Anna's Healing (7 page)

Neal fetched a glass of lemonade for
Mammi
. “Wait here,” he said, and then he carried the drink back over to her. When he returned, he poured them each some and motioned toward the porch. “Want to sit for a minute? I noticed you've been working all morning.”

“I stopped for a sandwich.”

“Which you ate standing up in the booth.”

Anna squirmed uncomfortably. Had Neal been watching her that closely? She needed to nip any romantic ideas he had in the bud because a relationship was not blossoming between them.”

“I enjoyed driving you home Sunday night.”

“And I appreciate your doing so.”

“I was wondering if perhaps you'd like me to pick you up this Sunday evening. Our church service will be at the Bylers', and they'll hold the singing in their barn. Of course you could stay, but that sometimes makes for a long day. If you went home after the luncheon I could—”

Anna reached out and touched his arm. “I appreciate the offer, Neal, and I suppose I will see you at the singing…”

“But…”

“But I don't think we should go as a couple. I'm not ready for that kind of commitment yet.”

“It's only a singing.” Neal stared into his glass, as if the answers he sought might be floating among slices of lemon.

“It
is
only a singing,” Anna agreed. “And I noticed several nice young girls watching you at the last one. I wouldn't want them to think you're already taken.”

“I wouldn't mind being taken, though.”

Anna sighed and pressed her glass of lemonade against her forehead.

“Is it because I'm fat?”

“You are not fat. You're the same size I am.”

Neal smiled for the first time since they sat down. “Well, no one could ever call us skinny.”

“True, but fat is… well, you know. It's people who sit around and eat whoopie pies all day.”

“We're too busy for that.”

“Of course we are. You can't eat while you're building furniture, and I can't eat while I'm selling produce or doing whatever
Aenti
Erin has planned for me next. Say, why do you make furniture? Do you actually enjoy it?”

Neal launched into a long description of the different types of woods and what made for the best table or chair.

Finally, Anna held up her hand to stop him. “You love what you do. I can tell. You're a very fortunate person, Neal Eberly.”

“And what do you love to do?”

“I don't know.” Anna stood and handed Neal her empty glass. “I honestly do not know.”

Then she turned and headed back toward the booth, hoping and praying he was no longer watching her every move.

Mammi
was still sipping her lemonade and apparently enjoying the activity surrounding her. “You turned him down, didn't you? I could tell the moment it happened. His shoulders fell as if he'd been crushed by a gigantic weight.”

“
Danki
. That makes me feel better.”

Mammi
smiled and smacked her lips after another sip of the tart
lemonade. “Why did you do it, then? Is there something wrong with him?”

“
Nein
. Maybe there's something wrong with me,
Mammi
. Did you ever think of that?”

“You are as
Gotte
made you, Anna.”

“So why am I not interested in courting Neal Eberly? He's a perfectly nice boy with a
gut
job. He doesn't smell bad. His hair is cut nicely, and he has
wunderbaar
manners.”

“It takes more than the good manners and a nice haircut.”

“How did you know?”

Mammi
waited.

“How did you know you were in
lieb
with
Grossdaddi
?”

The next words surprised Anna as much as anything that had happened that day.

“I don't know that I was… at first. In my day girls didn't marry for love so much as for someone to be a
gut
partner through life. But by the time I had my first
boppli
? Oh, yes. I loved your
grossdaddi
by then, and though he died eleven years ago, I still do.”

Anna thought about that as families continued to fill their yard and a line developed at her booth. Loving someone for your whole life. For years and years. For decades.

She supposed her parents loved each other like that, though it had always seemed to her that they were friends more than anything else.

And her
aenti
and
onkel
?

Maybe.

It was possible that love looked entirely different from what she had imagined.

CHAPTER 8

T
hat first weekend they opened the corn maze passed in a blur.

Anna forgot about all the questions in her life and enjoyed being where she was. She didn't mind working in the booth, but her favorite thing was leading the children through the maze of corn. The small ones giggled and shrieked and ran as the corn swayed around them.

Occasionally she'd have a young girl or boy who didn't believe it was actually corn towering so high above their heads. Then she'd pick them up and pull down one of the cornstalks. Peeling back the husk, she'd point at the yellow and white kernels. “See? Corn, the same as you eat at home.”

Each time the child's eyes would brighten, and when they had completed the maze they would run to their parents proclaiming, “I saw the corn. Anna showed me.”

“Perhaps your calling is to be a teacher,” Erin suggested as they were about to begin the second weekend of the maze.

They both knew the flipside of what her
aenti
was saying—perhaps she wasn't meant to marry.

Anna didn't know about marrying, but she did know that teaching wasn't for her. “Homework and parent meetings and lesson plans? No thank you.”

Erin shook her head as they cleaned up the breakfast dishes. It was Friday morning, and the crowds would be arriving by noon.

“Did you always want to be married? To be a housewife?”

“
Ya.
Why wouldn't I?”

“I don't know. I just wondered.”

Erin was always reticent, never answering more than she had been asked. But on this one occasion she looked directly at Anna and said, “I love your
onkel
, you know.”

