Abram's Daughters 02 The Betrayal (22 page)

H''Well, now, whatever for?"

^1*1 if paused, the tug-of-war awful strong, then plunged for-

H, "1 need to tell you I've known of somethin' ... of a

^Khli.' sin Sadie committed and had me promise not to tell."

^M)hI .stood mighty still just then. "How terrible do you

Bur

^pjlhu glimpsed the pain that registered in her beloved ir'i eyes and had to look away. "Sadie had a baby," she ^ipcred, reliving the frightening truth of it. "I was there the nt nIic birthed a baby boy. And if Aunt Lizzie hadn't ^pcd, well, I hate to think what might've happened. Sadie ^B In such an awful bad way." ^Mlull's face grew ever more solemn. "Lizzie was on hand,

I

H' lit! had a part in savin' Sadie's life." She went on to

Hbrllie how she'd ridden bareback on one of the horses "to Hi Hi". Schwartz, though I knew ridin' thataway was a sin Hniv own makin' and I'm right sorry 'bout it. There was PP no other choice to make . . . unless 'twas to let my sisterli. "

I '.i i stared down at his hat, moving it slowly around in his lt

t'.nih was afraid of this. Dat seemed miffed, even angry. lie didn't tell Aunt Lizzie till the night the baby came. , don't be upset at Lizzie, Dat. She did only what she had

'And what of the baby? What became of him!" Dat's

"And what of the baby? What became of himl" Dat's

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words hung in the air for a moment before she could answci

"The poor little thing gave up the ghost . . . and dk-il " Fighting back tears, she pressed on. "Oh, Dat, with all of my heart, I had to tell you these things. I've waited much tun long, I fear."

His eyes, wide and moist, were fixed on her. But he snlil

no more.

"When I make my confession of faith and join church, 1 want to present myself a clean and willin' vessel. ..."

He surprised her by reaching for her right hand and hnlil* ing it in both of his.

"May I have your mercy for keepin' this dreadful secrei t" she asked. 1

A single, slow nod came from him, and she knew he wiifll offering his understanding, even forgiveness, at her burning! request. J

Hours later Leah met with both Preacher Yoder and 1 Vu 1 con Stoltzfus, along with Jonas and the other baptismal c.mm didates. Upon first entering the Yoders' farmhouse, she c;ui|;li(j a glimpse of Naomi talking quietly with Preacher in the In mil room. As expected, Sadie's former best friend had followpsjj through with her warning. More than likely, Naomi whH reporting Sadie's misconduct and deceit this minute. j

Naomi turned to look at her, and the blood insi;u\ttj| drained from her face. Sadie's former best friend had i'iiiIm clean, all right. 1

229Tke l3eirayal

H I < ,ili waited her turn to speak with Preacher Yoder, not H)ltMj< io call attention to herself. It was true, there had been B1"' ii! lime for Sadie to repent on her own. But today, Hi I rah filed into the Preaching service with the other Hi iil,\h-N and offered her life as a "living sacrifice" to the H" l ' lot I heavenly Father, she, too, must open her mouth H I infos. She and Sadie Aunt Lizzie, too had made a H even unwise covenant last year; it was past time to set " I'l^'ht between herself and God. Because if the day ever Hi ihiii Sadie bowed her knee at last, she would realize in< I i-ali was about to do was right and good in the sight of H l i>iil. When all was said and done, this act of obedience H[ I .ill's part might just turn things around more quickly for

Kin

H When it was her turn to speak to Preacher Yoder, he ^Bph'J her a handshake that could make a man out of a boy, H| . l< rilled, careful not to wince. She began to acknowledge ^m mis of omission. "It is my understanding certain transHr< i"ns have been committed by my baptized sister. . . . H||n libersol. Fx>r some time now, I've known of them," she ^BiHi "Yet I have failed to bring them to light. . . ." She went HP I" loll all she knew of Sadie's sinning, grievous as it was.

Mere the minister glanced at the deacon and nodded his i-1 'Jowly. "I commend you, Leah," he said. "May you find jmiii lorgiveness in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior."

N<>w, upon Sadie's return from Ohio, there would be a Mi|ihi', confrontation with the brethren. She would be given Hiina' to confess or be shunned. Sadie would no longer ^Bi 11 k' consolation of simply biding her time. Her sin had ^Hi

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When the final instructional meeting got under way, the ministers discussed with great sobriety the difficulty of "walk ing the straight and narrow way." Leah soaked up every word, steadfast in her decision. She and the other applicants were given ample opportunity to turn back from the baptismal cov enant, but she sat tall in her chair and said jah with confidence when asked.

