Summer Promise (18 page)

Seventeen

T
he weeks that followed were some of the busiest Miriam could ever remember. The August days were hot and fine. For Miriam, every day was about rebuilding the farm stand. In the days that followed the fire, she and Daniel and Sarah, along with Daniel's brothers, removed the debris from the land. It was painful to think that so little was left of what Daed had built with his own hands, and yet Miriam felt excited about what was to come.

After supper each evening, Miriam and Sarah cleared the table and then covered it with a big piece of white butcher paper Sarah had bought in town. Then Sarah, Miriam, and Daniel did what Sarah called brainstorming. Making sketches and jotting down their ideas for what the new farm stand should be, no matter how seemingly unrealistic or far-flung. The idea was not to rule anything out, Sarah said, to let your imagination soar.

Then came two weekends when everyone in the district, it seemed, came together to build the new stand. Miriam felt a thrill as she watched the framing go up, and then the walls and roof and doors.

She could not imagine how she could be any happier with the end result. Where once the farm stand had consisted of one building, now there were two, side by side, built by her neighbors on two successive weekends with the supplies Daniel and Ernest Tompkins had negotiated. The larger building would be much like the farm stand that Jacob had created: a place to sell seasonal produce along with pickles, preserves, and pies. But right beside it, like a younger sibling, was a smaller building that would be primarily devoted to other kinds of handmade Plain goods.

There would be racks to display quilts. Carved wooden shelves that would be for sale at the same time they displayed homemade preserves. There would even be Plain clothing for sale to tourists. And, like the produce stand, the new building would have a special set of refrigerators, freezers, and display cases for some of the food items that so interested the
Englischers
, so that an
Englisch
family could have a real “Amish” meal right in their very own home.

This last idea was Miriam's brainstorm, though part of the credit certainly went to Leah as well. It was a big risk, Miriam thought now, as she stood inside the main farm stand. But sometimes the only way to create change was to take a chance. Hadn't she just learned that for herself, in other areas of her life?

She turned a slow circle, gazing around the bright, clean space. She breathed in deeply, savoring the new-wood smell. There was so much room now! New front doors that slid open almost silently on their tracks, tucking away inside specially built pockets that Eli and Daniel had designed. Daniel had taken Ernest Tompkins's words to heart, asking Eli to build all the new shelves, both freestanding and along the walls. Eli had gone to work with a will, getting the shelves up in record time.

But he had showed his dedication long before that, within a week of the original farm stand's destruction. Miriam, Sarah, and Daniel had been in the kitchen one night after supper when there had come a knock at the kitchen door. It was Victor and Eli. Victor King's wagon stood in the side yard. In it were two new display tables, ready to be put to use at once. Eli had worked on them in the evenings all week long.

The thoughtfulness of Eli's gesture, to say nothing of his hard work, still brought tears to Miriam's eyes. If Miriam had entertained any doubts about keeping the stand going, Eli's dedication had put them to rest. Thanks to his hard work, and the second “stand raising” the previous weekend, the farm stand would officially reopen for business on Monday morning.

Where are the tables?
Miriam suddenly wondered. Surely they ought to be inside. Could Eli be working on them next door? Although the frame for the second building was in place, the interior was still being finished. This had seemed the sensible course. That way, the produce stand could get back in business while the finishing touches were put on the craft space. Then, when the weather grew colder, the main section of the farm stand would close and the smaller building would open. During the winter the smaller space would be much more manageable to heat. For the time being, at Daniel's suggestion, Eli was using the second building as a carpentry workshop.

I'll just stop in there on my way back to the house,
Miriam thought. There was really nothing for her to do here at the moment. She just hadn't been able to resist the impulse to stroll down to the farm stand on such a beautiful day, particularly since she was on her own. Daniel and most of the other men were away at the horse auction. Sarah had no interest in attending the show, but she had accepted a ride into town. She had asked if Miriam wanted to come along, but Miriam had declined. A quiet afternoon on her own had sounded perfect.

She turned to go. She took a step toward the back door of the farm stand, then stopped as, abruptly, the room began to spin around her. Miriam made a distressed sound. She tried to take another step, but her legs refused to cooperate. Her knees gave way and she crumpled to the floor; she remembered nothing more.

* * *

“What do you think?” Eli asked.

