On Sunday, Barbara made sure she looked absolutely presentable. Looking over the kinder, she approved of their appearances. “Michael, straighten out your coat. It’s crooked. Annie, your head covering is askew.”
“Okay, everyone, let’s go.”
Barbara scooped up the shoofly pies she had made the day before. Looking at Ben, she smiled. “You look presentable, husband.”
“You, too. Gott would approve.” He held the pies as Barbara laboriously climbed into the buggy. Knowing her temper, he held back his thought—she needed to go on a diet like the one Emma was on.
“Ben, what do you think of Emma, how she looks these days?”
Ben, completely unaware of what his wife had in mind, nodded. “She has lost a lot of weight already. I hear tell she is getting around more easily now.”
“Ja, she is. Does she look, oh, I don’t know...more attractive to the unmarried men?”
Ben heard an alarm bell dinging in his brain, but didn’t know why. “Uh, I guess.” He didn’t feel safe saying anything more.
“Maybe she’ll marry someone eventually. Like Jacob, who’s always hanging around her.”
“Is that bad? Maybe she wants to be a wife, baker and mam.”
“I never thought of her in that way. She’s always just been...there...sort of in the background.”
“Barbara? She’s your little sister. I know she’s had a rough time, especially with her weight, her leg, and now her surgeries. Would you go easy on her?”
“Nee. I’ve always sensed that she could be trouble one day. Now that she’s so stubborn about losing weight, I feel like that trouble is closer.” Barbara made sure to lower her vocal tone, giving her pronouncement more significance.
Ben was completely flummoxed. “Wife, I don’t know what you’re talking about. She’s my sister-in-law and she seems like a nice enough woman.”
Barbara had boxed Ben in just where she wanted him. Hiding her glee, she frowned and crossed her arms over her ample middle. “Hmm! Why you’re defending her, I don’t know.” She allowed a frosty silence to settle over them.
Ben tried to settle his temper by looking around him. It had snowed a little the night before. Seeing the familiar landscape covered by a coat of cold white, he exhaled. Finally, they arrived at the farm where services were scheduled. He helped the kinder out of the buggy, and then he helped Barbara. Realizing how heavy she’d gotten, he planted his shoes in the snow and hid a low grunt as he lowered her to the ground.
After the service had ended, the men stood around, talking shop while the elderly community members ate. The kinder all played, racing around and throwing snowballs at each other while the wives and unmarried girls served everyone sitting. Eventually, it was Ben’s turn. He sat and quickly ate his lunch. He slowed down when he realized that his eating habits were making him as heavy as Barbara. Pushing his plate back, he nursed his cup of coffee. Looking around, he saw the other men laughing and talking. “So, how’s it going, Jacob?”
“It’s going well, denki. How are the horses doing with their hooves?”
“Wunderbaar. No limping, no slowing down.”
“Gut. I’ll be out to your place in a month or two, remember.”
Ben nodded and waved at Jacob. He wanted to talk to one of the other men.
Barbara, seeing Ben heading to the barn, called to Emma. “Sister! Come with me!”
“Barbara, I have to be careful so I won’t fall. I’d rather stay here.”
“You need exercise, right? I’ll make sure you don’t fall. Come on!” Barbara gripped Emma’s arm, realizing that her sister truly had lost a lot of weight. Anger roiled in her gut. She aimed Emma toward the barn. “I want to show you some cats that Deborah told me about. I remember you wanted another barn cat.”
Emma sighed, hoping she wouldn’t fall and be hurt again. “Barbara, slow down! I slipped there!”
Barbara slowed down a little. She wanted to leave Emma alone with her husband, and that wouldn't happen if Emma had an accident. “Okay. We’re nearly there anyway.” Looking up, she pretended to see something that upset her. “Oh, Emma, can you find them by yourself? Deborah said they stay in a large, wooden box inside the barn. I see Michael getting himself in trouble. I need to go stop him.” Veering off, she hurried to where Michael supposedly was.
Emma looked around, feeling frantic and abandoned. Looking down at the floor, she stepped carefully, looking for large wooden boxes. Spotting two close together, she moved slowly toward them. But neither one of them held kittens. Looking around again she didn't see any other wooden boxes. Sighing, she decided to go back to the table so she could drink more of the hot decaf tea she'd brought for herself. She turned, bumping into Ben. “Oh!”
