Courting Buggy: Nurse Hal Among The Amish (6 page)

“
Where's Jim?” Nora asked.

“
He is down the road a piece. He will be here
soon.”

Hal looked at John sideways. “He didn't ride home in
the buggy with you and the boys?”

“
Oh, my goodness! What did that man do to make
you kick him out of the buggy?” Nora cried, bolting to her feet
with Hal beside her as they confronted John.

Tootie and Emma joined them. Tootie grabbed Nora's
arm. “Holy Buckets! I told you I should have brought my book with
us on All You Need To Know About Amish Customs.”

Nora flushed as she glanced at John's surprised face.
“Tootie, watch your mouth.”

Tootie eyed them all in a wide sweep. “I'm sorry, but
Jim could have avoided the walk home if he'd read the book when I
told him to.”

“
Why did you not bring it along?” Emma said
with her mouth twitching at the corners.

Tootie nodded sideways at Nora. “My sister wouldn't
let me. She thinks she knows all there is to know about the Amish I
guess.”

John shook his head. “Now hold on, all of you, I did
not make Jim walk home.” He had trouble pulling the words out of
his mouth as he said slowly, “He and Noah are coming in his own
buggy.”

“
Whose buggy?” Nora asked.

“
Isn't that nice. Noah bought himself a buggy,”
Tootie prattled to Emma.

Hal was surprised. “John, you let Noah buy a
buggy?”

“
Nah. It was Jim that bought the buggy,” John
blurted out.

Nora patted her chest as she slumped back on the
couch and went on a tangent. “Be still my heart. What has that man
gone and done now? I can't let him out of my sight for a moment.
Bought a buggy for goodness sakes.”

“
If Dawdi Jim started for home when you did he
should have arrived when you did, ain't so?” Emma asked,
worried.

John nodded his head. “Maybe we better go into that
later.”

Emma clammed up and busied herself smoothing the
wrinkles out of her apron.

“
I know why, Emma,” Tootie said knowingly. “Jim
gets lost easy. Aways has. Doesn't matter if he's driving a car or
buggy, I'll bet he took a wrong turn somewhere.”

“
Nah, Noah is with him. Noah knows the way
home,” John assured her, putting his weight from one foot to the
other. He didn't like being the center of attention with all the
female eyes staring at him, some puzzled, some wondering and some
suspicious.

The clip clop of hooves alerted the women Jim had
arrived. They rushed out the door, letting it bang behind them as
they lined up on the porch. Nora put a hand over her puckered mouth
when she saw the buggy.

Tootie clapped in glee. “That sure is a fancy
buggy.”

“
Just what I was thinking. What could that man
have paid for such a contraption?” Nora grumbled.

John backed up to lean against the porch wall out of
the way. Jim and Noah climbed down and came cautiously toward the
women. Noah said excitedly, “Dawdi Jim bought a courting buggy. It
is a looker, ain't so?”

“
It is that, Dear,” Tootie agreed
gleefully.

“
Is that what it's called? A courting buggy?”
Nora asked no one in particular as she stared irritably at Jim's
contraption.

Emma said softly to John, “It looks just like the one
Eli Yutzy had.”

“
It was his buggy,” John said as he shifted the
wiggling girls to get a better hold on them. They wanted down to
explore. He said louder, “Go see the buggy up close all of you. Jim
is sure proud of it.”

Nora, with the other women a safe distance behind
her, marched past Jim. He turned around and followed his wife. When
Nora was as close as she wanted to be, she stared at the buggy a
long moment and wheeled around. “What have you done, Jim
Lindstrom?”

“
What's it look like? I want to drive the same
kind of conveyance everyone else around here does so I bought me a
buggy,” Jim excused, sticking his hands in his jeans
pockets.

“
That doesn't look like the average Amish buggy
to me. It doesn't look practical at all,” Nora stormed.

Jim asked, “How about getting in and going for a ride
with me? At least try it out before you make up your mind one way
or the other.”

“
What! Ride in that thing?” Nora
gasped.

