Amish Circle Letters II: The Second Circle of Letters (13 page)

Finally, Eleanor turned to Mary Ruth and forced a smile. “Well then,” she said. “Now that I see you are doing so well, I best go visit with Anna before heading back home. Long drive, you know.”

Mary Ruth nodded her head, glancing at Lovina’s back then returned her gaze to Eleanor. She wished that she could apologize for Lovina’s behavior but she knew that it was not her place to express such a feeling. Instead, she tried to smile back at her friend. “Sure was nice to see you,” she managed to say. “You come back to visit me at Menno’s next time,
ja
?”

Eleanor lifted her hand, giving a weak wave in Miriam
’s direction before slipping through the door that led into Anna and Isaac’s side of the house. When the door shut behind her, the room fell silent again. Miriam was clenching her teeth, her disapproval more than apparent. Mary Ruth watched as Lovina stood in the middle of the kitchen, her arms wrapped around her waist as if comforting herself.

“Would you like to explain yourself, Lovina?” Miriam finally managed to ask.

Lovina looked up, her eyes narrow and fierce. “I fail to see why that Englische woman still needs to come visiting,” she snapped.

Miriam pursed her lips and studied the frail woman standing before her. Everyone knew that Lovina was suffering from her inability to bear children. Too many miscarriages had caused her more than her share of pain. Indeed, it was transferring into a loss of self-esteem and, apparently, that was extending to a lack of confidence in her marriage as well.

“Eleanor Haile is a family friend,” Miriam stated, her voice flat and even. “Whatever your feelings may or may not be, I would ask that you’d behave like a true Christian in my home, Lovina. She is as welcomed in my house as you are.”

Lovina pressed her lips together and moved toward the sofa, the very place that Eleanor had just vacated. She sat down and remained silent, her eyes blank and void of emotion as if she had shut down and disappeared within herself.

Mary Ruth had watched all of this, a growing sense of dread in her heart. She so disliked what she had just seen that the feeling made her wish that Menno would show up at once. She wanted to see his blue eyes and his broad smile. She wanted to thank him for the letter that he had so painstakingly written. But, even more so, she wanted to return home with her husband and the
kinner
so that they could, once again, begin their lives as a family. Only this time, she vowed, it would be done properly.

Mimi stood at the center of the kitchen, staring at the results of Steve
’s efforts for the past week. She hadn’t seen him at all and, determined to put an end to the distance between them, she had taken the initiative to harness her
daed’s
horse and buggy and drive over to their future home.

If Steve was surprised by her arrival at the farm, he didn
’t show it. Instead, he greeted her with a smile and quickly brought her into the small house to show her how much work had been completed so far.

Not much, by Mimi
’s standards.

“I…
I don’t know what to say,” she managed to force out the words as she stared around the room. It was cold in the room, with only a small propane heater forcing out warm air. She clutched her black shawl around her shoulders as she assessed what had been accomplished. The flooring had been replaced already and she noticed that the new windows had been hung. The sheetrock had been erected and spackled but nothing was painted. More importantly, the cabinets had not been replaced and there was a hole in the kitchen area where the stove had been removed.

“It
’s coming along great,
ja
?”

She turned to look at him, a frown on her face. He was beaming from ear to ear, proud of his work. Not wanting to argue with him, she merely nodded her head and avoided his eyes, hoping that he wouldn
’t notice her disappointment. “How much longer?” she asked expectantly.

“Week, maybe two, I reckon,” he said. “But, even better news is that Mary Ruth is to leave with Menno today.”

At that, Mimi brightened. “So I will be able to stay, then?”

Steve held up his hand. “Whoa, Mimi,” he laughed. “Let
’s give Mother a few days to recuperate from having tended to Mary Ruth,
ja
?”

The cloud returned to her face. “
I don’t understand, Steve,” she started slowly, trying to keep her voice calm. “It’s almost as if you don’t want to be with me.”

He crossed the room in three quick strides, taking her into his arms for a warm embrace. “Now Mimi,” he mumbled. “You know that
’s not true. I want you happy, you know that.”

“Then let me go get my things, Steve. I want to be living with my husband.” She hated the way that her voice sounded, so childlike and whiny. Taking a deep breath, she tried a different approach. She lifted her hand and touched his cheek, staring into his face and forcing a sweet smile, despite her impulse to cry out of frustration. “I can help you here, then, during the day. And also help your
mamm
. It won’t be a burden at all, ain’t so?”

Steve
’s expression changed as she touched him. Something softened in his face. “
Ja vell…
”

“In fact,” Mimi continued, letting her caress move to his neck, “I can be a help to her, too. She doesn
’t have Mary Ruth to help anymore and Anna…well, you can tell that she’s expecting.” She let her hand rest on his shoulder. “And then, at night, we’d be together. When you get up for milking, I can work alongside you. Many hands make light the work,” she added, a convincing expression on her face.

Clearing his throat, Steve tried to maintain his composure. “I reckon you make a good point there,” he murmured, holding her tight in his arms. He leaned down and gently brushed his lips against hers. “Reckon you could be a help,” he said softly into her ear. “Many hands
do
make for easier work.”

Mimi relaxed in his arms and clung to him, shutting her eyes and saying a silent prayer that, this time, things would work out. She didn
’t want to spend one more day apart from her husband. She wanted their life to begin, a life that had been too long in coming. “Ja,” she whispered back. “They sure do.”

“Have you heard anything from Rachel, then?” Mary Ruth asked as she rested in the kitchen, crocheting a blanket that was stretched across her lap. She looked up at her
mamm
after she asked the question. “Haven’t seen her this week. Is Elijah doing well?”

