Carrie Lighte - Anna's Forgotten Fiancé

“Are you sure you won’t mind if we accompany you?”

“Of course not. After all, think of how many times you and Aaron let me tag along on your outings,” Melinda said.

Anna remembered. She’d intended to demonstrate how a young Amish woman ought to behave in social settings and she naively believed Aaron was being forbearing in allowing Melinda to join them: she didn’t realize he was interested in Melinda romantically.

“Besides,” Melinda chattered blithely, “Naomi won’t fret about my reputation if I’m out with you.”

Anna sighed. So that was the reason she was being invited. Still, it seemed she and Fletcher had an easier time conversing when there were more people around. “I’d like that,” she said. “As long as Fletcher doesn’t mind.”

* * *

Because they’d been so discreet about their relationship, Anna and Fletcher usually favored spending any free time they had with each other instead of attending social events within their district, such as Sunday evening singings. They’d certainly never accompanied another couple on an outing before, so Fletcher was startled when Anna asked if he’d like to join Aaron and Melinda on a ride to see the property Aaron intended to buy. But, realizing Anna wouldn’t have remembered their dislike of double dating, Fletcher deferred to her request. Besides, he was heartened by the fact Aaron was considering buying property—perhaps it meant he was as dedicated as ever to marrying Melinda, and Fletcher’s concerns about him and Anna were for naught.

The afternoon was unseasonably sunny and warm, and the tips of the trees were beginning to show dots of green and red buds. As the two couples sped up and down the hills in Aaron’s buggy, Anna kept marveling at the changes in the landscape. She noticed nearly every tree that was missing and each fence post that had been replaced after the October tornado. She seemed especially aghast to discover the schoolhouse was one of the buildings that had suffered the worst damage, but she was relieved to learn none of the children had been harmed.

“Now that you’ve had more rest and you’ve seen the destruction, surely you must remember the storm,” Aaron suggested. “It was so violent that I couldn’t forget it if I tried.”

Anna shrugged. “I still have absolutely no recollection of anything that happened in the past six months, whether big or small, positive or negative.”

“I guess that’s gut news for you, huh, Fletcher? Anna can’t remember any of your faults,” Aaron needled his cousin. “On the other hand, she probably can’t remember why she agreed to marry you, either.”

Fletcher’s mouth burned with a sour taste but before he could respond, Anna abruptly shifted the subject, asking Melinda, “Where will the two of you live until Aaron has time to build a house?”

“With Naomi and the boys,” she replied, clutching Aaron’s arm as he rounded a corner. “It will be crowded but I’m trying to convince Naomi to temporarily move into the room in the attic so we can have her room downstairs.”

From the corner of his eye, Fletcher caught Anna frowning. He usually felt as if he could read her expression as easily as the pages in a book, but today he couldn’t tell if she was scowling because of Aaron’s rambunctious driving, Melinda’s gall in asking Naomi to take the attic room, or some other reason altogether. The uncertainty caused his mouth to sag, too.

“Here we are,” Aaron announced as he swiftly brought the horse to a standstill. He made a sweeping motion with his hand to indicate the field to their right.

“The old Lantz homestead?” Fletcher asked.

The modest square of land on the corner of the Zooks’ farm used to belong to Albert Lantz, who resided with his granddaughter, Hannah. After their home was flattened by the tornado, they chose not to rebuild because Hannah married a visiting cabinetmaker from Blue Hill, Ohio, and thus moved out of state. Her grandfather accompanied her, but first he sold his property back to the youngest generation of the Zook family, who now lived on the farm.

“Their old homestead and then some,” Aaron boasted. “The Lantz plot was barely as big as a postage stamp. I’m in negotiations with Oliver Zook to purchase the acreage running all the way down the hill to the stream.”

“Isn’t it wunderbaar?” sang Melinda, spreading her arms and twirling across the grass.

“Jah, it’s lovely,” Anna answered, but Fletcher noticed how taut her neck and jaw muscles appeared. Was she jealous? Was she imagining herself, instead of Melinda, owning a house with Aaron in such a picturesque location? Fletcher stubbed his shoe on a root as the tumultuous thoughts rattled his concentration.

“Kumme, have a look at my stream,” Aaron beckoned.

“I believe the stream belongs to Gott, although He’s generous enough to allow it to run through your property—or actually, through Oliver Zook’s property,” Fletcher stated wryly.

“Lighten up. Worship services are over for the day,” Aaron countered. “Or if you’re going to preach at me, how about remembering the commandment, Thou shalt not covet?”

“Stop bickering,” Melinda called. “This is a happy occasion, remember? Hooray!”

She picked up a handful of old, dried leaves and tossed them into the air and then tried to catch them as they fluttered around her. Then she and Aaron cavorted down the hill like schoolchildren, racing to tag each other’s shadows until they disappeared into the woods, while Fletcher and Anna followed at a slower pace, neither one speaking.

When they reached the stream, Anna closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “Mmm, it smells like spring,” she said, and then raised her lids to view the bubbling current, the gently sloping embankment and the thick stand of trees. “What a beautiful place.”

“I have to agree, it’s a fine fishing spot,” Fletcher responded. Thinking aloud, he added, “But Aaron’s too impatient to fish and even if he weren’t, Melinda’s such a chatterbox, she’d frighten the fish away.”

Anna narrowed her brows. “That may be true of them now,” she said, “but people change. They grow. With Gott’s help, we all do.”

Fletcher hadn’t intended to be insulting. He simply meant the location seemed better suited to his and Anna’s preferences than to Aaron and Melinda’s, since he enjoyed fishing and Anna appreciated solitude, so he was surprised by how quickly Anna seemed to defend them. And what did her comment about people changing and growing mean, anyway? Was she indicating that she had changed? Was she implying she thought Aaron had grown? Fletcher’s brooding was interrupted when Melinda capered up the embankment.

“Help!” she squealed. “Aaron’s trying to splash me and that water’s freezing!”

Aaron reappeared and the four of them ascended the hill. At the top, they were greeted by Oliver Zook. “Guder nammidaag. Grace sent me to invite our prospective new neighbors and their future in-laws for cookies and cider.”

“That sounds wunderbaar,” Melinda said, accepting the invitation for all of them.

The fragrance of hot cider and freshly baked cookies wafted from the kitchen when Grace ushered everyone inside. As they situated themselves in the parlor, where Doris and John Plank were also visiting, the Zooks’ baby began wailing in the next room.

“I’ll get her while you prepare the refreshments,” Oliver said, squeezing his wife’s shoulder.

“Wait till you see how much she’s grown since the last time you saw her, Anna,” Grace remarked before leaving the room, understandably ignorant of Anna’s amnesia.

When Oliver returned, jostling the fussy baby, Aaron suggested, “You should let Anna take her. She has such a soothing, maternal touch. She was always able to comfort my eldest sister’s son when he was a newborn.”