Her Amish Holiday Suitor

When they pulled up her lane, she noticed lamplight in the window. Her father would have been in bed since he worked the early shift the next day, but Betty was probably still awake. Because the step down from the carriage was higher than Lucy was used to and she had to hold on to her tote bag, she allowed Nick to assist her. Even though they were both wearing gloves, her hand warmed from the pressure of his fingers but the sensation was fleeting because he let go as soon as her feet touched the ground. Then he began walking with her to the door.

“Why are you following me?” she asked, afraid he’d want to be invited in. If Betty got one glimpse of how uncomfortable Lucy was around Nick, their cover would be blown.

“I’m not following you. I’m walking you to the door. You know, like I’d do if I were actually courting you,” Nick explained.

Lucy’s cheeks stung. Since she’d never been courted before she didn’t know whether all suitors walked their girlfriends to their doors or if this was part of Nick’s supposed charm.

When they reached her back porch, he loudly announced, “So I’ll pick you up at six o’clock on Tuesday night, okay?”

She put her finger to her lips. “Shh! My stepmother might hear you.”

Nick leaned in and whispered, “Jah, that’s the general intention, right?” He was close enough she could smell a hint of mint chocolate cocoa on his breath and she quickly skittered up the stairs.

“Gut nacht,” she said over her shoulder before turning the knob to the door.

Inside Betty was sipping tea at the table and reading The Budget. “Hi, Lucy. I thought I heard a buggy. Are the girls stabling the horse?”

“Neh, they’re still at the singing,” Lucy answered ambiguously, avoiding meeting Betty’s eyes as she removed her gloves, unwrapped her cloak and hung it on a peg by the door. She bent to unlace her boots.

“Oh? Then who brought you home?”

“Nick Burkholder,” Lucy reported in what she hoped was an offhanded manner.

“Nick Burkholder?” her stepmother marveled. “Why would he bring you home? Are you sick?”

Like mamm, like dechder. Lucy was miffed Betty made the same assumption Mildred made about why Nick would bring her home. Lifting her chin she said, “Neh, I’m not sick. I’m going upstairs to bed now. Gut nacht.”

Lucy scurried down the hall before her stepmother could ask any more questions. The upstairs room she shared with her sisters stretched the entire length of their Cape-style home. Mildred and Katura’s beds and dressers took up most of the open space, whereas Lucy’s dresser and bed were tightly tucked in the back section of the room beneath the sloping roof. Because Lucy was so short, she never bumped her head on it and she liked the roof being so close to her bed. During storms, she could hear raindrops pattering the wood and she felt as if she were sleeping in an ark.

She turned on the gas lamp, sat on her bed and removed her embroidery hoop from the canvas bag. As she began unpicking her earlier mistakes, her hands trembled. She tried to tell herself it was because she’d dashed up the stairs too quickly, but she knew that wasn’t it. She was breathless and quivering because Betty and her stepsisters had found it preposterous that Nick would bring her home. But what right did she have to be angry? They were correct: it was inconceivable he’d want to court her.

Yet, when she recalled his strong hands embracing her waist, the notion of a courtship didn’t seem so terribly far-fetched. At least, not from her perspective. She tried to focus on restitching a delicate snowflake in the center of the napkin, but her mind kept wandering back to Nick, and after pricking her finger three times she finally gave up and went to bed.

Nick was relieved. He’d presented his proposal to Jenny, and because she’d known Nick for years, she agreed to allow him to make the repairs, provided he restored everything to its former condition by the twenty-first of December. That was her first day of winter break from the local community college and Jenny and her mother were planning to decorate the cabin together in preparation for their celebration. Based on Kevin’s description of the situation, Nick assured her he didn’t think it would take nearly that long, and Jenny promised she wouldn’t tell anyone he was working on it.

Gripping the key to the cabin in his fist, Nick traveled to the little house in the woods, where he discovered that although the repairs were manageable, the damage was more extensive than he expected it would be. Terrific. Now I’m going to be stuck with Lucy longer than I anticipated, he groused.

She was already getting on his nerves, acting like he’d never read a book in his life, or as if he wanted to be invited into her house. She was so prim he couldn’t imagine what they’d talk about when he was taxiing her back and forth on these so-called outings. It was a small comfort that he could count on Penny’s speed to decrease their traveling time.

The entire situation was far more inconvenient and uncomfortable than Kevin knew, and Nick decided as soon as he returned home, he was going to give his brother grief—and make him fork over his paycheck for supplies, too. But when he entered the house, it was almost eleven o’clock and he was surprised to find his mother, not Kevin, sitting in the parlor.

“Mamm? What are you doing up?” he asked quietly.

