Adeline was curled up in Percy’s chair. Mary and Natalie were on the red couch, their socked feet propped up on the coffee table, each of them sipping a cup of tea. Adeline had loaned them each nightgowns.
“Natalie, hon, I’m so glad you decided to sleep over too.” For the first time in a while Adeline felt safe. The past two nights she’d woken up outside in the yard in the middle of the night, with no idea how she got there. And there were other incidents before that. Little things, like putting her slippers in the refrigerator, and searching for a pack of cigarettes even though she quit smoking thirty years ago.
“It’s like a slumber party.” Natalie had her blond hair pulled up in a messy bun on top of her head, and she’d taken off her makeup. Adeline was used to seeing Mary without makeup, but she’d never seen her without a prayer covering and had no idea the girl’s dark hair fell well below her waist.
Natalie looked at Mary. “Do your people have slumber parties?”
“Ya, but we call them sleepovers.”
The girls had already told Adeline about the visit to see Levi, and they’d all laughed about Natalie’s trip to the outhouse. Adeline sensed that Natalie might have taken a fancy to one of Levi’s brothers.
“Adeline, you’ve never told us how you and Percy met and fell in love.” Mary posed the question with dreamy eyes, the way young people look when they are falling in love.
“Oh my. I don’t remember the last time I told this story. Although I recall it often.” She paused, smiling. “I remember the first time I saw Percy like it happened yesterday.”
Adeline told the girls about the auction, the prize cow, and the details of her first encounter with her husband, including how she’d wanted to be a veterinarian back then. She shared about their courtship two years later and how they were married after only dating for three months.
Mary and Natalie’s eyes were wide, their mouths open.
“Our short courtship was rare, even back in those days.” Adeline shrugged. “But when you know, you just know.” She chuckled. “And I didn’t know that I was five years older than Percy until two months after we’d been married. I asked him how old he was going to be on his birthday.” She shook her head. “It didn’t matter though. The Lord had blessed our union, and I was sure we’d last until death do us part.”
“What happened to you becoming a vet?” Natalie reached for a handful of chips from the bowl on the coffee table. “I’ve always loved animals. I don’t know that I can ever afford to become a veterinarian, but I would love taking care of animals for a living.”
Adeline shrugged. “I changed my mind. I was happy being a housewife, and Percy and I wanted lots of children to fill this house. But that wasn’t in the Lord’s plan. A few years after we were married, I went to college and got my teaching degree. I taught English to thousands of students for twenty-five years. I hope I made a difference in some of their lives.”
“Do you still love pets? Levi and I both have a fondness for cats.” Mary smiled as she reached for a chip from her stash on a paper towel in her lap.
“Oh yes, I still love the Lord’s furry little creatures. I actually had a cat until recently. His name was Smokey. He had beautiful gray fur and a wonderful disposition. If he had a flaw, it was that he loved to catch birds and bring them into the house.”
“What happened to him?” Mary asked.
“I don’t know. I had him for sixteen years, and a few months ago he just disappeared. He was a wonderful companion.”
“I’ve always wanted a cat,” Mary said. “But Lydia is allergic to them.”
Adeline recalled Mary’s story about Lydia. She didn’t want to betray a confidence by inquiring about her in front of Natalie. But she’d been praying for that situation. Maybe the girls would share more with each other, instead of with an old lady who may or may not remember their stories soon.
“I’m going to go to bed. You girls stay up and chat. Those fans you bought do a wonderful job.” Adeline eased herself out of Percy’s chair.
“Adeline, why isn’t the power on?” Natalie raised an eyebrow.
Adeline was sure she called the electric company. She remembered telling them she would pay with her credit card.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. But I haven’t missed it all that much. I have a propane stove and, thanks to Mary”—she smiled at her lovely Amish friend—“I now have a refrigerator powered with propane. Her father had a small one in his shop. I guess I’m living very similarly to the way you live, Mary.” She glanced at Natalie. “But I’m guessing you’d rather have some air-conditioning?”
Natalie giggled. “I think I’m getting used to it too.”
“You girls have fun.” Adeline kissed them each on the cheek. “Thank you for bringing love back into this house.”
Natalie waited until Adeline was gone. “Something isn’t right with Adeline.”
“She seemed fine tonight. I didn’t notice anything odd.”
“I did. She kept looking at the piano and smiling.” Natalie glanced at the instrument. “You don’t think she can really see Percy, do you?”
“Nee. I think she cherishes the memories and probably just relives those moments in her mind.”
“The electricity should be on by now. I don’t understand why it’s not.” Natalie pulled the band from her hair, gathered it all up, and bundled it on top of her head again. “I called the electric company to see if the problem was on their end or if Adeline was behind on the bill. Since my name isn’t on the account, they wouldn’t talk to me. I told them she was old and hot, but still . . . nothing.”
“She’s old, but I think you’re the one who’s hot.” Mary grinned. “It doesn’t seem to bother her, and it’s normal for me. I heard you say you were getting used to it.”
