Abram's Daughters: The Betrayal Part 2

She exhaled sharply and headed downstairs, refusing to dwell on her fears for another minute. In the kitchen she laid out the flour, sugar, and all the necessary ingredients for the mouthwatering pies. As she did she thought ahead to the next Preaching service to be held here this weekend. Two hundred and more church members would come from a four-squaremile radius to gather where Abram's own father the respected Bishop Ebersol had raised this stone house as a shelter for his family and as a house of worship amongst the People. Hopefully, by then Lizzie's urgency could be put to rest. Ida made a mental note to talk with Abram about it once again.

41/deiraual I1 "

ill H Bit*, vviili a bucket of soapy water in hand, set about to own I be bedroom walls, helping Mamma cleanse the it w;t'i I heir custom, creating a holy place for the SunBudiinj;. "Might as well get a head start on some heavy f," she'd told Mamma at the noon meal, ft* ii i;iit thing to make hay while the sun shines, too," Ml liiuI .said in pa.s.sing, somewhat inattentive. Kit' was relieved to have the afternoon alone. Her twin mwir downstairs dusting, sweeping, washing floors, and uv, These days it was best on her nerves to have absoliuiili', though that was next to impossible with seven I in ihe house. She had been suffering such a peculiar Bhc up and down her forearms, confiding it only to Aunt nrliiT this summer.

Kill a surprise to discover Lizzie's remedy was to carry H a live-pound sack of potatoes, much the size of a wee lL-u and behold, when she did so, Sadie found it truly Ihcr pain. Accordingly, she clasped the potatoes quite .mil ever so gently while spending time at Lizzie's away tnmma's eyes.

ulo from frequent walks up to Lizzie's place, Sadie preI in spend her "alone" hours cleaning for Mamma or 11; and weeding the vegetable garden, along with visits Ii m >r lo the Dawdi Haus to chat with Dawdi John. "day she wholeheartedly threw herself into her work, i ii ! back now and again to see if she'd covered every inch of the light gray walls. The bedroom windows nrxi on her list of things to do. She'd already decided to ilu'in single-handedly. No need asking for help from i.ih and Mary Ruth, not when they had plenty to keep 41 42 )i'"c//// .L-. e w> L s I'll ';!. ! I ilicm occupied downstairs. As for Leah, she'd hurried out the hack door and headed up toward the mule road, as if going to visit Aunt Lizzie.

But Sadie was schmaerder. It didn't take much effort to figure out Leah these days. All of them a.s.sumed she was going off to the woods to write to her beau. Just so she kept her promise and didn't reveal Sadie's wild rumschpringe to Jonas Mast. Both Leah and Lizzie had vowed to keep quiet, but Sadie had heard recently that her former sidekick, Naomi Kauffman, was said to be weary of flirting with the world. She was even taking baptismal instruction right along with Leah, preparing to join church. Of all things.1 Sadie didn't appreciate Naomi setting herself up as "holier than thou," which she certainly seemed to think she was here lately. And why? Just because she'd been far more careful than Sadie or plain lucky and hadn't gotten caught. Besides, Naomi's unexpected turn had more to do with Luke Bontrager, who was awful sweet on her, than most anything else. Of this Sadie was fairly sure.

If Naomi was to become the bride of the bishop's grandson, she had some fast confessing to do. Now, wasn't that a howdy-do.7 It was all fine and dandy for Naomi to make amends, turn her life around, and plan for a future as an upstanding young woman, so long as she kept Sadie out of it. Hopefully, Naomi didn't know the half about Sadie's fling, but what did she know? And if she started spilling the beans, what then? After all, Naomi had continued to see Derry's friend Melvin Warner after that first meeting at the Strasburg cafe. Derry had told Sadie this on several occasions, and she a.s.sumed it was true. . ...

43Tlfie betrayal Mj'lwi Sadie was finished with the three upstairs bed' H lie moved to the hallway and commenced to do the iv.uhing down walls, scrubbing mopboards, and mash^Khw stray spiders as she went. Her thoughts flew to Aunt ^m MM hc worked. The past few weeks, Sadie had been dis^ftd. Not only had her aunt changed her mind and ^1 adamant about her staying put, Lizzie was now saying ^iJii'l think Sadie needed a change of scenery after all. ^Brm't you see?" Lizzie had insisted. "Your father's cover^TiIII hlessing are mighty important. If you would but coni Preacher and the membership, you'd be pardoned by j ople." Aunt Lizzie went on to quote her favorite Scripj' '(jodly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation ... but j I row of the world worketh death.'" I 'lill^ed to listen, Sadie felt hot under the bonnet when Inii Lizzie talked so pointedly.

