Abram's Daughters 04 The Prodigal (32 page)

ilip boiu'li and began to read, nearly breathless with excite-

i.i^nt. '"Hear Lydiann,'" she began. '"I have the most inter-

i Ing news. You know I've written in the past about the

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woodworking shop in Apple Creek. Well, I've made quite a discovery one I think you'll be surprised at, too. You sec, I've been working alongside my eldest brother all this time . . . and didn't even know it.'"

"Wait just a minute. Would ya mind readin' that last line again?" Leah interrupted, her heart in her throat. :

Lydiann stared at her for a moment, frowning a bit, and then she raised the letter to reread it.

"Oh my. . ." Leah groaned.

"Mamma, did I upset you?"

"No . . . no. Is there more you want to share?" '.,'

Lydiann nodded. "I read this on the way in from the mailbox . . . and, honestly, if Jonas Mast isn't the one givin' woodworking pointers to my Jake."

Leah felt her hands trembling now. "Well, for goodness' sake," she whispered, not sure how to respond in the least.

"Can ya believe it?" asked Lydiann. "His own shunned brother."

Quickly Leah gathered her composure. "The Bann on Jonas is not for us to speak of." She wanted to say she'd never felt it was his fault. . . yet it wasn't for her to question the man of God, especially not in front of Lydiann. Truly, she had mixed emotions about the whole situation.

Trying to occupy herself, Leah offered Lydiann a glass ol iced tea, but she was once again caught up in her letter. Leah sipped her own cold drink and breathed a silent prayer.

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lliinnrth was anxious to write in her journal as her husband tiul (,'irls lay sleeping soundly, bringing peace to the small

muse.

Friday, September 28 Pear Diary,

It is nearly nine-thirty tonight, -jet I can't sleep I'm ever so sure I am expecting another baby. We've waited so many years for this day, the thought doesn't frighten me in the least, especially becatee I made a good number of visits to Old Lady I lamer before she died last week. The People turned out in large numbers for the funeral, but it was clear to me who was there paying their respects and who wasn't. Dat and Lizzie did not attend, nor did my sisters, all of them honoring Dat's stand against powwowing except me. Gid did happen to say on the long ride over to the funeral that he was beginning to see Dat's side of things, but he didn't go any further than that. These days it sounds to me as if Dat has much more sway over Gid than his own father does Gid talks often of "Abram this and Abram that." Seems to me Gid has embraced my father asnearly his own. , : ' . ; ' ,): : ;. :.

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All the same, 1 don't think he knows how much my father and stepmother tend to read the Bible, even study it. But 1 figure what Gid doesn't know about that won't be a nuisance to him if the bishop should ever ask. It's best to leave things be as they are, just as nobody kept me from going to Old Lady Henner all these years.

If I truly am in the family way, 1 hope to have yet another baby not so long after this one so he or she can have a closein-age sibling. But I won't fret about when the Good Lord wants to send along our children to us, though I would like to give Gid a boy this time.

And 1 am awful happy for Mary Ruth, who is looking forward to her first wee one at the end of next month. What fun it will be to hold my twin's newborn in my arms! Mary Ruth will be a wonderful-good mother, for she has always had a strong leaning toward infants and little children . . . and she had all that practice with Carl Nolt when he was tiny.

Well, with Old Lady Henner gone, I don't believe I'll be seeking out a hex doctor anymore. 1 never cared much at all for the ones who are men they give me the jitters. Now it will be for me to simply follow more closely the folk medicine

on my own.

Respectfully, : Hannah

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An early October throng of ladybugs rose like a great mist and then settled on the sunny-most side of the barn the first Saturday of the month. Leah had observed them in flight while taking down some washing that couldn't wait till Monday, all sun dried and bright from hanging on the line that

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BlHfnlnu ninl part of the afternoon. At the sight of the insects, M Wlintleinl whether an awful harsh winter might be inHftithin year.