Grinning, Natalie said, “Well, kinda.” She pointed to the piano. “I like that though, the way the glow from the lantern bounces a reflection off the piano.” She grimaced. “I thought it might be scary, sitting in the dark, but it’s not.”
“Luckily, Adeline had lanterns and oil in the garage.”
They were quiet for a few moments before Mary asked Natalie about her father, if she was feeling any better about him moving.
“There’s nothing I can do about it, so I try not to think about it. I’m staying busy at work, and I’m applying for college scholarships. I’ll get to college one way or another, even if I have to take one class at a time and it takes me ten years.” She rolled her eyes. “I sure hope it doesn’t take that long.”
“What kind of schooling will you sign up for?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
Natalie wanted to tell Mary about the essay she’d written, the one Adeline had read. But she didn’t know Mary very well. She hadn’t known Adeline very well either when she asked her to read it, and she appreciated Adeline taking the time to do so, and her kind words about it. But it had left Natalie feeling a little exposed.
Mary hung her head for a few moments before she looked back at Natalie with glistening eyes and trembling lips.
“What’s wrong?”
“My sixteen-year-old schweschder is pregnant.” She burst into tears. “And mei mudder is embarrassed and humiliated. It’s brought great shame to our family. But I’m mostly worried about Lydia. She’s only sixteen, and that’s so young.”
Natalie could barely understand her friend. She was crying, gasping for breaths, and her voice had become tiny and high. She’d obviously been carrying this burden for a while.
“I’m guessing she isn’t married since she’s so young?”
Mary shook her head. “Nee. But mei mudder is working hard to get her and Samuel married quickly. The bishop is involved, and it’s causing such heartache. Lydia and Samuel haven’t been baptized, so there is a little leniency, but it isn’t our way for things like this to happen.”
“Things like that happen in all walks of life, Mary.” Natalie pulled her friend into a hug and stroked her hair the way Natalie’s mother used to do with her when she was little. “It will be okay.” She held her friend for a while and just kept telling her that everything would be okay. She’d never had a close Amish friend before, even though she’d known plenty of them.
“Levi doesn’t know. Please don’t tell him.” Mary jerked out of the hug, her eyes wide as saucers.
“I won’t.” Natalie tilted her head to one side. “I’m surprised you haven’t told him.”
“I will, eventually.” She covered her face with her hands. “I probably shouldn’t have told you.”
“Mary.” Natalie touched Mary’s arm and left it there until Mary uncovered her face. “I don’t think any less of you or your family.” She grunted. “Good grief. Look at the mess my family is.” Smiling, she said, “Sometimes, we make our own family.”
Mary nodded.
They stayed up until two in the morning talking about happier subjects. And they laughed a lot, which they both needed.
Early the following morning, Mary fed her horse some cereal from Adeline’s pantry, since that’s all she had to give the poor fellow. When she returned to the kitchen, Adeline was making a pot of coffee.
“Good morning.” Mary yawned. She was used to getting up at daybreak, but she wasn’t accustomed to staying up until two in the morning.
“And good morning to you.” Adeline took three coffee cups from the cabinet. “I’m surprised you’re up so early. I woke up to go to the bathroom, and I heard you girls giggling and carrying on.” She smiled. “That was nice to hear. I’m glad you two had some time together. Natalie still sleeping?”
Mary nodded as she recalled the relief she’d felt after telling Natalie about Lydia. It seemed to free up her emotions a little and allow her to experience some joy. “Ya, we had a gut time, but we also talked about some serious issues too.”
Adeline laid out a bowl of sugar and took milk from the refrigerator. “I’m sure Natalie talked to you about her parents’ divorce. She’s had such a hard time with it.”
“Ya, she did tell me about it.” Maybe it would be easier talking about Lydia a second time. “And I told her what’s going on with mei family too.” She waited until Adeline looked up at her, then she took a deep breath. “Lydia is pregnant. As it turns out, she and Samuel were doing more than kissing after all.” There was another level of relief to be able to share the news with Adeline.
“Aw, hon. I knew something had been bothering you.” She shook her head. “She’s so young, and I don’t doubt this is hard on your family. I will pray for Lydia, Samuel, and your family.” She smiled a little. “But a baby is a blessing, and the good Lord always has a plan.”
“Hey, hey.” Natalie walked into the room stretching and yawning. “I could have sworn I smelled bacon. Maybe I dreamed it.”
“Well, we can certainly get some breakfast going if you girls do the heavy lifting.” Adeline pointed to one of the lower cabinets. “My favorite skillet is down there.”
Mary gathered everything they’d need to make breakfast, and following the meal, she decided she should probably go home and face the music at her house. She hugged Adeline and Natalie goodbye, yawning the entire time, as was Natalie. But what a wonderful time they’d had chatting and getting to know each other.
By the time she arrived home, her family was back from worship service. Mary had called the night before to let her parents know she’d be staying at Adeline’s overnight.
Her father looked above the rims of his reading glasses. “How is Levi doing?”
