The Guardian (19 page)

J
odi had asked the children if it was all right to head over to the Esh farmhouse without getting permission from their mother. Both Benny and Leda had insisted it was fine, so off they’d gone. And now Joshua Peachey’s German shepherd was following them, panting in the heat of the day.

“Will the dog find its way back home?” she asked Benny.

But it was Toby who interjected that the big dog knew his way all around the neighborhood. “Buster’s our watchdog at school, too,” he said.

“Really? You take him along to school?”

“Joshua brings him every day when we all walk together,” Benny explained. “And he comes back for Buster when the bell rings at the end of the day.”

Jodi wondered why but didn’t have to ask.

“Joshua says it’s a
gut
idea,” Benny added. “Buster keeps an eye out for tourists. And to be extra careful on the road, we all wear our new yellow safety vests—even Joshua.”

“There are so many picture-takin’ folk in their cars,” Toby offered, his face serious. “It bothers the brethren no end.”

The brethren …

Smiling at the idea of Joshua walking with the schoolchildren, Jodi followed Sarah into Maryanna’s driveway.
So much for getting a jog in today. And poor Trent must think I’ve disappeared.

She’d left her phone in the glove box of her car, still parked at the eastern end of Hickory Lane. For now at least, there was no way to check if he’d sent her a text or tried to call. Regrettably, she was out of reach.

By the time they’d all sat down at the table in the very warm kitchen, Maryanna and Mollie were coming indoors, smiling and talking cheerfully. They went to the cupboard and lifted down a stack of bowls for the ice cream that Leda and Sarah had already gotten from the freezer.

“Hullo there,” Maryanna said as she placed the bowls around the table. “It’s nice to see you again, Jodi.”

“You too,” she replied. “I hadn’t planned to drop by unannounced.”

“Well, you’re always welcome.”

Jodi was quite aware of it. “I can’t seem to stay away from this lovely little hollow.”

“We invited her for ice cream,” Benny said with a glance at Jodi, seeming to speak in her defense. “And I think Mammi Emmie and Dawdi Zeke might come, too.”

“That’s fine,” Maryanna said, hoping her parents would indeed do so.

Little Sarah held up her new cloth doll, making it bend and bob its head on the table until Leda gently pushed her arm down, and Sarah made the doll disappear.

Mollie came over and distributed spoons and paper napkins. “We heard you were out runnin’ by moonlight last evening.”

Removing her hydration pack, Jodi nodded. “It was really quite pleasant and much cooler.”

“Well, Rosaleen and Barbara surely enjoyed meeting you,” Maryanna said as she came to sit next to Jodi.

Mollie added, “Word has it you kept up real
gut
with all the rest.”

Jodi smiled. “There were about twenty-five of us. Actually, it was perfect. Incredibly peaceful, too.”

Leda brought over the big tub of vanilla ice cream, Sarah behind her carrying the chocolate syrup. “Will ya go runnin’ with them again?” asked Leda.

“I might. But my fiance’s here in town.”

Maryanna’s eyebrows rose. “Was that a surprise?”

She nodded.

“Hope things are goin’ well,” Maryanna said more softly as she leaned in closer.

Shrugging, Jodi indicated not so much.

“So sorry,” Maryanna whispered.

Jodi thanked her and looked around the table at the many sets of beautiful eyes on her.

“Time to say the blessing.
Pattie nunner
—hands down,” Maryanna said and bowed her head.

All of them did the same, including Jodi, who managed to be grateful for the blessing of these friends. She hoped above all that Trent might understand her heart.

Joshua closed the door on the parrot’s cage and hurried upstairs to rescue Honey Lou and Shadow from the warm room. Below him, just outside the window, the bishop and the three school board members were putting their heads
together about a replacement for Rosaleen Yoder.
On the Lord’s Day, yet!

“Even if the Englischer did agree to fill in as teacher for a number of weeks, we still have
Druwwel—
trouble—on our hands,” Jeremiah was telling Bishop John, Ned Peachey, and Noah Mast. “Who will we get for a permanent replacement?”

Pausing at the window, Joshua felt peculiar eavesdropping.

“And this outsider knows nothin’ about our curriculum or expectations,” Jeremiah continued. “Rosaleen would have to instruct her as to how things are done.”

“Which is a mighty big undertaking in just a few weeks’ time,” Ned said.

“It’d be a
gut
idea to have her attend a seasoned Amish teacher’s schoolhouse once the school year begins. Could that be done, maybe?” This was Noah’s idea, and a mighty fine one, Joshua thought.

“Well, if you’re in favor of that, school might need to open late,” the bishop suggested.

“Honestly, I’m not sure we’re in agreement on any of this,” Ned declared.

