A Match For Addy (The Amish Matchmaker Book 1) (6 page)

Singings were wholesome fun. It was an exciting time when anything could happen. She could make a connection with a young man, and he might ask her to ride home in his buggy. It had never happened yet, but she continued to hope. She felt better about her appearance since she’d gotten her broken tooth repaired the previous year, and she knew she looked her best in her new dress.

“Gideon!” Lilly shouted as the three approached the volleyball game. “We need another fellow!”

“Sure,” he answered. He snatched off his hat, tossed it to Ellie and quickly found a place in the formation.

“You know how to play?” Mary asked, then served the ball over the net.

Thomas volleyed it back to what looked like a hole in the defense, but Gideon lunged forward, dove and sent the ball flying back to land just inside the line, scoring for his team. Lilly shrieked with joy and threw her arms in the air. “Did you see that?” she cried, clapping her hands.

“Beginner’s luck!” shouted Menno from Thomas’s team. “Your serve again, Mary. This time we’ll be ready for you!”

Addy and Ellie sat down on one of the bales of straw set out for those waiting to take a turn playing, or who just wanted to watch.

Gideon quickly scored another point for Mary’s side, and a crowd gathered to watch. “I think Mary brought in a ringer!” someone called. “Maybe those Wisconsin boys play professional!”

Thomas leaped high to block the ball, volleyed it back to Elmer, who tried to slam it down just beyond the net, but the ball caught and fell just on the far side. Someone called out the new score, and Menno groaned. Mary served a third time; the ball went back and forth, and then Elmer crashed into a girl Addy didn’t know, and three of the team went down in a heap. The ball struck the ground well inside their court, giving Mary’s team another point.

“I love your dress, Dorcas,” Violet said, sitting down on the bale of straw between her and Ellie. “It’s new, isn’t it? You look good in that color. Doesn’t she, Ellie?”

Ellie nodded, smiling at Addy. “
Ya
, I think so. Very nice.”

“Danke.”
Addy said. She wished that Violet hadn’t called her by her old name, but she felt uncomfortable making a point of it.

Ellie spoke up. “Dorcas is using her middle name now. It’s
Adelaide
.
Addy
. What do you think? Suits her better.”

Violet considered.
“Addy.”
Her pretty face broke into a smile. “
Ya
, that’s better. I like it.”

Violet had always been one of the popular girls, a young woman who always had boys vying to drive her home. Violet was fun to be around, always ready with a quick smile and a willing hand to help at suppers and work frolics. The two of them had never been close friends, although Violet had never been unfriendly. It warmed Addy’s heart that Mary’s friend had sought her out and that she approved of her new name.

Now Violet leaned close. “He’s cute, isn’t he? And a good player.”

“Gideon?” Addy fixed her eyes on the fast-moving game. “I...I suppose.” She thought she should say something more, maybe about what a hard worker he was, or the fact that he was talented with a needle and thread, but fearing she might say the wrong thing, she just concentrated on the game.

A few minutes later, there was a shout and raucous cheers as the game came to a triumphant end with Mary’s team winning 15-12. Charley Byler appeared and directed the two teams to change players. Someone appointed Gideon captain of the red team, and he insisted that Thomas, Ellie, Violet and Addy play on his side. They tied up the game several times until finally the other team won by the required two points. Addy didn’t mind. She had played well, and even though she hadn’t scored any points, she’d kept up an adequate defense. Best of all, she’d enjoyed herself immensely.

After the game, everyone moved on to the actual singing part of the frolic and Addy’s cousin Miriam made an announcement. Instead of sitting boys on one side of the long table and girls on the other, they were mixing things up.

There was a short break so that the guests could choose from iced tea, lemonade, water or soda pop before proceeding to collect their hymn books and take their places. Miriam and Charley, as chaperones, didn’t sit on the singing benches but made themselves busy setting out bowls of chips, cookies and popcorn.

“Everyone line up,” Charley instructed. “Now every third person trade places with the neighbor on their left.” There were giggles and comments as everyone did as he asked. “Good,” he declared. “Now every fourth person trade places with the second.” He kept on until no one in the group was standing with any of the friends with whom they’d arrived.

