Be strong and of a good courage,
fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God,
he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Deuteronomy 31:6
Courtney woke when she heard her baby cry. She got out of bed, picked Gabriel up, and took him back to her bed where she fed him. Through her partly opened curtains she saw it was still dark outside so she knew she wasn’t late. When Gabriel finished his feeding, she changed his diaper and it was then that she looked at the clock to see she was running fifteen minutes late—it was six fifteen. Normally she would’ve had Aaron’s breakfast cooking by now.
She pulled her nightgown off and replaced it with a yellow dress. After she tied her apron on, she pushed her hair under her kapp without taking the time to braid it. Then she wrapped Gabriel in a warm blanket and hurried to the house.
When she pushed the back door open she saw light in the kitchen and smelled the breakfast cooking. Walking further inside, she saw Willa had taken over and was standing in front of the stove. Aaron was sitting at the table drinking from a coffee mug.
Words tumbled out of her mouth. “Ach, I’m so sorry I overslept.”
Willa spun around to look at her just as Aaron said, “It was a late night for all of us.”
“I can’t see a man go out to do a full day’s work without a good meal in his stomach.”
“Denke for starting breakfast, Willa.” Courtney placed her baby in the crib off to the side of the kitchen.
Willa smiled. “I’m pleased to help.”
Courtney walked up beside Willa. “Would you like to sit down and talk to Aaron while I finish the cooking?”
Willa looked at her as though she’d said something rude. “Nee. I’ll finish what I started. That’s what women do—some women.”
Courtney took a step back not knowing what Willa meant, but guessing that it was a personal jab at her.
Aaron stood up. “Sit down, Courtney. I’ll get you some coffee.”
“I can get it,” Courtney said.
“Nee, Courtney, allow me to do one little thing for you for once.”
Courtney gave a little giggle, and said, “Okay as long as it’s just this once.”
“Scrambled egg and bacon okay for you, Courtney?” Willa asked just as Aaron placed a full cup of coffee in front of Courtney.
Raising her eyebrows in surprise at the gesture, Courtney said, “Denke,” to Aaron, and then to Willa, “Jah please, Willa. That’d be fine. It’s nice to have breakfast cooked for me.”
“You should teach the children to cook the breakfast,” Willa said. “Well, perhaps just Amy.”
Courtney frowned. She didn’t want the boys to think they shouldn’t learn to cook. “She’s too young to be near a stove and she doesn’t wake early enough.”
Willa glanced over at her. “Oh Courtney, you seem to have an answer for everything. It’s too early in the morning to listen to excuses.”
Courtney looked into her coffee and took a sip. She could feel Aaron looking at her but didn’t look up in case he was giving her a look of disapproval. “Do you have plans for the day, Willa?” Courtney hoped that Willa and Beth had plans that would take them out of the house; otherwise she didn’t know how she would cope with their digging remarks.
Aaron cut in, “I was going to mention to you that I offered the use of the buggy to Beth and Willa after you take Ben and Jared to schul.”
“That’s a wonderful idea. There are so many pretty things to see around here.”
“How would we know where they are unless we have a guide?” Willa dished the eggs and bacon onto three plates. After she placed them on the table, she sat down and asked, “Won’t you come with us, Courtney?”
“Um… I do have to bake bread. You’ve probably noticed that we’ve run out.”
“Jah, I did. I wasn’t going to say anything about that, but I certainly noticed that there was no fresh bread. When I get married, my husband will wake to the smell of fresh bread cooking.”
“He’ll be a very blessed man,” Aaron said smiling at Willa.
“And I’ve heard you haven’t been to many of the meetings lately?” Willa said to Courtney.
“It has been hard with the baby and everything else, but normally I never miss them. I love to hear what the bishop says, and I like to catch up with everyone there.”
“Hmm,” Willa said staring at Courtney as though she didn’t believe a word.
Courtney couldn’t help being upset that Willa had come to stay. Why couldn’t she have stayed right where she was? Aaron was just beginning to open up about his feelings and now Willa could possibly ruin their hopes of any kind of future together.
“I think it takes more than bread to keep a man happy.” Courtney couldn’t keep quiet. Irritation had driven her so much that she had to say something.
Willa looked up from her breakfast and glared at Courtney. “Forgive me, Courtney. You’d know because you’ve been married before. I wouldn’t know things like that because I’ve never had the benefit of experience that an older woman has had.”
