Katie's Journey to Love (16 page)

Silence fell around the table except for
Mamm
's gasp.

“I was just praising your new
mamm
like I used to praise you and your cooking,” Jesse protested. “You shouldn't be offended.”

“You never said you would get fat on
my
cooking,” Mabel shot back.

Jesse didn't look happy. “Look, we're not having this argument again, Mabel. You did an excellent job after your
mamm
died, as did Carolyn. But I needed and wanted a
frau
, and you needed a
mamm
. My being pleased with Emma's cooking doesn't mean I was dissatisfied with yours.”

“You do a very
gut
job,”
Mamm
spoke up. “In fact, Mabel
made the corn tonight and helped with most of the other things. I know I couldn't do all the work without her—at least not as well.”

“There you go, Mabel!” A smile spread across Jesse's face. “So let's not hear anything more about this.”

Mabel didn't say anything as the murmur of conversation began again. Moments later she lifted her voice again. “I hope everyone understands I'm an adult when Mose Yutzy shows up tonight to take me out. I know it's not the weekend, so we won't be staying too late.”

Silence fell again as everyone stared at Mabel.

“What did you just say?” Jesse asked.

“I'm going out with Mose Yutzy tonight,” Mabel said, all traces of frown gone. “You let the boys go on their
rumspringa
time, and I'm also going to have mine. I was putting it off because I had to take care of the house, but I see I'm not needed here any longer.”

“This has nothing to do with
rumspringa
,” Jesse said.

Katie thought he sounded like he was trying to keep his voice even. Apparently there was more going on between Jesse, Mabel, and Mose Yutzy than Katie had been aware of.

“Then what has it got to do with,
Daett
?” Mabel's frown was back in full force. “You've never told me I couldn't see Mose.”

“That's because I didn't know you were interested in him.”

“Well, I
am
interested,” Mabel said. “I was waiting for the right time to tell you. And now that you're married, I'm letting you know.”

Jesse cleared his throat. “Mabel, I forbid you to see Mose. And if I find you aren't listening, I'll also forbid you from participating in
rumspringa
.”

Mabel jumped to her feet.

“Sit down!” Jesse ordered. “We will be having no fits in this house.”

“But
Daett
!” Mabel protested, flopping down in her chair. “You're only doing this because of Emma's weird ideas about
rumspringa
. What other strange ideas is she bringing into this house that are taking ahold of you? It's just as I feared. Look,
Daett
, at how Katie is turning out. She's ready to join the Mennonites!”

“Mabel, enough! This is not about
rumspringa
. This is about Mose.”

Mamm
jumped into the conversation. “Please, Mabel. I wouldn't try to influence your
daett
one way or the other on the subject of
rumspringa
. That's one thing I decided
before
I married him—that I wouldn't interfere with the way he raises his children. In fact, I think he's done a much better job than I could ever have done with all of you.”

“Then why am I not allowed to see Mose?” Mabel asked.

“Because he's not right for you. You're not going to see Mose. Get that through your head, Mabel,” Jesse declared.

“But why,
Daett
?” Mabel leaped to her feet again. “Why are you saying this?”

“Please, Jesse,”
Mamm
reached over and clung to Jesse's arm, “listen to her at least.”

“You can say that again!” Mabel leaned forward to emphasize her words. “After all the work I put in to keep this house running after
Mamm
's death, this is how I get treated? Like a child?”

Jesse looked confused. He looked at
Mamm
. “I guess I need to be more considerate. So what is it about Mose that so impresses you? Let's hear your side of the story.”

Mabel took a deep breath and sat down. “Let's see…He's
wunderbah
, and sweet, and he likes me.” Mabel's voice strengthened. “And he is coming tonight. We've already planned it.”

Jesse gave a short laugh. “Maybe he's coming, but he's leaving just as quick. I haven't heard any solid reason in the boy's favor yet.”

Mabel's face flashed thunder again, but she said nothing.

Mamm
spoke up, her voice cautious. “Why are you forbidding your daughter this thing, Jesse? She seems to care for the boy.”

Jesse snorted. “The boy is a disgrace, Emma. His
daett
is among the best farmers in the community, but Mose, his second boy, hardly lifts one foot in front of the other. He's among the laziest boys around. His
daett
hasn't been able to teach him much of anything. Mose can't cut a crop of hay without getting it soaked at least once before he gets it in the barn. And that's with his
daett
and brothers watching his back. The boy barely gets out of bed in the morning, I'm told. He's a lazy young man, and I don't want Mabel to see him.”

Jesse stopped talking as the sound of buggy wheels rolling down the driveway could be heard.

Mabel turned bright red, her mouth set and her eyes flashing.

“That must be Mose,” Leroy smirked. “I'm sure he'll be happy with his friendly welcome.”

Mabel stuck her tongue out at him, and Leroy roared with laughter.

“Quiet now, Leroy!” Jesse pounded the table with a fist. “We will not be making fun of the young man or Mabel. Mose is what he is. Now, Mabel, go out and explain the matter to him. Send him on his way.”

“Mabel?”
Mamm
stared at Jesse. “Do you think that's wise, Jesse? To make Mabel do this?”

Mamm
is right, Katie thought. Only
Mamm
didn't know exactly why she was right. Katie was sure Mabel would use the opportunity to plan a secret meeting with Mose.

Jesse paused, a thoughtful look on his face. “I believe it's best if the boy hears the news from Mabel.”

Mabel had leaped up before the words were out of her
daett
's mouth and raced out the washroom door.

