Love's Abundant Harvest (20 page)

“Where did this mysterious quilt come from?”

“It's one I made for your
dawdi
.”
Mammi
kept her eyes forward, leaving a heavy silence
in the air.

Lucy glanced over at Fannie, who was unusually quiet. There was something in
Mammi
's
tone that seemed serious or maybe it was emotional. One made sense to her, but the
other didn't.

“You all right,
Mammi
?” Fannie lifted her eyes to hers
and waited. It took
Mammi
a moment, but she finally spoke.

“I hadn't thought about this quilt for ages . . . not until the baby . . . and now
that Fannie's here along with your
mamm,
I think
Gott
was giving us something that
will tie us together for the short time we all have.”
Mammi
's cheeks were pink, and
her voice wasn't as loud. Whatever this quilt was, it meant a lot to her.

Once in the
haus
and Fannie had settled in, they pulled the quilting frame away from
the wall and began the process to repair and revive the old quilt. They carefully
looked it over for holes, frayed threads, rough edges, and moth damage. Then they
repaired loose seams by turning them over, using a fine thread for better strength
before adding pieces to the top of the quilt where it was most worn. When they had
worked for an hour or so, it was time to prepare dinner.

“Verna, Fannie, you two go on. Rosy and Nellie will be here soon to help.”
Mammi
kept working on the quilt, not looking away for a moment.

When Lucy also started to stand,
Mammi
held up a hand. “I've been meaning to tell
you about your
dawdi
.”

Lucy sat back down. She didn't know her
dawdi
. He had passed away before she was
born, and
Mammi
didn't talk about him much. “What is it,
Mammi
?”

“I see the conflict in your eyes, worried about raising the baby without a husband.
But I have to tell you, Luce.
Gott
knows what's best; I know that much is true. But
it took something tragic to happen for me to understand that.” She lifted a piece
of thread and snipped it off with her teeth.

“I do worry. But I am relieved that Sam won't be raising
my child.” She looked up
when
Mammi
did. She wanted to see her unguarded reaction to those words. She knew
better than to feel bad about it. It was for the best, for everyone involved.

“Your
dawdi
was a weak man, the opposite of what you had with Sam, but just as difficult.”

Lucy couldn't picture her
mammi
with a weak man, but then maybe it was what kept
them together, opposites complementing each other. “I can't imagine that.”

“He meant well, worked hard, but when the woman has a stronger personality, that
makes things hard for a wife, especially an Amish one. He died young, and sometimes
I feel the blame for that.” She grunted. “Not that I did anything unkind; I just
didn't have much respect for the man . . . Now that I think about it, he probably
didn't have much respect for me.”

Lucy laid her hands on the small area in her lap. “I'm the weak one?” She whispered.
She might as well admit it. She understood what her
mammi
was referring to. It did
surprise Lucy that she would marry someone so unlike her
daed
.

“
Nee!
You have a strong spirit. I just want you to know that, and no matter what
anyone says, you do what your heart tells you to do. Your
dawdi
and I had a decent
life together. But I want you to have more. You can give your babe a good life without
a husband, but
Gott
may have a different plan.” She patted Lucy's cheek and pointed
with the needle. “Do you see that block right there?” It was a square with no name
or symbol like most of the others had.

Lucy nodded.

“That's the square I have under your family tree.” Lucy
turned her head to see the
quilt from
Mammi
's point of view. There were four blue squares and one pink.

“What does it mean?”

“I know you said you want a girl, but from what I created all those years ago, I
have always thought you'd have boys, lots of boys.”

Mammi
's words caused Lucy's heart to leap. At that moment she realized that because
of Sam, she had buried her desire to have a happy home filled with a large family.
Talking with
Mammi
had caused her to hope again. She wondered if her dream could
ever come true. Immediately, one image came to her mind: Manny.

M
anny stood in the mudroom stock still. He'd come to see Lucy but was now watching
an argument between her
mamm
and another woman who must be Lucy's sister. The younger
woman looked too similar for him not to assume this was a family relation. The two
arguing were both attractive and obviously strong-headed. They both continued to
feed off each other's comments, with no hope of reconciliation. Manny thought it
best to get Lucy's attention and slip outside.

Lucy sat at the table, oblivious to Manny watching her. The only time either her
sister or Verna looked her way was if they wanted her to validate what they were
saying. Lucy would shake her head or shrug with hands lifted. Her wide eyes and hunched
posture made it seem like she was trying to disappear. He decided to step in and
get her out of the uncomfortable situation.

“Morning, ladies.” He took a step closer to test the waters. “How are we today?”

Lucy whipped her head around to look at him. Her shoulders softened, and she gave
him a tired smile.

Fannie rubbed the back of her neck, and Verna cleared her throat. “Manny, would you
like some breakfast?” Verna didn't miss a beat as she walked to the kitchen as if
nothing had happened. “I was about to make some pancakes.” She turned around to
look at him. “I can add blueberries, if you like.”

“I doubt there are any left for picking.” The tall young woman crossed her arms over
her chest and stared at Lucy's
mamm,
who ignored her and started cracking eggs emphatically.
The sister took a step closer and held out her hand. “Hello, I'm Fannie, Lucy's sister.”
Manny wasn't used to pumping a woman's hand but did so anyway.

