CHAPTER 30
The next morning, soon after Josh arrived, Mrs. Vandenberg paid them a visit. Josh let her in, and Rachel invited her to join them for breakfast.
“Have you set your wedding date?”
Josh didn’t want to think about, let alone talk about, that subject.
“Neh.” Rachel fought back tears as she explained the bishop’s directive and reasoning.
“He’s a very wise man, and normally, I’d agree with him. But I don’t think he understands the deeper bond you two have.”
“We tried to explain it,” Josh said, “but we weren’t successful.”
“I can see why.” Mrs. Vandenberg stared off into the distance. “Well, now I know why I was sent here today. Trouble in paradise. Hmm . . . I guess we’ll need to figure out how to change Bishop Troyer’s mind.”
Josh shook his head. “I wish we could think of something.”
“Let’s pray about it.”
They all added that petition to their silent prayer before the meal. They had almost finished eating when Mrs. Vandenberg leaned on her cane and pulled herself to her feet.
“I need to speak to someone.” She headed for the back door.
Josh and Rachel both stared at her. They exchanged glances, wondering if she’d lost it. The backyard was empty. Josh stood and started after her, but as she stepped off the porch, Adam rounded the house.
“Young man,” she called.
He turned and stared at her, his forehead creased in a frown. “Jah?”
“I have a message for you.” Her ringing tones carried into the open window.
“Who from?” Adam sounded annoyed.
“Let’s just say I’ve gotten a little direction from above.” She pointed skyward. “First of all, grumpiness is often a sign you need to ask for forgiveness.”
Adam stared at her in shock. “You don’t even know me.” His eyes narrowed. “Unless my brother was complaining about me?”
“Not at all. He never mentioned you.”
He squinted at her, disbelief evident on his face. “Then who told you I’m grumpy.”
“You did.” When he shot her a skeptical look, she smiled. “Not in words. The deepest lines on your face express discontent. So does the set of your mouth. Unless you just ate a lemon?”
“Do you always go around telling people what’s wrong with them and their expressions?”
“Not unless God nudges me.”
“And you’re telling me God wants you to criticize me about being grumpy?”
Mrs. Vandenberg laughed. “No, I’m only supposed to give you some spiritual advice. People are often bad-tempered when they’re trying to hide their guilt.”
“What are you accusing me of?”
“That’s between you and God.” She wobbled in a half-circle to start back to the house. “I will say one more thing,” she added over her shoulder. “From your manner, I’d say you have more than one person you need to apologize to. And don’t forget your wife.”
“Did she put you up to this?” Adam demanded.
“I’ve never met your wife. But grouchy people often take their tempers out on their spouses.”
“I don’t—” he blustered, but Mrs. Vandenberg was tapping her way back to the house.
Adam harrumphed, shook his head, and set to work.
“Wow, she really hit the nail on the head there.” Josh couldn’t help laughing. “I know I shouldn’t be enjoying this, but it was good to see Adam on the receiving end of the criticism for a change.”
Mrs. Vandenberg stepped through the doorway in time to hear the end of Josh’s statement. “Be careful not to judge, lest you be judged,” she said. “And be ready to open your heart to forgive.”
As usual, Mrs. Vandenberg managed to sting Josh with a pointed truth. He’d never truly forgiven Adam for his taunting and meanness. It was hard to do when the irritants happened almost every time Josh and his brother spent time together.
“I need to work on that,” Josh admitted. He dreaded going out there to face more taunts, so he started clearing the table.
Rachel took the dishes from him. “I can take care of this. It looks like Adam needs help.” She pointed out the window.
Outside, his brother was struggling to do a two-person job. Josh bit back a sigh. Adam would snap if Josh tried to help, even though Adam couldn’t do the task alone.
Josh bid Mrs. Vandenberg goodbye, and she tapped a hurried path to the front door. “I have people to see and romances to arrange. In fact, my first stop is at Anna Mary’s.”
Josh’s head shot up. “I hope you can work something out for her and Abe.”
Mrs. Vandenberg smiled. “All in good time. I have something else to talk about today.”
Whatever it was, Josh had no doubt it would benefit Anna Mary. His lips curved up as he lifted Zak. Look at what Mrs. Vandenberg had done for him and Rachel.