^^Lydlann and Ida Mae and Katie Ann were away at Central ^HkcM In downtown Lancaster, tending table to a host of yel^^llM'iin^c, white, and lime gourds, along with piles of prized ^HftklnN slushed from the vines just yesterday. The trip was ^Hrul, long ride by horse and buggy, to be sure. Still, Leah ^Hfil Nomeone other than herself might have witnessed the ^Hlgc sight, knowing Lydiann and the girls would have been ^^Blly surprised at hundreds of ladybugs seeking out shelter ^^hc coming winter. No doubt the insects had found it ^Hni' the loose slats on the south side of the old bank barn. ^H'turrying across the backyard with her wicker basket, its ^^tMils nearly spilling over, she spied the ladybugs again. ^Hcdiaivly she got to wondering if Dat and Gid had split ^HptiU'kcd ample firewood to carry both families through the I'M diiys come late October and beyond.

1 < ktober. The word played in her mind with the energy of It I'Minn (ire before it quiets down and begins to smolder. Dat In 1.1 Abe had lit the first such fire of the season just this morn|f% having spent hours raking up dead tree boughs and limbs IH preparation, tidying things up in general. Sunlight seemed l|i leak out of the first weeks of autumn, and yet the vast win ids to the northwest grew brighter by day, especially where IJu- maples were set against ancient hemlocks. I I Icr thoughts flew to Lydiann, who continued to sulk HI i ii in* I the house as though her last friend had died when llu'iv wasn't a new letter to be had, that is. Faithfully Leah l|ient time in prayer each morning on the subject of Jake maNC, asking that he might stay put in Ohio. Asking, too, that

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Lydiann might eventually become interested in a different

young man.

With the slowing down winter would bring, Lydiann would soon have plenty of nurturing from the whole familylong fireside chats with Leah, evening prayers with Dat, playing table games with Lizzie and Abe. And knowing Lyddie as Leah did, she had reason to believe the dear girl would not pine for Jake forever. At least she hoped not.

Sadie was astonished when Lydiann came running in the back door saying she'd received another letter in the after noon mail delivery.

In a whisper, Lydiann told her, "If you keep it quiet, Sadie, I'll tell ya who my beau is. I'll even read ya a bit of his letter."

"Aw, no, that ain't necessary," Sadie said immediately, glancing at Leah, who stood behind Lydiann. Sadie hail recently suspected her youngest sister of sharing Jake's letters with Leah, although Leah had not revealed this in anything she'd said. Still, Sadie assumed she was right, as unusually close as Lydiann and Leah were. Certainly Leah had seemed to have more on her mind here lately.

"But I want to tell ya, honestly I do." And Lydiann revealed, right then and there, that the boy she loved was indeed Jake Mast. "And he loves me, too," she said, eyi\s twinkling.

Sadie was speechless at Lydiann's willingness to maki' known her beloved's identity, though she was grateful to have an opportunity to hear the kinds of things her son wrote ami

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m^v wwy he phrased his thoughts. It was a small way to feel

! niir to him.

| I yd I arm was already scanning her letter. At once she

|iiiH|i|ic

Iflth. Juke writes that his eldest brother, Jonas, lives clear out

IU| ilip i/uiiniry, where he boards and rooms with an older lady

^H| In ;ilinost completely deaf. I guess he thinks of her

^HIIy , . . us almost a family member, since he's never married

^HIiihI ;i family of his own."

HP'Whiii on earth?" Sadie said, bewildered. "You mean to

s |nkr knows of Jonas . . . and Jonas isn't married?" She

|l. I fil now at Leah. Her sister's lips were parted, as if in

lili'H k, but she remained silent.

I l.ydinnn refolded the letter. "Sure sounds like it, ain't?"

I "Well, I should say this is quite amazing," she breathed.

I'll it's I rue."

I "|uh, 'tis ever so surprising" was all Leah said.

I "You all right?" Sadie placed a hand on Leah's slender

mIh Milder. Evidently overcome with unexpected emotion, Leah

In nvi d her head, and Sadie felt her precious sister tremble at

in- astonishing mews. , , ,

Leah slipped away to the Dawdi Haus after Lydiann and i. In- had taken themselves off for a midafternoon walk at her n> isience and following her repeated assurances she was

4* HHJ4 lo be quite all right.

Now, in the solitude of Sadie's small house, she looked ilhuiil her, taking in the tiny front room, the hickory rocker, thr simple maple side table and wood settee, all the furnish-

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ings reminding her of Dawdi John. This room where she\ I spent much time getting to know her grandfather, asking him questions about his courtship days . . . and sharing with him some about her own.

