Huckleberry Hill (5 page)

In addition to the tears provoked by the hot sauce, Lia’s eyes stung with tears of distress. She wouldn’t hurt Anna’s feelings for the world, but it would be impossible to eat another bite of those meatballs. Taking a taste of corn, she tried to think of an excuse for not finishing her supper. She’d never been so uncomfortable in her life.

Anna rose from the table to fetch the butter—she said the noodles needed more—and while her back was turned, Moses reached his fork over to Lia’s plate, skewered two meatballs, and stuffed them into his mouth. While he chewed, Lia was certain she saw smoke coming out of his ears.

She stared at him, first in sheer disbelief and then in pure gratitude. She shook her head slightly in his direction as if to say, “You don’t need to do that,” but he merely curled his lips, swiped a tear from his face, and turned to Felty. “I saw Delaware yesterday.”

Felty’s face lit up. “Delaware! That is rare. I only seen one Delaware last year.”

There were only two and a half meatballs left on Lia’s plate, plus all those noodles slathered in hot sauce. Would she be able to manage another bite? She took a swallow of milk to give her courage and reached out her fork. But Moses gently nudged her hand aside and stole another of her meatballs. With less enthusiasm than the first time, he stuffed it into his mouth, chewed painfully, and chased it down with another half glass of milk.

By this time, his entire face shone beet red, and sweat dripped from his forehead. Lia imagined that his skin color would match perfectly with his scarf. Her profound relief together with Moses’s unmatched kindness rendered her almost giddy. The pained yet good-natured expression on his face, combined with the discomfort they both felt, struck Lia’s funny bone. A giggle escaped before she could stifle it.

Moses glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and then coughed and chuckled at the same time.

Lia put her hand over her mouth, but as was usually the case when she tried to stop the laughter from overflowing, she succeeded in making it worse. She snickered and hissed and finally gave up and laughed out loud. Moses joined her.

Anna looked at both of them with wide eyes. “Whatever is the matter?”

Lia could think of nothing to say in her defense. And even if she had, she couldn’t talk for the laughing.

But Moses, more quick-witted than she, said, “There is a joke about Delaware that I remembered.”

Lia hoped Moses knew what he was doing, because if Anna asked her to repeat a joke about Delaware, she wouldn’t be able to come up with one single thing.

Anna smiled her motherly smile. “Well, tell us. We don’t want to be left out.”

Moses pressed his lips together and furrowed his brow, but Lia didn’t know if it was because he couldn’t come up with a joke or because his stomach most likely burned with a raging fire. He sat silently for a few seconds and then a light turned on behind his eyes. “What do you call an Amish person in Delaware?”

Anna looked truly puzzled. “What?”

“A visitor.”

Amazed and impressed that Moses could come up with something, anything, for Anna, Lia again burst into stomach-splitting laughter.

Anna watched both of them as if they had sprouted rabbit ears and horse tails right there at the supper table. When their mirth finally died down, Anna, ever the loving grandmother, said, “Oh, you two. A pair of peas in a pod. If that joke makes you happy, it makes me happy.”

In the midst of more laughter, Moses reached over and took Lia’s last one and a half meatballs. Lia ate around the edges of her noodles without getting too much of the sauce while Moses scooped up bite after bite when Anna looked away. Their efforts were enough to make Anna believe Lia had cleared her plate and to start Lia into worrying about Moses’s health.

Felty’s face glowed with sweat, and he repeatedly dabbed his nose with his handkerchief, but otherwise he gave no indication that his throat might be on fire. Anna had eaten only two bites of her own recipe. Compared to Moses’s ruddy complexion, she looked fit as a fiddle. She hopped from her chair and gathered the empty plates. “Who wants pie?”

Lia nudged Moses’s foot with hers. When he looked at her, she shook her head. “Don’t eat one bite of my pie,” she whispered. “You’ll be sick.”

He took another drink of milk and raised an eyebrow. “The pie is that bad?”

“You have done enough for me already.”

Moses turned to Anna and flashed those nice teeth. “I’d love a piece, Mammi.”

Lia lifted her eyes to heaven and shook her head in exasperation. Moses, still bright red in the face, blessed her with a boyish grin. “Remember, Mammi wants to convince me to marry you.”

“I’ll not have you.”

“I’m not looking to marry—unless your pie is extra tasty.”

Lia rose from the table and helped Anna cut pie. She tried to slip Moses an extra-small piece, knowing how terribly he must be suffering already, but Anna would have none of it.