As Leah watched, he lifted one of the two produce display tables up by handholds he'd just finished carving underneath the tabletop. Then he took several steps. The table slid forward easily on the two sturdy wheels that were now affixed to the legs at the far end. Eli set the table down. He walked to the wheels and toed the locking mechanism down into position. Now the table would stay right where he'd put it.

“It's perfect!” Leah cried. She did her best not to clap her hands in delight, then gave in and did it anyhow. “Sort of like the world's biggest cart!”

“Something like that,” Eli said with a quick smile. He took a step back, surveying his handiwork. “You really think Miriam will like it?”

“No,” Leah said, then bit her tongue to hold back a laugh at Eli's stricken expression. “I don't
think
, Eli. I
know
. She'll never drop one of those table legs on her foot again. Not only that, one person can easily move the tables wherever they need to go. Think how much time we'll save getting set up every morning and putting everything away at night.”

“I was thinking of that,” Eli admitted. “I just wish I'd thought of it sooner. That way, I could have built them like this from the start. These tables are my second version.”

“Well, you have made it right, now,” Leah said simply. “That will be enough.”

Eli's head swiveled toward her, an expression Leah couldn't quite decipher in his green eyes.

“You think it is so easy to correct a mistake?” he asked.

Leah sucked in a breath to make a quick response, then hesitated. Somehow she didn't think Eli was talking about display tables anymore. She released her breath slowly before she spoke.

“Not always, no.” All of a sudden, she smiled. “If my
aenti
Rachel were here, I'm almost certain she'd say that it's the mistakes that are the hardest to fix that are the ones we need to fix most of all.”

“You like living with your
aenti
and
onkel
, don't you?” Eli began to put his tools away, carefully stowing them in the toolbox.

“Oh,
ja
,” Leah said at once. “But then, it's all I've ever known. I don't really remember my parents. I was so young when they died. How are things with Victor?”

“
Gut
,” Eli replied. “Better than when I first arrived. What Mr. Tompkins said . . . and Daniel showing his faith in me by asking me to help rebuild the farm stand . . . those things helped a lot. Still . . .” He broke off and was silent for so long that Leah thought he wasn't going to continue. “I am sorry to have disappointed Victor,” Eli said at last. “My mistake is a big one to correct.”

“But you are working on it,” Leah said quietly.

“
Ja
,” Eli said. “I am.”

“Then if your brother is as fair as you say he is, he will see that.”

“I hope he does,” Eli said.

He continued to hold Leah's gaze. The silence stretched out. Not uncomfortable, but not quite comfortable, either, Leah thought.

“It's getting late,” she said. “I should get home. I promised Aenti Rachel I would get supper started. She went into town to do some shopping while Onkel John is at the horse auction.”

“
Ja
,” Eli replied. “I must get home also.” He fastened the lid on the toolbox, then stowed it on the workbench he'd set up in one corner. “I will come early tomorrow and put the wheels on the other table. Then we can wheel them over.”

“That sounds good.”

Together they left the building. Leah noted the way Eli held the door for her before locking it carefully behind him. He was taking the new responsibilities Daniel and Miriam had given him very seriously.
He will make no mistakes with this,
Leah thought.

“That's odd,” she suddenly said.

“What?”

“The back door to the farm stand is open.”

“It's probably just Sarah or Miriam,” Eli said.

“It cannot be Sarah,” Leah told him. “She went into town with Aenti Rachel. But you're right. It's probably just Miriam.”

“Do you want to take a look?”

“I do.” Leah nodded, grateful that he understood. “I don't mean to sound silly, it's just—”

“It's just that everything is so new,” Eli filled in. “You don't want anything to happen.”

With Leah in the lead, the two walked the short distance between the two buildings. But as they approached the open doorway, Eli stepped in front of her. Leah opened her mouth to protest, then closed it with a snap. If there
was
danger, he would face it first.

Leah held her breath as Eli eased his head in through the open door.

“
Leah
,” he said. Just the two syllables of her name. But they made Leah's blood run cold. Eli stepped inside the farm stand, pulling her with him.

Miriam lay in a crumpled heap on the floor.

With a cry of dismay, Leah darted forward to kneel at Miriam's side. Her fingers trembled as she searched for a pulse. She found it, but it seemed to Leah that Miriam's heart was beating far too fast, though maybe it was just her own.

“Miriam?” she asked. “Can you tell me what happened?”

But Miriam did not answer or open her eyes.

“Is she—” Eli began.

“She's alive,” Leah said. “Her heart is beating. I think she'll be all right.” She twisted her head to gaze up at Eli. “Do you know where the Kauffmans live?”