Incapable of grasping the implications of what Lydiann had revealed not thirty minutes ago, Leah felt terribly restless and walked to the open front door, welcoming the scents and gentle breezes of early autumn. There she recalled how Jonas had gently carried her into his father's house after she'd wrenched her ankle playing volleyball, how his strong arms had made her feel cared for and secure. Truly, there was so much to remember: The early years of stolen glances at family get-togethers, the summertime picnics on the lawn, the dear betrothal promise they'd made as youngsters, a love covenant to be sure. She remembered fondly the day of their church baptism, the long afternoon afterward spent sharing intimately while sitting in the grassy meadow, his sweet kiss on her lips. Dozens of Ohio letters had traveled between them . . . followed by the heartache of the years when she had naively believed Sadie had stolen him away.

Early on in those painful days, she had met with the Lord God in a very personal way up in the woods, realizing that she was and always would be God's Leah, that the dear Lord Jesus would mend her heart in due time and fulfill His plans and will for her life. Now the unexpected news that Jonas had remained single, just as she had, was almost more than she could comprehend or bear.

Standing there, Leah was relieved to be alone with her thoughts. Glad, too, that both Dat and Aunt Lizzie had m>l been present in the kitchen earlier. It had been hard enough

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k In iliI lirr emotions in check with Sadie and Lydiann staring

|i! mil m;iking over her.

I rii;liiii|.; into the stillness, she breathed her silent ques-

|l< in, M v beloved, what things do you recall? Will you ever know

111. 11 I ,1111 (Hid always will be your Leah?

I In In! heart she knew this was so. She had always loved

b> i ., no matter how long she'd tried to fool herself into

| In vini; differently.

i Yet even in this hushed moment of reflection and inner

|n I nowledgment, she was not so sure Jonas would care that

||h wns still a maidel. How could she possibly know what he

jv i I hinking ... or if he was even aware that she, too,

|> in.lined unmarried?

I "1'ufining, she wandered back into the house, to the

In hen doorway looking out to the barn and up toward the

Klule load.

I All the happy days . . .

I Through the simple act of faithful living, Leah had |c ii ned the most important thing not to cling to or to chase Ilii i luippiness. What she yearned for now was the heavenli'iii joy that carried her through, even in the midst of suffer-

I h'sus is the joy of my life, she thought anew.

I She had come to know and live this truth from reading

Ivinmma's Bible, and she'd attempted to teach it to Lydiann

Itul Abe.

I I Vopping to her knees beside the small kitchen table, she

I1.1nked the heavenly Father for not only her many blessings,

nil lor all of life's difficulties that had led her to this amazing

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moment. . . although she had no idea what to do with hu knowledge of Jonas. But that was not for her to decide. She would do as the Scriptures instructed and wholly trust tinLord-

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1/ \n enormous relief came over Jonas on Monday morning IH'Iii'ii lu' opened the door to the woodworking shop and Iflifie, once again, stood his youngest brother on the stoop.

I j |c I tut. I wondered if perhaps Jake had gotten his fill of instruo

111*hi, so intense Jonas had been the last time Jake spent the hvnikiliiy bere. Intense in part because he'd heard things from

I1 'I redialing Leah, whom Jake's girlfriend referred to as j! l Miiniii. The notion Leah was now Lydiann's mother had j. iiiplrlcly baffled Jonas. How was it his former sweetheart |< "ild be raising Lydiann, whom Jonas knew to be Ida's daugh' ||i" Sadly there was only one way that could have come Ittliniil, and he was anxious to quiz Jake about it today. He I (ill inI be more patient in awaiting answers about the girl he'd Nnvfil in Gobbler's Knob, yet his heart shouted to know all he Uuuld about her, especially since he had come to know she HViiN not, in fact, married to Gideon Peachey. Was she Gid's [widow, perhaps, helping a similarly widowed Abram raise hydiann/

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Sadie hurried through the connecting door to the main house, to the kitchen, where she made coffee, began to mix eggs and milk for scrambling, and fried up some bacon. She wanted to do something nice for Leah, seeing as how her sis ter was probably still mulling over the surprising Ohio news.

She waited until the table was laid and Aunt Lizzie h;ul gone outdoors before slipping out of the house herself, wear ing only an old sweater for her wrap. Quickly she caught up with Lizzie on the other side of the barn, where she was oui taking a short jaunt in the grazing land.