Miriam's Story: Part 2 Romance in Amish Country
Read Miriam's Story: Part 2 Romance in Amish Country Online
Authors: Melanie Schmidt
Tags: #Religious Fiction
MIRIAM'S STORY
Part Of The Romance in Amish Country Saga
by
MELANIE SCHMIDT
The Romance In Amish Country Series
Miriam's Story
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Miriam's Story. 1st Edition
Copyright © 2013
All Rights Reserved
Cover Art by Manfred Rohrer
Photography by Africa Studio
This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locations are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously.
All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real.
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible
"Come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord." 2 Corinthians 6:17
Table of Contents
Chapter One
M
iriam splashed water on her face and looked up into the small round mirror hanging over her dresser. Even though the bedroom window’s curtains filtered the morning sun, Miriam’s eyes were red and swollen, and it was obvious that she’d been crying. Thankful that,her mother-in-law, Rachel, had taken the girls to the frolic, where they would be practicing their stitching and quilting, Miriam had begged off because she had genuinely felt sick that morning. Since Shem, Miriam’s father-in-law, had been called away for an emergency, Miriam was alone in the house with her seven-year-old son, Ezra, sure to be too busy taking care of his beloved animals to notice that his mother was under the weather.
Putting a hand out to steady herself against the dresser when a small wave of vertigo hit, Miriam closed her eyes and waited for it to pass.
What is wrong with me?
she wondered, perplexed
Well, of course! Jacob is dead!
She took a deep breath in an attempt to forestall another bout of tears.
My husband is dead, and I do not know quite how to go on…
Other women lose their husbands
, she reminded herself sternly. Four weeks had passed since her beloved Jacob had fallen from the roof of his brother’s barn as he attempted to climb down a ladder.
It has only been one month
, she argued, but she knew, for her family’s sake, she needed to stop feeling sorry for herself and move on. Her children needed her. Jacob’s parents needed her. Her sister, Naomi, needed her. Somehow, Miriam had to find a way to pick herself up and get on with her life.
Miriam squared her shoulders, stood up straighter, lifted her head and determined to try to feel better, even if by a little bit each day. Perhaps if she pushed herself just in tiny increments, she would one day realize that she had gotten to a better place. She knew that she had a long way to go, but Miriam knew that if she tried and prayed for the Lord’s help that she would begin to heal the hurt of Jacob’s loss.
She decided to give herself one more day to wallow in her sadness, and she thought about how she felt, that today, she even felt physically ill. Looking at her tired, drawn face in the mirror, she spoke to her reflection. “I have not felt this fragile since…”
Miriam froze, and opened her eyes wider to stare at herself in the mirror. In another moment she hastily backed towards the bed and sat down—hard.
“Dear God…”
When did I last have my courses?
she wondered frantically, counting back the days and weeks.
Jacob died exactly four weeks ago today. Two nights before that day, he had finally conceded it was time to try for another child.
She had finished her bleeding more than a week before that and had welcomed him into her arms that night with joy. It had been a long, wonderful night, and she clearly remembered praying that it would bear fruit.
Miriam laid a trembling hand on her belly.
Almost six weeks
, she realized. It had been six weeks since her last courses.
She felt tears threaten once more, but this time the sorrow was tempered by joy.
“I will bear Jacob another child,” she whispered, awed by the mere thought of it. “Jacob gave me one more child to love…”
Chapter Two
A
half hour later, Miriam descended the stairs to the kitchen. She had washed her face once more, rebraided her hair, and changed her blouse in an attempt to make herself look more presentable. She still had two hours before Rachel would return, and since Shem was helping one of Jacob’s brothers with the calving of a troublesome milk cow, he would not likely be home until long after the girls returned. With Seth visiting her own family’s farm to work with her father on the stable they would build before Naomi and Seth’s wedding this fall, Miriam only had to plan for a meal for two. Though she didn’t really feel like eating, she knew Ezra would be hungry. As she thought about it, she realized that she had more than just her own needs to think about – she had Jacob’s baby to consider as well. She’d sit down with Ezra and force herself to eat something. Miriam smiled to herself as she thought about nourishing Jacob’s unborn child – the only bright spot she’d known in weeks.
Grateful for the kerosene-fueled refrigerator, Miriam pulled sliced ham, cheese, and juice out of the refrigerator, put them on the kitchen table, added slices from a fresh loaf of honey wheat bread, a tub of butter, and thick slices of zucchini bread. She set the kitchen table with the plain stoneware dishes they used for daily family dining and poured juice for Ezra and a cup of tea for herself. When the clock on the mantle chimed twelve, she went looking for her son.
Seth, always thoughtful and perceptive, had gone to the animal shelter in Paradise last week and brought home a young dog for Ezra’s very own. The medium-sized, mixed-breed dog had whelped four puppies almost immediately, giving Ezra just the perfect distraction from his grief. Losing his father had been particularly hard for Ezra, because as the only son he had been so very close to his beloved Papa. Miriam couldn’t have dreamed up a better way for Ezra to spend these difficult days than in caring for Daisy and her pups. The dogs were currently holed up beneath the side porch in a special box Seth and Shem had brought up from the barn, so Ezra could watch over them next to the house.
As Miriam approached the side door, she heard Ezra speaking quietly.
“Papa died four weeks ago today,” he said
Miriam’s heart constricted as she heard her son share his grief with the dog and her puppies, and she was startled when she heard a deep voice answer Ezra. .
“I am so sorry for your loss, Ezra. My own papa died when I was not much older than you are, so I know how hard it is.”
Miriam rushed to the door, knowing that the voice belonged to an unexpected stranger, but something held her back as she paused to let the scene outside continue.
“What happened to your papa?” Ezra asked.
“There was a young horse. Papa was training him, when something spooked the beast. I do not know exactly what happened, but my uncles could not get to him in time.”
Ezra thought about the stranger’s words for a long moment while Miriam waited, holding her breath. Her son had barely spoken since his father’s death, and yet here he was, talking to a stranger.
“My papa fell off a ladder when he was working on the roof of a barn. My uncles could not get to him in time, either.”
“I am sorry,” the man said once more.
Rachel could only see the back of the man’s head, which was covered with a typical Amish straw hat. He sat on the ground with Ezra, the puppies tumbling about them.
“Did you want to cry all the time?” Ezra asked, so softly Miriam could barely hear him.
“Yes, I did,” the man replied. “But I tried not to. I was the youngest, and everyone else—my mother, my brothers and sisters—they were trying so hard to be brave in front of me that I did not want to make them sad.”
“If I cry, I make Mama sad,” Ezra confided. “So I try really hard, too.”
Miriam blinked back tears.
“Are you afraid of horses, now?” Ezra asked suddenly.
“No,” the man answered. “But I am very careful around them, especially the young ones.”
“I am afraid to climb a ladder,” Ezra whispered.
“It is all right to be afraid of great heights,” the stranger said, his voice full of understanding. “I know grown men who do not like to climb high ladders for one reason or another.”