“I’m waiting for you,” she said, and rocked back and forth in her chair a few times before saying anything else. “Your brother told me where you’ve been.”

Nick’s pulse quickened—Kevin had decided to own up after all. On one hand, Nick was relieved he wouldn’t have to cart Lucy back and forth to the library after all. On the other hand, he dreaded the lecture his mother was about to deliver. He straightened his posture and resigned himself to shouldering part of the blame for Kevin’s carelessness in causing the fire.

“I’m surprised, but I’m glad he did.”

“Well, he didn’t want to, but I insisted. So don’t get angry at him.”

Nick was confused. Why would he be angry at Kevin for telling the truth about the fire? Before he could tell his mother he didn’t understand, she said, “Don’t worry. Other than telling your daed, I won’t mention to anyone that you’re courting Lucy Knepp.”

Oh, right—I forgot I told Kevin to plant the seed in Mamm and Daed’s minds. That’s where Kevin told them I’ve been—at Lucy’s haus, not at Jenny’s. Nick didn’t know why but he wasn’t as disappointed as he expected he’d be when he realized he’d still have to carry through with his arrangement with Lucy. Still, he was surprised his mamm was bringing up the topic. As often as she lectured Nick that it was time he put his running around years behind him, she rarely spoke openly about the meed he courted.

“Denki,” he said. “I appreciate that—”

His mother butted in, “Lucy Knepp is a wunderbaar maedel.”

Good—his mother approved. This was going to be easier than he thought. “Jah, she is—”

Again, his mother cut him off. “So you’d better not be up to any shenanigans.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Nick sputtered. Had Kevin let something else about their plan slip?

“She’s not like other meed you’ve courted. You’d better not be toying with her feelings, suh.”

Nick clenched his jaw. While it was true he’d courted many meed who were frequently distraught when he ended their relationships, he never set out to hurt anyone’s feelings. He was offended his own mother would think that was ever his intention. “I wouldn’t do that, Mamm. I wouldn’t deliberately play around with any woman’s emotions.”

His mother must have caught the defensiveness in his voice because she said, “Neh, I don’t suppose you would, Nick. I only mean I want you to be careful, okay? As I said, Lucy’s not like other meed you’ve courted. She’s...she’s special.”

She’s special all right. She’s so special she thinks she’s a cut above everyone else, Nick thought. As uncomfortable as he was discussing this subject with his mother, he felt it was important to emphasize, “I’ve always considered every woman I’ve courted to be special.”

“I believe you have, suh. But some women are more...they’re more earnest than others. I don’t think Lucy has had many suitors and I wouldn’t want her to get her hopes up about a relationship with you if that’s not a real possibility,” his mother explained.

It seemed a struggle for her to find the right words, but Nick knew what she meant. She meant he’d ended every relationship he’d had so far, and she was assuming he’d end this one, too. As much as Nick resented the implication, he admitted there was an element of truth to it.

“Don’t worry,” he assured his mother. “I’ve made my intentions very clear to Lucy. But she’s not quite as naive as you think. I got the feeling she was reluctant to walk out with me. We’re not even really courting, it’s more like we’re spending time together. I’m sort of helping her with...with one of her charity endeavors for Grischtdaag. After that, we’ll have to see what happens.”

His mother looked perplexed, but she smiled and said, “Well, for your sake, I hope it works out this time. Who knows, Lucy might be a gut influence on you.”

That was exactly what Nick was hoping his parents would think about Lucy, but now that he heard his mother say the words, he was disgruntled. Who was to say he wouldn’t be a good influence on her? Maybe he’d show her a thing or two about how to lighten up and be a little more social. Didn’t anyone ever consider that?

Mildred and Katura were considerate enough not to turn on the lamp while they were getting ready for bed, but their voices woke Lucy anyway.

“I wish Mark didn’t have to go back to Ohio tomorrow morning,” Mildred whined. “One of the rare few likable guys who comes to Willow Creek leaves as soon as he gets here. It’s not fair. I hope he visits Frederick again at Grischtdaag.”

“Speaking of Frederick, didn’t you tell me he was planning to ask to court Lucy tonight?”

“That’s what Melinda Schrock told me she heard Frederick’s mother saying to Jesse’s ant in the store last week,” Mildred said, and her words caused Lucy to remember what the book of James said about a little fire kindling a great matter.

“Do you think Frederick got a chance to ask to court Lucy before she left with Nick?” Katura questioned.

“Probably not. Otherwise, she would have stayed until the singing was over so Frederick could have given her a ride home. Or she would have asked him for a ride right then since she was sick.”

“I suppose that’s true.” Katura yawned. “Can you believe she asked Nick for a ride instead? That’s awfully forward.”

“Jah, but Nick’s so nice he probably agreed because he felt sorry for her.”

