Abram's Daughters: The Betrayal Part 20

I "Hul why a grave dug here in the middle of a deserted fclliv.'" he mused aloud. ' "This is wasted grazing land," she spoke up. "I can't 260.

ly e imagine it should become a cemetery, can you?"

Jonas shook his head. "Hardly. But fancy folk do th strangest things sometimes, ain't so?"

She wondered why Jonas now a.s.sumed the owner wn English. Right surprising it was, really.

Jonas drove Leah home and walked with her to the bacld door. They said their good'byes rather swiftly no lingering! so the family had no opportunity to observe, the way of thij Old Order. Serious courting was done in secret, under the covering of night.

Not wanting to shed a tear in front of him, she waved an I hurried inside, bypa.s.sing any conversation with Mamma aiv I the twins, who were rus.h.i.+ng to get supper on the table. Shti headed straight to her bedroom and lay down, thinking baeifi on her afternoon with Jonas and their kisses, hoping the LortH G.o.d would not punish them for disobeying Mamma's sirleli wishes. 1 Recalling the warmth of Jonas's embrace his face ever so near a small part of her began to understand how it wm Sadie had succ.u.mbed to forbidden hours with the Schwiwti boy, one thing leading to another till she'd found herself In an awful bad way. Leah was most thankful Jonas was an upstanding young, man and that they were now baptized church members. 1 lipyj had made their promises to G.o.d and her church this very diiytl Realizing the reality anew, she felt even worse for having lip 261.

^H on I lie day of holy baptism.

^HfH' went to the window and looked out toward the TOily hillock, wis.h.i.+ng she might visit with Aunt Lizzie. But 11'W minutes Mamma would be calling for supper. For now i "iiiNf put on a smile or else her family might wonder what i i lii'cn up to. Kissing Jonas, beau or no, would not be fit- tipper talk. Besides, Leah wanted to be a s.h.i.+ning examI i I liinnah and Mary Ruth, who would experience similar I'lifjN in I he not-so-distant future.

t'in it vul thing Jonas and I will be married soon, she thought, I1 iling us she hurried down to the kitchen. I must tell[< iiii="" tlc="" date="" we've="" chosen="" for="" the="">

I'Mi.is hurried his steed toward Gra.s.shopper Level. He I ln'i ,s KMit much time at all with his family this visit, 11 11is twin baby brother and sister held great fascination j .in, I lis married sister, Anna, and her husband, Nathaniel h;ul been vying for his attention, as well as Mamma. j month when he returned, he hoped to make up for lost 11 Along with Dat, his brother-in-law, Nathaniel, and I i-r brothers Eli and Isaac, they would all help bring in < ipplr="" harvest,="" as="" planned.="" there="" would="" be="" plentiful="" time="" h="" hiii-good="" fellows.h.i.+p="" then.="" he="" hoped="" he="" might="" be="" able="" to="" iliipk'k'="" the="" apprentices.h.i.+p="" he="" and="" david="" had="" agreed="" upon="" ifrw="" weeks="" shy="" of="" seven="" months.="" though="" he="" was="" working="" ilfnitly="" to="" make="" that="" happen,="" if="" he="" could="" not,="" he="" would="" simn="" i="" si="" end="" his="" stay="" in="" ohio="" and="" trust="" his="" father="" could="" make="" i="" u="" nliout="" him="" during="" harvest.="" if="" so,="" his="" final="" return="" home="" iniu="" lull="" very="" close="" to="" his="" wedding="" day.="" i="" lonight,="" however,="" he="" looked="" forward="" to="" an="" enjoyable="" time="">

-lu e around the long kitchen table. Mamma, more than liki'ly, would put on a big spread for him, another sure reward loi riding all that way on the train and back. At supper he muni let Dat know there was a slim chance he might not make ii back home by apple'picking time.

The horse whinnied and he settled back in the earring He thought of Leah's vague comment about Sadie, rn;uli<3 without="" so="" much="" as="" a="" blink="" of="" an="" eye:="" someday="" ...="" things="" n'illl="" become="" more="" clear.="" ...="" i="" he="" was="" somewhat="" apprehensive,="" having="" heard="" a="" fowj="" rumors="" over="" the="" years="" about="" lizzie="" brenneman="" all="" confinnejj="" this="" day.="" could="" it="" be="" sadie="" suffered="" a="" related="" problem?="" ccrmtlh="" sins="" ran="" in="" families,="" his="" father="" often="" said.="" it="" wasn't="" fair="" to="" point="" fingers,="" if="" only="" in="" his="" mind,="" not="" tha="" way="" his="" own="" pa.s.sions="" had="" flared="" this="" afternoon.="" he="" shoulfh="" have="" stopped="" with="" a="" single="" kiss,="" yet="" leah's="" eager="" response="" hna="" taken="" him="" by="" surprise.="" she="" loved="" him="" greatly,="" that="" much="" wd="">

