Amish Circle Letters II: The Second Circle of Letters (19 page)

Her mother reached over and laid her hand on her youngest daughter
’s arm, the gesture immediately sending a warmth feeling of comfort through Mary Ruth. She placed her hand upon her mother’s. There was a moment of silence between the two women, an unusual showing of affection that neither had expected.

Finally, Miriam removed her hand as she cleared the emotion from her throat. “You should know by now that we take care of each other,” Miriam said gently, pausing to touch Mary Ruth
’s chin, a gesture that she used to do when Mary Ruth was but a child. Then, turning her head, but not before Mary Ruth caught sight of the emotion in her eyes, Miriam added, “Everyone will come through. They always do.”

Mary Ruth sighed, comforted in the knowledge that her
mamm
was correct. No matter how much she worried, the community would come through for Mary Ruth and Menno. Without another word, Mary Ruth stood up and watched as her
mamm
walked back up the stairs to finish with the laundry. Smiling as she watched, Mary Ruth waited until
Mamm
disappeared before walking to the sink and, without being asked, quietly washed the dishes that were still there from the noon meal. It was the least she could do to help her
mamm
who had comforted her so with just a few moments of her time.

Anna was surprised to see Mary Ruth walk through the door that connected the
grossdaadihaus
to her own. She hadn’t seen Mary Ruth arrive and hadn’t recognized Menno’s horse and buggy that was hitched to the side of the barn by the hitching rail. She was sitting in a plush chair, bent over a pair of black pants as she repaired a tear in one of the knees.

“Why, Mary Ruth!” she exclaimed. “Is everything all right?”

“Just stopped by to visit with my
mamm
,” Mary Ruth said as she shut the door behind herself. “Also, I wanted to ask if you might bring Katie to the barn raising. I know it would mean she’d miss school but it might be a big help for us. Could be a distraction for Melvin,” she explained.

Anna set down the pants and studied her sister-in-law
’s face. “Still having problems with Melvin, then?”

Sitting down in the rocking chair next to Anna, Mary Ruth sighed. “
Ja
, problems,” she admitted. How could she explain this to Anna? After all, the only two people who knew about the reason for the fire were Menno and herself. “He’s just so quiet and withdrawn.” She lowered her voice as she continued, “And Suzanna confided in me that he’s daydreaming at school. Teacher yelled at him so many times that he lost his recess privilege.”

With a short intake of air, Anna seemed genuinely surprised. “Oh help!”

Nodding her head, Mary Ruth agreed. “Menno is beside himself and there is a certain tension in the house,” she admitted. “Not like it was before. I miss his laughter.”

“Well, he certainly had a big scare, don
’t you think?” Anna put forth. “First losing his
mamm
and then almost losing you? Poor child is probably fit to be tied with fright.”

Or guilt
, Mary Ruth thought.

“Anyway,” Mary Ruth said, changing the direction of the conversation. “Menno thought it might be right nice to have Katie there. They get on so.”

Anna laughed. “Oh
ja
, they sure do! Love notes in the mail and not even close to their
rumschpringe
!”

Silently, Mary Ruth prayed that Katie might be able to snap Melvin out of his blue funk, to help him see that God had a plan for everyone and, in His plan, He had reasons for that fire and reasons for her near-death experience. These reasons were not to be questioned by man for only God knew why bad things happened. It was up to the people to accept these situations and continue living, their faith complete and whole, while focused on walking the path of Jesus.

Mimi sat on the sofa in the kitchen and leaned back, shutting her eyes for just a moment. She was exhausted. With dark circles under her eyes, she knew that she looked dreadful. Even her hair was starting to gray at the part down the middle, something that had shocked her when she had first noticed it, just the other evening.

After the morning milking, she wanted to go back to bed. But she just couldn
’t. The laundry needed to be done. Since the weather was not as cold as previous days and the sun was shining, she hung it outside to dry. By the time that chore was finished, she knew that it was time to start cleaning the kitchen before focusing her attention on making dinner and baking the schnitz pies that she had promised Mary Ruth.

Two weeks had gone by. Two
very long
weeks dealing with Steve’s strange milking schedule. In two days, they would leave after the early morning milking to head over to Mary Ruth and Menno’s farm for the barn raising. They would have to leave by early afternoon in order to return home for the next milking at four. Secretly, Mimi hoped that they’d be able to sleep in the afternoon before the milking at two o’clock in the morning.

She wondered how he had managed to find the time to visit her so often when they had been courting. How had he found the time? She had a newfound respect for him. He must have been so tired, sparing the time between chores to come visiting with her. Yet, as she thought back, he never appeared tired. He had always been upbeat and energetic, sometimes a bit quiet but never weary. Realizing that made her feel ashamed at her own unspoken complaints.

For years, she had longed to find the man who would appreciate her humor, love her just for herself, and want to spend his life on earth with her. Now that she had found him, how could she possibly complain?

With a sigh, she stood up and walked over to the kitchen where she had already laid out the ingredients: cinnamon, sugar, salt, and lemon extract, along with the dried apples which had been soaking overnight in order to get started on the pies that she had promised. Steve had helped her clean out the refrigerator to store some of the pies and the tenants had volunteered room in their refrigerator, too. She figured that she would be able to safely make fourteen pies today and another fourteen tomorrow. Enough to keep quite a few of the men going during the barn raising.

Just last evening, Steve had mentioned that he might take a ride over to the Yoders’ farm the following day to help prepare the wall frames. Close friends and family always got together the day before the barn raising to lay out the timber, cut it to size, and nail together the frames for the walls. It always expedited the raising of the barn when all of the workers were together.

