Chapter 10

The next morning, John and Jim went back to the Bontrager farm to talk to the bishop again. John asked, “Have you made a decision on what to do to get the others to help Jake Jostle?”

Elton said, “We can start on this end of the storm damage and work our way down the road. Maybe when we get to the Jostle place I will be able to change the men's minds.”

By the time the workers stopped for Sunday worship service, the next farm to work at was Hamish Manwiller. The Jostle farm was a neighboring farm to Manwiller and Keim's.

The worship service was at the Bontrager farm. The bishop noticed the Jostle family wasn't greeted or spoken to by many of the members. This unfriendliness had gone on long enough. Soon the Jostle family would decide to quit coming to services. Bishop Bontrager had to find a way to change the minds of the men in his congregation.

The service began with the hymn The Old Rugged Cross. After that hymn finished, Bishop Bontrager asked John Lapp to be the next song leader for Lob Lied. That song was the long one that gave the ministers time to discuss what they wanted to preach about that morning.

The bishop took Preacher Yoder and Deacon Yutzy upstairs to a bedroom. The bishop said, “I have given today's service much thought. What I want to happen is the three of us unite to awaken an understanding in our congregation so we do not have a repeat of what has happened lately. This shunning of the Jostles had gone on long enough. They need to be made feel they are wilcom in this community. Jake Jostle's farm is on the list to repair soon. His farm was one of the hardest hit. He needs help. We need to help him and his sons rebuild and be glad by the grace of God we are able to do so.”

Preacher Yoder said, “I agree.”

Deacon Yutzy nodded.

So the three clergymen came back downstairs and took their seats. The hymn ended. Deacon Yutzy stood before the congregation and lead off by reading scripture from Colossians. “Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

The deacon sat down, and Luke Yoder gave a sermon on how grateful they all should be to God that no lives were lost in the storm. It was a blessing that they were a giving community that looked out for each other and were willing to help their neighbors rebuild.”

Next was Bishop Bontrager's turn. He preached, “The Bible says, A merry heart doeth gute like a medicine. I know how much all of you appreciate humor. After the destructive storm we just suffered, we need reasons to make us laugh.

I have a parable to tell you. I hope it makes you laugh or at least smile. I am telling you this parable to help you understand what is the recht thing to do when we all feel we have a tough decision to make. It is important to help each other like we have all week with our clean up efforts. We need each other at times like these. When the need arises I do not ever want you to think it is not your concern when something bad happens to the other fellow. We are all going to need help at some point in our lives and will appreciate that help.

Now let me tell you about a mouse that lived in a farm house. He watched the farmer and his wife through a hole he gnawed in the wall baseboard.

One day, he saw the farmer and his wife open a package they received in the mailbox.

“What gute food might this contain that I might sample?” The mouse wondered.

The mouse stared as the farmer reached into the box and brought what was in it up to look at. The mouse was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the barn yard as fast as he could, the mouse proclaimed a warning to the red hen as she scratched in the scattered hay for weed seeds, “There is a mousetrap in the house!”

The chicken clucked and continued to scratch in the dirt. The mouse didn't leave. She could see he was waiting for a reply so she raised her head to speak, “Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. That mouse trap is not going to hurt me out here in the barn yard. It is your problem to solve. I have food to find. I cannot be bothered by what worries you.”

The mouse turned and saw the pig root by the fence. He ran to the pig and told him, “There is a mousetrap in the house!”

The pig sympathized, “I am so very sorry to hear that, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray for your safety. You be very careful from now on. Be assured you are in my prayers.”

The cow was grazing in her grassy pen. The mouse turned to her for help. “There is a mousetrap in the house!”

The cow said, “How terrible, Mr. Mouse. I’m sorry for you, but that news means nothing to me. It is your problem.”

So the mouse scurried back to the house, head down and dejected. He had to face the farmer’s mousetrap alone.