“
Sure, Mom. It will be fun,” Hal said, trying
not to smile. “I do it all the time.”

“
Mammi Nora, I rode home from Wickenburg with
Dawdi, and it was fun,” Noah encouraged with two of his fingers
crossed behind his back.

Nora put her hands on her hips. “What I want to know
is how much did that thing cost you?”

“
About the going price a buggy and horse goes
for I guess,” Jim hedged, glancing at John.

John studied the sky above the barn roof. He didn't
want involved in his in-laws argument.

“
What do you plan on doing with that buggy when
we go home?” Nora interrogated.

“
I'm driving it home,” Jim said, gleefully.
“I'll sure get a lot of looks by the neighbors when they see this
gem. They will be wanting a buggy just like mine.”

“
If you think I'm going to follow you with the
car six hundred miles home behind a buggy and horse you're crazy.
You can't drive that buggy home,” Nora declared.

“
We aren't ready to leave yet. For right now,
we can drive it around here until we get used to it,” Jim
reasoned.

“
Oh no.” Nora wagged a finger at him. “There is
no we to it.”

“
Ah, Nora. Come on. The buggy is already bought
and paid for. Go for a ride with me to give it a try,” Jim
wheedled.

“
Jim, why not let Noah hook up our horse,
Molly, to the buggy for right now?” John suggested.

“
Why?” Nora focused sharply on her
son-in-law.

“
Well,” John paused. His eyes darted back and
forth as he licked his lips.

Noah supplied, “This horse is tired, Mammi Nora.”

“
That's right. We need to give poor Mike time
to rest up and get something to eat after he came out here all the
way from town. He's been hitched to that buggy all day,” Jim
excused. “I'll pull over by the barn. Noah can help me change
horses. I'll be right back.”

As he led the horse and buggy away, Nora patted her
chest. “Jim has done some crazy things, but this tops the
cake.”

Jim and Noah hooked up Molly, and Jim led the horse
back to where his wife stood with the other women. For a few
minutes, she stared at the red buggy seat with her hands on her
hips. Finally, she admitted, “I can't get in this contraption. I
don't know how Amish women are able to do it.”

“
I'll help,” Jim said. He came up behind her.
“Hike your foot up on the step and get hold of the seat.” Nora did
as he told her. “Now give a hop up with the other foot.” As she
hopped, Nora felt firm hands on her bottom as she rose fast in the
air. She reached out to grip the back of the seat to keep from
going off the other side head first, plopped down and scooted to
the left side.

“
Jim Lindstrom, that was a pretty sight for
everyone to see. What must they think of us?” Red faced Nora
scolded, afraid to look at her family.

“
That I succeeded in getting you in the buggy,”
Jim said, grinning at her and winked to the good humored faces
watching.

Nora grunted as she folded her arms over her chest,
determined not to enjoy the ride.

Jim climbed in and picked up the lines. “Listen, I
didn't come up with that idea on my own. I happened to see an old
Amish man help his wife in their buggy that same way while we were
at the salebarn. She was a lot older than you. I just figured the
knowledge might come in handy some time or other.” Everyone waved
when Jim called to John, “What did you say the horse's name
is?”

“
Molly,” John answered.

“
We're off.” Jim said, touching the brim of his
straw hat. “We'll just take a short ride and be home way before
dark.” He flicked the lines. “Get up, Molly.”

The horse took off at a walk. In the waning sunlight,
the clip clop of her hooves had a rhythmic sound that pleased Jim
even more than other times he'd heard it. Maybe because this was
his own buggy he was driving. He glanced sideways at Nora. She
didn't look at all pleased.

At first, Nora gripped the seat as if she was going
head first out of the buggy any second. After awhile, she relaxed
and put her hands in her lap.

“
Isn't that a pleasant sight?” Jim pointed to
some red cattle that scattered away from the road fence when they
drove by. The frisky newborn calves scampered after their mothers,
bawling about being left behind.

In another pasture was a herd of red mares with new
colts romping beside them. “Down right pleasant ride in this buggy
with sights like these to see.”

Stone faced, Nora paid attention, but she didn't
reply.

