A Marriage for Meghan (22 page)

“They will stop when the Lord wills it so.” The aged man’s face held only calm acceptance.

How could he argue with a person’s religious convictions? Thomas had had faith once, a long time ago. His parents had taken him to church every Sunday as a teenager. He’d joined the youth group, where they did yard work for shut-ins on Saturday afternoons, helped feed Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless, and built temporary shelters on a Caribbean island after a hurricane. And when he’d been little like those tykes at the campground? Although he hadn’t gone to Sunday school or Vacation Bible School, he remembered feeling loved, safe, and well protected. Childhood remained a fuzzy memory—like a Polaroid photograph left out in the sunlight too long. But he couldn’t help the Amish if they wouldn’t let him. And the bishop had made his feelings about outside interference crystal clear.

If Thomas still had been a praying man, he would have prayed for the Yost family on his drive back to Cleveland that night. Because barring a miracle, Justin King and his pals weren’t going away any time soon.

The teachers were as pleased with the arrival of Friday, the last day of the school, as the students. It had been a long week. The rainy late March weather had forced indoor recesses more than once. Catherine had supervised the youngest and middle grades playing checkers, Sorry, and Uno, while Meghan had organized the older students into dart teams in the back hallway. Even when they had allowed the students outside, sloppy fields warranted playground activities only.

Spring fever had struck more than just the eighth graders. Catherine also felt a little restless, and she thought her sister might suffer from the same malady. At the close of day, she rang the bell on her desk and dismissed the pupils row by row. When all had found garments and lunch boxes and then escaped confinement into the Great Outdoors, Catherine approached her sister near the windows. “I have a surprise for us,” she announced.

Meghan glanced up from the plant she was watering. “What? You want me to grade papers while you hurry home?” An impish grin brightened her eyes.

“Even better than that. I checked with
mamm
this morning. Neither of us needs to hurry home tonight. I’m treating you to supper in town.”

Meghan set down the watering can. “Is your paycheck burning a hole in your pocket? You have things to buy for your upcoming marriage. I thought you wanted to make curtains for Isaiah’s cabin in both summer and winter fabrics.”

“Curtains can wait.” Catherine hooked an arm through Meghan’s elbow. “Let’s eat supper at that tourist spot in Shreve. They have the best salad bar in the world.”

“And how would you know this? You’ve never been out of Ohio.” Meghan was already slipping on her cape and outer bonnet.

“I read that in an ad in the shoppers’ newspaper, and I tend to believe
everything
I read.” The women giggled as they walked into the spring sunshine, which felt wonderful on their winter-weary faces.

“So that’s why you refused to walk to school today,” said Meghan. “Wait here while I get the horse from the paddock.” She quickly hitched him to the harnesses.

Catherine climbed into the buggy first but handed her sister the reins. “
Daed
told me he talked to you about teaching Bible stories.”

Meghan’s smile melted away. “He said I was to stick to one short Scripture reading, preferably from Psalms or Proverbs, and then have the students bow their heads and recite the Lord’s Prayer. We can sing a few songs before we start lessons, but that’s it. I am not to turn the parables into teaching lessons.” She shook the reins over the horse’s back. “He accused me of preaching, Cat, and you know that wasn’t my intention.”

Catherine patted her sleeve. “I’m sure
daed
understands that, but one of the ministers is also a member of the school board, and he wants to make sure the agreed-upon curriculum is being taught.” She leaned back against the bench seat. “It must be hard being our father and the bishop some days.”

“I suppose so,” said Meghan, yet her posture remained rigid. “But it’s not
daed
I’m worried about. No matter how angry he’s ever been with me, everything’s back to normal by the next morning.”

“Who then? What’s troubling you?”

“The other school board members, of course. They didn’t like the idea of hiring me in the first place. After this slipup, they’ll never offer me a permanent position for the fall.” Her sigh conveyed far more weariness than a long school day warranted.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” said Catherine. “Every time one of the parents has wandered in to observe the classroom, you were doing fine.”

Meghan looked mortified. “
Every time
? I noticed a parent last week during the health class on proper hand washing, plus once during a geography lesson on the various mountain ranges. I was so nervous I pronounced ‘Appalachian’ three different ways.”

“Few people agree on how to say that difficult English word. But parents have come to observe a couple of other times too.”

Meghan’s jaw dropped open. “When?”

“I don’t remember the exact dates, but Mr. Shockley crept in real quiet-like. You were in the front with third and fourth graders reading aloud from their books. I think he was checking more on Owen than on us.”

Meghan rolled her eyes. “What was Owen doing? Hiding behind his propped-up textbook, fast asleep?”

“You should stop fretting so much. Owen was working out the story problems you gave him in math. That boy loves anything to do with buying and selling at the grain elevator, even if it is make-believe.”

Meghan stared at the road ahead. “I didn’t notice Mr. Shockley.”

“It’s a good thing. You might have fainted. Then we would have had to revive you. You’re doing fine, dear one. I’ve looked over your lesson plans, and you’re getting the hang of it. Even your speaking voice can be clearly heard in the last row, and you are much better at watching three activities at once.”

“I’ll never be Joanna.”

“Joanna wasn’t the teacher we know during her first year. People improve their skills with time and practice.” Catherine wracked her brain for the right words to bolster her sister’s confidence. “Do you remember when you first took up horseback riding? You could barely stay on the beast, but eventually you ended up being one of the best barrel racers in the county.”