“Emma! What are you doing in here?”
“Barbara said Deborah has kittens in here, but I didn’t see anything. I’m going back to my table.”
“Let me help you. Shall I just walk next to you or should I take your arm?”
“Just next to me is gut, denki.” Approaching the entrance of the barn, she placed one foot and her cane on the snow, and she hit a patch of ice hidden under the new snow. She shrieked as she felt herself going down.
Ben grabbed her, but was pulled down by her weight and momentum. He angled his body so he wouldn’t land on her.
Emma and Ben let out grunts as they landed. Emma sat up right away, looking for any signs she was hurt. Ben sat up a little more slowly, and then got up.
Everyone’s eyes focused on them, wondering what they had been doing together in the barn.
At a distance, Barbara hid a secret smile. Her plan was perfect! “Ben! What were you—? Oh! Emma! Are you okay?”
Emma glared at her sister. She felt something was off and intended to figure it out fast.
“Ben, what were you doing in the barn with my sister?” Barbara spoke as though she was unaware that she had set him up. “You know she’s unmarried. You shouldn’t have been alone with her! What were you doing?” She stomped her foot on the snow, completely engrossed in the drama she’d created.
Jacob hurried up and helped Emma stand. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt?”
“Nee. Not physically, anyway.” Emma got her feet and cane under her.
“Emma, what were you doing in the barn with my husband? I took you to see the kittens—”
“Which weren’t in there. I looked in all the wooden boxes I found. Barbara, you’re up to something.”
Bishop Zook hurried up. “What is going on here? Miss Lapp, you know you’re not supposed to be alone with a man, let alone a married one. Mister Anderson, why were you with an unmarried woman?”
Both began trying to explain.
“Wait. Let’s go inside...” He got permission from the home’s owner, and then took Ben and Emma inside.
Emma was sure she could explain what had happened and avoid any disciplinary measures, let alone a scandal. “Bishop, my sister told me that Deborah has new kittens inside the barn. She knows I’ve wanted a barn cat, so she took me to them. She saw her son getting into mischief, so she went to take care of him. I bumped into Ben and he helped me back outside. That’s when I fell.” Not wanting to babble, she stopped her flow of words.
“Mister Anderson?”
“I was discussing a new seed variety with Zeke Stoltzfus. I’m interested in planting a stronger variety of wheat in the spring. I bumped into my sister-in-law and helped her out after she told me she couldn’t find those kittens.”
“Mmm. Okay, but I want to talk to the elders about this. Expect a visit from us, both of you.”
Emma was stunned. “But Bishop Zook! It was totally innocent! I had no idea he was inside the barn!” In that moment, Emma knew what had happened. About to speak, she closed her mouth. I need to talk to Barbara and see what she was up to.
She didn’t realize that Barbara was going to play the wronged wife to the hilt. Moving back into the public area of the house, she spotted Barbara in the middle of a group of wives. She was sobbing. Several of the wives looked at Emma—their looks ranged from sympathy to glares, with the glares outnumbering the sympathetic looks. Closing her eyes, Emma veered into the kitchen, where she sat in an out-of-the-way chair, trying to figure out what had just happened.
***
Ben was completely unaware of the role he had just played, not knowing the manipulation to which his wife was stooping. All he knew was that she was crying, Emma had vanished, and he was being glared at! “Wife, let’s go. Gather your pie plates.” Looking outside, he spotted their kinder. Waiting for a few seconds, until he knew that Barbara was behind him, he hurried out to the buggy, motioning for their children to get in. “What is going on? Why are you crying?”
“Husband, can you not figure it out? You were inside the barn with my sister—who happens to be unmarried!”
“Ja, I’m aware of that, from what Bishop Zook told me. I was talking to Zeke about a new wheat variety he’s planting. I wanted his thoughts about it.”
Barbara knew she couldn’t take the wronged wife act too far. Lowering her hands from her face, sniffling a few more times and wiping nonexistent tears from her cheeks, she stared at him. “Are you sure? Are you being truthful?”
