Their Pretend Courtship, page 8
But just last evening Freeman had mentioned Sarah, his fiancée who had died. It was during the thunderstorm and he’d remarked that she’d always relished it when storms rolled across the plains in Kansas. Freeman had commented that she’d said she’d liked it because the thunder and lightning were such remarkable displays of God’s power and majesty. “I still think of her whenever it storms...” he’d admitted, his voice trailing off as he stared absently out the window.
Recalling how doleful he had sounded, Jonas knew he couldn’t back out of his courtship with Eliza. Freeman was still too emotionally vulnerable. As his older brother, Jonas would always consider it his responsibility to try to protect him from getting hurt, no matter how old they were.
By the time he’d finished repairing the fence, Jonas still didn’t have any clue where he’d take Eliza on Sunday. Maybe I should go find her now and just ask her what she’d prefer to do, he thought, since that seemed like the most practical solution. But then he’d run in to Honor, too, and she’d probably invite Mary, Eliza and her brothers to join them for coffee cake in the barn. Worse, she’d suggest that she and Jonas should go take a break alone and Eliza would hear. I’m still trying to make up for canoeing alone with Honor on Sunndaag. I don’t want to upset the apple cart again, he lamented to himself.
So on his way back to the barn with the extra boards, he circumvented the section of the barrens where the customers were picking today. Instead, he cut through an area that was still off-limits and continued brooding. How did I get myself into a position in which I’m avoiding not one but two weibsleit on my own bauerei?
* * *
“You buwe have done a gut job. Those biere are nice and plump and I don’t see any green ones,” Eliza said as she surveyed the fruit the boys had picked. After helping Eli and Samuel untie their baskets, she told her four brothers, “I packed a snickerdoodle for each of you, so you can have a rest in the shade beneath those trees at the end of the row. Mary and I will be done in a few minutes and then we’ll go home.”
After the boys had trotted away to enjoy their snack, Honor said, “It’s probably almost time for me to absatz, too. I brought Jonas some blohbiere kaffi kuche, and we’re supposed to take a break together.”
“You and Jonas?” Eliza echoed incredulously.
“Jah. Why is it so surprising he enjoys my company? Is it just because I’m a few years older than he is?”
Eliza glanced to her right at Mary, who discreetly rolled her eyes. Deep down, Eliza suspected that it was probably Honor, not Jonas, who had initiated getting together with him for a piece of coffee cake. But it still rankled Eliza and she knew she had to say something to put an end to Honor’s pursuit of him. Exaggerating her pout, she said, “Your age has nothing to do with it. I’m surprised Jonas would agree to take a break alone with you because he’s walking out with me.”
“He isn’t!” Honor exclaimed, clapping her hand over her mouth. Mary didn’t even bother to pretend that this was the first she’d ever heard that Eliza and Jonas were courting.
“Jah, he is. He asked to be my suitor a couple of weeks ago.”
“Oh, Eliza. I’m so sorry,” Honor apologized. “I never would have asked him to take a kaffi break with me if I had known you two were courting. I feel baremich.”
I knew she was the one who initiated it, Eliza thought. But Honor’s apology sounded so heartfelt that she couldn’t hold the trespass against her. “We were doing our best to keep it a secret, so you’re not the one who should feel baremlich—Jonas should. I can’t understand why he’d agree to spend time alone with you, knowing that it might give you the impression he’s not already courting someone. Namely, me,” she stressed.
She wasn’t truly annoyed at him, nor was she even perplexed. Eliza had witnessed Honor’s behavior around bachelors often enough to understand if Jonas had felt cornered. But she had to at least act put out, the way she might have felt if she’d authentically liked him as a suitor.
“Please don’t be angry at Jonas on my account,” Honor pleaded. “To be fair, I didn’t really give him much of a choice in the matter.” Her eyes began to well, so Eliza reached over and patted her shoulder.
“I believe you. I suppose I don’t even need to mention it to him. It’s a simple misunderstanding, that’s all. It’s nothing to get so upset about.”
