The Amish Bride (8 page)

They returned to the table, and Ellen took an empty seat between Charley and Wesley King, the eighteen-year-old brother of the King twins. Charley pulled out his chair then backed away. Ellen’s eyes widened in surprise as Micah slid into the seat, taking Charley’s place. Laughing, Charley circled the table and sat across from his wife. As he sat down, he and Micah exchanged looks and both grinned. Ellen was sure that it had been a setup.

“Nice supper.” Micah’s eyes twinkled with mischief.

“Jah,”
Ellen said. “And excellent company.” She couldn’t help smiling back at him. She’d been had, but now that he was here, seated close enough for his trouser legs to brush her skirt, it wasn’t so bad. In fact, she decided, not unpleasant at all. When had being with Micah not been entertaining? Between him and Charley, they soon had the whole end of the table laughing at their jokes and stories.

Charley was relating an amusing incident about a neighbor’s goats when Micah leaned close to her. “Would you ride home with me, Ellen? After the supper?”

“I have to be up early in the morning,” she hedged. She wasn’t ready to agree to a long buggy ride that might end with Micah wanting to come in and stay until midnight.

“Straight home,” he promised. She noticed that Micah was dressed in his good church pants, a crisp white shirt and a vest, not in the clean working clothes that most of the men were wearing. He was wearing his courting clothes.

She felt a flush of excitement. “I rode with my parents.”

Micah poured water into her half-empty glass. “Your
dat
won’t mind. I’ll tell him that you’re with me, so he won’t worry.”

“All right,” she agreed. It had been years since she’d ridden home from a frolic or a supper with a young man, and she couldn’t resist.

Micah raised his glass of iced tea and clinked it against a grinning Charley’s lifted one. “I told you she would.”

“Would what?”

There was no mistaking that deep voice. Ellen turned to where Wayne King had been seated a moment ago, and there was Neziah, slipping into his place. The King boy was nowhere in sight. Ellen shook her head in disbelief.

“Evening, Ellen,” Neziah said.

“Hello, Neziah.” She smiled at him, surprised by his boldness. “Have you met Miriam and Charley Byler?”

Charley stood and offered his hand across the table to Neziah, and by the time introductions were complete, the three men were talking, and Ellen was able to eat her supper. The food was good, but the dessert would be even better, and she hadn’t taken a large portion of the main course because she wanted to leave room for peach cobbler and hand-cranked ice cream.

Neziah didn’t speak directly to her until she and Miriam rose to start clearing away the empty plates. He laid a big hand on her wrist. “The boys and I were wondering if you’d like to ride home with us?”

Ellen felt her face grow warm. “I can’t. I promised Micah—”

“Too late, big brother,” Micah interrupted, leaning forward. “You’re going to have to be faster than that. I’m taking Ellen home.”

Ellen stepped away from the table and glanced at Neziah. “I’m sorry,” she said. “He asked me first.”

“Sure,” Neziah said.

Micah leaned over again and this time slapped his brother on the back. “Cheer up. Tomorrow’s another day.”

Gathering a stack of plates, Ellen started toward the schoolhouse. Miriam kept pace with her. “I hope Charley didn’t do anything wrong, giving up his chair to Micah. I think he just assumed that you and Micah were walking out together.”

Ellen looked at Miriam. She liked her, but she didn’t really know her, and it would be difficult to explain the situation to a stranger. “It’s complicated,” she admitted. “Micah
has
asked me to walk out with him, but...” She took a deep breath. “But so has his brother, Neziah.”

“Ah, his
brother
,” Miriam said. It was growing dark, but Ellen could make out the young woman’s thoughtful expression. “And how do you feel about that?”

“I don’t know.” Ellen grimaced. “I’ve known them both all my life, and they’re both good men. Either one would make a good husband.”

Miriam made a sympathetic sound. “I understand completely. Before Charley and I started seriously courting, there was someone else, a man I had great respect, even affection for. I spent a lot of time worrying over my choosing between them. Both had good qualities to be a husband, but they were different in many ways.”

“How did you decide?” Ellen asked, moving closer to her new friend.

“It wasn’t easy. I spent a lot of time praying. I knew that God had a plan for me.”

Ellen nodded. “I know He does for all of us. But sometimes it’s difficult to know what God is saying to us, and what’s our own will.”

