Naomi’s Christmas (32 page)

“Ach, Nathan, Paula and Leah had only my well-being at heart. How could they not tell
me that folks were saying such things? I had to be prepared to deal with it.”

He could only be surprised that Naomi had allowed a few rumors to upset her so much.
“I don’t see what you—we—can do. If people are determined to talk, they’ll talk. Don’t
worry. Those who know us won’t believe it, and the others will soon go on to some
other gossip.”

“Don’t you see how serious it is?” A flash of something that might have been anger
lit her eyes. “People are accusing us of sin.”

“Wait.” He held up a hand. “No one is accusing us, ain’t so?
People are passing around a rumor, that’s all. They should be ashamed of themselves.
We have done nothing wrong.”

She shook her head as if impatient with his dullness. “Nathan, don’t you understand?
Someone started this story, and they knew about the night I stayed so late. How did
they know? Who told them? And how can we defend ourselves? It is true that I was here
until nearly daybreak.”

“Taking care of a sick child,” he reminded her, still unable to take this seriously.
People were always talking. That was part of living in a small community where everyone
knew everyone else’s business. “Just because a few blabbermauls chose to make the
worst of that fact doesn’t mean that people we know will believe it. As for how they
knew about it…”

He hesitated, the unpalatable truth sinking in. How would anyone know? It was not
as if they had any near neighbors. The only house in sight was Isaiah’s place and
the grossdaadi house.

“You walked across the field to go home, ja?” he asked abruptly.

She nodded.

“I suppose someone passing could have seen your flashlight from the road.” He knew
even as he said it how unlikely it was that anyone had passed by at that hour. And
even if they had, the logical assumption would have been that it was Isaiah.

Naomi rubbed her arms as if she were cold. “I would have noticed if someone had been
passing on the road. This feeling that someone wishes me ill…it’s not very nice.”

“No.” He could point out that he was a target as well, but that would hardly make
Naomi feel any better, and at this moment, that was the most important thing. “Maybe
we should
talk to Bishop Mose about it.” Before someone else does. That was the thought in his
mind.

She glanced at him. “Talk to the bishop?” The color came up in her cheeks again and
then drained away almost as quickly, leaving her white and strained. “Nathan, do you
think that Jessie could be the one spreading rumors about us?”

“Jessie?” His first instinct was to scoff, but he controlled himself. “Jessie is troubled,
I know. And she has some funny ideas about you taking care of the kinder. But how
could she possibly know anything about the night Sadie was sick?”

“I don’t know,” Naomi admitted. “Could Isaiah or your daad have mentioned it someplace
that she got to hear about it? Or did you talk about it to Emma when you went to see
her?”

“I did tell her about Sadie having the croup, but nothing about how long it lasted
or how late you stayed.” He shook his head. “Jessie has a reckless tongue, I grant
you, but I don’t see how she could have known enough to spread such a rumor.”

He moved closer to Naomi, wanting to put a comforting hand on her shoulder but not
quite daring to. This ridiculous rumor had made it impossible to behave naturally,
and his anger welled up again.

“Naomi, I still think—”

The back door opened, and there was Isaiah, wiping his boots on the mat.

Nathan’s frustration mounted. “Isaiah, can you leave us alone for a bit? We’re talking.”

“I can’t.” Isaiah looked scared and determined, and he was nearly as white in the
face as Naomi was. “I bring a message from Bishop Mose. He wants to see you this afternoon
at four at our house. He’s bringing one of the ministers with him.”

The words fell into a shocked silence. Nathan had been wrong. Naomi was right to be
concerned. They were being called before the bishop and the minister to account for
themselves.

The
ticking of the clock was Naomi’s only company as she waited for it to be time to
go across the lane to Isaiah’s house. She had paced around the little house for a
while, but now she simply sat in the rocking chair, her hands loose in her lap.

She had wept. She had prayed. But she had no answers. All she could hope now was that
whatever happened, it was God’s will.

Pushing gently with her feet, she was soothed by the creaking of the old rocking chair
and the rhythm of the movement. She could almost imagine she was a child again, sitting
on Mammi’s lap in this same chair.