“That’s not what I’m upset about. I’m upset because no matter how hard I try or how clever my schemes are or how often I create opportunities for the singles in our district to socialize, I still don’t have a suitor. I feel like I’m never going to have one.” Honor sniffled and blotted her eyes with the hem of her apron.
“I know how you feel, Honor,” Mary admitted, leaning forward to see past Eliza. “It’s difficult to want something so much and not know if you’ll ever have it.”
“Jah, I’ve been asking Gott to bless me with a suitor for years and years. It makes me question whether He wants me to get married and have kinner. I start to wonder if I should stop asking and accept that the answer is neh.”
As Eliza listened to her friends share their disappointment, she was struck by the realization that they both dearly wanted a suitor and she dearly wished she didn’t have one. It didn’t seem fair. She was already doing everything she could to help Mary foster a connection with Freeman, but what could she do to help Honor? Should I break up with Jonas so he can court her? she wondered.
Yet Eliza couldn’t bring herself to entertain that idea for very long. She hated to admit it, but her fear of winding up with Willis was too great. Besides, there was no guarantee that Jonas would want to court Honor if he wasn’t courting Eliza.
“I don’t think you should stop asking the Lord for what you want,” she advised. “And I’ll pray about it for you, too.”
“Denki.” Honor wiped her hands on her apron. “All right, I’m done picking for the day. Now that I know Jonas is courting you, I’m so embarrassed that I just want to leave the bauerei before he sees me again.”
Her friends said goodbye to her, and a few minutes later Eliza announced it was quitting time. “These blohbiere are practically falling into my basket, so I wish I didn’t have to leave. But I’d better bring the buwe home for lunch.”
“I only need about a cup and a half more,” Mary said, plucking handfuls of ripe fruit from the branches as she stepped farther down the aisle. “By the time you round up your breider, I’ll be ready to go, too.”
“Okay.” Eliza exited the row of blueberry bushes and she was adding her basket to the other baskets in the wagon when Mary let out an ear-piercing shriek.
* * *
Jonas distinctly heard a woman scream and he charged in the direction of the noise. Halfway across the barrens, he discovered Eliza peering down a row, her hand covering her mouth. Three of Eliza’s brothers were clustered behind her, the smallest one holding on to the skirt of her dress as he peeked down the row.
“What’s the matter?” Jonas asked, looking over her shoulder to see what she was seeing. Peter, Eliza’s oldest brother, was inching down the path between the blueberry bushes wielding a long stick.
“Mary saw a snake,” Eliza answered softly without turning around. “She said it’s right in front of her and she’s too afraid to back away.”
Indeed, some twenty feet beyond Peter, Mary was standing as still as a statue. She had one foot in front of the other; apparently she’d been in the middle of taking a stride when she’d become paralyzed by fear.
“Peter, don’t go any farther,” Jonas instructed the young boy. There weren’t poisonous snakes in Maine, but he still didn’t want the child to accidentally provoke the creature into biting him. “Just stay right there. I’m coming down the aisle behind you. Don’t make any sudden movements.”
Jonas crept toward Peter and took the stick from his hand. He figured he’d use it to push the snake out of Mary’s path. The thick, coiled reptile was partially obscured by the long grass, but from what Jonas could tell, it had a dark zigzag pattern on its back. It actually looked a lot like a rattlesnake he’d seen once in Kansas, but Jonas knew that was impossible; there weren’t any rattlesnakes in Maine. Even so, he proceeded cautiously, tiptoeing past Peter and down the aisle, holding the long stick out to one side. He was halfway to Mary when he heard his brother’s voice from behind him, at the end of the row.
“I heard a scream. Is someone hurt?”
“Neh,” Eliza replied. “There’s a snake blocking Mary’s way. She’s too scared to move and the snake won’t budge, either.”
“It can’t budge—it’s not real!” Freeman hooted with laughter.
