Carrie Lighte - Courting The Amish Nanny

Sadie was puzzled. Most Amish children Elizabeth and David’s age could be trusted to behave if their parents momentarily stepped outside to milk the cow or hang the laundry. What was it about the twins that gave Levi pause about leaving them unsupervised? If Sadie didn’t figure it out by herself soon, she’d ask him later in private. “Of course I wouldn’t. We’ll stick together like glue.” Then she jested, “Or like cement.”

Levi cocked his head when the children giggled. Then he got it. “Aha, my kinner must have told you about my cooking.” Laughing at his own expense, he proved he wasn’t humorless after all.

“Cooking is my responsibility now,” Sadie said, since she’d agreed to make meals for the Swarey family. She was invited to eat with them as a perk, in addition to her salary. “I’ll have breakfast ready by the time you return from the barn. Maybe Elizabeth wants to help me make it.”

Elizabeth’s eyes glistened. “Jah—” she said before Levi cut her off.

“ Neh , she’s too young to operate the stove. She can kumme with David and me to the barn.”

Seeing Elizabeth’s shoulders sag, Sadie opened her mouth to inform Levi she had no intention of allowing Elizabeth turn on the gas, but that didn’t mean the girl couldn’t assist in the kitchen. Then she figured Levi knew more about his daughter’s abilities than Sadie, so she helped Elizabeth into her coat, hat and mittens while Levi did the same for David.

By the time the trio returned from milking the cow and collecting eggs, breakfast was on the table. In between swallowing spoonfuls of oatmeal, Levi explained, “Even though it’s only the sixteenth of November, we’re harvesting the first trees this week so we can ship them to our Englisch vendors who open their lots the day after Thanksgiving. I’ve also got a few dozen customers who ordered early deliveries of oversize trees for their places of business. You know, local restaurants and shops. A dentist’s office. A couple of churches, too.”

Sadie appreciated hearing about his job. She’d grown up on a farm, but they primarily grew corn and wheat; she had no idea what was involved in harvesting Christmas trees. “How many people do you have on your crew besides Maria Beiler?”

“This week it’s me and four young men from our district. Plus two Englisch truck drivers, who will help bale and load, too. After Thanksgiving we’ll have fewer deliveries. For the most part customers will cut and carry the trees themselves, or else we’ll bag and burlap the live ones, so I’ll reassign staff to manage all of that,” Levi said. He stopped to guzzle down the rest of his juice. “Which reminds me, my brother-in-law, Otto, will be arriving the Saturday after Thanksgiving to help. I hope you don’t mind cooking for him, too?”

“That’s fine. I’m used to preparing meals for a group of hungerich men—I have seven brieder ,” Sadie said before asking what made him decide to grow Christmas trees. It seemed an odd choice of crops, considering most Amish people didn’t allow Christmas trees in their own houses.

“The Englischer who sold us the acreage had already planted the seedlings about three years before we arrived. Then his parents had some health issues, so he relocated to Portland to care for them. My wife and I originally planned to clear the land and grow potatoes, but the previous owner had already invested so much into the trees we ended up changing our minds. All told, it’s taken over ten years for the trees to be ready to sell. In the meantime, I’ve also been working for Colin—the man I told you about—who owns a roofing company, so I’d have a steady income until we could turn a profit.”

“Did you live on a farm in Indiana, too?”

“ Neh. I worked construction. In fact, that’s why Leora—my wife... That’s why she wanted to move to Maine in the first place. We couldn’t afford to buy farmland in Indiana and it was her dream to raise our kinner in the countryside...” Levi’s voice wavered and he dragged a napkin across his mouth.

Sadie regretted that she’d stirred a painful memory and tried to console him. “I’m sure your wife would be pleased you’re fulfilling her dream for the kinner. ” But her comment seemed to upset Levi even more.

He pushed his chair from the table and scowled. “I’ve got a busy day ahead of me, so I don’t have time for any more chitchat.”

Embarrassed by his brusque dismissal, Sadie rose to her feet, too. “Then I won’t keep you. I’m sure the kinner know what their chores are and can help me find whatever I need in the house, although we’ll probably spend time outdoors, too.”

“ Neh , I don’t want you taking Elizabeth and David outside.”

Sadie was baffled as to why Levi expected them to stay inside; the weather was cloudy and cold, but she’d take care to dress them warmly. Were they recovering from a recent illness and in need of rest? Or perhaps a wild animal had been roaming the property and Levi didn’t want to frighten the children by mentioning it in front of them. While their father was donning his outerwear, Sadie directed David and Elizabeth to go upstairs and make their beds so she could ask Levi in private why they weren’t allowed outside.

He answered, “There will be trucks on-site today and I don’t want them running along the driveway or even playing in the yard until I’ve had a chance to show you around the property. I need to point out places to avoid. There’s a shallow little pond at the bottom of the hill on the opposite side of the barn, for example.”

Puzzled, Sadie quipped, “I wasn’t planning to take them swimming. Not in this weather anyway.” But when Levi glowered and pushed his hat onto his head, she cleared her throat and added, “We’ll stay on this side of the driveway and keep far away from the trucks, I promise.”

“I said I didn’t want them going outside yet!” he snapped. “Those are my rules for my kinner and if you have a problem following them, perhaps you made a mistake by coming here.”

Sadie saw red. I’m not the one who has a problem , she thought, but she didn’t say it. She had already quit one job impetuously; she wasn’t going to quit this one, too. At least, not without considering it carefully. The thought of sitting through Harrison’s wedding made her wince, but she wasn’t sure she could work for someone as unreasonable as Levi, either.

“You’re right. Perhaps I did make a mistake by coming here,” she replied evenly. “I’ll have to give it more thought.”

Levi pulled his chin back as if surprised. “You do that, then,” he said. “But before I go, I’d like you to look this over. It lists what’s expected of David and Elizabeth, as well as what they’re not allowed to do.”

He went and retrieved a sheet of paper from on top of the fridge and handed it to Sadie and then looked over her shoulder as she read it. The children are not allowed to get too close to the woodstove. The children cannot handle knives. They mustn’t climb on furniture. The list continued on and on. Scanning it, Sadie doubted even the least experienced nanny would need such detailed guidelines to care for Elizabeth and David. Nor did she consider all the rules to be necessary, but she held her tongue.

“Any questions?” he asked when she glanced up.

“ Neh , no questions.”

“ Gut. I’ll stop by in an hour or two.”

If he’s so pressed for time, why would he bother coming back in an hour? “Oh, there’s no need to disrupt your work,” Sadie suggested. “We’ll be fine until you return for lunch. When would you like to eat?”