But Mammi wouldn’t be there when she faced the bishop. Daad and Betty were coming,
as well as Elijah. Nathan’s sister had taken Joshua and Sadie to her house.

Naomi felt a wave of gratitude for Sarah’s calm good sense. She’d talked to the children
cheerfully about having a holiday sleepover at her house with their cousins, planning
on the popcorn balls they’d make even as she eased them into their coats.

It was a good thing someone could act normal with them. Naomi had felt too frozen,
even though she’d tried, and Nathan hadn’t bothered to disguise his expression that
resembled a thundercloud. Surely the kinder had known something was wrong, but they’d
gone off with Aunt Sarah cheerfully enough in the end.

Naomi heard the clop of hooves in the lane. A quick glance told her it was Daad’s
buggy, followed closely by Elijah’s. Since she had no desire to face Daad’s inquisition
first, she’d decided that she would not go over until the bishop arrived. That would
be time enough to confront all of them.

How had matters come to this pass? She still didn’t quite know. If she had it all
to do over again, she couldn’t say that she’d do things any differently.

Please, God…

Her prayer seemed to end there. She couldn’t think what else to say, any more than
she could imagine how she was going to defend herself.

Another buggy, Bishop Mose’s this time. Ready or not, she must go.

By the time she’d put her coat and bonnet on and crossed the lane, the others were
already seated in Isaiah and Libby’s small living room. Daad, Betty, Elijah, and Lovina
sat in a row, while Isaiah and Libby hovered in the background. Nathan and his father
sat opposite them, faces stoic, while Bishop Mose and John Fisher, one of the ministers,
had two chairs brought in from the kitchen and placed at the end of the room.

Libby came quickly to greet Naomi, her voice as hushed as if it was a funeral. She
took Naomi’s coat and bonnet, squeezed her hand, and then vanished toward the hall
to hang them up.

One chair was left, next to Betty. Naomi slipped into it, eyes downcast. Daad leaned
forward, looking past Betty at her, his mouth opening to say something, but Bishop
Mose got in first.

“We are all here, so I will begin.” The bishop’s voice could
have a note of command when he wished, and it did now. “I am sorry this call is necessary.
However, when I heard the rumors that some people have been spreading in our community,
it seemed important to deal with the situation right away, before the talk becomes
any worse. Truly the unbridled tongue can be an instrument of destruction.”

The room was completely silent; not even the ticking of a clock sounded. Naomi imagined
that she felt Bishop Mose’s gaze resting on her, and for an instant she couldn’t breathe.

“No formal charge of improper behavior has been brought against Nathan and Naomi.
I would rather dismiss this story as unfounded rumor, but a specific night has been
mentioned repeatedly. Naomi, is it correct that on last Wednesday night you did not
leave Nathan’s house until nearly dawn?”

“Ja, that is true.” She heard a quick, indrawn breath from someone, but that was all.
She prayed to keep her voice steady. “Sadie became ill with croup just when I was
ready to leave at about seven thirty. She has never had it before, and it was a bad
attack. I could not leave Nathan alone to deal with it, so I stayed until I felt sure
she could sleep through the rest of the night. It was nearly three by the time I walked
back here to my house.”

That was her defense, and she could do no more. She felt a little surprised that the
words had come out so easily. She expected more questions from Bishop Mose, but he
turned instead to Nathan.

“Nathan, is Naomi’s account of what happened correct?”

“Ja.” The word sounded as if it had been chipped from a block of ice. “Sadie started
to cough. It was a terrible sound,
like she was choking. I didn’t know what to do, but Naomi did.” Nathan kept his eyes
focused on the bishop. “If she hadn’t been there, I don’t know what I would have done.”

The bishop nodded, and it seemed to Naomi that a little of the tension went out of
the room. “I understand that Isaiah has something to contribute.”

Isaiah, realizing that all eyes were on him, flushed. “Ja. I…We noticed that no lights
were on in Naomi’s place, and she is always back by around eight at the latest. So
I walked over to the farmhouse to see if everything was all right.” He seemed to run
out of steam.