One of the younger Beachy children came out with a wooden bowl. In it were homemade taffies, each wrapped in wax paper, some candies white, others black. “Everybody choose one,” Charley said. “Now line up again, and find a seat on either side of the table. Don’t open your candy yet. Wait until I tell you.” Guests began taking their places. “Not there, Menno,” Charley called. “Boy, girl, that’s it.”

Soon everyone was seated, if not quiet. To her surprise, Addy found herself beside Gideon.

“Is this the way you always do things here?” Gideon whispered.

“Ne,”
she whispered back. Sitting as close as they were on the backless bench, it would be difficult not to accidently brush against Gideon. She sat up straight, determined not to let that happen. What would he think if her knee touched his? Or if she shifted her foot and stepped on the toe of his shoe? What was Charley thinking?

Gideon grinned at her. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it.”

Mary was one of the lead singers, and she silenced the group by choosing the first hymn. It wasn’t one of the slow, High German hymns usually sung at Sunday worship, but a faster one, more of a gospel tune. There were no instruments. Guitars, harmonicas or electronic music weren’t permitted in the Seven Poplars community, but everyone was used to singing without accompaniment.

As Ellie had warned her, Gideon sang with enthusiasm and volume, if not perfect pitch. Addy thought it charming. Who cared if he was a little off-key? Everyone was having such a good time. She doubted anyone but those sitting on either side of him even noticed.

Thomas picked the second hymn, one so familiar that no one, not even Gideon, needed the hymn book to follow the words. They sang all six stanzas and ended with applause. Then Charley said, “Why don’t we let our newest arrival pick the next song? Gideon? Would you like to choose?”

“We do clapping games at home,” he said. “Is there any rule against it here?”

Charley grinned and shook his head. “Not as long as you keep your hands where we can see them,” he teased.

Laughter rang out around the table.

“Just remember,” Charley went on, “Bishop Atlee is up there in the hayloft watching every move you make.”

Again, there was laughter. No one was offended by Charley’s remarks, which was one of the reasons he and Miriam made such good chaperones. Addy had been afraid that after they had their baby, they’d be too busy for young people’s frolics, but so far, they’d been making the events regularly.

“All right,” Gideon said. “Does everybody know ‘
Froggy Went a Courtin’’
? The tricky part is that first the boys sing the song and the girls clap and sing the chorus, and then you switch on the second stanza. First one to mess up or clap when it isn’t their turn loses a point. Boys versus girls. The side that loses—that gets ten points first—has to do cleanup before we go home. Ready?”

“Just one thing,” Charley said. “Before you start the song, everyone unwrap their taffy and pop it in their mouth.”

“Oh,” Miriam called. “I have to warn you. Some are made with sugar and some with lemon.”

“Ne!”
someone yelled. “No fair!”

Addy grimaced, unwrapped her candy and put it in her mouth. The sweet flavors of butter, vanilla and sugar flooded her mouth. Gideon gave the signal and the boys began to belt out “
Froggy Went A Courtin’.”
Laughing, Addy savored her treat, hoping that the whole evening was going to be as sweet and wonderful as her taffy.

Chapter Five

T
he girls won the singing game, as Gideon had expected. He could always count on one of the guys to clap or start to sing the chorus when it wasn’t their turn. The defeat was declared amid a great deal of groaning on the boys’ side and cheers and laughter from the girls. Since he’d picked “
Froggy Went a Courtin’,”
he was expected to name the next lead singer—the person to choose the song—and he called on Ellie.

She suggested “
She’ll Be Coming ’Round the Mountain,”
boys to stomp and clap, and girls to add appropriate hand motions, such as “urging on the six white horses” and “chopping the head off the old red rooster.” Enthusiasm rose with each chorus, and by the end of the tune, everyone was laughing so hard at others’ antics that they could barely get out the words.

