Abigail's New Hope (30 page)

“You got on a horse?” Abby’s forehead creased with wrinkles. “On the same horse as Isaiah?”

“No, he had brought along another horse. I rode his mare.” Catherine felt her cheeks grow warm.

“Funny how I can remember you calling horses fly magnets.”

“True, but his mare is really sweet, and there are almost no flies out after dark.”

“You went off riding in the dark?” Abby straightened up in her chair.

“It was just getting dark, and anyway we were only around the pasture. We didn’t go to his cabin.”

Catherine realized her mistake the moment the words were out. “Anyway, I’m getting off track. Let me continue my story. A few days ago, we picked blackberries along the pasture fence to serve over shortcake with ice cream. The next day Laura and I baked four pies, and I canned the rest for you to use this winter.” Catherine didn’t mention the secret patch down by the river.

“You picked enough to can with just you and the
kinner
?” Abby cocked her head.

“Well, no. Isaiah helped us. And he’s quite good at picking.”

“I didn’t know Isaiah knew where the patch was, but then again, I didn’t know
you
knew Isaiah.” Mischief twinkled in Abby’s eye. She’d always been good sniffing out mysteries.

“Of course I met him, as I’m the one setting out his meals.” Catherine decided to change the subject. “I packed up one pie to bring here, but Daniel said gifts are forbidden. No food or personal items, and not even paper or pens to write letters.”

“Don’t worry. Daniel deposited money in my commissary account to buy whatever I require. And I find that other than my Bible, my needs in here are few.” A wistful expression flitted across her face. “I am in your debt for taking such good care of my family. But tell me…are you lonely living at our farm? Do you miss your friends back home? If you were courting a special man, he might not be able to drive so far out. Tell me what’s new with
you
, Cat.”

Catherine stared into her sister’s eyes and sighed.
Where to begin? Surely I can’t blurt out I’m in love with Daniel’s cousin, especially as I’m not sure if I am
. “I’m not missing home very much. I see
daed
,
mamm
, and our
bruders
at preaching. But I don’t stay long after lunch. I want to come home to fix something for Daniel to eat.”

Abby’s expression turned intense. “Do you mean you’re taking Laura and Jake to church while Daniel stays home?”

Catherine wished she had chosen her words more carefully instead of riling things up between a husband and wife while separated. “Sometimes, if a service is far away, he will drive us. He…has plenty to do around the farm this time of year.”

“Not on the Lord’s Day, he doesn’t. Daniel has never worked on the Sabbath before, other than tending to the basic needs of the livestock.” She scrutinized her sister as though gleaning clues in a mystery. “Tell me what’s going on with my
ehemann
. Please, Catherine.”

“Don’t worry yourself. He just needs some privacy from folks pestering him with questions he can’t answer. You know how he hates being in the center of controversy. And I think he might not want to face our
daed
every other week.”

Abby pursed her lips and nodded in agreement. “
Jah
, I suppose that’s true, but he should think about you too. If you’re driving the horse and buggy, then there’s no chance of some young man bringing you home at night.”

“Don’t worry about me, either. Truthfully, I needed a little break from singings and socials. Turns out the person I had my eye on back home had set his cap for another. It’s a good thing I left before I made a complete fool of myself.” She felt the sting of regret and shame in the back of her throat. “I’m in no hurry to jump back into the frying pan.”

Abby laughed, tightening her grip on Catherine’s hand. “I’ve never heard anyone describe courting quite like that, but trust me, no one grows up without suffering some kind of embarrassment. Otherwise we might become prideful and vain.”

“Then I don’t have to worry about those two sins.” The sisters laughed, and for a moment it felt like old times. “I do want to know something, Abby.” Catherine inhaled deeply. “Tell me about Isaiah. I know he’s deaf, but I might be able to help him if I knew how far he went in school and how much training he received for the hearing impaired. Why does Daniel keep him locked away in the woods?”

Abby looked aghast. “Daniel doesn’t keep him locked away. Isaiah chooses to live on his own. His life with his father was very difficult. The man had no patience, and he thought Isaiah wasn’t trying to learn to talk. He couldn’t accept his deafness. Isaiah didn’t do very well in school and never learned to read. The teacher tried her best, but she was ill equipped to handle special needs along with students in eight different grade levels. She taught him to speak some, but only English words. He doesn’t recognize much
Deutsch
.”

“So Isaiah fell by the wayside, discarded and thought to be simpleminded.”

Abby nodded. “Unfortunately, that’s pretty much what happened until Daniel became aware of the boy’s neglect while we were visiting for a wedding. He invited him to live with us, and his uncle quickly agreed. Isaiah was an embarrassment to him.” She frowned at the memory. “Living with us, the boy learned farming from Daniel. He caught on quickly once things were demonstrated. By the time he was fifteen, he had cleared the brush around that old log cabin in woods. That shack had been falling down, but Isaiah rebuilt it with timber he cut himself and then aged the lumber. Daniel only needed to help with the beams and roofing. When he finished the cabin, Isaiah moved in. He loves being alone, surrounded by God and nature.”

“Does he know God?” Catherine asked.

Abby blinked several times. “What do you mean? God watches over and protects Isaiah the same as everyone else.”

