The Shunning (17 page)

* * *

"Sadie, your bread is going to be tough if you don't stop kneading and put it in the pan!" Martha spoke to her eldest daughter.

"I'm sorry, Mama. My mind is elsewhere." She was thinking of Samuel and wondering if this situation would ever right itself. If he was half as miserable and she was then he had to be ready to pull out his hair! Sadie wanted to rave and rant and scream! How could the Bishop believe those ridiculous lies? Samuel was a good, honest man, and it felt like the entire world had flipped upside down in the last few weeks.

"Daughter, you must put Samuel out of your mind. As long as he is wishing for
Englisch
ways he will not make a good husband for you. He would take you away, and you would both be shunned and not just him. Your father and I will not have that." Martha knew her Sadie was sad, but it was her duty to help her move forward. She could not marry Samuel as long as he was under the ban.

"Mama, none of what the Bishop heard is true. Samuel is very committed to the Amish ways. Someone is lying about him, and I would give anything to find out who it is and why they would blatantly condemn Samuel."

"When so many people claim to bear witness, Sadie, then it has to be true. Where there is smoke there is fire!" Martha was earnest, hoping she could get through that stubborn wall Sadie had build around herself. She was refusing to listen to reason, and Martha and Levi were very worried about her.

"And sometimes there is an arsonist who sets that fire of suspicion, Mama. I do not believe the lies for even one second, and I am not going to change my mind about marrying Samuel. All this community is doing is forcing Samuel and I to leave and go elsewhere, and that is what we will do if this is not settled before November."

"There will be no wedding, Sadie," Martha said quietly, but firmly.

"Perhaps not the wedding I dreamed of, but there
will
be a wedding," Sadie said, filled with sadness. "I believe in Samuel and I love him. I know he is innocent."

"You are a fool, Sadie," Mary added her two cents worth from the doorway. She'd been standing in the hallway, listening to everything that their
Mamm
said to her sister. "That terrible Samuel Hilty beat on you, and I hoped that time apart would bring you to your senses. You simply can't still desire to marry him!"

"Mary, I've warned you about speaking against Samuel." Sadie's voice was low and quiet, but there was no mistaking the anger in her tone.

"I am absolutely shocked that you continue to defy the Bishop and
Dat
and
Mamm
!" Mary's smirk gave lie to the words she uttered. The young girl was delighted with the situation because it gave her something to use as a weapon on her older sister, something to torment Sadie and cause her pain. Mary enjoyed seeing her sister upset.

"I love Samuel. I trust him and I believe in him."

"You are a fool and
Dat
was right to make you quit your job and stay home so you can be watched over."

"Mary, that is enough," Martha warned. Sadie looked ready to slap her sister.

"I am an adult and I do not need watching over," Sadie stated. "If I want to go and see Samuel I will." She grabbed a basket and headed for the kitchen door and walked outside and toward the large garden. She needed some time outside, away from Mary and her opinions. Mary knew exactly which buttons to push to upset her, and this latest attack was typical. Sadie hated that her
Dat
quit her job for her, without even consulting her! It told her that he did not trust her, nor did he trust Samuel not to come to the restaurant to see her. What was worse was that everyone in the community knew that she was no longer working... and why! Her
Dat
even suggested that she go to the singing last Sunday night. Sadie refused and stayed upstairs in her room, not about to spend the evening in the same room as her father. They were fast coming to a confrontation that would forever change their relationship, and it truly frightened Sadie because she did love her family. But, she loved Samuel and her heart belonged to him. As she pulled weeds and harvested some green onions for the table that night, Sadie prayed for a hasty end to this situation... That the person responsible for making her life miserable would repent of their lies and confess to the Bishop.

* * *

An entire month!
Atlee was beside himself. When he promised Miriam he wouldn't come courting he never dreamed that Samuel would actually be shunned! Or that
Dat
would take such a harsh stand with Sadie. Atlee didn't believe the things that were being said about Samuel, and he kept talking to people, trying to learn where the rumors were originating. Miriam looked so sad last Sunday at their church service and he wanted to take her in his arms and assure her that he still loved her. But, he couldn't overlook the fact that Miriam had contributed to his sister's unhappiness. He missed Miriam, wanted to be with her, and he had to keep following the rumors until he found the guilty person or persons behind the lies.