Charley and Miriam passed out glasses of cold iced tea, along with bowls of popcorn and potato chips. After a noisy break for refreshments, Ellie nodded at Addy to choose the next song. For a moment, Addy seemed flustered and embarrassed to be called on. Her cheeks flushed as she picked up her songbook and fumbled through it. She looked up and saw
him
watching her.

“Page...” She lost her page and blushed even redder. Someone snickered, and Addy looked ready to burst into tears.

“‘
Amazing Grace’
?” Gideon prompted.

Addy nodded.

“‘
Amazing Grace
,’” he repeated firmly. “I think we all know that one by heart.”

The others stood, and Ellie began the hymn, although by custom, it should have been Addy leading. Addy stumbled on the first word and then picked up a few notes later. Gideon couldn’t imagine why she was so rattled. At Sara’s, she never seemed reluctant to speak up, and her voice was amazingly good. At the end of the song, she pointed at Thomas, who chose a fast hymn. Two more followed before Miriam suggested a more serious one, and when it was over, asked for silent grace.

After the blessing of the meal, Charley waved the group to help themselves to sandwiches, fruit and cookies. The light supper took the better part of an hour, during which boys and girls talked freely. Gideon was pleased to get to know Charley’s sister Mary better, along with her friends: the vivacious Lilly, and another girl, Gerty, who’d come with a group from another church district. Gideon would have liked to have driven any one of them home. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a horse or a vehicle to take them; his only option was to offer to walk a girl home. Being a poor hired hand, he was learning, had serious drawbacks where dating was concerned.

When he admitted as much to his new male friends, Thomas called Menno over to the table where the boys were all gathered around plates of sandwiches. “Shouldn’t be hard to figure out a way to solve your problem,” Thomas said. “Titus asked Lilly to act as a go-between and see if Gerty would be willing to ride home with him. Lilly thinks Gerty might, but she won’t accept if there isn’t a second couple.”

Gideon nodded. He could see where this was going. Customs seemed to be the same as in Wisconsin. Fellows didn’t directly ask a girl to go out with him. They found a girlfriend to approach her, thus avoiding embarrassment if the object of a guy’s attention wasn’t interested. “Does Lilly have a date yet?” Gideon asked. Lilly was his first choice, but he’d seen several other cute girls, including Jane Stutzman, who might be possibilities. He surely hoped that he wouldn’t strike out. He hadn’t gone home alone from a singing since he was sixteen.

Thomas grinned. “I don’t suppose you’d be interested in being half of that second couple?”

Gideon lowered his voice. “Keep talking.”

“Titus has his
dat
’s buggy,” Thomas explained. “You and Lilly, Titus and Gerty. Think you can convince Lilly? She doesn’t know you all that well, but she’s known Titus all her life.”

“You’d get the better of it,” Titus teased between bites of his ham sandwich. “I’d have to sit on the front seat to drive, and you and Lilly would be in the back in the dark.”

“Where nobody would see if you wanted to try for a smooch,” Thomas said. “Lilly lives about two miles from here. You can walk her to the house from the end of the driveway, and if you’re lucky, you can sit on her front porch with her for a while. It’s an easy distance back to Sara’s.”

“Her
dat
is strict, though,” Menno cautioned. “And he has ears like a bat.” He stuck his hands in his trouser pockets and leaned closer, as if he had a secret. “The last time I—”

“Don’t make it sound worse than it is,” Thomas interrupted, giving Menno a warning look. Then he returned his attention to Gideon. “Ignore him, Gideon. He likes Lilly. Everybody likes Lilly. She’s a lot of fun, but she’s a good girl. You might steal a kiss, but that’s a maybe. And if her
dat
catches you, he’ll report you to Samuel Mast.”

“He’s our deacon,” Menno explained. “And he’s tough.”

“Tough enough,” Thomas agreed. “And Menno should know. Last spring, Samuel made him chop and stack enough cordwood to last the school for three months.”

“What did you do to warrant that?” Gideon asked.

“I’ll never tell.” Menno smirked and reached for a third sandwich. “But it was worth it. Lilly is the prettiest girl in Kent County. And she’s not a bad cook. Makes a tasty strawberry pie.”