By this time, Jonas was within a few feet of the serpent and he could clearly see that it was one of the toy snakes his brother had mentioned he’d purchased at the discount store in town. But Mary was still frozen in the same position, so Jonas comforted her. “It’s not real, Mary. It’s rubber. See?”
When he tapped on the snake with the stick to demonstrate, the toy bounced a little, causing Mary to flinch. She was so pale that for a second Jonas thought she might faint. Instead, she burst into tears, twirled around and bolted down the aisle in the opposite direction so quickly that she jostled the basket still tied to her waist, scattering berries in her wake.
Jonas felt awful that his brother’s careless placement of the snake had resulted in Mary being so frightened. And he felt even worse that Freeman had laughed about it. He turned around to address him, but Eliza beat him to it. Actually, she was addressing her little brothers, but her remark was clearly intended for Freeman.
“Kumme, buwe. It’s not kind to laugh at another person when they’re scared or upset, and I don’t want you to ever do that. Do you understand me?” All the boys nodded except for the littlest one, Eli, who was reaching up to let Eliza put him in the wagon along with their baskets of berries. “Let’s go make sure Mary’s okay.”
“I’m sorry, Eliza. I didn’t mean—” Freeman began, but she cut him off.
“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to,” she snapped as she started down the center aisle with him close on her heels. “But I doubt Mary wants to speak to you right now, so please stop following us.”
“Jah. Okay. I’ll speak to her later.” Freeman took off his hat and wiped his brow as he watched Eliza and her brothers tramp toward the checkout booth. When he turned to face his brother, his cheeks were red and his eyes were clouded. “I wouldn’t have placed this snake here if I knew anyone was going to be picking in this section today. I thought we agreed to direct customers to the eastern half of the barrens until tomorrow or the next day.”
“I know you didn’t do it on purpose.” Jonas sighed. “But you really shouldn’t have laughed at Mary when she was already upset.”
“I wasn’t laughing at Mary!” Freeman protested. “I was laughing at you. It was funny to see such a big strong man tiptoeing down the aisle and brandishing a stick to fend off a toy snake!”
“I wasn’t brandishing the stick, I was just carrying it so I could direct the snake away from Mary. Besides, I didn’t know it wasn’t real at the time,” Jonas reminded him, but he had to chuckle, too. “I suppose I can see why you thought I looked pretty funny, though.”
“And I can see why the weibsleit thought I was laughing at Mary,” Freeman acknowledged ruefully. “Do you think I should try to catch them before they leave so I can apologize?”
“Neh. Like Eliza said, Mary probably needs a little time to recover. She’s likely embarrassed, and if you talk about it right now, she may feel even worse,” Jonas suggested. His brother hung his head, looking so dejected that Jonas felt bad for him. But he felt even worse knowing that deep down, he was kind of relieved Freeman had fallen out of favor with Eliza.
Almost immediately, Jonas regretted having such thoughts about his brother, so he offered, “Listen, you can take these boards and nails back to the barn and I’ll go smooth things over with the weibsleit for you.”
* * *
“Are you okay, Mary?” Samuel asked, tugging her hand when the group caught up with her near the checkout booth.
“Jah.” She glanced down and gave him a weak smile. “I feel a little lappich, though. Whoever heard of being afraid of a toy snake?”
“I thought it was real, too,” Peter said, consoling her. “And I was a little bit scared also, because it didn’t look like any snake I ever saw before.”
Mary affectionately patted his shoulder. “You were very brave, Peter. Denki for being willing to protect me.”
“You’re wilkom,” Peter said. “I can carry your basket of berries to the scale for you, too.”
“I’ll pull the wagon,” Isaiah offered. So Eliza allowed the boys to hurry off in front of them toward the checkout booth.
“They’re such sweet, thoughtful buwe,” Mary remarked. “Unlike some menner who are three times their age.”
“Jah, I was surprised by how Freeman acted, too,” Eliza agreed. “It was immature, as well as rude.”
