Her Forgiving Amish Heart. Rebecca Kertz

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СКАЧАТЬ Dat.” Leah watched her sister run into the house. She turned toward her father.

      “Dochter,” he said.

       “Ja?”

      “Was it awful?”

      She knew what he meant. He was asking how well she’d coped with her fear. He was the only one who knew of her phobia. He was the one who’d found her during a raging storm curled up in a ball in an open field, sobbing with terror as thunder crashed overhead and lightning flashed while it threatened to strike her. He’d picked her up and carried her to safety. Despite the fact they were walking through the storm to the nearest shelter in their barn, she’d felt safe and secure within his arms. She was three years old at the time. Her mother hadn’t been home. Mam and her older sister, Nell, were at her grandparents’ house. As young as she’d been, Leah had begged her father that no one learn of what happened. Her father had agreed readily. Her mother was with Meg, and he hadn’t wanted to upset her. And so they’d both kept the knowledge—and Leah’s subsequent fear of thunderstorms—to themselves. As far as she knew, she hid her fear well and her family still didn’t know.

      “Nay,” she said and realized that she spoke the truth. “I did gut.” Despite her initial terror, she’d weathered the storm better than usual—because of Henry Yoder. She felt worse than ever before for treating him badly.

      Her father’s expression cleared. “That’s wonderful, Leah.” His smile reached his eyes. “Let’s go eat supper.”

      Surrounded by her parents and sisters at the dinner table, Leah felt the stress of being caught in the storm and her time spent with Henry dissipate. She smiled as she listened idly to her youngest sister Charlotte’s conversation with Ellie.

      “Visiting Day is at Aunt Katie and Uncle Samuel’s,” Charlie said. “Can we bring chowchow and apple pie?”

      Ellie arched her eyebrows. “Why chowchow? I’m sure Aunt Katie has plenty.”

      Charlie frowned. “Who says she’ll serve hers?” Then softly, as if voicing her thoughts, she murmured too quietly for the others to hear, except for Leah who sat next to her, “I want to bring something I made by myself.”

      Leah shot her a look and noted the wistfulness in Charlie’s expression. She smiled in Ellie’s direction. “I think it’s a great idea for us to bring chowchow. The last batch was the best I’ve ever tasted.” She could feel Charlie’s gratitude in the release of tension in her sister’s shoulders. “I’m sure Aunt Katie only brings hers out if no one else thinks to bring some.”

      “That’s true,” her mother said with a smile. “So, we’ll bring chowchow, and I’ll make the apple pie and some sweet-and-vinegar green beans. Any other ideas?”

      “I’ll make potato salad,” Leah offered.

      Ellie grinned. “I’ll make a cake.”

      “I’ll help you with the cake,” Charlie offered, clearly happy that everyone had agreed that they should bring a bowl of her sweet-and-sour chowchow, a pickled mixture of the remainder of last summer’s garden vegetables, a favorite among the members of their Amish community.

      The next morning Leah worked to make German potato salad while Ellie and Charlie gathered the ingredients to make a cake and her mother rolled dough for an apple pie. She loved these times when the women in her family were all together in the kitchen, but she missed having her married sisters, Nell and Meg, with them.

      As she carefully drained the hot water off the potatoes, Leah found her thoughts drifting to Henry and his kindness to her during yesterday’s thunderstorm. The last thing she’d wanted to do was spend time with him, but he’d made it bearable. She’d found herself softening when he’d wrapped a quilt around her shoulders. Leah frowned. She didn’t want to think of Henry. It bothered her that she’d been unable to get him out of her thoughts since she’d left the store.

      Forcing Henry from her mind, she concentrated on enjoying the time with her mother and sisters while she made her potato salad and found happiness in the company of her family.

      * * *

      Sunday morning Leah got ready to spend Visiting Day at her Lapp relatives. Once she’d put aside thoughts of the storm—and Henry—the day spent with her mother and sisters baking and cooking was wonderful. Amish women weren’t allowed to cook or do any work on Sundays, so it was important to make sure everything was done by Saturday afternoon. Leah had made two large bowls of German potato salad, a family favorite. Ellie and Charlie had baked two cakes, one chocolate and one carrot. Mam had baked the apple pie and made traditional sweet-and-sour green beans with sugar, vinegar and chopped pieces of cooked bacon. The green beans fixed this way were delicious cold as well as hot, so it was the perfect side dish to any Sunday meal.

      Since Friday’s thunderstorm, she’d been unable to keep Henry Yoder out of her mind. Would he be visiting with Isaac today? Her heart thumped hard at the thought. She wished she’d taken the extra time to thank him, as well as apologize for the way she’d been eager to get away from him. Thinking on it a lot since then, Leah realized that Henry made her nervous. No man ever affected her that way. She shouldn’t continue to fret about it but found it difficult to stop.

      It was a perfect spring day, with temperatures well into the upper seventies. As her father steered their family buggy close to the Samuel Lapp house, Leah noticed that everyone was outside enjoying the weather. Tables were set up on the back lawn and her male cousins were already playing baseball in the side yard. She felt a burst of excitement as she climbed out of the parked buggy and reached in to grab the two bowls of potato salad. It looked to be a good time spent with good people. Charlie and Ellie joined her as she watched the activity about the house.

      “Do you think Endie Katie wants us to bring the food inside?” Charlie asked.

      “Ja,” Leah said. “’Tis too early for lunch and we didn’t bring any breakfast foods.”

      “There’s she is now!” Ellie exclaimed. “Let’s ask her.”

      Mam and Dat appeared beside them as they headed to greet Leah’s aunt. Her uncle Samuel came out of the house behind his wife, and Leah watched as they talked a moment. The affection between the two wasn’t overt, but she could see the love they shared in the way they regarded each other—and the way her uncle placed a hand gently for a moment on her aunt’s shoulder. Leah felt a little twinge of pain as she realized she wanted a relationship like they had. She wanted a husband and a family. She straightened her spine. If the Lord wanted her to marry, then she would. If not, then she must be content with only a craft business in her future. She’d find joy in her shop and be grateful for her loving family and her friends. She had no right to feel anything else.

      “Endie Katie!” Charlie exclaimed with a grin as her aunt and uncle approached. “We’ve got apple pie, cake, chowchow, green beans, and Leah made her German potato salad!”

      “So much food,” Katie said, beaming. “Are you hoping to feed our entire community?”

      When her aunt looked in her direction, Leah smiled. “Better too much than not enough.”

      “Do you want everything in the kitchen?” Mam asked.

      “Ja, that would be gut.” Katie СКАЧАТЬ