Abram's Daughters 04 The Prodigal (14 page)

"I hate to upset ya, really I do ... but I've been wanting to make something right. And for a gut long time now."

At once Leah ceased her work, her eyes red and her face still pale from lack of sleep, most likely. "What's on your mind?" she asked.

Momentarily Sadie reconsidered. How selfish of me. Sighing, she knew she must not turn back. "When I was livin' in Millersburg years ago, I did something I must ask your forgive-

135heos lor." She pressed on. "It was a horrid thing I did. UnforLlvnMo, truly."

I Blinking her eyes, Leah frowned and stood tall with the Broom upright in her hand. "I have no idea what you're talking 'hour."

I "'Course, you don't." Scarcely could she go on, but she ulmitled how vexed she had been at the time over what she Id I had been an outright betrayal on Leah's part. "I was awful tilery you upped and spilled the beans to Mamma and Dat boul my wild days . . . me gettin' myself in the family way 'n' till. So one day, when one of your letters to Jonas arrived in the mail, I dropped it in the rubbish as a way to get back at fpu- ir wasn't till it was too late that I realized what a dreadlul thing I'd done. By then it was beyond possibility to Mil-neve the letter."

I Leah's face flushed red with unmistakable ire, but as Liiirkly as she allowed her wrath to show, she stepped back hikI breathed a great sigh. "I don't care to rehash my resentIflenr during those disturbing days" she wiped her brow with phe hack of her hand "but it does wonder me if that letter Blight not b^e the one explainin' some needful things to lonas."

I Meekly Sadie whispered, "You can know that for sure and lui certain."

I "What do ya mean?"

I "It's upstairs . . . tucked away." Sadie quivered. "The mailnuin delivered it here recently. ... It must've fallen out of the ll'iish truck all that time ago, although who can be sure just IVhat happened for it to find its way back here now." I Leah's eyes flickered. "Jah, go'n'get the letter for me." I Hurrying upstairs, Sadie found the concealed letter, her

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: ! I'mtM 136pulse racing as she hoped against hope her sister might find it in her heart to forgive.

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Taking short, quick breaths, Leah placed her hand on her chest. Why, O Lord, must this be happening now . . . when my thoughts of Jonas are few and far between?

Faithfully she had been reading Mamma's old Bible, and with her heart wide open, the Scriptures were filling the void left there by her tenderness for Jonas. God's Word offered her strength and even solace for her loneliness.

Yet now she couldn't help but recall how she'd felt so terribly heartbroken, assuming her sister had stolen her dear beau when Sadie had lived near Jonas during the time of his Millersburg cabinetmaking apprenticeship. In her desperation at the perceived deception, Leah had fully given herself up to the mercy of almighty God, drawing courage for her life from the love of her heavenly Father.

Sadie returned, holding out the letter. "It's soiled but unopened all the same,"

Leah nodded, unable to speak as she inspected the discolored postmark.

Sadie's voice was soft yet strained. "Can you ever forgive

me;

Intently examining the envelope, Leah could not reply. She could discern the month and year not the actual day and went quickly to the utensil drawer and pulled out a table knife, slicing through the top of the envelope . . . and into the long-ago past. Suddenly it all felt so recent.

Opening the letter, she recognized the handwriting as her own and read the first few lines. Immediately she knew this surely was the most important letter she'd ever written. To

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pink Jonas had never known . . . never even laid eyes on it! ' She glanced up and noticed Sadie turning to leave the lichen, heading slowly, if not forlornly, toward the stairs, (in you ever forgive me? Her request echoed in Leah's ears. I / low many secrets must we bear? Leah clutched the letter, Ililchil lor the privacy, and wandered to the window, strug|lii|j; not to shake as she read through to the end. I When she finished, she refolded it gently and slipped it Ilk into the safety of its envelope. He never read my answers I his pointed questions about my friendship with Gid. Jonas never Bcic JJ131 heart on this. . . .

I She held it close to her and bowed her head under the

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linlm of her pain. No wonder his letters stopped, Leah thought

Inrlully. No wonder he never returned home to marry me.

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Oomething's awful wrong with Abe," Hannah confided in Mary Ruth, who'd come for a late afternoon visit nearly a week after their brother's discharge from the hospital. "He ain't nearly the same, and I've seen firsthand that it's true." She had to swallow hard as she tried not to cry, still wishing Dat would come to his senses and have the hex doctor work his magic on the boy.

