Miriam's Heart (18 page)

W
inter…

Charley opened the inner stairway door and stepped into the spacious finished attic that ran the length of Ruth and Eli’s new house. Both hands were full and Miriam hurried to take the mugs of hot cocoa before he spilled them.

“How’s the geometry going?” he asked as he placed the plate containing two slices of apple pie on the table that divided the bedroom area of their apartment from the living area.

“Almost done.” Miriam pointed to her desk. “Two problems to go.” She eyed the pie. “I suppose I could take a break.”

“Ya,”
he agreed. “So the cocoa doesn’t get cold.” He glanced around the single room. “The curtains look nice. You must have put them up today while I was at work.”

Miriam sighed. “Ruth did. Anna finished sewing them while I was cleaning the stalls.” The curtains did look nice. They were simple white cotton, identical to those in her mother’s house and exactly the same as the ones on Ruth’s windows on the floor below, but they set off the paneled pine walls and the blue denim covering Mam had sewn for her couch and Charley’s easy chair.

She loved their new home, not under Mam’s roof as Charley had suggested, but under Ruth and Eli’s. They had the big finished attic that would someday, God willing, offer bedrooms for a large family of children. For now, it was perfect for her and Charley. She could remain on the home farm, continue caring for the animals and putting in crops, and she and Charley could have the privacy that any newly married couple wanted. To make the arrangement even better, Eli, Charley, Irwin and Roland had spent two Saturdays adding an outside staircase so Miriam and Charley didn’t have to walk through Ruth’s kitchen to get in and out.

Charley had plans to add a small kitchen in the front of the open room, but she didn’t care when. Cooking had never been one of her better skills. As it was, they ate breakfast with Ruth and dinner and supper at Mam’s. To balance out the living arrangement, Charley paid rent and Miriam cared for Taffy, a wedding gift to Eli and Ruth.

Charley settled into his comfortable chair, set his cocoa on a table and motioned to her. “Come sit here, with me.”

Miriam smiled. This had become a habit with them at the end of the day. She’d cuddle up in his lap and they’d talk, tease or just enjoy being close and warm. She liked being married and she especially liked being married to Charley. So many exciting things had happened in the months since they’d taken their vows together.

A delay in the hospital construction had given them three weeks to travel west to visit friends and distant relatives. Together, they had ridden a steam train to an old mining camp in Colorado, stared in awe at the Grand Canyon in Arizona and waded in the Gulf of Mexico in Texas. So many new sights and sounds, so many memories to cherish… And best of all, when they’d returned to Delaware, Charley had surprised her with the best wedding gift she could imagine.

He’d gotten permission from Bishop Atlee, Uncle Reuben and Preacher Perry for her to continue her education by mail. She could get her high school diploma and some college from a Christian school so that she would be fully qualified to teach at the Seven Poplars’ School if her mother chose to retire the post. It was the most wonderful gift anyone could have given her.

Charley held out his arms and Miriam went into them. As always, she felt safe and happy. Charley was everything any Amish girl could want in a husband and he’d promised her that they would make decisions together in their new family.

She curled up and laid her head on his chest. He smelled good, better even than the cocoa with marshmallows on top that he’d brought upstairs. “Have I told you how much I love you, Charley Byler?” she teased.

“Not in the last hour.”

“I do.”

“Do what?”

She giggled as she stroked his bristly chin. As a married man, Charley was expected to grow a beard. His was somewhat reluctant to grow anything resembling Samuel’s neatly trimmed and lush beard and all the men teased him about it. “I love you, husband.” She waited.

Charley didn’t say anything.

“Well?” she demanded. “Well what?”

“Do you have something to say to me?”

“It’s snowing out. Big flakes. We should be able to build a snowman tomorrow.”

“Snowing?”

“
Ya.
Cold, white, frozen water. You know,
snow.”

When she listened, she could hear the howl of the winter wind and imagine the snow falling. It made their home seem all the more a perfect nest, high in the trees, safe from the world. “Are you sorry you chose me, Charley?”

“Are you sorry you didn’t pick that fancy Mennonite boy with the ball cap and the pickup truck?” He tickled her until she squealed with laughter. “Tell the truth,” he said.

“Ne. Ne.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him tenderly. “Only you, Charley. You are the only man for me…the only husband. I was just too blind to see it.”

