The Amish Seamstress (23 page)

I described what I was seeing to Rosalee and then suggested she try to get back to sleep.

“I've been awake for an hour. I'd rather just get up.”

“Okay, but let me stoke the fire first.”

By the time I reached the kitchen, I saw that Luke already had it going strong, so told him I would start the one in the fireplace. I went to the living room and quickly arranged the kindling and paper. I reached for the matches, but they weren't on the mantle. I turned toward the lamp, grabbed them, and then stepped back, startled. Zed was there on the couch, all sprawled out, his feet hanging over the far end, a text book resting on his chest. He had used his coat like a blanket but otherwise had no coverings at all. And the room was freezing cold.

I stood there and looked at him for a long moment. He was so adorable, all lanky and long, his dangling feet huge in their gray socks, his shaggy blond mane in dire need of a haircut. He seemed big and grown up, yet the expression on his sleeping face was as sweet and innocent as a child.

Oh, how I loved him.

I finally forced myself to turn away, praying that God would wake up Zed's heart to his true feelings for me soon. Very soon. Mennonite or not, there simply had to be a way for us to be together.

I headed back into the kitchen, where Luke was pouring water from the kettle into the French press.

“Zed's in the living room,” I said with a smile. “Half frozen.”

“We told him to sleep upstairs,” he said, putting the kettle back on the stove.

“Could you see to him?” I asked, though that wasn't what I really wanted.

What I really wanted was to go back in there and slide in under that coat with Zed and wrap myself in his warmth and inhale the sandalwood scent of sleep from his skin. Better someone else go in my stead and get him out of there for me.

I hovered in the kitchen and listened as Luke did as I asked. A brief, low mumble of their voices ensued, followed by some shuffling and then a
soft clomping up the stairs. It was so early yet, Zed would probably climb into the guest bed up there and sleep another five or six hours before starting his day.

I returned to the living room and started the fire. Once the blaze took, I moved back down the hall to Rosalee.

An hour later, she and I were both dressed and in the kitchen, sharing breakfast with Ella and Luke. Even though the sun had yet to rise, Ella made a comment about Zed sleeping the day away.

“He was up late studying,” I explained in his defense.

“
Ach
, the life of a college student,” Rosalee commented. “I'd hate it. Studying all night and sleeping all day sounds like misery to me.”

It didn't to me, but I didn't say anything. I couldn't help but yawn, though.

After breakfast, as the first light of morning finally began to appear, Luke and Ella headed off through the falling snow to the bakery. They didn't expect any business, but they wanted to make sure the pipes hadn't frozen during the night. I did the dishes, and then Rosalee and I settled into the living room, wrapped in quilts, and watched through the broad front windows as the day continued to dawn. We both had handwork to do, but our projects sat idle in our laps for a long while, each of us content to gaze at the snow- and ice-covered fairyland that was coming to life outside.

As the morning wore on, I fed wood into both the woodstove and the fireplace, doing my best to keep the old house cozy. Because Rosalee couldn't move around, it would be easy for her to become chilled. That wouldn't be good for her pain level or for her healing.

Zed finally appeared around ten, his hair disheveled and his clothes wrinkled. As he stepped into the room, his eyes went to the window and his face broke out in a broad smile. “It's so pretty,” he said, without even telling us good morning first.

Rosalee sighed. “Like a painting.”

“Remember how much fun we had that time we went ice-skating on the Gundys' runoff pond?” Zed asked, looking at me.

I nodded. A few years ago, not long after Zed's cousin Ada had married Will Gundy, she had invited us to come skating at his family's farm.
Zed and I had brought along all four of my younger siblings, and between us and them and various extended family members of the Gundys, soon there were a good two dozen people out there on the ice, laughing and gliding and slipping and falling.

Before that, I had never seen Zed skate before, and I remember being surprised at how good he was at it, how graceful and steady—and fast. I knew he was naturally athletic, but the skating had been even more impressive than his abilities on a basketball court. When I complimented him on it later, he'd just waved off the praise and said it came from years of wintertime pickup hockey games with kids in his neighborhood.

“I wish we could go skating today,” he said. “But my skates are back in Pennsylvania.”

“Mine too.”

“Ella and Luke have skates that would probably fit,” Rosalee volunteered. “They're in the mudroom.”

“Is the ice thick enough on the pond yet?” I asked her.

“With the cold snap we had, I would guess so. Yesterday, Luke told Eddie it was frozen enough for him and Annie to skate on the shallows—with supervision. I imagine it's that much more solid today. But Luke could check again.”

I hardly thought Luke needed another thing to add to his to-do list. “We can do it,” I said. “Zed knows what to look for.”

“Let's go for it.” Grinning, Zed clapped his hands together.

I was about to run off to my room to put on more layers when I remembered my charge.

“Actually,” I said, working to keep the disappointment from my voice as I stayed in place, “I'm taking care of Rosalee right now. Maybe later.”

“Oh, I'll be fine,” she countered. “You go ahead and go.”

I hesitated, not wanting to be negligent in my duties.

She gestured toward her leg. “I only have one regret in life, and that's not having more adventures while I could. Go have an adventure, Izzy. No worries about me.”

“If you're sure,” I said. “I won't stay out for long.”

“Stay out as long as you want.” Rosalee pointed to the kitchen and smiled. “First get Zed something to eat, though.”

He offered to make himself some oatmeal. He knew how much I disliked cooking.

“There's leftover ham slices too,” I told him. “On the bottom shelf of the fridge.”

