Katie Opens Her Heart (37 page)

Jesse stood and offered his hand to help Katie to her feet. As she stood, he gave her a hug.

“Thank you,” Katie said. That was all she could muster as she returned his hug.

Mamm
looked to Jesse and then to Katie. “Katie, you can go in now. And don’t worry about the rest of the dishes. I’ll finish them later. Jesse and I have more to talk about.”

Katie nodded and went into the house and up to her room. She walked over to the window as she wiped away tears.
Mamm
and Jesse’s voices rose and fell in the air below her. They were so happy, Katie thought. And Jesse spoke of such happiness for herself. He spoke words that had gripped her heart. Could he be right? It was almost too much to even hear, let alone believe. If it were true, living with Jesse as her
daett
would really be like heaven on earth. Maybe
Da Hah
had greater miracles than she knew planned for her.

Chapter Forty-Four

Katie worked at the kitchen sink as the house lay silent around her. This was
Mamm
’s wedding day. The early morning darkness still covered the fields. Aunt Betsy and Darrell, as well as
Mamm
’s two oldest brothers and their wives, were asleep upstairs with their smaller children. A bunch of their boys were sleeping in the barn loft, and their girls were set up in the basement. From behind her,
Mamm
’s footsteps came out of the bedroom. When Katie turned around, the light from the kerosene lamp flickered on
Mamm
’s face.

“You shouldn’t be here in your chore clothes,” Katie said, surprised. “It’s your wedding day. There are plenty of people for doing chores…”

“
Yah
, there are,”
Mamm
agreed, as if she’d just realized that fact.

Katie stepped closer and took one of
Mamm
’s hands in hers. “Are you sick?”

Mamm
shook her head. “It’s nothing to worry about. I’m just a little nervous.”

When Katie didn’t move away,
Mamm
continued. “I think it’s a
gut
sign. With your
daett
I was so worried on the morning of our wedding I couldn’t see straight.”

Katie squeezed her
Mamm
’s hand. “Oh,
Mamm
…”

“Don’t worry,”
Mamm
assured her daughter and smiled. “I’ll be okay. I’ll be as calm as a cucumber by the time the service arrives.”

Katie took a deep breath. By noon today she would have a new
daett
and
Mamm
would have her new husband.

Footsteps came down the stairs behind them. Katie returned to her work at the sink, and
Mamm
sat down at the kitchen table. Aunt Betsy stepped into the kitchen moments later, her hair askew under her
kapp
.

“My, you two are up early for a wedding day!” Betsy exclaimed.

Katie smiled as Betsy clucked her tongue. “I know this is probably hard for you, Katie. But look at how much better life will be for both you and your
mamm
. No more living with just the two of you for company. And you’ll have a
daett
and brothers and sisters.”

Katie smiled. “I’m not worried really. It’s a
wunderbah
day! I’m very happy for
Mamm
…and for me.”

Betsy was still smiling. “Why, before you know it, you’ll be part of a great big,
wunderbah
family. You’ll have forgotten all about living as an only child.”

“
Yah
,” Katie said hesitantly.

Betsy turned to
Mamm
. “And now you, Emma. You’re not going out to chore on the morning of your wedding. I don’t care what you say about it. I’ll go with Katie and help like I did last night.”

“But…”

Betsy silenced
Mamm
with a shake of her finger.

Katie almost laughed aloud. Betsy had been a delight to have around ever since she’d arrived last week. She took charge when necessary and ran the household without hurting
Mamm
’s feelings. They would never have finished the wedding preparations—small though it was to be—without her.

“Come now,” Betsy was saying. “You just sit here and wait. The others will be up shortly, and they can make breakfast.”

“But there are so many people. We need to start right now,”
Mamm
declared and then set her mouth in a thin, determined line.

“Then I’m getting the others up to help!” Betsy headed toward the stair door. Before she got there, Clara, the wife of
Mamm
’s oldest brother, Lonnie, stepped out, looking chirpy and fresh for this time of the morning.

“We’re going out to chore,” Betsy told her without even saying
gut
morning. “And don’t let Emma work herself half to death on her wedding day. The woman needs at least one day off.”

“Okay,” Clara agreed. “But the boys can do the chores for you. There’s no sense in them lying around doing nothing.”

“It would take longer to explain what to do than to just do the chores myself,” Katie said. “In fact, I can handle them by myself, Aunt Betsy.”

“You will do nothing of the sort!” Betsy pointed toward the washroom. “Let’s go. We’ll see about getting the boys up once we get out there.”

The first streaks of dawn were on the horizon as Betsy and Katie walked across the front yard. Katie pushed open the barn door and felt around until she found the lantern. The matches she discovered on the bench close to the front door. Moments later light flooded the barn.

Molly and Bossy were standing by the back barn door. When she let them in, they almost ran to the stanchions where Betsy had already poured their feed and was ready with the milk buckets.

This will be Molly and Bossy’s last day in this barn
, Katie thought. Jesse’s two boys were coming to take all the animals over to their place this afternoon.
Mamm
had insisted the marriage vows be said before anything changed on the farm. That wasn’t because she had doubts about the marriage.
Mamm
was just being her usual stubborn self. Some things would never change. Any other widow who was getting married would have moved the livestock a week ago.

Katie closed the outside barn door, and joined Betsy by the two cows. She closed the stanchions.

Leather boots and denim pant legs appeared on the wooden ladder coming from the hay loft, followed by the rest of a boy. James, Clara’s oldest boy, climbed down and moments later his brother Carl appeared. Both paused at the bottom of the chute to brush straw out of their clothing.

