Katie Opens Her Heart (18 page)

“Everything’s great!” he said with a smile.

“Was the bacon okay? Not too crisp?”

“
Yah
, dear. It was done to perfection. I like it crisp. Both you and Carolyn are doing an excellent job keeping the house.”

Mabel’s face still looked concerned. “Smell the oatmeal before you taste it,
Daett
. It may be burned.”

“It tastes fine to me,” Leroy said from his place on the back bench. He was gulping down each bite.

“You wouldn’t know if there were charcoals floating in your oatmeal,” Mabel snapped. “So be quiet. I’m asking
Daett
.”

Jesse shook his head at him when Leroy opened his mouth to snap back.

“It’s fine, Mabel,” Jesse said. “I keep on saying that, but you don’t believe me. Both of you girls do very
gut
with the housework.”

Mabel didn’t look satisfied. Her bowl was sitting empty while she watched him.

Jesse lifted his spoon to his mouth.
Yah
, it was burned a little. Millie would have known to take the oatmeal off the top and not scrape the bottom of the pan when serving it. Should he tell Mabel? It wasn’t that bad, just a bit scorched.

“It’s not bad,” he offered.

“You have to tell me the truth,
Daett
.” Mabel had tears welling in her eyes. “I can take it.”

“I’ve never seen such a crybaby in my life!” Leroy declared. “The girl is ruining what little breakfast we do have.”

“Okay, that’s enough out of you!” Jesse said. “This oatmeal does have a little burnt flavor to it, but it’s not that serious. You’re doing fine, Mabel. Next time don’t scrape the bottom with your spoon if you think it’s been on the stove too long.”

Mabel smiled a little and then made a face at Leroy after she dried her eyes. “At least I don’t come stomping into the house with my boots full of manure like you do. When you start seeing a girl, I’m going to tell her how you stink up the whole house and how you’ll do the same once you’re married.”

Jesse laughed, hiding the sound with a loud clearing of his throat. The girl had a cutting tongue—though funny now, it might not feel so humorous to her future husband.

“I’d not do anything like that,” Jesse said to Mabel. He turned to Leroy. “And stop teasing your sister. She’s doing the best she can.”

Leroy grunted and finished his oatmeal in silence.

Jesse continued with his oatmeal too. His face grew long again at this latest example of the problems he faced. Not only did he need a
frau
, but his children needed a
mamm
. He was trying to take care of that need with his visits to Emma, but so far neither his children nor Emma were obliging.

He’d dreamed of Emma last night. She’d been sitting somewhere in her house with tears in her eyes. There had been a rush of night air as he was running around the outside of the house trying to catch her attention. Around him the sound of buggies going somewhere echoed loudly. Over all that, he’d been sure he saw the light of a kerosene lamp playing on Emma’s face as she wept over a great sorrow. It was very confusing, and dreams rarely meant anything anyway, he decided. He didn’t need a dream to know Emma had a soft heart under those stern lines on her face. How he knew, he wasn’t sure, but he did. She would look beautiful if she smiled more often…

Jesse finished the last spoonful of his oatmeal as the sounds of buggy wheels came from the driveway. Mabel was the first to jump to her feet and rush to the window.

“It’s Ruth!” Mabel exclaimed.

Jesse groaned. Now what was
that
woman coming around for again? He’d almost begun to raise his hopes that he’d been wrong in his opinion of her. Perhaps Ruth had the sense after all to stay away. But obviously she didn’t.

“She’s getting out of the buggy,” Mabel said, as if that were some great accomplishment.

Of course she’s coming in
, Jesse almost said.
She wants to be your mamm
. But he kept the words in his mouth. The woman was teacher to his two youngest children, and they needed to respect her.

“I’m going outside to meet her!” Carolyn shouted as she raced toward the front door.

Leroy glared after Carolyn, but he didn’t say anything.

Jesse saw the look and figured Leroy was as much in favor of Ruth’s intentions as the rest were. He just didn’t like the interruption this was sure to bring to the morning routine.

“She’s taking something out of the buggy!” Mabel hollered.

A twinkle came into Leroy’s eyes.

“She bringing in pies!” Mabel announced, heading for the front door.

Jesse stood up and pushed his chair back. Leroy was laughing now, his earlier irritation apparently forgotten. The boy had way too much figured out, Jesse thought. But then Ruth’s intentions weren’t much of a riddle. She was about as devious as a bale of hay coming down the hay chute. She smacked you upside the head, leaving no doubt as to what she was up to. The problem was Ruth thought she was running in the dark. All the while her buggy lights were on and shining brightly.

Leroy and Willis stayed at the table, but Jesse headed for the front door. Little Joel followed him, all smiles as he jumped up and down when Ruth came up the front porch steps.

“How is everybody?” Ruth asked with a laugh as she gathered Joel in her arms. Mabel and Carolyn stood smiling near the top step.

Ruth set a large plastic pie carrier with at least three pies on the porch floor. Jesse’s mouth watered at the sight even with his best efforts to do otherwise. He bent down to peer through the plastic. One of the pies looked like it might be pecan. They all looked absolutely delicious. He opened his mouth to say so, but caught himself. There was no way Ruth Troyer’s tricks were going to work on him. It would take more than pecan pies to get into his
gut
graces. At least the kind of graces needed to say marriage vows.

Ruth reached over to give Carolyn a long hug before letting go to fuss with a piece of hair sticking out the front of Carolyn’s
kapp
.

“My, my!” Ruth exclaimed. “Someone didn’t wash your hair very well on Saturday night.”

Jesse almost laughed. Ruth had been seeing Carolyn all week and hadn’t noticed her hair until she came up on his front porch.

Mabel looked horrified. “Oh, Ruth! I do the best I can. And so does Carolyn. But it’s hard to know exactly what to do sometimes.”

