A Marriage of the Heart (38 page)

“Thought I’d help you out a little bit,” he said, very near the screen.

She clutched the towel. “I don’t need any help, and I really think that you’re overdoing things and should just lie down.”

“Well . . .” And then her skirt fell on the floor beside the tub. “You didn’t mind my help last night when that chair was so uncomfortable. I thought we were making some progress toward understanding each other better.”

He flicked her blouse off its perch to land next to the skirt, and she stared with fury at the outline of his body on the other side of the screen.

“Oh, I understand you perfectly,” she replied. “And I am going to catch pneumonia if I don’t get out of this tub soon.”

Her apron landed atop the other clothes.

“We can’t have that, can we? All right, I’ll leave the lady to her bath and me to my milk.”

With great relief she heard the master bedroom door creak, but then he called out in a loud voice, “Do you know, it’s an interesting fact that ladies used to actually take baths in milk. It softened their skin.”

She couldn’t reply, and hoped for a wild second that he would trip on the way back to his bed.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

J
OSEPH WAS WELL ENOUGH THAT AFTERNOON FOR THEM TO
make a trip to town to get him fitted for new glasses. Abigail bundled up in a warm cloak, as the weather had changed and winter was truly upon the area. It had even begun to snow a little.

She had to drive Carl, as Joseph couldn’t see two feet in front of him, and she thought it funny that her husband was nervous about her handling the horse. She decided to pull on Carl’s reins and make him break trot just to tease Joseph.

“Do you need me to drive?” he asked in a gruff tone.

“No,” she replied sweetly. “I’m quite capable.”

“Then you’re either as blind as I am or you are deliberately baiting me. Which is it?”

“I’d go for the baiting.”

He was silent for a moment. “So you’re actually playing with me, your husband, right?”

She turned to smile at him. “
Ya
. You need more play in your life.”

He rolled his eyes.

They passed the rest of the ride in companionable silence and arrived at the office of the
Englisch
optometrist, Dr. Stokes.

Abigail came around to Joseph’s side of the buggy. “Do you need help down?” she asked.

He jumped beside her with ease and caught her close in a hugging embrace. “Yes, you can hold me and help me up the steps so that I don’t break my neck.”

She pushed him away and they both laughed. He then caught her arm, and they walked together up the steps to the office door.

Abigail was struck by how modern the room was with its glossy magazines and the well-dressed receptionist who greeted them with a smile. A few months ago, her first impulse would have been to dive for the magazines and catch a glimpse of the outside world. She now knew that the man giving his name at the reception window was her world, and the thought thrilled her to her core. She took a seat on one of the comfortable leather couches, and Joseph soon joined her.

“Look,” he said, “do you want to go and get some shopping done while I’m here? It might take a bit to get an exam and pick out some glasses. Although”—he laughed—“I know there’s not much potential for style in Amish glasses, so I’ll just have to do the best I can.”

“You’d look good in anything,” she said in a matter-of-fact voice, and he leaned forward to brush his lips against hers.

“Thank you, Abby. That’s quite a compliment coming from the most beautiful girl I know.”

He left her to go with the nurse, and Abigail decided to begin offering invitations to her quilting while she had the chance. She crossed the busy street and made her way to Yoder’s. She was glad to see Tillie, who gave her a bright smile.

“And where’s that handsome husband of yours?”

“He’s getting new eyeglasses. I came over to invite you and the other ladies from the kitchen to come to my house this Saturday for a quilting. It’ll be my wedding quilt since I never really had the chance to do one before we married.”

She felt no shame in bringing up the hurriedness of her marriage. It all seemed like part of what was supposed to happen, now that she thought of it.

Tillie agreed at once. “I know I can be there, and I’m sure Judith and the other ladies would love it. What time should we come?”

Abigail settled on ten o’clock, knowing that there was actually
only a small part of the quilt to finish. Normally a quilting would begin very early and last the whole of the day.

“I have an idea,” Tillie said. “Why don’t we make it a quilting and kitchen frolic too. We can help stock your pantry, eat some good food, and do our quilting.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Abigail said with a smile. “But I don’t want to impose on anyone. I’ll just be glad to have you all there.”

Tillie waved away her words. “It’s no imposition. I’ll tell the other women, and I know that they’ll be so glad to help. Food is easy for us around here, and so is friendship.”

Abigail blinked back tears at Tillie’s spontaneous generosity and kindness. It was almost as if the Lord was revealing to her that, by being patient, by waiting for Him to work, she would see Him bring forth an abundance in her life. An overflowing cup . . . or an overflowing pantry. Both were wonderful, but the friendship was especially something to be treasured.

Abigail left the restaurant feeling a deep contentment in her spirit, which increased when she saw Joseph coming down the street toward her.

“Well, how did it go?” she asked, staring up at his handsome face.

“Great. My new glasses will be ready in about an hour, so we have some time to ourselves,” he said. “Abby, your father has paid me well these last months, and I’d like to buy my bride a gift. What would be your heart’s desire, madam?”

Abigail thought hard. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had bought her something just for pleasure.

“You got me George as a wedding gift,” she pointed out.

Joseph frowned. “I like the cat, but that is not a true wedding gift. You deserve something beautiful.”