“
Ja.
” Eli nodded. He crouched down beside Leah. “What about them?”

“Ruth Kauffman is our
dokterfraa
. You must go to my
aenti
and
onkel
's house, take the horse and buggy, and go and fetch Ruth Kauffman. Will you do that?”

“
Ja.
” Eli hesitated for just a moment, then he said, “But I thought your
aenti
went into town.”

“She did,” Rachel said. “But she and Sarah took Miriam and Daniel's horse and buggy. Ours are in the barn at home.”

“I will be quick,” Eli promised. “Try not to worry.”

“I will do my best,” Leah said. “
Danki
, Eli.”

He reached to grip her shoulder tightly, and then he was gone. Leah knelt beside Miriam, praying as she had never prayed before.

Please, God,
she thought. Let the words she'd spoken to Eli be true.
Let Miriam be all right.

Eighteen

M
iriam opened her eyes. The world around her swam slowly into view. She blinked for a moment and closed them again. She was in her own bed, in her own bedroom. Late afternoon sunlight streamed in through the window. The last thing she remembered was being in the farm stand, thinking about having to heat only the smaller building in the winter. How much time had passed since then? She turned her head and saw Daniel sitting in the bedroom chair, watching her with concern.

“Daniel?” she asked softly.

“
Ja
, Miriam. I am here,” Daniel said.

“But,” Miriam protested, “the horse auction.”

The bed dipped as Daniel sat down upon it. “Miriam,” he said, and even through the fog that still seemed to envelop her Miriam thought she could hear both the love and exasperation in her husband's voice. “I think that you are more important than some old horse auction. Besides . . .” Gently Daniel captured one of her hands, covered it with both his own. “I was already on my way home.”

As if from a great distance, Miriam heard the sound of her own laughter, marveled at the gentle, loving sound.

“Ah!” The door to the bedroom opened and the
dokterfraa
, Ruth Kauffman, stuck her head in. “I gather she is awake and feeling better.”

“I think so,” Daniel answered with a smile.

“Oh, Ruth. I did not know that Daniel sent for you,” Miriam said. She began to push herself upright but Daniel pressed her back onto the pillows with a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I am sorry to be so much trouble.”

“It is no trouble,” the
dokterfraa
said simply. “And it wasn't Daniel, it was Leah Gingerich and Eli King. They are the ones who found you this morning. You have been sleeping now for hours.”

“What?” Miriam lifted her free hand to rub her forehead. “I'm sorry. I guess I don't remember . . . Am I ill? Is something wrong with me?”

“Not a thing,” Ruth said. “As a matter of fact, unless I am very much mistaken, a great deal is well.”

“Then why . . .” Miriam began. All of a sudden, she caught her breath. She looked up into Daniel's face. Never, or so it seemed to her, had she seen it so suffused with joy. A great and terrible hope bloomed in Miriam's heart.

“I am . . . that is, could I be . . .”

“Pregnant?” the
dokterfraa
said. “I believe so, yes. I must ask, have you missed any of your courses recently?”

“They've been irregular,” Miriam answered, slightly embarrassed to be discussing women's matters like this in front of her husband.

Ruth nodded. “You must also see an
Englischer
doctor this week, to be certain, and also to make sure there are no problems. You did pass out,
ja
? But to my eyes, all the signs are there, and I can see nothing wrong with you at the moment.”

“A baby,” Miriam whispered, placing her hand over her belly. “After so long.”

“Your mother took a long time to conceive, also, as I recall,” Ruth said. “But it seems for you, as for her, God has many gifts to bestow.”

Miriam brought Daniel's hand to her cheek. “
Ja
,” she said softly. “I know He does.”

“Well,” Ruth said, “I will leave the two of you alone now. See that she rests today, Daniel.”

“I will,” Daniel promised.

The
dokterfraa
left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

“Oh, Daniel, I can hardly believe it!” Miriam said. “A baby! Why now after all this time?”

“God has a reason for everything,” Daniel said. “For myself, I do not need to know why. All I want to do is to give thanks.”

“
Ja
,” Miriam said. “And so do I.”

This time when she moved to sit upright, Daniel did not stop her. Instead, he moved over so that they sat side by side, and he took her hand in his. Her heart as full of joy as she could ever remember it being, Miriam bowed her head along with Daniel as they thanked God for all the gifts He had already bestowed upon them, and all the ones that were yet to come.