Abram's Daughters 05 The Revelation (19 page)

I h inking back to Jonas, she realized he now deserved to Bear her h\\\v of the story with Sadie's permission, of course. Such thorny problem all of this was. And would Jonas react like Lydia n> wno> hice hearing the truth, had been quite cold toward her? The detat lied state of affairs between her and her girl tore at her h art> but what could she do now?

Weary of secret keeping, Leah felt like calling for a meeting o^

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the People to get the news completely out in the open as quickly .r. possible.

She rose from the corner of the hayloft, where she'd sat on tin window ledge, and stumbled over a burlap bag covered with stniw When she opened it and looked inside, she was astonished. It w;i. half filled with rat tails! Proof of Abe's recent pest hunt triumph. Tin discovery brought both a small smile to her face and a bit of trcpi dation to her heart. She would continue to pray for Abe's safely, since it seemed he was bent more on satisfying his curiosity than us ing his head. He's all boy, that one.

With the hope of marrying Jonas a year from now, once he w;i.-. past his Proving, Leah wondered how both Lyddie and Abe would manage without her here in Dat's house. She had considered askinj; Jonas his opinion on the matter but hadn't brought it up just yet, recalling the stumbling block the question of Mamma's children had been for Gid so long ago.

Yet, now that she thought on it, she supposed she /W indeed followed through on her loving promise to Mamma. With Dat remarried and Sadie living next door in the Dawdi Haus, surely Leah would be free to marry her dearest love.

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/ vbram preferred the sounds in his house to fade to nothing come rifjit o'clock or so of an evening. He welcomed the tranquility and ihmight: about making ready to retire for the night, but before doing mi. lie went and knocked on the neighboring door between the big I mm isc and the smaller one.

(Irateful that Sadie was still up and dressed, he asked if he iui|,',lit come in and talk a bit.

"Why sure." Sadie took a seat after offering him one.

lie brought up the weather and the numerous weddings coming l.r.i and furious all*this month, as many as fifteen on the same day. I lien, at last, what he really wanted to say the question foremost in liis thoughts came out. "Well, daughter, just how are you doin' will) all that's swirlin' round you these days?"

Her lips broke into a gentle smile. "Findin' out Jake's my very

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"jah, that's what I'm meanin' to ask."

"Honestly, I'm as delighted as ever I've been. Jake's the grown b.iby son I thought I'd lost, and now he knows it. Jah, I'm right fine with that." She stopped for a moment and then continued, saying (lie was hoping "even prayin'" she might have a chance to get to know him one day.

Abram nodded, unable to stop looking at her lovely face, so

168 . . " Beverly Lewis

peaceful she seemed. They talked quietly of all that had transpired since her return as a widow, until Sadie's yawns became so frequent he took them as a signal that he, too, ought to call it a night. "Well, s'pose I'll be seein' you at the breakfast table, first thing tomorrow, ain t?

She stood when he got up from his chair and followed him in the doorway. "Denki, Dat. . . talking with me 'bout this means ,i lot."

Abram wasn't too much on fussing with compliments or niceties he left that for the women folk. "Good night, then," lie said before taking leave of his eldest.

Making his way up the staircase in the main house, he headed toward the spacious room he shared with Lizzie. His wife was already propped up in bed with pillows, wearing her long cotton nightgown, hair brushed out and hanging gracefully past her shoulders.

He slipped on his pajamas quickly and hurried to her side, reaching for the covers and top quilt before bringing up the subject still on his mind. "I shouldn't be sayin' this to you, prob'ly, particu larly not at night. . . before fallin' asleep 'n' all."

She reached over and brushed his hair from his face. "What's on your mind, dear?"

"Seems we've got ourselves a grandson we didn't even know existed." He began to share with her the news of Jake Mast's true identity, telling all he understood about the situation.

"Ach, Abram ..."

"Quite surprising, ain't it?"

"Oh, but how's our Sadie with all of this?"

"Chickens come home to roost, I daresay." He chuckled softly.

Lizzie nodded her head. "I of all people should know this. We're so blessed, all of us, with Leah's precious life. Seems the Good Lord can turn a sad and traumatic circumstance into something exceptionally beautiful, just as He promises. I don't see why it can't be the same for Sadie and Jake over time, of course," she concluded.

