Abram's Daughters 02 The Betrayal (9 page)

He heard the sound of the horses and buggies now, the womenfolk arriving to help Ida make ready for the common meal tomorrow. Plenty of baking would take place in the Ebersol kitchen this day. Will Leah and Lizzie be on hand to help Ida? he wondered. The chummy twosome had gone to run an errand an hour or so ago.

Frankly, it was downright unnerving how Lizzie had inched her way deeper into their lives, all of them. First she'd gotten her grip on Sadie last year. Now Leah. Worst of all, Lizzie had pressed Abram to make a hasty decision over an English housekeeping job down the road a piece giving him no breathing room. He had little choice but to do things Lizzie's way to keep her hushed up ... for now. Alas, Lizzie Brenneman was railroading him down a path of her own choosing. Downright unbecoming of her.

Ida, on the other hand, wasn't much help, either. Seemed90/Oeirayal

IiIn wife and her sister were out of check, and the bishop wnnkl tell him so if he sought out spiritual counsel. He was liihlni; sway over his family in more ways than one, and growlli(-i wi'nry before his time.

As for the upper hand, he also felt at a loss when it came In Ins lather-in-law. It struck him as peculiar that John's bum

I Up, il real, had come on the heels of a fiery discussion coni nhing none other than Lizzie and her past blunders, though It H in ;igo confessed. Thus Ida's sister was causing strife at every Ii.iiuI. He'd have to put a stop to it before things spun cornI'li'U'ly out of control.

Turning his attention back to the barn cleanup, Abram ! iii'w he'd be tuckered out by this time tomorrow. No doubt he iind Ida would rise early and dress for the Lord's Day right quirk after Lydiann's early-morning feeding, around three-

I1 inly. There was much to be organized before the member-

liip began to arrive two hundred thirty-eight strong, and

111.my more wee ones on the way.

So he and the young man who he hoped might still Income his son-in-law continued that most honorable and .11 n'd task: making an acceptable place of worship in the il^lil of the Lord God and the People.91^Jp'

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1 In- morning mist took too long to burn off, revealing at lliNl ;i cloudless, pure sky. By the time Dat and Leah had finlulled the milking, Sadie, Mamma, and the twins had cooked up u full breakfast of fried eggs and bacon, along with some ii. ih fruit, toast, jelly, and milk. "Best not dally," Mamma i 11 n led the girls, though they knew better than to linger on iliii Lord's Day. "There'll be folks arrivin' well before nine ' * lock, to be sure."

Sadie didn'isjnuch care when the People came. They were ill Moing to be sitting on the church benches in the smelly I, un (he last place she'd like to be today. But go she must.

Her parents' closed-door conversation of four nights ago nil rung in her ears. Pity's sake, she'd thought so long and

11 ml nbout what she'd overheard she'd made herself sick. One

11111 iK was sure, she was convinced they knew something of her i >' k loss year with Derry, that good-for-nothing boy who'd I 'M >ught an everlasting stain on her life.

Thinking on all this, she decided then and there . . .

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maybe she was just too ill to attend church today. She could take herself off to the high meadow and try to keep from being queasy. Dat might not believe her, but Mamma would and so would Aunt Lizzie if it came to that.

Before the womenfolk were to file into the barn prior to Preaching, Leah was surprised to see Naomi come running over to join her and Adah Peachey, along with the twins and Mamma babe in arms and the Ebersol family cluster. The main thing on Leah's mind was Sadie, who wasn't where she was supposed to be just now. Boldly, her sister had gone up to the outhouse right quick before the service was close to beginning. Never mind her, thought Leah, dismissing her errant sister. If she comes, she comes.

Leah got herself into the line for church, behind the baptized single girls at the front. The earthy scent of cats and hay and cattle filled her nose. Best smells on earth, she thought, ever so glad to be alive as she shook hands with Preacher Yoder and the visiting minister from Ninepoints.

She noticed Ezra and Elias Stoltzfus turn their heads in unison when spotting Hannah and Mary Ruth, but the twins reverently walked toward the benches set up for the womenfolk and young children. Though Leah did not crack a smile, inwardly she was amused and gladly so. Someday her younger sisters might end up married to the deacon's boys. Who was to tell? But if so, her nieces and nephews, Hannah's and Mary Ruth's babies the whole lot of them now, wouldn't they resemble each other? Cousins, for sure, but even closer.

