A Merry Heart (18 page)

Miriam rose to her feet. “If you’re determined to go, then I’ll abide by your decision.”

“And we’ll do our best to keep this place runnin’,” Lewis added with a grin.

Anna smiled despite the tears running down her cheeks. How grateful she was to have such a supportive family during times of need.

T
he winter months seemed to drag unmercifully. With all the work to be done, the days should have passed quickly, but Miriam’s tired body and saddened soul made her feel as if each day were endless. The snow lay deep on the ground, which made the outside chores even more difficult. And the cold—Miriam couldn’t remember a winter that had been as cold as this one. She wondered if it was because the temperatures often dipped below zero, or was it simply because her heart had turned so cold?

Valentine’s Day was only a few weeks away, and she knew her pupils would expect to have a party, with refreshments and the exchange of valentine hearts with one another. The last thing she felt like was a party, but she would force herself to get through it somehow.

As Miriam returned home from school one afternoon and entered the quiet, lonely kitchen, she admitted to herself that she missed her mother terribly. She knew Mom was doing a good thing and that her help was needed at Andrew and Sarah’s, but they hardly got to see Mom anymore, for she was too busy caring for Rebekah and her siblings.
Miriam had many chores to do, as well, and the foul weather made it difficult to travel. Only for those things that were necessary, such as school and church, did Miriam go out.

Lewis had begun to officially court Grace Zepp. He’d taken her to a couple of singings and more recently had begun to call on Grace at her home. Miriam worried about him because, ever since Papa’s death, Lewis had been forced to do the work of two men. Of course, she was doing the work of two women, but she wasn’t taking the time for courting. Maybe it was good that Lewis was young and obviously in love. How else could he have managed the extra activity of courting?

The scholars were full of excitement on the day of the Valentine’s Day party. Nearly everyone brought goodies. There were cookies sprinkled with red sugar crystals; cupcakes frosted in pink icing; candy hearts; glazed, sugared, and powdered donuts; and a pink and white decorated cake. Miriam furnished a beverage of cold apple cider.

The party was held after lunch, and the children began by eating refreshments and followed their snack by playing some games. Finally, they exchanged valentine cards. Some of the cards were store-bought, but most of them had been made by hand, using construction paper and white paper doilies.

Every child had taken a cardboard shoebox and decorated it, then cut a hole in the top and placed it on their school desk. As Miriam sat at her desk, watching the proceedings, the scholars took turns walking around the room,
placing their valentines into one another’s special boxes. Miriam had instructed the class earlier in the week that each child was expected to give a card to everyone. That way nobody would be left out or go home with only a handful of valentines. She even thought to make a box for Rebekah, which she had placed on her own desk, reminding the class that Rebekah was unable to come to school right now because of her accident and would probably be studying at home for some time.

Miriam hoped some valentines, a cupcake, and a few cookies might cheer Rebekah, and she planned to deliver them after school today. It had been several weeks since she’d been over to Sarah and Andrew’s, and she looked forward to a much-needed visit with Rebekah, Mom, and Sarah. The chores at home would have to wait.

Miriam forced her thoughts aside as Mary Ellen approached her desk. The child had a large valentine heart, and she handed it to Miriam. “This is for you, Teacher Mim. It’s from me and Pappy.”

Miriam nodded and tried to smile. “Danki, Mary Ellen. That was nice of you.”

“And Pappy, too. He helped me make it and even wrote some words on it. I think Pappy likes you, Teacher.”

Miriam placed the valentine on her desk. “Tell your daed I said danki for his thoughts, as well.”

“Aren’t you gonna read it, Teacher Mim?”

“I’ll look at it later. Right now it’s time for the class to begin cleaning up the room.”

Mary Ellen’s eyes were downcast, but she obediently returned to her seat.

Just when I thought Amos had forgotten about me
, Miriam fumed inwardly. She placed the valentine on her desk along with a stack of papers she would be taking home to correct; then she turned her attention back to the class.

As Amos forked hay into his horses’ stalls, he thought about Miriam and wondered what her reaction would be to the valentine card he and Mary Ellen had made for her last night. It was the first effort he’d made in a while to reach Miriam, and he hoped she wouldn’t take it wrong or think he was being too pushy. He hoped that, by giving her some time and space, she might have reconsidered his offer to court her. Maybe receiving the valentine would soften her heart and make her willing to speak with him the next time he decided to broach the subject of them courting.

“And when will that be, Lord?” he asked, setting his pitchfork aside and looking up at the rafters. “Will You let me know when the time is right to speak with Miriam again? Will You make her heart open to the idea of my courting her?”

No answer. Only the gentle nicker of the buggy horses could be heard.

Amos thought about a recent message their bishop had given on the subject of friendship. It had been based on Proverbs 18, verse 24: “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”

“Maybe that’s all I need to do where Miriam’s concerned,” he murmured. “I just need to show myself friendly, so she will know I’m her friend.”

