The Parting (30 page)
“Sure I would.” Hannah brightened significantly.
“I’ll go and call them.”
Unexpectedly, Hannah remarked, “If her sisters don’t mean to be on hand, your Nellie’s goin’ to look mighty lonesome during Preachin’ next Sunday, I daresay.”
At the comment Betsy stopped in her tracks as she was heading out to get her shawl. Turning to stare at Hannah, she wondered why she’d brought this up. “Why would ya say this, Mamm?”
Hannah ignored the question. “I daresay sensible Nellie Mae’s goin’ to marry herself an Old Order fella, and you and Reuben won’t even be welcome at the wedding.”
Betsy had heard all she cared to. “Well, for goodness’ sakes.”
“Now you be thinkin’ good and long ’bout this, Betsy. You and Reuben need to consider what you’re givin’ up.” Hannah had scooted herself to the edge of the rocking chair. “You think on it real hard, ya hear?”
Betsy bit her tongue and hurried to get her wrap. Stepping into the cold, she realized she had been thoroughly reprimanded and humiliated by her mother-in-law. In the past she would have given the woman what for, but today she decided to offer the utmost kindness to Hannah and prayed to that end, making her way to the bakery shop.
Nellie saw Mamma approaching the bakery shop around the time she’d told Nan they ought to slip away to see why Mammi Fisher had come on such bad roads. Now here was Mamma hurrying into the shop door, her face redder than it ought to be from the short jaunt.
“Girls, your grandmother’s eager to see you.” Mamma put on a smile. “Go down and see her once.”
Nan nearly ran for her shawl and out the door, but Nellie paused. “Why on earth . . . today of all miserable days?”
“For a visit.” Betsy turned away.
“You’re upset, ain’t so?” Nellie went to her.
Mamma breathed visibly. “Your Dat said things like this would happen. I never dreamed . . .”
Nellie leaned her head against her mother’s. “What did Mammi say?”
“She and Dawdi won’t be movin’ back here. We’re as good as shunned.”
Nellie struggled with the lump that threatened to close her throat. She felt frightened to think of such a thing happening to her parents . . . to their family as a whole, as would likely be the case. “Is there no stoppin’ this?” she whispered.
Mamma shook her head, clearly trying to keep her composure. “Go visit with Mammi now.”
Nellie nodded, willing to obey her mother on this account. But unbaptized though she was, she wouldn’t think of abandoning the Old Ways—not for the world, nor for Dat’s faith.
Snow fell in thick, fluffy flakes as Nellie Mae closed up the bakery shop that Wednesday. She had a hankering for a walk, and since she’d already enjoyed a short visit with Mammi Fisher earlier, she bypassed the house and headed toward the road for a breather, ready for some time alone. She could see through the window that Mamma and Mammi still looked to be hashing things out in the kitchen.
Mamma’s all fired up,
she thought, taking in the sight of waning maples outlined against the frosty curtain of snowflakes.
Dawdi and Mammi refuse to move here. If that don’t beat all!
Nellie pulled her shawl more tightly around her, against the chilling air. She wondered how many folk would be affected by the commotion in their midst. How far would the disagreement over the rules of the Ordnung spread?
Putting that out of her mind, she breathed in the refreshing frostiness of the late afternoon, watching the heavy snow and remembering the many times she and Suzy had caught snowflakes on their tongues. Such wonderful-gut growingup years.
The account of Suzy’s slide into sin still gnawed at Nellie, keeping her awake at night. She hadn’t decided whether to bury the diary again or completely destroy it, but she was going to do something. She couldn’t risk anyone else in their family reading about Suzy’s disgraceful behavior.
Mrs. Landis’s comment about Joy’s cousin Darlene and Suzy came back to her just then, haunting her.
Suzy’s past is nobody’s worry now
. Even so, it was dreadful to know others remained all too aware of her younger sister’s wicked behavior.
She forced her thoughts back to Mammi Fisher and her grandparents’ sudden decision not to live here. Had Dawdi sent her to confront Mamma?
