The Amish Nanny (17 page)

She took a deep breath. A horsefly buzzed by, and I brushed it away. The heat of the day was heavy.

“
Mamm
? What are you thinking?”

She looked at me then. “Honestly?”

I nodded.

She pursed her lips together and then said, “That I gave you a continent. Freely, and with love. I thought it would settle this thing inside of you. I gave you a
continent
, Ada, and how do you repay me? By asking for an ocean.”

Her voice caught on the last word, bringing tears to my eyes as well.

“It's just a trip. I'll be back.”

“What if you don't?”

“Don't?”

“Come back. What if you don't come back at all?” She shook her head. “You don't know Giselle the way I do, Ada. She'll wrap you around her finger as tight as a thread. What if she wants you to stay with her in Switzerland?”

That was ridiculous. Of course I would come back. “There's no reason I would stay,” I said. “And why would she want me to anyway?”

“Oh, she'll come up with something, I'm sure.”

“
Mamm
, I don't know if she wants me to come or if she'll even agree to see me once I'm there. I'll have Zed email her to let her know about the trip, but beyond that, there's a good chance I won't have much interaction with her. It's really up to her.”

We were silent for a moment as my words hung there between us.

“What if you get sick?” she ventured. “What if your health takes a turn and you're in the middle of the ocean somewhere?”

“My health is good,
Mamm
. It's very, very good. You must see that. You must be able to look at me and know I'm not like I was. Not at all. Not anymore.”

My words were so emphatic she didn't even reply. Again, we were quiet for a long moment.

“I wonder what Marta would say about this,” she said finally.

“She'd probably be all for it,” I answered. Considering that my taking this trip would save Aunt Marta from having to go herself, I had a feeling she'd be thrilled. “I thought I might go over there later to talk to Zed about emailing. I can speak with Aunt Marta too.”

“Go this evening. I'll go with you.”
Mamm
let go of her apron and brushed it straight. “Maybe she can talk some sense into you.”

I bit my lip, hoping
Mammi
had made it clear to my mother that this trip was already a done deal. The wheels had been put into motion whether
Mamm
liked it or not.

Of course, it wouldn't help matters for me to remind her of that now. Instead, with a final pat on her arm, I said, “Maybe so.”

Then I turned and walked away.

A
unt Marta ended up talking sense into both of us as we sat in her tiny living room. Zed was in the even smaller dining room, at the computer, emailing Giselle. Ella was off babysitting for a neighbor, which I knew because she'd sent me a text earlier. Since the trip she'd been keeping me updated about her life regularly, no matter how trivial. I didn't mind, most of the time.

“Maybe Giselle has changed.” Aunt Marta looked from my mother to me. “Or maybe she hasn't. I actually think it's a good thing you're going, Ada. Someone in our family needs to connect with her.” She turned back to
Mamm
. “And honestly, Klara, why do you think Giselle would want Ada to stay? I think you're letting your fears get the best of you.”

Of course I agreed but didn't say so now.

“Got one!” Zed called out from the dining room.

“From Giselle?” I was on my feet before I realized I shouldn't react so enthusiastically. Forcing myself to move far more slowly than I wanted to, I walked to the dining room.

“No. From Herr Lauten.”

“Oh.” I hadn't realized Zed had emailed him too.

“He says he just wants you and Alice to know how thankful he is you are coming. Not only will you save an important historical site, but you'll also be saving his home as well. He said he's spent the last year renovating Amielbach with an eye toward turning it back into an inn.”

“I thought it already was an inn,” I said. “That's what Lexie told me, last spring.”

“I thought so too,” Zed said, growing quiet as he read the words on the screen. “Looks like a long time ago it used to be a boarding house, but that hasn't been the case for years. He says now that he's retired, he's decided to turn it into an inn and make it a lot fancier. Says he's been renovating for a whole year.” Zed skimmed some more and then added, “Poor guy. Sounds like he's really been going all out, but with a hydro plant next door to destroy the peaceful setting and the beautiful view, an inn would be doomed before it ever opened.”

“You hear that, Klara? In more ways than one, this is a good thing that Ada and Alice are doing. You should send Ada on her way with your blessing. This was meant to be.”

Mamm
never actually gave me her blessing, but she didn't give me the silent treatment anymore, nor did I find her crying into her apron. Our ship to Europe would be leaving in three weeks, so I tried to do everything I could to help with the chores around the place until then. It felt good to work without tiring easily, as I used to. Staying so busy also helped me to not think about why Giselle hadn't returned Zed's email.

Perhaps it was prideful of me, but during the next few days I tried to work extra hard, just so my parents could see how very healthy I had become. I knew it registered, because
Daed
commented one night at dinner.

“I was looking around for the other ones today,” he said cryptically, reaching for the squash casserole. “Never found them, though.”

Mamm
and I looked at each other and then at him.

“The other what?” she asked.

“The other Adas.” Glancing my way, he gave me a sly wink. “Considering that she does five times the work she used to, I figured the good Lord must have duplicated her somehow.”

