The Amish Bride (28 page)

I introduced myself, explaining I was Rosalee’s cousin.

“Oh, I’ve heard all about you,” Tom answered, resting his hand on Eddie’s head. “First from Ezra and then from Luke.” He smirked. “I mean Eddie.”

I winced, wondering what Ezra had told him, and what he meant by referencing both of his brothers. I ignored his comment.

“My mother lived here when she was little. I was eager to see the place, and Luke was kind enough to invite me.”

“Ah, yes,” Tom said. “The Lantz family. The one all the troubles started with.”

I gave him a questioning look. “What kind of troubles?”

“You haven’t heard?”

“The only trouble I know of is that my grandfather died here.”

He nodded. “
Ya
, pulled to death by his team.”

“Tom.” Luke stepped a little closer. “She probably doesn’t want to hear about all that.”

Tom shrugged. “It was all downhill from there, from what I understand.”

I glanced down at Eddie, who was looking up at Tom and hanging on every word.

“Why don’t we discuss it some other time,” I said, discreetly gesturing toward the little boy.

Catching on, Tom tousled his littlest brother’s hair. “Isn’t it about time for you to get to bed?”

“Nah,” Eddie bellowed. “It’s too early.”

“Let’s walk Ella to the house.” Luke took Eddie’s other hand. “And introduce her to
Mamm
.”

“She’s resting,” Tom said.

“Where’s
Daed
?”

“Working on the irrigation in the far field.”

Luke nodded and started toward the house anyway. I told Tom it was nice to meet him, and then Eddie pulled me along to keep up with Luke.

There was a swing in the oak tree on the side yard that I hadn’t seen the other day. Grape vines grew up a trellis next to a small outbuilding. Chickens poked around in the grass.

Luke gave me a quick look and blushed again. It was obvious he and Tom were nothing alike.

As we neared the back door, it opened and Millie stepped out, a throw rug in her hand.

“
Ach
!” she cried out. “You startled me.”

Eddie laughed, but Luke reached up and patted her shoulder. “Sorry. I wanted to introduce Ella to
Mamm
.”

“She’s on the sofa.”

Eddie snuck by Millie.

“Go on.” She smiled at me as I passed by her. Even though it was cold out, she was sweating. I could see why once I entered the house. It was like an oven inside.

“
Mamm
’s been chilling,” Millie explained.

I followed Luke through the kitchen. The table was small, only big enough for six people, and it had been completely cleared, the dishes drying in the rack.

I could hear Eddie’s sweet voice, and when we entered the living room, I saw him kneeling beside the couch. He was talking to a small woman who was reclining there, her hand in her young son’s.

“Who’s here?” she asked.

“Ella,” Eddie answered.

“
Mamm
, I brought Rosalee’s cousin for you to meet.” Luke stopped in the middle of the room.

His mother stirred a little and then shifted to her elbow.

“Well, hello,” she said, rising to a sitting position. She pulled the quilt closer as she lowered her feet to the floor.

I said hello, offering her my hand. She took it, holding it gingerly for just a second.

“I’m Cora,” she said. “So you’re Ezra’s friend?”

“
Ya
,” I answered. “We’ve known each other since we were little.”

“He seemed like a nice young man. We were sorry it didn’t work out. We could have used the—” She stopped in midsentence, as if she just remembered why Ezra left.

Ignoring her irritating faux pas, I wanted to ask if I could look around the house, trying to imagine
Mammi
and Mom and Aunt Klara and Aunt Giselle living in the place. But that felt too forward, and no one offered me a tour. I did notice a stack of library books on a chair though, mostly because the top one was a how-to book on drawing.

Millie stepped into the room. “
Daed
and Tom are headed in for our Bible reading.”

“I’d better walk you back,” Luke said as he picked up the stack of books. I wasn’t sure if he noticed me glancing at them or was picking them up because his father was on his way.

“I’ll be fine on my own.” I put out my hand for the flashlight.

Luke shook his head, opening the bottom door of a cupboard under the window. He stashed the books inside.

“But you’ll miss your family time,” I said.

He looked at his mother.

“Go ahead,” she said. “It’ll be all right this once.”

Eddie hugged me goodbye, and I told Millie I’d see her the next day. As we walked down the back steps, I didn’t see Tom or his father, but as we passed the barn I heard their voices, which were kind of loud. It wasn’t as if they were arguing, maybe just having a lively discussion. Luke didn’t say anything, and in a few minutes we were back in the woods.

It was growing dark in the shadows of the trees, and I realized I was glad I wasn’t doing this alone after all. I startled as an owl hooted, probably the same one I’d heard outside my window at night. Luke smiled when I jumped, and then I laughed.

After we crossed the creek, I asked why he worked for Rosalee instead of for his
daed
.

“Rosalee pays me.”

“But it sounds as though your family needs help”

“We do, but cash pays the bills. Some days I don’t get to Rosalee’s at all, but on all the days I do, I work for my
daed
when I get home.”

“What sort of things can you do at night?”

“Tonight I’ll work on the fence by lantern light.”

“Oh,” was all I could answer. After a moment of silence, I asked, “Is your
mamm
all right?”

“Mostly. She’ll be fine for a year or two and then she’ll have a bad spell. It comes and goes.”

