An Amish Wedding (36 page)

“You going to talk to Mr. Turner about getting your job back?”
Daed
tipped back the rim of his straw hat. “Just don’t make no sense, him firing you like that.”

Chester jumped off the plow. “He thinks I stole that money,
Daed
. I think that bothers me more than anything else.” He turned to face his father. “How can he think I would do that?”

His father eased his way off the plow as he pulled his jacket snug around him. “I don’t know,
sohn
. That’s why I think you should go talk to him.”

Chester thought about the hurtful words Mr. Turner spewed at him on the phone.
“That money was there! Now it’s gone, and I know you took it! I don’t want you back in my store. Ever! Do you understand me? I will mail you your final check . . . minus the two hundred dollars!”

“I don’t know,
Daed
.”

They were quiet again as they readied the plow and mules to resume work.

“Guess you’ll be going to meet Priscilla at the shanty tonight?”
Daed
grinned. It was the first time his father had openly admitted that he knew where Chester went on Tuesdays and Thursdays. “Soon enough, you’ll have your own home.”

Chester forced a smile, but he sure did wish things were different. He wasn’t looking forward to living with Priscilla’s family for longer than the two weeks they’d originally planned, plus he didn’t have a job. It wasn’t the way he wanted to start their married life.

Daed
put his hands on his hips and scowled. “Did you know your
bruder
got a cell phone?”

Chester twisted his mouth to one side. “
Ya
. I’m not sure exactly how long he’s had it.”

“He knows we don’t like that.”
Daed
shook his head as he stepped onto the plow. “I would say he came to his senses and decided to get rid of it because it’s just not our way, but . . .”
Daed
grinned. “He found out what it was going to cost him every month. I overheard him tell Linda that he was getting rid of it.” His father chuckled. “But turns out it ain’t cheap to get rid of those things either. Something about a cancellation fee.”

Chester smiled. Abe was always the first one to be interested in a new gadget, but he didn’t like to spend his hard-earned cash unless he had to. Abe only worked about fifteen hours per week in Bird-in-Hand behind the counter at an Amish-owned deli.

“I know that the temptations of the outside world are many. And I know that more and more folks are putting phones in their barns and even carrying mobile ones.”
Daed
shook his head. “But if we’re not careful, we’ll become just like the
Englisch
—never a peaceful moment.”

Chester nodded. Almost everyone they knew had a phone in the barn, some with ringers in the house. And even though Bishop Ebersol frowned on cell phones, lots of folks in the district had them. He and Priscilla had talked about the convenience of having a phone in the barn, but in the end they decided they wanted their
kinner
to experience Old Order life as it should be: detachment from the rest of the world. Chester knew that times were changing and more and more of their people were converting to the ways of the
Englisch
, but even if just for a while, he and Priscilla wanted to share the same phone shanty with their folks, the Dienners, and Petersheims. The same phone shanty that they’d shared for so many Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

He smiled as he thought about holding Priscilla in his arms tonight.

P
RISCILLA LEFT
S
ISTERS
D
AY ELATED
. T
HERE WAS SO MUCH
going on that she didn’t have time to worry about everything that had been going wrong lately. Her friends and family had spent lavishly on Tupperware items for their own homes, increasing the hostess credits. Priscilla used her gift credits to purchase a vast assortment of kitchen utensils, tools, and containers, although her mother had insisted on buying the Whip ’N Prep.

She spent the afternoon working on her wedding dress, which was coming along nicely, and she was pretty sure she could finish it this week. With the wedding only two and a half weeks away, she’d be busy with final preparations. For the first time in days, her heart was free of worry, and she silently thanked God for the many blessings in her life.

After supper and cleanup, she pulled her black coat on and topped her prayer covering with her black bonnet to protect her ears from the early evening winds.

She ran across the field, anxious to tell Chester about her day. Blue-gray skies with only a hint of orange signified that the day’s end was near. She could see Chester waiting for her in the distance.

“I take it you had a
gut
day,” he said as she flung herself into his arms.

“
Ya
, I did. It was
wunderbaar
!” She eased away from him, feeling light and peaceful. “Sisters Day was my bridal party, and I got so many wonderful things for our new home. I can’t wait to be your
frau
, Chester, and I refuse to let worry fill my heart. Our wedding will be beautiful. We will get the
haus
done, and you will find a new job.” She exhaled a long sigh. “Everything will work out according to God’s plan.”

She stepped back from him, met his eyes, and smiled. “So! No more fretting!” She’d let no shadows cross her heart today.

Her husband-to-be smiled down at her, and she could see joy and approval in his blue eyes.