“Of course, but you said he never learned to read. So he can’t read the Bible and can’t hear the sermons in church or Scripture read aloud in the evening.”

“When he shares a meal at our table, he bows his head in silent prayer along with everyone else.”

“He’s mimicking your behavior. He’s never
heard
a prayer, Abby. And maybe his
mamm
never taught him about God because she didn’t know how.”

“Now I’m the one embarrassed. I never thought much about it after he found his…safe place in the world.”

Silence prevailed while each woman collected her thoughts. “Isaiah is a good man. I’m sure God won’t hold it against him on Judgment Day because he hadn’t followed a Christian path. After all, He gave Isaiah the disability in the first place.” Abby shrugged her shoulders and glanced at the clock, satisfied with her conclusion.

Catherine pressed on. “It’s not too late. He could learn to read at that school our English neighbor enrolled her twins in.”

Abby’s chin lifted while she wrung her hands. “Oh, I don’t know about that. Daniel’s very protective of his cousin. I don’t think he would permit Isaiah to be sent away to strangers, considering his past experiences in school.”

Catherine opened her mouth to argue, but the guard looming behind Abby’s chair interrupted. “Time’s up, Miss Yost. You can come back next week.” He crossed his arms over his starched uniform.

Catherine thought better of pleading for more time. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” she said, rising to her feet. “Please don’t worry about your family or me or Daniel’s cousin.”

Abby grinned. “I’ll try my best about the first two, but you have been thinking about Isaiah’s best interests plenty lately. I won’t worry about him.” Her grin turned sly. “It sounds to me like you know him better than just ‘Daniel’s cousin from the back cabin.’ You must have mentioned his name at least a dozen times since you arrived.”

With her cheeks burning with embarrassment, Catherine leaned over to kiss Abby’s cheek. “Forget I said anything. You know how I love to run on about the most inconsequential topics.” She strode toward the door before she melted into a puddle in the middle of the visitation room floor.

W
hen Abby returned to her cell, Rachelle hadn’t come back yet. Blessedly, this gave her some time alone to mull over her sister’s visit. As happy as she was that her
kinner
were thriving, her heart ached. She was missing so much of their precious young lives. Learning to swim, riding a horse for the first time, picking berries on warm summer afternoons—these were memories every mother cherished. How many milestone events would she miss while locked up in here? The sour taste of bile filled her mouth as she realized she might spend
years
separated from them.
How they will suffer due to the sins of their mother
.

And was something happening between Catherine and Isaiah? Or were boredom and her weariness making her see things not really there? And what about Isaiah? Catherine’s questions convicted her of neglecting the young man over the years. When they had moved him to their farm, they had certainly seen to his physical needs. She made sure he ate three balanced meals a day and even baked his favorite banana nut bread on occasion. She had sewn his clothing and provided him with warm winter gloves, boots, and the head coverings he needed—even though he refused to wear hats even on the coldest January days. Daniel had taught him farming—to milk cows, train horses to pull equipment, and how to bring in the harvest. He’d taught him to hunt, fish, and use building tools. Daniel had taken the boy ice skating on frozen winter ponds, swam for hours during the summer, and helped him build a home that would shelter Isaiah all his life.

Abby had felt satisfied, almost smug, that they had provided him with a loving, supportive family when his own family couldn’t be bothered. But what had she done for his spiritual health? It had not even occurred to her that Isaiah didn’t know God.

What good is it if a man gains great riches if he loses his very soul?
Isaiah might not find the salvation promised to believers upon their deaths. And in the meantime, he didn’t know the one true Helper, our Guide and Teacher, the One who promised to remain at our side all our lives. Shame rose up her throat, adding to the already bad taste in her mouth.

Catherine had been right. Isaiah went through the motions but didn’t know how to pray. He had never read nor heard Scripture—the only solace for a troubled heart. People in their district assumed Isaiah had been born too slow-witted for religious instruction, but Abby had known the truth and done nothing about it. Sitting in jail, she could no more help Isaiah than she could the rest of her family.

She picked up her Bible, but for several minutes she just clutched it to her chest. Tears streamed down her face, unstoppable, relentless. They soaked her shirt and closed off her throat. Her head pounded, her stomach churned, and her lungs burned from staccato breathing. Her hysterical crying might have soaked through the mattress if her cellmate hadn’t returned and intervened.

“Abby, what is it? What has happened?”

Abby tried to speak but her vocal cords refused to cooperate. She gasped and coughed with a ragged wheezing sound.

“Oh my.” Rachelle pulled hard on her forearm. “Sit up. You can’t lie there like that. You might choke to death.” When Abby didn’t budge, Rachelle pried the Bible from her fingers, set it on the window ledge, and dragged Abby into a sitting position.

Abby bumped her head on the upper bunk, adding to her woes. “Thanks, I’m okay now.” She couldn’t look at her friend.

“Tell me what’s wrong. What are you crying about?” Rachelle handed her a Kleenex and sat down beside her.

Abby dabbed her eyes and blew her nose, feeling a modicum better. “I was thinking about everything I’m missing in my children’s lives. What if they keep me locked up for years? Laura and Jake will forget about me by the time I get out.” She held the balled tissue under her nose to stem the tide.