“Moses will want the biggest piece.” She peered at him over her glasses as if to determine what size of piece he would need to fall in love.

When they were all seated again, Moses stuffed a bite of pie in his mouth with more enthusiasm than Lia would have thought possible.

But she didn’t really care if he liked it.

It was just a pie.

It took her a moment to notice that she gripped her fork and her knuckles had turned white.

Moses savored his bite and then nodded in approval. “Delicious. Puts every other raisin pie to shame.”

Lia took a deep breath and relaxed her hand before she lost circulation.

“This is wonderful gute,” Felty said with his mouth full.

Anna fluffed her fork along the top of her piece. “Your crust is so flaky. I was never able to master a flaky piecrust.”

“Nonsense,” Felty said. “Your piecrust is my favorite.”

Lia took a bite. To her relief, the pie tasted delicious. The sticky-sweet raisins had cooked to the perfect consistency and texture. The crust held up nicely, soft and moist on the bottom, flaky and golden on the top.

Not that it mattered. It was just a pie.

Once Moses cleaned his plate, he stood slowly, as if he were toting a full jug of water on his head. “Denki, Mammi, for the wonderful meal.”

“Will we see you next Tuesday?” Anna asked.

Moses made his way around the table and planted a kiss on his mammi’s forehead. “Jah, of course. But I will come on Thursday to help Lia stack the limbs from the peach trees. I pruned in March and still haven’t cleared them away.”

Anna smiled as if she thought Moses’s coming an extra day this week was a very good idea. Lia guessed that Anna saw the certainty of a happy wedding in the near future. Lia saw it as another demonstration of Moses’s kindness. Stacking limbs was a muscle-numbing, back-aching chore. She would be glad for his help.

“Lia, walk out with Moses,” Anna said. “The sunset over the hill will be beautiful tonight.”

Moses cocked an eyebrow. “The sun won’t set for another three hours yet.”

Anna merely patted his arm as if he were a small child who needed guidance. “Better than being an hour late for it. Dawdi and I will do the dishes, never you mind about that.”

Amused and pretending not to be suspicious of Anna’s motives, Lia nodded cheerfully and stood.

Moses put a hand on his stomach as if protecting it from getting bumped while he opened the door and motioned for Lia to go first. They walked toward the barn as Moses looked faithfully to the west.

“Nope, no sunset.” He chuckled. “I hope you’re not offended, but I got milk to weigh and cheese to test. I won’t have time to wait for the beautiful sunset.”

“I’ve got chickens to feed and tomato plants to look after. I will be annoyed if you stay to look.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Have you ever considered that you might hurt my feelings with your plain-spokenness?”

“Are your feelings hurt?” she asked, with a tease in her voice.

“Not yet, but you never know when something you say will put me in my place right quick.”

Lia folded her arms around her waist and gave him a teasing smile. “I’ll keep trying to do just that.”

He suddenly stopped walking and turned to study her face. He looked at her for several seconds without speaking. She stared right back, a mixture of discomfort and pleasure stirring around inside her. What was he looking for?

“The color of your dress makes your eyes pop out of your head,” he said quietly.

“Sounds painful.” Why did she have to choose this moment to make a joke?

He slid his hands into his pockets and shifted his gaze to the ground.

Lia took a step closer. “Denki for what you did for me at supper. You don’t know how grateful—”

“Nae, thank you, for sparing Mammi’s feelings. She only wants to make people happy, and food is one of the ways she shows love. She frets about her cooking like she frets over her grandchildren.”

“Of course. I understand. To a woman, a good meal is an offering of love. She puts part of herself into the recipe.”

“I have a request,” Moses said. “Will you make another pie on Thursday?”

Lia felt herself blush although she wasn’t sure why. “Jah, I can.”

“It’s just that, well, I think your pie was gute. What I mean is, from what I could tell . . .” He kicked the dirt at his feet. “I’ll bet it was an extra-tasty pie, but I couldn’t be sure because those meatballs seared my tongue, and I think all my taste buds are dead.”

Lia sighed through her laughter. “Oh! I am so sorry. Very sorry. It could have been me.”

“Better me than you, is that what you are saying?”

“Only so you understand that I am very, very grateful.”

She felt his gaze intensify as they stood staring at each other. Without warning, he leaned forward, planted a swift kiss on her lips, and disappeared into the barn before Lia even realized what had happened.

