Katie's Forever Promise (12 page)

He came to a fast halt as both doors burst open. Little Abram leaped out and tied up Bonnie. Norman marched earnestly toward the schoolhouse. Katie's smile vanished. The man looked mighty grim. What could be wrong? She'd just seen him last night, and everything had seemed fine.

Racing to the schoolhouse door, she held it open with a smile on her face. Norman paused a few feet away. “I need to speak with you, Katie. Right now!”

Never had she seen him so disturbed. Katie stepped back inside, still holding the door open. “It's almost time to begin school, Norman. What's wrong?”

He brushed past her into the schoolroom. She caught her breath and followed. Had she done something wrong? But what? And since last night?

Norman turned to face her. “Is it true you visited Ben Stoll in the hospital?”

Katie swallowed. “
Yah
, I did. Willis took me.”

“So it is true!” His eyes were blazing. “Did you expect this to stay a secret? How could you, Katie?”

“I…” She looked away. She hadn't expected this level of anger from him. “I'm sorry you're taking this so hard, Norman. But Willis insisted I go. He told me Ben wished to apologize to me face-to-face for what he'd done. Willis thought he should be given that chance, and Jesse concurred. Ben was injured severely, you know. And one never knows when
Da Hah
will call a person home. Ben wanted to make peace with me and
Da Hah
, and I needed to give him that opportunity. Surely you can understand that.”

“How do I know what you say is true?” Norman snapped. “Am I supposed to ask Willis what happened when you spoke with Ben? And besides, that's not the issue. It's how things look. Now I'll be seen as dating Ben's ex-girlfriend who can't seem to stay away from him. That's how it appears to the community. You're making a fool out of me, Katie Raber. Is this what Mabel meant by your sneaky ways?”

Katie paused. This seemed so unlike the Norman she knew. “Is this your way of telling me you're not going to see me again? That you're ashamed of me?”

Norman glanced up for a moment, taking in the tears on her cheeks. “Katie…Katie…please…of course I'm not saying that. I don't start something without finishing it. But I needed to know whether this was true, and I needed to hear again that you are over that drug-dealing Ben Stoll.”

“Well, it
is
true I went to see him in the hospital…” Katie let the statement hang.

Norman hesitated before drawing himself up to full height. “I don't want you speaking with Ben Stoll ever again, Katie.”

“I wasn't planning to, Norman. I won't be seeing him.”

“Still, you must promise me.”

“But what if I see Ben in church? I have to say
gut
morning to him. It wouldn't be Christian not to.”

Norman frowned. “That's something you won't have to worry about.
Daett
is going to speak with Bishop Miller this morning. Ben will be asked to leave the community at once, before he can bring more shame on all of us.”

“He's leaving? But where is he to go? We can't just drive him away. He's not in the
bann
. That takes a vote by the church members.”

“Don't worry about Ben, Katie. He's not your responsibility. Others who know better will take care of him. I can only say that on my part I'm just glad he'll be gone.”

He moved a step away, her need to promise apparently forgotten. He suddenly turned on his heels. Glancing over his shoulder, he said, “I'll see you Sunday then, Katie.”

“But Norman!” Katie stopped him midstride. “What about us? You can't just come in here, yell at me, and then leave. What am I supposed to think?”

He gave her a weak smile. “Everything's okay, Katie. At least you didn't lie to me. And Ben will soon be gone.”

Everything was not okay, Katie thought as she watched him walk out to his buggy. She ached in her heart over this. It was even more painful as she realized she couldn't imagine Ben walking out like that—not after chewing her out over some matter. In fact, she couldn't imagine Ben talking to her in that manner at all. But Norman wasn't Ben. And Norman wasn't deceiving her by hiding some awful sin as Ben had done. She ought to feel thankful for Norman's care. Yet the truth was that she didn't.

How had things come to this awful state? By Ben's actions, of course. And now everyone involved with him was reaping
the bitter harvest. If Ben had to leave the community, there was no one he could blame but himself. And she had no reason to hold anything against either Norman or his
daett
for wanting that. No doubt they were trying to deal with things as best they knew how. They were trying to stop evil from doing even more damage. If their methods seemed harsh, she would have to refrain from judging.

A soft step coming from the closet area turned her around. “Well, Noah, where did you come from?”

Had Ben's brother overheard the conversation? He appeared troubled, but surely he hadn't been inside while Norman was here.

“I was playing ball, and I bent my finger in my glove.” Noah held up the offending body part.

“How bad does it hurt?” Katie took his hand and turned it over. Redness spread from the joint to the fingertip, but it wasn't bleeding.

Noah tried to smile. “It's not too bad, but I didn't want to continue playing. Not until it feels better anyway.”

Katie let go of his hand. “We'll pray it gets better really fast, okay? And you need to be more careful with those fast balls. Was it one of the big boys batting?”

Noah nodded and added, “It was Lester. But it's worth playing ball even if you get a little hurt once in awhile.”

Katie smiled and rumpled Noah's hair. How like life, she thought. It was worth living even if you received a few bruises along the way. And Norman would be worth it in the end. But she'd have to get used to his anger. What a surprise that was. Did he have these outbursts often? If he did, this might be something she could work on with him. Perhaps she could help Norman get over them.

And tonight she would have to temper her own anger when she spoke with Mabel. Mabel was certainly going to get a talking
to. This tale-spreading from Mabel couldn't be allowed to pass without a strong rebuke. Passing around family information to aid one's own position was not Christian. What did Mabel expect from her actions? That she'd break up Norman and Katie's relationship?
Mamm
and Jesse should probably be brought in on this too.