By the time Josh settled Zak with some nails and a small hammer, Adam had dragged the beam to the right area and was trying to wrestle it up to where it belonged, but he couldn’t get it high enough. Josh reached for the sagging end of the beam to lift it. Adam didn’t bark that he could do it himself. He didn’t even seem to notice Josh had picked up the opposite side and hefted it into place.
Adam seemed more focused on what Mrs. Vandenberg had said. “Did you put that old woman up to that?”
“Up to what?”
“Telling me I need to apologize to people, even Mara.”
“Nobody tells Mrs. Vandenberg anything. She’s dinged me many times. Her words are wise, so she’s worth listening to.”
“Of course you’d think that. You liked seeing her take me down a peg or two.”
No way could Josh deny that. When he was younger, he’d sometimes prayed his brother would get into trouble. So often, Adam did something wrong, but Josh took the blame.
“You probably think I should apologize to you.” Adam’s words held a touch of bitterness.
That would be nice, but Josh chose not to answer.
Adam mumbled something that sounded like Fat chance.
As the morning wore on, Adam’s irritation increased. He yelled at everyone. The last straw came while he was on the ladder. He went to pound in a nail and dropped his hammer. It almost hit Zak, who’d been playing nearby.
Josh let out a worried cry and hurried down to comfort his frightened sohn.
“You probably think I did that on purpose,” Adam snarled.
Again, Josh said nothing. He just cuddled Zak. “It’s time for your morning nap.” Josh stood and carried his little boy to the house as Rachel headed out with the morning snack. Cinnamon and yeast wafted from the two baking pans she held.
“Yum, that smells delicious.” He gave her an appreciative smile. “Want me to take Marianna up too?”
Her face glowed when she looked at him. “That would be great.”
After she set the coffee cakes down on the table, she unloosened the straps holding Marianna in the carrier and helped Josh nestle the baby against his chest. “I’ll bring her bottle up as soon as I put out a pitcher of milk for your brothers and daed.”
Josh flashed her a meaningful look, hoping to convey all the love in his heart. And the smile she returned set his heart dancing. He was still grinning as he headed through the kitchen.
Before he reached the hallway, a knock sounded on the front door. Rachel had just gone out the back door with the milk. He’d better get it.
Trying to open the door with a child in each arm proved a bit difficult. He bent over and juggled the children so he could turn the knob, then he nudged the door the rest of the way open with his foot. Zak still sniffled into Josh’s shoulder because of his earlier scare.
Josh took a step back. “Bishop Troyer?”
“You seem to have your hands full.” Laban studied the two children in Josh’s arms.
“I was just getting ready to put these two down for their naps. Did you want to come in?”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to speak to Betty. Then to you and Rachel.”
“Let me see if she’s awake.” Josh headed down the hall and tapped lightly at the door with his foot.
Betty laughed. “Do you have your arms full again, Josh?” she called.
“Jah. Laban Troyer is here, and he wants to talk to you.”
Barbara opened the bedroom door. “I’ll go get him so you can put the little ones in bed.”
“Let me see them for a second before they go up,” Betty begged.
Josh went into her room and leaned over so Betty could take Marianna.
Zak’s whines increased. “My leg hurts, Daed.”
Josh’s chest expanded. Zak alternated between calling him Josh and Daed. He and Rachel had been encouraging Zak to say Daed. “Are those stitches pulling and itching again?” When Zak nodded, Josh rubbed his back. “I’ll put something on them when we get upstairs, but the hurting means they’re getting better.”
Josh’s own scrapes and bruises from the well accident sometimes bothered him, too, but he didn’t have stitches like Zak. Still, Josh had had enough stitches as a child to know the stinging and burning they caused when they healed. He wished he could take away Zak’s pain.
“I’ll put Zak to bed first if you want a little more time with Marianna,” Josh told Betty.
When she smiled and nodded, Josh turned to find the bishop standing in the bedroom doorway, observing him. Self-conscious, he edged past with a quick pardon me and headed for the stairs.
What did Laban want? If yesterday’s rumors in church had reached his ears, he might think Josh and Rachel needed to wait longer to marry.
Josh feathered some salve over Zak’s wound and tucked the teddy bear quilt around him. Then, Josh sat on the bed and stroked Zak’s head until he fell asleep.
Rachel tiptoed in with the bottle. She peeked into the empty crib. “Where’s Marianna?”
“Downstairs with your mamm and the bishop.”
Rachel’s head jerked up. “The bishop? What does he want?”
“I don’t know.”
