Abram's Daughters 02 The Betrayal (5 page)

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liquid warble of several wrens out near the milk house ii 'I Keiih. She hurried out of bed, whispering "time to n>" 10 Sadie, who was still sleeping soundly. But Sadie

i utiuxl and turned over, covering her head with the i1 quilt. nirthlnjJI was beginning to weigh on Leah's mind, and

it -i| in talk with Sadie about it. It had to do with

t i " I mllman and her outspoken new beau, Luke BontraMHwglii i I Mid shown a different side than she'd expected. Espe^^^V' i" recently after the baptismal candidates had met ^^^H'li H'her Yoder and Deacon Stoltzfus for the required ^^^B""11 Naomi had actually seen the error of her ways, ^^^j things right with the Lord God and Preacher Yoder ^^^Uy (,(ood thing. A girl just never knew when she might ^^^M her last lungful of air. Too many teenagers had lost ^^^MvcN racing trains with horse and buggy or in farming ^^^RfN. Being Plain could be downright dangerous some-

^^^pf ileacon and the preacher had been admonishing them

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mostly in High German that day, discussing at length the eighteen articles of faith from the Dordrecht Confession. Leah had a hard time understanding what was being taughi, let alone how she should respond to the questions. She wiin brave enough to speak up much to Luke's surprise to ask il it would be all right for her parents to help her read the bap tism chapter found in Matthew's gospel. Well, Luke had arched his eyebrows. "You ain't studyin' the Scriptures, now, are you?" he whispered her way.

"My father reads the German Bible to us in Amish each night, is all," she'd answered, not one bit ashamed. Besides, Dat's reading the Scripture aloud was far different than analyzing God's Word like some folk outside the community of the People were known to do. She might have added thai Mamma often prayed without putting in many "thee's" and "thou's," like some Mennonites they knew who called upon the name of the Lord God. But by then she was cautious and didn't dare say that much. It wasn't anybody's concern how Dat and Mamma went about passing on the faith to their children, was it?

In the end Deacon Stoltzfus said he was in favor of Leah getting help from her parents, that it was all right for her to ponder these Scriptures it wasn't as though they would be having an out-and-out Bible study like some church groups. "Your father can read you Matthew chapter twenty-eight, verse nineteen, as well as Mark chapter sixteen, verse sixteen ... in English or Amish, either one. 'Tis long past time all you young folk understand fully the covenant making," said the deacon. ;

Preacher Yoder may have been less enthusiastic but gave

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Hplng on Deacon's remarks. "Go ahead, Leah, speak l n Imher ... if you have any questions about your { ! -.wn'tall." j ion IukI looked mighty eager to take Leah aside, which

"in In the barnyard after baptismal instruction. There

11-> i wliispered to Leah that Luke had begun courting il in keep it quiet. " 'S'okay for you to tell Sadie I'm ft Mi.itTk'd, though," Naomi said unexpectedly. "She B" i hi I surprised. . . ."

lii' 11 would have been the end of it if Adah Peachey

n- walking up to the two of them and said, "Hullo,

1 Nuomi."

I i while they stood there engaging in small talk. Then li iwerod her voice yet again, saying she'd like nothing

I1 inn if both Leah and Adah would consider being in 'i In I party. Leah waited, expecting Naomi to correct herm I lit! spot and say she in fact meant Sadie surely she ! But the uncomfortable silence was broken by Adah, tlll smiles, said she'd be right happy to be one of the

fluids.

fell, Leah?" Naomi turned to her. "What about you?"

m\ thlnkin' maybe you'd want to be askin' Sadie, jah?"

Ho, I usked you," Naomi replied, big eyes shining.

iht'ii, I'd like to talk it over with my sister, seein' as how

ill I nIic well, you're close friends and all."

Diril to be."

p| words had sounded so final, it pained Leah to remem.'

| m. "Used to be."

||W here she sat in the quietude of her bedroom, with

| beginning to stretch, there in the bed. Waiting for her

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sister to rise and shine, she felt quite uneasy. She let a few more minutes pass; then she spoke at last. "I want to ask you somethin', Sadie."

Suddenly she felt it might be a mistake to address tintouchy issue. Yet it was better now than for Sadie to hear ii elsewhere. "How would you feel if I stood up with Naomi on her weddin' day?" she blurted.

"That's up to you" came the quick and sleepy answer. "You don't mind, then?"