“
Gut
. I’m glad to hear that you will let go of worry. And you’re right. Everything is according to His plan. We’ll be fine.”

Chester leaned down, and as the cool wind breezed against her cheeks, his kiss warmed her all over. She kissed him back, ready to be Mrs. Chester Lapp.

Then the phone rang.

Chapter Eight

C
HESTER WASN’T SURE HE’D EVER SEEN A PERSON TRANSFORM
so suddenly. As the phone in the shanty rang over and over again, Priscilla’s face had changed to something—frightening.

“Chester Lapp, don’t you
dare
answer that phone. Don’t pick it up! Pretend it’s not ringing.” She squeezed her eyes closed and pinched her lips together.

Chester gently took her by both shoulders until she opened her eyes. She glared at the ringing phone as if it were evil. “Priscilla . . . what is wrong with you?”

She let out a heavy sigh. “Every time that phone rings, there’s a problem.” She cut her eyes at him, and he tried not to grin. “Don’t answer it, Chester.”

“Okay, okay,” he finally said, holding his palms up. “I won’t answer it. But I think you’re being a little crazy. It could be for someone else.”

“Or it could be someone calling to tell us something else is wrong with the house! Or some other catastrophe relating to our wedding.” She hiccuped. “Oh no! Oh no!”

She slapped her hand over her mouth so hard that Chester was sure it must have stung.

“See! This is what happens! Bad news and hiccups always go together!” She took two steps back. “I have to go.”

Chester glanced back and forth between his somewhat
ab im kopp
fiancée and the phone. “Listen.” He held up one finger. “It isn’t ringing anymore. You don’t have to go.”

“
Ach! Ya
, I do!”

She hiccuped again, and Chester couldn’t keep from grinning.

“This is not funny, Chester. I have to go before something happens to mess up this day.” She turned and ran, but looked over her shoulder. “I love you!”

Still grinning, he watched her run across the field. “I love you too, Priscilla!”

She didn’t turn around, but waved a hand in the air.

Life with his Priscilla would never be boring.

P
RISCILLA BOLTED UP THE PORCH STEPS, RAN THROUGH
the living room, and hit the stairs two at a time. She bumped into her mother on the way up.

“Priscilla, what are you in such a hurry for? Come back downstairs. I have some things to talk to you about, things about the wedding, the food, and—”

“No! Not today. I can’t,
Mamm
. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“But, Priscilla—”

She slammed her bedroom door and didn’t hear the rest of what her mother said. Flinging her bonnet and jacket on her bed, she placed both hands on her chest and took a deep breath. The hiccups were gone.

She sat down on the bed and thought about how ridiculous—and childlike—Chester must have thought her behavior. The bedroom door flew open.

“Priscilla Marie King . . .”
Mamm
stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. “What in the world is wrong with you?”

Priscilla cringed, knowing she shouldn’t have been so snappy with her mother . . . or slammed the door. “Sorry,
Mamm
.”

“I thought you’d be excited to hear what I have to say about plans for your wedding.” She dropped her hands to her side. “Not rush to your room and slam the door.”

“Sorry.” She hung her head for a moment, but then superstition flooded over her. Even though she didn’t have the hiccups anymore, she was still afraid to ruin this day. “Can we talk about it tomorrow?”

“What’s wrong with right now?”
Mamm
edged closer to the bed and scowled. “This isn’t like you, Priscilla.”

“It’s been such a nice day, and I don’t want anything to spoil it, and . . .” She glanced at her mother for only a moment before she hung her head again. “Every time I get the hiccups something goes wrong. Something to do with the wedding.” She looked up. “I know it sounds silly, but I just don’t want to talk about anything to do with the wedding.”

Her mother just stared at her for a moment. “You don’t really believe that, do you? Silly superstitions, that’s all.”

“I guess not.” She silently prayed that if she was lying, God would forgive her.

Mamm
jumped up and clapped her hands together. “Well, my news was not bad news, but it can wait until tomorrow. And tomorrow, young lady, you and I are going to take a little trip to town.”

“For what?”

“You’ll see. The public library opens at ten o’clock. So plan to leave here around nine.”

Priscilla stood up. “Why are we going to the library?”

“Because I suspect I know what is causing your hiccups, and I want to see if I’m right. And it might help you.”

F
RIDAY MORNING
M
AMM
PARKED THE BUGGY IN FRONT OF
the Pequea Valley Library in Intercourse. After she tied the horse to the hitching post, they walked briskly to the building, their heads tucked to avoid the nip in the air. On the way to the library, Priscilla’s mother had given her the wedding updates she’d tried to give her the night before—mostly about the food and the cake Naomi was planning to make, very close to the one her aunt would have baked.