Abram's Daughters 04 The Prodigal (22 page)

"Do ya know who lives there?" asked Abe, gawking over his shoulder as they passed.

"Somebody with a green thumb, that's who." She had to laugh, thinking about Aunt Lizzie's amazing talent for coaxing flowers of all colors and kinds to flourish under her tender

"You've got yourself a green thumb, Sadie."

"That's awful nice of you."

"Well, 'tis true." Abe grinned at her.

It was good of her brother to offer to ride along and help her sell the produce and other items today while Lydiann and Hannah's older girls, Ida Mae and Katie Ann, tended the roadside stand at home. "We'll bring in a gut amount of money for all our work today, Lord willin'."

Abe nodded and hopped down out of the buggy, going to tie up the horse.

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Sometimes she couldn't get over the kind and generous helper Abe was. His accident on Blackbird Pond all those years back had worried everyone nearly sick, especially Hannah, but it was clear there was nothing at all wrong with him now.

Abe was quick to unload plenty of fresh-from-the'farm vegetables, including Swiss chard and snap peas. There were also baked goods, dried nuts, and homemade tartar sauce from Aunt Lizzie, along with pepper jam, corn relish, and handdipped candles from Leah. Hannah had sent along embroidered handkerchiefs and table linens, and Sadie had canned chowchow and home-cooked stews. Everyone had pitched in the past few days to make this Saturday market day an extra good one.

Sadie was glad they'd gotten themselves settled in long before customers began to arrive. She had always liked to get there well ahead of time, allowing ample opportunity to chat with other standholders, most of them farmers' daughters and wives.

Among the newcomers were several youth from the Grasshopper Level area. One in particular who seemed to hit it off with Abe was a tall and slender young man with dark hair several aisles over from them. Being an outgoing fellow, Abe had gone wandering up and down the rows during a few lulls in the normally steady stream of buyers, talking to nearly everyone at each of the produce tables. Sadie couldn't see if the dark-headed young man was tending his table alone, but she certainly heard his catching laughter and, in the midst of all the marketplace chatter, she thought she heard Abe's, as well. \

This is good, she thought, having been a little concerned,

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along with Leah and Aunt Lizzie, that Abe had been spending far too much time with Carl Nolt rather than other Plain boys.

When the volume of customers picked up again, here came Abe once more, rushing back to help Sadie, taking charge of hand selling and making change. Between custom' ers, Abe mentioned the young man across the way, saying he'd given Abe a homemade peppermint stick made by his

twin sister.

"How interesting," Sadie said, lowering her voice so as not to be heard by anyone but Abe. "You might not know this, but Mary Ruth may be having twins come fall."

"Ya don't mean it." Abe laughed. "I might have both a nephew and a niece?"

"Or two of either," she replied.

"Ain't it 'bout time Dat had himself a grandson? Goodness knows how much he'd like that!"

Sadie thought yet again of Dat's one and only grandson thus far, gone to heaven sixteen long years ago. It still surprised her how often she thought of that wee boy, all shriveled and blue, never having made a single sound, not even a whimper. Yet she loved him, he and his stillborn half sisters ... all being cared for in heaven by Mamma, Harvey, and Dawdi John. And the angels, too, she supposed, because Aunt Lizzie had always said God's ministering servants cared for the babies who went to Glory before their parents. "Jah, maybe Mary Ruth will give Dat a grandson or two," she replied, standing to greet the next customer.

"That'd be right nice," Abe replied.

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When the end of the day came and it was time to say j;d-bye to the folk on either side of their table, Abe suggested Sadie go with him to meet his new friend. "No, that's .ill right. I don't have to meet all your friends, for goodness' sake," she said, feeling suddenly shy. Having observed from ;il'nr the way the two boys had gotten along, talking animatedly together, she didn't feel the need to barge in, and she lold Abe so.

"But, Sadie, you'd like him. He's the nicest fella and downright easygoing." Abe motioned with his head, nearly insisting Sadie walk over there with him.

"All right, then," she agreed. "If ya do all the talkin'."

Abe said he would, and he led her to the almost empty long table. "This is my oldest sister, Sadie," Abe said. Then, I timing to Sadie, he said, "Meet my friend Jacob."