Noah was pulling on her sleeve with his uninjured hand. He interrupted her thoughts. “What did Norman want this morning? He looked upset when I walked past him.”

“He just needed to speak with me.” Katie smiled down at him.

“He's your boyfriend, isn't he?”

Katie's smile broadened. “Don't tell me you're jealous, Noah.”

He grinned. “You're a little too old for me. But you used to date my brother.”

“
Yah
, before your brother got into so much trouble.”

He looked away for a minute before continuing. “We visited Ben a couple of nights ago at the hospital. I heard him tell
Mamm
you stopped by.”

“
Yah
, I did.”

Noah shrugged. “I think Ben still likes you.”

“Well…” Katie tousled his hair again. “It's about time for school to start,” she said, hoping to end the conversation.

Noah wasn't deterred. “You ought to stop by again sometime. Ben's really feeling low. I'd like to see him cheered up some.”

“
Nee
, it wouldn't be right for me to do that, Noah. I'm dating Norman now.”

“But you could still stop by. Ben is quite blue.”

Katie forced a smile. Noah had only his brother's welfare on his mind and meant no harm. “It's time for me to ring the bell, but thank you for the invitation. It's kind of you to think of your brother's well-being.”

Noah nodded but he looked quite sorrowful.

Katie left him to grab the bell and lean out the window. She rang the bell vigorously. The students came pouring in, finding their way to their desks. When things quieted down, Katie opened the Bible storybook and read a short piece, followed by leading the class in prayer.

She was still thinking about Ben when the five first-graders came to the front. They sat down with their readers open on their laps. Katie stared at them vacantly. She was seeing Ben's pale face lying on the hospital bed pillow. His eyes were closed, and he was alone. The children's rustling feet interrupted her thoughts, and Katie jerked back to the present. She gave them all a quick smile. “Are we ready to learn more words today?”

They looked hesitant but tried to smile.

Katie forced herself to focus. “You're going to do great today! I know you are. All of you! Before long you'll be able to read so well you won't even have to think about it.”

“I know what the lesson is about,” little Johnny piped up.

“Okay! You can tell the class,” Katie said.

“Be kind to all,” Johnny said at once.

“That's right. And how did you know?'

Johnny looked sheepish. “
Mamm
told me.”

Katie still gave him a warm look. “That's okay. Now does anyone wish to begin? Maybe one word at a time, making the sounds like we learned.”

Johnny launched right in. “Kind.”

Katie glowed with approval. “Okay, that was good. Now, moving on to the next in line, what is the picture?”

“Bird,” another student ventured.

“And what is happening? Can you tell even though all the words aren't there?”

“The little birdie has fallen out of the nest,” Karla Miller said. “And it can't fly away yet. And there's a snake coming to eat it.”

“That right, Karla. And what is the little boy doing that is kind? Look at the next page and tell me the word.”

“Nest,” James Troyer read. “He's putting the bird back into its nest.”

“That's right! Let's say all those words together a few times to see how they're sounded out.”

Katie waited as they chanted together: “kind…bird…nest.” She kept smiling, leading them through the rest of the lesson but every word seemed associated with Ben. She saw the way he'd looked that last time at the airport before her trip to Switzerland. Ben had been so full of life and joy. His face had been aglow with love for her. And now his brother Noah wanted her to stop by the hospital again and cheer him up. But she couldn't do that. The hospital was way out of the way. Ben had gotten himself into this mess, and she was dating Norman. It wasn't her fault Ben was lonely. And Norman would never understand her going to see Ben twice for whatever reason. And she couldn't blame Norman one bit.

When the first-graders had completed the reading assignment, Katie dismissed them and called up the next group. Hopefully they would have a different kind of story. Katie didn't need another reminder on kindness. When she opened the reader with the second-graders seated in front of her, Katie smiled. This story was on bravery. The story was of a young boy who needed to confess lying to his parents.

Katie listened as the two students read their way through the story, halting often at difficult words. In the story, little Robert Helmuth had forgotten to shut the gate to the calf barn, and during the night his
mamm
's garden had been raided. In the morning, Robert had denied his actions at first, claiming he had shut the gate. Only after his
daett
believed him had Robert found the
courage to tell the truth, say he was sorry, accept the punishment he deserved, and know he was forgiven.

With the story completed, Katie dismissed the class and called up the third-grade students. She almost groaned out loud at the title of the story: “Emma's Compassion.” Pushing thoughts of Ben out of her mind, Katie forced herself to listen as the students read the story of how Emma stayed home from school for a whole week to take care of her younger sister while her
mamm
was down with the flu and caring for a sick baby on top of that. Emma had to work extra hard the next week to catch up with her schoolwork, but she did. This great act of compassion helped make Emma a more gentle and loving person.

Noah glanced at her when they were done. He's probably thinking about Ben, Katie decided. She dismissed the class without meeting the boy's eyes. She was a kind and compassionate person, and she would practice her kindness tonight on Mabel.

Chapter Twelve

With a sigh, Katie glanced at the clock on the schoolroom wall. Two more minutes and she would release the children. This day had been a difficult and troubling one—not from anything the students had done, but from the thought of facing Mabel tonight. Should she let this problem pass? It would allow for a more peaceful atmosphere at home tonight. When the clock read three o'clock exactly, Katie stood in front of the students and said, “Time to go home. See you all tomorrow!” Most of the students were already prepared to leave, their books tucked inside their desks.