"Atlee, where is your mind this day?" Levi asked with a frown. "You have been working on that harness strap for well over an hour and there is much that still needs done."

"Sorry,
Dat
. I am not in the best of moods today."

"Is there something you wish to discuss with me?" Levi offered. His three eldest children were a constant worry to him these days. He knew that Atlee and David believed in Samuel's innocence, and that did not sit well with him. They were silently defying the Bishop with their attitude, and Levi feared they would draw the attention of the elders if they were not circumspect in their words around others.

"No,
Dat
. We would only argue."

"Samuel Hilty again!" Levi glared at his eldest.

"Have you considered how you will make peace with Sadie and Samuel when the Bishop is proven wrong,
Dat
?" Atlee dared to question his parent. "Samuel is innocent."

"This is your opinion, son, but I would strongly advise you to keep it to yourself and not continue to give your sister support in her stubborn refusal to look for another to marry."

"
Dat
, I am more concerned about your stubborn refusal to offer Sadie comfort and support. She is going to leave us all come fall, and our family will never be the same again."

* * *

"Where is Sadie?" Levi asked of his wife when he entered the kitchen a week later.

"Upstairs," Martha answered.

"She should be down here helping you instead of upstairs sulking in her room!" Levi was in a foul mood and he didn't care who knew it.

"She should be at the restaurant working," Martha returned, giving him her honest opinion. "You hurt her by taking away her job, Levi."

"I am doing my best to keep her away from Samuel, Martha, and you know that. She has been warned by the Bishop to have nothing to do with that young man, and as her father, it falls to me to make sure she abides by the shunning."

"Sadie is positive that Samuel is innocent."

"How is that possible? Who would lie about such things?" Levi was angry. First Atlee and now his own wife!

"Our daughter, that's who," Martha replied. "Mary's heart is filled with bitterness, and she misses no opportunity to say cruel things to Sadie. Mary is relishing her sister's unhappiness, and adding to it each and every day. Levi, I fear that our Sadie is going to leave us if we do not find some way to prove Samuel's innocence. If the one who started the rumors is our own Mary, I will be forever shamed."

"Do you actually believe that Mary would do something so cruel?" Levi asked of his wife, shocked to his very soul that she would think such a thing.

"You do not hear all the hateful things she says to Sadie, Levi!" Martha's pretty eyes filled with tears. "I have told her to stop too many times to count. I have given her punishments for antagonizing her sister. She does the punishment while muttering under her breath and if Sadie comes within hearing, Mary makes sure to tell her that it is her fault she is being punished... and says that if she had better sense than to court Samuel none of it would have happened!"

"Why haven't you told me of this sooner?" Levi demanded, shocked.

"I hoped I was wrong about Mary. I hoped that the gossip and rumors would die down and the shunning be lifted. Don't you think that if Samuel was guilty he would have confessed by now? The fact that he is still living within the community convinces me that Samuel is telling the truth. Just think how you would feel if one of our boys was falsely accused?"

Martha's words touched Levi and he began to question his resolve. "I am going to talk to Mary," Levi said decisively just as the younger children came inside the kitchen, pails filled with the berries they picked. "It will wait until tonight," he added, knowing his wife would understand that he wanted the younger children in bed so they could have some privacy for the discussion with their daughter. If he learned that Mary caused all of this trouble he was going to make sure she didn't sit down until she was a grown woman! Forgetting the tea that he came into the house to drink, Levi headed back to the barn. Atlee wasn't himself, and he wanted to make sure his eldest didn't cut his finger off cutting out shelves for the bookcase he was making.