Miriam stood with her back to Lovina and Mary Ruth as she washed the dinner dishes. She had just finished rinsing the last plate and had set it aside to dry when her daughter asked her the question. Reaching for a hand towel, Miriam turned around and tilted her head, staring at both women. “Why, come to think of it,” she said. “No I haven
’t. Reckon I might just ride out there later on today with
Daed
, especially if you are heading back to Menno’s.”

“We could all stop in there,” Mary Ruth suggested.

“
Nee
,” Miriam snapped. She pointed a stern finger at her daughter. “If you are insisting on going back to that farm,” she said, emphasizing the word
that
as if there was a bad taste in her mouth. “You are to rest, you hear?”

“Ja,
Mamm
,” Mary Ruth said softly, bending her head back down to the blanket.

Reaching for a larger towel, Miriam began drying the dishes. “
Besides,” she added. “Those
kinner
might be too much for Rachel and Elijah if he isn’t doing well.”

Lovina sat in the chair, her own head bent over a handkerchief that she was cross-stitching. Just a small purple butterfly in the lower corner but she seemed intent and concentrated. Indeed, she had been quiet all morning since the rebuke from her mother-in-law. But now, she lifted her head and glanced at Miriam. “He started his treatment?”

Without turning away from the dishes, Miriam nodded her head, the small white heart-shaped prayer
kapp
on her head bobbing up and down slightly. “Ja, a few weeks back,” she said. “Heard that chemotherapy was making him quite sick.”

“Cancer,” Lovina said with an edge to her voice. “Terrible, that.”

“Indeed,” Mary Ruth agreed.

A noise outside caused Miriam to look up and stare out the window. A plain gray-topped black buggy pulled into the driveway and stopped by the hitching rail near the barn. Her shoulders lifted and fell in a deep sigh. “Menno
’s here,” she announced, not needing to turn to see her daughter suddenly perk up at the news. “Reckon he’ll visit a bit before you leave,
ja
?”

Five minutes later, the door opened and the sound of loud boots could be heard stomping from inside the mudroom. Mary Ruth stared expectantly at the doorway, color on her cheeks as she waited for her husband to walk through it. Her eyes sparkled and her cheeks were flushed with excitement.
New beginnings
, she thought with a smile on her lips.

When he appeared in the doorway, he reached up and took off his hat, holding it in one hand as he ran his fingers through his loose curls with the other. He glanced around the room, nodding to Miriam and Lovina before focusing his attention on his wife. He crossed the room and stood before her, shuffling his feet a bit as he stared down at her as she sat on the sofa.

“
Fraa
,” he said softly. “You are feeling well?”

She nodded, a hint of a smile on her lips. “God
’s love and blessings have made it so,” she said and, at her words, she noticed he lifted an eyebrow. Had he recognized the very words that he had written to her? Did he understand what she was saying? “And you, Menno? How are you and the
kinner
? I have missed everyone so much.”

Menno caught his breath at her words and, glancing uncomfortably at Lovina, he returned his gaze to Mary Ruth. She knew that he was not used to such words of tenderness, certainly not in public. But she had wanted him to understand that she was going home to a family, a family that included a husband. Whatever had transpired before that had caused him to shut down and push her away needed to be over. She had prayed long and hard for God to soften Menno
’s heart. She was convinced that her husband had found those Bible verses and realized that she loved him.

“Vell, I…” Menno stumbled over his words. He cleared his throat and looked around the room again. With the greatest of discretion, as no one seemed to be paying any attention to them, although anyone in the room could certainly hear what was being said, he turned his attention back to Mary Ruth: “Ja, vell, I reckon you have been missed by the
kinner
, too,” he said and then, lowering his voice, he avoided her eyes as he added, “And your husband as well.”

Her heart fluttered and she lifted her chin, feeling the heat cross her cheeks.

He shifted his hat from hand to hand as he cleared his throat. “You have your bags packed, then?”

Mary Ruth nodded her head, unable to speak. For some reason, she suddenly felt shy. She felt the way that she had on her wedding night when Menno had kissed her in the kitchen before everything had gone wrong. She wanted to cling to this feeling and hold it tight. There was a look in Menno
’s eyes, a look of hope, that gave her tremendous faith that everything was going to be just fine after all.

“I
’ll go get them, I reckon,” he said and started toward the stairs. He paused and glanced over his shoulder. “Which room, Mary Ruth?”

“I can go get it,” she said, starting to get up.

Menno held out his hand, stopping her with the gesture. “You stay put,” he said gently. “Which room?”

“
Second door on the left,” she replied, surprised by the softness in his tone. She glanced at her mother who had stopped working and simply stood at the counter, staring out the window. Her mother’s disapproval was more than apparent. Clearly, she had expected Menno to stay, to visit for a while. Instead, it appeared that he intended to leave right away in order to return home.

To Mary Ruth, however, that sounded like the most
wunderbaar
idea in the world. Smiling, she sank back into the sofa and said a silent prayer of gratitude to the Lord for having returned her husband to her.

“
Sure does look happy here,” Melvin said as he balanced on the bottom railing of the gate, staring into the stall at Butterscotch.

Katie nodded her head. “
Sure does,” she replied. She was standing inside the stall, grooming her pony. Using the currycomb, she brushed circles in the pony’s coat, lifting the dirt to the surface before removing it with the dandy brush. “I think she remembers me!”

At this, Melvin laughed. “Why of course she does! Why would you think she
’d forget?”

With a shrug of her shoulders, Katie responded, “Don
’t know. Been a few weeks. Sometimes they say ‘out of sight, out of mind’.”