“Too pretty for you,” Thomas joked. “And if Lilly ever kissed you, I’ll kiss one of those big mules of Sara Yoder’s. Right on his slobbery lips.”

Several of the other boys laughed.

“She might have kissed me,” Menno countered, “if the dog hadn’t started barking and her
dat
hadn’t stuck his head out the window and told Lilly to come inside.”

“
Ya
, Lilly
might
have kissed you,” his brother Titus chimed in, joining them, “if she had been blindfolded, spun around and thought it was me she was kissing.”

There was more laughter. Gideon moved away from the table, into the shadows of the barn. Thomas, Menno and Titus followed.

“The trouble is,” Gideon told them quietly, “that as much as I’d like to take Lilly home and watch for shooting stars on her front porch, I walked here with Addy and Ellie.”

“Addy?” Menno questioned. “Who—”

Thomas laughed. “He’s talking about Dorcas. I heard her talking to Miriam. She’s decided to use her middle name.”

Menno tugged his straw hat off and pushed his hair back off his face. “And Martha let her do it?”

“Why not?” Gideon shrugged. “She’s a little young to go by
Dorcas
.”

“Not exactly young,” Menno replied. “She’s older than me and Titus.”

“And what?” Gideon finished off the last of his sandwich. “You two are graybeards?”

“
Ne
, just most of the girls around here marry younger. Dorcas has always been kind of...”

“Kind of what?” Gideon asked, suddenly becoming serious. “I work with her. She seems like a good person to me. Not the prettiest girl, maybe, but she has nice eyes. And she’s smart and hardworking.”

“Takes after her mother,” Thomas said. “Martha has a sharp tongue, but she’s there when anyone needs help.”

“So...” Gideon grimaced. “As much as I’d like to be alone with Lilly, I can’t just leave the new schoolteacher and Addy to walk home alone.” He glanced around to make certain no one else was close enough to hear what he was saying. “It’s just not right.”

“Why not?” Menno asked. “It’s across the road and down the path to Dorcas’s—” he corrected himself “—
Addy’s
Aunt Hannah’s. Then through the orchard to her
dat
’s farm. Sara’s place is the next one over.”

“That’s not the way we do things at home,” Gideon said regretfully. “So, unless...”

“Unless?” Thomas said.

“Unless I can get some help here, it’s not going to work out.” Gideon turned to Menno. “Didn’t I see you drive here alone? In a gig?”

“Me?
Ne
, not me.” Menno shook his head. “I’m not getting stuck with Dorcas...I mean, Addy,” he protested.

“Why not?” Gideon asked. “I know her father’s a preacher, but—”

“Not me.” Menno shook his head. “You like her so much,
you
take her home.”

Gideon shrugged. “Can’t. I work at Sara’s with her. How would that look to people? If I walked her home by herself—you said her mother was strict—her parents might make her quit at Sara’s. Besides...” He grinned at Menno. “I think of her as a friend...maybe another sister.”

“Corn toss!” Charley shouted. “Come on, fellows! No hiding behind the barn. This is a social. You need to team up for corn toss.”

“Come on,” Titus said. “You owe me.”

“I don’t owe you,” Menno grumbled.

“What’s wrong with Addy?” Gideon pressed.

“Nothing wrong with her, not really. She’s just... She can be outspoken for a woman. She’s not...you know...sweet?”

“Come on,” Titus said to Menno. “We didn’t ask you to kiss her, and you know you owe me a favor for covering for you with
Dat
when you got in late last Sunday night.”

Charley called again. “Are you guys coming or not?”

“We still need to find someone for Ellie, too,” Gideon reminded them.

“Not a problem,” Titus assured him. “All settled. Thomas is sweet on her. She’s already agreed to let him drive her back to Sara’s.”

“Come on, Titus,” one of the other guys called. “We’re waiting on you fellows.”

“It’s settled, then,” Gideon said, grabbing Menno’s hand and shaking it. “You’ll see Addy home, and you’ll be on your best behavior. And don’t—”

“
Ya
,
ya
, I know,” Menno grumbled. “I shouldn’t call her
Dorcas
.”

