The Matchmaker (15 page)

Shortly after dinner, their noon meal, her
daed
had gone to help the Yoders as best he could with their shop, moving inventory and boxes back into the upstairs room that had been used for worship the previous day. When he left, Emma quickly finished cleaning the kitchen then hurried out the back door, something she had wanted to do since early morning.

As she approached the house, she could see Anna outside, standing by the laundry line and folding clothes that had been drying in the sun. Next to her bare feet a wicker basket sat filled with white sheets, each folded carefully and neatly in a way that only Anna could do.

Going barefoot nearly everywhere was often interpreted by the
Englischer
as a lack of personal hygiene on the part of the Amish. But to the Amish wearing shoes only when absolutely necessary, usually not around the house or even in public during the warm summer months, was simply a way of life, a display of their modesty, simplicity, and humility toward their Creator and the community.

The green dress that Anna held in her arms was almost finished, so with one final fold, she set it atop the basket and
waved at Emma, the delight on her face more than apparent at the surprise visit.

“Why, Emma! I’m so happy to see you!” Anna beamed as she clutched Emma’s hand. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes glowed. It was clear that Anna was experiencing a tremendous amount of joy in her new life as Samuel’s
fraa
; as if she was finally fulfilling her destiny. Still, there was something extra exciting in her expression today. “I have such great news! A letter arrived.” She laughed and clutched her hands together before her chest. “It must have been delivered on Saturday, and I never checked the box until this morning! Oh, how I wish I had looked on Saturday. Why, Samuel is just beside himself! He would have loved to have shared that
gut
news yesterday with the men after worship!” Another delighted laugh. “To think, after so long, Francis has finally committed to return to Lancaster!”

Despite the happiness in her friend’s face, Emma could hardly contain her own tears. She lowered her eyes, avoiding contact with Anna’s in the hopes of hiding her own shame. “I have heard,
ja
,” she admitted. Indeed, her father had told her just that morning about the news of Francis’s upcoming return after so many years away from Lancaster.

“Already?” Anna had a quizzical look upon her face. “How on earth did the news travel so quickly?”

Emma tried to smile. “Your husband stopped by earlier this morning,” she said. “He wanted to share the good news with
Daed
.”

Indeed, both Henry and Emma had been surprised when Samuel appeared on their doorstep. When he came in, Emma offered him a cup a coffee, and as the two men sat at the kitchen table, she overheard the announcement.

It was clear that Samuel was exuberant. In the past there
had been several times when Francis had written that he wanted to visit. Those letters had always brought joy to Samuel, and he would share the news with his family and friends. But something always came up at the last minute that resulted in the trip being canceled. This time, however, Francis wrote that he had already scheduled the driver and he intended to stay for a good long while.

The two men laughed joyfully, pleased that Samuel’s son was coming home at long last.

“And mark my words,” Samuel said to Henry, a twinkle in his eye as he scratched at his graying beard. “If I know my boy, he says two weeks, but he will be here earlier!” With a wink in Emma’s direction, he added, “Francis was always known for his love of surprises!”

Despite the jubilation of the prodigal son’s eminent return, Emma had found it hard to do more than smile in response. Even now she found it difficult to feign the joy that Anna so clearly displayed, for her own heart was still aching from the previous day’s buggy ride home with Paul and its potential consequences.

Recognizing the despondent look in the younger woman’s eyes, Anna put her finger under Emma’s chin and tilted her head upward. The watery mist in Emma’s eyes was too apparent from that angle, and the expression on Anna’s face changed from joy to concern. “What is this, Emma? Tears? You have never been one to cry. What is happening, now?”

“Oh, Anna!” Emma replied, fighting the urge to sob. “I didn’t come here because of Francis, although that is such
wunderbaar
news and I’m sure that you are ever so pleased!” A tear filled her eye and she reached into the pocket of her dress to withdraw a white handkerchief. “I came because
everything has turned upside down. I am so ashamed and so bewildered. I don’t know what to do.”

Putting her arm around Emma’s shoulders, Anna gave her a gentle squeeze of comfort before she began to guide her toward the house. “Come, come, now, Emma. Let’s go inside the
haus
where we can sit and have a talk. It’s been a while since you and I sat together, ain’t so? And with so much change afoot, I’m sure that everything must seem much worse than it truly is,
schwester.
”

They were seated on the sofa, Emma wringing the handkerchief in her hands as she began to search for the words to explain. “I don’t even know where to start. Something most unpleasant happened yesterday, and I fear that I may have harmed my friend.”

Anna reacted with a concerned look on her face. Clearly this was not what Anna had expected to be the source of Emma’s troubles. “Hannah? Whatever has possibly occurred?”

Emma reached up to dab at the tear that was lingering in the corner of her eye. She looked at Anna and chewed on her lower lip. “It was never my intention to inflict pain upon her, or anyone for that matter. My intentions were just the opposite.”

“Ja vell
, misunderstandings do happen, and quite often, my dear Emma. I can’t imagine anything so awful as to make you this distraught!” She let her arm drop from Emma’s shoulders and folded her hands, resting them primly in her lap. “Now, why don’t you tell me exactly what transpired and from the beginning?
Mayhaps
that would help us both make sense of the situation.”

Emma gave a heavy sigh. How could she explain? She didn’t even know where to start. “I don’t even know how it happened, but Paul Esh . . . ” She stopped talking, trying to
find the right words, but she was at a loss for words. Instead a blush of humiliation covered her cheeks.