“Cool. Thanks.” He headed off for the kitchen.

Before I went to get changed, I took a moment to make sure Rosalee had everything she might need at hand—extra blanket, crochet bag, glass of water.

“You're all set then?” I asked, hands on my hips as I glanced around.

She didn't reply, so I looked at her face and saw that her eyes were twinkling.

“He's so smitten with you,” she whispered.

“I wish,” I blurted out before thinking, and then I felt my face flush with heat. “I mean—”

“Ah. The feeling's mutual. I knew it.”

Heart pounding, I glanced toward the kitchen and then moved forward to perch myself on the arm of the couch as we continued to whisper.

“Please don't say anything to anyone,” I implored her. “I'm sure whatever you saw is because he and I have been the best of friends for so long.”

“Not
just
friends.”

I swallowed hard. “For years, yes, just friends. But then…” I couldn't believe I was telling her this. “But then one day, two or three months ago, just before he left for school, I realized that I…that for me, it was more.”

There. I had said it aloud, to another person. I guessed that made it official.

“You're in love with him,” she said, as matter-of-factly as if she had announced the sky was blue or the beans were ready.

I hesitated and then gave her a nod and a shy smile. “So far, though, it's all very one-sided, I'm afraid. He doesn't realize my feelings have changed. And he still thinks of me like a sister.”

She chuckled. “He doesn't look at you like a sister.”

I felt a flush of embarrassment, even as my heart raced with joy.

“It's true, Izzy. You're a beautiful young woman—and even more lovely on the inside. He's well aware of that, I assure you.”

I met her gaze. Could it be true? Was Zed falling in love with me at last?

“You ready yet, Iz?” His voice boomed in from the kitchen. “Be sure to put on lots of layers. And don't forget a hat and some gloves.”

Rosalee and I shared a secret smile, and then I held a finger to my lips and she nodded sagely in return. It wasn't until I had dashed off to my room to pile on the clothes that it struck me to wonder at the woman's enthusiasm for what she'd discovered. Rosalee knew Zed was Mennonite and I Amish. She was Amish as well, and as such, she should have been discouraging the relationship, not encouraging it—much less enabling it.

Once I was dressed and ready to go, I met back up with Zed at the fireplace. His arms were loaded with skates and coats.

“Better try these on,” he said, handing me the smaller pair of skates. I sat on the edge of the couch and did just that, glad to see they were only slightly too large. I took them back off, confident that if I laced them up extra tight, they would do just fine.

I pulled on the heavy coat he held for me, and then I poked at the fire as he sat down to try on the other pair of skates. He seemed to be having the opposite problem—they were a tad too small—but he assured me he could make do.

“Is there a broom?” Zed asked Rosalee as he worked to pull the skates back off.

“Yes, take the push broom from the back porch. And grab the whistle too, in case anyone gets in trouble. It's on the hook near the door.”

“Thanks.”

He stood, skates in hand, but I continued poking the fire.

I glanced at Rosalee. “I won't stay out long,” I assured her.

“Go,” she urged, sensing my reluctance. “Have fun. I'll be fine.” Then, with a mischievous glint in her eye, she added, “You two
friends
take as long as you need.”

It was cold outside but so beautiful, the snow falling gracefully now, the tiny flakes landing on my eyelashes as we walked. Everything was just so quiet—that unique, hushed silence of snow—as though the whole
world had gone to sleep under one big fluffy white blanket. Zed and I walked side by side behind the barn, skirting the woods to the pasture.

As we neared the pond, I spotted a lone figure sitting on a log and lacing up a boot.

“Eddie? Is that you?” I called out. He looked up, saw us, and waved. As we drew closer, I asked, “Who's here with you?”

He beamed. “My
mamm
is on her way with Annie. Can you believe all this snow? And it's only going to get deeper!”

Zed gave the boy a high five as a hello, and then he stepped out onto the ice in his shoes and began clearing a section with the broom. I sat down beside Eddie and put on my skates.

Zed continued to sweep snow from the ice until my boots were laced up tight, and then we traded places. Of all of my siblings, I was the least athletic, and I felt wobbly as I made my way toward him. My older sisters and all my brothers used to tease me about my lack of grace. The truth was, I almost always preferred to be inside as compared to out.

Once I had the broom in my hand, I used it for support as I swept, listening to the conversation while Zed sat on the log to put on his skates and he and Eddie talked about school.

“Ella's still helping me with my reading,” Eddie said. “We started the book about the wardrobe.”

“And the lion and the witch?” Zed asked.

“
Ya
, that one.”

“That was one of my favorite books growing up. Still is.”

“
Ya
, I know. Ella told me.”

Once Zed was ready, he invited Eddie out onto the ice with us.

The boy stood and looked back in the direction of their house. “I'd better wait for my
mamm
.”

“Good thinking, buddy,” Zed replied.

He got back on the ice, wincing at the feel of the tight boots, and then with a few quick strides he was gliding smoothly over to where I stood.

“I'm glad it isn't snowing any harder than this,” he said, taking the broom from my hands. “Otherwise, our sweeping would be kind of pointless.”

I looked around at the area we had managed to clear thus far and then
watched as he expanded it more rapidly now that he had on some skates. He really was graceful on the ice. It was a pleasure just to stand there for a few minutes and watch him.

“Okay,” he said finally, glancing around and then giving me a satisfied nod. “I think we'll be fine as long as we stay in this area. The water's shallow here, which means the ice should be good and solid.”