Sisters of the Quilt Trilogy (9 page)

Sarah lowered her head, seemingly unable to look at anyone. She was trembling so hard Hannah thought she might pass out. “I was wrong. I beg your forgiveness.”

Waving his hands in the air, their father continued. “When I see the fruit of your words, then we’ll talk of forgiveness. Now, leave the clean laundry there. There’s no sense in hanging it out to dry at nearly dusk. We’re getting behind on more important things than laundry. We didn’t harvest near enough potatoes for a full day’s work.”

He took a long, deep breath. “Sarah, gather your siblings. All of you go help Levi sort today’s potatoes and get the bins cleaned out for tomorrow’s digging.”

“Yes,
Daed
.” Sarah headed for the door without lifting her head.

“And remember my warnings, Sarah.” Her father’s booming voice made
Mamm
jump. “Do not let the youngsters out of your sight. No one is to go near that road without one of your older brothers.”

Sarah scurried off.

Hannah wondered what good a pacifist brother would do. What would Levi do if something awful happened to one of his sisters? Stand there and politely ask the person to go away? Panic roiled within her, but she held her tongue and started for the door.

Her father glowered at her. “Samuel’s been out of pants that fit him for far too long. Have you finished sewing for the day?”

She’d been so distracted by the letter from Zabeth, the realization she’d lost the bankbook, and the disappointment of another day without a letter from Paul that she’d forgotten her goal for today. “No,
Daed
. I’ll go do that.”

“The three of us need to talk but not now. There’s work to be done.”

Dreading the idea of anything her father might say to her, Hannah nodded compliantly before she scurried through the living room and up the steps.

Luke watched all the young people making their way out of the Stoltzfuses’ barn and to the buggies. He felt sad for some of the young men who’d come to the singing hoping to find a girl but were leaving alone. Some twenty-odd years ago a slew of boys had been born into the community. That was a great blessing to all the men who needed strong hands to help run the family farms. But now, when it came time to find wives for them all, the gender imbalance was a problem. Having so many males in each household also made it difficult for parents to uphold the longstanding tradition of offering their sons housing and land when they married.

Mary climbed into Luke’s buggy, not pausing a bit to see who was getting into the other buggies. Luke smiled at her and took hold of the reins with a wink.

She folded her hands in her lap. “The air is so refreshing tonight. The first comfortable evening for months,
ya
?”

Nodding to Mary, Luke mumbled softly to the horse.
“Kumm zerick.”
The horse began backing up.
“Gut.”
The mare stopped. Luke clicked his tongue, and the buggy lurched forward.

Only the silvery glow of the moon gave them light to see by. Looking at a sea of open buggies with single occupants, he mumbled, “So many of the young men go home alone.”

Sighing, Mary stared at her folded hands. “I heard the Miller twins are going to Mennonite singings.”

The horse’s hoofs clopped against the paved road. “If word of that gets back to their
Mamm
, they won’t be doing it for long.”

The local parents preferred their children to stay within the district to marry, though they’d bend in that area if need be. However, flirting with the Mennonite ways was equal to treason in the hearts of lots of Amish folk. Many respected their Mennonite neighbors, but they didn’t want to lose their children to them. Luke’s own father was the most determined on the issue of any man he’d ever met. None of Zeb Lapp’s children would turn from the Old Order ways. None.

Mary shook her head. “Those Mennonite girls would do well to catch one of the Miller twins. Can’t say I like their sense of modesty, though. The lightweight material they use and the few pleats they put in show off their figures much more than we’re allowed. Have you noticed?”

Luke pulled the left rein, causing the horse to turn onto Newberry Road. “I’d best not be admitting to noticing such a thing even if I did.”

Mary laughed gently and shoved her elbow into his side. “Your cousin Elizabeth thinks we should make our clothing by their pattern and material. Though it doesn’t much matter what any of us think. Bishop Eli said it’s not the right way to dress, and he gets final say.”

Coming to a stop sign, Luke pulled back the reins. “I was hoping not to take you straight home tonight. Do you mind if we ride slow and talk for a while?”

Mary shifted in her seat, facing him a little more. “I don’t mind.”

When they turned onto a gravel road, Luke slowed the horse. He would have liked to stop the buggy entirely so they could talk without having to speak above the clopping horse hoofs and the grinding gravel under the wheels. But if someone saw them parked, he wouldn’t be abstaining from the appearance of evil as he’d agreed to do when he joined the church.

As the horse plodded along, Luke grasped both leads in one fist. Then he reached for Mary’s hand. She jumped with a start and jerked from him. Luke’s heart sank.

She giggled. “Ya caught me by surprise, Luke. I wasn’t expecting …”

Luke took the reins with both hands again. Mary reached out and enfolded her soft, delicate fingers over his. They lowered their entwined hands onto the seat. Her touch made him think the horse and carriage would float through the sky like a hot-air balloon. “I care for you ever so much.”

She gazed at the scenery to the right side of the buggy, away from him. A few agonizing moments later she turned and faced him. “I feel the same way.”

“Does your father know who’s bringing you home from the singings?”

“I don’t think so. But he’s in a much better mood since he knows I’m going to the singings regularly and not fritterin’ my Saturday nights away among the English.”

Heat ran up the back of Luke’s neck. “He’s just glad you’re not using any more of your
rumschpringe
to slip into town and date English boys.” His words came out angry, and he immediately regretted them.

“Like you didn’t mix among those English girls while you were deciding where you’d spend your future. You even kissed one or two if the rumors have any truth to them.” In spite of her words, Mary’s face reflected peaceful acceptance of his running-around time.

