Martha woke early and showered. She dressed then and hurried to the B&B, before the sun was even up.
Miriam was already up and in the kitchen. They smiled and greeted one another, and Miriam slid the mixture of cornmeal and meat known as scrapple toward Martha, and Martha poured herself a steaming mug of strong kaffi.
Martha’s first morning was harder than she had anticipated. She kept opening the wrong closet, expecting towels for the three bathrooms, and instead finding the bed sheets. And then when it was time to make the beds in the four other rooms, she opened the closet that had all of the towels.
At nine o’clock Martha was supposed to use a phone system to wake up the guests. Of course Martha had not used such a phone system before, and it took her several tries before a tired sounding Richard was answering a call, and then thanking her for the wake up.
Miriam handled the breakfast downstairs, leaving Martha to finish with the bedrooms. She took several trips in and out, grabbing flowers for the other rooms as well. She was heading back up the steps, flowers in her hand, when a young Amish man she had never seen before came down.
He was young, with shining eyes and wearing a work belt with various tools hanging off it. He held a silver piece of pipe under his arm, and he smiled and took off his hard hat when he saw Martha.
“Excuse me,” he said, leaning to the side so she could pass. Martha smiled and hurried up the stairs.
She saw the man again around lunch time. Miriam had called for her, and then had given her two plates with sandwiches on each, and a couple of glasses of lemonade. She had put it all on a tray for Martha.
“Take this up to the bigger bathroom, will you? The menner should be in there, working on installing a new tub.”
“Menner?” Martha asked.
“Yes, you’ll meet the three of them soon enough. Jonas is the contractor, and he has two young menner working for him, James – he’s Amish, and Amos, who’s an Englischer.”
“I haven’t seen Jonas or James before.”
Miriam shook her head. “Nee, they’re from a community about a hundred miles west of here.”
“I see.” Martha took the tray and turned, hurrying up the stairs.
The young mann from earlier was there, but he was alone. He was bent over a hole in the ground, working to pull thin metal pipes up through the floor. He turned when Martha’s footsteps made the floor creak.
“Oh, hiya,” he said, using the back of his work glove to wipe away a sheen of sweat from his forehead.
“Hullo, I brought you some lunch,” Martha said. “Uh, I was told that two other menner would be up here.”
“Jonas and Amos went outside,” the mann said. He stood and took the tray from Martha. “I’m James.”
“Martha.”
“Well it’s a pleasure to meet you, Martha,” James said. “Denki for the lunch.”
“You’re welcome,” Martha said, and then she turned to leave, but another man was standing in the doorway. He was tall and dark. He didn’t smile at Martha, but one of his brows rose on his forehead.
“Amos, this is Martha, Martha, Amos,” James said from behind the young woman.
“Hello,” Martha said.
“Hi,” Amos said quietly. His voice was gruff and scratchy, like the wiry beard on his chin. Martha didn’t know why, but Amos made her feel nervous. Her heart pounded and she stepped forward, and then she hurried out of the bathroom and back downstairs.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Miriam said to Martha when she entered the kitchen.
“Do I?” Martha said, feeling silly at her over reaction.
“Are you okay?” Miriam asked.
“Jah, denki. Did you need help with lunch for our guests?”
Miriam nodded. “That would be great.”
Martha got to work, and within fifteen minutes she and Miriam were packing the lunch away in a picnic basket. Richard and Bethany were going to explore the grounds, and perhaps eat out in the back, next to the winding creek that ran beside the far tree line. The young couple thanked the women and left.
“Get some lunch yourself,” Miriam said, looking at Martha. “You’ve been working hard today.”
Martha nodded her thanks. She stood by the window, watching Richard and Bethany make their way to the creek, hand in hand.
Martha thought about how beautiful the view from the window was as she glanced out at nature. It was almost like watching a painting as it came to life. The trees stood strong, but their leaves twisted and trembled as gusts of wind whirled through the skies. She almost lost herself in the serenity when the sound of an engine roared through the building. Martha leaned closer to see a black car pulling into the driveway.
“Is that a guest?” Miriam asked as she walked up to the window beside Martha.
“I’m not quite sure, to be honest,” she replied.
Miriam sighed and headed for the door, so Martha decided to follow closely behind. Her curiosity had been piqued, but she wasn’t sure what to expect when the door swung open. When she stepped outside, Martha saw two sharply dressed people as they stepped out of a black vehicle, a man and one woman, both wearing business suits. She had never seen either person before; they definitely weren’t Amish, and they didn’t appear to be guests. The way they were carrying themselves exuded a sense of arrogance and superiority that caused knots in her stomach.
