Chapter Fifteen

 

 

For the next few days, Hal worked up a deep dread about attending Jane Bontrager’s quilting bee. She had intended to make up an excuse to keep from going. That was before she knew Stella Strutt was trying to turn the Amish community against her before the Plain people got a chance to know her. She might be able to ignore Stella talking about her behind her back if that was all she did. It wasn’t. That woman bad mouthed the clinic John and the others worked so hard to build. Without giving Hal and Emma a chance to help the Amish community, that old, spiteful woman wanted her to give up and go back to Wickenburg. Hal couldn’t let that happen. Whether she wanted to or not, she had to stand up to Stella. The best she could hope for was that the crab didn’t mow her down and flattened her out like John’s hayfield.

So the afternoon of the bee came. Hal was beside Emma in the buggy. They were on their way to the only quilting bee she might ever attend if Stella had her way about it. Hal’s lips pressed tightly together with that thought. She didn’t really want to go. Quilting in front of other women was a sure way to let them form a bad opinion of her. She was going to be lousy at it. Blast that Stella Strutt for forcing her to stand up for herself. She thought Plain people practiced being pacifists. That meant Hal should hold her temper and be nice to Stella. She wished Stella would practice her beliefs and do the same. Hal didn’t know if she was strong enough to succeed against Stella, but she had to prove to the Amish women that she wanted to live like they did.

Emma looked over at Hal’s gloomy face. “You need not worry. The quilting bee will be fun. You’ll see.”

“Maybe you’ll see instead,” Hal returned glumly. “Jane’s guests will laugh me out of the house once they see how awful I sew.”

“They will not,” declared Emma.

Hal patted her jean pocket. “Oh, no. I didn’t think to bring the thimble you gave me. We should turn around and go home. Oh, that will make us late. Maybe we should just forget about going.”

“Take it easy. I have the thimble.” Emma patted her dress pocket. “A pair of small scissors for you to cut threat with, too.”

“Thanks for thinking of everything. It’s a good thing you have your head screwed on straight. I sure don’t,” Hal grumbled.

Jane Bontrager met Hal and Emma at the door. Women chattering and their laughter reached into the kitchen before the three of them entered the living room. A long quilting frame had been placed in the middle of the room. The row of women on both sides of the tautly stretched quilt reminded Hal of a blue and purple color palette except for Stella Strutt and Margaret Yoder. Those two were dressed in black. A young, round-faced woman sat at a small table at the end of the frame. She was threading needles with white thread and sticking them into strips of cloth.

Nodding toward the woman, Jane introduced her daughter, Amy. “I understand most of these women you already know. Margaret Yoder on this end. On the other side of the two chairs, we saved for you, is Margaret’s daughter-in-law, Linda. On the opposite side of the frame across from Margaret here is Roseanna Miller. Next to her is Stella Strutt.” All the others gave Hal and Emma a warm smile but not Stella. She scowled ugly enough to wilt Emma’s flowers in the garden. “Next is Lizzy Leichenring. The empty chair by her is mine.”

“Sit by me, Nurse Hal,” Margaret invited. “It is so nice to see you again. How are you?”

“Just fine and you?”

“Good. Emma, how are you this fine day?” Linda asked.

Emma sat down next to Hal. “I am gute.”

“Does this quilt have a name?” Hal asked. She didn’t have to glance across the table to see if Stella was glaring at her. Hal could feel the woman’s stare, but she wanted to act like she felt comfortable here. Besides if she saw another unfriendly look on that woman’s face, she was afraid her pretended calm composure would melt.

Margaret answered, “Yes. It is a wedding ring quilt.”

Hal inspected the quilt made from small scraps of material. “Where should I start?”

Margaret instructed, “You can pick any place you want in the ring pattern and sew around the pieces.”

Hal glanced around her at what the other women were doing. She slipped on her thimble and placed her scissors on the quilt just like the other women. She drew a threaded needle out of the cloth strip laying on the quilt between Margaret and her. She poised the needle over the material. Sweat beads popped out on her forehead. She dropped her needle and rubbed her palms along her jean legs. Picking the needle up again, she wove it in and out of the quilt three times.

Stella had been watching. Hal knew because the old woman leaned over to Lizzy Leichenring and whispered loudly. “Her stitches look like basting. That woman will ruin this fine quilt.”

Hal pulled the needle out and laid it down. All right, Stella meant for her to hear that remark. She intended to meet the old crab’s insults head on. She said sweetly, “Tell me, Margaret, are my stitches too big? I want to do this right.”

“Perhaps, just a little. Try to make 8 to 10 stitches to an inch.” Margaret glanced across at Stella. It was clear she had been listening to Stella, too. “Nurse Hal, we all had to practice to make our stitches smaller. You will be able to do it in time.”

“I hope so,” Hal assured her, wishing she could get the subject off her stitches. She looked across at Lizzy and asked, “How is David’s foot?”

“It has healed. He kept his shoes on for awhile after you talked to him. Just for awhile. He is barefoot again,” she said, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling.

Emma laughed. “So are Noah and Daniel. Matter a fact, I like to go barefoot myself.”

“Yes,” said Lizzy, smiling. “It is better to wait until now when the ground is not so cold.”

“Linda and I had such a nice visit with you, Nurse Hal. I hope you come see us again soon,” Margaret said.