Nellie pushed through the snow, moving faster as her head cleared. She had not heard yet this week from Caleb, even though he had written three letters to her last week. The weather being this cold, they hadn’t seen each other for seven days, despite their original plan to go to the millstream together last no-Preaching Sunday. She missed him, wondering when their special night might come. When would they talk quietly in her room while sitting on the little loveseat? Cousin Jonathan’s father and brother were well-known in the area for upholstering these beautiful pieces of courting furniture with their delicate oak arms and legs.
Smiling momentarily, she wondered what she would have done if Caleb’s flashlight had shone on her window while Suzy was still alive and sleeping soundly in the room. She supposed she might have asked her sister to sleep in the spare room for that particular night. The way she’d heard it from Maryann and her other sisters-in-law, most girls could sense when their beau intended to propose.
Caleb loves me. What’s keeping him from asking me to be his bride?
She’d had fears that Caleb was upset at what she’d told him about Dat’s keen interest in the Good Book. More than likely, he knew of her parents’ connections to Preacher Manny by now. It seemed nearly everyone was aware who had attended the meeting last Sunday.
And who hadn’t.
Lately she felt nearly frayed, loving Caleb yet wanting to obey her father in his leanings, as she’d been taught to do. Rhoda and Nan were planning to join their parents and older brothers at Preacher Manny’s house come this Sunday. A bold and foolhardy move, holding a meeting on the actual day of Preaching, of all things!
As for Nellie, she planned to walk alone to Preaching service, where she assumed Uncle Bishop would give the main sermon—his first since returning.
What will Caleb’s family think if I show up by myself?
Even though courtship was usually to be kept confidential until the planned marriage was announced, Nellie was fairly sure that at least Rebekah had an inkling Caleb was seeing her. That girl didn’t seem to be one to miss anything.
Up ahead the roof of a tobacco drying barn glistened thanks to an ample layer of snow, and she was struck by how picturesque it was, though she must have seen the same barn hundreds of times.
She continued walking briskly, the dense cold penetrating her bones. When she sighed, her breath nearly froze in midair, and she wished she’d worn a scarf to wrap around her face.
A good half mile later, she spotted Rhoda’s distinct silhouette coming up the road’s shoulder. She called “hullo,” glad she’d stumbled upon her. Even though they lived in the same house, recently she’d scarcely spoken two words to her oldest sister. “Hullo!” she called again.
“Nellie Mae . . . where’re ya goin’?” Rhoda crossed the road toward her.
“Just needed some fresh air.”
“Well, you’ve picked icy air.” Rhoda laughed.
Nellie smiled. “You must be workin’ a lot these days.”
Rhoda hugged herself, rubbing her mittened hands against her arms. “It seems best, well, to be away from the house as much as possible here lately.”
“Are you really goin’ to Preacher Manny’s with Dat and Mamma?” asked Nellie.
“Only out of respect for Dat. Aren’t you?” Rhoda asked.
“Can’t.”
“Must be you’ve got yourself a beau, then?”
Rhoda sounded like Nan had some weeks back. Nellie wouldn’t be tricked, however; she would not say a word about Caleb.
“Well, do you?”
“Look, Rhoda, I don’t ask you ’bout your friends or what you do away from home, do I?”
Rhoda shrugged. “I’d tell ya. Ask one question you’re dyin’ to know.”
“All right.” The air stung Nellie’s lungs. “Why’s it so important to work away from home . . . for Englischers, of all things?”
“That’s two. I said only one,” Rhoda snipped.
Looking at her, Nellie was shocked at Rhoda’s sassy, even worldly response. She flinched, shying away. “Never mind, I guess.”
“Aw, come now, Nellie Mae. What’s wrong with you?”
With me?
Nellie stared.
Rhoda sighed. “Dat’s sure been ferhoodled lately.”
“Ach, now you’re bein’ rude.”
“Well, you and I know better than to say we’re
saved
. I’m surprised Mamma’s putting up with it, even sayin’ she believes such things, too. What’s happening to our family, anyway?”
“I s’pose I could ask you the same, Rhoda. Seems you’re gone an awful lot.”
Rhoda’s eyes flashed her frustration. “I like workin’ . . . making some money, is all.”
“Savin’ up for something?”
“Maybe so.” Rhoda gazed at her. “But it ain’t for what you might think.”
