Emma didn’t know what to say when Danny stopped, turned, and looked at her. She raised her shoulders up, then down. Perhaps he could dig to the left.
But Mary Ann had other ideas. “Best see what that is.” Her eyes twinkled, and Emma suddenly realized her mamm knew what was buried.
She stepped forward to help Danny. Together they dug around the object and lifted it from its hiding place. The thing was rectangular in shape, approximately the size of a large book, heavy, and sealed shut with a combination lock.
Danny handed the box to her. She dusted the dirt off and carried it to Mary Ann.
“It’s not for me, Emma. It’s for you.”
“For me?”
“Ya. I’ve been waiting until the time was right.”
“And it’s right now?”
Mary Ann reached forward and patted her hand. “Open it.” She gave Emma the combination. And how had she remembered that for so many years? But then, Mary Ann’s mind had always been clear. It was her body that was failing.
Danny had followed Emma over to stand next to her mamm. He bumped his shoulder against hers. “Ya, open it, Emma. I’ve seen a lot of things in my travels, but never treasure buried on an Amish farm.”
“It’s not trea—” The word hung in her throat when she saw what was in the box. She pulled out the clear, weather-proof sack. It looked like a Ziploc bag but was made of a heavier material. What was inside had been wrapped in wax paper, now crinkled and yellow.
Emma sat on the ground at Mary Ann’s feet and pulled the large bundle out of the bag, then unwrapped the paper.
“There’re hundreds of dollars here.”
“Thousands, actually.”
“What? How? Mamm, where did this come from?”
“Let’s have some tea.” Mary Ann stood and Danny instantly moved to her side. “Tea and maybe one of your cookies. Then I’ll answer all of your questions.”
Danny reached for Emma’s hand, helping her up off the ground. When their fingers touched, electricity zipped up her arm. Emma felt confused, more confused than she was about the money.
But instead of asking questions, she followed Mary Ann into the house, put the water to boil, and set out tea, cream, sugar, and cookies. Within ten minutes, they were all gathered around the table. Mary Ann sipped her lemon tea, nibbled on a gingersnap, and then began to tell her story.
“You know about the war. You both have heard the old ones talk of it.”
Emma glanced at Danny, and they both nodded. War was not discussed often in their gatherings or their families, but occasionally the topic would come up. When it did, the older folks would describe how they had made it through the years of conscription and service.
Ben’s father, Eldon, had been eighty-nine when he died. Emma quickly did the math and realized he was probably eligible for service when he was eighteen, during World War II.
“Eldon had the opportunity to serve with the CPS,” Emma said.
“Civilian Public Service.” Danny ignored the cookies, something he didn’t normally do. His fingers tapped against the kitchen table. No doubt he was wishing for a pen so he could take notes. “Many conscientious objectors ended up working on public service projects—Amish, Mennonite, Quakers, even Methodists.”
“We had just married.” Mary Ann stared into her tea, a smile forming at the corners of her eyes. “I thought I would die when he packed his bag to leave, but in the end, Gotte used that time to bless us. Now I want it to bless you.”
“Slow down a minute.” Emma reached for the strings of her prayer kapp and ran her fingers from top to bottom. The familiar gesture calmed her jumpy nerves. “He worked in the service, versus going to war—”
“Or to jail.” Danny’s eyebrow arched when she glanced over at him.
“Eldon was assigned to a wildlife camp, tending quail that would later be released in state parks. That was the first year. The second year he worked at a tree farm.”
“I didn’t think they were paid for their service.” Danny finally reached for a cookie, but he didn’t eat it, opting instead to break it into pieces on his plate.
“They weren’t. Many families struggled because of this, but Jeremiah, Eldon’s father, was always looking for an opportunity to better the farm. During the Great Depression, Jeremiah had planted large fields of mint.”
“It was quite the cash crop during the 1930s.”
“And continued to be for many years. By the time Eldon had left for the CPS camp, Jeremiah was still making a good profit from the crop. Companies used it to make toothpaste, gum, candy, even food flavoring. We conserved our resources, as everyone did during the war, even though we were doing well with the crops. When Eldon returned from the CPS camp, his father gave him one-third of the profits from those years.”
“One-third because—”
“Because there were three brothers. All had served in various camps. Jeremiah thought they could use the money to get started with their families, once they returned.”
“So why didn’t you use it?”
“Eldon and I didn’t need the money to start a home. We stayed here, stayed with his parents. He was the oldest, and it was his responsibility. He told me a few weeks after he returned that he didn’t mind serving in the CPS. He missed me and his parents, but he was convinced Gotte used that time away from home to mature him. However, he also felt the money from his father was tainted somehow. He was adamant that he didn’t want to begin our life together with proceeds made during the war.”