Mary had told her parents she and Levi were friends. They probably suspected Levi was more than a friend, but Mary had left it at that. “He’s much better. He only has one more week of resting, and then he can start on light duty around the farm and at Adeline’s house.”
“That’s wonderful news,” Mamm said, smiling as she knitted something with yellow yarn. Daed echoed her mother’s comment.
“Where’s Lydia?”
Mamm smiled again. “She’s upstairs, probably resting.”
Mary hadn’t seen things this calm in her house since Lydia announced she was pregnant. Her mother had been aimlessly wandering the house or trying to plan a wedding or thinking up ways to save her family’s reputation. And her father had been constantly angry about both Lydia and their mother’s actions and attitudes.
But things seemed normal again.
“I’m going to rest too.” Mary moved toward the stairs.
“People asked where you were this morning, but we explained that you were visiting a sick friend, and everyone understood.”
Leave it to her mother to save face. “Ya, okay. Gut.”
On the way to her room, she paused at Lydia’s door. Her sister had been bitter about everything, and she hadn’t said much to Mary. But Mary’s heart hurt for Lydia. She knocked and opened the door to peek in. Lydia was curled up on the bed, still in her church clothes.
“Please go away.” She was lying on her side, her knees pulled to her chest.
Mary sat on the bed. “I’m not going away, and this situation isn’t going away. But Mamm and Daed must have come to terms with everything because they are acting much better than they were a few days ago.”
“Ach, I’m sure they are.” Lydia’s shoulder’s shook as she started to cry.
Mary scooted closer until she was able to put her hand on her sister’s back. “Please talk to me.”
“The wedding has been arranged. That’s why Mamm is so happy. And if Mamm is happy, Daed is happy.”
“When will it be?”
“In two weeks.”
Mary rubbed Lydia’s back. “I know this wasn’t your plan. Or Samuel’s. But sometimes our plan isn’t Gott’s plan.”
Lydia swiped at her eyes and stayed in a fetal position on her side. “This isn’t Gott’s plan. It can’t be. I went against Gott, and now I’m being punished.”
“Our Gott is loving and forgiving, and for whatever reason, this is His will, and you must accept it. We don’t always understand Gott’s will, but it is for the best.”
Lydia rolled onto her back, but kept her legs bent at the knees. She held Mary’s gaze, and instead of a young woman about to be a mother, Mary saw a scared child.
“You are going to be okay, Lydia.” She placed a gentle hand on her sister’s tummy. “You are going to be a mudder, and you will be a good one. We must welcome this new life and see him or her as a gift. Looking backward isn’t going to do you any good. You and Samuel made a mistake, but now you make the best of it.”
Mary didn’t know if it was a one-time error in judgment or if they had committed the act more than that. She didn’t want to know.
“Gott has forgiven you. Just try to embrace the joy about being a mudder.”
Lydia put her hand on Mary’s. “I want to be a gut mudder.” There was a long pause, then Lydia’s eyes watered up even more. “But I don’t want to marry Samuel, and they can’t make me.”
Oh dear. “Why not, mei maedel? Don’t you think that’s the best thing to do? I know you’re young to be a fraa, but it’s best for you and the boppli.”
Lydia squeezed her eyes closed before she opened them and said, “I don’t know if I love Samuel. And every time I look at him, I am reminded about our sin.” She put her hands on her stomach, sniffling. “Will I feel that way when I look at our boppli?”
Mary wanted to tread lightly, to help her sister, not make things worse, but Lydia was in this spot as a consequence of her actions. “Nee, mei maedel, a boppli is a gift from Gott, no matter how it happened, and you will love this child no matter what.” She paused and took a deep breath. “Why were you intimate with Samuel if you didn’t know if you loved him?”
“It only happened one time. I thought I loved him. I thought maybe I would know for sure if . . .”
Mary’s chest tightened. “Did Samuel push you into having intimate relations with him?”
Lydia scowled. “Nee. He would never do that.”
Mary didn’t think Samuel would coerce Lydia, but she was glad to hear her say it. And her defensiveness led Mary to believe that maybe there was more love than Lydia realized.
“I haven’t been baptized. I know that doesn’t excuse my sin. But I can choose not to be Amish if they try to make me marry Samuel.”
Mary rubbed her temples as tension built. “You can’t do that, Lydia.”
“Ya, I can.”
After running a hand through Lydia’s loose strands of hair, Mary said, “You can’t do that because I would miss you too much.” Mary choked back tears. “I love you.”
Lydia sat up and threw her arms around Mary and held on tight. “I love you too. But they can’t make me marry Samuel. He smells like garlic all the time.”
Mary eased away and hung her head. Lydia sounded like the sixteen-year-old child she was. She looked back at her sister. “I’m not sure that’s a gut enough reason. Maybe you can just tell him not to eat so much garlic.”
Lydia locked eyes with Mary. “I already did.”
Mary was at a loss for words. She wanted Lydia to be happy, but she could already foresee her mother’s wrath if Lydia refused to marry Samuel, and that caused Mary to shiver.
More than anything, Mary feared her sister running away from home.