Ellie (10 page)

Read Ellie Online

Authors: Mary Christner Borntrager

Tags: #Fiction, #Action & Adventure, #test

BOOK: Ellie
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Page 81
"Well, maybe I'll keep it till I'm old enough for
Rumschpringe,
then I'll use it."
"You do that!" laughed Susie.
Mrs. Maust called upstairs, "Susie, are you about ready? Jake is waiting." Mr. Maust was going to town this Saturday to pick up some things he needed, and also a few groceries. So it had been decided that he would take the
Maut
home. He was the only member of the Maust family that was glad to see her go.
Ellie stood by the buggy as Susie loaded her suitcases and then climbed in and sat next to Jake. One thing was sure, neither Jake nor Susie relished this trip together. Mr. Maust took up the lines and, without a word, slapped the horse across the back with his whip. They took off with a jerk. Susie looked back and called, "Good-bye, Bussli, be good," and they were gone.
Mr. Maust looked straight ahead and spoke not a word as they rode all twelve miles. Once they reached the Glick homestead, he asked, "Well, what do I owe you?" Because of his dislike for Susie and her disrespect for him, she made her price a little higher than usual. Yet she felt she really had earned every penny of it. Jake mumbled as he reached for his checkbook. Mrs. Glick came out the front door.
"Well, hello, Susie. You're home. Here, I'll help you with the suitcases. How's your wife and baby doing, Jake?"
He mumbled his answer, handed Susie her check, and said he had to be on his way. But after he left, he thought to himself.
If that Susie were my girl, she
 
Page 82
would have learned more respect a long time ago. And her own mother acted as if she didn't care how spiffy she looked today when she came home. Well, whose fault is it? I say if the parents don't bend the twig to go straight, all they get is a crooked tree.
But Susie didn't care what Jake thought. Though she would miss her little Bussli, it was good to be home again.
 
Page 83
12
Too Smart Yet
The hours seemed so empty to Ellie, now that Susie was gone. At night there was no one to talk with or snuggle up to during the thunderstorms she dreaded so much. Several days after the hired girl left, Ellie went upstairs to go to bed and, opening the closet door, discovered her beautiful dresses were gone. Just to look at them and feel the smoothness of the material had brought some comfort, but no more. It seemed everything was taken from her. Ellie climbed into bed and cried herself to sleep. In the days that followed, she wondered if she might ask her mother what happened to those dresses, but she never did.
One day at school, Missy begged her to come spend a night at her house.
"You owe me a visit," she said. "It's been a long time since we spent the night together. Please come," pleaded Missy.
 
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''But I must ask my mother first, and she will have to ask Papa. That's how they always do," answered Ellie.
"Oh, ask tonight, please. You will, won't you? Oh, I hope you can come. I told my mama I was going to invite you, and she thought that would be so nice. Then I'll show you my doll collection and my music boxes. We will have a lot of fun. I can't wait until tomorrow. I just know your parents will say yes!"
But Ellie wasn't so sure. She almost dreaded going home that night and hearing what the answer might be. Why, oh why, did she have to be Amish?
As she stepped inside the kitchen, the smell of freshly baked bread and rolls greeted her. The canary was singing in its cage by the window, and the twins came running, glad she was home. Home, she thought. Maybe it's not such a bad place after all.
"Hurry and change your dress, Ellie," her mother instructed. "We have a lot to do yet tonight. I didn't get the ironing done, and we need to pick the last of the lima beans. But fill the oil lamps first so that's done before dark. You can iron, then, until chore time, and we will pick the limas after supper. The twins can do the dishesthey are old enough now to help, too."
Ellie was glad that the twins were older and could help with small chores now. But as she grew, she was taught to do more grown-up tasks, such as ironing, washing, baking, and more of the cleaning and garden work. She was busier than ever.
Lizzie saw her daughter eyeing the fresh rolls. "Ach," she said, "I guess you are hungry. Take one
 
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roll and eat it quick, Bussli. Now look what that Susie has done! She mixed me up so with your name. Go on now, Ellie. Here come the boys, and they will want something to eat, too."
Ellie quickly took a sweet roll and ate it on the way upstairs to change her dress. But Mother had called her "Bussli!" It sounded good again, even if it was not done intentionally.
Back in the kitchen, Ellie cleaned all the lunch pails, put them on the shelf, and set up the ironing board. The flatirons had to be heated on the woodstove. They were heavy for her young arms to handle, but she worked diligently. She wanted to please her mother.
The weather was still warm outside, and the heat from the stove made the kitchen very hot indeed. Every once in a while, a wisp of a dark curl stuck to her forehead. She brushed it back away from her face and went right on ironing. All the while, Ellie kept wondering when to ask if she could spend the next night with her friend.
After supper, while they were picking beans, Ellie found the courage to approach her mother with the request that had been on her mind all day.
"Ellie, Ellie, why must you come up with such ideas? You know I will need to ask Papa."
"Missy asked me to come. She said her mother thinks it would be nice, so I know it's alright with her."
"Well, you helped real good all summer with the work. Now that we won't be so busy anymore until butchering time, maybe we could spare you for one
 