Her head seemed to be doing cartwheels as she brushed her fingers lightly over her mouth. What in the world had he done?

Stunned into silence and paralyzed by the impact of Moses’s touch, she watched him as, without another word, he led his horse from the barn, quickly hitched up his buggy, and drove it down the lane.

Her lips tingled pleasantly, but whether from the meatball sauce or the kiss, she couldn’t tell.

Surely they would tingle for days.

Chapter Seven

Absentmindedly stirring a pot of stew, Lia gazed at the rain pouring off the eaves of her house. The cloudburst came so fast, outside the window looked like a waterfall. The shadows in the kitchen deepened as the sky grew dark with heavy rainclouds. Lia had been back in Wautoma for only five days, but she already missed Huckleberry Hill as if it were her true home.

The night following Moses’s unexpected, uncalled for, and unnecessary kiss, Lia got word that Treva Bontrager had passed away and that Lia was wanted at home to help with food for the funeral. She caught a ride to Wautoma the very next day with a van full of mourners from Bonduel.

Treva’s death was neither sudden nor unexpected. She passed at ninety-two years old and had been living with her granddaughter for over a decade. For the better part of two days, Mamm and Lia baked bread and pies and made three salads to serve at the dinner after services.

The funeral service took place Saturday, and even though Lia’s time with her family had been short, she was ready to return to Bonduel. To see Anna and Felty. Oh, how she missed them.

Yes, Anna and Felty.

The van would stop by the house tomorrow morning to take her back to Huckleberry Hill. She had already packed.

Lia’s nephew, Thomas, tugged on her apron. “Aunt Lia?” She hadn’t even heard him come into the room. This dazed and distracted state of hers would have to stop.

“Aunt Lia, Mammi wants to know when supper will be ready.”

Lia tousled Thomas’s golden hair. “Tell Mammi the corn bread has ten more minutes, then we will be ready. Will you set the table?”

“Jah. I will tell Mammi first.”

The chubby four-year-old raced out of the room to deliver his message. Lia grinned. She never tired of the nieces and nephews. Her four older brothers, Toby, Monroe, Luke, and Perry, were all married. Toby and Monroe had four children each. Luke had two sons, and Perry’s wife was expecting their first.

Perry, twenty-five and newly married, was Lia’s closest brother. He stood six foot five—as tall as Moses—and watched out for her like a shepherd would his favorite lamb.

Monroe’s four children were sleeping over this week while Monroe and his wife were in Ohio visiting relatives.

Thomas, Monroe’s youngest, bustled back into the room as if he couldn’t wait to set the table for Aunt Lia. “How many are eating?”

“Hold up your fingers and count while I say the names. Mammi, Dawdi, Aunt Rachel, me, you, Susie Lynn, Mary, and Linda Rose.”

Thomas clapped his hands in delight. “Nine.”

“Eight. I will pull the bowls off the shelf for you.”

The timer rang, and Lia pulled the pan of corn bread out of the cookstove and replaced it with a raisin pie. Moses liked her raisin pie. Or at least he thought he would once he got a chance to really taste it. Lia pressed her fingers to her lips. Six days since he had kissed her. She could still feel his feather-soft touch.

“Aunt Lia, why are you smiling?”

“Never you mind. Here are the napkins.”

It meant nothing—the kiss. He’d offered it almost casually, like a handshake. What in the world did he mean by giving her a peck and then running away like his pants were on fire? Never mind that she had never been kissed in her life and that boys and girls weren’t supposed to kiss until they were courting or engaged or maybe even married. Moses Zimmerman probably kissed girls with regularity just to brag about it to his friends.

Thomas finished with the table. “Gute job, Thomas. Now go find Mammi and the others and tell them time for supper.”

Moses had made it plain that he didn’t want a wife. He should have told her that he was still willing to kiss a few girls.

Rachel appeared in the kitchen with Monroe’s three daughters, Susie Lynn, Mary, and Linda Rose. The nieces loved Rachel. She would sit with them in her bedroom, and they would brush each other’s hair and giggle and tell stories about boys.

The four girls flopped down in their seats, followed closely behind by Mamm, who had been folding laundry. “What a blessing I had those clothes off the line before the rain started. It looks to make down heavy all night.”

Dat appeared from outside and hung his dripping slicker on the hook in the washroom. He didn’t waste time once he sat down. As soon as Lia slid into her seat, Dat bowed his head and the family joined him for prayer.