“Emma, you come along with her,” Linda invited.

“We’d love that,” Hal said. She kept her head ducked but she sneaked a glance at Stella. The woman’s face was beet red. She reminded Hal of a teakettle about ready to blow steam. It would absolutely ruin this quilting bee for all of them if Stella caused a scene and blamed her.

“So Nurse Hal,” Stella began, her voice raising on each word. “How is the clinic doing these days.” She sounded so smug.

Hal stopped stitching and laid her hands in her lap so Stella couldn’t see them shake. “It’s nice of you to ask, Stella. The clinic is doing fine. We haven’t had any patients lately but that is a good thing, isn’t it? It means everyone around here is healthy.”

Very clearly, that wasn’t the negative response the woman had hoped to hear. Stella’s eyes glared at Hal as if trying to burn a hole through her. Hal felt a zing of revenge. So far she’d managed to keep up with Stella’s vindictive attempt to make her look bad in the eyes of the other women.

Without looking up from her stitches, Roseanna offered, “Samuel Nisley had Nurse Hal doctor his arm awhile back. He said she did a fine job. His arm is as good as new now.”

“So is my David’s foot,” chimed in Lizzy.

Stella puffed up. The lid was about to blow off her imaginary teakettle. Margaret darted a glance at the older woman. With a smile, she laid her comforting hand on Hal’s. “Jane, is it about time to prepare us a snack? Stella and I will be very glad to help.”

“Yes, it is plenty time. Come with me to the kitchen,” Jane said, getting up from her chair.

The buzz that started after the three women disappeared through the kitchen door reminded Hal more of a beehive than a quilting bee.

Darting a look at the kitchen door, Lizzy said in a lowered voice, “I hope you do not think bad of me for saying this but Stella can be crittlich.”

Hal leaned toward Emma. The girl whispered, “Crabby.”

“The woman is very much a rutz-naus if I can give an opinion,” added Linda Yoder.

“Snot nose,” Emma translated.

“Oh my,” gasped Hal.

Roseanna said, “She is such a hesslich person. I find it hard to like her.”

“Hateful,” came Emma’s whisper.

Hal wasn’t sure whether to be happy the women were siding with her or to feel sorry for Stella. She said in a low voice. “Ladies, that seems too harsh to say about anyone.”

Linda leaned forward to look around Emma. “We are so sorry for the way crittlich Stella is treating you. Do not think we feel as she does?”

“I understand. I am so glad you don’t,” Hal told her.

She might have said more if not for what was going on in the kitchen. Margaret’s scolding voice carried to the living room, loud and clear. “Sometimes, Stella, I’ve heard of people who g’warrick’d when they say such bad things about others.”

“Choked,” Emma whispered.

“It seems I still have a lot of Dutch words to learn. Why haven’t you taught me any of these words before?” Hal asked.

“Did not think you would need to know or use these words,” Emma said through clenched teeth.

Right after that a door opened and shut. Jane came to the kitchen door. “We have the snack ready. Come to the table and rest for awhile.”

Hal filed along behind Emma. Once, they were all seated, Linda asked, “Where is Stella?”

“She went home,” Jane said evenly. “Enjoy this chocolate cake once. Nothing is better than chocolate.”

As the women chattered away about family, gardens and church, Hal relaxed. The worst was over now. She could enjoy herself. More importantly, the women around the table enjoyed being together now that the large, black damper to laughter and fun had left.

Amish or English, most women must have the same craving for chocolate, Hal thought as she dug her spoon into the cake.

On the ride home, Hal said, “You were right. I had fun, and the quilting bee went better than I could have imagined.”

“I am glad you enjoyed it,” Emma said seriously. “But I do not know how you thought the quilting bee went well after the way Stella Strutt attacked you.”

Hal shook her finger at the girl. “Emma, shame on you! I’m not sure I ever want to know the meaning of that word. What Stella did was make herself look bad to her neighbors. The way she acted backfired on her. Her rude actions caused the women to defend me. I must say I am glad she decided to leave. Everyone perked up after that. I’d say the women were glad when she left.”

“The word means vile. I guess you are right. It was good to see them stand against Stella Strutt. That rarely happens so it must have taken her by surprise,” Emma said thoughtfully.

“There is a saying, safety in numbers.”

“That may be it. Stella has much more luck bedeviling one person. Not so easy to pick on a crowd,” Emma said smiling.

“You got it, my girl.”

Emma’s smile faded. “I should warn you, Stella has always gotten her own way. She will be thinking up another attack on you. Next time, she will not try it in front of people who have become your friends.”

That thought took some of the enthusiasm out of Hal. “One thing Stella Strutt will never be known as is a wishy-washy person when it comes to what she believes. Consider me warned.”

“Wishy-washy?”

“She defends what she believes no matter what. Do me a favor?”

“Anything, Hallie.”

They were driving by a tree full of crows. The noise of the buggy wheels and the horse hooves made the birds nervous. Cawing sharply several times as a warning, one crow upset the others. The birds circled the tree a couple times and flew away. Just watching those over-sized, noisy, blackbirds made Hal think of Stella Strutt. “If you see Stella Strutt coming before I do will you warn me?”

“Yes,” said Emma with a look of dread for what the future held. “And until then, we will see if we can change Stella’s mind. Make her a little more wishy-washy.”