Chapter Eight
“Absolutely not!”
Linda stood in the center of the kitchen, her arms crossed over the front of her olive-green dress as she practically blocked Ella from walking toward the door. Behind her, Drusilla and Anna watched the exchange between their mother and stepsister, both of them wearing a smug expression.
Oh, how Ella wished that both of them were not standing there behind their mother. Their airs of superiority and self-satisfaction made her feel even more nervous as she tried to convince Linda that she should be permitted to go with the others to the gathering. “But—”
Ella didn’t have a chance to finish. Linda held up her hand to stop her from speaking. “You’ve too much work to do in the morning.”
Not for the first time that day, Ella bit her tongue. She wanted to respond, to defend herself. After all, she always finished her chores. She also always finished Drusilla and Anna’s chores, too. Today was no different from any other day, and tomorrow, no doubt, would be just the same. Her stepmother’s claim that there was too much work for Ella to do the following day was just another way to hinder her from socializing with the other youth. Away to control her. Again.
Despite thinking this, Ella remained quiet. Inside, she seethed. What did her stepmother have to gain from forcing Ella to stay home? To prohibit her from having some occasional fun? But she said none of this, for Ella realized that it would be a losing battle. There would be no winning against Linda’s barring her from attending the youth gathering that evening.
With a satisfied expression on her face, Linda unfolded her arms and reached up to touch the sides of her hair as if checking to make certain it was still properly tucked under her prayer kapp. “Besides, Miriam King and her muder are coming to visit later and play Scrabble. We need a fourth person, and you know how much Miriam enjoys your company.”
And so it was settled.
With a heavy heart, Ella watched as Drusilla and Anna practically pranced out of the house as they headed to the Grimms’ farm. She moved over to the window and watched as they walked down the street, laughing as they talked. Ella wondered if they were laughing about her.
She sighed and turned away from the window. It wouldn’t do her any good to feel sorry for herself. It wasn’t as though anything would have come from the buggy ride with Hannes. At some point, he’d finish whatever business he had in Echo Creek, he’d return to Blue Springs, and that would be the end of that. It wasn’t as if a true romance could blossom in just one buggy ride anyway.
Still, the idea of having been asked to ride home with someone had made her feel so hopeful. It was a rare feeling for Ella to feel hopeful about anything.
And now, those hopes were dashed.
Again.
After Drusilla and Anna left, Ella went down to the basement, the small beam from her flashlight illuminating the darkness. She walked around several empty boxes and found the square folding table leaning against the wall. As she reached for it, two little mice ran out and scurried over her foot.
Startled, Ella jumped. But she followed the mice with the light and saw that they stopped running just long enough to sit on their haunches and stare at her.
Bending down, Ella lowered her voice. “Hello there,” she whispered.
One of the mice twitched its nose and started to sit up, its paws in the air like a trained dog. Ella laughed.
“So adorable.”
She stood up and reached onto a nearby shelf for a jar of corn kernels.
“Ella? Have you found the table yet?” her stepmother called from upstairs.
“Ja, Maem. I’m just dusting off the cobwebs before I bring it up.”
Quickly, Ella scattered some of the kernels onto the dirt floor before turning her attention to the table. Within minutes, she was dragging it upstairs, glad that Linda hadn’t ventured down the creaky steps. She’d have seen those mice and insisted, yet again, that Ella sprinkle poison in the corners.
Thankfully, when Ella finally reached the top of the stairs, Linda was nowhere to be seen. Most likely, she had retreated to her bedroom, probably to lay down for a nap before her guests arrived.
Of course, Ella thought as she began to set up the table. Whenever there was work to be done, everyone scattered faster than those kernels on the basement floor.
After setting the Scrabble board onto the table, Ella placed two bowls on top of it, one filled with pretzels and the other with popcorn. She had already made a fresh batch of meadow tea, and there was nothing left to do. Satisfied that everything was ready and her stepmother could find no fault with her, Ella wandered over to the small sofa near the back wall and sat down. At least she could take advantage of the peace and quiet to read the Bible.
