Martha climbed out of the carriage and turned to smile at Abe Jones. He was her elderly neighbor, and he had offered to drive the young woman to her interview. Of course, Martha could easily have driven herself, but she knew that Abe Jones loved to get out and about, but only did so when he was helping others.
“Thank you so much, Mr. Jones,” Martha said. She wore the classic Amish clothing, a long dress and a white bonnet over her prayer kapp. She had brown hair of which barely any was visible under the bonnet, and her skin was fair. Her eyes were brown and wide, and she shielded them from the blazing sun with her hand as she looked up at the old man.
“Any time,” he said. He was a gruff sort of fellow, as gruff as the polite Amish ever could be. His beard was long and gray, and his hat was wide brimmed and sat low on his head. He nodded toward the B&B. “You go on in and talk what you need to talk; I’ll wait here for you.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t like to come in? I’m sure that wouldn’t be a problem.”
“I like it outside,” Abe Jones said, and that was that.
Martha turned and headed for the house. It was a large and beautiful home in a style of homes built a century or two ago, but it was clear the paint had been redone recently. It was two stories tall, and a large flower bed flanked the stairs on either side.
Martha made her way up the front stairs and stopped in front of the door. She lifted her hand and balled her fingers into a fist, using her knuckles to knock. She only had to wait a moment, and then the door was pulled open and an older woman with a kind face was standing in the doorway, smiling.
“Come in, please,” Miriam said. “Martha, you’re a sight for sore eyes, as they say.”
Martha couldn’t help but smile. “Why do you say that?”
“You look like the ideal person to help me run this place.”
Martha shook her head softly. “I look that way?”
Miriam laughed and nodded. “You do indeed!” she said. “Join me in the kitchen for some meadow tea, won’t you?”
“Of course,” Martha said, and the older woman led her to the kitchen, a large room which featured what looked to Martha to be a newly renovated fireplace. The tea was already hot, sitting on a large, wooden table in the center of the room. It was in a small kettle, and white steam rose from the spout.
Miriam smiled again. “Have a seat.” She nodded to a huge, wooden table with two long, wooden benches either side.
Martha sat on one of the benches as Martha moved around the other side and poured out two cups of tea. She placed one in front of the younger woman and then sat across from her.
Martha took a sip of her tea and then sat it down upon the table. “This place is so beautiful,” she said. “From the outside you can tell, but it’s even more than I imagined in here.”
“As you know, my daughter, Rachel married Isaac Petersheim, and now I have no one to help me here,” Miriam said.
It had been music to Martha’s ears when she had heard about the position opening up. Martha had been worried that someone would jump on the opening before she had managed to speak to Miriam, but she caught up with Miriam at the last church meeting. Miriam had at once asked her to come along for an interview.
“I’m surprised,” Martha said. “I figured most women would love to work here.”
“Everyone has so much going on these days,” Miriam said. “And it’s getting warmer, so the fields are going.”
Martha smiled. “Well, I certainly would like to work here.”
Miriam nodded. “I’d love to give you a tour of the place, and I was going to ask you some questions, a proper interview, but to be honest, I think I’d love to just make an offer now.”
Martha beamed. “I’ll take the job then, but I’d love to go on that tour still.”
“Of course,” Miriam said, and she took another sip of tea and then stood. The two women made their way through the B&B. Each room was beautifully furnished in warm and inviting colors.
Martha smiled. She looked at the older women for a moment, and enjoyed picturing her as her own age. Miriam was slim and her face had sharp features, and she was beautiful.
Martha figured that people would have guessed that the Amish didn’t think of things like that, about their looks. The men all dressed so much alike, and the women even more so, but as with any culture of people, they took care to present themselves in a pleasing manner, particularly when at that young age when courtship so often happens. The Amish just took everything a little bit slower, and they were a deeply religious folk with traditions and customs. Courtship was a time of flushed cheeks and queasy bellies where a young man let a young woman know he was interested, and with the blessing of her father they began to spend some time together. They would take walks, and at the young man would drive the young girl home in his buggy.
Martha found herself imagining Miriam’s own courtship. She knew the woman had been married, but her husband had died some years ago. Now Miriam was alone, more so since her daughter had moved away when she was married. Martha liked Miriam, even though today was the most time she had spent with her face to face. They lived in a rather large community, and although she knew everyone, she knew some better than others.
They were done with the tour, and ended up back downstairs, standing in front of the door. “Could you start tomorrow?” Miriam asked, and Martha nodded. “And if you’d like, please consider moving in here. There’s that cabin out back, did you see it? You could stay there if you’d like. I’m having this place renovated. I know it looks nice, but I’m just slapping tape over the problems. I’m getting it properly fixed up at the moment. I’ll need a lot of help with all of that, so it would be nice to have you near.”
“I could move in here?”
Miriam nodded. “If you’d like.”
“I’d love to,” Martha said.
Miriam smiled. “Then it’s settled.”
“It will be good to be on my own and make my own way,” Martha said. “I want to be my own woman. This is a great first step.”
Miriam smiled and nodded. “You know, I felt the same way when I was your age. It’s hard, but there’s something to be said about creating your own path. I know a lot of young people these days feel limited in this community. The world has gotten so big, so loud, but you can do amazing things here, and I think you’re going to.”
Martha couldn’t help but smile, one more time.