Ella's Wish (22 page)

Surely I can. This is for a customer, a person who paid me money—money I can hold in my hand and money to deposit in the bank in Randolph, I am on my way. I really can do this! Best of all
, Da Hah
approves. Why else would He bless my efforts so quickly?

“Who was that?” Mary asked, pulling on her dress sleeve.

“A nice lady who just bought the first quilt I’ll have to make.”

“She smiled at me,” Mary said, seeming pleased. Beside her Sarah smiled as she watched her sister’s every move.

Across the room the baby wailed, and Ella rushed over to pick her up. She grabbed the bottle on the table, and the baby quickly nestled against her, emitting the happy sounds of satisfied slurps.

“Just think,” Ella said out loud, “I just sold a quilt.”

From outside, the sound of disturbed gravel came again. But this time it clearly wasn’t from
Englisha
car tires. A horse and buggy had pulled in.

“Visitors again,” Ella said, but Mary was busy on the floor, her attention on her game with Sarah. They piled wooden blocks so high that the last one teetered on the edge and balanced by the merest chance against the pull of gravity.

“Don’t touch,” Mary said to Sarah as Ella went to the basement window again. She saw both Dora and Clara coming up the sidewalk and jerked open the basement door. Baby Barbara was still in her arms, but the bottle was left behind on the kitchen table.

“You have come to visit?” she hollered. “What about your choring?”

“Look at you,” Dora said, ignoring Ella’s question. “You look like a mother, I do declare, but then you always did.”

Ella pretended to groan but actually took delight in Dora’s comment. “And you, Clara, I’m so glad you could come.”

“We can’t stay for long,” Clara said. “Mamm consented to let us come, but we have to get back and do our work.”

“I think Mamm let us come so we could check up on you,” Dora said. “She pretends like she doesn’t worry about you, but I think she does.”

“Oh, that’s just Mamm. It’s not been that long yet,” Ella said. “Do come in. Come see my little quilt shop. And can you believe it? I just made my first sale!”

Twenty-eight

“
W
hat sold?” Clara asked, glancing around. She saw the quilt hanging against the wall. “You sold
that
one? You sold your weddin’ quilt?”

“No, of course not,” Ella said quickly, “but it was one just like it, only with reds and golds in it. The woman will wait till it’s made, and then I’ll ship it to her. Isn’t that something?”

Dora eyed Ella and said, “For someone who is having troubles, you’re doing awfully fine.”

“It’s not quite like it seems,” Ella said with a weary smile creeping across her face. “Do you really want my troubles? Do you want to trade places with me?”

“No, she doesn’t,” Clara said. “Besides, she has good news.” Then Clara realized it was news she had only overheard between Dora and Mamm. “I think it was something I wasn’t supposed to hear,” she said apologetically to Dora.

“You are the naughty one!” Dora said. “I see it’s best not to speak of any news at our house, what with all the people who hear it.”

“Then why’d you tell Mamm?” Clara said, sticking up for herself.

“What is it?” Ella asked. “And don’t be so gloomy. Clara said it’s good news.”

Dora’s face lit up. “Well, Norman talked to me after the singin’ Sunday night, and I told him yes—that I’d accept his offer.”

“She actually did say that,” Clara said, confirming her sister. “I heard her tell Mamm. Can you imagine that? I would have taken him right away, the first time he asked.”

“Oh, what do you know about boys?” Dora said. “See, us grownups know better. You shouldn’t act too eager in front of a boy, especially if he acts nice to you.”

“If he’s nice, then what’s wrong with that?” Clara asked.

Ella laughed. “Isn’t your plan a little risky, Dora? What if he didn’t come back and ask again?”

“I only took two weeks,” Dora said. “I think it was about the right amount of time to keep him waiting.”

“That’s not bad, I guess,” Ella said, picking up Sarah, who was pulling on her dress with both hands. Ella sat down with two girls in her arms now. “You do have good sense, I know, and I trust the way you handle Norman.”