That very night, a sound was heard throughout the house as the mousetrap snapped, catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed from her bed to see what she caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous copperhead that had slipped in under the screen door. His tail was all the trap caught. Before she could back away from him, the snake bit the farmer’s wife on the leg. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever. The farmer put her to bed.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup. Recht? So the farmer took his hatchet to the barn yard for the soup’s main ingredient. He butchered the nice, red laying hen. Remember, she said the mouse's problem was of no consequence to her.

The farmer's wife’s sickness continued to worsen as the snake's poison spread through her system. Friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. Remember the pig refused to do no more than pray for the mouse.

When the farmer’s wife died, many people came for her funeral. The farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for a lunch for all of them. Remember the cow told Mr. Mouse that the danger was his problem. Not hers.

The mouse looked upon all that happened to his barn yard neighbors from his hole in the wall baseboard with great sadness. “If only my neighbors had helped me get rid of the mousetrap the loss of their lives could have been prevented.”

Bishop Bontrager shook his finger at everyone in the room. “The moral to this story is very clear. The next time you hear someone is facing a problem, and you think it doesn’t concern you, remember, when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved together in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another to do the recht things by our neighbors. An example is how we lend a hand to help each other. Such as recht now when the tornado caused so much damage. Each of us is a vital thread in other people's life tapestry.”

After Bishop Bontrager sat down, Preacher Yoder stood up. He added to the bishop's parable. “Sind unser hend voll bluth? Can you recall any other time your hands were covered with blood, because you would not help another human being in his time of need?”

Members of the congregation nodded no.

“Gute, then think now before you refuse that help to another person in this community that needs of our help. Kneel to pray about this and say a word to God for all these families that had damage done to their farms. We are not done yet, lending our aid to others. Some still need our help and prayers through this coming week and maybe the next one after that. We need to do God's biding and help them.”

After lunch was served, Emma went looking for Adam. She caught up with him just in time. He had hitched Sophie up to the buggy.

“Adam Keim, you stop recht where you are. I want to talk to you before you leave,” Emma hissed.

Adam looked puzzled. He pulled his notepad out of his pocket and wrote, “I was just coming to find you. I want to show you something. Want to come for a ride with me?”

“Nah, you go for a walk with me,” Emma commanded.

Adam nodded and started down the driveway.

Emma grabbed his arm. “Not that way. Everyone can see us. We're going behind Jane's chicken house where we can talk in private.”

Adam smiled, thinking pleasant thoughts about what would happen when he was out of sight with her.

Once they were behind the chicken house, Emma took a deep breath and turned to face him. “I want to know what is going on with you, and I want to know recht now.”

Adam seemed surprised by her angry tone as he shrugged.

“Do not play dumb with me. Did your mother tell you I have been worried about you?”

Adam nodded yes. He wavered his hand in a question.

“Want me to give you some reasons why I am worried?”

Adam nodded yes.

Emma eyed him critically. “Why is it really that for weeks you have stayed as far away from me as you can? I am thinking it is not because of a lot of work like everyone tells me including you. That never stopped you from calling on me before. Do you want to marry me or not?”

Adam expression revealed nothing as he nodded yes.

“You are very sure you are not trying to find a way to back out? Maybe you just do not have the nerve to say so to my face?” Emma accused.

Adam nodded a slow no. He wrote on his pad, “I have been very busy.”

Emma lifted her chin and hid her trembling hands in the deep folds of her skirt. “I am glad you have a successful business. Did Priscilla tell you I stopped by the shop?”

Adam nodded yes, leveling a penetrating gaze on her.

“Tell me why our apartment has not been worked on over the shop. You cannot possibly get the work done now before the wedding. Where do you expect us to live if you plan to marry me?”

“I have that solved. Do not worry,” Adam wrote.

“Worry is all I do lately. You are never around anymore. I cannot talk to you to find out what problem is solved and what isn't. That is enough to make me worry about all sorts of things. Ideas that I do not want in my head are tumbling around in there, and I have not been able to talk to you,” Emma complained.

