Rebecca Kertz - Jedidiah's Bride

“Mam?” Sarah entered the bedroom, saw Ruth seated in a chair by the window. “Are you all right?”

She turned toward her with barely a smile and gestured for Sarah to sit on the bed. “Come in, Sarah. I need to talk with you.”

Sarah felt her insides lurch as she nodded and sat on the patchwork quilt. “Is it about your recent doctor’s visit?”

“Ja.” Ruth turned to fully face her daughter and reached to clasp Sarah’s hands. “There is something I need to tell you.” The daylight emphasized the tired lines in Mam’s face. She looked exhausted and much older than her forty-three years. “I need heart surgery. The doctor believes he can fix it, but it will take me a while to recover.”

“Surgery?” Sarah breathed. She could feel the weakness in her mother’s grip. She fought to stifle her fear, to keep her thoughts hidden. “That is something,” she murmured, “and I’ll be here to help.”

“Nay,” Ruth said. “We’re sending you with the twins to our cousins William and Josie in Pennsylvania.”

“But Mam—what if you need me?” Send her away? No, she didn’t want to go. How could she leave Mam? “Can’t I stay?”

“Nay. It’s best if you take the boys. I love Timothy and Thomas dearly, but they are a handful. Josie has boys near the same age. Your brothers will enjoy staying with them. I need you to go to make sure they behave.”

“What about Emma?” she asked. “Can’t she take the boys?” Her older sister was married but had no children. If Emma took the twins, Sarah could stay behind to care for Mam.

Her mother rubbed the back of her neck as if it pained her. Catching Sarah’s concerned look, she smiled weakly and dropped her hand. “Your sister hasn’t been married a full year. I don’t want her to worry about your brothers. Soon, she’ll have a brood of her own. And Ohio is too far. I want you and the boys nearby, in case...”

“Nay, Mam! The Lord will heal you. We just have to pray.” Sarah felt a weight settle in her stomach at the thought that her mother might not fight to get better. “You’ll have the surgery, and you will get well. I’ll do as you say and take the twins to William and Josie’s until you call for us to come home.” She bit her lip. “But you must have faith.”

Her mother reached out to touch Sarah’s cheek. “You are a gut and kind daughter, Sarah.”

Tears filled Sarah’s eyes as she reached up to cover her mother’s hand, pressing it lightly against her cheek. “I wish I could stay,” she whispered.

“I know you do,” Mam said. “But your dat and I have discussed this, and we believe this is for the best.”

Dat felt the same way? Sarah sighed inwardly as she resigned herself to the trip. She was a dutiful daughter; she wouldn’t argue with her parents. “When do we leave?”

“The day after tomorrow. We’ve hired Mr. Colter to drive you.”

Mr. Colter was their neighbor and an Englischer.

“So soon?” Sarah’s spirits plummeted when her mother nodded. “We’ll be ready,” she assured her. “I’d better see that the twins’ clothes are laundered for the trip.” Sarah had to swallow against a painful lump as she rose to her feet. She bent to hug her mother. “I love you, Mam.”

She gave her a genuine smile. “I love you, Sarah.”

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Jedidiah pulled the family buggy to the front of the farmhouse and waited for his family to exit the residence.

His mother came to the door holding his baby sister. Little Hannah wore a lavender dress and white prayer kapp, and she was barefoot. “Have you seen Joseph?” his mother called.

“Not since breakfast,” Jed replied. He wondered if he should get out of the vehicle and help search. He had just made up his mind to go when his dat left the house, followed by his twin brothers, Jacob and Eli, and their younger brothers Isaac and Daniel.

“Did you find Joseph?” Jed asked as his father approached the buggy.

“Ja, but he’s managed to get his pants dirty. Your mam is making him change his clothes.”

Jed’s brothers Jacob and Eli climbed into the buggy’s backseat. Samuel Lapp hoisted young Daniel into the buggy, urged him to sit between Eli and Jacob, and then offered his hand to Isaac.

“I can manage, Dat,” Isaac said as his father helped him into the backseat.

“Ja, I suppose you can, Isaac,” Samuel said kindly, “but we’re late leaving, and I’m expecting you’ll have to find a quick seat and make room for Joseph. Hannah can sit on Mam’s lap.”

Katie Lapp locked the house and approached with Hannah in her arms and holding five-year-old Joseph’s hand. Joseph didn’t look happy, but he was neat, clean and dressed properly, and his mudder was content.

“How nice you look, Joseph,” Samuel said with a wink at his wife.

He hefted Joseph to sit between Isaac and Eli. The boys moved to accommodate their youngest brother. Samuel then took Hannah from his wife until Katie was comfortable in the front seat, then he handed back their daughter.

Jedidiah shifted to make room for his dat. “Visiting Sunday,” he said with a smile as he picked up the leathers and spurred the horse on.

“Wait!” Katie cried, startling all of them. “The food!”

Jed laughed. “Not to worry, Mam. I took the salad and cake over to the Kings early this morning. They’re going to bring them for us. I figured it’d be easier, and Mae offered yesterday.”

Katie released a sigh of relief. “Mae does have the room since Charlotte married and Nancy left to visit relatives in North Carolina.”

Hannah squirmed on Katie’s lap, and automatically Katie shifted her daughter toward the window opening so that the little girl could look out.

“What kind of cake did you make?” Daniel asked his mother.

Katie straightened her kapp. “Upside-down chocolate.”

“That’s Noah’s favorite,” Isaac complained.

“It’s my favorite, too,” his father said, glancing back to meet Isaac’s gaze.

“And mine,” Daniel added.

“And mine,” Eli said and Jacob agreed that it was his favorite, too.

His mother turned to eye her thirteen-year-old son. “You don’t like chocolate upside-down cake?”

Isaac looked sheepish. “Ja, I love it.” His cheeks turned pink beneath his black hat, and he squirmed uncomfortably in his seat.

Jacob scowled and reached over Eli to jostle Isaac with his elbow. “Then why all the fuss?”

Isaac shrugged. “I was just saying that chocolate upside-down cake is Noah’s favorite.”

“And the favorite of most of us,” Eli pointed out with a shake of his head and a small smile.

My favorite is cherry pie, Jed thought, and immediately an image of a young woman with red-gold hair and blue eyes came to mind. He frowned, forcing the memory away.

Conversation came to a standstill as Jedidiah drove toward the Mast farmstead. He enjoyed visiting Sundays. He wondered who’d be attending today. The number of families who came varied from Sunday to visiting Sunday. It was a perfect day for an outdoor meal. He’d tossed a ball into the rear of the buggy with the thought that there’d be someone willing to play catch on the lawn behind William and Josie’s farmhouse.

The Masts’ driveway loomed ahead and Jedidiah turned on the battery-operated turn signal before maneuvering the vehicle left onto the dirt path. Rosebushes lined the side of the driveway as they drew closer to the house. The scent of the pink rose-blossoms permeated the air.

Gravel mixed with dirt crunched beneath the buggy’s wheels as they approached the house and pulled into the barnyard. The side lawn was filled with neighbors. Tables had been set up and covered with white-paper table liners.