Nick headed across the parking lot to his car, his feet slipping on the ice with every step he took. “Stupid weather!” he fumed. “I hate getting out in this slick stuff in order to conduct an interview.” That afternoon, he was on his way back from a fire station across town, where he’d met with the fire chief about a benefit auction, called a “mud sale,” that would be held later in the month.

Nick had learned that local people, both English and Amish, would turn out to support the volunteer firefighters by buying crafts, food, horses, farm equipment, buggies, washing machines, plants, furniture, livestock, and various handmade items like quilts and wall hangings. Part of the sale would be held inside the building, but much of the proceedings would take place outside, where the ground was churned into mud by the feet of hundreds of people. Thus the name “mud sale.”

“I’ll bet anything Pete will find the story I’m doing today so interesting that he’ll want me to be there on the day of the sale so I can learn more and write up another article for the newspaper.”

Nick blew out his breath and watched it curl into the air like steam pouring from a teakettle.
If Amish are going to be at this shindig, maybe there’s a chance I’ll see Miriam Stoltzfus there
. That thought brought a smile to his lips, and as he climbed into his car, he began to whistle.

S
now was beginning to fall again as Miriam climbed into her buggy and headed for Andrew and Sarah’s place. But today she didn’t care. She wasn’t going to let a little bad weather stop her from an overdue visit with her family. This was a special day—a day when folks showed others how much they cared.

She placed the stack of school papers on the seat next to her and was about to pick up the reins when she noticed the red and white valentine heart sticking out between two pieces of paper. “I suppose I may as well read it now,” she murmured.

On the inside, something had been written on both sides of the card. She read the left side first. It was printed and obviously done in a child’s handwriting:

Miriam sighed. “What a sweet little girl.” She turned her attention to the other side of the card. It was written in cursive writing:

Miriam felt moisture on her cheeks and reached up to wipe it away. Had the snowflakes drifted inside the buggy? She thought all the windows had been closed, but then she felt a familiar burning in the back of her throat and realized she was crying.
But why?
she wondered.
Surely Amos has no real concern for my well-being. He’s only worried about himself and his daughter.

She drew in a deep breath and blew it out quickly. Maybe she had been too quick to judge Amos. Was it possible that he did care for her in some small way? He had experienced the pain of losing someone close to him when Ruth died. He might have been sincere in expressing his desire to help. Maybe it was time to let go of the terrible ache in her heart and move on with life.

Miriam sniffed. Even though her head told her to let go of her bitterness, it would mean she must risk being hurt again, and she couldn’t take that chance.

“I don’t care if Amos Hilty is sincere,” she mumbled as she picked up the reins and got the buggy moving down the
snow-covered road that would take her to Andrew’s place. “I can’t allow him to court me.”

Anna was sitting at the kitchen table, writing her next article for
The Budget
, when Miriam showed up carrying a paper sack in her hand and wearing a disgruntled look on her face. Rather than make an issue of Miriam’s obvious bad mood, Anna smiled and said, “It’s good to see you, daughter. What brings you by on this snowy, cold afternoon?”

“I brought some valentine cards for Rebekah that her classmates made.” Miriam placed the sack on the table, slipped out of her heavy coat, draped it over the back of a chair, and sat down with an audible sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Anna asked. “Do you have another one of your headaches this afternoon, or are you feeling stressed because the roads are so icy?”

Miriam glanced around the room. “Where is everyone? I’d rather that no one else knows what is irritating me so.”

Anna nodded toward the door leading to the hallway. “Sarah’s upstairs with the younger ones, and Rebekah’s on the sofa in the living room, reading a book.”

“Where’s Andrew?”

“He went out to the barn some time ago to check on the batch of pups his chocolate Lab had last week.”

“I’ll bet the kinner are excited about having new puppies around.”

Anna nodded and poured Miriam a cup of tea from the pot that sat in the center of the table. She had a feeling her daughter was trying to avoid talking about what was bothering her.

“Danki. I can use a cup of warm tea about now.”

“You’re welcome.” Anna waited until Miriam had taken a sip of tea and seemed a bit more relaxed before she asked, “Now what’s got you looking so down in the mouth today?”

“I got a valentine card—from Amos Hilty.”

“Oh?”

“Actually, it was from both him and Mary Ellen, but I have a hunch he had more to do with it than she did.” She groaned. “The way he’s pushing like this makes me kind of angry.”

Anna clicked her tongue. “Miriam, Miriam, will you never learn?”

Miriam’s forehead wrinkled as she set her cup down. “What do you mean, Mom?”

“I mean that you should not kick a gift horse in the mouth.”

“You think Amos is a horse?”

“That’s just an old expression, and you know it.” Anna leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “I’m trying to tell you that you should stop questioning Amos’s motives and enjoy the attention he’s giving you.”

“I might be able to do that if I didn’t know that he has an ulterior motive.”

Anna opened her mouth to reply, but Andrew stepped into the kitchen just then, interrupting their conversation.