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night . . . if you get up in the morning early enough to fill the reservoir and help me make the half-moon pies and a few extra things." Noticing the pleased look on her daughter's face, Mrs. Maust quickly added, "Don't get your hopes up, now; mind, we don't know what Papa will say."
Well, Papa said plenty. Mother approached him after the day's work was done. Ellie didn't hurry upstairs as she generally did.
"What are you waiting for?" Jake asked as he glanced up from his paper and saw Ellie standing by the hickory rocker. "Well, speak up. Are you going to tell me or just stand there?"
Ellie began to tremble. "Iwell, Missyremember once. . . . " She couldn't go on. Lizzie took pity on her stammering daughter and came to her aid.
"Jake, the little crippled girl who spent the night here with Ellie a long time ago wants her to go along to her house and return the visit. Her mother said it would be nice."
"Nice? Nice for whom?" asked Jake. "Lizzie, you know you need Ellie here. She picked up enough worldly ideas when that Susie Glick was here. We need not send her out to the home of an Englisher to see more. In a few years, I'm keeping her out of school altogether. All this book learning makes her too smart yet. First thing, she will want to know more than her parents. You go on to bed, Ellie, and get this nonsense out of your head."
Mrs. Maust saw the terror in Ellie's face at the mention of removing her from school. Ellie was afraid of losing one more thing that was especially
 
Page 87
dear to her. She could hardly bear it. How could she ever get along without Missy?
Mrs. Maust followed her daughter upstairs. "Don't cry, Bussli," she said. This time she called her that on purpose. She wiped her daughter's face and told her tenderly, "Go to bed. Papa didn't say no yet. Give me some more time to talk with him. Maybe he doesn't understand."
"No, Mama, he doesn't understand. I don't want to be smarter than you or Papa. Really, I don't. I just want to visit my very best friend, and I do want to be a good girl."
"I know you do. Just try to sleep. You may feel better in the morning."
Ellie lay awake for a long time wondering how soon she must quit school. First the
Maut
left, and now she might have to part with Missy.
Ellie never knew what her mother said to Papa, but the next morning Mama told her she could stay the night with her dear friend.
"Do your work well and quickly. And don't say anything to upset your father. He means well, Ellie. You may think he is too strict, but he only wants you to grow up to be a good Amish girl and obey."
"And not get too smart yet," the girl remembered.
"That, too," answered Lizzie.
It would take a long time to tell of all Ellie and Missy did and saw that day and night. But Ellie felt as if she were flying as she told her friend the good news. They didn't have to do any work at Missy's house. All they did was play. Never had Ellie seen such a grand place. When you wanted lights to see
 
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by, all you needed to do was push a button. Water came from pipes by the kitchen sink, and the bathroom was just like the one at school. Ellie walked around in a daze. But when she saw Missy's dolls and her music boxes, she was speechless.
She enjoyed every minute, and in her heart she knew she would never forget this day. Forever she would be grateful to her parents for permitting her this visit. Forever!
 
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13
The Big Sale
"Oh, Mama, you should have seen Missy's house, and all her clothes and dolls. She had dolls with hair you could comb and eyes that opened and closed. And music boxes, too. The prettiest one had a girl standing on one foot. She wore a little pink dress. When Missy turned a key, the girl went round and round." Ellie was bubbling with joy. "Thank you for letting me go."
"Hush, Ellie," said Lizzie. "Don't say anything like this that Papa can hear. He is afraid you will want things like thatthings that are not for us plain people. See how glad the twins are to have you home again, and so am I. And look how the baby is reaching out for you to take him. Ellie, would you trade little Andy for all the dolls Missy has, or for her pretty music boxes?"
Ellie hadn't thought of it that way at all. But without hesitating, she quickly answered, "Never."
 
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Contrary to what some might believe, Mr. Maust was a good husband and father. Yes, he did expect obedience and that his children learn to work. And he taught them right from wrong. He would bring them treats from the country store and often told them stories of when he was a little boy. His children cherished such times. They especially enjoyed the big rope swing he had made for them by the big cottonwood tree in the far corner of their backyard. Sometimes he pushed them high into the air; but he was a busy man, and such occasions were rare.
Roy and Sammie were old enough now to be trusted alone with the workhorses to plow and work the fields. Jake mentioned something several times about needing more land. So it was no surprise to his wife when he came home from town one day with the news that he heard Amos Schrock had his place up for sale, and he planned to go see Amos about buying.
"Are you sure we can handle such a big farm?" questioned Mrs. Maust.
"The boys are old enough now. They need more to do," Jake said. "And Ellie is about grown. I want to get back to the settlement before they start going with the young folks here. We made good at this place. I figure by selling the place and livestock, plus some implements, we should have a good amount to pay on the Schrock homestead. I'll keep a few cows and soon build up a good herd again.
Lizzie thought for a moment. "I will need some help to get ready to move and settle into a big house

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