Jonas answered with a similar assent. When the younj; men were asked if they would pledge to accept the duties of ;i minister if the lot should ever fall to them, Leah noticed Inwas emphatic in his affirmative response.

The heaviness she'd carried for nigh unto a year was lifted, and she felt as light as a driving horse without its harness. Only one nagging worry remained: How would her confession affect Sadie?

~#-

Ida felt so awkward, there in the cramped phone booth, The fact that Abram was squeezed in with her made it even more confining. Abram was still smarting over the truth of Sadie's iniquity, having shared with Ida Leah's confession in the barn this morning. Both were suffering, truth be known.

Now here they were in the one-horse town of Georgetown. They felt it of great necessity to speak to Sadie without delay, and to use an English telephone, of all things. Ida found it altogether curious Abram already had David's woodworking shop number in his possession. Leaning around her, he wasted no time in dialing.

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When David answered, Abram told who he was and that hi' wanted to speak to Sadie "right away, if at all possible."

11 l,i I bought he might've at least chatted some about the Wi'iillicr, not been so quick to get off the phone with the man wlio was making it possible for their Sadie to have a roof over I id head.

"Hullo, daughter? Jah . . .'tis your mamma and me callin'," ,AI>i'am said.

There was a short pause; then Abram asked, "How're you jilting along there?"

Abram waited for Sadie's answer.

"We're fine, just fine," he said back to her.

Then Ida heard him get right to the point. "It's sadly come i'ii >ur attention that you were guilty of improper courtship I i utices. Is this true, Sadie?"

Ida held her breath for the longest time. She simply "iildn't bear to listen to only one side of the conversation. \nil about the time she felt she could no longer contain her liustration, Abram turned and held out the phone to her. "S.idie's cryin' . . . wants to talk to you."

She put the1 black receiver to her ear. "My dear girl..." '"' eager she was to hear her daughter's voice again. Pleasei nine home to us, she thought.

"Oh, Mamma. . ." was all she heard from Sadie, then a I hi of sniffling.

"We best talk over some things. Can you speak freely?"

More sniffles. Then, "Jah, I can."

"It's come to light since you've been gone that you were . . . well, that you birthed a child," she managed to say.

"Did . . . Leah tell you . . . this?" Sadie sputtered.

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"I best not say just yet."

"Well, I won't go before the ministers. I hope you didn'l call to ask me to did you, Mamma?"

"It's the only way, the only thing to do." She inhaled, looking to Abram for moral support. "You wear a stiff upper lip, Sadie, but I've heard you weepin' in the late-night hours, Dat and I ... we both hope you'll return home and make things right."

"I don't see how . . . not now."

Ida ignored the comment. "This pain you carry ... let i I lead you to repentance, Sadie."

"I'm a lot like Aunt Lizzie, ain't so, Mamma?"

It was Ida's turn to sputter. "What whatever do you mean?"

"Lizzie sinned in the selfsame way." Sadie was silent for ;i moment, then "It's ever so foolish for me to repent."

" 'Tis foolish not to. If you refuse, then I'm sorry to say, bin j

Dat and I oh, it'll be ever so difficult we'll have no choice :

but to go along with die Meindung the shunning if il i

should come to that." :

The shun . . . Ida went cold at the thought. Surely such j

harsh discipline could be prevented.

"I don't care." Sadie's words echoed in her ear. "Let the

People do as they must." ; J

Ida began to weep and Abram comforted her as best he 1 could, the two of them nearly nose to nose in the cramped ij

space. J

"This is all my sister's doin'," Sadie said. "I'll never spenk to her again!"

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^''Oh, Sadie . .. no." The dreadful words tore at Ida's heart,

^H nIu- iould talk no longer.

^B A ham kindly took the telephone and spoke slowly into

^B urdvcr. "We best be sayin' Da Here sei mit du the Lord

^HuhIi you, Sadie. Good-bye."

^M Then he hung up.