“Jah,”
Miriam agreed. “What’s important is that you take your time, and not be influenced by what others—even your own family—want for you. You have to think carefully, consider what each of you has in common.” She smiled warmly. “And you have to follow your heart.”

Other women approached, arms filled with dishes and silverware. “We best get these dirty things into the dishpans,” Ellen said. “They’ll be putting out dessert.”

“Can I help with the washing up?” Miriam offered.

“
Nay.
The boys’ youth group has volunteered for cleanup tonight.”

Miriam followed her inside. The school kitchen had no electricity and no dishwashing machines, but it did have two double sinks, two large gas ranges, a propane-powered refrigerator and lots of counter space for preparing food. A long table with a butcher-block top ran down the center of the spacious room. Tubs of vanilla ice cream, pies, cakes, cookies and cobblers stood there ready to be dished up and carried outside.

Saloma came in with a huge smile on her face. “Abram sat with me,” she whispered to Ellen. “And he asked to take me home.” She elbowed her teasingly. “I saw you sitting between Neziah and Micah. Which one do you like?”

Ellen shrugged. “Maybe neither of them.”

“But it’s a
goot
start, isn’t it, Miriam?” Saloma said. “First you talk, and then you see if you are attracted to each other. Ellen lives next door to the Shetlers. Pretty convenient, if you ask me.” She giggled, reached for a tray and began to arrange paper plates on it.

Ellen cut slices from a coconut cake and slid them onto plates. “How are you serving the ice cream?” she asked Dinah.

“Some of the men have brought tubs of ice. We’ll put the ice cream in those and dip it out as people come through the line,” Dinah answered. “If you would just carry those trays of pie and cake, it would be a big help.”

Ellen and Miriam were caught up in the serving and didn’t get another chance to continue their conversation. Instead, with Saloma’s help, they carried trays of desserts to some of the elders. Ellen found her father and told him that she had a ride home with Micah.

He beamed and patted her arm. “Take your time,” he said. “No need to hurry home. A nice night for a buggy ride.”

“We’re coming
straight
home,” she said.

Simeon joined them, Asa trailing him. “Micah tells me that he’s taking you home,” he said cheerfully. “Glad to hear it.”

“I want ice cream,” Asa said.

Simeon laughed. “All right, if your brother hasn’t eaten it all. Joel already had two slices of cake with ice cream.”

“Boys are always hungry,” Ellen’s mother said. “I love to see a boy with a
goot
appetite.”

Ellen was just going when Charley came up with his sleeping son. “I think we’d better get this one home to bed,” he said.

Miriam said her goodbyes and hugged Ellen. “We’re going home in the morning,” she said. “I wish we’d had more time to spend together. You must come and visit us in Delaware. My
mam
has a big house, and there’s always room for visitors. Bring your parents, too.”

“I’d like that,” Ellen said, “but the shop keeps me pretty busy.”

“You should take time off once in a while,” Miriam insisted. “Come whenever you like. The invitation is always open.” She took her little boy from Charley. “As much as I want to get home to my family, it’s hard leaving so many new friends.” She and Charley walked away.

Soon everyone was leaving. The teenagers were folding chairs and benches, and the last of the guests were finishing their desserts. The evening had been a success, and Ellen expected that the widows’ group had raised a record amount of money for the Blauch child. Pulling together was one of the greatest strengths of an Amish community, and Ellen couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Not everyone in Honeysuckle was well-off financially, but they were all rich in friends, a shared faith that never failed them, the warmth of family and a true sense of belonging.

“Ellen?” Micah stood behind her in the gathering darkness. “Are you ready to leave?”

She glanced around. There seemed to be nothing more that she was needed to do.
“Jah,”
she said softly. There was something solid in Micah that she admired. For all his teasing and lightheartedness, she felt that he really cared for her.

“You’re not angry with me for trading seats with Charley?”

“Nay.”
She shook her head. “I don’t mind.”

“Good. We’d better be off. Samson’s getting restless.” He led the way to his buggy.

Ellen’s heart beat a little faster. She felt a small shiver of excitement as Micah helped her up into the buggy. She sat up straight on the bench seat and smoothed out her skirt as Micah unhitched the horse and came around to get in on his side. He gathered up the reins and clicked to Samson. “Walk on.”

Micah guided the horse into a line of other buggies that were exiting the schoolhouse lane. “You look awfully pretty tonight, Ellen,” he said.

“Jah,”
came Neziah’s agreement from the back of the carriage. “Very pretty.”