What a bright future they all had, including Sadie if she'd just get her tail feathers down here to settle in for the Preach-

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Illy ncrvi.ee. And not only did she need to hear the Word of win1 Lord . . . but Leah had just this minute decided Sadie Uvilyht benefit from another straight talk. Life was too short to mike risks with eternity, and her own conscience weighed ever

hi i heavily.

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The. raucous come-hither trill of a group of blue jays cut

11 < .si i 11 ness at the end of the long, final prayer after the threeliiiiir meeting. Once the People were seated again after kneelIniii I Vacon Stoltzfus rose and announced the location of the

lII-si Sunday Preaching, "in two weeks at smithy Peachey's

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Then, when the meeting was opened up for any business

I In be conducted relating to church discipline, there was an

I ..lie involving "a reckless teenager," or so the member

K polled. That being the case, the closing hymn was sung and

i he youngsters began silently filing out of the barn, followed

,1'Y i he unbaptized, single young people. Another forty

inimlies or so of pointed discussion was to follow, including

11ir humiliating possibility of the wayward youth having to

i . in less before the People.

I eah shivered, wishing Sadie had been present at Preachiiii: today. Aware of the secret members' meeting now going nil, she felt sure it might have put the fear of God in her sister.

Mary Ruth hurried with Hannah to help Mamma, Leah, j iiinl Lizzie with a smorgasbord-style spread laid out on long

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tables in the sunny kitchen. Today being a perfect day for a picnic, the People would eat and fellowship on the grounds. Bread and homemade butter, sliced cheeses, dill and sweet pickles, strawberry jam, red beets, half-moon apple pies, and ice-cold lemonade the standard light fare for a summer Sunday go-to-meeting. Not that a body could eat himself full on such, a menu. It was merely intended to squelch growling stomachs till the People could ride horse and buggy back home.

"Has anybody seen Sadie?" Mary Ruth asked of Leah and Hannah.

c 'Sadie's sittin' up in the meadow, head between her knees like she's under the weather," Aunt Lizzie offered.

Mary Ruth joked, " 'Cept ain't it an awful nice day to "

"Now, leave her be," Mamma spoke up.

.At this Mary Ruth turned to Hannah and frowned. , "You heard Mamma," Hannah whispered.

Still, Mary Ruth wondered how Sadie could get by with skipping church, soaking up the sunshine instead. Unless she was ill. But if she was simply having a sulk, well, then it didn't make sense. Why would Sadie bring unnecessary shame to her parents on the day they hosted the church meeting?

After the noon meal, enjoyed on the rolling lawns, the young men gradually began to gather in the barnyard. There they congregated in one of two groups: the more pious teens some baptized and some not and the known rebels

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wln> I ypically ignored the rules of dress, conduct, and were all-

11Hiiul less serious minded.

I'lias stood with the teens known for following the letter

I I Ik- law, even though he was also hipperdiglipp the type of

11 I low who rode his new pony cart to the limits of speed and

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I )n her way back from the outhouse, Mary Ruth stumbled

11|iihi Hlias and had to swallow her nervousness. She'd never

1'ieii rhis alone with him, except for that one time at the i-|.;cialile stand, nearly a year ago. Her resolve not to pay him my mind flew out the window. She was ever so eager to reply il lie should happen to speak to her.

And speak he did, removing his straw hat. "Hullo, Mary I'uili, How are ya?"

Well, she might've thought the Lord God himself had

I-'mended and stood before her, she was that tongue-tied. "I ... uh, hullo."

She wanted to say more, truly she did. Not lose her words in (his hopeless stuttering, of all things. Should she try to talk it|.;iiin/ She might not get a second chance today, and the next

11 ii it- lo prove herself to be a bright and expressive young woman would be another two weeks away. Be calm, she told

I mi self. Breathe deep . . . stand tall.

1 le scratched his tousled red hair and nodded. He was lookin) ; ai her, sure as anything, and she tried ever so hard not to i.iiv back. Yet his eyes drew her, pulled her like iron to a magi i. I ;or what seemed like a full minute, he stood smiling down

I1 her. "Awful nice seein' you again, Mary Ruth."

"Denki thank you" was all she managed to say before he was on his way. Oh, she could just kick herself for being so

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jittery. Was this how it felt to be falling in love? She hoped not, because she absolutely must dismiss her feelings for Elias.