After silent grace, Mamm took the ladle and began serving up stew. “We must thank Lia for this delicious meal. I’ve missed your special corn bread.”

“Denki, Lia,” said Thomas.

Lia put her forehead against Thomas’s. “You are welcome.”

Lia cut the pan of corn bread into squares while Rachel poured milk. “You will never guess what happened to me on Saturday after the funeral,” Rachel said, addressing the whole family. “The fun-er-al.” She annunciated each syllable as if the very word would horrify the children.

“What?” Susie Lynn and Linda Rose asked at the same time.

Rachel paused for dramatic effect. “Clemens Schrock asked me to marry him. On the day of the fun-er-al. Can you believe that? Wouldn’t a boy with any sense know not to propose marriage on the day someone dies?”

“It wasn’t actually the day Aunt Treva died,” Mamm said.

“I refused him. It was ridiculous that he would propose to me.”

Lia knew better than to ask. She did anyway. “Why was it ridiculous? You are a pretty girl. Of course the boys want to marry you.”

“Clemens works at the mill. At-the-mill.” Those long, drawn-out syllables again. “He’s short and has a pudgy face and pockmarks on his cheeks from all that acne he used to have. He doesn’t even own his own farm or house or anything. If I married him, I would end up living in that tiny dawdi house with only a wall between me and his parents.” Rachel sighed and stared into space as if she were trying to see her future. “I’ll not marry a man who isn’t handsome. He has to be handsome or I won’t be able to stomach him. And tall.”

Susie Lynn, eight years old, nodded. “Me too. I want to marry Floyd Weaver.”

Lia knew better than to argue. She did anyway. “Clemens is a nice young man. The mill is a gute job, and he takes care of his dat’s farm all by himself. And when the Bennetts lost half their shingles in the windstorm, he spent a week fixing their roof.”

Rachel turned up her nose. “If you like him so well, why don’t you marry him?”

“I didn’t say I think you should marry him, only that he is a nice young man.”

Mamm clicked the handle of the ladle on the edge of the pot and glanced at Lia. “Now, children. Don’t argue. Rachel can marry whomever she pleases.” That was Mamm’s mild way of scolding Lia. Ever since they’d almost lost her as a little girl, both parents did their best to make sure Rachel was never displeased.

“Jah,” Dat said. “Rachel is pretty enough to have her pick. We just need to find someone gute enough.”

As soon as Rachel had turned eighteen last year, talk at the dinner table centered around finding a suitable husband for her, as if it were some impossible task. But to Lia, it didn’t seem hard at all to find Rachel a boy. She was so beautiful and petite that the boys flocked to Shetlers’ door like sparrows on the telephone wire. But Rachel and Dat were finicky. It had to be a handsome boy with an attractive income and a pious family, preferably with a gute piece of land of his own. No Wautoma boys measured up.

After Rachel had turned down her third marriage proposal and despaired of ever finding the perfect husband, they joked that maybe Lia would be the first Shetler girl to marry after all. She and Rachel had a good laugh about that.

“Lia, would you get the cheese from the shelf?” Dat said.

Thomas swung his feet back and forth. “Can I have cheese?”

Lia found a small wheel of white cheese and sliced away the wax before she studied the label and caught her breath. “Where did you get this cheese?”

Mamm glanced in her direction. “I gave it to your dat for his birthday. It came in a gift basket.”

“This is Moses’s cheese!”

“Who is Moses?” Dat asked.

“The Helmuths’ grandson, Moses Zimmerman. He runs a cheese factory in Bonduel.”

“Do you know him?”

“Jah, he comes to Huckleberry Hill to help with chores. He bought me some of his baby swiss at auction. It is delicious.”

Dat held out his hand. “Let’s have a try.”

Lia quickly cut seven slices and passed them out to her family.

“This is yummy,” Mamm said. “I hoped it would be gute. I bought it at the T&M market.”

“Very gute, very gute,” Dat said. “We’ll have to keep an eye out for more from Zimmerman Cheese. It is a gute thing to buy from other Amish.”

Lia almost burst with pride for Moses. She put more slices on a plate and brought them to the table. “He bought the cheese factory from an Englischer five years ago when he was only twenty-one. He has worked hard. A man in Green Bay will buy all the cheese Moses can make, and for a gute price too.”

Mamm took another piece and broke it into her stew. “Have you met his wife and children?”

“Oh, he’s not married. Though, heaven knows, such a fine young man could be.”

Rachel served herself another piece of corn bread. “He is probably homely.”