“Not as blind as me or I would have made my move long before that city boy caught sight of you.” He kissed her again. “I love you, Miriam. And I thank God every day for giving you to me.”

“It’s like Susanna said,” Miriam said. “We have to listen if we want to know God’s plan for us. Not just pray for an answer, but listen.”

“Have I told you that I love you?” he teased.

“Not in the last thirty seconds.”

“I could tell you every thirty seconds for the rest of our lives.”

She giggled. “Our cocoa would get cold.”

“Then we’ll have to drink it cold, I suppose,” he said. “With the pie.”

“Oh, I forgot the pie.”

“Pie later, kissing first.”

“Whatever you say, Charley.” He kissed her again and sweet sensations danced from the tip of her nose to the soles of her feet.

“Just remember that,” he murmured. “
Whatever you say, Charley.
You keep saying that, and we’ll never have a disagreement.”

“Yes, husband,” she said meekly, then tugged at his chin whiskers. “Ouch.”

“Just so you remember your promise. We decide together.”

“To kiss or eat pie?”

“Maybe both.”

“Ya,”
he agreed. “Both is good. But each in its own time.” And he leaned over and blew out the lamp.

Dear Reader,

I invite you to join me in rural Delaware in the world of the Old Order Amish as we continue along our journey with Hannah Yoder and her daughters. Like so many choices, Miriam’s will not be an easy one. It’s never difficult to make a decision when one choice is good and the other is bad, but what if both choices are equally good ones? How do we know what God’s plan is for us? How do we know who to choose when it comes to love and marriage?

Miriam and Charley Byler have been best friends since childhood; everyone in Seven Poplars assumes they will marry. But then, Mennonite John Hartman comes along and offers her the possibility of a life outside the Old Order Amish Church, a life of excitement and new places and experiences. How will Miriam choose?

I hope that you will come back and join me in Seven Poplars when Miriam’s twin, Anna, learns that a man in her life has been watching her for a very long time and will make her an offer she can’t refuse. Or can she?

Wishing you peace and joy,

Emma Miller

 

1. Miriam was interested in John Hartman from the first day she met him. Knowing he was not of her faith and knowing her family would not approve of him as a suitor, do you think Miriam should have pursued her interest in John? Do you think two people must be of the same faith to have a successful marriage? What are the advantages of same faith marriages? Are there disadvantages? If so, what?
   
 

2. Charley says he has loved Miriam since they were children. Do you think it’s possible for a childhood infatuation to blossom into a love that can sustain a marriage? What are the advantages of marrying someone you’ve known since you were a child? The disadvantages?
   
 

3. Miriam’s family seems to think that Charley is the man for her. Arranged marriages have been made since the beginning of time, and are still prevalent today in some cultures. Do you think family members can choose a partner for a loved one, resulting in a successful marriage?
   
 

4. The Old Order Amish do not believe in higher education. Do you think this is good for their community? Do you think it’s good for the individual? Do you think families will branch off into new orders some day, in order to allow further education for their members?
   
 

5. The subject of Mam remarrying is mentioned several times in
   Miriam’s Heart
   (and in the previous book in the series,
   Courting Ruth
   ). Do you think Mam should remarry, as is expected by her community? How do you think this will affect her? Her family?
   
 

6. Both John and Charley are good men. Why do you think God sometimes places two choices before us, both good, but only one that is right? Can you think of an instance in your life when you had to make a choice, but both were good options?
   
 

7. Do you think it’s fair to Charley and John that Miriam chooses to court both of them at the same time? Do you think both men would be happy with Miriam or do you foresee problems between John and Miriam? Charley and Miriam?
   
 

8. When you heard that
   Grossmama
   was not doing well in Ohio, and that Leah and Rebecca are having an increasingly difficult time taking care of her and Aunt Jezebel, what was your reaction? Do you think Hannah should be taking on this problem, especially considering the fact that
   Grossmama
   has made it plain that she doesn’t care for Hannah? What would you do in Hannah’s shoes?
   
 

9. As the courting progresses between Miriam and Charley and Miriam and John, who did you see her better suited to? In her position, who would you have chosen? Who do you think Miriam should marry?
   
 

10. Do you think Miriam chose the right man to be her husband? Why or why not?