Her favorite book was Ecclesiastes, and she often turned to the third chapter when she was feeling down. Oh, she knew that there would be a time for her to laugh. She just wondered when that time would come.
Ever since her father had passed away, she felt as if the only season in her life was winter . . . dark, dreary winter. She tried to pretend that every day was spring or summer, but when she truly had a moment alone to sit and reflect, the truth was that there was little sunshine or brightness in her life.
Even when her father had been alive, Linda had been harder on her than on her own two daughters. Ella’s father had done what he could to keep everything equitable among the three but sometimes, Ella had thought, being fair to all was not fair at all. Especially when Linda always favored her daughters over Ella, while her father had never favored Ella over his stepdaughters.
And now that he was gone, things had only gotten worse.
Ella set aside the Bible and leaned back against the sofa. No, Ecclesiastes was not making her feel better today.
“Ella!”
She took a deep breath at the sound of Linda calling for her from the first-floor bedroom. “Ja?”
“How many times have I told you about those mice?” Linda appeared in the doorway, an angry scowl on her face. “I just saw two mice in my bedroom. Haven’t you set out those traps in the basement yet?”
Ella bit her lower lip. The truth was that she had put out the traps, but she had purposely not set them. She simply couldn’t stomach trying to kill the mice. “The traps are out, ja,” she said, knowing that her vague answer bordered on deceit. Surely God would forgive her.
“Then go outside to cut some fresh flowers,” Linda demanded. “Those old ones can go to compost.”
Sighing, Ella started to walk toward the back door, pausing only to grab the vase of black-eyed Susans that were only four days old. Some of them did look a little the worse for wear, but Linda always insisted on fresh flowers when company was coming.
She stepped outside and looked into the sky. It was blue and still bright from the sun, which had yet to begin its descent for the evening. To the right, she saw the cows and horse grazing outside of the whitewashed barn, a reminder that she still needed to tend to them.
The compost pile was along the side of the property, just over a barbed wire fence that bordered a dusty country lane. Ella headed in that direction, her heart heavy as she watched a courting buggy pass by with a young man driving, his special friend seated beside him. They were smiling and talking as if they’d known each other for a long time. Ella didn’t recognize the man, but she knew that the woman was none other than Anna Rose Grimm’s cousin Elizabeth, who was also the schoolteacher in Echo Creek. From the looks of Elizabeth’s smile and her companion’s laughter, the school board might be forced to look for another teacher come springtime.
“Why, hello there, Ella!”
Startled, Ella dropped the flower vase and spun around to see who had called out to her. “Hannes!” She placed her hand over her heart and gave a weary smile. “You frightened me!”
“Well now, I didn’t mean to do that!” But he gave her a broad grin as he approached her.
With the sun shining through the tops of the trees, Ella caught a good look at him. He still wore his Sunday suit, which, she noticed, had not one speck of dust on it. She wondered what he had been doing all afternoon in Echo Creek that he hadn’t changed from his worship clothes.
As he neared her, he removed his sunglasses and, as usual, those blue eyes lit up his face. She found herself mesmerized by how handsome he was. Even more importantly, he was clearly a good-hearted man with a kind disposition. She could hardly believe that someone like Hannes had noticed her above all the other unmarried women in Echo Creek.
“Fetching flowers?” Hannes leaned against the wooden post, careful not to get pricked by the barbed wire fencing. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready for the singing, then?”
She liked how he spoke, his words almost musical. Like many other Amish people, he ended the last word of his sentences on a higher note. It was singsong speaking, she always thought. And while it was a happy sound, her mood was anything but joyful. His question had reminded her of why, exactly, she was outside gathering flowers instead of doing as he suggested: preparing for a night with her peers.
With a heavy heart, she took a deep breath. “It appears that I won’t be attending the singing after all,” she admitted slowly. She lowered her eyes when she spoke, praying that he couldn’t see her hurt.
His response was silence.
When a few long seconds had passed and he still remained quiet, Ella finally looked up. She was surprised to see a frown etched across his face.