“Neziah?” Ellen and Micah both exclaimed together.

“What are you doing here?” Micah demanded over his shoulder.

“Just riding home, same as you.” Neziah leaned forward so he was almost between Micah and Ellen. “You don’t mind, do you, Ellen?
Dat
took the boys with him, and I thought I’d just keep you and my little brother company.”

Ellen couldn’t help but laugh, and soon both brothers were laughing with her. And the ride home that she’d been both anticipating and dreading at the same time turned out to be more fun than she’d expected.

Chapter Seven

“W
hat did you say?” Ellen raised her voice, hoping Saloma could hear her amid the hubbub around them. It was midmorning on Saturday, and they were standing in a line of eager visitors waiting for seats on
Storm Runner
, a popular roller coaster at Hershey Park. To be heard above the crowd, they had to compete with the metallic reverberations of the rides and the excited conversations of the multitude of visitors who’d come, as they had, to enjoy a day at the amusement park.

“I said, we should go eat after the ride.” Saloma moved closer to Ellen. “I’m starving.” She took a sip of her oversize soda pop and passed it to her sister Irene.

Two of Saloma’s single sisters had come with them, making five girls, including herself and newlywed Susan Brenneman. Susan’s husband, Ivan, Saloma’s date, Abram, and Micah made up the rest of their party. As a married couple, Susan and Ivan were considered proper chaperones for a Saturday’s outing to the amusement park, even though they were younger than Ellen and Micah.

Micah touched Ellen’s elbow. “Move up,” he urged her. “We’ll be next.” Being Micah, he’d been the one to arrange the trip. Usually everyone in the party would chip in to hire a van and driver, but today it was Micah and Abram’s treat. They’d left home early, and because Hershey Park was less than an hour away from Honeysuckle, the group had arrived just as the gates opened.

The amusement park was the last place Ellen had expected to spend her Saturday, and she’d been uncertain if it was responsible to take off work and accept Micah’s last-minute invitation. Saloma had mentioned at the haystack supper that she, Verna and Irene were going today with some friends to celebrate Verna’s upcoming birthday. She hadn’t said anything about Abram or Micah being part of the group.

Micah had surprised Ellen with an invitation Friday when he stopped by her shop. Since Micah was as persuasive as his father, it was difficult to refuse him, once he’d seized on a plan. The truth was, she had a secret passion for Hershey Park, and she loved the rides, the faster and more thrilling, the better.

“You’d never get Neziah on this,” Micah said when the smiling attendant waved them forward. “He gets nauseated on roller coasters.”

Ellen shrugged as she allowed Micah to help her into the car. What Micah said was true, but she didn’t want to be critical of his brother. Neziah had brought her to Hershey Park when they were walking out together because she’d wanted to come. Because Neziah didn’t like the wild rides, though, Ellen had spent most of the day with his little brother, Micah. “Not everyone likes extreme rides,” she said. “Nothing wrong with that.”

He grinned at her. “It’s something we have in common, loving the thrill. And when it comes to roller coasters, you’re crazier than I am. You must have nerves of steel.”

Ellen chuckled. “Maybe it’s just a lack of good sense.”

The attendant ushered Verna and Irene and the Brennemans into the seats behind them, but Saloma and Abram had to wait for the next ride. Ellen gripped the over-the-shoulder restraint as the coaster slid away from the boarding station and came to a stop on the track. She’d taken the precaution of knotting her bonnet strings tightly to keep her head covering from blowing off.

She heard the recorded sound of a heartbeat, then a voice from the loudspeaker said, “Get ready, here we go!”

The coaster rocketed forward, and Ellen felt a rush of excitement. Verna and Irene screamed. Their screams mingled with those of other riders, but Ellen only laughed with delight and prepared herself for the first inversion. The ride looped and dipped, flying faster than she’d ever gone on wheels, and was so exhilarating that she wished it would go on forever.

All too soon the coaster finished the last twist and plunge, and the ride was over. The group from Honeysuckle climbed out of the cars, ignoring several tourists who stared at them. “Must be from the city,” Micah commented. He tugged his straw hat on and followed Ellen down the walk to wait for Saloma and Abram, whose car had just launched.

“I think Ellen and I will go on by ourselves for a while. Unless you girls want to dare the Skyrush?” Micah offered.

Ellen glanced at him. Leaving the group wasn’t exactly following the unwritten rules of a date, but they were in a public place so she didn’t see the harm.