“I thought he was different than that, but maybe it’s better I found out what he’s really like now, before I got my hopes up that he might make a gut suitor.” There was a hint of disappointment in Mary’s voice that showed she’d already gotten her hopes up. So even though Eliza was offended by Freeman’s behavior toward her friend, she suggested Mary not give up on him altogether.
“I know he shouldn’t have laughed, but sometimes menner just have a different sense of humor than weibsleit do. I think he felt really bad that he hurt your feelings. He started to say he was sorry but I wouldn’t let him finish.”
“Nice of him to apologize to you, but you weren’t the one who was utterly humiliated after being scared half to death,” Mary pointed out.
“He wanted to apologize to you, but I told him you probably didn’t want to talk to him right now. I figured you needed to gather your composure first.” Eliza couldn’t help but giggle as she added, “Meanwhile, it will do him gut to sweat it out a little, not knowing whether you’ll accept his apology or not.”
“Of course, I’ll accept his apology, because the Bible tells us to forgive one another just as Gott in Christ has forgiven us,” Mary asserted. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean I’d want him for a suitor anymore.”
“Don’t make up your mind just yet,” Eliza advised. “Because now that Honor knows Jonas and I are courting, she might turn her focus on Freeman and then you’ll regret not giving him another chance.”
“I doubt that Honor would ever like Freeman. He wasn’t very polite to her about her blohbier muffins, either.”
Eliza couldn’t argue with that, so she continued walking in silence until they reached the long line at the checkout booth. By the time they’d paid for their fruit, little Eli was asleep in the back of the wagon. The other three buwe were energized from their snickerdoodles and they abandoned the responsibility of pulling him in favor of springing alongside the driveway like grasshoppers.
Just as they reached the end, Eliza heard Jonas’s voice, as he called, “Eliza, Mary, wait!”
They stopped and turned to see him jogging in their direction. In one hand, he held a large plastic jug. In the other, he was carrying a flowered container that Eliza immediately recognized as belonging to Honor’s mother. That must be the blohbier kaffi kuche she made for him. I hope he’s not going to be as rude as his bruder was and ask us to give the kuche back to her.
“I wanted to be sure you’re all right, Mary,” he said, squinting against the sun at her. “You had a bad fright and I thought you might need something to eat or drink.”
Mary smiled at him. “I’m fine, denki. And I appreciate the offer but I’m going to have lunch soon, anyway.”
“Are you sure?” he said and when Mary nodded, Jonas asked, “What about you, Eliza? Or the buwe?”
“Neh. We’d better not. As Mary said, it’s almost time for lunch and a treat would spoil their appetites.”
“Oh, okay.” Jonas seemed disappointed and Eliza didn’t know if it was because they’d turned down his hospitality or because he’d hoped to get rid of the muffins. But she thought his gesture was kind, either way. “Well, I—I also wanted to say how sorry I am about what happened. We never would have put that deterrent where we knew someone was going to be picking. We didn’t intend for anyone to harvest that section until tomorrow.”
“There was a group of Englisch teenagers picking in the eastern area,” Eliza explained. “They were pretty boisterous and I was concerned about the kind of language they were using. I didn’t want the boys to hear it, so Emily said we could move to the other section. Not that it’s her fault—I was the one who cajoled her into it.”
“I’m hallich you moved—I wouldn’t have wanted you or your breider to hear foul language,” Jonas said, knitting his eyebrows in consternation. “If that happens again, please let me know. I’ll remind the customers that this is a familye bauerei. I’m sorry you had to listen to that kind of talk, even for a moment. And I’m sorry about the rubber snake, too. My bruder also wants to apologize for his response, but I’ll let him do that in person the next time you’re here... You will be coming back, won’t you?”
Moved by how concerned and apologetic Jonas was, Eliza answered, “Jah. Of course, we’ll kumme back, won’t we, Mary?”
“I suppose that depends on how many more pies I need to make,” Mary answered noncommittally. Then she pointed to Peter, who was attempting to climb a tree at the end of the lane by standing on the fence railing. “Looks like the grasshoppers have decided they’d rather be squirrels instead.”