45-J^-1/<2- jlif.'us't,="" !="" wiirm="" to="" stay="" indoors="" a="" second="" longer,="" mary="" ruth="" i="" hillside="" for="" a="" breather="" on="" the="" back="" stoop.="" king,="" the="" w="" shepherd="" puppy,="" came="" scampering="" across="" the="" yard="" to="" gi=""> I imh. Her skirt was mud spattered as she stooped to pet tli !,(, ii curious yet kindly gift from Gid Peachey last spring. I >l ing this, Mary Ruth smiled as Leah hurried toward the Ju y the clog panting as he followed close on her heels. B hilln, Mary Ruth. I missed you!" Leah said. H uy Ruth hoped Leah wouldn't go running off to help H ht when she had a question to ask. "Didja get caught K ruin?" H ill's face reddened. "No ... I found shelter."

H ;liing, Mary Ruth decided not to beat round the bush.

Hi Kg1 il liother you that Dat doesn't approve of you marryin'

I' "

Hj I ill seemed a bit startled by the question, but she met ^Miy Kulh's gaze with a gentle smile. "Does it bother you?' ^M IWsliif; there, Mary Ruth was aware of Leah's sweetness 46 f in Revert* e u, I s j !l ! once again ... her fine hazel eyes with tiny gold flecks, thr : dark curve of her long lashes, the way her expression seemed to radiate trustfulness, even goodness. Yet Leah was intent on ignoring Dat's wishes in order to become Jonas Mast's bride.

11 None of it added up.il i"

I I ' "Doesn't bother me in the least," she replied at last. "I'm '"il just tryin' to understand."i i1 , Leah burst into a full smile. "That's what makes you so i:i'M special. You have a gift of understanding, I daresay."

i j il' 11 [[ Mary Ruth couldn't help herself; she actually choked a little and tears welled up. "Much good that does me ..."

i Leah was staring now, wearing a concerned frown. "What is it, Mary Ruth? Why are you cryin'?"

"Just thinkin', I guess." She forged ahead and stuck her i neck out. "I hope you'll follow your heart. Have the courage I i to marry the boy you love."

i il i, i Leah's eyelids fluttered. "Didja think I might not?"

i jj j : Turning quickly, Mary Ruth looked over her shoulder, ! j ii Ji toward the barn. "Dat, well ... he's made it mighty clear here 1 jj! lately that it's Gideon Peachey who's the right beau for you.

I :> He's said as much to all of us."

; i i "Dat has?"

j,. : "He said 'if only Leah knew Gid the way I know him.'

' I, Things like that. And he said he was weary of keepin' it to II :, j, himself any longer after these many years."

II "Jah, I know that to be true, the years he's stewed about

4.

j She felt she ought to say one more thing. "Mamma's not !! [I so much in favor of Gid, though. Just so you know."

I'l "You sure?"

46 47(_. h e lOeirayal ^Hlllim;' prefers Jonas, seems to me." Now she struggled ^H$ ft si might face. "She thinks your children will be ^Inunlsorne if you marry into the Mast family."Will why's that?"

I t ills has a right fine nose. Gut-lookin' all round, he is." i Hulli sighed. "I don't mean to say Smithy Gid isn't inc1, I li-'s just more rugged lookin', I guess you could I lirrriis Jonas is "

iiU Iv.iiulsome and strong in body and mind? Is that j nil mean?" Leah had her now, and her sister's eyes j-i us il with glee. Sadie and Mamma sometimes grew ji n Miiry Ruth's too-talkative nature, but Leah never i> tin mind.

' Ji continued. "When it comes to certain things, no > Iiiivv defiant a choice might seem to others, if you m your heart you were meant for somethin' or some- 11 u-ii, I believe, 'tis best to be true to that."hi mt'nn it?"

i ih nodded. "I've seen how you throw yourself into your i Iwork, You're a scholar, ain't? When the time comes, t'll li.ivr the couf.a.ge to make the right decision. You'll sim- li ivc lo put your hand to the plow and refuse to look I.

l ity Ruth's emotions threatened to overtake her again. in i. n due sister and friend, Leah," she managed through i-US, lw:iys remember that." Leah smiled, reaching to hug

47 48.