The slight pause in Emma’s words gave Anna the chance to interrupt, a knowing smile coming upon her face. “Ah, so Paul Esh has come courting you at last, is that it?”

Stunned, Emma stared at Anna. “How . . . how did you know?”

Anna reached out and patted Emma’s hand, a gesture of comfort and support that was usually shared between mother and daughter. “
Vell
, I certainly had my suspicions over the past year with his frequent visits and Sunday suppers at the house. Of course, just the other week I saw him gazing upon you when you were visiting with Irene. To another woman’s eyes, his intentions were most clear, Emma.”

“Not to me, they weren’t!”

A laugh escaped Anna’s lips. “It usually isn’t, that is true!”

“Vell
, that’s not all.” Emma swallowed, trying to find the courage to admit the rest. “I thought he was intending to pursue Hannah. Now, regrettably, I fear that she has set her expectations upon that very thought.”

Anna raised an eyebrow and stared at Emma. “Why would she have done such a thing? Has Paul made promises to her?”

“Nee
,
nee
,” she exclaimed. “It’s not like that.” Shutting her eyes, Emma slumped back into the sofa.
Oh, the misery
, she thought. Why hadn’t she listened to Gideon when he had warned her so many weeks ago? “This is all my fault, Anna. It was my hand in suggesting that he was interested in her.”

“Oh, Emma . . . ”

The disappointment in Anna’s voice hurt Emma almost as much as the knowledge that she had unintentionally harmed her friend. Sitting forward, she pounded her fist against her
knee and scowled, realizing that she was disappointed in herself. She went on: “I was so certain that he was interested, with his compliments about the quilt and the Bible verse that he gave to us for her project. I had left them both alone on several occasions and had witnessed their pleasant interaction upon my return. And I even had a hand in her turning down that Ralph Martin . . . ”

“The nice farmer who leases Gideon’s land?” Anna frowned. “Why would you have done such a thing, Emma? He’s a lovely, godly man!”

Lifting her hands to her eyes, Emma rubbed them, frustrated with her own feelings of inadequacy. “So I have come to hear over and over again,” she cried. “I will never try to matchmake again, Anna.”

“That is a wise decision, Emma. What is it the Bible says? ‘For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.’ And you, of all people, know that courtship is a matter better left to the two individuals who are courting. It has been our way, the Amish way, for endless generations, and that is how it is meant to be. The privacy of such decisions saves the people who make them from such embarrassment, should things not quite work out, don’t you reckon?”

Despite the gentle nature of Anna’s reprimand, at those words, Emma started to sob, the tears finally spilling from her eyes. “I did act exactly like a busybody, didn’t I? I’m so ashamed of myself!” Emma pulled at the handkerchief. “How will I ever face Hannah again?”

“Dear Emma, the Lord has always taught us that we must admit our sins directly and face those we have affected just as we face Him: with honesty and true remorse. The best way is to be straightforward and to the point, don’t you
agree? Knowing your friend, Hannah will recognize that your intentions were nothing more than the utmost of admirable. Whatever you did, you did it for her in the spirit of true friendship; Hannah will be the first one to recognize it. Forgiveness will be right behind your confession, of that I’m sure.”

“We are to attend an applesauce canning this Friday at Hetty’s,” Emma sniffled. “I reckon I should try to confess to her before then. It would probably ruin her day to be told on Friday, and I don’t think I can keep this inside me much longer! It’s eating me alive, Anna. What do you think?”

“I dare not try to imagine how you feel, Emma” she replied sympathetically. “It should be a lesson to you, though. Only God can control such things, not you.”

“I know,” Emma cried. “Oh, how I know that now!”

“So when will you tell her?” Anna asked, trying to refocus Emma on the problem at hand.

“Wednesday,” she stated after giving it a moment’s thought. “She had said that she would come visiting on Wednesday, since she is working at market today and tomorrow. I suppose that Wednesday will have to do.”

Anna nodded her head. “I should think that would be a fine time, and it would certainly give her a day or two to digest the news before going to the applesauce canning.” There was a new gentleness to her voice, and the look in her eyes let Emma know that she was forgiven, as far as Anna was concerned. “And don’t fret too much. Hannah is young, Emma. She will find her heart mended rather quickly, I dare say.” There was a wistful look in Anna’s eyes. “She is not the first young woman to have her hopes disappointed, I’m sure.”

Sniffling, Emma nodded her head and offered a timid smile. She knew that Anna was correct. There was nothing
left to do but to go directly to Hannah and confess what she had learned by way of Paul Esh’s sharing his interest in herself rather than in Hannah. Hiding the truth would only lay a burden of self-inflicted guilt upon her own head and, Emma feared, create a growing strain upon their friendship. And that fear, that her meddling might have ruined what had looked to be such a great, lifelong friendship, was the one that caused Emma the most pain.

Chapter Nine

I
T WAS WITH
grave apprehension and a lump in her throat that Emma waited for Hannah’s arrival at her home on Wednesday. While she was eager to explain what had transpired and to apologize for what she now saw as her intrusion and meddling into Hannah’s life, she had mixed feelings about meeting with her friend. After all, she hadn’t seen Hannah since Paul’s most awkward proposal on Sunday after the communion service. The past three days had seemed to drag, time frozen as she waited for the moment when she would have to confess what happened and ask for forgiveness.