Mary Ruth held little Mimi in her arms, rocking her slowly while Ida Mae and Katie Ann stacked small towers of wooden blocks near the cookstove. "Lorraine told Dottie head injuries of this nature take time to heal. . . and that came from Dr. Schwartz, naturally. Funny how the grapevine works on the outside, too."

Hannah didn't find talk of the grapevine at all amusing. Truth was, Mary Ruth's frequent visits were beginning to annoy Gid, being themselves the subject of tittle-tattle amongst the People. He'd told Hannah before Abe's accident, "Not such a gut idea for an Amishwoman-turned-Mennonite to be comin' round here and fillin' the preacher's wife's head

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Iwilli :ill kinds of nonsense." He'd also confided the bishop had I fill 11 i 111 on the spot, questioning Hannah's close ongoing I ft In I innship with a Mennonite.

I Mary Ruth's my sister, for pity's sake, Hannah had thought lit Ihr lime, not daring to speak up. After all, having received I the divine ordination, Gid was always right God's choice of I ft shepherd to this flock. There was to be no questioning the Iftinn of God, even though there were times when she did llccrel'ly wonder how the Lord God could look on Bishop iRontrager's heart and be pleased. Was it possible for a divine Ippolntment to go off beam ... for a man reckoned to be I|Ih* messenger of God to become blind and puffed up with Ifirlde?

I She could only hope such a thing would always be far Iffoin true of her handsome husband, although she had always Known him to have an opinion about most everything, just as Kiolh of their fathers staunchly did. The two older men had Ifcrcii quite similar in their thinking on most things, except IhiM'o lately Dat hadn't heeded his friend's advice to call the HK'X doctor Gid had said as much. This puzzled her no end, Bind she was relived Abe had managed to survive the blow to Ills head despite what might've happened with Dat disregarding the importance, even the sway, of a sympathy healer. I "When did you last see Abe?" she asked Mary Ruth, getliig up to take Mimi from her to nurse her. I "Just yesterday, when I took Carl for a visit after school." Mary Ruth said that Carl had been worried to the point of an lupsit stomach over his friend.

I lannah smiled faintly. "Well, it's mighty sure Carl's

IH-i ( tine nearly part of the family, seems to me." She wondered

wliiil her sister might say to that. . . . . .

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"Dat hasn't always been so keen on Carl's visits, but it seems to me that recently he's been a little more easygoing." Mary Ruth paused, giving Hannah a small smile. "He's surely got a new spring in his step." Mary Ruth rose and went to rescue several blocks the girls had allowed to roll under the corner cupboard. She got down on all fours, laughing as she did, because Ida Mae had come running over and hopped on her back as if Mary Ruth were a horse.

Hannah admitted she'd observed the same thing. "I suspect Dat won't always be a widower. . . though it ain't our place to speculate on his business," Hannah said, lifting baby Mimi onto her shoulder for burping. She wondered if now was the right time to tell Mary Ruth what Gid had said about her visits here, though it pained her to think of doing so. Instead she again brought up the subject of her concern for Abe.

"Leah says our brother has been talkin' nonsense. His balance is off-kilter, too. It's got her mighty anxious."

Mary Ruth sat back down in the chair near the window, the light coming in and resting on her slender shoulders, making her hair look even blonder. "He must've hit his head awful hard."

Hearing Gid's footsteps outside, Hannah felt awful nervous now. What'II my husband say if he finds Mary Ruth here again?

She immediately rose and headed to her bedroom to put Mimi in her cradle, hearing Gid's voice as he greeted Mary Ruth out in the front room. Standing behind the bedroom door, she was hesitant to return, so she waited there, eavesdropping. : "Is Hannah here?" Gid asked.

"She's tucking Mimi in" came Mary Ruth's reply.

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I I hriv was a lull, but soon Gid said, "This ain't easy to say,

linn I've Ix-cn thinkin', Mary Ruth, 'bout the People and all.

P1m < (us il might be better if ya didn't speak your mind to Han-

|n ill no much."

I Mary Ruth remained silent.

I "Might just be best, too, if ya didn't come round here so

It i|I rn," Gid said flatly. "Hannah bein' the preacher's wife now

[hi ii I you bein'. . . well, Mennonite. Just doesn't set so gut with

Lmk- folk."