“See there?” Dora said, turning her nose in Clara’s direction.

Clara glared back.

“You two aren’t getting on well since I’m not there to straighten you out, are you?” Ella asked.

“I don’t know about Clara, but the house just isn’t the same,” Dora said.

“Yah, and Dora’s too bossy,” Clara added. “She thinks she has to run things.”

“Someone has to,” Dora said. “It’s not like you’re old enough yet.”

Ella laughed again. “So when do you have to be back home? I’d keep you here all day and night if I could.”

“Just after twelve,” Dora said, taking Sarah from Ella’s arm. “Now tell us what we can do. We didn’t come over just to argue with each other.”

“Yah, we can do that at home,” Clara said with an impish smile.

Ella thought a moment. “Well, you can help me move upstairs. I thought I’d have to wait till Joe and Ronda arrived, but as long as you’re here, we might as well do it now. Ronda stopped by yesterday and made the final plans. They are coming for sure. She offered to help then, but this would be even better.”

“Then busy we’ll be,” Dora said. “Just point the way.”

“My bed first,” Ella said, making sure Mary followed them up the stairs, the baby still in her other arm. “Strip off the covers while I get Barbara settled on the blanket. Then we’ll heave together.”

“This was easier when Eli and Monroe helped,” Dora said as she and Ella wrestled the mattress on the stairs.

“That’s why I thought it might be better to wait for Joe.”

“We can do this,” Dora said, pushing harder and grunting. “Maybe we need Clara’s help. I think the girls can watch themselves for a moment.”

Ella shook her head and then made a sudden rush for the top of the stairs, pushing the mattress for all she was worth. Dora did her part as best she could, and the two girls collapsed against the upstairs wall and laughed heartily.

“See? We did it!” Dora said. “Now if we could just fix some other problems this easily.”

“Other problems?” Ella asked.
What don’t I know about?

“Eli saw the
Englisha
girl again,” Dora whispered.

“No.”

Dora nodded. “I haven’t told anyone. Not even Mamm.”

“But you must,” Ella said. “That was our mistake last time. Mamm and Daett have to be told. That is, if you’re really sure. Are you?”

“Well, I didn’t see them together. But, yes, I just know.”

“Then you really must tell. Today. Right away when you get home.”

“What will this do for you and the bishop?”

“It’s Eli I’m concerned about,” Ella said, not thinking too long.

“Perhaps you should think about yourself for a change. You can’t lose him, Ella, and you know the bishop won’t like this.”

Ella stood still, remembering the words he spoke to her,
I see more and more why
Da Hah
had me wait. I have never met a woman among our people I can value more
. Red crept up her neck.

“Have you already promised him?” Dora asked, gripping Ella’s hand. The mattress leaned against the wall, forgotten. “Oh, I can’t believe this! You really are going to marry the bishop.”

Ella shook her head.

“Ach, please don’t say so. If you’re already promised, then this wouldn’t mean anything. The bishop wouldn’t go back on his word.”

“It’s Eli we should be concerned about,” Ella said, finding her voice. The bishop’s words still rang loudly in her mind.
Did he really mean them, or were they just words? Is his love real?
Her stomach ached. Aden was the only man she ever asked such a question of. The tears began to form.

“So, you
do
care for the bishop. I never would have thought it from how you were actin’ earlier. But, Ella, oh I’m so glad for you, even if you’re not promised to him yet. He’ll ask you soon enough. He’s a
gut
man, and we really must keep Eli’s actions secret—at least until the bishop asks. Do tell him, Ella. Let him see that you care for him, like you are showing it right now.”

Ella shook her head, but Dora was looking out the window with a gleam in her eyes.

“Eli will help out with this. I know he will. He’s as interested as we are in keepin’ this a hush. He’ll not spill the beans. He won’t if I don’t tell on him. The bishop thinks the problem’s solved, and Mamm and Daett do too.”

“No, I can’t,” Ella said, mouthing the words carefully.

“But you
must
. For once, think of yourself. You can’t just lose the bishop like that. He’s much too great a catch.”

