Miriam and the Stranger (25 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

M
iriam waved to Aunt Fannie and Mr. Whitehorse as she came down the steps of the Greyhound bus. The bus trip had been long and tiresome, but now that she was back in Oklahoma, it seemed as if no time had passed. Even Mose was a distant memory. The thought of her husband-to-be caused Miriam to wince, but she gathered her courage and put on a smile. Whatever was going on with Mose simply had to do with him adjusting to his new role as bishop. A change that sudden would be a shock for any man.

“Please move along, young lady,” the bus driver urged, interrupting Miriam’s thoughts. “I have your suitcase right here.”

“I’m sorry,” Miriam said, reaching for her suitcase. “And thank you.”

The driver had already turned his attention to the next passenger awaiting her luggage.

Aunt Fannie hurried forward with open arms, and the two
embraced for a long time. “You’ve come back to us,” Aunt Fannie gushed. “It’s so
gut
to see you again. It seems like forever.”

Miriam laughed. “I’ve been gone for only two weeks.”

“That’s long enough,” Aunt Fannie continued. “How was Shirley’s wedding? I hope your
mamm
understood that we would have loved to be there, but…”

“Everyone understood,” Miriam assured her. “Especially
Mamm.”

“And what of you and Mose? When will he visit here again?” Aunt Fannie asked.

Miriam hesitated. “Mose won’t be making the trip again to see me. It’s so far…”

“Oh, no,” Aunt Fannie said, patting Miriam’s arm. “Well, look on the bright side, dear. Your qualifications are no doubt well settled in his mind.”

Miriam tried to look grateful. The two women approached the car, and Miriam greeted Mr. Whitehorse. “It’s nice of you to pick me up on a Sunday afternoon.”

“You know I’d do it anytime,” Mr. Whitehorse said with a grin. “You’re the community’s favorite teacher, but I also hear that wedding bells will be ringing for you.”

Miriam blushed a little. “I see Aunt Fannie has been keeping you up to date.”

“It’s about time I heard about your plans!” Mr. Whitehorse declared as he loaded Miriam’s suitcase into the trunk. “I can remember when I first picked you and your sister up here several years ago. She’s the one that just got married, right?”

“
Yah
, she’s the one,” Miriam said as she climbed into the car. Aunt Fannie waited until Mr. Whitehorse was in the driver’s seat before she got in.

“I’m sure you heard that Mose was made bishop,” Miriam whispered to Aunt Fannie as Mr. Whitehorse drove out of town. “And
to think that I was able to be there and watch him choose the book with the lot in it.”

Aunt Fannie’s eyes grew large. “
Yah
, I heard. Miriam, that is so
wunderbah
.”

“Sorry to eavesdrop,” Mr. Whitehorse interrupted. “But did you say bishop? Would this be the minister that was here a few weeks ago?”

“
Yah
, Mose Stoll. And he’s a bishop now.” Miriam said the words with care. Not for Mr. Whitehorse’s sake, but for her own. She wanted the proper reverence to sink deep into her heart.

“Quite an honor, I suppose,” Mr. Whitehorse muttered.

They drove on in silence until Aunt Fannie ventured, “Nothing much happened while you were gone—at least compared to what you must have experienced. A bishop’s ordination, and for your promised one at that! And Shirley’s wedding, of course. All we had to entertain ourselves with was Tyler Johnson’s occasional visits. We had him over again last Friday night for supper. He’s staying in Deacon Phillips’s basement now and making himself quite at home in the community. It wouldn’t surprise me if Tyler began to attend the Sunday morning meetings soon. Tyler told us how much he enjoyed that evening he drove you to the hymn singing.”

Miriam jerked herself out of her reverie. That name. Tyler Johnson. She had almost allowed herself to forget.

Aunt Fannie hurried on. “Just think where this might be going, Miriam. We’ve not had a convert in some time, and Tyler’s conversion would be quite an honor. Why, Mose might even be impressed. If I were you, I’d mention Tyler and all the latest developments in your next letter.”

Tyler was the last thing she’d mention in her letters, Miriam decided. If she did mention Tyler, Mose would have more questions about the man than she wanted to explain. Thankfully, Aunt
Fannie finally seemed out of breath and settled back in her seat in silence.

In the distance, Clarita’s water tower came into sight, and Mr. Whitehorse turned left on Highway 48. Moments later they pulled into the Bylers’s driveway where Mr. Whitehorse popped the trunk, and Miriam dashed out to retrieve her suitcase. She paused at the car window to pay Mr. Whitehorse for the trip into Coalgate and added ten dollars for a tip.

“That’s for the bother on a Sunday,” she told him. “And tell your wife hello for me.”

“I’ll do that.” He grinned. “She’s with the grandbabies today, or she would have come along. And thanks.” Mr. Whitehorse waved the cash in the air. “Always can use this stuff. Social Security isn’t as secure as one would hope!”

Miriam waved him goodbye and set out for the house with Aunt Fannie a few steps in front of her. Jonathon met them on the front porch and flew into Miriam’s arms for a long hug.

“Oh, what am I going to do when I don’t see you anymore every day,” Miriam cooed into his ear.

Jonathon giggled and retracted himself from her embrace to vanish around the corner of the house.

“Home again, home again, jiggity-jig,” Uncle William sang out when Miriam walked in. “Just in time for popcorn making.”

“Miriam will do nothing of the sort,” Aunt Fannie scolded. “You get up and get Star ready for her so she can make a trip over to the schoolhouse. I know that’s the first thing on her mind—not popcorn for you.”

“I’ll make him popcorn,” Miriam offered.