Adam's face wore a patience look as he wrote, “I am sorry I worried you.”

“You should be. Does it not matter to you that I miss you being with me most of all. That I would worry about you when I have not seen you for days? Do you realize that?”

Adam watched her for a long minute, his expression unreadable. Finally, he nodded yes.

“Gute! Now are you sure you want to marry me? After all, Priscilla gets to see you more than I have in weeks,” Emma said.

Adam straightened up away from the building with a scowl as he scribbled quickly, “What does Priscilla have to do with anything?”

“She is a constant source of temptation. It is very clear that Bobby cannot resist her. Maybe you cannot, either, now that you see her every day,” Emma accused as she stared into his eyes, sparking with anger.

Adam shook his head slowly as if he didn't believe what he heard come out of Emma's mouth.

Emma stomped her foot and raised her voice. “I am serious.”

Adam studied her for a long minute. He could see she meant the accusation. His face flushed fiery red as he wrote, “You wait until now after all these years we have been together to tell me you do not trust me to love only you. You think I am the kind of man that says he will marry you and back out because of another woman without telling you.” He thrust the note at her.

Emma read it. “I do not want to think those things. No matter what is wrong between us, I want to hear the truth from you.”

“I did not realize there was anything wrong between us. If you do not think any more of my trust and love than this, you better make up your mind if you want me for a husband. You give more thought to what kind of man you think I really am. If I am as bad as you think, you are the one who should call the wedding off. I am going home. You know where to find me. You make up your mind what you want to do, and come let me know. I WILL NOT COME TO YOU.” Adam slapped the note into her hand. His back was stiff with anger as he stalked off.

Emma read through her tears the blurred message. She slid down the chicken house wall to the ground and wiped the tears on her face with her sleeve. She hadn't ever seen Adam this angry before. She didn't think she'd ever be able to erase the wounded look on his face from her memory. That was enough to make her realize she might have been wrong about Adam's faithfulness to her

What had she just done? Bishop Bontrager was right. She was a doubting Thomas. She expected Adam to prove he loved her, and that he was faithful to her. Why hadn't she just believed in him? As hurt as Adam was now, he may never forgive her. She was destine to be a maidel, and it was all her fault.

Emma dried her eyes on her skirt hem and stood up. She wanted to get past the house and curl up in the enclosed buggy away from everyone. She knew she looked terrible with puffy eyes and tear streaked face, and she just couldn't face questions now.

Later that afternoon, the family gathered at the buggy to leave. They were surprised to see Emma already seated inside.

Hal said, “We wondered where you were.”

Emma looked out the back window to avoid Hal's gaze. “I did not feel gute, so I laid down on the seat for awhile.”

“What seems to be wrong?” Hal asked, feeling her forehead.

“I just need to rest for awhile,” Emma said wearily.

When supper was ready, Hal went to Emma's room to check on her. Emma said she didn't feel well enough to come down for supper. Hal offered to bring up a plate of food, but Emma said she wasn't hungry.

Hal could see Emma didn't have any physical symptoms of an illness. However, something was diffidently wrong with her.

 

The next morning, Bishop Bontrager instructed one of crews to go with him to the Jostle farm to work. The men didn't balked at the idea. When they got there, Jake greeted them. They shook hands with him and went to work along side Jake and his boys, rebuilding the blown down structures.

That evening at supper, John and Jim told the women that the bishop's sermon really helped. Jim talked about how great it was that the Amish men banded together to help the strange family without complaining. When John checked on their progress later in the day, he said the men were talking to Jake like they had always been friendly with him. What they didn't get done by evening, the men told Jake they would be back to finish the next day.

John said, “The buildings are smaller than the old ones, but they will do for the Jostle family to get them started again.”

“That is a cute, little chicken house. Now all Mrs. Jostle needs is some more chickens to put in it,” Jim added.