“I don’t want the bishop, at least not for those reasons.” Ella said.

Dora turned to face her sister, her hands on her hips. “For once I have to tell you what is right. Ella, this is right. Eli’s problems stay Eli’s problems. It’s not right that he affect your life. This is too important. You’ll never find another man as right for you as the bishop.”

“I had Aden,” she said. The words came out as a cry and were accompanied by the tears on her cheeks.

Dora relented. “Your heart must be pure gold, Ella. If I had a chance like this, I’d take it, no questions asked. It’s all that simple to me. I’d tell Eli to keep his
Englisha
girl hidden until after the weddin’ or else. And he would too, believe me. But then I’m not you. I guess that’s why I get a boyfriend like Norman, and you get the bishop.”

“Would you quit it?” Ella said. “It’s not like that. I can’t explain everything, but it’s complicated.”
Should I explain further and tell Dora about the dreams? But the words seem so distant, impossible to find at the moment, as if saying them makes less sense than silence
.

She turned from Dora and looked out the window. “Just give me a minute,” Ella whispered.

She looked into the distance and then to the road. For a moment she could almost see Aden in his buggy—driving down the road, holding the lines taut in his hands, smiling that joyful smile he always gave her—but the seat beside him was empty. She opened her mouth to call out to him. That seat beside him was meant for her. She belonged with him. How many times had she sat there, felt the strength in those arms simply because they were near, and sensed the depth of his love for her, his desire that she be with him.
Aden, wait for me!
She was uncertain whether she whispered the words out loud or not and didn’t care.

The buggy turned the corner, the horse’s legs made long, even strides, and Aden’s smile only widened. But now the smile wasn’t turned toward the empty seat beside him. It was turned up to the sky, as if he saw a great thing above him, a sight that drew him with great fascination. Never had she seen such delight on his face, and then he was gone. Just like that, she was back in the room with Dora. The mattress was still leaning against the wall.

“I loved him so much,” she whispered.

Dora met her eyes and then gave her a hug. “I understand.”

“I thought I just saw him,” Ella whispered. “He was driving his buggy, but I wasn’t with him. You should have seen the look on his face. His eyes were on the sky, Dora.”

“The angel took him,” Dora whispered. “Remember,
Da Hah
does what He wishes. But you must not scorn the gift He has left you in the bishop, Ella. You really mustn’t.”

“I won’t hide things from the bishop,” Ella said, determined. “I won’t hide something like Eli’s actions from him.”

“Whatever you say,” Dora sighed. “That’s the way you are, I guess. I just wish I was half as good as you are.”

“You shouldn’t say that, and it’s very prideful and not true. I’m just a girl like all the others.”

“Whatever you say, Ella. At least I tried,” Dora said. “Now let’s get the rest of these things upstairs before Clara thinks something happened to us.”

They pushed the mattress into the bedroom and set it on the frame. Together they walked downstairs where Clara was waiting with a questioning look on her face. Ella wondered if she should try to explain about her tears and red face.
Should I say the words, “I’m to be the bishop’s wife, and Eli is being naughty again”? How can I explain such things to a younger sister?

Dora took the lead and said, “It’s just grownup stuff.”

“I figured,” Clara said. “That’s what I thought when the two of you didn’t come down for so long. Dora’s telling her secrets there, where I can’t hear them.”

“Let’s just hope you don’t have to go through the sorts of things that must be spoken of in the shadows,” Ella said, laying her hand on Clara’s shoulder. “Aden’s passin’ still hurts me.”

“Oh,” Clara said, “I see. I guess I should mind my own business. Anyway, the baby’s fussin’.”

“I’ll fix a bottle,” Ella said, bending over to give Clara a hug.

“We have to go soon,” Dora said, glancing at the clock.

“Then we’ll eat first.” Ella decided that on the spot and immediately started fixing sandwiches while Dora carried small items upstairs. They sat down to eat together but first bowed their heads in silent prayer.