Allison's Journey (25 page)

Allison headed that way, kicking up dust with each step she
took. It had been a humid, hot summer, and they needed rain. Inside the barn, she spotted Joseph and Katie sitting on a bale of straw next to Gabe and Melinda. She hurried over and tapped Joseph on the shoulder. “Is Aaron still here? I need to speak with him.”

Joseph shook his head. “Sorry, but he left when our folks did. Grandpa and Grandma Raber were tired and needed to get home. I guess Aaron didn’t feel like hanging around because he followed them in his buggy. Emma, Bessie, and Zachary rode with him. Davey and I are the only ones from our family still here.”

Allison felt a keen sense of disappointment. “I plan to take some of my faceless dolls to the gift shop at the bed-and-breakfast in Seymour on Monday morning,” she said. “Maybe I’ll drop by the harness shop and speak to him on my way into town.”

“I’m sure Aaron will be glad to see you,” Joseph replied.

Allison nodded, but she wasn’t so sure he would be pleased to see her. She was prepared to exit the barn when Katie said, “How’s Shadow doing?”

“Fine. He seems right at home in Uncle Ben’s barn.”

“That’s probably because there are plenty of mice for him to chase,” Gabe said with a snicker.

“Won’t you sit and visit awhile?” Melinda asked, patting the bale of straw.

“I’d better not,” Allison replied. “Aunt Mary and the rest of the family will be ready to leave soon, and I don’t want to keep them waiting.”

“Gabe and I would like to get together with you and Aaron and go fishing again.” Melinda rubbed her protruding stomach and glanced over at Katie. “Maybe you and Joseph can join us.”

Katie and Joseph nodded, but Allison shrugged and said, “I’ll
have to wait and see. Right now I need to speak with Clarence and Vera Esh.”

Joseph watched Katie out of the corner of his eye. He sensed that she wanted to speak with him alone, but Melinda seemed to be monopolizing the conversation.

“You should have seen how excited Allison was when I gave her that kitten,” Melinda said with an enthusiastic nod. “She said she’d never had a pet before.”

“She could have taken her pick of any critter at our place.” Gabe nudged Melinda with his elbow. “Why didn’t you pawn a few other animals off on Allison that day?”

She nudged him right back. “Very funny.”

Katie cleared her throat. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I need some fresh air, so I think I’ll head outside and take a walk.”

“That’s fine,” Melinda said. “We’ll just sit here and visit with Joseph awhile.”

Joseph jumped to his feet. “Actually, I think I could use a bit of fresh air, too.”

Gabe gave him a knowing smile. “You go right ahead.”

Joseph followed Katie to the barn door, and when they stepped outside, he turned to her and said, “Should we take a walk down by the creek?”

“That’d be nice,” she said with a nod. “Hopefully no one else is there right now.”

They walked in silence until the water came into view, and Joseph was relieved to see that there wasn’t a soul in sight. He motioned to a nearby log. “Should we take a seat?”

Katie sat down and released a sigh. “This has been such a trying day. I still can’t get over the pitiful look on my aunt Vera’s face during the graveside services.”

Joseph nodded. “Losing a loved one is never easy, but I think it’s especially hard for parents to lose a child.”

She shuddered, and when she looked at Joseph, tears glistened in her eyes. “I can’t imagine how it would be if I ever lost you.”

“I wouldn’t want to lose you, either.” He reached for her hand. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking in the past few days, and I’ve made a decision.”

“What’s that?”

“If the main reason your folks don’t want you to marry me is because I don’t have a good job, then I’m going to ask my daed if he’ll hire me at the harness shop.”

Katie’s brows lifted high on her forehead. “But Aaron’s worked there for several years. I thought the shop was supposed to be his someday. Isn’t that what you told me once?”

“That’s true,” he agreed, “but Papa’s got lots of work right now, so I’m sure he could use another pair of hands. And as far as who gets the shop—”

Joseph halted his words when his younger brother, Davey, and Melinda’s brother Isaiah showed up on the scene.

“What are you two doin’ down here at the creek?” Davey asked.

“We’re talking. What’s it look like?”

Davey snickered. Isaiah did the same.

“Knock it off.” Joseph hoped his little brother wasn’t going to say or do something to embarrass him in front of Katie.

Isaiah picked up a flat rock and pitched it into the creek.

“Sure is hot today. Makes me wish I could go swimmin’ in this old creek.”

“I don’t suppose it would hurt if we went wading.” Davey dropped to the ground and removed his shoes and socks. Then he rolled his pant legs up to the knees and plodded into the water.

Isaiah followed suit.

Joseph looked over at Katie and rolled his eyes.

“I guess I’d better get back to the house,” she said, rising to her feet. “I should see how Aunt Vera and Uncle Clarence are doing.”

“Jah, okay.”

As Joseph and Katie walked away, he leaned close to her ear and whispered, “I’ll be talking to my daed sometime this week, and I’ll let you know what he has to say about me working for him.”

Allison spotted James’s folks standing under a maple tree, talking to one of their church ministers. She waited patiently until the minister moved away, then she hurried over to Vera and Clarence.