Emma perked up. “I can give her a crate of mine to get her started.”

“That would be great,” John told her.

Tootie said, “How far that little candle throws his beam so shines a good deed in a weary world.”

Nora's head went back. “Where did that come from?”

Tootie replied to her sister as if Nora should have known. “Don't you ever read William Shakespeare?”

 

The next few days, Emma moped. She didn't speak much while she worked. Finally one morning, Hal could see Emma was upset enough she wasn't going to get over whatever it was, and she was past the point of just missing Adam.

Emma dried the plates and put them in the cupboard. She dried the kettles, stacked them and placed them on top the plates. Hal waited until Emma's back was turned and put the kettles in the pan cupboard.

Hal handed Emma the scrap pail to empty to the cats in the barn. Emma dumped it in front of the chicken house. She left the pail in the chicken yard and came back empty handed.

Hal put a kettle of vegetable soup on the back of the cookstove to simmer. She asked Emma to get her the salt box. Emma brought her the pepper container.

Hal decided she'd waited long enough for the girl's disposition to change. She took the paring knife away from Emma and handed it to her mother. “Mom, you finish peeling the apples. Emma and I are going for a walk.”

Emma started to shake her head no.

“Jah, recht now,” Hal said sternly, pointing at the back door. She didn't mean to sound as if she was ordering a child around, even though Emma had acted like one for some time now.

Hal was content to walk in silence down the lane until they were away from the house. She looked back to make sure they were far enough away. “Spill it. What's bothering you?”

“I do not want to talk about it,” Emma grumbled, focusing on the turning pumpkins in the vine covered patch at the edge of the cornfield to avoid looking at Hal.

“Your father told me Sunday afternoon Adam come from behind Jane Bontrager's chicken house without you. He was really upset. Left right away your father said. I take it the two of you had a disagreement.”

“Sort of.”

“Is that anything like being sort of pregnant? I didn't want to butt in, but Adam hasn't been back to make up. So I'm asking. I might be able to help if you explain what happened. Keep in mind you only have a few weeks until the wedding. This is not a gute time to stay mad at each other.”

“There may not be a wedding.” Emma snapped, watching her bare feet.

Hal stepped in front of Emma and grabbed her by the shoulders to make her stop walking. “Look at me. What are you telling me?”

“As mad as Adam is at me, he is not going to marry me,” Emma moaned.

“You didn't think your family needed to know the wedding is off. We have worked hard to prepare a nice wedding for you two,” Hal scolded.

“Ach! I did not know what to do,” cried Emma. “I kept hoping Adam might cool down before I had to say the wedding was off.”

“All recht, why is Adam that mad at you?”

Emma took a deep breath and studied Hal with tear filled eyes. “Remember when I talked to Bishop Bontrager about my worries, because I didn't see Adam anymore.”

“Jah, and that didn't help?”

Emma nodded her head sideways. “The bishop did not have any sympathy for me. I told you he called me a doubting Thomas. I never really understood why the bishop said that even though he explained the bible verses to me. Not until yesterday anyway, after I cornered Adam behind the chicken house. I opened my big mouth and stuck both feet into it. By the time I realized I had done the wrong thing, it was too late.”

Hal looked very stern. “Fudge! What did you say?”

“I accused Adam of not wanting to marry me. I said that was why he stays away. Not because he is so busy working. I accused him of hiring Priscilla, because he likes her more than he should and wanted her around every day.”

“Fudge! How awful for that sweet man. Emma you should be ashamed of yourself,” Hal scolded.

Emma's shoulders sagged. “I am now that it is too late.”

“You go to Adam recht away. Tell him you're sorry.”

“I cannot do that. He told me I needed to take time to think about what I accused him of. If I did not trust him any better that that, we should not get married. He said it was up to me to find him and tell him I did not want to marry him.”

“All recht, you have thought about this and know what you want so go to him.”