"I would think they'd both want to get acquainted," Abram agreed.

"Hopefully, for Sadie's sake, they will." Lizzie squeezed his hand. "If she's anything like me, she'll be holdin' her breath for the

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trliiy ihc and Jake can sit down together and talk. I pray, too, that fftUr will forgive Dr. Schwartz for keepin' him from his rightful iMHihrr. Such a grievous thing."

Abnini pondered his wife's tenderhearted words. "As the Scrip-

'11(1 Kuys, 'Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and thill I not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. . . . '"

1 ming over, he planted a lingering kiss on her cheek.

They talked for a while longer about what this revelation meant

l hem and to their family . . . and, eventually, all of the People. At ! > I, too weary to continue, Abram put out the lantern and held i i ?tk close till they both fell asleep.

I ,eah felt her heart in her throat as she waited at the end of the I' 'ii^ lane for Jonas to arrive Saturday night. She purposely had come i I lit early, knowing she might need time out here on the road to i ii her her wits before she saw him again. Except for after Preaching i vire, she had not been alone with him since his unexpected nighti inic visit on behalf of poor, pining Jake.

Waiting in the cold, the darkness seemed to envelop her as she

l 'i iked toward the vast woods, fixing her gaze on the amber blush of

u mdows Gid and Hannah's log house. The blackness of the forest

< lined exceptionally menacing tonight, and she shivered, turning to

I H c the road.

Oh, Jonas, please understand. . . .

She heard a horse and carriage coming and braced herself,

111',htly winding her woolen scarf around the collar of her long winn i coat.

Jonas halted the horse after making a slight turn into the drive to

I1 ii' house, and he rushed to her side. "Hullo, Leah. An awful brisk .voning, jah?"

"Wiegeht's, Jonas," she replied. "Wouldn't surprise me if it snows." He admitted to expecting the same. "The air hangs heavy, ain't?"

I le helped her into the carriage and walked around to hop in on the

opposite side, offering her the heavy lap robe as soon as he sat down. She was aware of its warmth, Jonas having covered himself with

it ;us he'd driven here. "Denki," she said softly, struggling already

with tears that threatened to spill.

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She was thankful he did not immediately bring up the topic ol Jake, although she felt terribly tense awaiting it. They made sm.ill talk for a while and then Jonas asked, "How's everyone at yom house?"

"Oh, 'bout the same," she replied, pausing a moment belon forging ahead. "Except for Sadie, who's on edge since . . . since She couldn't go on.

Jonas finished for her. "Since Jake discovered the truth 'born who she is to him?"

She sighed, her hands clasped beneath the lap robe. "Jah," slir said simply.

"Were you ever going to tell me?" he asked, his words gentle bin probing. "Surely you've known longer than Jake."

" 'Tis as you say. Honestly . . . Sadie and I, we didn't think ii through. When we found out last summer, we decided it should !>< kept quiet." She could scarcely go on.

"Seems unfair to Jake, considerin' his strong feelings for Lydiann.'

She nodded. Her face felt numb, even frozen, not so much from the cold but from the pressure she endured within. "We didn't in tend to cause him pain. Sadie wanted to get to know her son, but ii was I who argued with her, wanting to spare your family all the pain they're goin' through now. In so doin', I hurt Sadie and everyone else."

Jonas fell silent for a time. When he spoke again, his voice was almost too low to hear. "You meant well. I can see that."

Leah felt like crying again. "But we should've told the trutli right when we knew it was Sadie's son who was courtin' Lyddie," she said, adding, "I'm sure your parents and Jake must be havin' a ten i ble time."

"Terrible's one word for it," he said. "But sooner or later, il things had kept on, they likely would have suffered learnin' tintruth. Placing Jake with them was Dr. Schwartz's doin', not yours."

"True . . . though, actually, Jake was sent to Ohio because ol Sadie and me, because I confided in Gid what we knew 'bout Jake's courtin' Lydiann. Oh, Jonas, we were so terribly worried they migln fall in love and want to marry."