"Not any more than I mind you goin' to her weddin' ;il all."

Leah sighed. "Well, aren't you goin'?" "Not if I can help it." Sadie sat up in bed. "Friends and relatives are expected to attend the weddin'. I daresay I'm neither of those to Naomi."

Leah paused, then asked gently, "Can you say . . . uh, whal happened between you and Naomi?"

"She has no business bein' baptized, is all." Sadie turned her head and was staring out the window.

"Then why do you s'pose Naomi's goin' ahead with it?" "One reason, I 'spect." "To marry Luke?"

Sadie clammed up, and Leah went to the wooden wall hooks next to the dresser and removed her brown chorine dress from a hanger. Standing there, she felt awkward, as if she didn't truly belong in the shared room. " 'Tis a sorry situ ation, Naomi's ... if what you say is true."

"Why must you be judgin' everyone?" Sadie snapped. Leah was startled at her sister's biting words, but the conversation ended abruptly with Mamma's knock at the door.

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IB to Benin the day, girls" came her soft call, illly, tht'y dressed in their choring dresses and brushed nil Into K iw huns at the nape of their necks. Then they tjluMr ik'volional caps and hurried downstairs to help with klli'lim duties and Leah with the first milking of

|< I'VrniiiK when Leah and Sadie were preparing to I led, Sadie brought the matter up again. "You surely IIIi name of me as you do of Naomi," she said. "Ain't

I1'

in. w.imi'i prepared for this, even though Sadie's accu-

I iiitlyjn' everyone" had echoed in her ears all day. I .-v liy now what I think," she said, getting up the E i 11 link Clod will forgive anyone for sin. And so would

|i i She's all for you, Sadie. She'd forgive you if you'd

1 ?

niiiiiiii might, but not Dat."

u ti, Sadie, how can you say that? If you went through

Klrcr channels, bowed your knee in contrition before

L.i, "

Hi(;!ii In,' best to save your breath, Leah." tjii '. toinment pained her. She feared her sister was farrun i iIk- Lord God and His church than ever before, lit i his Leah felt truly sad.

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Sadie continued to seethe with anger as she picked up the lantern at the back door and walked out into the night, pasi the well pump and through the barnyard. The moon wort' ;i silver-white halo, the sky black as pitch. She mightVe used the chamber bucket under the bed, but she needed to breathe some fresh air. The night was exceedingly warm, despite tinafternoon shower, maybe more so because of the humidiiy that hung like a shroud over the farm. Both she and Leah had thrown off the covers before ever settling into bed. Of course, it could be the harsh silence between them that was making Sadie feel warmer than usual. Even her fingertips were hot as she walked to the wooden outhouse.

Who did Leah think she was, ordering her elder sister around? All this fussing between them had left Sadie emo tionally drained. To think her best friend, Naomi, had bypassed her and asked Leah to be a bridesmaid, of all things! Well, she hoped not to be anywhere near Gobbler's Knob by the time Naomi and Luke tied the knot.

On the return trip from the outhouse she made a stop in the kitchen to wash her hands and eat some graham crackers and drink a glass of milk. That done, she felt a little better and headed back upstairs only to discover that, lo and behold, Dat and Mamma were still awake and having a discussion in their room, behind closed doors. Sadie had never encountered this in all her born days because her parents were often the first ones to head for bed, especially with Lydiann waking up at three-thirty for her early-morning feeding.

Dat was doing the talking. "No . . . no, I tend to disagree."

"We ain't never goin' to see eye to eye "

"Have you thought it over but good, Ida? Have you?" Dat

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^^Hpiml "I'd you realize what an upheaval this'll cause

^^Kli'iil, 1 liiivo. And I believe . . . if you don't mind me

^^W hliini, it's lime we tell her."

^^Hii1 Ih'.'-i" in place. What on earth were her parents dis-

^^B /. 1/ n /io?ri/ Tell what?

^Hjj' 'invcrsiition ceased altogether with Mamma's

^^Wl Miiiiii'k, and Sadie assumed her parents had decided

IP

1 !< for I he night. As for herself, she was wide awake and

I i nick down the steps, hurried through the kitchen, then

I1 144If 111 il the back door without making a sound. Sitting I buck stoop, she stared up at a thousand stars.

I litw you thought it over but good?" Dat's words came back

II ..mi her, "What an upheaval . . ."