Emma shook her head. “It has probably not been long enough to let Adam cool down. You did not see how hurt and angry he was.”

“I can imagine. I'm glad I didn't see him after you ran him through the wringer. What are you going to do now? You do want to marry Adam, don't you?”

“Jah, I do. I love Adam. Still, I do not know what has been wrong with him. He has acted strange all summer. First, I cannot catch up to him to talk to him so I worried. That is when all sorts of bad thoughts came to me. Adam did not answer me when I accused him of trying to get out of marrying me. I still do not know if I am recht or wrong about some of the things I said to him.”

“It seems really strange to me that after Adam and you have been so close for so long that his feelings would change over night. Don't you think that would be unlikely to happen?”

Emma's lips flattened together as she thought. “Jah, it does not seem like the Adam I know and love.”

“Sure, now if you really trust him you need to tell him you were wrong. Ask him to forgive you. Sooner or later, Adam will give you the answers you want when he isn't mad at you anymore. The most likely one is he has been busy all summer as he said, working to build a nest egg for the two of you. How sad it is that you'd accuse that hard working man of doing something untrustworthy. He adores you.”

“Ach, that does make sense when you say it. I just cannot go see him yet. Adam was so angry he does not want to see or talk to me now.” Emma sniffed, trying not to cry.

“Well, give him a little time to cool off. That may help some, but keep in mind, you don't have much time left. When he starts missing you and realizes the wedding date is soon, maybe he'll come talk to you.”

Emma shook her head. “Nah, Adam is not coming back. I tell you, you should have seen his face. It turned to red stone. He scratched his last words in big capital letters. “I will not come to you.”

“So you go to him. I'd say you should have to after what you accused Adam of doing. Swallow that pride for the sake of the man you love. If you remember, I had to come face your father and talk to him to get him to marry me after I turned down his marriage proposal. If I could do that, you can, too.”

Emma said sullenly, “That was different.”

“Nah, it wasn't that much different. Your father wouldn't confide in me about what had taken place in your family, concerning your mother. That bothered me. I told him I wouldn't marry him if he kept secrets from me. I thought I meant that. Then I missed him so much. I knew I loved him, and I knew the gentle, caring man your father was. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.

So I came here to tell your father I'd marry him without knowing the family secrets. Do you think it was easy for me to swallow my pride and face your father with that admission? Nah, but I had to do it, because it was the recht thing to do for your father and me.

With a little encouragement from you, John told me what happened to your mother, before he married me even though he no longer had to tell me. So you see there is probably a happy ending for Adam and you, because you love each other. It is up to you to make it happen, Emma, by showing him you really trust him no matter what awful things you were thinking and said to him.”

“I have to think about this,” Emma said as she turned around at the hayfield and headed back to the house.

The next morning after kitchen clean up, the women had a second cup of coffee while they discussed their plans for the day.

Nora said, “Emma, has there been any change with Adam?”

“Nah.”

“Mom, I told her she's going to have to trust him with the same blind faith we have in our husbands,” Hal said.

“Yes, I agree.”

Emma snapped, “You both are so sure of your faith in your husbands. Did you know they lied to you not once but twice recently?”

“Holy buckets!” Tootie exclaimed, her eyes wide.

“Emma!” Hal snapped, setting her cup down hard. “You shouldn't talk about your father and grandfather like that.”

Nora looked shocked. “What makes you say a thing like that?”

“At the quilting frolic, I mentioned to Roseanna Nisely that Samuel must be glad his hay was made with help from our men. She said I was mistaken. Samuel had not made his hay yet. Daed said that was where they were going, and they were gone all day.”

“I see,” Nora said slowly.

“But, …,” Hal began.

“John and Jim are as honest as the day is long,” Tootie interrupted to defend them.

Emma held her hand up for them to listen. “Again at the quilting frolic, I asked Joe Fitzmiller if he had a gute day at the salebarn, talking to Daed and the others. He said he did not see them. They did not come to the salebarn. Why did Daed lie both times? They were gone all day that day, too, so where were they?”