“So you buried the money?” The story made no sense to Emma. Who buried money and left it for nearly seventy years?
“Ya. We buried it beneath the bench—”
“And near the mint.” Danny wore a satisfied expression, as if he’d successfully solved a mystery.
“We didn’t want to forget where it was, and we knew that sometimes old people have memory problems.”
The clock on the wall ticked as Emma considered all Mary Ann had said. Danny finally began to eat his crumbled gingersnap, then reached for another.
Emma stared at the stack of bills in the box, which now sat in the middle of the kitchen table. “This is a lot of money, Mamm. All of it came from a mint crop?”
“Nein. You will also find war bonds in the stack.”
“War bonds?” She was beginning to feel dizzy.
“Everyone was encouraged to buy war bonds in those days. The local Mennonite community helped us to choose which bonds were not specifically used for war purposes. That way we could help our neighbors but not betray our convictions.”
Emma reached forward and flipped through the stack. Finding one of the war bonds, she pulled it out and placed it on the table. “Why didn’t you cash them in?”
Mamm smiled and sipped her tea.
Danny offered an explanation. “War bonds were given a ten-year extension, up to forty years.”
“Can these still be cashed?”
“Sure. I met a man in Pennsylvania who would take some into his bank once a year. He used it to pay the taxes on his land. A twenty-five dollar bond issued during World War II is worth approximately one hundred dollars today.”
“But these are hundred-dollar bonds—”
“We had no children when Eldon left.” Mamm stared out the kitchen window. “At first the days seemed so long. Then I began to work in the garden and to sew. I sold the handmade items and canned goods at the local mercantile, and I used the money to buy the bonds.”
Emma sipped her tea and tried to process all she was hearing.
“When Eldon returned, we placed the bonds in the box, added Jeremiah’s money, and buried it in the garden.”
“And you were never tempted to dig it up?”
“Gotte has provided all these years.” Mamm sat back and sipped her tea.
Emma stared at Danny, but he said nothing, content to smile back at her. This wasn’t his family history that had been dug up, but something made her think that it involved him. After all, Mary Ann had chosen to reveal her secret when Danny was present. That couldn’t be a coincidence.
Closing her eyes, she pulled in a deep breath. Then she opened her eyes, sat up straighter, and asked the question that had bothered her since Danny’s shovel struck metal.
“Why now?”
“I have a feeling you and Danny are going to need it.”
Emma nearly choked on the sip of tea she’d taken. “Me and Danny?”
“Ya.”
Danny’s grin widened and Emma’s cheeks warmed to the color of the red roses yet to bloom in the garden.
“Mamm, why would we . . . Danny and I aren’t . . . That is . . .”
Stuffing an entire gingersnap into his mouth, Danny didn’t help her out at all.
“The Lord is calling you, calling both of you.” Now Mary Ann leaned forward and pinned Emma and Danny with her gaze. “He’s doing something important on this little piece of land, and you two are going to be in charge of it.”
“I don’t—”
“Can’t you see? Gotte brought Danny home. He brought Joseph to us. And soon there will be others. The money has been cleansed by nearly seventy years of rain and sunshine. Now it’s time for you to use what we have to bless others.”
It occurred to Emma at that moment that perhaps Mary Ann did have a concussion, but her eyes were clear and a smile continued to play across her lips. The money on the table was certainly real, though Emma had no idea how much it totaled.
“Don’t worry.” Mary Ann reached forward and patted her hand.
“But I don’t understand what—”
“You don’t need to. Gotte will provide the answers and the direction you need.”
With that, she stood, waving away their offer to help. Leaning on her cane, she stumped down the hall to her new bedroom.
Danny and Emma stared at each other for one minute, then two. Finally he cleared his throat. “She’s something else, Mary Ann is.”
“I think maybe my mamm has misunderstood our relationship.”
“Maybe.” He smiled down into his mug of hot tea. “And maybe not.”
Emma didn’t know what to say to that, so she remained silent.
What was the money for?
What were they to do with it?
Had it actually been buried in the garden since the 1940s?
Danny seemed in no hurry to go, and Shadow was still in the barn with Joseph.
Unable to resist, she pulled the bundle toward her and ran her fingers along the time-worn string that bound it.
“Want to help me count?” She suddenly felt emboldened. They had never been poor. Even since Ben had died, they’d been able to meet their financial needs with what was saved.
But this?
With this stack of money they had different options available to them. They could use it to help other people. She wondered if Ben had known. What would he have advised her to do? Then she looked up at Danny, and somehow knew he understood what she was thinking.
He reached over and squeezed her hand.
Together, they cut the string surrounding the bills and began to count.