“I see you still haven’t gotten the hint, have you?” barked the man.
Miriam’s face contorted. “Excuse me, Mr. Bedshill? Is there anything I can assist you with?”
“Yes, you can assist us by getting your dilapidated B&B out of this town,” the woman snapped. “Can’t you see it’s just an embarrassment to the area? Nobody wants to be a guest here. Look at the place,” she crowed, and then pointed a finger at the building. “It’s practically falling apart.”
Martha was unsure of what to think of the exchange, but continued watching on in silence. She wished there was something she could do to help Miriam, but her mind was void of ideas.
“I understand your concerns, ma’am, but that is why we are in the process of renovating the building. We wish to adhere completely to all building regulations when it comes to the structural integrity of our establishment,” Miriam said.
The woman rolled her eyes and let out a sarcastic laugh. She looked at the man and whispered something to him. “We don’t want this to get out of hand,” he said. “Haven’t you gotten sick of the treasure hunters and looters in the area? Eden is a harsh place for a business. We’re just trying to offer you friendly advice,” he added.
Miriam looked back at Martha with a worried expression on her face. “I’m sorry, but I really have some business I need to attend to,” she said, as she turned back to the couple. “Was there anything else you needed?”
Suddenly, the woman grew furious. “You think all of that damage and vandalism is just going to stop? Not even if you asked nicely. Why don’t you just take our friendly advice and sell this thing before you have nothing left to sell. Go back to Ohio and open up a B&B where you belong, because that isn’t here.”
“Excuse me? Was that a threat?” asked Miriam in a stern voice.
“Of course not,” the man said, as he extended his arm over the woman to call for her silence. “We are just offering you some wise business advice. You’re just going to go right into debt and lose everything if you keep messing with this place. Why do you think it’s been abandoned and unused?” the man said with a smug expression plastered over his face. “Come, darling,” he mumbled to the woman.
“I hope we don’t have to come back here,” the woman called over her shoulder as she was getting into the car.
Miriam looked down and then walked toward the doorway where Martha was still watching on in bewilderment.
“Are you okay, Miriam?”
Miriam sighed deeply. “Yes, I just don’t know about those two. Threatening me and being so rude just because I’m trying to open up a business? Their B&B is right in the center of town, and we’re all the way out here near its edge. It doesn’t make sense that they’d care so much about a little competition like us.”
“Oh, so those two are the owners of the rival B&B?” Martha asked.
Miriam tried to smile, but it was only partially successful. “I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you who they were. That was Clark and Debra Bedshill, and yes, they’re the owners of the B&B in the middle of town.”
Martha felt a pang of sympathy for her new employer. “Is there nothing the police can do about their threats?”
“No,” replied Miriam, shaking her head. “Those two are good friends with the mayor, so the local sheriff has his hands tied when it comes to them. He seems like a decent fellow, but unless we can find some actual evidence that they’re making good on their threats, it’s pointless calling him. It’s just so frustrating. Why must people always drag others down?” She sighed and turned around to look out the window once more.
“Maybe they’re just trying to intimidate you,” Martha wondered aloud.
Miriam shook her head as she continued to gaze out over the land. “They’ve already caused several problems for us. They’re the reason I had so much trouble finding help in the first place. Contractors, plumbers, electricians - they were all refusing to work here. Those two pretty much had me blacklisted.” She turned to Martha, as her eyes filled with concern.
“You have men here working though, don’t you?” Martha asked in confusion.
Miriam’s sadness wiped away instantly and she smiled. “Oh, yes. That’s because of Jonas,” she explained. Her face lit up. “My new son-in-law, Isaac, was able to get his friend, Jonas, to come to Eden do the repairs for us. Jonas owns a small construction crew about a hundred miles west, and agreed to help restore this place to its former glory. I was only able to afford it because Isaac’s leased all Eden’s farmland.”
Martha considered that it was very kind of Isaac to lease the land from Miriam. She had known Isaac since she was a boppli, and had watched him grow cold and bitter after his fraa had run away to marry an Englischer. Martha was much younger than Isaac, but even back then at her young age could see the effect that betrayal had on him. She had watched as Isaac had grown happy again when he met Miriam’s dochder, Rachel.
It was gut for Isaac that Miriam and Rachel had come to Eden, and it was wunderbaar for Martha too, as she was already enjoying her job there immensely. She had wanted her independence, and the offer of the cabin seemed too gut to be true.
Plus, the handsome James had drawn her eye. Would Eden be the place where all her dreams would come true?