Aunt Fannie stood her ground. “No sacrificing right now. I’ll make the man popcorn, and mine’s as good as yours. He only wants to be babied.”

Uncle William laughed and disappeared out the front door.

“Now take your suitcase upstairs, and then you can go,” Aunt Fannie said. “I’ll have supper ready when you get back, and you can relax for the rest of the evening—because you’re not going to the hymn singing after that long trip of yours.”

“Thank you,” Miriam whispered. “I do appreciate your understanding about the schoolhouse. I promise not to work—just think and plan for tomorrow.”

Aunt Fannie pursed her lips. “
Yah
, but no guilt feelings now. Anyone would understand your wanting to visit the schoolhouse. And you’re a bishop’s
frau
-to-be. Cheer up!”

Miriam felt her face color a little.

“Ah,” Aunt Fannie cooed, giving Miriam a quick hug. “You’re so modest about everything. Did the man kiss you?”

Miriam gasped. “Aunt Fannie!”

“
Yah
, I know.” Aunt Fannie smiled sheepishly. “I’m a terrible one, but kissing a bishop… now that would be something!”

Miriam turned and fled upstairs, her suitcase bouncing behind her on the stairs. If Aunt Fannie knew the half! But how could it ever be told?

Miriam took a moment to look around. Aunt Fannie had obviously fluffed the quilt on the bed and dusted recently. Everything sparkled. In spite of Aunt Fannie’s instructions, Miriam took the time to hang her dresses in the closet before she returned downstairs.

“All hitched up and ready to go,” Uncle William sang out.

“Now remember, I’ll have supper ready,” Aunt Fannie promised.

“
Yah
, I’ll be back soon.” Miriam made a dash out the door before Aunt Fannie could make another remark about Mose’s kisses.

Miriam drove Star out the Bylers’s lane and toward the schoolhouse. Long before she arrived, Miriam searched for her first sight of the building. She loved her job and the community children
she taught. Now that she planned to leave after this term was over, her heart was stirred even more deeply.

Miriam reached up to rub her eyes. Why was there an
Englisha
automobile parked in the schoolyard right where her buggy would go? She gasped. Tyler. There was no doubt about it—and on a Sunday afternoon at her schoolhouse! Miriam pulled back on Star’s reins. She ought to turn the buggy around and flee back to Aunt Fannie’s at once. But there was no suitable explanation she could offer to Aunt Fannie for her sudden reappearance. Instead Miriam set her chin and drove straight up to Tyler’s car. This was her schoolhouse, after all. He had no right to intrude.

“Hi, Miriam,” Tyler greeted, walking boldly over to greet her. He leaned against the buggy wheel as if he had every right to be there. “
Gut
to see you back.”

“And you,” she said, biting her lip. That was exactly the wrong thing to say. She pondered whether to even climb down or just turn the buggy around and leave.

Tyler turned his head sideways. “Your aunt told me you’d be back this afternoon, and she also mentioned you’d probably check in here, first thing. She knows you pretty well. And so do I.” He looked quite pleased with himself.

“You have no business here,” Miriam snapped. “I came over for a few minutes of peace and quiet. Aunt Fannie didn’t tell you I’d be here so that you could disrupt my afternoon. And what if someone sees us?”

Tyler grinned. “We could go inside, I guess.”

“We will do nothing of the sort,” Miriam retorted. “You will leave right now.”

“Fiery as ever,” Tyler muttered. “Did the ogre get to see this side of you?”

“Mose is a bishop now.” Miriam glared at him. “So watch your words.”

“Oh,
my
, a bishop.” Tyler raised his eyebrows. “Did the bishop get around to kissing you? Or is the bishop too holy?”

Miriam was speechless. The nerve of this man astonished her. He was as brash as Mose was bossy. Yet to her dismay, her heart was pounding so hard she could hardly breathe. Miriam tried to collect herself as Tyler’s handsome face disappeared in front of her only to reappear on the other side of the buggy. Without permission Tyler climbed in beside Miriam and sat down. He gazed intently at her for a moment before he took Miriam’s hands in both of his. Then he moved closer, slowly at first and then in a rush at the end. Miriam felt helpless, but also somehow strangely content to return his embrace. And then he gently placed his hands on her cheeks and kissed her softly. They clung to each other until Star twisted his head around to look at them.

Miriam gasped and pushed Tyler away. “Tyler! No! How could we? This isn’t right!”

Tyler didn’t bat an eye. “I think it’s very right. Our flames burn well together.”

“Oh!” Miriam moaned. “How could this happen? Tyler, you must leave and now!” She pushed on him with both hands until he leaped out of the buggy. “Go! Go!” she commanded. “Please, Lord, forgive me. I didn’t mean what I just did.”

“You do take this seriously,” Tyler said regarding Miriam for a moment. “That was only a kiss. And, for your information, a very enjoyable kiss.”

“If you don’t leave right now, I will,” Miriam ordered. She grabbed the reins, but Tyler held up both hands.

“Okay. I’m gone, but you’ve not seen the last of me. Remember that.”

Miriam moaned again as Tyler drove out of the schoolhouse lane. He turned and waved, but she looked away at once. Oh, how had that happened? She had kissed another man. Mose would
never understand this. She would have to tell him, and yet how could she? This would ruin everything. Everything! Oh, and the worst of it was that she had wanted to kiss Tyler. She had wanted to terribly!

Miriam sat in her buggy staring across the schoolyard. She had kissed Tyler. She, the community’s faithful schoolteacher and a bishop’s promised one, had kissed an
Englisha
man.

Miriam placed her head in both hands and sobbed as Star nibbled the grass near the hitching post.

Chapter Twenty-Five