Her thoughts turned to the singing in the barn after nightfall. Of course she wasn't free to go. At just fourteen she longed to be older an adult, to be sure. But she was too young for the true freedom she longed for and too old to be treated like a girl with hardly a care in the world. For truth, in spite of seeing Elias just now, she wasn't too sure she'd ever be happy living.amongst the People forever, being treated the way the menfolk seemed to manage the womenfolk under the thumb, so to speak.

Lately, though, she'd observed one woman whom she wouldn't mind imitating at all. Aunt Lizzie. Her aunt had a lip that wouldn't quit, and Mary Ruth knew it firsthand because she'd heard Lizzie talking mighty straight to Mamma just last night. "I'm telling you, time's running out for Abram," Lizzie said. "Put that in your work apron and mull it over, Ida. I'm fed up with him muzzling the ox." And with that Mary Ruth had darted back into the front room, hiding behind the doorjamb, changing her mind about heading straight for the kitchen. It wouldn't be wise to barge into such a squall.

For tonight she and Hannah would simply sit out on the back lawn, listening to the courting-age young people sing their "fast" songs, having themselves a good time.

Sadie wouldn't be going, either, not the way she'd kept herself away from the meeting today. No, Dat would see to it Sadie was nowhere near the barn singing. As for Leah, being engaged to Jonas would keep her away unless Adah Peachey or Naomi Kauffman talked her into going with them. Jah,

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tonight would be an interesting sight, with more than likely not a single one of Abram's daughters showing up at their own singing.

Dawdi John was a bit sluggish, but sharp as a nail. Tonight he wore his white "for good" shirt, tan suspenders, and black broadfall trousers, same as he'd worn all day. Because of the exceptionally warm evening, no coat was needed, and he'd left his black bowtie in his dresser drawer. His weak eyes, when he removed his glasses, were somewhat pained as he sat on a folding chair next to his granddaughters in the backyard.

"Nice to hear the young people lift their voices in song, ain't?" Leah was quick to say. Ever since she'd known of his hip problems, she'd gone out of her way to show extra kindness to Dawdi.

"They sing as heartily as the youth did back when I was a lad." He nodded, smiling.

Hannah and Mary Ruth were caught up in their own talk, sprawled out on a large green quilt, frayed round the edges. As for Sadie, she had been sent upstairs following the cornmon meal to contemplate her irreverent behavior this morning. Dat had ordered her off to the hot and stuffy bedroom, called after her that she was "never, ever to feign sickness on the Lord's Day again!" and she was not allowed to leave the premises for a full week.

Leah couldn't blame Dat, really. Sadie had it coming, plain to see although Mamma had actually winced when

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Dat raised his voice. Even Hannah and Mary Ruth had put their heads down, squinting to beat the band. But Leah knew the punishment had come forth in such a fiery way due only to continual problems. Before supper tonight Sadie had refused to hold Lydiann, though their baby sister was as sweet as pudding. She wouldn't budge even when Mamma spoke directly to her. "Take your baby sister for me, please."

Sadie had actually backed away when Mamma held Lydiann out to her, shocking all of them. Mary Ruth came to Mamma's rescue, taking Lydiann in her own arms, and Sadie made a beeline to the back door, sobbing as she ran.

Leah, chagrined, had been sent out to fetch her sister, ordered to do so by Mamma, then Dat. . . then both her parents in chorus.

She hoped and prayed often that Sadie might snap out of her cantankerous mood. Unknowingly, Dat and Mamma were being pulled into the thick of it. Won't Mamma, at least,put two and two together if Sadie keeps behaving in such a questionablemanner? she had wondered.

Just now she saw Adah Peachey running through the cornfield. Leah waved to her, noticing Gid was nowhere in sight.

"Won't ya come along with me?" Adah called to her.

"I'm keepin' Dawdi company," Leah replied.

"Aw, please come?"

Leah, wanting ever so much to accompany Adah, turned to ask Dawdi, "Will you be all right here for a bit?"

"Sure, go on, Leah. I'm just fine. Besides, Hannah and Mary Ruth will look after me, won'tcha, girls?"

The twins nodded, and Leah rose to meet Adah. Mary99lOelrayat

I v 11 (K hopped up from the quilt to claim Leah's vacant folding ( luiir. "Have yourself a nice time," Mary Ruth said, plopping herself down.