“Keep in mind this would only be for a short while—if the young woman’s even willing,” Noah said. “We haven’t proposed the idea.”

“Let’s meet again in the morning,” Jeremiah said. “Bishop, are you free to join us?”

Joshua leaned closer to the window, wondering what on earth Bishop John might say to that, known as he was for being a stickler. Of course, there was nothing in the church ordinance about teaching appointments, although this was such rare territory Joshua doubted it had a precedent. Not here in Lancaster County, at least.

Yet, come to think of it, he had read somewhere about an
Englischer woman who was a substitute at a one-room Amish schoolhouse somewhere in Kentucky, if he remembered correctly. The school board of four Amish fathers had asked her to wear Mennonite-looking dresses and comb her hair back in a bun, though they hadn’t required a prayer veiling, as far as the story went.

Just then Honey Lou began to chase her tail, as if bored. And Shadow was clearly frightened, still as he was in his cage. Joshua had rescued the poor thing earlier from under the dresser, glad to see there wasn’t a scratch on him.

Gathering up the cage and the cat, Joshua headed back down to the kitchen to the sound of Malachi cawing, having another tizzy.
Such a day it’s been,
Joshua thought as he poured cat food into Honey Lou’s dish and gave the parrot something to nibble on.

He considered his terrible error in judgment, making plans with both widows for dates on the same evening. When Maryanna had agreed and suggested the day, he’d been so ferhoodled it hadn’t occurred to him he’d just agreed to meet Ida on the exact same Saturday.

I have to make it work,
he thought, nervous all the same.

Walking out toward the barn, Joshua noticed the school board members still in a huddle, though there was no further sign of the bishop.

But it was the subject of the men’s former conversation that intrigued him most—Jodi, the lovely young woman in their midst earlier. He could see why the children were impressed with her. The vivid memory of the Englischer dressed in white came back quickly, standing with all the People’s children gathered near, fancy woman that she was. She seemed to have an uncanny sense of what to say and do around Amish. He considered again how Jodi had, for some reason, not involved
the police when she found Sarah—was it out of respect for their Plain culture? If so, no wonder the bishop was talking of setting an extraordinary precedent for a teacher!

Maryanna’s parents joined them in her kitchen while they were having their ice cream, all busy eating and talking around the table. It was only a short time later that Ella Mae Zook came into the driveway in her son-in-law’s family carriage. She halted the horse, still holding the reins.

Leda whispered, “Mamma, the Wise Woman’s here.”

Secretly pleased, Maryanna had hoped Jodi might have occasion to talk with the kindly sage. “Excuse me,” she said as she left the table to help the elderly lady out of her carriage.

As soon as Maryanna slipped out of the kitchen, the table erupted into a rush of even louder prattle, and she found it both curious and comical, wondering what was being said in her absence. Her father loved to get the children laughing at his own long-ago childhood antics, especially the tale about the time he’d used his suspenders to shoot kernels of Indian corn at his father’s scarecrow.
At least
Jodi
hasn’t heard this story yet… .

“How are ya, Ella Mae?” Maryanna asked, extending her hand as they walked across the driveway.

“Doin’ fine,” Ella Mae said. She was without her cane. “Even though I feel like a hundred years old today.”

“We all do, some days.” She smiled at the dear woman.

“Isn’t that the truth!” Ella Mae chuckled. “I appreciate your help, I daresay.”

Maryanna kept an eye out in case her friend should stumble as she sometimes did, despite having surprisingly good balance for her age.

“We have an English visitor,” Maryanna told her as she reached for the back screen door.

“Hoped so. Spotted her over at Joshua’s a bit ago.”

“Did ya see her with the children?”

“‘Twas somethin’ to behold.” Ella Mae sounded breathless as she stepped into the utility room and reached to steady herself against the wall where wooden hooks held the family’s sweaters and jackets.

“You all right?”

“I will be in just a second—a mite dizzy.” Ella Mae lowered her head, taking her time to regain her balance. “Denki kindly.”

Maryanna waited right beside her until at last, Ella Mae slowly proceeded into the kitchen, waving hello to Maryanna’s parents, who were sitting across from each other.

Maryanna took the liberty of introducing her to Jodi and made a place at the table. Ella Mae seemed not only pleased to have the opportunity to eat some ice cream, but she showed an immediate interest in Jodi, asking her how long she’d been in the area.

Jodi said she was house-sitting nearby for her cousin and his wife, which brought a smile to Ella Mae’s face.

It was odd seeing the older woman on a Sunday afternoon, since she typically slept for a couple hours on the Lord’s Day, all tuckered out from Preaching service or going visiting.