Naomi’s heart twisted. It was unfair that her little brother should be brought into
this and forced to speak before the bishop.

“And what did you find?” Bishop Mose asked, his tone encouraging.

“Like Naomi and Nathan said.” Isaiah’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “They were in the kitchen,
and Naomi had been treating Sadie with a steam tent. Like she used to treat me,” he
added with a quick smile.

“You did not stay?” John Fisher asked, speaking for the first time.

Isaiah shrugged. “There was nothing for me to do, and I would have to be up early
to do the milking. Besides, I knew Naomi would take gut care of the little girl.”

Bishop Mose nodded. His gaze moved from Isaiah to her. “Naomi, has there been any
improper behavior between you and Nathan?”

“No.” She kept her eyes fixed on his face, feeling that he would know she was telling
the truth.

He nodded, and then turned to Nathan. “Nathan, has there been anything improper in
your relationship with Naomi?”

“No.” Nathan’s mouth clamped shut.

Bishop Mose nodded again. He looked around the room from one face to another. “Does
anyone know how this rumor might have started?”

Silence again. Jessie’s face appeared in Naomi’s mind, but she pushed it resolutely
out again. She would not cast suspicion on another without proof.

“Very well.” Bishop Mose shot a glance at John Fisher, and some wordless communication
seemed to pass between them. “I am satisfied that no wrong has been committed here,
save by the people who have repeated an unfounded rumor. There is no blame attached
to Naomi for her actions in nursing a child in her care, nor to Nathan for allowing
it. Does anyone have something to add?”

Daad slapped his hands on his knees, the sound sharp in the stillness. “I am not satisfied.
My daughter is still the subject of rumors and slanderous talk.”

“If I can find the one who has started the rumors, that person will be brought before
the congregation,” Bishop Mose said.

“And if not?” Daad’s face was red, and he ignored the placating hand Betty laid on
his arm. “The talk doesn’t matter so much to Nathan. It is always the woman who carries
the blame.”

“It matters to me.” Nathan was angry. She didn’t think she’d ever seen him angry,
not like this, anyway. His fists were clenched, and he shot to his feet as if he couldn’t
sit still for another minute. “It matters. I don’t want folks talking about
Naomi any more than you do. Or talking about me, and my kinder maybe hearing about
it.”

“Then do something.” Daad shot the words at him.

“All right. I will do something.” Nathan’s voice was loud in the room. “I will marry
Naomi, and that will stop the rumors once and for all.”

Every eye in the room turned toward Naomi. She prayed for the floor to open up and
swallow her, for an earthquake to hit, anything rather than having Nathan proposing
to her out of anger and embarrassment.

They were waiting. All of them waiting for her answer.

Two things were suddenly very clear to her. She loved Nathan King with all her heart.
And she could not possibly marry him, not like this.

She rose, surprised to find that her legs could hold her up. She faced Nathan.

“No,” she said clearly. “I will not marry you.” She turned and walked out, aware of
the stunned silence behind her.

N
aomi
went back to the grossdaadi house. Where else could she go? She didn’t know, just
as she didn’t know what she was going to do next.

The family wouldn’t leave her alone for long. She ought to be making plans so that
she’d have something to say to them.

Naomi pressed her hands to her face, feeling tears sting her eyes. How could she have
said no to Nathan right out in front of everyone?

A flicker of anger went through her. As well ask how he could have proposed marriage
to her in that way. She just prayed he would not attempt to talk to her.

The back door opened, and Naomi’s breath caught in her throat. But it was Lovina,
thank the good Lord. She could just about bear to talk to Lovina.

She started to rise, but Lovina reached her quickly and pushed her back down in the
rocking chair.

“Sit,” she said. She pulled one of the straight chairs from the
table over next to her. “And I will sit, too, unless you want to kick me out.” Her
smile was a bit anxious.

Naomi shook her head. “I knew someone would come. I am glad it is you.”

Lovina’s smile became wider. “Ach, you threw the cat among the pigeons for sure when
you turned Nathan down and walked out.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt him.” She pressed her fingertips to her lips for an instant,
but words already spoken could not be called back.