Leroy choked back a laugh. When Willis glanced at him, Leroy leaned over. “I was looking forward to learning the famed Mose farming methods, but now my hopes will leave with the evening wind.”

Willis turned his head to hide his own laughter.

Jesse glared at both of them.

As the minutes ticked past, Katie's mind raced. What did this mean for her own plans? Did she even dare bring up the subject of Ben picking her up on Friday night? Perhaps this was the time. Maybe Jesse would be disinclined to create another fuss around the dinner table. Katie decided to wait for Mabel's return.

The conversation rose to a low murmur around the table as Katie wondered how it was going between Mabel and Mose. Finally, her footsteps could be heard in the washroom. The door opened, and Mabel slipped into her seat at the table.

“So it's taken care of now, Mabel? You handled it with Mose?” Jesse asked.

Mabel nodded, refusing to look at her
daett
or anyone else.

Now was Katie's moment. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. Then she exhaled and began. “I have something to share too. I don't know if this is a good time or not, but it does relate to what's happened this evening.”

Katie paused and glanced at
Mamm
. “Ben Stoll asked if he could pick me up to go to a youth function on Friday night. I said yes. I hope that's not a problem.”

Mabel made a choking sound, but Katie didn't dare look at anyone except
Mamm
and Jesse. She especially didn't want to see the look on Mabel's face.

“We're being invaded by female snatchers!” Leroy said.

Willis howled with laughter.

Katie kept looking back and forth from Jesse to
Mamm
. Had
her risk worked? Might Jesse approve of Ben? And if he did, would Mabel dare say anything bad about her?

“I think Ben could teach us some
gut
farming techniques,” Leroy said when he could control his laughter.

Willis laughed again and punched Leroy in the shoulder. “What can a carpenter teach us about farming?” he asked.

“That's enough, boys,” Jesse told them. “It's not right making fun of people.” He cleared his throat and looked at Katie and then Mabel. “From what I know of Ben, he's a fine boy. Mose could take a lesson from Ben on hard work.”

Katie's cheeks glowed with the praise. Jesse approved of Ben! Wasn't that a miracle in itself? Now if Mabel would stay out of the way, she would be fine. Katie took a quick peek at Mabel. The girl met her glance with a look full of daggers. Clearly the battle between them was anything but over.

Katie looked away and thought about Ben driving down the lane Friday night. She smiled. With Ben coming, she could put up with Mabel and then some.

Chapter Seventeen

Katie paced the floor of her room, still dressed in her work clothing. Ben wasn't due for another hour. She'd been downstairs, but she couldn't stand another minute of the tension in the kitchen.
Mamm
kept looking at her like her last friend had died, and Mabel had done nothing but give her glares since just before dinner.

Mamm
's face had been filled with sorrow when Katie came home from Byler's, and it had grown more haggard as time progressed. The boys and Carolyn hadn't seemed to notice during dinner as they filled the kitchen with their happy chatter. Mabel, though, had begun her piercing looks there—between shooting barbed retorts back at her brothers, that is. On their part, Leroy and Willis certainly weren't making things easier for Mabel and her pining for Mose. And since Katie was planning an evening with Ben Stoll, it was no wonder that Mabel was in short temper tonight.

“Cultivating went pretty
gut
today,” Leroy said to Willis, keeping
an innocent tone in his voice. “Though I could use someone to teach me
gut
farming methods.”

Willis smirked. “
Yah
, I did think you left that plow row a little crooked. Surely a Yutzy would know how to tell us to improve such a thing.”

Mabel glared at Leroy and Willis. “Neither of you are half the man Mose is. He'd have plowed the whole field today instead of going around in circles like the two of you did.”

Broad grins spread over the boys' faces.

If Mabel knew what was good for her, she'd keep quiet, Katie wanted to tell her. This easy target for entertainment would be too hard for either of her two oldest brothers to resist.

Sure enough, Leroy hid his laughter with a loud cough. “If his horse could make it over here, Mose might still prove himself helpful.”

“He'd probably throw all four horseshoes on the road,” Willis choked out between snickers.

Leroy feigned shock. “So that's where the twisted-up metal shoe came from? The one that was lying in the driveway?”

While Leroy and Willis howled with laughter, Mabel turned her anger on Katie. “This is all your fault.”

Katie knew there wasn't any truth to Mabel's words. It was her bitterness speaking, and she needed help right now, not condemnation. And Katie could see where Mabel might get that idea. Jesse would probably have been easier on discipline if
Mamm
wasn't in the house. With the responsibility of the household on
Mamm
's shoulders, Jesse was seeing Mabel as a child again—a child in need of serious correction.

Mamm
's sorrow was what worried Katie the most. Her sad face and distressful looks cut deep into Katie's heart.
Mamm
was really why she'd fled from the kitchen tonight. It wasn't to escape the thundercloud of Mabel's wrath, but to avoid the
searing pain of
Mamm
's disapproval. Because, if the truth be told,
Mamm
's opinion still pulled on Katie.
Mamm
was Jesse's
frau
, to be sure, but she would always be her
mamm
too. They were bound together by ties that couldn't be broken. So why did she feel like they were being torn apart by a strong force neither of them could control?

Mamm
couldn't get over her disapproval of Ben anymore than Katie could resist going out with him tonight. Soon
Mamm
would be coming up the stairs to discuss the matter. At least Katie would be surprised if
Mamm
didn't try to get in one last plea for her to abandon her plans.