Rosemary Opens Her Heart: Home at Cedar Creek, Book Two (30 page)

Beside Abby, Hannah gasped and covered her mouth.

“…Samuel Lambright,” Vernon continued, and Barbara bowed her head.

“Amos Coblentz…Carl Byler…Ezekiel Detweiler.”

Abby clasped her hands in her lap, gazing at the five who came forward, tight-lipped
and apprehensive. Quite a mix of personalities and life experiences were represented:
a chimney sweep, a storekeeper, a master carpenter, a farmer, and a mechanic, who
ranged from her own age of twenty-seven to about fifty. Vernon stood solemnly, flanked
by Preacher Abe and Deacon Pete, studying each man who stood before him. Indeed, the
bishop seemed to be the only
fellow in the place who radiated a quiet joy at this moment of utmost importance in
all their lives.

“I never once doubted that our members would choose the best among us, but I shall
ask the time-honored questions nonetheless,” he said in a voice that carried to all
corners of the big shop. “Are you men in harmony with the ordinances of the church?
And in harmony with the articles of our faith?”

Down the row, each man nodded.

“Please kneel as we invoke our Lord’s blessing on this holy selection process.”

During the moments of silence, Abby was aware of how quickly her heart was beating.
She heard only the shallow breathing of the women around her.

“And now, if you would each have a seat and choose a copy of the
Ausbund
from the center of the table,” the bishop instructed, “we shall determine how the
lot has fallen and whom the Lord has chosen. This ritual takes us back to the book
of Acts, where Christ’s apostles chose Matthias to replace Judas Iscariot. We are
grateful that with today’s lot we choose a man under more positive circumstances.”

Abby and those around her craned their necks to watch as each man reached for a hymnal
and then placed it on the table in front of him. What must be going through their
minds? Certainly, this moment had rendered her brother and her friends a solemn bunch.
Their faces looked tight and pale above their white shirts. Their foreheads glistened
with sweat.

“Lord of all generations,” Vernon intoned, “show us which one you have chosen from
among these brethren.” He reached over Carl Byler’s shoulder and then opened the hymnal
in front of him and fluttered its pages. The whole room exhaled when no slip of paper
fell out. The same happened as he shook Zeke Detweiler’s hymnal and then Mose Hartzler’s.

Abby clasped her hands tighter. Only Amos and Sam remained.
The glance they exchanged was a weighty one. Both men ran thriving businesses and
were raising children who would soon be of an age to join the church. Until those
sheep were out of their rumspringa days and into the fold, all eyes would watch the
new preacher’s offspring very closely.

Across the room in the men’s section, James caught Abby’s eye. A few rows behind him,
Matt pressed his lips into a tight line as he watched the bishop reach over his dat’s
shoulder for the hymnal in front of him. As Vernon ran his thumb over the edges of
the pages, the piece of paper fluttered out like a white dove. The members sucked
in their breath as one, while Adah Ropp slipped her arm around Barbara’s shoulders.

“In this holiest of moments, God has reached down to us from the heavens,” Vernon
said softly, “and He has chosen a new shepherd for our flock. We, in turn, must pledge
our support and assistance as Sam Lambright yields himself to God’s will and gives
himself up to a higher cause on our behalf. Let us all share a moment of prayer to
praise our Lord for this marvel He has worked among us today.”

Abby squeezed her eyes shut. Her heart was pounding so hard she could barely hear
her own thoughts.
Lord, You’re always with us and I ask that You guide Sam and the rest of us to live
out Your will…to live as examples of Your truth and divine love. Help me not to falter
as I step in wherever my brother and my family need me. Help me to speak Your peace
when conflicts arise in the coming days, as our family adjusts to Sam’s new calling.

After Vernon spoke his benediction, Abby filed out with the other women to prepare
the common meal. A crowd of men had gathered around her brother, and several women
huddled around Barbara to assure her that they’d help with whatever she needed as
Sam prepared himself to be a minister. As Abby stepped into the Grabers’ kitchen,
Emma grabbed her shoulders.