Linda Rose and Susie Lynn giggled behind their hands.

Lia teasingly scolded Rachel with her eyes. “Nae. He is pleasant to look at.” She grinned and poked Susie Lynn lightly in the ribs. “He is handsomer than Floyd Weaver.”

Susie’s laughter sounded like water tripping over the rocks. “He is not.”

Dat laid down his spoon and propped an elbow on the table. “Is he a gute man of the Church?”

“As gute as they come, to be sure.”

Leaning back in his chair, Dat folded his arms across his chest and cocked his head to the side in deep thought. “Just the thing for our Rachel.”

“What do you mean, Dat?” Rachel said.

“We’ve gone through all the boys in Wautoma. Maybe your husband has been waiting in Bonduel all this time.”

Rachel knit her brows together. “You mean the one who makes cheese?”

“Jah. I’m sure of it. If he is everything Lia says, he would make a fine husband for you.”

Lia’s heart sank to her toes, but she managed a weak smile. “Too bad he lives in Bonduel.”

Dat’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm, and he leaned forward. “Bonduel is only an hour by car. You could take Rachel with you for a visit.”

“That is a fine idea,” Mamm chimed in. “He will be thrilled to meet our Rachel.”

Rachel seemed mildly curious. “I might want to see for myself if he is so handsome.”

Lia felt as if a buggy full of church benches had parked itself on her chest. She didn’t want Rachel to come to Bonduel. Huckleberry Hill and the Helmuths belonged to Lia. Even if it was a silly notion, they felt like her own private family. She didn’t want to share them with Rachel. And she knew what would happen. Once they met Rachel, Lia would cease to be important to them.

“He doesn’t want to get married,” Lia said.

Dat frowned. “He told you this?”

“Jah. He said he is not looking for a wife.”

Dat laced his fingers together. “Of course he would tell you that, Lia. He does not want to marry you. But he has not met our Rachel. He’ll change his mind when he lays eyes on her.”

Mamm nodded her agreement. Dat and Rachel smiled triumphantly at each other.

Lia felt her power sink further. Whatever objections to marriage Moses had, they would vanish when he saw Rachel.

“Why don’t you take Rachel to Bonduel with you tomorrow?” Mamm said. “Roy is bound to have room for one more in his van.”

Dat slapped the table as a wonderful-gute idea came to him. “Better yet, why don’t Rachel take Lia’s place?”

Rachel’s eyes opened wide. “You want me to go by myself?”

“Once Rachel goes, Lia will not be wanted there. She would only get in the way of their courtship.”

Lia’s voice rose with her distress. “Nae, Dat. The Helmuths hired me for the summer, not Rachel. It would not be proper to—”

“They need a girl to help them keep house and garden,” Dat said. “Rachel will do as well as you. Why should they care who it is as long as she does the job? Besides, they will soon realize why Rachel has been sent and be happy for a wonderful-gute girl for their grandson.”

Lia fought hard to keep the tears from her eyes. “Rachel might not like him,” she said feebly. But once Dat set his mind to it, she knew he wouldn’t be dissuaded.

“If I don’t like him I won’t have to stay there,” Rachel said. “I can come home, and you can go back. I’d rather not work that hard on someone else’s farm with nothing to show for it.”

Every glimmer of hope died. Lia had no doubt that Rachel would like Moses. Not only was he tall and handsome, the two qualities highest on Rachel’s list, but he had an easy laugh and a ready cheerfulness that put people instantly at ease. And he treated everyone so kindly. Who wouldn’t like that?

Dat popped another piece of cheese into his mouth. “It’s settled, then. Rachel will go in Lia’s place, and Lord willing, we will have a wedding in November.”

This was how it had always been with Lia and Rachel. Their parents catered to Rachel’s every need and expected Lia to acquiesce cheerfully. After all, it had been Lia’s fault that Rachel nearly died fourteen years ago.

Lia had been only nine years old, but she already loved to cook. She wanted to surprise Mamm with fresh greens and pork chops for supper, so she had sneaked out of the house to gather wild asparagus along the stream bank. Even as a five-year-old, Rachel liked getting her own way, and she stomped her feet and threatened to ruin Lia’s surprise if Lia didn’t let her tag along. Rachel had played by the shallow stream while Lia collected asparagus spears in her apron. More than once she had scolded Rachel for splashing her, but Rachel paid no heed until she got carried away and fell face-first into the water. The icy, early spring runoff soaked Rachel clear through.