So his sister's unexpected letter a month back, warnlftfl him of Leah's interest in Gideon Peachey, had to be fakta Still, he planned to speak to Rebekah tonight, hear her om about whatever she thought she'd witnessed at the Auguijl singing in Abram Ebersol's barn. Not that he had ever givelfj her foolish letter a second thought, anyway. He let the reins rest loosely across his knees. Recalling iImj afternoon's pleasures, the time he'd spent with his darling i',nl,J he determined it was best, even wise, that Leah remain I inn 8 in Gobbler's k.n.o.b for the next four weeks or so. A separation I of hundreds of miles was a good idea for now. He could iu>i I imagine anything more embarra.s.sing than having to answer I 263id e I r a y a I ilie ile;icon's appointed question, "Have you remained I 'i ii >r To the wedding service. At all costs, he must proI keep as sacred his love for Leah.

.l.i.ini s;ii at the head of the table and bowed his head.

I it h in < his="" i="" ime="" saying="" the="" lord's="" prayer="" in="" his="" mind,="" followb="" rite="" nilent="" blessing="" for="" the="" meal="" ida="" had="" cooked="" for="" them.="" ^h="" i*="" new="" lull="" well="" his="" time="" had="" run="" out.="" lizzie="" had="" been="" ^=""> Hiding the truth be revealed ever since Leah turned ^Hniiii ; nge. And because Jonas Mast was now aware of it, ^Hi .ni could no longer put off what he had to do. Tonight ^j i .1 y of Lizzie's sorry rumschpringe was to unfold. ^H ' 'Kiel ime after supper he and Ida would arrange to speak H ih ly to the girl they considered to be their second child. ^HAhntin, she was all a daughter should be everything he ^H Ii I,i could hope for and more. And considering the shame^H uili their firstborn, Sadie, had chosen, having to talk to ^Hli weighed even more heavily on him, ^Hr.I ii ut of asking her to go with them to the barn or for a ^Hi nver to Blackbird Pond, behind the smithy's barn ... ^Hl, lie didn't-know how things would play out. Still, he ^Hlil wait no longer; otherwise, Lizzie might take matters ^Hi her own hands, jump ahead, and talk to Leah about the ^hiinsiances of her birth.

^i I is father-in-law would be of no help with any of this, ^Hhuu knew. It had been John's desire ever since he'd come ^B-live in the Dawdi Haus last spring for Abram to "face up Ml"' hard facts, and the sooner the better." John's att.i.tude mtulii'i set well with Abram, and as a result they'd exchanged (nine heated words, the last of which seemed to cause a flare'

264.

ly , m up in John's bad hip. No longer could he lift a hand to harvcsi or to fill silo. With Leah soon to be hitched, Abram hadn'l the slightest idea how he was going to keep the farm running at all, let alone soundly.

Mary Ruth broke the silence. "Please pa.s.s the masliol potatoes, Mamma."

Ida did so quickly, then handed the large platter of baked pork chops to Abram. "Your favorite," she said with a quid' smile.

Abram looked to see where Ida had put Lydiann, who usu ally spent the supper hour in Ida's arms. "Is the baby upsmii > sleepin'?"

"Jah, she has a low-grade fever. ..."

"End of summer flu?" Mary Ruth asked.

"Oh, I hope not," Hannah spoke up. I "No, no, no." Ida was adamant. "Lydiann's just trying m cut her first tooth." Leah had slumped down in her seat, awfully quiet mofjj so than usual. Abram observed her discreetly between bites da meat. Did Jonas defy me today and speak to Leah about Liz&ei He shuddered at the thought.

Without so much as a nod from Abram after supper, 1 Iaij nah rose from the table and helped Dawdi John out of his set and over next door. They were still keeping Leah at nrn! length from John, but it remained to be seen how mud longer that would matter.

264 265.

I i,mi breathed deeply. John's relations.h.i.+p with his I I nimbler Leah would-not change one iota once she was l i her true beginnings. As for himself, Abram's parental >> n't in Id be reduced to merely Onkel With that woeful n'lii, lie curled his toes inside his shoes.

i i- )il)l UP from the table and found The Budget, a newspublished in Sugar Creek, Ohio, and distributed by mail (In Old Order communities. Meanwhile, Leah and Mary h cleared the table and cleaned up the dishes.