Irene giggled. “That was enough for me. When Saloma gets off, we want some cotton candy.”

“How about if we meet up for lunch at that place that has the good pizza?” Ivan pulled a small black cell phone from his pants pocket. “Call if you need us. Have fun.”

“Call?” Ellen looked at Micah. “You have a cell phone?”

“Just a little one,” Micah admitted sheepishly as he tapped his pocket.

“Oh, look!” Irene pointed. The roller coaster had just made its first inverted loop and a man’s straw hat went spinning off to sail through the air and finally land in the grass at the base of one of the
Storm Runner
’s massive supports.

Micah laughed. “That looks like Abram’s hat.”

“How can you tell?” Irene joked and shaded her eyes with a hand to peer at the Amish hat, a small tan object against the green of the close-cropped lawn.

Micah laughed and turned to the group. “Sure none of you want to come with us?” There were no takers, so he and Ellen walked away in the direction of the Skyrush.

“There’s a dolphin show,” Ellen said, keeping pace beside him. “Would you like to see what time the performances are? After we ride Skyrush?”

“If you want,” he said without much enthusiasm. “Thirsty?” He stopped and pointed to a refreshment stand. “They have good lemonade.”

“Jah, danki.”
Micah bought the drinks, and the two found a shady spot to sit and watch the passersby. “It was nice of you to ask me here today,” she said.

The last-minute invitation had caused her to suspect that Micah might have had another girl in mind when he made the plans for the excursion, but she wouldn’t mention that. She supposed that Simeon’s plan had surprised Micah as much as it had her. Sunday past, her life had been set in a pattern, and now... Ellen sighed with pleasure. She didn’t like to be pushed or pulled into anything, but now that she’d had a chance to get used to the idea, she could see all sorts of exciting possibilities. Maybe Simeon was right. Maybe God had spoken to him, and maybe this was exactly what He had planned for her all along.

Micah favored her with a broad smile, and she felt her stomach knot.

“So you’re having a good time?” he asked.

She nodded. “I am. I love Hershey Park. It’s such a nice family place.”

He removed his hat, brushed his hair back out of his eyes and rested the hat on his knee. “Did you mind coming away from the others?”

“Nay,”
she answered. “I wouldn’t have come if I did.”

“I suppose you wouldn’t.” He spun the hat slowly in a circle, and Ellen suspected that he was trying to summon the nerve to tell her something.

As she waited, she thought to herself how handsome Micah looked, with his blond hair and brilliant blue eyes. His short-sleeve shirt was lavender, his trousers blue denim and suspenders black leather. She noticed other women looking at him, and it pleased her that she wasn’t the only one to find him attractive.
I could be his wife
, she thought.
I have only to say
jah
, and in a few months the deacon will cry banns for us.
But was it what she wanted? Maybe it was exactly what she’d been waiting for. Maybe Micah Shetler was the man she’d been waiting for all her life.

“Ellen...” He hesitated, and his Adam’s apple moved beneath the skin of his tanned throat. “I started the classes...with Bishop Andy. For baptism.” He glanced up and smiled sheepishly. “He said it was high time.”

“And you feel right with your decision?”

Baptism in the Amish faith was a huge step, not to be taken lightly or irreverently. Giving your word before God and the church community meant that you were accepting the Amish lifestyle for the rest of your life. Like marriage, such a decision was final. It was a great responsibility. She had wanted to be baptized since she was fifteen, but her parents had urged her to wait until she was twenty and certain. In the years since she’d pledged her faith, she’d never wavered. Accepting God’s word and trying to live as He instructed had been and was her greatest joy. She couldn’t imagine any other path but this narrow and steep one.

“It feels right,” Micah said soberly. “Like coming home after a hard day’s work, or watching the sun come up after a stormy night.”

“I’m happy for you,” she said and meant it.

“I want you to know that I’m serious about settling down,” he went on with continued sincerity. “I want you for my wife. We’ll be happy together, I promise you.” He glanced around, his sweeping gesture taking in the whole amusement park. “If you accept my proposal, I’ll buy us season tickets and bring you to Hershey whenever you like.”

She laughed. “But it wouldn’t be so special, if we came all the time. Part of the fun is
thinking
about coming. And when we’re married,
if
we’re married,” she corrected, “we’ll be too busy to take many days off. We’ll have to be responsible members of the church community and set a good example for the younger folk.”