She was aware of people passing them in the street as they stood together, but it didn’t matter. She felt like the very world could go by and she’d be content just to stand with Joseph forever.

“George is beautiful to me. And . . . so are you.” She whispered the last words shyly, and he reached down and caught her hand.

“You continue to amaze me, Abby.” His voice was hoarse. “You’ve got me coming and going, and I never know which end is up with you. It feels so good that I want . . . I want . . .”

The sudden appearance of an
Englisch
woman with bright red curls broke the moment. For a moment Abigail’s heart dropped to her stomach, then she realized that it was not Molly. But she recognized in that moment that she still felt vulnerable and a little insecure, especially toward these tender new feelings for her husband.

“Did you see that redhead?” she asked in a small voice.

“Yep.”

“So . . . do you . . . think of Molly?”

“No. I think about how much time I wasted in foolishness and pursuit of the things and people who I thought would make me happy. The truth is that I’ve never felt more content than to be here with you, in the middle of a little country town, while the rest of the world goes by in a blur of colors and all I can truly see is your beautiful face.”

She blushed. “You need those glasses.”

He laughed aloud. “All right, Abby Lambert. Now tell me what you want for a wedding gift, or I’ll buy you chocolate in a cardboard box and write you a bad card.”

She couldn’t bring to mind anything that she actually needed. It seemed that the Lord had supplied her with all that a heart could want, but then an idea came to her. “All right,” she said, smiling. “Let’s go to Stolfus’s Dry Goods.”

“Dry goods? That doesn’t sound very romantic.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised.”

They walked along the sidewalk together, and Abigail noticed how many Amish people mixed with the
Englisch
, and how many
women, both
Englisch
and Amish, threw interested glances in Joseph’s direction.

She put her hand in his and squeezed, and they walked up the broad wooden steps to Stolfus’s together. They entered to the familiar scent of spices, soaps, and a myriad of good things, but it was the fabric that drew Abigail’s eye.

She had taken Joseph’s measurements for a new shirt when he was ill and figured she might make him a new one in a color besides white. But knowing his stubbornness, she knew he wouldn’t want to buy the fabric if he realized it was for him. So she pretended a great interest in a sky blue material that she said would be just right for something personal that she had in mind.

As she turned away from the counter after giving her order for the dry goods, she accidentally bumped into a small display of soaps and sachets. Catching a rose sachet in her outstretched hand, she lifted the pouch to her nose and breathed in deeply.

“Mmm, this is lovely.” She held it up for him to try.

He shook his head. “No. I have a particular preference for mint, especially soap.”

She blushed and put the sachet down, and then he was serious.

“Abby, do you like that perfumy thing? If you want it, I’ll be glad to get it for you.”

She shook her head as Mrs. Stolfus handed her the fabric across the counter. She couldn’t help but notice the more than curious glances the woman cast in their direction, but she ignored them and turned back to Joseph, who was studying the sachets with an indifferent eye.

“Joseph, I’ve got everything I need except some thread and needles. I better get some extra needles for the quilting too. And I was thinking about making teaberry cookies for Saturday. I need some dried teaberries.”

She led him back to the dried spices and found the small red berries. Soon they had checked out and were headed back to the
optometrist’s. She clutched her brown-paper-wrapped fabric and thread with secret pleasure, trying to decide when she’d get a chance to sew for him.

At Dr. Stokes’s office, Abigail thought Joseph looked even more handsome in his new circular frames and lenses than he had in his old pair.

“Now you’re Amish,” she declared, and Dr. Stokes laughed.

Joseph smiled, and she thought how endearing he was to her heart, even though he could drive her to temper sometimes. She decided that they made for a good stew together, like one of Judith’s best recipes. A little spice mixed with the taste of love could make for a sumptuous life.

They were soon back behind Carl and headed out of town when it occurred to Abigail to invite both Katie Stahley and Mrs. Knepp to the quilting.

“Do you mind making a few more stops?” she asked him.

“Not at all. Where are we going?”

Soon they turned down the Stahleys’ narrow lane, and Abigail hopped out to give a quick invitation for Katie through her husband. She was back in the buggy within moments.

“Is she coming?” Joseph asked.

“I don’t know. Her husband is kind of shy. He wouldn’t even look me in the eye when I was giving him the invitation.”

“Blinded by beauty,” Joseph declared.

“Ha.”

“And where else do we have to go?”

“Just to Dr. and Mrs. Knepp’s, and that’s all.”

“Maybe we can stay and visit with them for a while, if you wouldn’t mind,” Joseph suggested.

“That would be nice. I’d like to thank Mrs. Knepp once more for the quilt.”

“Ahhh. You mean the sausage roll.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “The sausage roll.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

J
OSEPH FELT GOOD ABOUT GOING TO VISIT THE
K
NEPPS
. H
E
would always be very grateful for the role that they had played in his past. They were good, kindhearted people, but more than that, he knew that they lived out the love that was preached about in Amish meetings. He also wanted Abby to have the chance to get to know Mrs. Knepp better, perhaps as a mother figure or someone to turn to.

The Knepps’ farmhouse came into sight, and Joseph was glad to see the doctor’s truck out front.