“Good man,” Gideon answered. He liked Thomas and his two friends, and it was nice to find other young men here in Delaware whom he could be pals with. At home, he’d been part of the same crowd of guys since they were in first grade. In Amish communities, it was customary for young people to form tight bonds with others their own age, friendships that often lasted for decades. He missed the camaraderie of his buddies almost as much as he missed his family. He’d hoped to enjoy tonight’s singing, and—if he could get Lilly to go along with his plans—it looked as though it might turn out to be even more fun than he’d expected.

As the four of them joined the rest of the group, Gideon found that Charley had again paired them up, girl-boy, girl-boy. Corn toss, which was basically a beanbag game, was a popular game at home, and he was good at it. Gideon enjoyed competitive games and was pleased to see that the Seven Poplars community wasn’t too conservative to allow their youth some leeway at their singings. He knew that there were other areas where boys and girls had drinking parties.
Rumspringa
, they called it, the running-around time. But it wasn’t permitted in his community. He could honestly say that he’d never tasted alcohol and never wanted to. He had too much respect for his parents and the church teachings, and for his own body. But he had to admit that Charley’s unexpected suggestion of pairing boys and girls together during the singing and games was daring enough to be exciting.

As Gideon lined up to be chosen for a team, he wondered which of the girls he’d have as a partner. He hoped it might be Lilly or even the sassy Violet.

* * *

As usual, Addy stood alone, watching as one couple after another paired up for the corn toss game. There were only three girls left: Ellie, Jane Stutzman and herself. Maybe, if Jane found a partner, she and Ellie could make a team. She was about to suggest just that to Ellie when Thomas came around the barn followed by the brothers Titus and Menno, and lastly, Gideon.

“What? Did you start without us?” Thomas teased. “Who’s left?” Then he caught sight of the three of them. “I want Ellie!” he declared. She laughed good-naturedly and went to stand beside him.

Titus motioned to Jane, and she hurried over. Their parents were friends, and although the two had never dated, they knew each other well enough not to be embarrassed. That left Menno and Gideon. Addy felt herself flush. It was clear that neither of them would have picked her if they’d had a choice.

Please,
Addy thought.
Let it be Gideon, not Menno. Anyone but Menno.
When they’d been in the eighth grade, she’d confided to her mother than he’d been letting other boys listen to his battery-operated radio. That had been a mistake because her
mam
had overreacted, told the deacon and Menno had been chastised in front of the whole congregation. Menno had been put out with Addy for months, and while she was sure he’d gotten over it, the two of them had never known what to say to each other. Having Menno be forced to take her as his partner would be so awkward. Unconsciously, she held her breath.

Menno looked around and took a step backward.

Could anything have been worse? Addy thought. Why didn’t the ground just open up and swallow her? She should never have come. Her
mam
was right—she was too mature for youth singings. “You two partner up,” she said in an effort to avoid even more embarrassment. “I don’t really want to—”

“Are you sure this is fair to the rest of us?” Gideon said loudly, cutting her off midsentence as he pointed at her and then himself. He turned to Charley. “You’ve probably heard that I’m the corn toss champion of our county. And anyone who’s ever watched Addy pitch corn to Sara’s mules should be worried. With Addy and me paired up as a team, nobody else has a chance of winning.”

Laughter rippled through the group.

Speechless, Addy stared at Gideon. Had he just bragged about himself? And about her? It was scandalous. No Amish boy that she’d ever known would have thought of boasting about his ability. It went against the core teachings of the faith. The common good, modesty and meekness were stressed. She hadn’t thought Gideon to be proud. He must have said that just to make her feel less conscious about being the last girl chosen. If he had, it was the nicest thing any young man had ever done for her. She smiled at him gratefully.

Corn toss, softball and volleyball were some of the few sports where competition was encouraged. When she was in school, Addy had taken part in egg and spoon races, apple bobbing and sack races, but she’d never won anything. She could throw a softball fairly well, but she’d only played corn toss a few times. She wasn’t sure she could score well enough to help Gideon win.