she yawned and stretched her arms over
her head. It was the second Monday of March, and she was more than ready to go home.
Not only were her younger siblings still getting on her nerves, but she missed her
own surroundings and the things that reminded her of Luke. She was feeling stronger,
with no more contractions, so she didn’t see any reason to keep staying with her folks.
Now she just needed to convince Mom of that.

When Meredith entered the kitchen, she found Mom in front of the stove, stirring a
kettle of oatmeal.
“Guder mariye,”
Meredith said, moving across the room.

Mom turned and smiled. “Good morning. Besides me, you’re the first one up. Did you
sleep well last night?”

Meredith shook her head. “Not really. Between Dad’s snoring, the wind howling and
rattling my bedroom window, and then Owen crying out several times during the night,
I had a hard time staying asleep.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Mom apologized. “I’ve grown used to your daed’s snoring, so
it doesn’t bother me that much, but I’ll ask him to be sure he wears one of those
nose strips he bought awhile ago. And I think things will be better with Owen once
he gets over his cold.” Mom sighed. “I’m not sure about the window, though. The March
winds are picking up, and for as long as I can remember, that window’s been making
a racket. I’ll ask your daed to look at it. Maybe there’s something he can do to make
the window tighter so it won’t rattle so much.”

“You don’t have to worry about any of those things, because I’m ready to go home,”
Meredith blurted out. “It’s quieter there, and since I’m feeling better now, I’m sure
I can manage fine on my own.”

Mom’s lips pursed. “It’s not a good idea for you to be alone, Meredith. I shudder
to think what would have happened if Jonah Miller hadn’t dropped by to see you the
day you started having contractions.”

“I’m glad he was there, but if I had been alone when the pains got bad, I would have
somehow made my way out to the phone shack and called for help,” Meredith said in
her own defense. She could see by the look on Mom’s face that she wasn’t convinced.
Truthfully, Meredith knew she might not have made it, and she was thankful that Jonah
had showed up when he did.

“If it’s too noisy for you here, then we can talk to Luke’s folks and see if you can
stay with them, like you did for a few weeks after Luke died.”

“Sadie and Elam are getting up in years, and they don’t need me to look after.”

“I’m sure it wouldn’t be an imposition. They’d probably love having you there for
a while again.”

Meredith shook her head. “I don’t need to stay with anyone, Mom.”

“What if someone stays with you at your house? Would you be okay with that?”

“Who?”

“I was thinking of your sister Laurie. I’m almost sure she’d be willing, and I know
she would be a big help to you.”

“But Laurie has her stand at the farmers’ market, so she’d be gone most of the day,”
Meredith pointed out. “How would that help me?”

“But the market’s only open on Fridays and Saturdays through April. And in May, it’s
just three days a week. It’s not until July that it goes to four. On the days Laurie’s
working, we can ask someone else to come and stay with you.” Mom’s eyes brightened,
and she snapped her fingers. “I know. We can see if Alma Beechy would go to your house
whenever Laurie’s at the market.”

Meredith’s jaw clenched. She didn’t want anyone babysitting her, but if she didn’t
agree, Mom would insist that she stay with the family.

“Okay,” she said with a slow nod. “If Laurie’s agreeable, then she can move in with
me for now, and if Alma’s willing, she can come during the hours Laurie’s not there.”

Mom’s face relaxed a bit, and she gave Meredith a hug. “I know you think it’s not
necessary, but it’ll make me feel a little more at ease.” She patted Meredith’s growing
stomach. “It’s nice to see that you’re starting to show. It makes me even more excited
about becoming a
groossmudder.
”

“I’m excited about being a
mudder
, too,” Meredith said.

“Just wait until your child is born,” Mom added. “No matter what age he or she should
be, you’ll still worry, same as I do now.”

Mom was right. Even though she was only four-and-a-half months pregnant, Meredith
already worried about her baby.