Allison's Journey (7 page)

He tickled her under the chin. “I hope to see you again, Allison.”

No words would come, so Allison merely nodded and hopped down from the buggy. Then she sprinted up the driveway toward the house without looking back. Her heart pounded so hard, she feared it might explode. As she reached the porch, she heard James call to his horse, “Giddyup there, boy!”

A slight breezed swept under the eaves of the porch and pushed the mugginess away. “That was my first kiss,” she murmured.

A
llison pulled the log-cabin-patterned quilt up over her bed and straightened the pillows. She picked up her faceless doll, placed it at the foot of the bed, and took a seat. Tears gathered in her eyes as she stroked the small kapp perched on the doll’s head. Looking at it reminded her of home.

After the pleasant welcome Allison had received last Saturday, she thought she might do okay here. Yet now she found herself missing Papa, Peter, and Sally—everyone but Aunt Catherine. It was actually a relief to be out from under her aunt’s scrutinizing eyes and sharp tongue.

Allison’s thoughts shifted to the evening before and how James Esh had brought her home from the singing and then stolen a kiss. She was flattered by his attention and wondered if he’d offer to give her a ride home from the next young people’s gathering. If he did, what should her response be? Despite the
fact that she found James attractive and exciting, his boldness frightened her.

A vision of Aaron Zook flashed across Allison’s mind—brunette hair, dark eyes, square jaw, and a shy-looking smile. It seemed odd that Aaron hadn’t said more than a quick hello to her last night, since after church he’d asked if she’d be attending. Maybe he had only asked out of politeness.

Allison hadn’t seen Aaron with any young woman last night, so if he had a girlfriend, she must not have been at the gathering.

A knock on the bedroom door startled Allison, and she jumped up. “Come in.”

The door opened and Aunt Mary stepped into the room. “I was wondering if you were up yet.”

“Jah, I’m up. I was just getting ready to do up my hair.” Allison moved over to the small mirror hanging above her dresser. She picked up her comb, made a part down the middle of her hair, rolled it back on the sides, and secured it into a bun.

“Did you have fun at the young people’s gathering last night?” Aunt Mary asked. “Since I was in bed when you got home, I didn’t get the chance to ask.”

“It was okay.”

“When Harvey came downstairs this morning, he mentioned that James Esh gave you a ride home last night.”

Allison nodded. She hoped the warmth she felt on her cheeks wouldn’t let Aunt Mary know how embarrassed she felt over the kiss James had given her.

“In case you didn’t know, James hasn’t joined the church yet.” Aunt Mary’s brows furrowed. “You might watch yourself around James, because from what I’ve heard, he’s kind of wild.”

“I don’t think James is really interested in me, but I’ll be careful, Aunt Mary.”

“I hope so, dear one.” Aunt Mary moved over to the bed and picked up the faceless doll. “It looks like this poor thing is in need of repair.”

Allison set her kapp on the back of her head. “According to my daed, my mamm made it for me when I was little. I don’t remember that, but I’ve kept it because it reminds me that I had a mamm once.”

Aunt Mary patted Allison’s arm. “I’m sorry about that.” She took a seat on the edge of the bed and placed the doll in her lap. “Is there a reason this poor thing is in such bad shape?”

“I. . .I don’t know how to fix it.” Allison sighed. “I asked Aunt Catherine several times to repair the doll, but she said she wasn’t much of a seamstress and was too busy to mess with something as unimportant as a faceless doll.”

“Are you saying no one has ever taught you to sew?”

Allison nodded. “Whenever I tried on my own, I either managed to stick myself with the needle, or the thread never seemed to hold.”

“Would you like to learn to use my treadle machine?”

Allison nibbled on the inside of her cheek. Truth be told, she’d never had a desire to sew.

“We could begin by repairing your faceless doll. Then later, when we have more time, I’d be happy to show you how to make a doll from scratch.”

“Well, I—”

“I haven’t made a faceless doll for some time, since most Amish children don’t play with that kind of doll much anymore.” Aunt Mary smiled. “I think it would be fun for you to make one,
though. You might even want to sell some dolls at the farmers’ market or in one of the gift shops in Seymour.”

The thought of making some money appealed to Allison, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to learn how to sew in order to accomplish that.
Of course
, she reminded herself,
the reason Papa sent me here is so I can learn to do more womanly things. If I’m ever to find a husband, I’ll need to know how to sew, whether I like it or not
.

“Jah, okay,” she finally said. “I’d be happy if you could show me how to use the sewing machine.”

“Has the mail come yet?” Herman asked as he entered the kitchen after finishing his morning chores.

Catherine, who was sitting at the table, nodded and motioned to a stack of letters on the counter.

“Any word from Allison?”

“Not a thing.”

Herman compressed his lips. “That’s strange. I thought for sure there would be a letter from her by now.”

“Your sister-in-law is probably keeping the girl too busy to write. She’s supposed to be learning how to run a home, after all.”

Herman noticed the bitter tone in his sister’s voice. Was she jealous because Mary possessed homemaking skills she didn’t? Or could she be angry because having Allison gone meant she was stuck doing all the housework on her own?

“Is there any iced tea?” he asked.

Catherine shook her head. “I didn’t make any cold tea today.
Just some hot peppermint tea to soothe my stomach.”

“What’s wrong with your stomach? Are you feeling
grank
?”