Nellie Mae had no idea what she meant. “Well, I didn’t mean to pry.”
Rhoda huffed, walking past her. “I’ll see you back at the house, sister,” she called. “Don’t stay out too long, or you’ll catch a cold and miss goin’ to your precious Preachin’ come Sunday.”
Nellie sputtered, her breath turning to ice crystals before her.
She’s just dying for electric, no doubt
.
Walking faster, she felt terribly annoyed. “Who does she think she is, livin’ a double standard?”
Just ahead a buggy was swiftly heading this way, through the shroud of snow and fog. “Hullo, Nellie Mae!” came a familiar voice.
She recognized the woman in the buggy as the midwife—Mary Glick’s granddaughter Ruth. “You look to be in a hurry,” Nellie called to her.
“Kate Beiler’s wee ones are a-comin’!”
So soon?
Turning, she watched the enclosed gray buggy as it sped by. “Ach, Rosanna. Today’s your blessed day.” She wished she might run and catch up with the carriage to ride straight to her dearest friend, but the horse had already galloped past.
Nellie stood there in amazement. “I hope Kate’s—and Rosanna’s—babies come healthy and ever so safe.”
She rushed back to the house to divulge the startling news, glad she’d have something worth writing to Cousin Treva and the others in their circle letter. Out of breath, she spotted Mammi’s buggy still parked near the back door.
Maybe I can borrow it to run over to Kate’s, where Rosanna surely will be
.
But when she arrived inside mere moments after Rhoda, Mamma was tending to Mammi Fisher, laying a wet cloth on her forehead and soothing her with her gentle hands and voice. Rhoda knelt at her feet.
“What’s happened?” Nellie rushed to the rocking chair, shocked at how red and stricken Mammi’s face was.
“Will one of yous ride for the doctor?” asked Mamma.
Nan brought another damp cloth. “What’s wrong with Mammi?”
“She nearly collapsed,” Mamma explained. “Limp as a dishrag now.”
“I’ll go for the doctor.” Nellie turned and ran for the back door, throwing on her winter things. She was glad a horse and carriage were already hitched as she hopped inside and picked up the reins.
All the talk of shunning . . . no wonder Mammi’s ill,
she thought, feeling sick herself as she headed toward a completely different destination than Kate and Rosanna’s tiny babies.
Having alerted the doctor, Nellie dashed back down the steps outside the doctor’s cottagelike office, anxious to return to Mammi’s side. She watched the doctor’s car speed out from behind the building and turned to see Mrs. Landis coming up the walkway, her arm in a sling. “Hullo, neigh-theParting_ bor,” she said to the older woman. “What did you do to yourself?”
“Oh, it’s so embarrassing, really. I fell on the sidewalk in front of my own house. I’m just heading in for a followup appointment,” Mrs. Landis told her. Then she lowered her voice. “I’m so glad I ran into you, Nellie Mae. My daughter was terribly self-conscious at your shop, you must know.”
“Oh?” Nellie fidgeted, eager to be off, but she was polite and listened.
“Fact is, your sister Suzy saved my niece Darlene’s life. Suzy made all the difference to a girl who was sinking fast.”
Saved her life?
“Your niece . . . did she get into a bad crowd?” Nellie felt she was sticking her neck out by asking, but she had to know.
“Oh, mercy, yes! But Suzy kindly helped Darlene see the error of her ways.”
Thunderstruck, Nellie had almost forgotten why she was standing there. “Ach . . . I’m awful sorry to have to run off, but my grandmother’s ill. The doctor’s already on his way over to our place.”
“Well, I hope she’s all right,” Mrs. Landis offered. “I’ll be sure to say a prayer for her.”
Nellie thanked her and waved good-bye as she raced down the walkway.
My sister must’ve fooled Mrs. Landis but good. What’s she mean by saying Suzy helped Darlene?
Nellie was mighty sure—Mrs. Landis had the wrong Suzy.
By the time Nellie arrived back at the house with the horse and buggy, the country doctor’s car was already parked in the lane. Swiftly she tied the horse and hurried indoors, relieved to find Dawdi Fisher there, as well as Dat.
