Living in Harmony (46 page)

4½ cups chopped celery

1½ teaspoons onion salt

9 T. butter

6 T. all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons salt

1½ teaspoons celery seed

1 teaspoon pepper

3 cups rich chicken broth

7½ cups milk

Celery seed for garnish (optional)

Cook the celery as desired, whether by sautéing or boiling, until it is soft enough to puree with the onion salt in a food processor, blender, or food press. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add the flour, salt, celery seed, and pepper, stirring well until mixed. Remove the pan from heat.

Add the chicken broth and milk, stirring with a wire whisk. Gradually blend in the pureed celery. Return the pan to the stove and simmer on low heat until the soup is desired consistency, stirring constantly, approximately 10 minutes. Serve hot with a dash of celery seed. Makes 18 servings.

1. Why do you think the Harmony bishop insisted that Amy and John wait before they marry and also before they took marriage counseling classes?

2. Describe the mixed bag of emotions Sally experiences with the arrival of two women from Lancaster. How would you feel if you were in her place?

3. Maine offers exactly what John is looking for, so why does he doubt Nora will be able to adjust to the new community? Why is he so eager to send her back to Pennsylvania?

4. In the fabric shop, Amy discovers a quilt she's certain had been sewn by her Aunt Prudence. How does this open a can of worms for Amy?

5. Why does the English community of Waldo County welcome the Amish with open arms, and how is their agriculture very different than what John left behind in Lancaster?

6. Still water runs deep with Thomas Detweiler. How do his duties as minister often conflict with his roles as husband and brother?

7. Why do the district women hold Sally in such low esteem?

8. Elam Detweiler is the quintessential fence-sitter. Why do you think it would be so hard for an Amish young man to leave his
rumschpringe
days behind?

9. Nora finds someone inside the general store and organic co-op who puts Harmony in a different light. Why would his attraction cause such wardrobe problems for her?

10. Receiving the death certificate from her late uncle gives Amy a mission to accomplish before her marriage. Why is the date so significant and how does this put her at odds with John?

11. Why does John find Sally a poor role model for his bride-to-be and future sister-in-law?

12. Prudence Summerton welcomes a visit from Amy, and yet she has no interest in moving back to Harmony. Why is she content to live apart from an Amish community?

13. Nora's attraction to Elam Detweiler runs deeper than good looks. What does he offer that the handsome Lewis Miller does not?

14. John backs himself into a corner with Amy. How does one sinful act lead to another until he practically destroys the relationship he holds most dear?

15. What from Amy's past in Lancaster prevents her from committing herself to John? And how does Aunt Prudence help free her from guilt?

Don't miss Nora's continuing story in Book 2 of The New Beginnings Series by bestselling author Mary Ellis

“Are you lost, miss? This is the bus to Columbia.”

Nora King almost jumped out of her high-top shoes. She turned to find a kind ebony face inches from her own.

“I don't think I am. Do you mean Columbia, Missouri?” She shifted the heavy duffel bag to her other hand.

The bus driver chuckled, revealing several gold teeth. “It's the only one we've got. You're a long way from South Carolina. Want me to stow that in the underbelly, or do you want it in the overhead?” He pointed at her bag.

The question dumbfounded Nora as people jostled past on both sides. “I'm not sure,” she murmured. In fact, there wasn't much she was sure of since leaving Maine. Who would have thought it would be so hard to get to Missouri? It certainly hadn't been such an ordeal to travel from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to Harmony, Maine, last year.

The bus driver straightened after stowing several suitcases into a large compartment above the wheels.

“It's a little more than two hours to Columbia from here, St. Louis.” He pointed at the ground, in case she truly was lost. “Is there anything you will need from your bag during the drive—snacks, reading material, personal items?”

“
Jah…
I mean, yes.” Nora flushed as she lapsed into her
Deutsch
dialect. “Sorry, I'm Amish.”

He offered another magnificent smile. “That much I figured out on my own. Because your bag isn't too large and you'll need things, feel free to stow it in the rack above your head. But you'll want to climb on up and find a seat. It's time to go.” The driver pointed at the steps and then resumed packing luggage into the compartment.

Nora had no idea why she was acting so uncertain of herself. She'd ridden plenty of buses in her lifetime—just not on any this side of the Mississippi River. She was in the West and in the new home state of Elam Detweiler. That thought left her weak in the knees. Nevertheless, she joined the queue boarding the bus in the St. Louis terminal and started the second-to-last leg of her journey. Soon she was inside the vehicle and looking for a seat.

“Nora? Nora King?” An unfamiliar female voice sang out.