“I thought we were doing that already, or, at least, you were.” His twinkling eyes grew serious. “So let’s be done with this. Will you marry me, Ellen?”

“We’re not even courting yet,” she admonished teasingly. When he didn’t laugh, she went on. “I’m considering it, Micah. I am,” she told him, “but this has all been so sudden. It’s a lot to consider. The whole idea only came up a few days ago.”

“It’s not been just days. You’ve known me for a lifetime. It might be too soon if we’d just been introduced, but you already know all my faults and my good qualities.”

She smiled at him. “And you know mine, as well—the faults, anyway.”

He nodded, as if considering. “Bossy, outspoken, stubborn.”

She knew he was teasing, trying to get a rise out of her. “You must be pretty desperate to think of marrying such a terrible woman.”

He stroked his clean-shaven chin. “How do you think I’ll look with a beard?”

“We were discussing my faults.”

“Were we? How could that be when you don’t have any? You’re smart, pretty, hardworking and my father approves of you. What more could I ask for?” He made a wry face. “And you didn’t answer my question. I’ll be even better-looking when I let my beard grow in, won’t I?”

She chuckled. “I don’t know. I suppose it will be all right if it doesn’t come in sparse like Marvin’s.” Marvin Smucker, a young man who worked in Simeon’s sawmill, was so fair that his hair looked white, and when he’d married, his beard had grown in sparse and stringy.

Micah groaned. “Don’t wish that on me. My brother has a fine growth on his face. Why wouldn’t my beard be equally fine?”

“Because Neziah has had to shave every day since he was sixteen, and you...” She tried not to laugh. “Not so much.”

He put his hat on and pushed it back at a rakish angle. “How would you know when I started shaving?”

“Well, didn’t you just say we’ve known each other all our lives?” She raised her cup to finish her lemonade. “Shall we tackle that Skyrush line?”

“Absolutely.” Micah took the empty cups and deposited them in a trash container. “And then I suppose I’ll have to go with you and watch those fish do tricks.”

“They aren’t fish,” she said, “they’re dolphins, and watching them perform would be very educational.”

“If you say so. But to me, they’re just big fish.”

They rode Skyrush twice before meeting the others for lunch. Ellen had checked the time for the next dolphin show, and they all went together. The performance was a big hit, so much so that even Micah had to admit that for fish, the dolphins were pretty clever. They rode the Ferris wheel, and then another roller coaster called Fahrenheit. It was thrilling, but Ellen had to agree with Micah that the newer Skyrush was the best one. At his insistence, they rode
Skyrush
one last time before leaving the park around five, and then stopped at a family-style restaurant for supper before heading home.

The van stopped at the end of her lane, Ellen said her goodbyes to her friends and thanked the driver.

Micah got out with her. “Mind if I come up a while and sit on the porch with you?” He asked.

She smiled at him. “I’d like that.” She waited while he spoke to the driver and paid him from his wallet. Then he joined her again.

He reached for her hand, and she let him enfold it in his. His fingers tightened around hers. Together they walked up the lane. It was the soft time between dusk and dark, and the air was filled with the chirp of crickets and the croaking of frogs. The chickens had gone to roost, and the horse was settled in his stall for the night.

“I had a really good time today,” she murmured. “Thank you for asking me.” She felt a little breathless, and wondered if the sensation was from the walk up the steep driveway, or from the warmth of Micah’s hand.

“Ellen!” Her mother called to her from her rocker on the porch. “
Vadder. Vadder!
Our girl is back from...back from the singing. Did you youngsters have a good time?”

Ellen’s father came out the door. He went to her mother’s chair and placed an affectionate hand on her shoulder. “The amusement park,
Mutter
. Ellen went to Hershey today with—”

“Neziah!” her mother supplied. “I knew that. Just the wrong words popped in my head. Come sit with us. Did you bring the boys? I do love little boys.”

“Mam,”
Ellen said gently. “Micah took me. Simeon’s other son. Not Neziah. Micah. This is Micah.”

“Little Micah. Are you the blond one or the dark-haired, chubby one?” Ellen’s mother clapped her hands together. “Come and sit down and I’ll see if I can find you some raisin cookies and milk.”

Ellen swallowed hard. She looked at Micah, a lump rising in her throat. “
Nay,
Mam
, he can’t stay. He has to go home now.” She gave Micah’s hand a squeeze and pulled away, hoping that he would understand.