“Emma, your father always has the best of intentions. If he didn't want us to know what they were doing, I'm not going to get upset,” Hal said and glanced at her mother for confirmation.

“Absolutely, I feel the same way. I have faith in both men. We will find out what they were up to one of these days. Whatever they did is nothing to worry about,” Nora agreed.

“Sure, if you say so,” Emma said doubtfully. “I just wished I could say the same about me and Adam.”

After lunch, Nora asked Jim if they could go for a ride in his courting buggy. Jim was surprised that his wife volunteered but pleased just the same.

Later that afternoon, Nora came back with a smile on her face. She caught Hal alone in the kitchen and whispered, “I was right, Hallie. The men had a good reason for not telling us where they were when they disappeared for two days.”

“What was the reason?”

“I can't tell you.”

“Oh, Mom! Not you, too,” Hal groused.

“I promised your father not to say anything. John will have to tell you if he thinks he can. The men kept still, because Adam wanted them to let him tell Emma in his own time.”

“If Adam and Emma's attitude doesn't change soon that may never happen. We will never know what he was up to all summer,” Hal complained unhappily.

 

The number of days before the wedding were fading away, and no sign of Adam. Soon it would be time for the wedding to be published at the worship service. Emma couldn't let that happen until she knew there was going to be a wedding.

One night after everyone was in bed, Hal told John the problem between Adam and Emma had gone on long enough. “Something has to be done to get them back together. Emma is so miserable.”

“Adam has got to be as miserable as Emma. He thinks the world of that girl or did,” John defended.

“John, could you go talk to Adam for Emma? Get him to come see her?”

“Nah, and you are not doing that, either. This is between them and none of our business. We should not interfere. If they cannot solve their differences now, they would not be able to live a gute married life together as man and wife.”

“Then will you at least talk to Emma? See if you can get her to swallow her pride and go see Adam. That's what he said he would be waiting for,” Hal said.

“I think we should leave what happens up to them, but I can talk to Emma if you think it would help. She mopes like a motherless calf, and I cannot stand to see her so unhappy.”

“Gute, I knew I could count on you,” Hal said.

After Emma tossed and turned for half the night, she got out of bed and slipped downstairs. The house was hot. Maybe the cooler night air would help. It certainly couldn't hurt.

She eased open the screen door. The cool porch floor felt good to her bare feet. She sank down on the edge of the porch.

Out of no where, Biscuit showed up. He nosed her hand, asking to be patted. She rubbed the top of his head. The satisfied dog flopped down beside her. He put his head on his stretched out front legs and closed his eyes. In the distance, the Bontrager dog barked. Biscuit's head jerked up, his ears perked to alert. He wrinkled his nose like a rabbit, sniffing the air.

Emma patted his head. “Relax. That dog is not close.”

In the dim light of a quarter moon, Emma leaned back against the porch post, trying to take the advice she just gave the dog. She took a gulp of fresh night air and filled her lungs. The freshness only served to make her more alert.

A quiet time like this was soothing to the nerves. Just what she needed. Clouds were banking up from the east. Tomorrow was bound to be cloudy with a promise of rain that wouldn't happen.

Behind the house, the windmill creaked out a soft whine in the gentle breeze. Emma listened for movement at the barn. She wondered if cows and horses ever had a restless night like people.

She could make out the ghostly movement of a creature by the road ditch. She squinted through the darkness and recognized Buttercat, prowling in search of a mouse.

An owl hooted somewhere in the distance, probably roosting in the picnic grove. That was a pleasant sound to fill the silent spot in this night when she felt so miserable.

Soon the calmness of the evening blanketed Emma. Her head nodded uncontrollably. She was ready to go back to her room and get into bed. No way did she want to fall asleep beside Biscuit on the porch, and have someone in the family find her there in the morning.