When he had mentioned it, Mimi had felt a surge within her. The chance to ride along with him excited her. Yet, she had felt hesitant to ask if she could. Would he think she was forward? A pushy wife? She must have made a face, glancing away and chewing on her lower lip or perhaps he had read her mind; for, without any further prodding, he had made that very suggestion.

“
Mayhaps
you could help Mary Ruth get the house ready,
ja
?” he had said.

Eagerly, she had agreed. Just the time alone in the buggy ride would be worth it. Since their marriage, they had rarely spent time alone in the buggy as they used to doing their short courtship. She had looked forward to it all night and morning, hoping that it would bring back the luster of their courtship. Even if she had to work inside with Mary Ruth, Mimi didn
’t care.

Now, she wasn
’t so sure that she’d feel up to it. In the mornings, she felt as though she was dragging along, barely able to keep her eyes open. She had taken to making two pots of coffee: one to take to Steve in the barn and one for herself while working. But even caffeine wasn’t helping very much.

She began making the piecrust, using a large metal bowl to combine the flour, sugar, and a sprinkle of salt. She mixed it with a large fork, making sure that everything was mixed into large crumbly flakes before she combined milk with vegetable oil to pour into the dry ingredients. Her mother always used Crisco but Mimi had forgotten to purchase some at the store. It hadn
’t taken long to mix everything and then, with clean hands, she began pressing the dough into the pie tins that she had set onto the table. When the dough was gone, she made another batch for the rest of the tins.

Rather than use a potato ricer to press the apples, she decided on a large mill instead. It took her almost thirty minutes to mill the apples and her arm ached when she was finish. Liquid had splashed all over the counter and dripped down the edge of the bowl that she was using to collect the droppings and the juice. It was a mess indeed, especially with flour scattered everywhere.
Something else to clean
, she thought wryly.

Mimi was able to bake eight pies at a time in the oven, leaving the other six to set on the counter until the first batch was finished. Then, she focused on cleaning up the mess that stared back at her. If there was one thing she didn
’t like, it was messy kitchens. To Mimi, when a kitchen was not orderly, it seemed to reflect on a disorderly household. Sometimes when she went visiting with Anna, she was appalled at how messy and dirty the kitchen was. Still, Anna and the
kinner
always seemed happy enough.

The outside door opened and a burst of cold air swept into the warm kitchen. Mimi looked up, surprised to see Steve sweep into the house. He shut the door behind him and hung his coat on the peg from the door. As he walked toward her, he set his hat on the counter and reached for her hand.

The gesture surprised Mimi. They had both been so tired as of late that any sort of affection was saved for the privacy of their bedroom. And even that was infrequent. She felt his cold hand holding hers and he pulled her into his arms, his red cheeks bright and cheerful as he smiled at her.

“Heavens to Betsy, Steve,” she said, half laughing at his jovial mood. “What on earth?”

He walked backward, gently pushing her away from the kitchen. “I was just thinking about you,” he murmured. “Thinking about how wonderful a wife you are and how wonderful you make me feel, Mimi.” He held her close in his arms. “I am a most fortunate man to have such a wife. And it got me to thinking…” His voice trailed off as he stared into her eyes. There was no need to continue speaking to know what was on his mind.

Her eyes quickly glanced at the clock. “I…I think we have to leave soon,” she whispered, feeling shy in his embrace.

“
Nee
,” he replied. “You still have some pies to bake, ain’t so?”

With a soft kiss on her lips, he released his hold on her but not her hand. Neither spoke as he led her out of the kitchen and up the stairs toward the privacy of their bedroom.

Melvin stood beside his
daed
, a tool belt strapped around his waist. It was too big for him and occasionally slipped so he kept tugging at the sides, hoisting it higher on his hips. He didn’t mind, although he always took a good look around to make certain the other men weren’t watching and no one was noticing. He didn’t want anybody to think that he was too small to be helping out with the framing of the barn walls.

He had been surprised when his
daed
had approached him in the kitchen that morning. With the cows at the neighbors, Melvin hadn’t helped with morning chores. It was too far for him to walk back and still have time to get ready for school. This morning, his
daed
had returned earlier than usual and, after washing his hands in the sink, turned to look at the four round faces staring at him from the table.

“Melvin,” he started. The sound of his deep voice caused Melvin to jump. He had been on edge recently; there was no denying that. His father addressing him directly, and so unexpectedly, had certainly startled him. “I
’m going to be framing those barn walls today. I’d like you to help, if you don’t mind missing two days of school, that is.”

The three girls groaned, their disappointment more than apparent at not having the invitation to stay home extended in their direction. Melvin glanced at them before turning his eyes to meet his father
’s. “Me?”

Menno laughed, his laughter lightening the mood in the room and Mary Ruth, who had been in the mudroom, walked in, smiling at the sound. She didn
’t ask what was going on; one glance at Menno’s joyful face and Melvin’s confused expression told her all that she needed to know. “Anyone in the room named Melvin?”

“I…” Melvin didn
’t know what to say so he let the sentence trail off.

Menno took a step forward and tousled his son
’s hair. The gesture not only surprised Mary Ruth but also pleased everyone in the room that had witnessed it. “I take it that’s an indication that you’d be right pleased to help frame the barn walls, then,” he said. He hadn’t waited for a response before he turned back to take the hot cup of coffee that Mary Ruth handed to him. Smiling his gratitude, he had walked over to the head of the table in order to sit for the breakfast meal.

Now, with the cold air chilling Melvin to the bone, he wished that Mary Ruth might bring him a hot cup of cocoa or tea. He wouldn
’t think of complaining, however. To do so would most certainly cause his
daed
to regret inviting him to help the men. There were ten Amish men who had volunteered to help Menno with the framing. Melvin knew all of them but one man, a cousin who was visiting Jacob Riehl.