Abram's Daughters 05 The Revelation (13 page)

She recalled how President Kennedy's approach to war had disturbed her father, who, back during the election, had been rather outspoken against such a man leading the country, although he had refrained from voting. "I wonder what Dat will think when he hears this sad news," she said softly.

"I expect he won't say much but rather spend time in prayer for the Kennedy family," Robert offered. "And the nation as a whole."

They did the same as they sat down to eat their supper. Robert's eyes seemed to fall on Ruthie more often than usual throughout the meal, Mary Ruth noticed, and her own spirit felt numb, saddened anew by humanity's need of the Savior.

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Lydiann rode with Abe to Saturday market in Georgetown, ready to keep occupied with customers. She, along with Sadie and Hannah, had stitched up oodles of pretty pillowcases and crocheted doilies and even some rather fancy placemats. Once Aunt Lizzie and Mamma Leah had contributed over a dozen pies, the enclosed family carriage was laden down with plenty of items to sell.

She tried her best not to communicate anything about her mood to her brother as they rode along. Truth was, she wanted to kick herself for sending off a letter to Jake instead of doing the kinder thing and breaking up with him in person. He must think I've got myself another fellow!'That he might believe this of her hurt even more, and

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! iliouj'Jit again of how Jake must have opened the envelope in him. ip.iiion of a loving note, only to read words that had surely

1'ioiij'ln him heartache. How she wished she had never promised i i iiiini:i and Sadie to keep this secret to herself! Without his knowin,- iIn- truth, her good-bye to Jake cast her in a heartless light, and

I lake could never begin to understand her reasoning otherwise.

' >i net imcs Lydiann wondered just how she would find it in herself i" elebratc Christmas this year.

"What did ya think when ya heard 'bout the president gettin' <

"It's just horrifying, that's what."

lie looked hard at her. "Ach, I wasn't the one doin' the shootin', yu know."

"I'm sorry, Abe." She dared not let on what was really botherin|' lut or what she was contemplating just now. Abe would never bc^in 10 understand, and aside from the one time she and Jake Iiii .I shown up at the house in the middle of the day, she was prcMiy sure her brother didn't know beans from applesauce about ilie state of their courtship. Maybe he'd put two and two together, though.

Abe spoke up. "Do ya want me to stay and help make change for < ustomers?"

"That'd be right nice ... if ya want." Time to talk less pointedly. After all, this was her only brother and she must show him some respect, even though he was younger. Besides that, it was good ol him to offer, as lippy as she'd been.

"Okay, then, I'll stay till noon or so and then come back for ya. I low's that?"

"Dat will be glad for your help shreddin' cornstalks, I'm sure." I hat was all she said to him in answer, so quick was she to lose herself in gazing at the countryside. More weddings were coming up next week, both Tuesday and Thursday, and she tried not to think iibout how miserable she'd been the day of the one down at the Kauffman farm. At the time she'd begged off going, knowing she {ouldn't possibly plaster a smile on her face when it was all she could do to simply breathe.

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When they arrived at market Abe helped her carry in the pics, but once the stand was set up and ready, he wandered about, talking to different friends and waiting for the doors to open to the general public.

It was during the first bustling hour that she happened to sec Carl Nolt, along with his mother. Lydiann noticed their baskets were already full up with handmade aprons and other linens.

"I'm buying ahead for Christmas," Dottie told her when the two of them came over to say hello. She turned to her tall, slender son. "You remember Abe and Lydiann?"

"Hi," Carl said.

Lydiann felt a bit embarrassed for her old friend and nodded, saying, "Hullo, Carl," as did Abe.

It was clear to Lydiann that Carl was miserable, and not from awkwardness. He looked as dejected as any boy she had ever seen as bad as she felt, really but she refused to stare.

Sometime later, when his mother was nowhere in sight, Carl came wandering back to see her. Abe shooed her off for a walk with her old friend, though her heart wasn't in it at all.

"Where have you been keeping yourself?" asked Carl, once they were outside and away from the stream of customers. Suddenly his smile was as big as it had been in the days before she'd stuck her neck out some years ago and insensitively questioned him about being adopted. He must have erased that conversation from his mind.