There was something in her gaze—a deep hurt and a fierce honesty that brought tears to Anna's eyes.

Why had she asked?

Why did she pry?

She mumbled, “Of course you do,” and hurried outside.

The cars and buggies began arriving after lunch. There was less setup to do than there had been the week before, and things moved along smoothly. The day flew by, and soon Anna was busy once again leading groups of children through the maze. On the return of one such trip, she was surprised to see a familiar face waiting for her at the booth.

Chloe smiled and waved. When she did, the silver bracelets she wore jangled and reflected the bright fall sunshine. As before, she wore a pair of Western jeans and boots, and this time a short-sleeved, snap button Western shirt made of a brown, paisley material. Her black curls bounced as she wove her way over to where Anna stood.

“Hi. I was hoping to see you today.”

“Well, you certainly looked in the right place. Are you here to write another article?”

Chloe hitched her purse over her shoulder. “Maybe. Or I might be here simply to enjoy the afternoon.”

“There's plenty of food and a booth with drinks too.”

“Can you take off for a moment? I'd love to buy you a coffee or…”

“Apple cider would be
gut
.”

The bishop's wife, Mary Beth, was manning the produce stand. “Go on, Anna,” she said. “You've barely taken a break since the day started.”

Chloe purchased two cups of cider at the refreshment booth and then they settled under the large cottonwood tree near the front porch. Someone had set up benches there which were about half filled with
parents waiting for their children. It was interesting to see so many
Englischers
on her
onkel
's property. Everyone looked as if they were enjoying the day.

“I read your article.”

“Did you? I thought you only read the
Budget
.”

“Personally, I read anything I can get my hands on. In this case Rebecca Byler—”

“She runs the dry goods store, right?”

“
Ya
. She saved me a copy of your paper, thinking I'd like to see the article.”

“And it met with your approval?” Chloe grinned impishly.

“Oh, it did. You write very well, and I liked how you presented the different opinions.”

“Well, it's true that not everyone is happy with the increase in Amish businesses, but I have a feeling the big farmers—the Leo Stuebners of the world—will do fine in spite of a few Amish roadside booths.”

“I wouldn't think our small produce stand is a threat to any business.”

They sipped their cider and sat watching the coming and going of families. Anna was surprised at how comfortable she felt with Chloe. She'd never had an
Englisch
friend before, not that they were friends exactly. Maybe it was because they were both women, both older than twenty-two, and both unmarried. She supposed Chloe was not married but snuck a glance at her left hand to be sure.

Nope. No ring.

“Say, Anna. I'd like to do a piece on the women in your community who make quilts for sale. Do you know anyone like that?”

“Sure. Many of our women quilt for extra money. It helps supplement their family income—one of those cottage industries you spoke about.”

“Would you be interested in going with me to see them? I have a feeling they might be more willing to talk with me if you were there.”

Anna thought about it. She hadn't been off the farm for anything other than services at church, a few singings, and the occasional visit to the dry goods store. Her
aenti
had reminded her the night before that
if she wanted time off she could have it. Anna was quite sure that Erin was hoping the time off would be for a romantic date, but some girlfriend time sounded better to her.

“I'll need to check with my
onkel
first, but I think I'd like that.”

So they set a day and hour for the next week, and Anna promised to call her from the phone shack if she couldn't make it.

Anna returned to her booth to work. Occasionally she'd glance up and see Chloe speaking with a family or examining some of the items for sale. She noticed, for the first time, that the reporter had not brought her camera with her. No doubt pictures would be good for her newspaper articles, but the fact that she knew it would make people uncomfortable and chose not to bring it said a lot about the woman.

The rest of the day passed quickly. By the time she closed the booth for the evening, Anna had decided she would go with Chloe on her quest to find Amish quilts. Surely her
onkel
wouldn't forbid her to do so. Tuesdays were usually quiet days—Mondays being taken up with laundry and Wednesdays with baking. She'd go Tuesday, ride in the little blue car, and enjoy a day traveling around their district.

The thought brought a smile to her face, and soon she was humming as she made her way once again into her
onkel
's house.

CHAPTER 9

J
acob had found work right after he had exited the bus in Yoder, Kansas. He'd stopped by the men's room to splash his face with water. Then, stepping out onto the main street, a buggy pulled past him, stopped, and waited. When he walked up beside it, a middle-aged Amish man slid open the side window. The man had a gray beard, bright blue eyes, and looked to be between forty and fifty.

“New in town?”

“
Ya
. Just off the bus.”

The man took a moment to size him up. Finally he said, “Name's Saul Yoder.”

At the look of surprise on Jacob's face, he grinned. “
Ya
. I know. The town is Yoder and my name is Yoder. There are a lot of Yoders in these parts, and most of us are kin to the original founder.”

Jacob laughed. “Nice to meet you, Saul. I step off the bus and am greeted by a town celebrity. What are the odds?”

“Hardly a celebrity, and the meeting isn't happenchance. One of my workers had a family emergency and needed to go back to Indiana. I dropped him off where the bus picks up, the store you just came from. Too much coming and going if you ask me, but I never was one for travel.” He shrugged and added, “I'm bringing in my sorghum crop and could use some help.”