Nora gazed over a sea of English faces, yet none seemed particularly interested in her.

“Back here, Nora.” A small hand waved in the air, midway down the aisle.

Nora inched her way back, careful not to bump anyone with her overstuffed bag. Her sister Amy had sewed her several dresses, along with lots of white prayer
kapps,
and then bought her brand-new underwear. Nora should have brought a bigger suitcase. After hefting up her bag and jamming it between two others, she looked into the blue eyes of the person calling her name—a pretty girl around her own age.

“You're A-Amish,” she stammered.

“I am. Did you think you would be the only one?” The girl became even prettier when she smiled. “Sit here with me and stop blocking the aisle.” She patted the vinyl seat beside her.

Acutely aware people were growing impatient behind her, Nora did as she was told. “
Danki,
I will.”

“I'm Violet, and I'm your official welcome-to-Missouri committee. My mother and me, that is.” She hooked a thumb toward the rear
of the bus. “My
mamm
moved to another seat so you and I could get acquainted during the ride.” Violet straightened her apron over her dress with an expression of joy with her idea.

Nora peeked over the seat. Two rows back a middle-aged woman lifted her hand in a wave. She appeared old enough to be the girl's
grossmammi,
not her mother. “
Danki
for saving a seat and for the welcome, but how did you know I would take this bus?”

“Our meeting was arranged by Emily Gingerich, sister of Sally Detweiler, sister-in-law to your sister Amy Detweiler. Hmm, does that make Sally your sister-in-law too? I don't know how that works, but it doesn't really matter because you're here now, and soon we'll be in Columbia. My father arranged for a hired van to take us the rest of the way to Paradise. He'll be waiting at the terminal.” Violet finally sputtered out of air.

Nora blinked like an owl, bewildered despite Violet's long-winded explanation. “I see,” she said unconvincingly.

“Forgive me for chattering like a magpie. My
daed
says I run off at the mouth to make up for the fact I can't run around.” She laughed without restraint.

“I don't mind. Talk all you want. But are running or jogging frowned upon in your local
Ordnung
?” Nora was eager to learn the rules and regulations after her experience in the ultra-conservative district of Harmony, Maine.

“Goodness, no. You can run until you drop over with a side-stitch if you like. But I can't due to bum legs.” She patted her dress where her kneecaps would be. “I fell from the barn loft when I was four years old. I'd sneaked up the ladder when my sisters weren't looking, even though my parents had warned me a hundred times to stay away from it.”

“Oh, my. You're lucky you weren't killed.” Nora noticed with pleasure that Violet's dress was a soft shade of sea-blue. The Harmony district had allowed only dark or dull colors: navy, black, brown, or olive green.

“That's the truth. I don't have to stay in a wheelchair all the time. I can hobble around on crutches, but I tire out quickly.”

“At least a wheelchair is more comfortable than those hard, backless benches during preaching services. And you'll always have a place to sit at social events.”

Violet threw her head back and laughed. Her freckles seemed to dance across her nose. “You have a great attitude! You're not uncomfortable with me being handicapped?”

Nora stared at her as the bus pulled out of the depot. “Of course not. What difference does it make whether or not you can run? I can always push your wheelchair fast if you need to get some place in a hurry.”

Without warning, Violet threw both arms around Nora and squeezed. “You and I might end up being good friends.”

A perfect stranger until ten minutes ago.

An expression of affection from a human being other than her sister Amy.

“That would be nice. I don't have any friends in Missouri. I only had two in Maine, and I didn't have many in Lancaster, either.” Nora smoothed out the wrinkles in her mud-brown dress, wishing she'd worn one of the new ones.

Violet's eyes rounded. “You once lived in Lancaster? I've heard stories about how crowded that county has become. Plenty of Old Order folks have resettled here because they couldn't find affordable farmland to buy in Pennsylvania.”

Nora's stomach lurched, and it had nothing to do with the bus gaining speed on the freeway entrance ramp. “Please don't tell me that where I'm headed has only a dozen families and a town the size of a postage stamp. There were just a couple hundred Amish people in three communities in the entire state of Maine.”

“You're moving to a place you know nothing about?” Violet drew back, clucking her tongue. “There are nine thousand Amish in Missouri in thirty-eight settlements and at least ninety districts. Does
that
brighten your day a bit? The city of Columbia is only an hour away with beautiful parks and nature areas and a super-duper mall.” She leaned over conspiratorially. “But don't tell my
daed
that
mamm
I went there twice after doctor's appointments. We didn't buy anything
except for a giant pretzel. We just looked around at the stuff
Englischers
spend their hard-earned money on. My father has no use for English malls, but I think they are quite fun.”