Courtney ate her breakfast in silence. There was no point in saying more. If Aaron was swayed by the attractive, Willa, he was not the man for her.
“I’m sure Courtney would love to show you around normally, but she does have many things to do around here. And she hasn’t had much time to see many things since her arrival. I’m afraid between me and the children she’s been kept busy.”
“Yes, not to mention her own little unexpected arrival.”
“Gabriel has been a blessing to all of us. He has a special place in our hearts,” Aaron replied.
Courtney looked at Aaron and they exchanged smiles.
Willa leaned toward Aaron. “Well, aren’t you a sweet man, Aaron. It’s endearing to find a man who loves babies so much when they are no relation to him whatsoever.”
The woman was testing Courtney’s patience with every word that she spoke.
“I’ll leave the both of you to work it out about the use of the buggy.” Aaron put the last forkful of food into his mouth. When he finished he said, “The breakfast was splendid.”
“It would’ve been nicer if we had fresh bread to go with it,” Willa added.
“Nee, we don’t need to eat bread every day. One day without it will make no difference.” Aaron stood up. “If you’ll both excuse me, I’ll get going.”
“Have a lovely day at work, Aaron. I’ll make sure you have a wunderbaar meal waiting for you when you get home.”
“That’s nice of you, Willa, but Courtney’s sees to that. Why don’t you relax and enjoy yourself while you’re here?”
“Denke, I might do that.”
Willa was smiling so smugly at Aaron that Courtney wanted to smack the smile right off her face. Courtney took stock of herself and bit down hard on her lip—physical violence, or any kind of violence, was not the Amish way. She’d never been tested the way that Willa was testing her right now.
“Bye, Courtney.”
Courtney turned to look at Aaron near the back door. “Bye. Have a gut day.”
“I will.” Aaron pulled on his work boots and walked out the door.
“Well, denke for this lovely breakfast, Willa. It’s nice eating a meal I didn’t have to cook.”
“Does Aaron work you too hard?” Willa cupped her chin in her hands with her elbows on the table, appearing to be concerned.
Courtney knew she was only asking so she could make trouble by twisting whatever answer she gave her. “I can’t complain about anything. The children are wunderbaar and Aaron is just perfect to work for. I’m so blessed to be here.”
Willa looked disappointed by her answer.
“Now you sit there and I’ll fix the dishes.”
“Now? Don’t you wait for the children to eat so you don’t waste so much water? If you do two washes it’ll waste twice as much water.”
“I usually only do one wash,” Courtney said.
“Why should today be different, then?”
Courtney sighed. How could she tell the woman she was trying to be nice to her but she was making it awfully hard? “It’s just that I didn’t want you to do it. I can do all the work while you and Beth relax and enjoy your vacation.”
“That’s very kind of you. I’m used to pitching in and helping wherever I am—even when I’m not at home.”
“Do you live with your parents?”
“I do. I nearly got married once but that didn’t work out.”
Now Courtney felt bad for being so cross with her. By the expression on Willa’s face she appeared genuinely sad that the marriage hadn’t taken place. Willa was old to have never married; Courtney guessed her to be maybe twenty six. She was an attractive woman, but her friend, Beth, was not so attractive.
“I’m sorry to hear that. That must have been disappointing.”
Willa nodded. “It truly was. He married someone else instead of me.”
“Oh.”
“I guess it wasn’t meant to be—and all that.”
“It’s hard to hear that when something sad happens.”
Willa giggled. “I did hear that a lot at the time. Now I can see why it all happened the way it did.”
“That’s good. So did you realize he wasn’t the right man for you?” Courtney asked.
Willa’s green eyes sparkled with light. “Something like that.”
Courtney wasn’t sure what she meant but at least she was feeling a little more kindly toward her and all thoughts of hitting her had left. How could she remain mad at a woman who’d known the pain of love that had being taken away from her?
“And what about you, Courtney?”
“In what way?”
“What plans do you and Gabriel have for the rest of your lives?”
“I’d say that’s in Gott’s hands.”
“Would you marry again?”
“If Gott wills it.” Courtney noticed a flicker of agitation on Willa’s face in reaction to her answers. She figured if she kept talking about God then Willa had little chance of running off to Aaron and reporting a twisted representation of what she’d said.