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Glancing at her watch, Miriam made a mental note to come back to the kitchen shortly after eleven so she could start dinner. Hurrying to the quilting room, she got busy right away. Two hours later, she stood and stretched her neck and back, then glanced at her watch. Seeing that it was nearly time to start dinner, she shut her sewing machine off and hurried into the kitchen. Forty-five minutes later, she removed a bubbling, fragrant meatloaf from the oven, taking it to the table with the rest of the food.
Joseph walked in, sniffing appreciatively. “That smells wunderbar!” Washing his hands at the kitchen sink, he returned to the table. “If your mamm is not back by mid-afternoon, you might want to get started with supper,” he said after swallowing.
“Ya. I have the chicken ready to go into the oven and I’ve picked out vegetables we can eat – I hope you won’t mind if they’re ones that mamm and I canned last summer,” Miriam said.
“Nee, it is no problem! Whatever you feel like making will taste wunderbar, Miriam . . . ah, and there is your mother!”
Sarah walked in quietly, her shoulders slumped slightly.
“Mamm? What happened?” Miriam asked, fearing her mother’s answer.
“No matter what we tried, the baby died. He was born too soon. He could not live outside his mamm’s womb. Emily and I tried everything to stop her labor, but it was too far advanced. Ach, why her parents let her marry this young, I do not know! She was bleeding, so we forced them to take her to the hospital.” Sarah slumped in exhaustion on a kitchen chair, forcing tears back.
“Oh, no! Was it Elizabeth Hoffstetter?” Miriam asked, shocked. She’s only fifteen! “Mamm, how old is her husband?” Miriam was half-afraid to hear the answer.
“Ugh, Miriam, it is bad. He is past thirty. Why he could not choose an older wife, one who is more-capable of bearing a child, I do not know.”
Miriam lost her appetite. Pushing her still-full plate back with her thumb, she frowned.
“Isn’t that unnatural for a man his age to want to marry someone who’s still almost a child?” she asked.
“Ya, it is, daughter. Jacob Hoffstetter has always been . . . odd. I think this time, that his . . . preferences are going to get him much unwanted scrutiny from the state. Thankfully, the bishop registered his objections to their marriage. What worries me is that her parents didn’t seem too worried,” Sarah said.
Joseph set his fork down and pushed his own plate back as well.
“I’m not hungry, either. Ya, the state will investigate. If Bishop Stoltzfus kept a record of his conversation with Jacob and with Elizabeth’s parents, we – the Amish community – will not be blamed. The scrutiny will fall exactly where it should. On Jacob Hoffstetter. I’ve always thought he was too attracted to underage girls. Do you remember when he started to follow Miriam home from school?”
“Ya! I do! I talked to the bishop about it . . .” Sarah said.
“He scared me when he was trying to get my attention. That’s why I asked for permission for rides home with Katy. Her father never allowed Jacob to come around us. Never. Mamm, you go rest. I’ll clean up and put the food away. I think we’ve all lost our appetites anyway,”
“Denki, daughter. I am tired and very sad. I will come downstairs after a nap and make supper.” Running her hand over Miriam’s hair and kapp, Sarah walked slowly upstairs.
After hearing the sad news, Miriam found she had to force herself to focus on finishing the Wedding quilt.
John came to the house that night. The mood in the Beiler home was still somber.
“So, you heard about what happened to Elizabeth Hoffstetter, too?” he asked.
“Ya. Mamm thinks the state is going to be looking very closely at Jacob,” Miriam said quietly.
“And they should. He has always had an . . . odd . . . attraction to teenagers. Mamm and I talked after she had a good, hard cry . . . Mrs. Beiler, how are you feeling?”
“Angry. I agree with you. Pennsylvania should look hard at Jacob Hoffstetter. I know that some of our families intermarry and this makes some health problems worse. But, for a grown man to have such an interest in a girl who has barely left her own childhood behind – there’s a word for it, Miriam. I believe he’s a pedophile – someone who has an unnatural interest in children,” Sarah said, frowning in distaste.
Miriam, who was innocent of all sexual matters, began to blush.
“You mean . . . there are men who are interested in . . .” she clamped her mouth shut against the bad taste at the thought and idea of a man touching her when she was young. Looking at John, she saw he was experiencing the same distaste.
“Okay. Enough of bereavement and sadness. You two focus on yourselves. Let the community and state deal with Jacob Hoffstetter. Go, now,” Sarah said, shooing John and Miriam to the living room.
Miriam and John sat in the living room talking. It took Miriam a few minutes to pull herself out of what she had been learning about Jacob Hoffstetter. John seemed to have a hard time coming back to the present, as well.
“Would you like to go for a buggy ride?” he asked.
“Ya. Let me tell my parents and get a sweater,” she said, hurrying to the kitchen. Coming back, she said, “It’s fine as long as I’m back before nightfall.”
“Let’s go. I want to allow nature to get those ugly thoughts out of our heads,” John said grimacing.
Driving the buggy down the road, John went to a large tree by the river. Jumping down, he took Miriam’s hand and helped her come down. Keeping her hand in his, he walked to a large rock sitting under the tree.
Miriam sat down next to John, letting out a huge sigh. God, allow Your beauty to drive away that ugly knowledge I now have about Jacob Hoffstetter! I want to thank You for sending others to protect me from him. If I had not had them around, I could have been the one giving birth.
“Why so quiet?” John asked. He took Miriam’s hand in his, holding it securely.
Miriam enjoyed the soft touch of his hand enveloping hers.
“I am just grateful to God for protecting me from Jacob when I was fourteen and getting ready to graduate from school. Having my friend and her daed there to help me get home from school safely means that, today, I don’t have to worry about being married to him or having to deal with . . . with . . . whatever his sickness is. It could have been me giving birth and not Elizabeth.”
“It is a sickness. I thank God that He intervened and protected you.” John fell silent, gazing around that the cool spring evening. Seeing the light-green buds coming out on the tree, he sighed deeply. Raising her hand still caught in his, John kissed the back of it as he gazed at Miriam.
“Miriam . . . I brought you out here for a very specific reason. We have been seeing each other since last fall and I have begun to fall in love with you. We are both going to be baptized into our community. I know you’re still on your rumspringe. I spoke to your daed and mamm a few weeks ago, and I asked them for permission to propose to you.”
“Oh! Oh. Really?”
“Yes, really,” John said laughing.
“And? What did they say?”
“Yes . . . but . . .”
“‘But?’ But . . . what?” Miriam was tense, waiting to hear.
“‘But’ they want us to wait a year or two until you are older. Until you’ve been baptized in the Kneeling Vow. And, of course, I still need to do the same . . . so . . . will you marry me in a few years?”
“Yes! Yes, I will!” Miriam said, laughing. Her previous sadness had been blown away with her excitement over John’s proposal. “And, I agree – this time before we get married gives us time to get to know each other much better.”
John swept Miriam into his arms, rejoicing. Lowering his head, he kissed her.
THE END.