Jim decided to try another tact. “This buggy sure
does ride smooth as all get out. I guess you can tell it's almost
new so the springs are good.”

Not bothering to respond, Nora focused on her side of
the road.

Jim tried again. “Just listen to the hooves of this
horse hitting the road. Like music to my ears.”

“
That's what the radio in our car is supposed
to be for,” Nora said dryly.

“
Want to drive for awhile?” He asked, extending
the lines in outstretched fingers toward her.

Nora hid her hands under her armpits. “No, I don't
want to drive. I wouldn't know how. Where we going anyway?”

“
Just around the section ought to do it for the
first time,” Jim said. They came to Bender Creek Road turn off just
as the sun set. “Think this must be the end of the mile at this
intersection.” He turned onto the dirt road. Behind the dense stand
of trees, Bender Creek ran close enough they heard the water
mummer. The thick tree cover swallowed from view anything else on
both sides the road.

As they rode on the twisting road, Nora fretted,
“This is all a timber wilderness. How do you know where we
are?”

“
I don't, but I'll just follow the road. It has
got to lead somewhere,” Jim reasoned.

“
Oh, sure! Most roads do, but it's going to be
dark soon.”

A raccoon bolted out of the underbrush and scurried
across the road in front of the horse. Molly nickered and shied
sideways.

Jim pulled back on the lines. “Easy, Molly.”

As the horse calmed down, Nora cried, “That thing
scared the horse. What was that?”

“
Looked like a coon. Probably headed to the
creek for a drank. The horse is fine now as you can see,” Jim
surmised.

“
It's getting too dark to see anything,
especially the road much less animals? Does this buggy have
headlights?” Nora quizzed as the daylight faded to dusk.

“
Of course, it has a headlight. You sound like
this buggy is a 1800's model or something,” Jim said
defensively.

A quarter moon rose above the tree tops and shifted
behind raggedy clouds. As a warm, gentle night wind blew around
them, Nora said nervously, “You better turn on the headlight.”

Jim searched in front of his feet and flicked a
switch. Nothing happened. “Huh!” He grunted as he felt along the
back of the foot board. “I sure thought that was the light switch.
It's the only switch on here. Battery must be run down.”

Nora made disapproving tisks. “You should have
checked to see if the headlight worked before you bought this
contraption.”

“
We'll do fine. The horse can see, and she
knows where to go. Never seen a horse yet that didn't know the way
home night or day,” Jim assured her.

“
Oh, that's real encouraging since you're such
an expert on horses,” Nora said dryly. “How long has it been since
you helped your father with his work horses? Sixty years
maybe?”

Jim thought he should change the subject. “The sky
sure is dark. Getting overcast. I expect that means rain.”

“
I hope not before we get home. This buggy
doesn't have a top,” Nora fussed. “It seems to be lacking a lot of
accessories. You don't even have an umbrella in here and no
flashlight.”

“
The buggy has four wheels, a horse to pull it
and a snazzy red seat,” Jim said, trying to sound
positive.

“
You left the horse by John's barn, and the red
seat is not a deal sealer for me,” Nora brooded. “This seat is
almost too small for two people.”

“
This is a courting buggy,” Jim stated with
meaning.

“
I heard that before. Now tell me why you
needed a courting buggy at your age. Looking for a younger woman to
ride with you? Maybe one in a long dress and prayer cap?” Nora
complained.

“
You know better than that. I just thought this
was a fun idea. Maybe we could pretend we're courting again,” Jim
said, chuckling.

“
You are half a century too late for that,”
Nora scoffed. From a distance in the timber on Nora's side came a
string of yips. She stiffened but relaxed somewhat when the noises
seemed to travel away from them. “Jim, what is that?”

“
Coyotes.”

Nora gasped. “Mercy! Sounds like a whole bunch of
them.”

“
They do tend to run in packs,” Jim said
dryly.

A little farther on, large tree limbs hung in a
canopy over the road, creating a tunnel that was very dark. Right
above them came rattling leaves, beating wings and loud hoots,
three in a row.