Ben groaned. “Barbara, I made a vow before Gott and our families and friends that I would be faithful to you. I have never broken that vow. And I have no intentions of doing so.”
Barbara let out just one more sob, for good measure. “Husband, are you sure? Because I can let the elders know what you told me.” Barbara had no intention of doing so.
“Ja, that would help. It would also help your sister to let the elders know that nothing took place.”
“I will. I’ll stop by the deacon’s house tomorrow after taking the kinder to school.” Again, Barbara had no intentions of doing this.
***
For Emma, the trip home with her parents was quiet and full of unspoken tension. Once they were in the house, her dat let loose.
“Daughter, what were you thinking? Being alone in the barn with a man—a married man at that! You know this means the elders are going to be talking to you and to Ben!”
“Dat, I didn’t know he was in there! The only reason I went to the barn was that Barbara told me that Deborah has barn kittens. I’ve wanted to bring a new one in after Brownie died last month.”
“You’re sure that’s the only reason you were in there?”
“Ja! Dat, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to scream. But I had no idea where Ben was. I thought he was with the other men!”
“Okay. Your mam and I need to talk about this. We’ll be upstairs.”
“Okay.” Emma slumped into the couch, not even hungry for a piece of fruit or yogurt. Ever since Bishop Zook had spoken to her and Ben, she felt marked. I did nothing wrong! Why did she do that? It felt odd, because she hates cats. She would rather we not have barn cats and just deal with the rodents another way. Before she could continue trying to puzzle the situation out, Emma started at a sharp knock on the door. Walking carefully over, she opened it, gasping when she saw Jacob’s unsmiling face.
“Emma. I thought we had an understanding. What were you doing in the barn with your brother-in-law?”
Emma repeated what had happened, trying to convince Jacob she was innocent. “I had no idea he was there! And it’s odd that Barbara would even tell me about barn cats. She hates cats!”
Jacob turned away, then back toward Emma. “So, you’re innocent of what you’re being charged with? No idea Ben was in there.”
Emma shook her head frantically. “Nee! He said he’d been discussing a new wheat variety with Zeke. I looked for the kittens and didn’t see any. Now, I’m beginning to wonder if Barbara deliberately led me to the barn because she knew Ben was in there.” Feeling her leg trembling, Emma returned to the couch, sinking down carefully.
“Have you had your snack?”
“Nee. I’m not hungry. I’m too upset.”
In answer, Jacob went to the kitchen and came back with a container of sugar free yogurt. “Eat. You know the procedure.” He joined her on the couch, facing her. “So, you think she did this on purpose? Why?”
“I wish I knew, Jacob.” Peeling open the yogurt container, she sighed and took a small spoonful. “All I remember is that it felt odd. I should have realized when she mentioned cats.”
Jacob had a thought but didn’t want to say anything until he’d figured the whole issue out for himself. “You may be right. Don’t say anything to her if you see her.”
Emma nearly choked on a new bite of her apple. “Are you kidding me? I can and do forgive her, but Jacob! It’s going to be so hard to look at her, let alone speak with her!”
“Ja, I know what you mean. Has she been more open to your weight loss?”
“She’s seemed to be.”
“Don’t get mad at me. Because, before you had the weight loss surgery, I had a talk with her and told her she’d better stop trying to keep you from losing weight. Even if she had to fake her support.”
Emma wasn’t sure how she felt about that. “Oh, Jacob. We’ve let loose a monster. I don’t think she’s ever been very sure of herself. Oh, she puts up a good face about it, but ever since I got serious about losing my weight, she has been trying to sabotage everything I do.”
“Has she done anything since that time you got so sick?”
“Nee. She’s afraid, I think. Dat got so angry when he found out what she’d done. Of course, when she saw that I was in the bathroom, vomiting all afternoon long, I think she realized the doctors were serious when they told me to be careful about how much I ate.”
“Emma. Do you think she’s afraid that people will think you're prettier than she is once you lose all the weight?”
Emma had been about to say something else. She was stunned by Jacob’s thought. Wanting a little more time to think, she took a bite of her yogurt. Swallowing, she nodded. “Ja. And that would be a sin.”
“A sin of pride and vanity.” Rising, Jacob stared out the large front window. He allowed the serenity of the scene outdoors to help him calm down.