-Lu J2e

Sadie headed toward the kitchen for a gla.s.s of cold water, so awful hot it was upstairs. But before she stepped foot in there, she happened to overhear Leah talking to Mamma as they baked pies. Leah was saying she and Aunt Lizzie h;ul taken shelter in a little hunter's shack on the hillock thai morning. "The place was old and run-down like nothing you've ever seen," Leah said softly. "Right peculiar, I must say. Up there in the middle of nowhere, but it kept us safe and dry till the rain pa.s.sed."

Sadie felt her throat constrict. Anguished memories rushed back and she was helpless to stop them. For all she cared, the shanty was good for one thing and only one: kindling.

Leah was frowning at Sadie now, catching her eye. "What? Did 1 say somethin' wrong?"

Himmel! she thought, not realizing how far she'd inched herself into the kitchen. There she was, standing in the doorway listening, evidently with a pained expression on her face. "Aw ... no," she gasped. "I guess I'm surprised both you anil Aunt Lizzie got caught in such a cloudburst, that's all. Usually, Lizzie can tell by smellin' the air if rain's a-comin'." She paused momentarily, then "Looks to me like the bottom of your hem got awful grimy on your way back home."

Leah looked down at herself and seemed to agree she was in need of a good scrubbing. "But it won't do to wash up and change clothes now." She thanked Mamma for such helpful pointers with the pies, saying she hoped they tasted as good as they smelled, then scurried off toward the barn.

Sadie briefly followed after Leah. She stood in the open back door, staring out through the screen. She caught a49lO e t r a y a

if nl I lio bottom of her sister's bare feet as she ran to the Milking the cows, was something Sadie knew little ii '"Hid, she'd helped Dat here and there occasionally, but Lj> i pinch. Yet with Leah's wedding coming up soon,i- > i worried sick she might have to take her tomboy 1 .l,ii'.e outdoors with Dat. She was fond enough of her I, I "it there was no way she was willing to do the kind of Bvvi'ik Leah did and cheerfully at that. Besides, she I u hnvc been marrying first.

tuimiii broke the stillness. "Sadie, would you mind til* Lycliiinn's diaper?"

nv yiwped inwardly. "Aw ... must I, Mamma? I still have p tu linish... ." Her legs felt as rubbery as the inflatable Bli I -motors, so forbidden by the bishop.

Pttliunfl appeared to lapse into a gray mood, and her I'liie eyes seemed to look right through Sadie ... to the I lior heart. "Why is it you're not so lovin' toward your rii-r anymore?" Mamma's voice wavered. "When she i,ii ill-new, you were ever so helpful then."

H I in May, when Lydiann was first born, Mamma had I 'i:idic out Iks the elder sister most mindful of the new "iir. At the time, she'd felt her mother truly suspected lhilij4 was amiss and was hoping to force a confession. So hut I gone along with helping to care for Lydiann, hop- hide the shocking truth.

I 1W, though, she went out of her way to avoid babies and Kpectant mothers in the church community, especially k the common meals that followed Preaching service I other Sunday. At work frolics she sat on the opposite pf the quilting frame from the pregnant women. It just

49 50.

-iu J2, M.

didn't seem fair other women were able to carry their babies to full-term. What was wrong with her?

Scarcely could she stand to be near Mamma anymore. She felt sure her mother was hovering and ready to report her to the ministers. If so, she would be required to offer repentance. "Obey or be shunned" the People's endless refrain.

"A quick diaper change can't hurt none." Mamma's voice jolted her out of her musings.

"In a minute." She reached for a stack of plates to set the table.

When Mamma's back was turned, Sadie hurried outdoors, pretending to walk to the outhouse. She knew Dat and Leah were out milking and, more than likely, could observe her il they were but looking.

Once she reached the outhouse, she turned abruptly and ran to the meadow, dodging cow pies as she picked her way barefoot through the pastureland, muttering to herself all the while.

Kicking at a clump of wild gra.s.s, Sadie raised her head to the sky, studying the clouds and the way the sun shone too hard on the tin roof. Sniffling, she brushed away hot tears.I'm the one black sheep of the family, she thought.

The far-off clanging of the dinner bell gave her pause. She was sorely tempted to keep on walking, never to return. Simply walk away, just as she planned in due time.

Folding her arms tightly, she headed back toward the barnyard and the house, wondering which was worseMamma's disapproving mood ... or her own restless heart?

51.

&-t, 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 G.o.d 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

52.

tu J2t 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 a.n.a.lyzing G.o.d'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 G.o.d. 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 pa.s.sing 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 53Che lOelrayat 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

54.

sister to rise and shine, she felt quite uneasy. She let a few more minutes pa.s.s; 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?"