They rode for a time without saying more, and finally, when

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\\\?y re.11 lied the edge of Gobbler's Knob, before the road wound fluwn iIn- long hill toward Grasshopper Level, Jonas pulled off, lif'iiililip, north a ways. This being a less-traveled road, she wondered If he mij'Jii find a place to stop, but he didn't, and she was relieved.

Souk- lime later, he turned to her. His eyes searched hers, and hi', slow .md kind smile made her wonder, Has he forgiven me?

I ij'Jiily he covered her gloved hand with his own. "I have to sayi ii it- more ihing, love."

Siic held her breath, listening intently.

"II |ake hadn't been sent away to Ohio, I never would've had I hi i h.iiiLC to meet him, and you and I would still be separated by litimlicils of miles."

I,cah swallowed hard. "Oh, Jonas, I'm awful sorry I didn't tell ynii rlic night when ya came inquirin' about Jake and Lyddie. So iiitdiy ihings were goin' through my mind." She stopped to catch Itt-i breath, longing to be in his arms once again.

"You mustn't blame yourself." Then, as if reading her mind, he i '.idled for her, gathering her into his welcoming embrace. "We'll muddle through what's ahead, helpin' Jake all we can. We'll pray, i (or a healing 'tween our families, ain't?"

To this Leah agreed wholeheartedly, glad they'd had this frank lit Ik alter all.

Jonas veered the horse around and headed back to the Ebersol ( nl i age, while Leah continued to ponder.

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Monday, December 9 I \-ar Diary,

Today I had to string up a line in the kitchen to dry the washing because of the sleet making down outside. Not sure how in any days we'll have like this, seeing as how winters arrived ciirly in Gobbler's Knob.

The cold, wet weather draws our little family round the wood stove every night now. Gid reads from his big Bible and talks to the girls about Old Testament stories, taking time to read from the New Testament, as well sometimes even reciting nearly a whole chapter from memory before sharing his thoughts on various verses. Ever so strange this is, but I've kept my lips closed. It's painfully clear that some of what Gid's been teaching us will contradict what happened yesterday, following the common meal after Preaching. That's when Zachariah and his wife came over to me and whispered that I've been chosen to receive the healing gift by the laying on of hands. I must either dismiss this and never say a word to my husband or accept it as God's will for me and keep mum.

I'm in something of a quandary, because I know Gid would be mighty upset if I went ahead without his blessing. Still, I am tempted to follow through, with the hope he might

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someday come to see things the way I do . . . and the way his own father does. But though I long for the gift Zachariah Henner is eager to pass on to me, accepting it would be disobedient. Yet how will I ever overcome my depression without such power?

At least the wee one within me is active, kicking hard at times. I am greatly relieved to feel as strong in body as ever I did with both Ida Mae and Katie Ann. Come April, there will be another little Peachey in this house. I do hope it's a boy, and so does Mary Ruth. She said as much when she and Robert came with their own darling bundle for supper at our house recently. Gid was ever so good to allow my dear sister and me to go off by ourselves awhile to talk quietly, even if "the love of the Lord Jesus " was nearly all Mary Ruth wanted to chat about. All the same, I feel so happy to have Mary Ruth smack-dab in the middle of my home and life again.

Respectfully, ; . . ' : Hannah ,. .

No matter where he happened to be when the first snow of die season flew, Jonas was immediately called back to his boyhood, when he would watch the timid flecks' descent through the pallid sky from the wide windows of the milk house or barn. And as winds stirred the tops of trees a sudden and steady squall out of tlic north falling snow would soon become a flurry of white, making the view of his father's farmhouse murky.

This day and the heavy snow it brought reminded him of sonic of the worst blizzards ever to hit Lancaster County. But when his youngest sister showed up at Eli's in Dat's open market wagon, lie felt certain something more terrible than a snowstorm was threaten ing his family's orchard house.

"Come in from the cold!" He held open the back door as Mandie hurried inside.

"Ach, you best be returnin' home with me, Jonas . . . some-

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tiling'* wrong with Mamma," she cried, her distress plain on her I ii p, "She's up in bed, sobbin' her eyes out."

"Sh down and talk more slowly," he said, glad that, at least for

I ii. moment, Jake was out in the shed with Eli. "Take a deep breath "i. I begin again."