"I haven't seen you round much, neither." She felt uncomfortable around him, despite the fact they'd gone walking together plenty of times during seventh grade.

"How've you been, Lydiann?"

"Oh, fine, I guess."

"You don't sound so sure."

She avoided his eyes and made small talk, speaking only of insignificant things like the weather and all the folk at market. And she also mentioned how pleased she was with her new baby niece, Ruthie Schwartz.

Carl was kind, but he seemed almost too eager to visit with her,

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fulling ol 11is interesting experiences in high school while seemingly

miiiMi.N not to be too excited about his adventure into higher edu-

M "Hi. I le was no doubt well aware of the Amish stance on school-

" i- |m.si eighth grade. "I made a big mistake in the past year,

ilii >iip,li," he confessed. "I started seeing a girl I should've never given

t sridiid look."

She waited for him to continue, turning to glance his way. It was iliin she saw the hurt in his eyes.

"She and I ... well, we're through."

"I'm sorry for you," she said, meaning it.

"What 'bout you, Lyddie? Are you seein' anyone?"

I low to tell him without bursting into tears? "I was . . . jah, for i|iiiU' ;i while. But no more." The lump in her throat threatened to Uitiki- 11 impossible for her to speak, so she quit talking altogether. t 'ti 11 wm i Id n't have known Jake, anyway, since Jake had attended the Aiui-.Ii school over on Esbenshade Road.

I It- stopped walking and grinned. "I have an idea," he said more .' >l i \y now. "How would you like to go on a hayride with me . . . for I'I lime's sake?" He immediately added that it was a churchI insured youth activity. "Just so you know."

She was caught off guard, not knowing what to say she was Mill loo pained over Jake to think of spending time with anyone I'lsi-, even with a former friend like Carl. "That's awful nice of you, bill I best not." She also knew her father, if he got wind of it, would not take kindly to the idea, no matter that she, Abe, and ( ,nl had grown up playing together, thanks to Mary Ruth. Dat would want her to be courted by an Amish boy and eventually join ilie (lobbler's Knob church, not spend time with a Mennonite.

After Carl said a kind good-bye, she wandered back inside to fitnl Abe acting glad to see her. "We've sold more than a third of our poods, snatched up in no time." He gave her a sly smile. "Out i huinmin' with Carl, ol' buddy, old friend ... as they say?"

"No need to get any ideas in your head 'bout that, little I it oi her," she shot back.

But on the ride home, Lydiann thought again of Abe's reaction to her visit with Carl, and she began to wonder if she shouldn't con-

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sider going to singings again, if only for a little innocent fun. Sin hoped she wouldn't run into Jake there, but she truly needed tin comfort of her many friends.

Hannah stooped low to pull out several of her numerous notebooks from the bedroom bookcase. Flipping through the pages <>l the makeshift journals, where she'd recorded bits and pieces of liei life from the early teen years on, she felt unexpectedly self-conscious As a wife and mother of three daughters with yet another baby on the way, she found herself amused at the childish things she'd wrii ten and wondered what she had been thinking back then, pouring . out her immaturity onto these pages. Some of her own private thoughts struck her now as rather worthless, causing her to consider whether she shouldn't cease keeping a journal presently, although most of what she noted these days was about the cute antics of her girls or goings-on down at the Ebersol Cottage. She found herself wishing she might pass along the notion of keeping a diary to at least Ida Mae, who was showing some interest in writing, especially short notes to friends.

Glad for the stillness pervading the house on a Saturday of all things, the girls having gone over yonder to their Peachey grandparents', Hannah felt freed up to sort, taking the time to organize the notebooks according to year before she dusted the lower shelf.

That done, she moved on to dust the large bureau and the small table on Gid's side of the bed. Noticing a Bible there, she picked it up and opened it to the bookmarked page. She was surprised to sec two underlined Scripture verses: Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Reading the verses made her stop and think. The fact Gid had apparently marked these for a reason counted for something, although she was shocked to see such markings in the Holy Bible, ol

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ill [ilrttt's. Suddenly Hannah worried her husband might put a stop hi tier growing interest in powwowing. The idea made her almost

11tiiHie. and she was anxious to move forward with her planned visit in ilie Henners' as soon as possible. The minute, then, she finished iliintlttg. I lannah would be on her way. Nothing must stop me!

