Patricia Davids - Amish Christmas Joy

“My puppies will grow up to herd sheep and cattle, just like their mother and father do.”

Caleb glanced at Leah. “Are they border collies?”

“English shepherds.”

The breed wasn’t well-known outside farming communities. Similar to the border collie in size and coat texture, they were often sable and white or tricolor. Unlike many herding dogs, English shepherds were used to guard as well as herd cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and even fowl. They made excellent farm dogs.

“Pete would be a good name,” Caleb suggested.

“Not for a girl dog, Daddy,” Joy said in disgust.

“Right. Not for a girl dog,” he conceded.

Leah half turned in the seat to speak to Joy. “Can you think of another name?”

Joy was thinking, so Caleb ventured a second suggestion. “Matilda.”

“No.” Joy shook her head. “I don’t like that name.”

“Okay, how about Tilly? It rhymes with silly,” Leah said.

He glanced at his daughter’s face in the rearview mirror. She grinned at Leah. “No, not Silly Tilly. I like Pickles.”

“Ja, I like pickles, too. Dill pickles, sweet pickles, even bread-and-butter pickles. Do you like pickles, Caleb?”

“I do. I like pickles on sandwiches and on hamburgers. I like to eat the little crispy ones right out of the jar.”

Joy shook her head. “Not pickles to eat. Pickles for a name. I want to call the puppy Pickles.”

“Ach, I see.” Leah nodded solemnly. “Pickles is an excellent name. If my Trixie has a girl puppy, her name will be Pickles.”

They’d gone only half a mile down the highway when they came upon a buggy traveling in the same direction. Caleb slowed to a crawl, unable to pass on the hilly road.

“Does your family know you’re coming?” Leah asked.

“I wrote. I wasn’t sure when to tell them to expect us.” He hadn’t mailed the letter until the day they left. Up until the moment he dropped the letter in the mailbox, he’d hoped he could find a way to manage his life with Joy in Texas. Admitting that he couldn’t was a bitter pill to swallow. He simply didn’t know where else to turn.

Leah lapsed into silence until he had the chance to pass the buggy. As they went by, she sat back and muttered, “Oh, no.”

“What?” He looked in his rearview mirror but didn’t see anything amiss.

“That was Esther Zook.”

“The bishop’s wife?”

“The same.”

“Has she changed any in the past decade?”

“Nee, she has not.”

“So gossip about you riding with an Englisch fellow will be spreading before the sun sets tomorrow. Good to know some things never change. Will it be better or worse for you when she learns it was me?”

“You were not baptized. No one must shun you.”

“Some people will think I should be.”

“Not everyone has a forgiving nature, in spite of what we are taught.”

He glanced at her. “Do you?”

“Have a forgiving nature? I thought so, but I find it is something I must work on.”

It wasn’t the answer he wanted. For some reason, he wanted to know that she had forgiven him for leaving the Amish, for straying so far from the path laid out from his birth. It was a foolish thought. He was grateful she was willing to consider teaching Joy. That was enough.

“I live in the same house. It’s past the next hill on the right-hand side of the road, a short mile after the school.”

“You still live with your folks?”

“Nee, they are gone now.”

“I’m sorry.” He slowed as he topped the rise. The school building and schoolyard were just as he remembered them. He would have to tell Joy to look for his name carved under one of the desks. The lane to Leah’s home came all too quickly. He turned in and hoped Joy would say goodbye without making a fuss.

Her face took on the mulish pout he dreaded, once Leah opened the door to get out.

She held out her hand to Joy. “It was wonderful meeting you. I look forward to seeing you at school.”

“At school?” Joy gave her a puzzled look.

“Your father wants to enroll you in my school. If it works out, I’ll be your new teacher. Wouldn’t that great?”

Joy folded her arms over her chest and stared at the floor of the truck. “I don’t like school. Other kids make fun of me.”

“My students won’t do that. Besides, even if you don’t come to my school, I’m sure your father will bring you over to see the puppies when they arrive.”

Joy looked at Caleb. “Will you?”

“Sure, kiddo.”

Joy clapped her hands and rewarded him with a beaming smile that crinkled her eyes closed. He smiled in return. It was amazing how fast he was growing to love her. That was one more reason to get her settled quickly. Another painful upheaval wouldn’t do either of them any good.

He glanced at Leah. She was smiling at Joy, too. As their eyes met, his heart gave a funny kick. She really was a pretty woman. He liked the way her eyes sparkled when she smiled.

The last thing he expected to find in Hope Springs was an Amish woman who caught his fancy.

If only things had been different.

And that was the story of his life.

Leah looked away first. “Goodbye, Joy. Be sure and tell your grossmammi I said hello.”

“I will.” Joy waved.

Leah waved, too, and closed the door.

Caleb sat and watched until she entered the house. After a few minutes, the soft glow of lantern light lit the windows. He couldn’t put it off any longer. It was time to go home. He shifted the truck in Reverse and began to back up.

“Daddy, stop!”

He hit the brakes. “What?”

“Leah wants you.”

He looked toward the house. She stood on the porch motioning to him. He put the truck in Park. Was something wrong? He looked around the cab. He didn’t see anything she might have left behind.

“Stay here, Joy.” He opened his door.

“But I want to come in.”

“We’re not staying. I’m just going to see what Leah wants.” He stepped out of the truck. The light layer of powdery fresh snow muffled his footsteps as he crossed the yard to her porch.

Leah’s eyes were bright with excitement. As he neared, that excitement faded. She bit her lower lip and clasped her hands together nervously. When she didn’t speak, he asked, “Is something wrong?”

“Nee. It’s only that Trixie has had her puppies. I thought perhaps Joy would like to see them.”

Bemused by her unexpected offer, he hitched a thumb toward his truck. “I’m sure she will. I’ll go get her.”

He was happy to put off going home for a bit longer. The real upside was spending more time in Leah’s company.

* * *

What was she thinking?

Leah couldn’t believe she had just invited Caleb Mast into her home. She had been so excited to find the puppies had arrived that she had simply stepped out and beckoned Joy to come see them, not thinking that Caleb would come, too. She could hardly ask him to wait outside while she took his child in. She prayed her sister wouldn’t find out.

Leah watched as Caleb lifted Joy out of the truck. He spoke to her quietly and then held her hand as they approached the house. Leah stood aside and let them enter.

She had placed the whelping box in the kitchen, near the stove for warmth. Trixie lay on an old quilt in a corner of the box with three tiny black, brown and white pups nestled against her belly. She pricked up her ears and gave the newcomers a guarded look.

Trixie was a medium-size dog with long black fur and a white blaze that went down her face and chest. Over her eyes and upright ears, she had brown points, which gave her an inquisitive look. Two of the puppies were marked like their mother. A third was as pale brown as winter grass, with a white blaze and chest and four white feet.