I laughed heartily at his joke, though
Mamm
merely smiled and clicked her tongue. Prideful or not, I thought it showed great restraint on my part not to turn to her and say, “I told you so.”

The day after Lexie and James got home from their honeymoon, I called her to tell what was going on. By the time I finished, she was practically beside herself with excitement.

“What an adventure! Are you sure you won't take a camera and send me pictures?”

“No, but I could mail you some postcards of the scenery, if you'd like.”

“How about the box with the image of Amielbach on top? I think you should take it with you. Maybe someone over there will know who carved it.”

“That box is awfully old, Lexie,” I said. “
Mammi
inherited it from her grandmother.”

“Yeah, but it must have come from over there. If you're willing to give it a try, I'll stick it in the mail to you first thing tomorrow. We still have enough time that I won't even have to send it FedEx.”

I knew how Lexie treasured that box, and I was a little nervous about being responsible for it. But she did have a good point. It must have come from over there, and so back to over there it would go. Maybe Herr Lauten, the nice man who owned Amielbach, would know something of its origins.

There was much to do before our trip, and in all of the excitement and business I let one thing catch me by surprise a few days later. I was out in the pasture, tending to a calf, when I heard it: the sound of a clanging bell in the distance.

I gasped, jerking my head up. This was the first day of school.

The bell I could hear was coming from the local school, not Willowcrest, which was a bit farther away. But the pain of its clanging hurt just the same, each ding and dong bringing to mind Leah Fisher's face, smiling as she welcomed her class full of students to a new year of school.

Five days before we sailed, I went to see Alice. We needed to discuss final plans, and I wanted to let her know that my passport had come in on time as expected.

Driving up the lane, I spotted Will halfway under his tractor, a toolbox at his feet. At the house I tended to Rikki and then hurried up the back steps to the kitchen door. Alice greeted me warmly, saying we had a few minutes of quiet before the twins woke up from their nap. We sat at Will's long table with cups of tea and talked. We covered everything, including the lack of any return email from Giselle.

“Don't take it personally,” Alice said. “She doesn't seem to communicate well with anyone.”

I couldn't help but be aware of the irony of the situation. By not cooperating with Herr Lauten's request to represent
Mammi
in this matter, Giselle was bringing more of the family—and more of the past—into her life, not less.

Alice reached for my hand and squeezed it. “I'm so thankful you're willing to make this trip. I'll be honest, Will and I are hoping we can make enough money from selling the property to update the greenhouses—new compressed air fans, rollup sidewalls, things like that.” Glancing at me, she elaborated. “Better temperature controls could have a huge impact on productivity and thus profits. Goodness knows, we could do with some profits.”

I hadn't realized that the Gundys' nursery was having financial issues, but I supposed it wasn't all that surprising. A lot of family businesses in our community had been hit hard by the economy and were, as the
Englisch
liked to say, land rich but cash poor.

“There's something else I want to talk with you about,” Alice said. “How would you feel if we brought Christy with us?”

Her question caught me totally by surprise. Shifting my mind onto this new topic, I simply looked at her, speechless for a moment. Christy? If it were any other child, I'd say yes, of course, what a delightful idea. But not her, not Christy. At eleven, she was old enough, perhaps, but she was very troubled. Since her mother's death she'd become sullen and withdrawn, barely speaking to anyone anymore—except perhaps her father. I couldn't imagine how she'd bear being away from him for so long.

“This is what I'm thinking,” Alice continued, her hand flat on the table. “Will is clearly overwhelmed here, and Christy is still struggling mightily with her mother's death. For those reasons alone I think it's a good idea.”

A giggle erupted from the staircase, and my gaze darted across the room. Mat stood at the bottom. She giggled again when she realized I saw her. Mel was behind her, pushing against her sister. Together, the two came trotting toward us, reaching up for hugs from their grandmother and from me.

“Outside?” Mat asked, her eyes dark and beautiful.

“Sure,” Alice told her. “You don't mind, do you, Ada?”

“Of course not.”

The little girls ran toward the back door and had it open before we got there. Out they rushed, laughing now, their bare feet slapping against the wooden slats of the porch.

“They'll play on the lawn,” Alice said, gesturing toward two Adirondack chairs that sat against the house. “We can watch from here.”

Will was coming toward the yard now, a rake in his hand. The girls squealed in delight and took off running toward him.

“Where was I?” Alice asked as we settled into the chairs.

“Christy,” I reminded her. “You were talking about Christy.”

“Oh, yes.” She turned toward me. “Bringing her with us would be a burden, I know, perhaps more so for you than for me. I'm looking forward to this trip, immensely, but caring for Will's girls these last months has nearly worn me out. I'm not as young as I used to be.” Her blue eyes seemed faded somehow. “I believe I have enough energy to make the trip, but I'm afraid that adding Christy to the mix might be too much without a lot of assistance from you.”

I nodded, realizing yet again how different Christy was than most young girls. Normally, bringing along someone of her age would be a huge help, not an extra burden. Whether because of her mother's death or her own physical condition I wasn't sure, but most of the time Christy seemed more like a nine-year-old than the eleven-year-old she really was.