I in Lipped her hands over her ears, pressing tightly I ln'1 luiiid . . . hoping to halt the memory of what she'd I * '< iK 1 it be they had been talking about her?

I mi' . line wandering over from the barn and sat on the in in. iicxi to her, his long black nose pointed toward the nil 1 ''In1 reached down to rub his furry neck. "Something illiii 1 hrewin'*' she whispered, trembling now. "I feel it fill I" i\ y in the air."

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Until finished hoeing and weeding her patch of the irdf n Thursday, along with the girls' separate charity Standing up, she arched her back and attempted to lirr aching muscles. Gazing at the sky, she noticed a i londs drift across the blue at a mercilessly slow pace

ii si range connection to them. Ever so restless, she

I 11 it- slow-poke pace of her days waiting for school i inj . In a little over a week!

I1 both her and Hannah off at school, Mamma would iiill'er with less help around the house. Still, the law

law, and Mary Ruth was happy to be required to

I ii i nigh eighth grade. In one more year she'd be eligiln^'h school. The thought gave her chills of both

II id dread. She held no hope of Dat ever giving her ilu-iid; it would be next to impossible to obtain his

I Ic would simply quote the Good Book to her if she i en enough to share with him her deepest longing. ii wisdom of this world is foolishness with God'" I with Bible in hand. And that would be the end of

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their discussion, though sadly, it would never reach the phn.se of true discussion at all.

Even the term high school was not without reproach. It rep resented high-mindedness and pride, and she'd heard msiiiy times growing up that "self-praise stinks." Yet what was she in do about the inner craving? Was she the only one smitten with the problem amongst the People?

Hannah wandered over, hoe in hand. "What would yn think of go in' to Strasburg with me?"

"To stop by the little gift shop?"

"I have a batch more handkerchiefs to deliver."

"Okay, then we'll go right after lunch. And 'bout the time Mamma and Lydiann are up from a nap, we'll be back home."

Hannah nodded, all smiles. "Just the two of us?"

"Sounds gut to me." Mary Ruth hoped to squeeze in a visii to the public library while Hannah handled her consignmeni shop transactions. Getting a head start on her studies w.v. heavy on her mind. If she had to, she could easily hide tinnewly checked-out books under the bed. Hannah could Inpersuaded not to tell.

It was clear Hannah was already counting the years till sinmade her covenant with the People and God. Unassuming and on the bashful side, especially around strangers, her sisiei would make a fine Amish wife and mother someday, whit I > was just as appealing to Mary Ruth as the next girl getting married and having children, that is. It was the unceasinj; hankering for books that got so dreadfully in the way. The thought of committing the sum total of her life to the People was troubling at best, and she was grateful to have a few more years till she had to decide one way or the other.

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I Itin'l mind if I run across the street right quick . . .

I ij4t I" the gift shop?" Mary Ruth asked Hannah as

I ,ilnii|i; in the enclosed carriage. She had chosen

I - i driving horse of the two, as well as the enclosed

I ny. With the gathering clouds and the increasing

I1 n| hi in, it made good sense.

I nut just say it outright?" Hannah said softly, almost

:' iir );oin'to the library."

jj>.... ili Hiii to her left, eyelids fluttering. "Truth be ' I I'lrlcr the summers. And you . . . well, you live for

I Viir."

i I now me awful gut." She paused, then added, "What

11imk Mamma would do if she ever found my library hidden away?" -.'hi say in' you honestly can't curb your appetite for

! i lire like* friends to me. Words come alive on the

'"inning one shoulder slightly, Hannah said nothing. ,. i'i >hc I'm addicted, 'cause now I've started readin' other [ i.pii," she ventured. "I don't mean bad books, don't li. r.iiind. But I must admit, I like readin' stories things In I'nivly made up but that, well . . . could happen." She Iiim wh;ii hesitant for Hannah's reaction. Ri 11, I don't know what to think" was her twin's dismal

1 I i ;in accept you readin' geography books, imagining

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what it's like to travel round the continent and all, but made up tales?"

Sighing, Mary Ruth wondered how to explain. "Heic This is what readin' stories is like to me. It's findin' a sprini; in the midst of a barren land. Just when I think I might \\y and die of thirst, I stumble onto this fresh, cold water, and I'm suddenly given new life 'cause I can and do drink to my heart's content."

Now Hannah was beside herself, seemed to Mary Rulli. She was staring down at the buggy floor, eyes blinking ami glistening to beat the band. I