^H ! i.ulU' was distraught as she returned the phone to its cra^M 11 was a good thing David Mellinger had made himself ^Bi< < while she spoke on the phone. Hearing Dat's voice on ^H iilophone line seemed mighty peculiar. But nothing could ^Hii'.iiv to the realization Leah had betrayed her! HMiinuna, no doubt, would hope to shield Hannah and Hlv Ruth from the pitiless reality. This, when Sadie thought ^Hl, i;ave her the slightest bit of comfort, except she won^Bt'il how long the twins could be kept in the dark. HpNiK'h a blight she was on her family name, in more ways ill,in one. Even so, her father had offered a blessing before

11- tl said good-bye. This, along with Mamma's pressing H murks frorr^ a compassionate and concerned heart In Iprd to quell Sadie's anger.

But it was the knowledge Leah had broken her promise ili.H was most troubling. Resentment lingered long after supI m i, Jeep into the night.

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^fil235C - - ' ^

A

/ \ i lust rosy dawn, Leah was awakened by robins tweeting

11 "Lord's Day . . . Lord's Day" pronouncement. Dozing off I <>n, she dreamed that upon arrival at Preaching, she dis-

. i 'vi'K'il Jonas gone. Cousin Peter Mast was there, telling the

iiiini'.HTs his son had changed his mind and returned to Ohio.

hiii|...-nhearted even amidst her grogginess, Leah lay in bed,

i . i ridding over the bridge of her nose as she struggled to

ipr (his partial wakefulness. She felt herself brush away the

i. us, Iully awake now. Such peculiar and troubling imagin-

11i!V. on this most reverent day!

Truly, she could not conceive of Jonas leaving Gobbler's

I i m >b without following the Lord in joining church. What the

> ii'il ordinance meant to her, it also meant to him. Baptism

i. i he essential next step in being allowed to marry with the

Massing of the People. This was nothing more than a fuzzy-

ln .ided predawn stupor.

She sat upright in the bed, shaking her head and pushing

ili-(.*piness and the alarming dream aside. Reaching over, she

I'l.ieed her hand on her wayward sister's pillow. Will you

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understand what I had to do? she wondered, missing Sadie. Leah chased away her troublesome thoughts embraced this most blessed day.

Almost immediately upon dressing for church, after milk ing and breakfast were finished, Leah heard a knock at 1 indoor. Quickly she went to see who was there.

"Do ya have a minute for your ol' auntie?" Lizzie said, standing there smiling wistfully.

What with this being an extra-special Sunday, Lenlt wasn't too surprised to see her. "Come in, come in. And since when are you old?" She reached for Lizzie's hands and pulled her gently into the bedroom.

Strangely enough, Lizzie closed the door firmly behind her, Then she turned back to face Leah. "I'm old, jah . . . whery my nieces have grown up enough to join church and givB themselves to the Lord God. Ain't so?" a

"No . . . no, no. You're as young as you've always lookca to me." I

Apparently there was more on Lizzie's mind than talk on growing older. "I'm here to offer a heartfelt blessin' to you!Leah." 1

She sighed. "If only Sadie were here to witness the day." j

Aunt Lizzie nodded. "I daresay we should never hnvJ promised to keep that wretched secret of hers." I

"What's done is done," Leah said. "Now we must forgiva

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in rlye , just as the Lord God has forgiven us through Jesus

I.. MB."

I "Ahnim told me you confessed quietly of Sadie's baby liq." Lizzie said.

L I enh Ii;k1 wondered when Dat might reveal this to Aunt H, I k' surely had not wasted any time. ^Hl^hniL: deeply, Leah continued. "I must tell you I feel ^Hn> li^hi now a burden's lifted from me, truly. Yet in the ^^Ulu* way, I bear such heaviness in my heart for Sadie." ^^Biii'cly our Sadie knows how dearly loved she is," Aunt ^H-uhUI, embracing her.

^H^ikI I pray my confession will bring her heart home to ^Hruplc, once and for all," Leah replied. ^HuJilenly tears welled up in Lizzie's eyes. "Let me look at Inn She paused, reaching for Leah's hands. "Oh, my dear | I've waited so long for this day of days, when you would |i ,! i o follow in obedience the path of righteousness. The I 'I I lie People. May the almighty One bless you abun-

I ly."

1 I nil\ was greatly touched by her aunt's thoughtfulness

uiil, most of all, by her unexpected blessing something a

111ii i ordinarily bestowed upon his son or daughter.

I "(. )li, Aunt Lizzie, it's good of you to come up here just

ftw " She was at a loss for more words.

I " ' I is a day to 'come out from among them, and be ye sep-

ll.it<,'" Lizzie quoted the well-known Scripture. She contin-

nd " 'Be a light to the world,' honey-girl. Without spot or

tinkle."

I "With the help of the Lord above, I will," Leah replied.