The worry that flashed in her eyes mirrored his own concerns. “I guess we’d better go down and find out.”
“I’m not quite finished speaking with your mamm,” Laban said when they entered the room.
“Maybe we can get Marianna fed and down for her nap then,” Josh suggested, crossing the room to take the baby from Betty. “I’ll carry her up.” He gave Rachel a tender glance. “I can feed her if you want to get more done on the quilt.”
But after they left the room, Rachel followed him up the stairs. “I’d like to have a few quiet moments with you.”
Josh was all for that. He cradled Marianna until she finished her bottle. Then, gently, he lowered her into the crib, and Rachel covered the baby with a cotton blanket. He shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching out and drawing Rachel close.
Six months seemed an unbearably long time. That thought jerked his attention to the bishop waiting downstairs. They needed to get out of here.
He motioned for Rachel to precede him out the door and took several deep breaths to gain control of himself before he followed her.
When they reached the doorway of Betty’s room, Laban rose from the chair beside the bed. Blood still pounded through Josh’s veins, and he hoped the bishop couldn’t hear his heart pounding.
Rachel ushered Laban into the living room. She gestured toward the quilt frame that took up a good portion of the room. “I’m sorry there isn’t much space for sitting.”
The bishop took the chair she indicated, and she sat on the couch, hemmed in by the quilt. Josh forced his gaze from Rachel’s tense face and took a straight-backed chair nearby.
“I won’t keep you long,” Laban said. “I can see you have plenty of work.”
Josh steeled himself for more bad news.
“I had two visitors today.” Laban leaned forward. “Both of them came to tell me something about the two of you.”
Rachel caught Josh’s eye. Like him, she seemed to be wondering which gossips from church had carried tales to the bishop.
Would he put off the marriage even longer? He wouldn’t forbid them to marry, would he?
Josh sat on the edge of his seat, waiting for the blow.
“My niece stopped by to confess that she’d exaggerated her story of your breakup. She said you’d apologized, but she explained she had been at fault too.” Laban paused. “That put things in a little different light.
“Then my next visitor gave me quite an earful.”
Cathy Zehr? One of the boys who had a crush on Rachel? A girl who hadn’t heard Caroline’s announcement last night?
“I must admit, I didn’t expect to hear so many carefully thought-out reasons for an Amish marriage coming from an Englischer.”
Mrs. Vandenberg? Josh mouthed, and Rachel nodded.
The bishop must have caught Josh’s message. “So, you know who I’m talking about?”
“We’re guessing,” Josh said, “but we do know a wise Englischer who often knows more about us than we know about ourselves. And this sounds exactly like something Mrs. Vandenberg would do.” He grinned at Rachel.
The mention of Mrs. Vandenberg’s name gave them both hope.
“She straightened me out on a lot of matters.”
Josh bit back a grin. He could imagine she had. He wished he’d been there to eavesdrop on that conversation.
“I also spoke to your mother, Rachel. And she agreed with Mrs. Vandenberg.” Laban stroked his beard. “And when I saw you with the children, I realized I had not taken their welfare into consideration, which Mrs. Vandenberg kindly pointed out.”
A tiny frisson of hope blossomed in Josh’s chest. Mrs. Vandenberg sometimes worked miracles.
The bishop went on. “I noticed how the little boy clung to you at church on Sunday, Josh, and today, he called you Daed. I’m sure it’s not good for him to be separated from his father all night, not after losing both his parents recently.”
Rachel drew in a breath, and Josh waited eagerly to hear the bishop’s decision.
“I’ve changed my mind about the waiting period. You may get married as soon as you’d like.”
* * *
Rachel couldn’t believe it. Her dream was coming true.
“Tomorrow?” Josh asked.
She nodded, although she suspected the bishop would object.
And he did.
The bishop held up a hand. “I expect you to use some discretion.”
“Next week?”
Rachel’s heart fluttered at Josh’s eagerness. He wanted this as much as she did.
Josh laughed before the bishop could shoot down his suggestion. “I’m only teasing.”
“I should hope so.” The bishop’s clipped tone belied the smile he tried to hide.
“The dawdi haus isn’t finished yet. Perhaps we should plan for a week or so after that’s ready, so Betty can get settled.”
The bishop rose. “That sounds like a more realistic timeline.”
With marriage as an incentive, Josh would fly through the construction work, but Laban didn’t need to know that.