Amish Circle Letters II: The Second Circle of Letters (21 page)

From behind her, she heard Lizzie call out in her typical take-charge, boisterous voice: “You need anything, Elijah? Some water,
mayhaps
?”

Mary Ruth couldn
’t hear the response but, a few moments later, she heard Lizzie walking over toward him. He must have acknowledged her request, she thought. It warmed her heart to know that, despite his ailing health, the rest of the family still remembered to include him and take care of him during such a busy day.

Steve and James were busy working on the beams that would support the second floor. After lunch, the younger men would nail the floorboards into these beams so that hay could be stacked there right away. It would become a hayloft, accessible by a ladder from the main floor. Later, Menno would install a pulley that would either raise or lower the hay bales as needed. Alternatively, he would be able to just dump the hay down the opening for the ladder.

Taking his hat off his head, Steve wiped his brow with the back of his arm, not caring that the sleeve of his black work jacket was covered with dirt. He glanced at the sky and turned toward his brother. “Almost time for dinner,
ja
?” he said casually. “And quitting time for me to go milk those cows.”

James paused from his work for just a minute to look at his brother. “Midday?”

“Midday,” Steve affirmed. He paused and glanced down at the women milling about the porch, watching the men. He caught sight of Mimi standing with two of his sisters, out on the porch. “It’s not so bad once you get used to the schedule,” he affirmed, more to himself than to James.

“Aw, I
’d never get used to that schedule,” James laughed. “No routine, here!”

“Ain
’t so!” Steve shot back, with a good-natured tone, to defend his choice of a milking schedule. “It’s just a two day routine instead of daily, is all.” He grinned and winked at his brother. “And I’m getting more milk and making more money from it. Can’t argue with that, brother, can you?”

“Reckon I can
’t…” James sighed. “Lovina would have no part of that schedule, though.”

At the mention of James
’ wife, Steve became serious. Lovina’s rude behavior toward Eleanor at the Fisher farm had been whispered among the family members over the past few weeks. What’s more, Steve had heard a rumbling or two that there had been issues between James and Lovina on account of this. He didn’t want to pry, that being private business and all, but he sensed that his younger brother wanted to talk about it, especially given that James himself had brought up the subject matter.

“Been a bit tough for Mimi to adjust,” Steve admitted slowly, hoping to ease into the conversation. “How are things with Lovina, anyway?”

James shrugged and remained silent for a few long seconds. For a moment, Steve thought that his younger brother was not going to respond. Just as he was about to turn his attention back to the beams, however, his brother spoke up.

“If only God would see fit to give her a
boppli
,” James said softly. “Mayhaps she’d let go of that whole Eleanor situation.”

“Situation?”

James nodded, a forlorn expression on his face. “She just can’t let go, that I still may have feelings for Eleanor. Claims that I will leave her for the Englische woman in order to have a
boppli
!”

Such a heavy burden to bear, Steve thought. He felt sorry for the two of them, knowing that both James and Lovina wanted babies. For Lovina, to not have become pregnant as of yet was certainly a hardship, but to accuse James of thinking of deserting her? That was certainly neither God
’s Will nor the Amish way. “That’s downright ridiculous,” he mumbled.

“I tell her that,” James replied. “She just has that silly notion in her head and it
’s eating her alive.”

“Been to doctors, then?” Steve asked cautiously.

“
Ja
, plenty,” James admitted. “They suggested some medicines but she refuses to take them. Says it’s unnatural to conceive
boppli
using medicine.”

James didn
’t need to say any more. Steve knew that the Amish community tended to be split down the middle regarding the use of Englische medicine in such a manner. Even Rachel’s husband, Elijah, had needed cajoling to finally agree to chemotherapy in order to combat his cancer. From the looks of it, Steve admitted that it did not seem to be working. He had arrived just after Rachel and Elijah, pulling into the barnyard as two men had helped Elijah to the front door of the Yoders’ house. It had shocked Steve to see the wisp of a once hefty man, leaning heavily on his wife for support as they passed over the threshold and disappeared through the doorway.

“God
’s Will,” James added before returning his attention to the beam. He hammered a nail at an angle so that the beam would stay in place. “Just wish she’d get that silly notion out of her head about Eleanor.”

It was an hour later when the men descended from the barn frame, beginning to head toward the house. They unbuckled their tool belts and left them on a picnic table and on the benches by the door. One by one, the men began to file into the room, some pausing to wash their hands while others just continued straight into the fellowship room. The women greeted them with smiles, waiting for the men to be seated before standing behind them, and bowing their heads for the silent pre-meal prayer to begin.

Some of the church benches had been used to create tables by sliding the legs into the taller wooden stands. The women had the tables ready with each section filled with food: bread, applesauce, chow-chow, pickled beets, cup cheese, pretzels, sliced meats, coleslaw, mashed potatoes, and plates of room-temperature fried chicken. Once the prayer was over, the men eagerly started to pass the plates, a hard morning of work rewarded with good food and good cheer to replenish their energy and their spirit for the afternoon.

The women moved around the tables, replenishing empty bowls of food and refilling glasses of water. They would wait to enjoy their own meal until the men finished and returned to work on the barn. It was their job to ensure that the men were properly fed and satisfied before they would have a chance to sit again. The women didn
’t mind, for the atmosphere in the room was one of joy and happiness.

Menno smiled at Mary Ruth when she made her way around the table, exchanging refilled dishes of meat for the empty ones. “
Gut
progress,
ja
?” he asserted happily, indicating the barn by gesturing with his head toward the windows.