I thought of Ezra calling Luke’s
daed
a tyrant, but I wasn’t about to bring that up. When we reached the edge of the woods, I said I could make it the rest of the way to the house. Luke handed me the flashlight.

“Take it back with you,” I said.

He smiled. “I don’t need it.”

He waved and started on this return trip home.

As he disappeared into the trees, my phone rang. I looked at it instantly, hoping someone had remembered my birthday. It was the number for
Will and Ada’s barn phone. It was Ezra! I stayed put at the edge of the trees, not wanting Rosalee to overhear my part of the conversation.

My heart pounded at the sound of Ezra’s hearty, “Happy birthday, Ella!”

“Oh, I’m so glad you called,” I said, backing up against a tree to steady myself, surprised at the warm rush of tears that filled my eyes. “How are you?”

“Mostly fine,” he said. “Everyone’s still really annoyed with me.”

“I take it you don’t have your cell.”

“
Ya
. Will took it. It’s probably in his underwear drawer. Not that I’m going to go looking for it in there.”

Or on his dresser where he could read my texts. I cringed. Hopefully the battery was long dead.

“I wrote you a letter,” I said. “Did you get it?”

“Not yet. What did you say? Besides that you still love me?”

I couldn’t help but smile. I told him what I’d written, that I couldn’t decide about the baking classes.

The tone of his voice changed. “I thought you were going to stay and go to the school. That’s what Ada said your
mammi
told her.”

Once again impressed with the speed of the Amish grapevine, I explained that
Mammi
had paid my tuition, but I wondered if I should come back to Lancaster instead.

“But why, Ella? You’ve always wanted that.”

“Not more than I want to come home.”

“It’s not a good idea, not now,” he said.

Dumbfounded, I stuttered, “Mom will get over it. She’ll have to let me home once I show up—”

“It’s not that. Everyone is watching me like birds of prey. I’m that itty-bitty mouse they are ready to tear apart with their talons and beaks.”

I knew he was exaggerating. “Ezra,” I pled. “I can’t take any drama right now.”

“I’m not kidding. It’s horrible around here.”

“You don’t want me to come home?”

“Of course I do. But you should wait. Why not do the cooking school? It’s what you want, right? Deep down? And someone else is paying for it! It’s a win-win situation.”

“Except for not being around you.” I wanted him more than school, truth be told.

“Nothing’s going to change with me. I’m going to take classes to join the church. Sell my bike. We can figure the rest out when you come back.”

“I don’t know…”

“Please, Ella. If you come back now, it’s only going to make things worse for both of us.”

Instantly my eyes filled with tears, only this time they weren’t the happy kind.

“Go to school. It’s a great opportunity for you. Then come back here and open a business.”

The tree trunk dug into my back, so I stood up straight. “Will you help me?”

“Sure. It will be a family business. Our kids can help. They can frost the cookies.”

I brushed away my tears, trying to be brave, smiling at the thought of a bunch of little Ezras licking their fingers. The subject of kids must have made him think of his nieces, because he started describing the twins chasing kittens through the barn. We talked for a few more minutes, and then the owl hooted again, startling me again, and I stepped away from the trees.

“I need to go,” he said. “Will’s been getting me up at four.”

“When will you call again?”

“Not for a while. Will looks at the phone bills pretty closely. I’ll be in trouble for this as it is.”

“Tell him it was my birthday. Maybe he’ll understand.”

“I doubt it.”

“Write to me, then.”

“Sure thing,” he answered as someone called out his name in the background.

“Gotta go. Bye!”

He was gone before I could respond. I held my silent phone in my hand, wondering if I could survive three months without him. At least if we’d had texting, we could stay in touch all day long every day. But with nothing but an occasional phone call and the US mail, I felt further away from him than I ever had from anyone before.

I slipped the cell into my pocket and turned on the flashlight, blinking away the tears again. He didn’t want me to come home.

I would take the baking class and learn everything I could to run my own business someday. And I would watch and see how Rosalee ran hers. I knew Ezra was right. It would be crazy for me to leave now.

Maybe I’d even be able to figure out the code in Sarah’s book.

I turned toward the woods, bouncing the beam among the trees. As I did, I thought of
Mammi
traipsing through these very trees with Aunt Klara, Aunt Giselle, and Mom tagging along beside her, coming over to spend an hour, or a morning, or an entire day at the Home Place with Sarah in the
daadi haus
. How nice for her that her parents had lived so close. Maybe the little girls even came over by themselves.

I wished Mom had talked about her life growing up here in Indiana. But then I had never asked. As I turned toward the Home Place, a wave of loneliness swept over me. I didn’t know anything about the past except what I’d read in Sarah’s journal. I had no idea what I should do about the present.

And the future I wanted was as far away from me as I was from home.

F
or the next few weeks I worked alongside Rosalee, learning the ins and outs of her bakery business. That, combined with doing farm chores, cooking, and cleaning, made the time pass quickly.

I had another ride tentatively lined up but was relieved when Penny called three days before the class started to say she’d signed up for it too. Just after lunch the next Tuesday, before she was scheduled to pick me up, I sat down with my notebook and read over my “Recipes for Life.”