Part 17 (2/2)
But nothing Suzy or anyone else said back then had made a whit of difference. If anything it made Hen run to Brandon faster. She truly believed the difference between herself and Rose Ann was that her sister seemed innocent of Nick's attention. Actually, come to think of it, Hen had no idea what Nick's intentions were, considering his lifelong lack of interest in the church. Because of what Hen knew now, it was the thing that worried her most.
Frustrated and tired, she got up and went to the stark window to look out. Brandon must be sorely perplexed with her. Did he miss her? Had he fallen asleep on the sofa tonight while watching TV? Or had he stumbled into bed - their bed - tired as a dog, only to be reminded that Hen wasn't there to soothe away the stress of his day?
”O Lord, I need your help,” she prayed quietly, tears falling onto her nightgown. ”I chose the path of disobedience.” She sighed. ”But now I want to walk in the way that will please you most - whatever that may be. Amen.”
She tiptoed over to the small room next to hers, where Mattie Sue lay sleeping peacefully, her arm around Foofie. The stuffed dog had been a birthday present from Diane Perlis and her daughter, Karen. She remembered how Mattie had protested that a year was a ”long, long time” to wait for her next birthday. And Hen had agreed with her, saying a full year seemed like an endless amount of time when you were young. Now she knew all too well how the months skidded past, rolling along like a market wagon on a sharp decline. Good enough reason to return to the Amish and make things right.
”But how to do right by Brandon?” she whispered.
Tears blurred her eyes as Hen sat quietly on Mattie's bed. She leaned forward and touched her daughter's thick braids. ”My darling girl, how will you ever cope without your daddy?” she whispered into the air. ”How will I manage without my husband?”
Even though her night had been a short one, Hen awoke feeling better rested than she sometimes did at home with Brandon, always being on edge due to their escalating disagreements.
She stretched, relaxing in the comfortable bed as she recalled that Dawdi Jeremiah believed wholeheartedly that if a person would simply lie in bed for twenty minutes before rising, the day would go more smoothly.
So she rested awhile and prayed a blessing on the day. She also asked G.o.d to make His presence known to her husband. ”In spite of how things are between us now. Amen.”
Later, once she'd showered in the makes.h.i.+ft bathroom just off the small kitchen - like an indoor outhouse, of sorts - Hen dressed in her most conservative print skirt and a cream-colored longsleeved blouse with a tan sweater vest. The glint of her engagement ring caught her eye as she b.u.t.toned the sleeve of her blouse. Even if she were to set aside the showy diamond ring in favor of just her simple wedding band, Hen would never be mistaken for Old Order Amish while wearing such a ring, no matter how Plain the rest of her attire. Some things can't be helped....
She went upstairs to wake Mattie Sue but found an empty, unmade bed, with Foofie sitting atop the pillow. ”Mattie? Where'd you go?”
Making her way downstairs again, she saw the back door was ajar. She headed first to the main house, and seeing her grandmother already stirring up the pancake batter, she asked if she'd seen Mattie Sue.
”I heard her squealing. She's out with Sol feeding the young goats,” Mammi said.
Hen went to the summer porch and looked out. Nick and Christian were already working in the bishop's former potato field to the west, plowing and disking. ”How's Rosie feeling today?”
”Oh, much better. She's up and hobblin' around.”
”Bless her heart.” Hen was glad to hear it as she continued scanning the area outside for Mattie. Then she noticed her father and Mattie Sue playing with two of the barn kittens over near the corncrib. Hen burst out laughing, her heart warmed by what she saw. ”Looks like someone's getting spoiled,” she said.
”Can't hurt none,” Mammi agreed and poured some coffee, which she brought to Hen. ”You'll be wantin' this soon, jah?”
”Thanks - I mean, Denki,” she said, realizing she ought to start speaking her first language more. Especially around Mattie Sue.
”How long will ya stay?” her grandmother asked, eyes too serious.
”I'm supposed to get this out of my system, according to my husband.”
Mammi's eyebrows rose. ”This?”
”My Amish heritage.” She doubted Mammi would understand.
”How can ya expect to ever do that?”
Hen nodded. ”That's just it.”
Mammi shook her head in disgust. ”Brandon wanted an Amish girl back when - stole you right out from under our noses.”
”Please don't dislike him, Mammi.”
”Well, it ain't that, really.”
Hen followed her into the kitchen. ”What is it, then?”
”What he stands for.”
Sin, the flesh, and the devil. Hen knew already ... she'd heard it preached repeatedly when they were dating.
”And now here you are, back again.” Mammi tested the griddle with several drops of water from her fingers. They spit and sputtered on the heat, so she reached for her favorite wooden cup and dipped it into the batter.
”It's good of Dad to let us stay.” She watched Mammi at the cookstove.
”You prob'ly guessed, but your mother's awful worried.”
”Not surprising.” So am I.
”And your father was over talking to the bishop again early this mornin'.”
A s.h.i.+ver ran up her back. If only she could come clean with everyone she'd wronged or caused pain. Hen wanted to have the right att.i.tude when she talked with the man of G.o.d ... wanted to make it known how very sorry she was, without abandoning the marriage vows she'd made to Brandon.
Not only was it a knotty problem, but as her husband had already said, it seemed quite impossible.
By the time Hen helped Rose Ann get situated at the table, with her leg propped on the wooden bench, their father had arrived in the kitchen for breakfast. Almost immediately, he motioned for Hen to join him on the summer porch. ”Bishop wants to meet with you this mornin',” he said, his face drawn. ”He's goin' to sit you down with him and Barbara - the three of yous.”
Sit me down ...
”I'm willing,” Hen said meekly.
His face turned even more somber. ”He has some important things to say.”
She cringed, wondering what would transpire. Then, scanning the breadth of the backyard, she asked, ”Where's Mattie Sue right now?”
”She saw Nick out with the mules, so she ran over there a bit ago. That's the last I saw of her.”
”Well, Dad - ”
”Just leave her be. She needs to run free, to explore the place.”
”But-”
”Ach, she's just fine.”
Hen had struggled from the first hours of Mattie Sue's life with being overly protective. And now she couldn't seem to keep track of her. More than ever she needed to look after her daughter, because when it came down to it, Mattie Sue might be all she had left.
Solomon watched his oldest daughter walk out to the road after breakfast, heading next door. How will the bishop's remarks affect Hen?
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