She nodded, smiling at his enthusiasm. “Oh
ja
!”

Indeed, it had been amazing to watch how quickly the frame of the barn seemed to rise from the ashes. During the afternoon, the men’s focus would be on securing the flooring for the first and second floor as well as putting on the roof to shelter the herd and equipment from the elements. Menno and some of the neighbor men would finish the inside of the barn over the next few days. Then, by mid-week and before the holy days, the cows could be herded back across the field and returned to the farm.

“We have the tie stalls being installed on Monday next,” Menno said to the man seated beside him. “And the milk storage unit will be hooked up by Tuesday. Looking forward to bringing the herd back. Been tough with the milking being done next door.”

“Oh I reckon so,” the man said as he reached for some more cold cuts to put on his bread, already slathered with fresh butter. “Best to have this done before January and February,
ja
?”

Several men nodded their heads in agreement as they were too busy eating to voice their response.

Mary Ruth moved down through the middle of the two long tables, quickly assessing that the food was replenished and the men were happily enjoying their time together. She could hear the scraping of the forks against the plates as every last bit of food was eaten with a right
gut
appetite.

Back in the kitchen, she noticed that Melvin and Katie were sitting near Elijah, their plates of food, barely touched, on their laps. Their heads were bent together and she could barely hear what they were saying. However, she noticed an improved look on Melvin
’s face. Gone was his long face and hallowed eyes. In their place was a glow that spoke of tremendous pride in being asked to help the men, as well as gratitude for time spent with his friend, Katie.

Friends indeed, Mary Ruth thought as she rejoined the women. She smiled to herself, finding a touch of irony in the fact that Melvin and Katie sat together like friends while she knew perfectly well that he had more on his mind than just friendship with her niece.

“I have to tell you,” Katie whispered, so that no one else could hear. “I received something in the mail a few weeks ago.”

Melvin pretended to stare at his food. All day, they had worked side by side, laughing as they carried boards to the men and picked up bent nails so that the smaller Yoder children would not step on them in the springtime. It had been a
wunderbaar gut
day so far, mostly because of two things: the men included him as a fellow worker and Katie was there to keep him company. He had not expected that she would bring up the verses.

“Did
you
send those verses to me?”

The question lingered between them for a long, drawn out moment. He could not lie and deny that he sent them. Yet, he had never anticipated that she would ask him straight out about them. “
Verses?” he managed to say without giving away any emotion.

Katie rolled her eyes. “The Bible verses!”

“Oh,” he replied, still avoiding tearing his eyes from his plate. “
Ja
, I reckon I did,” he finally admitted.

She smiled. “I knew it!”

An awkward silence fell between the two friends. Katie played with the food on her plate, pushing the mashed potatoes into her chow-chow. Melvin watched her, amused with how she mixed her food together before eating it. He wasn’t certain whether she preferred the taste of the two foods combined or if she was focusing on something else and not realizing what she was doing.

“That wasn
’t your handwriting,” she finally said, lifting her eyes to look at him.

The words hit him with an unforeseen strength. For a moment, he thought he might drop his plate on the floor. He stared at her, his mouth hanging open at the four simple words that she had spoken:
That wasn’t your handwriting
. He was at a loss at how to respond to her statement. It was wrong to lie, that was for sure and certain. Yet, he wasn’t strong enough to admit the truth. The longer she looked at him, the more confused he became and, along with that, found himself unable to respond at all.

“I know my
aendi’
s handwriting,” Katie finally continued, her voice low so that others could not overhear. “She used to help me with my own letters and spelling. It’s a right pretty handwriting, too.”

Melvin remained silent, wishing that the ground would open up and swallow him whole. Had she known the entire time? She never mentioned anything to him. In fact, they spent the day laughing and talking like everything was the same…just like the summer months. Since they hadn
’t really been able to spend time together, especially since Steve had married Mimi, Melvin had really enjoyed the day with her. Now, he feared that it was all ruined.

“Why
’d you take it from her?”

“I…” He paused, avoiding her eyes.

What was there to say? How could he explain his actions? Clearly, the knowledge that he stole the verses disappointed her. He heard that much in her voice. A voice deep inside spoke to him and whispered three words:
Tell the truth
. The truth? He took a deep breath and shut his eyes, saying a quick prayer.

“I thought you would like them, Katie. It
’s how I feel, but I didn’t know it until I saw those verses on the note.
Daed
and my new
mamm
don’t need no courtship things like that! They’re already married.”

Katie chewed on her lower lip, still playing with her food. The silence was too long for Melvin
’s state of mind and he began fidgeting. “
Vell
then, two things you ought to know about this, Melvin,” she started. “I don’t have those verses anymore.”

He felt his heart drop. “What do you mean you don
’t have them?”

She shrugged. “Someone took them from my room. I had them under the Bible,
ja
? One day after school, they were gone.”

“Gone?”

“Gone,” she affirmed. “Which means my
mamm
has them, I reckon. Can’t imagine my
daed
taking them. That leads me to the second thing.”

Melvin couldn
’t imagine anything being worse than the first thing. “What’s that, then?”

“You best be coming clean with Mary Ruth and your
daed
about having taken those Bible verses in the first place,” she stated, her voice flat and clear. “We can be friends and all, Melvin. And we might be cousins now. But there can’t be anything more in the future if you don’t fess up and tell them what you did.”