Alter a bit Leah said she was feeling "awful tired tonight"

I I Mined to leave the kitchen.

"I hope you're not cutting teeth like the baby," Mary Ruth ..I.

I Ins brought a peal of laughter from Mamma, as well as mi.ih, who'd just now returned from the Dawdi Haus.

i h, Mary Ruth, best leave your sister be," Abram spoke i "> I eah's defense.

It'iili smiled weakly, even gratefully, and headed upstairs. IfcHt'iU'ing from Leah's lips that she was under the weather Hp Abram pause. Tonight just might not be the best time to H'nl such life-altering information, after all. pl li-drew a sigh and settled back in his hickory rocker. One iliy won't hurt none, he decided.

Hul what if Leah had already been told by Jonas? The hi ni^hr continued to nag him through the evening and later die lay down on his bed and had to contend with Ida's Hdy snoring. His back pained him enough to make him Hlt-ss. He stared out the window at the moonlit sky, afraid H once Leah was told of her roots, he and Ida would never Hlln what they'd lost.

265 266.

tu J2e

'( 1 Sadie helped Edith off to bed early, as was the oluYi woman's custom. "Lanterns out" usually came by eight o'cloi I of an evening, which gave Sadie plenty of time to read <> think. But this night she planned to write a letter.

Sunday, September 21 Dear Mamma, h.e.l.lo from Millersburg.

I suppose Leah and Jonas are glad to have joined church today. You and Dat must surely be grateful. Was there a bin crowd?

She wondered when or if she might hear that a letter from Preacher Yoder had been sent to the Millersburg preacher. ()r worse, from Bishop Bontrager to the Ohio bishop. Church I discipline, after all, followed closely on the heels of the uii ! repentant soul. Naomi Kauffman, if she'd kept her word, liuUJ already set things in motion for Sadie to be disciplined, m least in the Gobbler's k.n.o.b church. With Leah having spillofl the beans to Dat and Mamma, as surely she had, no doul'i Preacher Yoder had gotten an earful from her, too.

You might think me uncaring, Mamma, if I say Leah shouldn't count on me to be a bridesmaid. You can tell her for me. There's so much going through my mind now. Better to ask Hannah and Mary Ruth. Or ... Adah Peachey, since she and Leah have been bosom friends. Yet I daresn't be .so bold as to suggest whom Leah ought to pick, for goodness' sake. Still, I'm awful angry at her these days.

266 267fie idelrayal

1.

Mcttnma, I know it was ever so awkward for you and Dat I Uv the telephone yesterday. I know, too, that your words { i of jours were meant to encourage me to confess. Truly, i;y have gone round and round in my head. And, if I'm to jiimtist, in my heart.

I best be signing off for now. Write when you're able. 1 toe Jonas Mast might tell me of his and Leah's baptism. ' With love, I Your daughter Sadie 269.

&-P.

u> ->- ^ brain rose and dressed in his work clothes before the Ntcr's first crow. He rolled up his sleeves and headed I "Hiiptly to the barn, where he wiped down the bloated I Urrs of his two milk cows before sliding the wooden stool up 10 Rosie.

l,eah was late in getting out to help, which was unusual I- ) her on a Monday morning if she was coming at all, conI-ring her departing words in the kitchen last evening. Ida uld surely aleit him if Leah was, in fact, ill. The last time one of his daughters had been said to be under the weather," no one guessed she was expecting a. liiltl. Sadie had been both immoral and successful at con' iling it for a time. Even now, thinking about Sadie's decep-11' 'ii made him want to go out and find the Lump who'd done I > i wrong. He hadn't asked who had been the father of the l'-il y. Best not to know.

The unexpected clatter of a carriage coming up the long l.mi: caused him to crane his neck to look; Abram was 270.

ty J2*

flabbergasted to see Preacher Yoder in the faint morning light, "Wie geht's," the brawny man called to him from the sklg yard.

"Hullo! I'm in the barn milkin'."

"I know where you are, Abram" came the reply, reminln cent of the Lord G.o.d calling Samuel of old.

