It had now been three weeks since Marcus had asked Rachel to quit and she’d ignored him. And it was now one week since Rebecca had informed her that she would no longer be helping out in the classroom.
As she walked home at the end of another school day, Rachel knew that both her time and her options were running out. Marcus had become increasingly frustrated with her. He claimed he wanted her to quit because of her health, but she wasn’t positive that was the reason. Something more was bothering him. Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure what it could be. She’d tried several times to draw him out, to ask him about both the accident at the mill and his worries about Agnes. However, each time, he cut her off.
She needed to confide in someone before she blurted something unkind to Marcus or made herself sick with worry.
Deciding that there was no time like the present, she turned down one of the small side streets off of Main and headed home.
Not to the home she shared with Marcus. Instead, to the one she’d grown up in. The house that had always been filled with laughter and was never quite tidy. Her mother—much to her father’s amusement—was the type to start multiple projects and work on them at the same time. Because of that, there were always half-finished quilts, sewing projects, a cookbook she’d been attempting to write for three years, and a half dozen other items scattered in each room.
As Rachel walked up the front walkway and saw a pile of unfolded laundry lying forgotten on a chair by the door, a basket of clothespins keeping it company, she laughed. Some things never changed.
She opened the screen door without knocking and followed the sound of chatter through the house until she found her mother and her sister Carrie in Carrie’s old room. Carrie’s daughter Bliss was in her sister’s arms, playing with a teething ring. Surrounding them were plastic grocery bags of quilt scraps.
Rachel grinned to herself. If Marcus saw the mess, he’d say that it looked like a quilt had exploded. It really was a mess.
“Rachel, look at you!” her mother said as she got up and enfolded her in a warm hug. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” she replied. She knew Carrie and Mamm would think she was referring to her recent morning sickness, but she was actually talking about her mood. She loved being home, and her mother’s hugs were always the best.
Her mother had never been especially slim or even especially pretty. She’d once told Rachel that she used to be sad that she was such a “Plain Jane” when she’d been a teenager. She said she’d always wished that her eyes were a prettier shade of brown or that her eyebrows were arched better or that she had more prominent cheekbones.
But none of that had ever seemed to bother Daed. He always said that he’d fancied Margaret Miller from the first moment he’d spied her.
After greeting Carrie and Bliss, she sat down on the bed next to them. “What are you doing?”
“We’re going to have a quilt auction at the beginning of December to help some widows over in Walnut Creek. I was telling Carrie that the auction was a perfect excuse to use up some of these scraps.”
Rachel had never been a skilled quilter, but she knew enough to be skeptical about fabric scraps. There were a lot of scraps, but not enough of each to make any kind of uniform design. At least, she didn’t think so. “What pattern are ya going to do?”
Carrie grinned. “We’re thinking crazy quilts. Want to help?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.”
Her mother patted her arm. “Don’t worry, child. I know you don’t have time for this. You’ve got Marcus, a boppli to prepare for, and a class of kinner to teach.”
That easy reminder seemed to be all she needed to lose her composure. Tears filled her eyes before she could stop them.
“Uh-oh. What did I say?”
“Marcus wants me to quit,” she blurted. “But I don’t want to.”
Carrie leaned back, picked up a box of tissues from one of the bedside tables, and handed it to her. “Of course you’ll have to quit when you have your babe, Rachel. Everyone does.”
“I know. Even though I wish that wasn’t true, I know.”
Her mother and sister exchanged glances. “Then why are you crying?” Carrie asked.
“Marcus wants me to quit now.” Around a hiccup, she added, “Actually, he wanted me to quit a couple of weeks ago.”
“Why does he want that?” Mamm asked. “He must know that the children and their parents are counting on you.”
And there the tears came again. “He doesn’t care. He’s been so different since I told him I was pregnant. He acted surprised that it happened so quickly, and now wants me to stay home all day long and get a ‘real’ doctor instead of Agnes.”
“Oh, boy,” Mamm said.
Grabbing another tissue from the box her sister had just handed her, Rachel nodded. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to disobey Marcus but I don’t want to do everything he wants me to do either.”
“What have you been doing?” Carrie asked. “Did you teach today?”
“Jah. I told him that I needed a few more weeks. But he’s losing patience.”
Her mother’s pretty brown eyes warmed with compassion. “You are so upset! You should have come over to talk to me weeks ago.”
“I didn’t think talking about Marcus was the right thing to do.”
Carrie rolled her eyes. “Your husband is a handsome man and a good one, too. But that don’t mean he’s perfect, Rachel. Take it from me, sometimes husbands need to be managed a bit. Once you do that, they will start to do what you want them to.”
“You manage Tim?”
“Of course. And if Bethany were here, she’d tell you the same thing about Graham. So would Joy. Her Stephen would be lost without her.”
“And Paul?” She didn’t think her brother would enjoy being managed.
Her mother laughed. “If our Paul ever gets married, I think he will welcome being managed. Of all my kinner, God gave him my penchant for unfinished projects.” Still looking amused, her mother hopped off the bed. “Let’s go get you a snack. You’ve got to be hungry.”
“I kinda am,” she said sheepishly. “I was so worried at lunch, I didn’t eat much.”
As they walked to the kitchen, Carrie said, “I think you should pick your battles, sister. Tell Marcus that you will gladly go to the doctor instead of Agnes.”
“But Agnes delivered Bliss.”
“Jah, but it wasn’t an easy delivery. Tim asked me to have our future children in the hospital.” Looking at her sympathetically, she said, “It wasn’t a hard thing to agree to, Rachel. Tim just wanted me and the babe to be safe.”
“I guess that makes sense,” she said as they entered the kitchen.
“It does,” Mamm said as she bustled around the large, cluttered kitchen. “Marcus loves you. Now, go sit down.”
Rachel sat on one of the red barstools that surrounded the butcher-block island. “I think Marcus is still dealing with the accident at the mill,” she said quietly. “He won’t talk about that day or the fire, but sometimes I see him staring off into space looking sad.”
“It makes sense that he’s still struggling. It was a terrible day,” her mother said as she set a plate of sliced apples, some gingersnaps, and a glass of milk in front of Rachel.
It was the same snack she’d made for all of them when they got home from school. “Mamm, I’m a teacher now, you know. This is the snack you gave me when we were little.”
“It’s still a good one. Now drink your milk.”
Obediently, she did as she was told. By the time she finished her milk and had cleaned most of her plate, Rachel realized that she felt much better. “Danke. I should be getting on home now. Marcus will worry.”
“Want me to leave Bliss with Mamm and walk you home?” Carrie asked. “We can talk some more about things.”
“Nee. I think I’m going to be all right. I’m going to tell Marcus that I’ll start going to the real doctor, but that I want to teach until the doctor says I shouldn’t.”
Carrie grinned. “That sounds like a good plan.”
“I’ll pray for you, too, dear,” her mother said. “And I’m going to start coming up to school once a week to help you clean up your room and walk home with ya, too.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“It is for me,” she said as she treated Rachel to another warm hug. “You are my youngest. And even though you’re all grown-up and married, something tells me that I’m going to always worry about you.”
As she walked out the door and headed to her new home, Rachel realized that she was grateful for her mother’s concern and her sister’s advice. It felt good to know that she had them, no matter what happened.