“
Gut
morning!” Katie greeted them, smiling.

They’d arrived last night after supper with Darrell and his van-load of visitors. There had been no room left in the house, so the boys ended up in the haymow with blankets. It had been so
gut
to see everyone again.

“
Gut
morning!” they said together.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” James asked.

“We like to work up an appetite before breakfast,” Carl added. “Traveling sure leaves the muscles out of shape.”

“There aren’t that many chores,” Katie told them.

Betsy interrupted her. “Go ahead and show them what needs to be done, Katie. I can milk both cows if I need to.”

“Okay.” Katie led the two boys around to the horse stalls. They didn’t ask many questions, but they did pay attention to what she told them. Betsy was just completing milking Bossy when Katie got back.

“I’ll finish,” Katie said. She grabbed the other bucket before Betsy could and waved her hand toward the barn door. “
Mamm
doesn’t have family around that often. Why not go in and talk with her?”

“You’re as stubborn as your
mamm
,” Betsy said with a laugh, giving in at once.

When her aunt had left, an image of Mabel’s disgruntled face rose in Katie’s mind. She shivered.
Mamm
and Jesse would have several days alone, until after Thanksgiving, but then she would be living in the same house with Mabel. Would this really work? No doubts on
Mamm
’s wedding day! Katie reminded herself. She would think only about her
mamm
and Jesse and how much they loved each other. And she would concentrate on the words of support Jesse had spoken to her. That had been
wunderbah
to hear and filled her with hope.
Da Hah
had not forsaken them.

Katie concentrated on milking as fast as she could. Margaret and Sharon were coming today. She’d seen to it that they were invited even though
Mamm
had raised her eyebrows. Esther was also coming. It was
gut
of all three of them to attend. They surely had to go out of their way to find time for an Amish wedding. If she had any doubts before, she knew for sure now that these girls were her friends indeed. She would always hold them close to her heart.

Behind her James and Carl came out of the horse stalls, laughing as their flashlight beams bounced around the barn walls. Katie stood up with her bucket of milk. She called to them, “You should get the rest of the boys up now. I’m sure breakfast is about ready.”

That produced a yelp from Carl and a rush up the haymow ladder. Shouts from above were soon followed by loud groans.

“The washbasin is in the washroom at the house,” Katie hollered up to the boys as she went out the door. She walked across the lawn. The sun’s first rays were peeking above the horizon; dawn was well on the way. It would be a perfect day from the looks of things. Only thin clouds hung in the sky, but they should melt away soon. Mamm
deserves this kind of day after all she’s gone through
, Katie thought. This was no doubt another sign of
Da Hah
’s approval.

Katie hugged herself in the chill of the morning air. She stepped inside the washroom and washed her face and hands in the basin before drying herself with a towel. She heard loud voices coming from the lawn behind her, and she hurriedly disappeared into the kitchen before the boys arrived. Katie paused just inside the kitchen door. Women were rushing all over the place. Breakfast was spread on the table—fried eggs, hash browns, ham, bacon, and a big bowl of steaming oatmeal.

“When will breakfast be ready?” one of the men shouted from the living room.

“Always hungry!” Betsy said with a laugh as she counted the places available at the table. Then she closed her eyes and reviewed the number of people in the house.

“There won’t be enough room,” Clara announced before Betsy was done figuring. “The adults can eat in here, and the children can eat in the living room. That’s what I say, anyway.”

“Sounds good to me,” Betsy agreed, abandoning her counting.

Katie looked around for
Mamm
and found her standing by the stove, her face glowing.
It must be coming from joy and the temperature in the room
, Katie figured. The heat was rising steadily to the ceiling from all the cooking.

Katie gave
Mamm
a smile before stepping over to the kitchen window to push it open. Betsy grunted her approval as she rushed past. Katie went to stand beside
Mamm
, staying there until the aunts had brought order out of the chaos. Then Katie joined the children in the living room, taking a place on the couch. The adults filled the kitchen table, and Lonnie led out in prayer. After the amen, the children waited for Betsy to call them into the kitchen to fill their plates.

Mary, Lonnie’s oldest girl, was around sixteen, Katie remembered. She was a quiet one and hadn’t said much since they’d arrived last night. At least she smiled and offered a few comments now and then. The children ate their meal in silence. Then Lonnie announced the closing prayer from the kitchen. When they finished praying, the children scattered. The boys had the first use of the limited number of bedrooms upstairs to change, after which the girls had their turn. The men came next. By that time, the women were done with the dishes and took their turn to change.

Katie changed in
Mamm
’s bedroom. This was her special privilege of the day as daughter of the bride.
Mamm
slipped in after Katie was finished and it was a long time before
Mamm
came out.

Betsy saw
Mamm
first and gasped in delight.

Katie jumped to her feet to look. She’d seen
Mamm
’s wedding dress hanging in the closet, but not on
Mamm
. The dark-blue material glowed in the soft, morning sunlight pouring through the hall window.

“Oh, you’re beautiful, Emma!” Betsy gushed. “Oh my! I shouldn’t be making such a fuss, but this is simply
wunderbah
.”

“It’s really nothing,”
Mamm
said, but her face was beaming.

Katie didn’t dare breathe for a moment as the reality hit her.
Mamm
really was going to marry Jesse Mast, and they really were going to be one big family. Even Mabel couldn’t stop it now.

Betsy grabbed
Mamm
’s hand. “Come! We have to get to the wedding right away before very many people see you. It’s late enough already. Quick, James, hitch up the buggy. I’m driving Emma over, and the others can come later.”