* * *

Enough was enough!
Sadie was going to sneak out and go and see Samuel. She kept her own counsel while she made supper for everyone, insisting her
Mamm
rest. She even washed the dishes afterwards, and the two little girls dried everything and stacked the things they weren't tall enough to put away on the table for Sadie to put away when she was finished with the soapy hot water. Once they were finished cleaning the kitchen, Sadie slipped into the living room and said, "Mama, I am going to bed early tonight. I have a terrible headache, and I need to lie down."

"Are you getting sick, daughter?" Martha asked in concern. Sadie had been more quiet than usual all day long.

"No, I don't think so. I just have one of those sick headaches I get now and then. Goodnight," she said, and then hurried to go on upstairs and away from the noise of the family. Atlee and David were both gone, Mary and Mark were engaged in a game of chess. John and Jacob had the checkerboard between them, and Hannah and Katie were learning to quilt while their
Mamm
watched over them and made suggestions.

Once Sadie was in her room, she mussed up her bed and took a quilt and rolled it to put beneath the quilts on her bed to make it appear she was sleeping there, and then she went to the window and climbed out onto the lattice work that covered that side of the house. Sadie had left this room more than once in this manner, and it didn't take her long to reach the ground and then hurry away from the house so she wouldn't be seen by anyone who just happened to look outside.

Sadie knew that Samuel would not be happy with her for walking all the way to his house in the dark, but she missed him so much she simply had to do something. Samuel couldn't come to her... not with
Dat
feeling so strongly about the ban. Sadie knew that Samuel would respect
Dat's
wishes, but she was sick of the Bishop's edicts. The man was wrong about Samuel! The only thing that made the last five weeks bearable was the fact that Atlee and David both believed in Samuel and both were hard at work trying to find proof that someone was lying about him. The more time it took, however, the more discouraging, and she simply had to see Samuel and feel his arms around her. She was lonely for him, and no matter if
Dat
discovered her gone and punished her for her disobedience, she had to see Samuel. Sadie would accept the consequences of her actions, but she wouldn't go to sleep this night with her heart so lonely she couldn't stand it another second!

It took her a while to walk the distance, but Sadie didn't mind. She only spotted one car on the roads, and she made sure to step well off the pavement for safety reasons. In her dark dress, she was not very visible, and to her way of thinking, that made her safer from those who would dare to wrong her. Finally, Samuel's farm came into view and she could see there was a light on in the barn. She wondered at that, but quickly made her way to the open door and stepped inside. Samuel's horse was content in his stall, and there did not appear to be a problem with any of the livestock. She saw light coming from a small room that Samuel called his 'work shop', and Sadie made her way to the open doorway.

Samuel stood at a bench with his back to her, sanding the surface of a small table. He was creating a fine dust and Sadie couldn't help but giggle when he sneezed. Samuel whirled around to face her and his blue eyes lit up with joy when he saw her standing there. He dropped the sand paper and opened his arms and Sadie ran to him, suddenly crying and laughing at the same time because she was so happy.

"I've missed you so much, little Sadie," he said to her. "Are you really standing here or am I dreaming?" he asked.

"I'm here, Samuel! I had to see you or simply die!" His arms tightened as he continued to hold her against him. His lips found hers and they kissed as if they were starving for each other. It was several minutes before Samuel held her at arms' length.

"How do you come to be here, Sadie?" he asked.

"I rolled up a quilt and put it beneath my bedding and I sneaked out and walked here, Samuel.
Dat
keeps too close an eye on me during the daytime," she confessed. "He quit my job for me because he didn't trust us not to see each other at the restaurant."

"Mr. Yoder refused to allow me to see you once your
Dat
told him that he didn't want you to see me. I did try, Sadie," he whispered. "I even came to your farm a few times, but there was always someone with you and I couldn't get you alone for even a moment."

"Oh, Samuel, I am so happy that you tried! I missed you, too."

"It isn't safe for you to walk here, my
lieb
."

"I was careful, and I avoided the one car I saw. There was no one else, I promise." She looked up at him and smiled before saying, "Please don't be upset with me, Samuel. I do not want this precious time we have spoiled."