“Abby…Abby,” her best friend murmured. “Such a gut thing for all of us in Cedar Creek
means such a commitment and sacrifice
on Sam’s part—and for your whole family,” she murmured. “How will Sam leave the store
at the drop of a hat to visit a member who’s stepped outside the lines? Will you still
be able to run your sewing business?”

“Will Barbara continue to be a midwife?” Eunice chimed in, her face etched with concern.
“Gals hereabouts depend on her, but once a fella becomes a minister, everybody in
his family has to toe a straighter line.”

Abby took their hands, smiling gratefully. “Jah, we’ve been called to face some new
challenges,” she replied in a tight voice. “Seems to me the best answer would be for
all
our members to toe that straighter line so Sam won’t have to nudge them for confessions
or tell them to put away the gadgets and habits forbidden by the
Ordnung
.”

“Jah, there’s that,” Emma replied as she pulled bowls of fruit-filled gelatin from
the fridge. “Might not make things any easier, but everyone’s pleased Sam was chosen.
He’s a gut man. Strong and dependable. Already a leader among us.”

“Denki for that, Emma,” Abby murmured. “Your prayers and best wishes will be greatly
appreciated.”

T
he meal following Sam’s ordination was quieter than most, yet as she ate Rosemary
enjoyed listening to her new friends discuss the divine process they had just witnessed.
Marian Byler, Eva Detweiler, and Hannah Hartzler had shared their relief in the Grabers’
kitchen, while Nell Coblentz, Amos’s wife, now sat at the table alongside Barbara
Lambright. How must it feel to go to church as a merchant’s wife and leave with a
preacher for a husband? Within a few fateful minutes, life had changed dramatically
for the entire Lambright family…including Matt. Rosemary shifted sleepy Katie on her
lap, considering.

Would Sam’s new calling affect the way Matt made his living now? Would he feel compelled
to help his dat manage the Cedar Creek Mercantile rather than becoming Titus’s partner?
Titus had already settled up with Perry Bontrager, so it was too late to back out
of the move.

“Rosemary?” Beth Ann came up behind her and gripped her shoulders. “Abby says she
has a surprise for me! We’re to go to the Lambrights’ whenever we’re ready—”

“And you’re ready right now, ain’t so?” It was good to see Beth
Ann looking so excited, considering how everyone else seemed subdued after the drawing
of the lot. “Shall we give Abby a little longer? She might want to help Emma in the
kitchen or—”

“Ruthie wants me to come right over,” Beth Ann insisted. “She says her sisters and
their friends are making plans to paint the Bontrager house next Saturday, and I think
she feels left out—and worried about her dat being the new preacher.”

Rosemary’s emotions welled up at the thought of how many wonderful things their new
neighbors were doing to welcome them. “No reason you girls can’t do your visiting,”
she replied. “Abby will let you know about your surprise when she’s ready, and meanwhile
you can share Ruthie’s concerns. She’s made you feel a lot better about leaving your
friends, ain’t so?”

“Jah, she has.” Beth Ann glanced up as Ruthie rose from the table, waving across the
crowd. “So, do you know what Abby’s got for me? Will you come to the house to see
it?”

Rosemary smiled slyly. “Jah.”

Beth Ann blinked, expecting more of a response. “And you’re not going to tell me what
it is?”

Rosemary spooned up a bite of butterscotch pie for her daughter. “Nope.”

With a playful swat on Rosemary’s shoulder, Beth Ann took off down the narrow aisle
between the tables. Rosemary shifted to face Aunt Lois, who sat beside her. “It’s
gut to see her laughing. She had a rough time on her last day of school in Queen City.”

“And how’re
you
doing, concerning the move to Cedar Creek, Rosemary? A while back I had the idea
you weren’t real excited about coming.” Joe’s aunt leaned closer to smooth the loose
wisps of Katie’s hair. “We all would’ve understood, had you decided to stay near your
mamm and Malinda.”