“Hello, Allison,” Vera said. “I heard you were with our son when he died, and I was hoping for the chance to talk to you.”

Allison nodded. “I’m not sure if James understood everything I said, but I did get the chance to speak with him before the ambulance came.”

“Vera and I had hoped our son would settle down and marry a nice Amish woman from our community,” Clarence spoke up. “We’d have even been happy if he’d found an Amish woman from outside this community.” He slowly shook his head. “It’s
so hard for us to accept his death.”

Vera’s hands trembled as she dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. “My biggest fear is that James didn’t make it to heaven.”

Allison gave Vera’s arm a gentle squeeze. “I can’t say for sure what was in James’s heart when he died, but I had the chance to pray with him. When I asked if he wanted to seek forgiveness for his sins, he blinked twice.”

“What are you saying?” Clarence asked.

“I’m saying that when I prayed the prayer of forgiveness out loud, I think James repeated it in his mind.”

Tears welled in Vera’s eyes and ran down her cheeks. “Danki, Allison. I’m glad you were there for James in his last moments, and I’m thankful you cared enough to offer that prayer on his behalf.”

Allison swallowed around the lump in her throat. She wished she could have prayed with her mother before she’d died. Deep in her heart, she felt confident that Mama had known Jesus personally and made it to heaven. She had such a sweet spirit; she had to know Jesus.

A
unt Mary, could I speak with you a minute?” Allison asked before she headed out after breakfast the following morning.

“Of course.” Aunt Mary dried her hands on a towel and turned to face Allison. “What did you wish to say?”

“I wanted you to know that I remembered my mamm’s accident.”

“You did?”

“Jah. The day I witnessed James’s accident, it all came rushing back to me.”

Aunt Mary stepped forward and gave Allison a hug. “I know it must have been painful, but I hope it helped you find some sort of closure.”

Allison nodded as tears welled in her eyes. “It brought back all the fear and sorrow I felt that day, but it also helped me remember Mama.”

“I’m glad.”

Allison smiled, despite her tears. “I want you to know how much I appreciate all you’ve been teaching me. Getting to know you and your family has given me a taste of what life would have been like for me if my mamm had lived.”

“Having you here has been good for us as well.” Aunt Mary patted Allison’s back. “We’re all pleased that you’ve decided to stay longer.”

“I just hope Papa’s okay with it. I still haven’t had a letter from him in response to my request. It makes me worry that he might say no.”

“I’m sure a letter will come soon, and then your fears will be put to rest.” Aunt Mary handed Allison a tissue. “Now dry your eyes and be on your way to town.”

“I hope the bed-and-breakfast will be willing to buy some of my dolls,” Allison said as she set her black outer bonnet in place over her white kapp.

“They’ve bought other things made by the Amish in this area, so I’m sure they’ll be interested in your dolls, as well.”

Allison smiled and scurried out the door. Thanks to Uncle Ben, she found her horse and buggy all ready to go. With a quick wave to Aunt Mary, Allison clucked to the horse and guided her buggy down the driveway. She was excited about taking some of her dolls to the bed-and-breakfast, but nervous about stopping at the harness shop to speak with Aaron. Would he be glad to see her? Would he be too busy to talk? Could they get their relationship back to where it had been before James’s accident?

Allison thought of Proverbs 18:24, which she’d read that morning:
“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”
She wanted to be
Aaron’s friend, even if she couldn’t be his girlfriend. She knew if he was grieving over James’s death, he really needed a friend.

As Allison’s horse and buggy proceeded down Highway C, she tried to focus on other things. It was a warm morning, already muggy and buzzing with insects. She’d been swatting at flies ever since she left her aunt and uncle’s place.

Allison wondered what it would be like to spend a winter in Webster County. Since the Amish who lived here only drove open buggies, they would have to bundle up in order to be protected when the weather turned cold and snowy. Even so, she longed to stay in this small Amish community, where she could be close to the family and friends she had come to care about. What if, for some reason, Papa didn’t want her to stay? What if he insisted she return to Pennsylvania at the end of summer?

Halting her negatives thoughts, Allison guided the horse to turn at the entrance of the Hiltys’ place. She stopped in front of the hitching post by the harness shop and stepped down from the buggy. It was time to see Aaron.

“I’m going up to the house to speak with your mamm, but I’ll be back soon,” Paul called to Aaron. “Is there anything I can bring you to eat or drink?”

Aaron looked up from a tub of dye and smiled. He hadn’t had a chance to apologize to his stepfather for the harsh words he’d spoken the other morning, but he would do that as soon as Paul returned to the shop. “How about a couple of Mom’s oatmeal cookies?”

“Sure, I can do that.” Paul opened the door and had just
stepped outside when Allison walked in.

“Guder mariye, Paul,” she said. “I’m on my way to Seymour and thought I’d drop by and see Aaron a few minutes. If he’s not too busy, that is.”

Paul nodded. “Aaron’s dying some leather straps, but you’re welcome to talk to him.”