“I don’t think I’m sick; just a bit of indigestion is all.” She shrugged. “It’s probably those greasy sausage links I ate for breakfast. Never did care much for sausage.”

“Then why’d you fix them?”

“That’s what you and Peter said you wanted this morning.”

In all the years Herman’s sister had been living with them, he had never known her to cater to anyone’s whims. Maybe she thought, with Allison gone and him missing her so much, she needed to be more agreeable.

“I’d better change out of these grubby clothes,” he said. “I hope your stomach settles down soon.”

Catherine grunted.

Herman stomped up the stairs, wondering why he’d bothered to say anything positive to Catherine. She seemed determined to spend the rest of her days finding fault and complaining about something or other.
Which is one of the reasons I sent Allison away for the summer. If I had the time, I’d take a vacation from that negative sister of mine myself!

Aaron had just finished his chores in the barn and was about to head to the harness shop, when he spotted his collie crouched in the weeds near the garden. He moved closer to see if the dog had a mouse or some other critter cornered and discovered Rufus had a kitten between his paws. “Come here and leave that poor animal alone!”

The collie released a pathetic whimper and backed away
slowly. Aaron figured the cat would take off like a flash, but it just lay there, still as could be.

“Rufus, if you killed Bessie’s kitten, she’ll have your hide. Mine, too, for letting you run free.” Aaron squatted in front of the tiny gray kitten and was relieved to see that it was still breathing. After a quick examination, he realized there were no teeth marks.

Aaron returned to the barn, placed the cat with its mother, and then tied Rufus up for the rest of the day.

When Aaron entered the harness shop a short time later, he found Paul at his workbench, assembling an enormous leather harness for a Belgian draft horse.

“How come you’re late?” Paul asked.

“I caught Rufus with one of Bessie’s kittens. I knew if I didn’t get the critter away from him quickly it would soon be dead.”

“You’d better keep that dog tied. At least until the kittens are big enough to fend for themselves.”

“He’s tied up now.”

“That’s good, because Bessie would have a conniption if something happened to one of her cats.” Paul motioned to a tub sitting off to one side. “Better get started cleaning and oiling James Esh’s saddle. He dropped it by on Friday afternoon while you were up at the house getting our lunches.”

The mention of James’s name set Aaron’s teeth on edge. He’d never liked that fellow much. Ever since they were children, James had been a showoff and a bit of a rebel. Aaron hadn’t liked the way James had looked at Allison last night at the young people’s gathering, either. He especially didn’t like seeing the two of them drive away in James’s buggy after the gathering was over.
I hope he didn’t try anything funny with Allison. If only I’d had the nerve to ask about giving her a ride myself
.

Aaron balled his fingers into tight fists.
What am I thinking? I’m not interested in a relationship with Allison. Courting leads to marriage, and I’m not getting married!

“Aaron, did you hear what I said?”

Aaron whirled around. “Huh?”

Paul pointed to the tub. “The saddle needs to be cleaned.”

“Jah, okay. I’ll see that it gets done.” Aaron set to work, but it was hard to concentrate when he kept thinking about Allison.

He shook his head in an attempt to get himself thinking straight. Why was he thinking about a woman who would be leaving in a few months—especially when he was dead set against love and marriage?
It’s probably because she took an interest in the harness shop
.

Aaron and Paul worked in silence for the rest of the morning, interrupted only by an English customer who dropped off two broken bridles and a worn-out harness that needed to be replaced. By noon, Aaron had James’s saddle finished, and he’d also done some work at the riveting machine on a new harness for Noah Hertzler.

“I think I’ll go up to the house and see if your mamm’s got lunch ready,” Paul said as he headed for the door.

“Did you plan to bring the food back, or should we close the shop and eat in Mom’s kitchen today?” Aaron asked.

“I’ll bring it back.” Paul nodded toward the finished saddle. “James Esh said he’d be here around noon, and I don’t want to miss him.” The door closed behind him, but a few minutes later it opened again.

“Came to get my saddle,” James announced as he stepped into the building. The straw hat he wore was shaped a little different than most Amish men’s in their area, and it had a
bright red band around the middle.

Anything to let everyone know he’s going through his running-around years
, Aaron thought.
I wonder if James will decide to jump the fence and go English
.

“Your saddle’s ready and waiting,” Aaron said, motioning to the workbench across the room.

James sauntered over to the saddle and leaned close, like he was scrutinizing the work Aaron had done. “Hmm. . . Guess it’ll be good enough.”

Aaron bit back an unkind retort and moved to Paul’s desk. He reached into the metal basket and handed James his bill.

James squinted at the piece of paper. “This is pretty high for just a cleaning and oiling, wouldn’t you say?”

Aaron shrugged. “I don’t set the prices. If you’ve got a problem with the price, you’d best take it up with Paul.”

“Paul, is it? Since when did you start callin’ your daed Paul?”

Aaron shrugged. He didn’t think he had to explain himself to James.

James glanced around the room. “Where is Paul, anyway?”

“He went up to the house to get our lunch. You can wait if you want to talk to him about the bill.”

“Naw, I don’t have any time to waste today.” James reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of large bills. He slapped the money down, then sauntered back to his saddle, which he easily hoisted onto his broad shoulders. He was almost to the door when he pivoted toward Aaron. “Did you know that I escorted that new girl from Pennsylvania home from the gathering last night? Allison Troyer, that’s her name.”