He looked up and saw Preacher walking at a brisk p;u < ,="" following="" the="" outline="" of="" the="" barnyard="" where="" the="" gravel="" nn="" i="" the="" back="" lawn.="" "looks="" to="" be="" another="" mild="" day="" on="" the="" wny,"="" abram="" said,="" keeping="" on="" with="" his="" hand-milking="" ch.o.r.e="" benciilli="">

"Better weather I haven't seen for September twciiiy second."

"We mark this day?" he asked, puzzled. "What's on yum mind, Preacher?"

Not only stocky, but taller than most Plain men in iln area, Preacher had a fearsome way of filling up the s.p.a.ce In occupied. Young folk, mainly those in danger of church ilr cipline, often whispered that the strength of Jehovah G.o.d w.i sketched on Preacher's countenance. He had been i '-xpcct the girl back?"

I he girl... not "your daughter." Preacher Yoder was mak' severe point, and Abram should have expected as much. > i' Ivei'i along with Bishop Bontrager, was known to dig in ' I h itils. Little or no mercy was the rule, and baptized church mik lew weeks. When she does I'll instruct her to follow the 'iluting in submission to the church."

" That is your word on this, Abram?"

"luh, 'tis."

1 >i uncling at the upstairs window, Leah had seen Preacher 'Ici'k buggy through the lane and into the barnyard. She ii li-il it best not to head out to the barn, what with somber Ik nl Sadie going on. Must be the reason why Preacher had niic here so early of a morning. She'd half expected him to mil' calling yesterday afternoon, even while Dat and Jonas ii I none to talk privately in the cornfield. But Preacher Yoder ii I his own way of doing things, and no one ever questioned lit-nine of day he chose to drop in.

SI e carried around in her at least a speck of hope. After II, Sadie hadn't yet turned down her request to be a bridesI ill I in the wedding, an honor Sadie knew was wholly tied ' a confession. Now, with the church brethren involved, it nlnlif he that the way was paved for her sister's redemption.

Alter Preacher Yoder left the barn to return to his carriage 272.

and hurry out to the road, Abram finished the milking ami stumbled across the barnyard, heading for the house. The tan talizing aroma of bacon sizzling and Ida's scrambled eggs wiili cheese welcomed him, discouraged as he was.

"Abram?" His rosy wife met him at the back door.

Before she could say more, he was nodding his head. 11> sensed her concern. "Jah, Sadie best be gettin' herself hoim And mighty soon."

"Then, she's in danger of the shun?"

"If she doesn't hurry and confess, she is."

"Ach, what'll we do?" asked Ida, hovering near as he huiif his hat on the wooden peg in the utility room.

"When it comes to our daughters, we never give up <>n 'em."

Ida gave him an encouraging smile, then leaned on 11 crook of his elbow as they headed for the kitchen. "I'll k<> this in my prayers."

He wanted to ask about Leah in the worst way but lid.I his peace. The fact she wasn't anywhere around led him i" think she might be upstairs tending to Lydiann.

About the time he might have asked, here came LcmIi carrying his wee daughter. "Let me have that baby of mint , he said, sitting down at the table.

Leah, smiling now, gently offered Lydiann to him. "Sin dry and ever so happy."

"Then her tummy's full, too?" He glanced over at Ida, win > was scooping up the eggs and dis.h.i.+ng them onto an oval plat ter.

"Oh my, did she ever eat." Ida came over, carrying (In platter. She set it down and gave him a peck on the forehr.ul, 273.

Hft mnooched Lydiann's tiny cheek, making over their little H "( !iiri you believe how fast she's growin'?" j.Minnn touched Lydiann's soft face with his thumb. Hl>> '. she take after, do you think?"

"Iliird to say, just yet," Ida replied. "But I daresay K i)'8 most like our Leah."

n-Leah ... How much longer will she be considered oursi, lie wondered. Everything within him resisted telling ih now. If ever.

I mil's eyes shone with delight at Ida's comment. She hurI In set the table, catching his eye. "Sorry I didn't get out [iplp you this mornin', Dat. What with Hannah and Mary > ilrcssin' round for school and all, Mamma needed my i i wllh the baby."

lllNl I hen the twins rushed to take their places at the table.

A', lookee there," Mary Ruth said, grinning at Lydiann in rum's arms. "She's her father's baby girl, ain't so?"

This brought plenty of smiles, and Abram figured he knew iiy, Truth was, he'd spent hardly any time at all with Unnn. Not because he didn't want to. He was just far busier ii he'd hoped to be at this phase of his life. Looking to slow n some, he'd been hoping for the longest time Smithy I might take over the heavy farming duties once married I mh. But Jonas Mast had seen to it those plans had gone >v.