I Ac'/i, iiiil Hannah clutched her heart, because she'd never

Ilinird her husband talk so, not in that severe tone of voice . . .

Id''i even to a stubborn horse. She felt she might burst out

In', ing.

I As Mary Ruth walked down the mule road toward her IIhiIiit's house, she could think only of her brother-in-law's in. i n admonishment. The formerly pleasant Gid had surely I lunged since his divine appointment. Fact was, Hannah in' i-i led loving encouragement she'd sunk into near despair lover Abe's accident, and even life's small concerns seemed to kill I hard at her. And now was Mary Ruth to obey Gid's warnillii; and be cut off from her own twin sister? A more intimate

11 in id she'd never known.

She breathed in the wintry air as she made her way out Inward the main road, bypassing a visit with Leah and Abe, ulllunigh her heart longed to stop in for a short while. She Wouldn't give in to worry over Abe, though, because she had made up her mind she was going to trust the Lord for her brother's healing. She must stand on the promises of God, let

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Him be at work in young Abe. "In all of us," she said aloud.

Soon her thoughts turned to Robert. While they had continued seeing each other since their frank discussion about Derek and Sadie, there had been no marriage proposal. Without a doubt, Robert was an upstanding man, one kind and good in every respect. She had every reason to love him. Robert had all the qualities a good preacher should possess and all those of a good husband, too.

She found it curious that both she and Hannah were connected to ministers. One who humbly taught the full truth of God's Word, and one who, having been raised a smithy's son, was much more skilled at shoeing horses than at helping folk shod their feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. After all Gid Peachey had never had a speck of training. When the lot fell on a man, there were often days and weeks of actual mourning as the newly appointed man accepted the responsibility, even the burden, of the People resting soundly on his shoulders. Mary Ruth could just imagine that weight on Gid now, which might have been the reason for his harsh remarks to her today. Yet she would not allow her encounter with him to bring her discouragement, for a dispirited person was open to even more opposition from the enemy of the soul.

So Mary Ruth marched along the road with head high, ever so confident in the Lord. She was sure that in God's time, He could turn even this for good. . ., ,.. ,

Days had passed since Sadie's revelation, and since then Leah had seemed distracted, encumbered by her continued

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of Abe. Or perhaps it was newfound resentment toward

lie llmf made Leah so distant, although it seemed unlike [|m i slater to hold a grudge. Still, one thing was altogether l|lirtil tto offer of forgiveness had come. Maybe she's had enough, Ithouwlit Sadie.

I Meanwhile the original peace she'd experienced at her lionlt'ssion had faded, and old thoughts had returned to haunt lln'i -memories of dear Harvey and her blue babies. Memo^ii' -., too, of her shunning, Leah's seeming betrayal of her, and j>'i Derry and the terrible sin with him that had set things in | in''i Ion. If only dwelling on the past could make things different

1 / -i me,

I The afternoon weather had turned blustery and cold when S i. lie spotted Mary Ruth out on the road. Maybe Mary Ruth\\ in iius something of Derry . . . if he happens to know the fate of li'in baby, Sadie thought. But she decided she best not take off |imining after her, though she surely wanted to. She simply I'll' "ij there at the front room window, gazing after her sister, I v ' 'i iclering just what Mary Ruth might know about Derry I1'" liwartz. Will she say what she knows?

I I ''inally, having tried her best to stay calm and not give in li' impulsiveness, she told Leah she was going for a short walk Jin id donned her wool coat, black outer bonnet, and snow

I-...is.

I "Where are ya headed?" Leah looked a bit surprised at the liimm unit of outer clothing she was piling on. I "Need some air, is all." I "(loin' up to see Hannah, maybe?" Leah pressed, eyes

in \filling more disquiet as Sadie reached for her muffler and

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liniilens. i '.

I "1 Iaven't decided just where," Sadie ribbed, feeling a sting

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of guilt, yet not changing her plan as she turned and walked out the back door. A strong wind nearly blew her back into the house, but stubbornly she pushed ahead.

When at last she caught up with Mary Ruth, she was more than a half mile from home, farther away than she had been since the outset of her present Proving. Farther, too, than was allowed on her own, really, but Sadie felt she was safe from Miriam's eyes on such a cold and snowy day. Besides, if she kept her face forward, who'd know it was she beneath the big black winter bonnet?