Oh, how she hated to disappoint people. And from the way he looked, he was, indeed, terribly disappointed.
“I’m very sorry, Hannes,” she said in a soft, apologetic voice. When he didn’t say anything, she added, “Maem has company coming over. The deacon’s wife. And my maem told me that I must stay to play Scrabble.”
He raised an eyebrow, a curious response to what she had just said. Still, he said nothing.
“I . . . I truly was looking forward to . . .”
She wanted to tell him that she had thought of nothing else but the proposed buggy ride home with him. Her first. But she didn’t want to sound too forward.
“. . . the singing.”
Hannes reached up, removed his hat, and wiped his brow with the back of his wrist. While he looked less cheerful than when he had arrived, he clearly was not holding it against her. “Reckon a singing is just that . . . a singing.” He sounded as disappointed as she felt. “Suppose there’s no sense in my going, then.”
On the one hand, Ella felt a little bit of joy that Hannes would forego the singing because she wasn’t permitted to attend. She could only imagine how Drusilla and Anna would have behaved as they tried to capture his attention. Hadn’t it been Drusilla who had been so boastful after worship that day, vowing that she would drive home from the singing in his buggy?
However, Ella also felt guilty that her inability to attend the singing was causing him distress. What would he do now? Clearly he knew no one else in the town. She hadn’t seen him converse with anyone during fellowship, not in away that indicated he had friends or family there. In fact, when she had served the platters to the tables during the first sitting, Hannes had been seated with the church leaders, not the other young men.
Suddenly, a wave of panic washed over her. If he knew no one, perhaps he had stayed in Echo Creek because of her! Maybe he had stayed just to take her home from the singing! That thought caused her even more anguish. Certainly he would be disenchanted with her now!
Hannes gazed in the direction where the courting buggy with Elizabeth Grimm and her suitor had disappeared just moments ago. As if reading her mind, he said, “Mayhaps I’ll go wander to that pond later this evening, though.”
She caught him peering at her from the corner of his eye.
“Sit a spell and try to double-skip some rocks, listen to the cicadas and owls . . .”
She could barely breathe. Why was he telling her this? Was he suggesting something? “That . . . that sounds lovely.”
Hannes faced her. “The sun sets at eight tonight. Mayhaps you’d find your way to the pond just before then. We could watch it set together and I could walk you home by nine?”
Quickly, Ella did some calculations. The singing wouldn’t end until about that time, so she wouldn’t run any risk of Drusilla or Anna seeing her. And surely Miriam and her mother would be gone by then. If not, Ella could excuse herself to take a brisk walk. If she just happened to walk to the pond and happened to run into Hannes, no one could fault her, could they?
Ella bit her lower lip and nodded. “Ja, I think I could manage that.” She could only pray that Linda wouldn’t ask too many questions if she left while Miriam and her mother were still at the house.
Hannes leaned forward and plucked the late-opening blue bloom of a morning glory that had climbed over part of the fence, the ever-twisting vines woven throughout the wire. He handed the flower to her, his fingers just lightly brushing against her hand.
The gesture startled her, especially when she felt as if an electric current raced through her veins. She took the flower and looked up at him, equally startled to see him studying her face, with the hint of a smile on his lips. Transfixed, Ella held his gaze, too aware of the fluttery feeling in her stomach.
Without turning, Hannes began to back away, his eyes still holding her gaze. “I’ll see you then, Ella.”
Nodding her head, she watched as he turned and hurried back down the lane toward town, a bit of a spring to his step. Only before he disappeared did he turn around and lift his hand in the air to wave goodbye. When he turned the corner, she noticed he had not headed in the direction of the singing.
Was it possible that he truly meant it? That he wouldn’t go to the singing? And was that because she wouldn’t be there?
Smiling to herself, Ella cradled the morning glory in her hand. She’d have to hurry if she wanted to press it so that she could keep the flower forever, a reminder of this special moment when Hannes’s intentions seemed clearer than ever: he may have come to Echo Creek on business, but Hannes appeared to have stayed for the pleasure of getting to know her.