Swallowing hard, Luke once again wished he’d never gone out with those English girls. He couldn’t tell Mary that he had just used them to boost his ego. It was fun to cross the forbidden border and go out with a few English girls. But soon enough he’d realized he didn’t like the non-Amish women, not one of them. They were nice enough and all, but he just didn’t have enough in common with them. They wanted to talk about television, music, movies, and computer games. His idea of a good conversation was about last week’s softball game in the Millers’ mowed field, but the English girls never knew the people he was talking about. It wasn’t just that; it was everything. There was a wall between him and those fancy girls, a wall he decided he didn’t want to tear down.

His father would be furious if he learned that Luke hadn’t used his
rumschpringe
for its real purpose of finding an Amish mate. Nonetheless, that time of being free from the usual constraints had caused him to know without any doubt that he’d rather live the strict, simple life of his forefathers.

The swift clomping of a faster buggy came up behind them, the driver clearly wanting to pass Luke’s slow pace. Glad for the few minutes of distraction, Luke pulled the right lead, making the horse move as far off the shoulder as it could.

While waiting for the buggy to pass, he wondered about Mary’s days of extra freedoms. Had she cared for some English boy before Luke had started bringing her home from the singings? Even now, with her beside him, annoyance ripped at his insides as he thought of his sweet Mary spending time with those conceited, worldly young men.

He knew Mary would eventually choose to join the church, but left on her own, she might wait a few more years. She, like Hannah, enjoyed having some freedoms from her parents’ watchful eyes. Wondering what indiscretions Mary would confess to her mother before her baptism, he gripped the reins until his hands tingled with numbness. There were worse things than what could be expressed through a confession. What if she had given part of her heart away, a part he’d never own? That would haunt him the rest of his days, whether she was his wife or not.

Mary nudged him. When he glanced at her, she tilted her head toward the buggy that was beside them. He turned to look. Matthew Esh had slowed his carriage. He was riding alone, obviously milling about, wasting time. Luke had done a fair amount of that himself before he had a girl to spend time with.

Luke smiled back. “Fine evening for a buggy ride,
ya
?”

Matthew pulled back on the reins, keeping his horse at an even pace with Luke’s. “ ’Tis that. I thought maybe your horse had gone lame you were goin’ so slow.”

Luke shook his head. “It’s a good night for riding and talking.” He winked at Mary, then turned back to Matthew. “But not to you.”

Matthew’s laughter filled the cool night air. “I’ll not be insulted by honesty. Is Hannah not gonna come to any of the singings?”

Trying to think how to be honest and yet not say too much, Luke answered, “She’s mostly staying around the house.”

A look of concern flickered across Matthew’s face. “That could be
gut
news, I s’pose.”

“Could be.” Luke shrugged.

“
Gut
evening to ya now.” Matthew clicked his tongue, and the spirited horse took off.

The leather seat moaned as Mary leaned in close. “There aren’t enough girls for all the men in our community as it is. Hannah shouldn’t be holing up at home, making herself unavailable.”

Slapping the reins against the horse’s backside, Luke looked straight ahead. “Is that how you feel as well?”

In his peripheral vision he saw her chin tilt up, but she didn’t respond. Sometimes she and Hannah were too alike for his tastes. He hated when Hannah pulled that chintilting silent routine. “Mary Yoder, if you want to drive this buggy, you’ll answer me.” He held the reins toward her.

She smiled victoriously and took them from his hand. Her body tensed with excitement and nervousness. “I can do this, right?”

Luke leaned back, enjoying her pleasure. “You always do, panicky as it makes you.”

She moved her head from side to side. “It always makes my shoulders hurt.”

Luke dared to place his hands on her shoulders and rub gently. “That’s because you get so uptight. The mare is old and well mannered. Just relax.”

Mary fidgeted with the reins, looking as if she might bolt from the buggy if the horse so much as swooshed its tail.

“All right, now you’d better start talking to me, or I’ll take the reins away.” As she briefly glanced his way, he smiled. “Spill it, Mary Yoder.”

“Druwwel,”
she muttered.

Luke leaned forward, feigning innocence. “Trouble? Me?”

“No, the horse,” Mary teased.

Bending close to her ear, he whispered, “You made a deal.”

“All right. Give a girl a chance to think.” She turned the horse and buggy onto a small path.

He breathed in the fragrance of freshly cut hay, the last for the season. His nervousness evaporated under the spell of Mary Yoder. She had a wonderful way of making him fall in love with life all over again every time they were together.

She continued out the small path and stopped under a huge tree at the back of the Knepps’ place. “Do you mind?”

Mind?
She had to be kidding. “You did the stopping, not me. If someone sees us, I’m pleading innocent.”

She shook her head at him, but her giggles let him know she wasn’t the least bit put out. Wrapping the reins around the short metal post on the dash in front of them, she sat on the edge of the seat. She began looping the reins in her fingers. “When I was enjoying my freedoms, I learned things I didn’t know and experienced things that will be forbidden when I join the church.”

Feeling anxious, Luke pressed. “What have you experienced?”

“Well, one night I went out to eat at a restaurant with Ina, and I wore a silky red dress that showed my knees.”

He could easily accept that she’d dressed that way once. And he wasn’t surprised she considered it a great freedom to go to an eatery. If he had nine brothers to help cook and wash for, he’d have made eating out one of his first thrills too. Mary hadn’t hidden the fact that she was fond of Ina, the English girl whose parents owned the music store where Mary worked. Being employed there would be forbidden when she joined the church.

Luke removed his hat and held it for a moment to help cover his fears. “That can’t be all you’ve done with your freedom.”

Brushing a gnat away from her face, she continued. “Another time I bought a bathing suit and went swimming in Ina’s pool. It’s in her backyard. We swam until past midnight. I’ll never forget that.”