The handsome teen reached out a firm hand and shook hers. "Hullo, Sadie. Most folks call me Jake."

She smiled, surprised by his relaxed manner, just as Abe li;id described. "Nice to meet you, Jake."

Grinning at them both, Jacob volunteered that his nextoldest and twin sisters had gone to Central Market in Lancasu-r today, so he'd offered to come tend to the table here. "Tending stand ain't what I do best, though," he said, the color rising in his face. "I'd much rather help my father in our iipple orchard."

Suddenly, at that moment, everything clicked. This must he Peter and Fannie Mast's boy, she thought. If so, he was right now talking to the cousins his own father had chosen to shun. Well, she didn't dare spoil things for Abe she simply acted us if she had innocently met an acquaintance of her brother's.

Yet all during the ride home, Sadie couldn't get Jake's

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enormous dark eyes and his winning smile out of her mind. He reminded her of someone. A young man in the Millersburg, Ohio, church years ago, perhaps? And there was a certain resemblance to big brother Jonas, too. "Have ya ever met Jake before today?" she asked.

"Seems to me 1 did, maybe, quite a while back. But honestly, I can't remember where." Abe looked at her curiously. "Did you think you knew him from somewhere?"

She leaned back in the buggy seat, glad Abe held the reins to the horse. "Well, maybe so. Was it that obvious to you?"

He nodded, grinning. "You just were starin' at him," he admitted. "I felt a bit embarrassed, truth be known."

She didn't want to blurt out that they'd just run into Peter Mast's youngest son at least she hadn't heard that Cousin Fannie had ever birthed more children after her fraternal boygirl twins, but how would she know? Peter and Fannie had cut themselves off from the tiny world of Gobbler's Knob simply because the Abram Ebersol family lived there.

"I'd hate to embarrass my handsome little brother," she said, reaching up and touching his blond hair.

"Ach, keep your hands to yourself," he said playfully and clicked his tongue, urging the horse to a trot.

She laughed, glad to be heading home even as the memory of Jake's countenance stirred up bewildering feelings.

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A nesting robin in the nearby maple tree sang with such clarity, Mary Ruth raised her head from the feather pillow, hearkening to its call. She was keenly aware this morning of the early bird's song, so anxious was she to greet the day. This

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day! How long had it been since her last Sisters' Day? She had been passed over far too long, yet she understood and had no business questioning why Sadie and Leah Hannah too had not included her at Adah Peachey Ebersol's and others' homes for canning bees and work frolics. A lingering sadness had pricked her heart, though she'd never shared any of this with her husband, who now lay asleep next to her. It was obvious why she had been treated so in the past.

It had been years now since Gid had taken it upon himself to ask her to stop coming to his household's little log home. Naturally Dat had felt she had done wrong in leaving her Old Order Amish life behind, yet she knew there was no benefit in rethinking any of that, especially when she would never give up her precious beliefs. Still, she did feel like not only an outcast from the community of the People, but also somewhat estranged from her family especially her twin. Hannah was not behind the decision by Gid, Mary Ruth was sure, for she often saw the look of sorrow in her sister's eyes when at the Ebersol Cottage, where she was permitted to visit with Hannah and the rest of her family. "Just never talk with Hannah alone," Gj^l had said privately, making things heartbreakingly clear that day so long ago.

So the invitation to attend Sisters' Day at Leah's best friend's place was something of a breakthrough, at least in Mary Ruth's mind. Her heart was gladdened at the thought of seeing her sisters and Aunt Lizzie all in the same kitchen working together.

Getting up quietly so as not to awaken Robert, she gently placed a hand on her stomach and walked downstairs to the kitchen, turning her thoughts to the baby, possibly more than one, growing inside her. She offered a prayer for the safe and

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normal development of this, their first little one. Or two. And she prayed she might be a cheerful blessing today as she attended the work frolic, sharing in all the talk that grown women married and single alike seemed able to prattle on about on such a fine late-June day.

As the sun was breaking over a dark string of trees, Lydiann hurried outside, barefoot and still wearing her nightclothes. She'd awakened with a hankering to spend some time with their new German-shepherd pups, especially sleek and pretty Boo, who reminded her quite a bit of their former dog Sassy. Lydiann sometimes still missed Blackie, King, and Sassy, who'd lived out their lifespans a few years before, but Dat had been eager for more dogs, so they'd purchased another two from Brother Gid.