“Now, now,” Ruth cooed. “I know it can’t be helped. But you’ll be learning how to do these things well before too long…I hope.”

Ruth looked over Mabel’s shoulder at Jesse, her eyes accusing, as if she blamed him for this situation.

“The girls need a
mamm
,” he admitted. “We all miss Millie a lot.”

“Of course. We all do,” Ruth said mournfully. “But we can’t question the ways of
Da Hah
. He takes away with one hand what He gives with the other. That’s what I told myself when Homer up and died on me. I must say it comforted my soul something awful during those terrible hours and days.”

“I see you’ve brought pies,” Jesse said, changing the subject. “You know you didn’t have to. The girls are doing a
gut
job keeping the household going.”

“That’s what you tell yourself.” Ruth moved closer to him. “But I hear the other side of the story at school from Carolyn and Joel. Not that they complain, but running a household was never a burden
Da Hah
meant to be laid on the shoulders of two such young girls.”

Jesse pulled back a step. “I know that. I’ve been praying about the matter, but
Da Hah
has not yet opened the door for another
mamm
for the children…or a
frau
for myself.”

Ruth glared at him. “I say a man can do too much praying about that matter. As I told Homer many a time, sometimes a thing’s so plain it makes a man almost blind.”

“I guess,” Jesse allowed. He saw things plain enough. It would only take about two months to get Ruth to say the marriage vows with him. Likely sooner if he allowed her to hurry the wedding preparations. The problem still remained though. He just wasn’t interested. Ruth’s face changed to a smile now, the effort quick and effective. The woman could change expressions faster than a cloud’s shadow racing across summer-kissed ground.

“I’m glad to see you’re taking the matter seriously, Jesse,” Ruth said. “Remember,
Da Hah
always supplies manna from heaven wherever the need is.” When Jesse remained silent, Ruth continued. “Well, I had better be getting on now. I like to get to the school early, before anyone else gets there. Up before dawn, the Good Book says. That’s where the blessing of
Da Hah
lies.”

Jesse watched Ruth go down the steps, not sure what to say or do other than stare at the offering of pies she’d left on the porch. They did look awfully
gut
.

Mabel must have thought he’d lost all his manners. She hollered across the lawn, “Thank you, Ruth, for these wonderful pies. What kind are they?”

“Peach, apple, and pecan!” Ruth rattled off without looking back over her shoulder. “I stayed up late last night baking so they would be fresh this morning.”

“You didn’t have to,” Mabel hollered after Ruth. “But pecan is
Daett
’s favorite. That’ll be the first pie I learn how to make for him.”

Jesse caught himself before he groaned out loud. Mabel had no idea what she’d just said. Now there would be no getting rid of the woman. She’d be stopping in every week with her offering of pecan pies.

Ruth turned around, beaming. She hollered back, “I didn’t know which one would be the best, so that’s why you have several different kinds to choose from. But now I know. I hope someone will be willing to eat the others.”

“Leroy and Willis eat anything!” Mabel called. She waved before picking up the pie canister. “I’ll have this washed and send it back with Carolyn tomorrow.”

“Take your time,” Ruth yelled back, dismissing Mabel’s comment with a wave of her own. “I’ll see you later, Joel and Carolyn. And you too, Jesse.”

Jesse left the two youngest standing on the front porch waving to Ruth as he went inside the house. Mabel followed him carrying the pie canister.

“Don’t you think she’d make the perfect
mamm
for us?” Mabel said softly. “She brought you pecan pie—your favorite.”

Jesse groaned aloud this time. The situation had just become intolerable.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The day after the Mennonite youth gathering,
Mamm
’s face was still drawn as if she hadn’t slept all night. Katie noticed and did her best to make the morning go easy. She’d gotten up early and started on the barn chores. Then she came inside to prepare breakfast. Now she was helping
Mamm
clean up after the meal.

Katie considered that bearing up under
Mamm
’s continued disapproval was going to be more difficult than she’d imagined. Yet there had been such happiness in her heart when she returned from the youth gathering last night. There would be no turning back. If she could only explain to
Mamm
that nothing sinful had happened. That all she’d done was talk with some Mennonite girls and boys and spoken briefly with Roy Coblenz, the boy who had invited her. She hadn’t done anything wrong. In fact,
Da Hah
was leading her, and she was going to trust Him.

How could feeling happy be wrong? How could it be evil to want the attention and acceptance of friends? Did
Mamm
really think it was? How could she?
Mamm
seemed to think acceptance couldn’t be found anywhere but among her own people or here at home with her. That’s what the real problem was. But even if she knew how to explain this,
Mamm
probably still wouldn’t believe her daughter was right.

Should she try one more time? Katie glanced toward
Mamm
, who was wiping the top of the kitchen table. It was no use, Katie decided. Only an apology and a vow to never attend another Mennonite gathering would bring a smile back to
Mamm
’s face. And even then,
Mamm
probably wouldn’t trust her right away. She would want proof that Katie meant to follow through.

And if the truth were told, Katie probably couldn’t stay away from the Mennonite youth gatherings even if she did promise her
mamm
. Her heart was already longing to see Margaret and Sharon again. What a joy it would be to hear their happy chatter and see the happiness in their eyes as they spoke with her. They thought she was a perfectly normal human being. They didn’t know she was known as Emma Raber’s daughter and what that meant. Likely they had never even heard of the odd widow Raber of the community. They accepted Katie for who she was on her own.

Mamm
cleared her throat, and Katie froze. “I don’t suppose you’ve changed your mind about attending the Mennonite youth gatherings, have you?” she asked.

Oh
, Mamm
, please
, Katie wanted to beg.
Didn’t you see how much joy was on my face last night?
Instead, she took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry for the trouble I’m causing you,
Mamm
. I really am.”