Lois’s face was creased with crow’s-feet at her eyes and smile lines that framed her
lips like parentheses. What a busy woman she was, putting in six mornings a week at
her bakery while running
Ezra’s household and tending the huge gardens around his pallet-making factory. And
what a kind woman Joe’s aunt was, too, to express concern about how she and Beth Ann
were handling such a major change. “I can’t explain it, exactly,” Rosemary replied,
“but while I was quilting at Barbara’s the other day, I felt like I already fit in.
And mostly I realized how long it’s been since I had
fun
.”

“Jah, we’ve got a fun bunch around here, for the most part.”

“And when Titus told me he’d found a buyer for his farm—and my land, should I care
to sell it—you know what?” Rosemary tingled with the anticipation of sharing her decision.
“With some of the money I get from that sale, I plan to order a really gut cookstove
from Lehman’s, along with an extra oven for making pies! I’m going to start up my
own business, helping you and whoever else will buy what I bake.”

Aunt Lois grabbed her in a hug, making Katie coo between them. “Oh, Rosemary, that’s
such gut news! I can cut back on my hours and get off my feet more. And it’s just
as well you’re already shoppin’, too,” she added, “on account of how the Bontragers
loaded up their cookstove and the fridge and freezers and took them away with them.
You’ll have to buy appliances one way or the other, so it might as well be you choosing
them instead of Titus.”

Rosemary’s eyes widened. “They’ve moved out already? I can’t imagine how Salome got
everything packed up—”

“We neighbor gals held a packin’ frolic there last week. You’re about to find out
how everybody here pitches in on the hard work and has a gut time while they’re at
it.” Lois hugged her again, laughing out loud. “Jah, Sam can order anything you want
from Lehman’s through the mercantile and Jonny Ropp’s just the fella you want puttin’
those appliances together for you, too. I can’t tell you how wonderful-gut this makes
me feel, Rosemary. Like a burden’s been lifted—off my poor old feet, mostly.”

Rosemary basked in the glow of Aunt Lois’s words. It felt good to share her dream
with someone who understood it. And didn’t it
brighten this solemn day with the promise of a new beginning for herself and a lighter
load for Joe’s aunt? “Let’s hope Titus doesn’t feel like I’m overstepping by setting
up the kitchen the way I want it,” she murmured.

“Puh! You leave Titus to Ezra and me. We’ll be sure he appreciates the fact that you’re
still willing to keep house for him.”

Rosemary allowed herself a moment to enjoy the way another piece or two of her future
had fallen into place. She wrapped her arm more securely around Katie and scooted
her chair back. “I think I’ll see how Beth Ann’s doing at waiting for her present
from Abby.”

“Turning thirteen, is she?” Aunt Lois shook her head. “Couldn’t hardly believe how
the time’s been passin’ when Barbara mentioned Beth Ann’s birthday while we were sewin’
up that quilt. It turned out especially pretty, too.”

As Lois wiggled her fingers to get Katie to wave back, Rosemary passed sideways between
the backs of peoples’ chairs. She chuckled when Katie kept right on waving at several
of the gals she recognized from her previous visits. As Rosemary stepped out of James’s
shop into the fresh air, she felt happy all over—so good, she simply stood for a moment
with her eyes closed and her face raised to the sun. It seemed that so many opportunities
were presenting themselves now that she’d decided to take her future in hand. She
could even envision herself in new dresses of various colors…

Katie began to wiggle and laugh, a sure sign someone was approaching.

“It’s gut to see you looking so pleased and peaceful, Rosemary,” Matt said as his
footsteps crunched in the gravel behind her. “Wish I felt that way myself right now.”

“Puppies! Play with the puppies!”

Rosemary hugged her squirming toddler, saying a quick prayer that she would respond
to Matt with words that moved them both forward, where God would have them go. She
turned to greet him—and then released Katie as she leaped into his open arms. “You
hit
the nail on the head, far as how things are going for me,” she said. “All of a sudden,
Cedar Creek feels like my new home. I’ll be baking for Aunt Lois and…”

The hopeful, joyful expression on Matt’s face warned her to tread carefully. He looked
delighted to be holding Katie, who clapped her hands on both sides of his face and
then kissed his nose, a sight that tugged at Rosemary’s heart. But she couldn’t let
the emotions of the moment determine her future. “Maybe I overreacted to that car
giving us such a scare the other—”