Presently, Boo was making high-pitched sounds, the way some dogs did when a storm was brewing. Seemed to her that dogs could hear storms in the distance long before people Dat had always said as much. It had to do with more than their keen hearing; perhaps they had a special sense for such things. From Boo's behavior, Lydiann was ever so sure there'd be a thunderstorm later that day. She just hoped the weather cooperated with her handsome beau's plans for them to meet down Georgetown Road in his open buggy. But knowing him, she was quite sure he'd have the forethought to bring along an umbrella, though if the weather was too bad, he simply wouldn't show up. He had thought ahead the last time they'd gone riding in his courting buggy, reaching down and pulling an umbrella out from beneath the front seat just before the

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jliisl droplets of rain fell on them.

| (Mi, she could just pinch herself with all this happiness, Hiving met such a wonderful boy at her first-ever Sunday kinging back in May. It had been obvious he'd had no interest ill) ;iny of the other girls that lovely evening. In fact, after her I'idr home in his open carriage that night, she hadn't really liDi iced any of the other boys at the following singings, Sill hough she was sure they were awful nice and fine looking, too. Already she and Jake had seen each other more times ihnii she could count on one hand, which was quite frequent Liwn that courting couples were really only supposed to see ImcIi other every other Sunday night at barn singings and the piiturday nights in between those usually four times a pionth. But here it was only one month later and she'd nearly osr track of how many moonlit buggy rides they'd enjoyed. I She and Jake Mast had done a good job of keeping their pudding romance hush-hush difficult to do when many of Ihe young people whispered behind each other's backs about lyho was seeing whom. But Jake and she were exceedingly Etuitious, and it was a good thing, too, since neither of them pad ever daffed and they were, as Dat would surely say, too Iroung to settle down just yet. Of course, there was also the prickly matter that Jake's family had chosen to shun her family Jake had overheard his older sister Becky telling lomeone exactly that. Just why this was, Lydiann had no idea, In it she took comfort in Jake's emphatic determination to lontinue seeing her, no matter what. "We'll get my father's Blessing in due time," he'd told her recently.

1 "There ya be, Boo," Lydiann said, discovering the noisy Ilog in the warm hay of the stable area, not but a few feet from

1)110 of the two milk cows, as if he thought he was a new calf.

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"What on earth are you doin' whining and fussin' out here? Is a storm comin', do ya think?"

The pup looked up at her with kindly eyes as she knelt next to him, rubbing his neck under his ears. His eyes instantly glazed over as if with pleasure, and she smiled. "You're no help at all!" In a bit she got up and went in search of Brownie.

One of the mules neighed loudly as she moved through the lower level of the barn, which was already warming with the dawn of a new day. It'll be a hot one today, she decided, still searching for Mamma Leah's favorite of the two dogs. In fact, just last night Mamma had talked about what a gift of joy all their pets had been both past and present. Secretly, though, Lydiann wondered if Mamma Leah didn't prefer cats to dogs now, since especially the barn kittens seemed ever so drawn to her.

When she finally located Brownie, he was standing up and pointing his nose toward the north like a living compass. She had to laugh, slapping her leg through her cotton nightgown and robe. "Come here," she said. "You're a silly one." But she knew she'd found her weather forecaster. "It is gonna storm today, ain't so?"

Brownie looked up at her as if he were smiling his answer. "I'll take along my shawl tonight, then ... in case you're right," she said, deciding it was high time to hurry back to the house and dress for the day before Dat and Abe came trotting out to the barn for milking. What would they think if they found her in her nightclothes, of all things?

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V_/f course I do," Leah answered when, following breakfast, Lydiann asked her if she remembered her own running-around

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years.

"Then, why are ya worried'bout me, Mamma?" ;

Leah paused. Had she mistakenly given that impression to her dear girl, or was it actually true? Was she too concerned nhout all the nights Lydiann was leaving the house after dusk mid returning home before dawn? Too much like Sadie's wild days, she had been thinking, hoping Lyddie hadn't met some Knglish boy somewhere. She felt she ought to ask, though, just for good measure. "You're not seein' fancy boys, are ya?"