Meghan’s grin erased every last vestige of fatigue from her pretty face. “I practiced every day after chores.
Mamm
was irritated with me, fearing I would run away to be an English rodeo rider.” Her laughter filled the buggy.

“You improved each time you rode that barrel course, didn’t you?”

“
Jah
, but this is more important than any silly horse race.” She tightened the reins to slow the horse at a traffic light.

“
Daed
knows how hard you’ve worked. He’s proud of you, I’m sure.”

“Are you certain, Cat? Or are you just saying that because you love me?” She clucked to the horse and the buggy turned into the restaurant parking lot.

“I would not bear false witness, even for my beloved
schwester
.”

Meghan jumped down to tie the reins to the hitching post. She turned to face Catherine before they went inside. “I pray every night that I improve enough to get the job. That I’ll become worthy to be entrusted with this responsibility. Once I even prayed that no one else yearning to be a teacher moves to our district.” She sounded older than her usual giddy self as a blush rose into her cheeks. “I prayed that
daed
realizes I’m a grown woman and not the family’s little goose anymore.” Meghan locked eyes with Catherine for a moment, and then she grabbed her purse from the seat and hurried toward the door.

Catherine paused long enough to whisper her own prayer: “Please, Lord, help my sister continue to grow as she learns how to serve You.”
I hope that my prayer will be answered and I won’t have to throw a feed sack over other candidates for the job.

At dinner the sisters talked no more of classrooms or work skills. They loaded their plates at the world’s best salad bar and found a table next to the window. A basket of warm poppy seed rolls arrived almost immediately by a friendly waitress. After whispering a silent prayer, Catherine began to devour fresh spinach, shredded cheese, cubed ham and turkey, and pickled everything-under-the-sun. The restaurant lived up to its reputation with four different kinds of soup, plus exceptional chicken and potato salads.

Meghan, with fork in hand, stared out the window at the growing gloom. “I’ll be glad when daylight savings time returns in two weeks. It will be pitch-dark during our drive home.”

“Will you stop fretting? I put fresh batteries in the buggy lights this morning. Cars will be able to see us just fine. Now eat, Meghan,” Catherine ordered. “This meal is my treat. I will be miffed if I don’t get my money’s worth. What’s gotten into you lately? In the past you didn’t worry about anything. Now you worry about
everything
.” She speared a baby beet.

Meghan took a dainty forkful of pasta salad. “I’ve grown up. I must take life seriously if I want people to take
me
seriously.”

“Relax. I almost never hear anyone mention the time you put raw eggs on the top shelf of the school woodstove. Oh, my. The mess those made. And the smell.”

Meghan’s two dimples deepened. “I simply wanted hard-cooked eggs for lunch. I can’t imagine why that fussy teacher got so angry.” She winked at Catherine, and then she began eating with gusto.

“
Jah
, right. No one with half a memory can deny you’ve come a long way. But now that you’re getting the hang of teaching, don’t you think you should return to singings and district socials? A teacher isn’t required to cloister herself with grading papers every night.” Catherine spooned up thick and creamy clam chowder.

“I will soon. Maybe in the summer.” Meghan pulled her bowl of split pea soup closer.

Catherine stared at her. “
This summer
? For someone your age, that’s akin to waiting forever.”

“You’re not that much older than me, Cat. Besides, I’m ashamed to face Jacob. I behaved badly toward him and hurt his feelings.”

“The longer you wait to apologize, the harder it will be. You’re probably making too big a deal of this in your mind. I believe that young man loves you.” Catherine lowered her voice to a whisper, despite the fact only unfamiliar
Englischers
surrounded them.

“Hush. Don’t say things like that. It’s not proper and probably not true.” Meghan’s lower lip protruded as it had during one of her childhood pouts.

“Fine, I’ll say no more, but please consider going to singings.”

“I’ll think about it. Now will you stop pestering and let a woman eat?” She forked up a pile of romaine lettuce. “Or did you bring me here only to interrogate me?” Meghan’s wink indicated she hadn’t taken offense.

“I’ll not say another word…except to remind you that they have soft serve ice cream sundaes for dessert, so save room.”

The band of Catherine’s skirt cut uncomfortably into her waist as they climbed into the buggy and started for home an hour later. But it wasn’t discomfort from overindulgence that ruined the sisters’ good spirits along the drive. Close to the midway point, they both spotted a telltale yellow glow against dark clouds in the distance.

“Look, Cat!” Meghan cried, her voice lifting with alarm. “Don’t turn here. Go straight so we can see what’s on fire. Oh, this is horrible.”

Catherine’s better judgment cautioned that going this way probably wasn’t a good idea. Fire trucks, rescue vehicles, and police cars didn’t need a slow-moving Amish buggy in their path. But womanly curiosity got the better of her as she headed toward the bright reflection in the sky. By the time they reached the blaze, additional fire trucks were arriving, blessedly from the other direction.

“Oh no! Isn’t this the Yoder farm? Glen Yoder is Jacob’s best friend.”

“You’re right,” said Catherine. “I remember coming here for church services a while back. Thank goodness it’s their produce stand and not their house that’s burning. It looks as though there’s little the firemen can do at this point.”

Meghan guided the balky gelding to the side of the road. “There’s Mr. Yoder,” she said. “Hold the reins while I speak to him a moment.” She jumped down before Catherine could stop her.

“Come back, Meg! There’s nothing we can do but get in the way. The building is already fully engulfed—”