1191*JP

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jl rom the vantage point of the buggy, Hannah could see the Henners' white clapboard farmhouse clearly from the road, despite the lofty sycamore trees and clusters of maples that created a formidable windbreak.

She turned into the long, narrow lane, stepped down, tied the horse to the post, and then made her way around to the back door. She knocked lightly, feeling hesitant, hoping not to interfere, yet desiring to have an opportunity to observe a healing. Despite the weeks she had anticipated such a visit with Zachariah or another healer, she didn't know if she would be acceptable to a seasoned Brauchdokder. If all went well and she was welcomed, she might learn about herbal potions, various chants, and formulas known only by local hex doctors.

Mary Ann came to the door with three small towheaded children at her skirt, her eyes bright. "Well, come in, Hannah." Over her shoulder, she called, "Zach, it's Preacher Gid's wife come to visit!"

"Hope I'm not a bother," Hannah said as she stepped inside. "I've been wantin' to get better acquainted with yous."

"Well, now's as gut a time as any." Mary Ann smiled warmly and motioned for her to follow, leading her through the long kitchen and into the front room, where the green shades were drawn, making the space extremely dark for midday. Zachariah was seated on a straight-

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backed chair, wearing gray trousers, black suspenders, and a longsleeved white shirt, dressed as if for Sunday Preaching service. He looked up, somewhat bleary-eyed.

"You remember Hannah Ebersol, dear?" said Mary Ann, evidently assuming it was her husband whom Hannah was most interested in seeing.

"Come in." The healer waved to her.

"Hullo," said Hannah shyly, suddenly quite nervous in the presence of the man she had sought after, though still ready to receive as much as Zachariah might be willing to impart.

"Are ya in need of healin'?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Well, no, not today." She went on to explain. "I was a devoted patient of your Grandmammi's several times I visited her."

Zachariah's head bobbed up and down slowly. "I believe she spoke of you, jah." But the light went out of his eyes and he seemed preoccupied once again.

Now that she was here, she felt almost reluctant to stay as her eyes grew accustomed to the dimness. "I've been wantin' to ask you some things."

An uncomfortable silence ensued. Finally, without looking at her, he spoke again. "Along the lines of powwowing, do you mean?"

This is my chance, she thought. Might be the only time I catch him alone. She knew he had a good many patients all hours of the day and night.

"I've been curious," she said, asserting herself, "not in a prying way . . . but about becomin' a healer . . . like you."

He looked at her again, holding her gaze this time, as if sizing her up. For a long while she felt uneasy, but when he asked her to sit down she did. "Tell me more."

At last she had his attention. Glancing over at Mary Ann, she saw the young woman standing alone in the doorway, her small children having left the room, though exactly when Hannah did not know. "I don't know much 'bout sympathy healin', but I have a yearning to help others, startin' with my own little ones. I must say I do hunger after the gift."

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Zachariah's blue eyes shone. "Your children, ya say. Are they sickly?"

"Not anymore, and with all thanks to your Grandmammi." She continued on, telling how Old Lady Henner had cured both herself and Mimi. "The ailments disappeared instantly. I was completely in awe."

Zachariah rose from his seat and beckoned for Hannah to do the same. Then, turning to Mary Ann, he asked if he might be alone with "the seeking woman."

Hannah was only now aware of a draft in the room as Zachariah moved closer to stand near her. "As a rule, the gift is passed to a younger relative, from man to woman, or woman to man, but in this case since you are a willing vessel I will consider you."

"Oh, I'm ready now."

"Not just yet," he said. " 'Tis important for me to observe you amongst the People ... in a crowd . . . see if folk are drawn to you, which is necessary."

Her heart sank. Not a smidgen of hope for me, then.

"Well. . . I've never been one to turn heads." She hadn't drawn attention the way Mary Ruth and Sadie had in their youth.