“It's a pleasure. You can call me Manny.” The tension was still so thick, he just
had to slice it. He wasn't used to loud, arguing tongues. Though his family sulked
at times, they didn't say hurtful words. But these were strong, outspoken women,
something he wasn't used to. It was probably what drew him to Lucy. She was one
who would tell him her thoughts, but not harshly. “Is everyone all right?”

“Actually,
nee
.” Fannie's arms folded over her chest again, and her eyes moved toward Verna.
“You see, my
mamm
and I don't agree often, and unfortunately you got caught in the
midst of one of our conversations.”

“Well then, we'll leave you two alone to work things out, and I'll see if I can't
find those blueberries.” He caught Lucy's eye and couldn't help but grin when she
stood, ready to bolt out the door. He could feel the relief he saw in her eyes. “Do
you know of a good blueberry patch close by?”

“
Jah
, of course. Come with me.” As she passed by her
mamm
and sister, Lucy grabbed
a basket off the counter. Manny was glad she didn't stop walking. It would be easy
to get caught up in helping, to stay in the kitchen and cook. Not only would it be
awkward to be in the middle of a family argument, but he couldn't talk to Lucy about
what was on his mind.

When they got outside, Lucy stopped and let out a long breath. “You have the best
timing, Manny!”

“I guess so.” The women's voices grew louder once again, so Manny started walking.

Lucy glanced back at the door as her cheeks grew slightly pink. “They're not always
like this. It's extra hard right now with my
daed
's health and the baby coming soon.
They're both doers, and they can't do anything right now but wait.”

Manny nodded and kept a slow step beside her. Neither of them was in a hurry, and
he was content just to be by her side. He had a lot on his mind and didn't know whether
he should share his thoughts with her now amid all the ruckus going on. As he glanced
over his shoulder toward the
haus,
he debated whether to talk of anything serious.
It might be nice to just enjoy the warm sun on their faces while picking berries
together. “How are you doing?”

“My body is ready, but not my mind. It's overwhelming to think of raising this little
one alone.” She held up a hand before he could reply. “I know you're thinking that
because I have a dozen women around me, I don't have anything to worry about, but
ultimately this is my baby, no one else's. I'm solely responsible for the little
one. Dressing, sleeping, feeding, and not to mention keeping her in good health.”

She stopped for a moment, and he noticed her scar. He had gotten used to seeing the
light pink color, but something was different about it. Was the color fading? Was
the scar smaller? But when he thought about it, he wondered whether it was simply
because she wasn't trying to hide it like she used to.

Lucy looked over at him and immediately covered her cheek when she noticed he was
staring.

“I didn't mean to stare. But believe me, I'm used to it
myself.” He pointed to his
blue eye and then his brown one. “It's funny how people stare, isn't it?”

She smiled and dropped her hand to her side. “You usually don't . . . at least,
not to me.”

“It doesn't matter to me. If anything, I think it makes you more interesting.” That
was true, but he hadn't thought he'd ever tell her and hoped he hadn't offended her.

“I guess we're both misfits.” She gave him a bright smile, so he knew she was okay
talking about the subject. “It's changed over the last few months.” She wrinkled
her forehead in thought. “Or so it seems, anyway.”

“Either way, it's what makes you special. You just don't like to stand out for any
reason.” He watched her intently to see how she was accepting his words.

“
Jah
. I don't, but it doesn't seem as important as it used to when . . . he was around.”
She looked straight ahead.

“He still bothers you?” He was digging deep now, and maybe it was out of line, but
he wanted to know what she was going through. It hadn't been that long since he'd
met her, and he was amazed at how his feelings for her had grown. The two of them
had a lot in common, and she had always responded openly to him, so he thought he
was safe with the question.

“
Jah
, he does still bother me. Some days I expect him to walk through the back door.”
She cringed and looked over at a large green bush spotted with berries. “Here's a
good blueberry bush.”

They were almost a month too late for many of them to pick. Most were dark blue,
overly ripe. He walked around to the back of the large bush where the sun was not
as intense. “There are quite a few back here.” He pointed to them as she walked to
where he was standing.

“All we need is a few to put on the pancakes. This should be more than enough. If
nothing else, it was a good excuse to take a walk.” She didn't look at him as she
said it, but he detected a smile before she bent down to pick some berries from near
the bottom. When she tried to stand, she stopped and put down a hand to lift herself
up. He grabbed her by the arm and helped her.

“
Danke
, I didn't realize how hard it's become to stand up.”

He chuckled. “I think you're more pregnant than you realize. It might be time for
you to just rest until the baby comes.”

She started shaking her head before he could finish the sentence. “That would make
the time go too slowly. And besides, I couldn't let everyone wait on me day and night.”

He shook his head. As meek as Lucy was, she was just as stubborn. “Then you leave
me no choice.”

“And what's that?” She stopped picking and put one fist on her hip.

“To be your personal escort.” The adrenaline began to flow just thinking about what
he had planned to say to her. Excuses started springing up before he could stop and
think through a single one.

“Manny?”

Her sweet voice broke the string of words bouncing around in his mind, and he let
out a long cleansing breath.

“Are you all right?”

He wiped the sweat from his brow and nodded. “I'm . . . fine.” With the moment gone,
he decided it must not be the right time. Nothing good could come from the anxiety
he'd just felt. It had to be
Gott
's time, and he would have to wait. To distract
her from his strange behavior, he
took a few steps away and grabbed a handful of
lilac. He came back and handed them to her. “I get a little out of sorts when I'm
around you.”