Lucy considered coughing to let her stepsisters know she was awake and could hear them, but she felt too humiliated. Why didn’t Mildred and Katura believe she hadn’t left because she was ill? Couldn’t they at least entertain the possibility Nick was interested in her?

As if answering Lucy’s unspoken question, Katura said, “One thing’s for sure. He’d never consider being her suitor. She’s not his type. Nick only courts women who are outgoing and adventuresome. You know, women who are more like you and me.”

Lucy heard Mildred gasp. “That’s it!” she exclaimed. “Nick probably wanted to talk to Lucy about one of us!”

“Do you really think so?” Katura questioned, and Lucy discerned the hopeful catch in her voice.

“Jah. That’s how buwe in Willow Creek sometimes determine if a maedel is interested in being courted. They talk to her friends or sisters. Or if they’re really shy, they’ll pass a note,” Mildred explained knowingly.

“But Nick isn’t shy at all.”

“Neh, not usually. But maybe he likes one of us so much he’s afraid we’ll reject him. Maybe that’s why it’s taken him so long to propose courtship—he hasn’t been able to work up the courage. So instead of asking us straight out, he’s taking the safe approach.”

Lucy would have been inflamed, but instead she pushed her quilt against her mouth to suppress a giggle. Her stepsisters might have lacked self-awareness, but they sure didn’t lack self-esteem.

“I should get him. I’m the oldest,” Katura demanded, as if she were competing for a prize.

“You can’t claim him. He’ll decide for himself which one of us he wants to court.”

As her stepsisters bickered about who was more worthy to have Nick as her suitor, Lucy rolled to her side and curled the pillow over her ear to block them out. They may have been right to think Nick didn’t want to court Lucy, but they were just as wrong to imagine he wanted to court either of them. Once again, she stifled a guffaw. She couldn’t wait for her cousin Bridget to visit at Christmastime so they could share a laugh over the hilarious irony of it all.

Chapter Three

Lucy woke early on Monday morning, planning to make breakfast for her father before he left for work. Betty and her daughters weren’t early risers, so Lucy cherished the time she had alone with her daed. It was one of the rare occasions when she could get a word in edgewise, but sometimes instead of conversing they ate in companionable silence, enjoying the familiarity of the pattern they’d established years before Betty and the girls moved in. But by the time Lucy dressed, brushed her long hair into a bun and washed her face, she heard the wheels of a car rolling down the lane.

The Amish weren’t allowed to drive or own automobiles, but they were permitted to accept rides from Englischers. Lucy’s father’s colleague, Ray, routinely picked him up since their house was on the way to the woodworking production company where they were employed. Not one to take a neighbor’s generosity for granted, Lucy’s father regularly assisted Ray with significant house and yard projects such as roofing or installing fencing.

Marvin just as well could have taken the buggy to work, but Lucy had an inkling he wanted to be sure there was transportation at home for her. For one thing, if she needed to deliver her goods to Schrock’s Shop, her father didn’t like her to walk, even though Main Street was barely a mile away. For another, Lucy knew he secretly wanted to ensure there was a way for someone to seek medical intervention quickly in the event she developed breathing problems. Two years ago she suffered an acute respiratory attack while she and Betty were at home without a buggy. Betty had had to run to the phone shanty to call for help, and she had wound up gasping so bad by the time the ambulance arrived that the paramedics thought she was the patient. The episode had shaken Lucy’s father deeply, and after that he always left the buggy behind.

Touched by her father’s thoughtfulness, Lucy never let him know that most days it was Mildred or Katura who used the buggy to travel the short distance to their jobs on Main Street, where they worked part-time. They were both cashiers at the mercantile, which was a grocery and goods store catering primarily to Willow Creek’s Amish. Granted, the two young women spent the better part of their shift on their feet, but most Amish meed in their area walked farther than that to get to their jobs.

When the two of them weren’t using the buggy, Betty was. She frequently journeyed to Elmsville to visit her ailing sister. But Lucy never cared; she was so glad to have some quiet time to herself she would have offered to carry her stepsisters to town on her back if it meant she didn’t have to listen to their prattle.

That’s a very judgmental thing for me to think, she reflected. The Lord makes us all different. I don’t like them criticizing me for keeping to myself so I shouldn’t criticize them for being so chatty.

Since she was awake and dressed anyway, Lucy decided she’d make breakfast for the other women. They loved buttermilk pancakes and sausage, and a hot breakfast would hit the spot before they set out in the chilly November air. She set four places at the table, and just after she ladled the last scoop of batter onto the iron griddle, Mildred and Katura appeared in the doorway.

“That smells appenditlich,” Mildred gushed.

“But you shouldn’t have gone to the trouble. Especially not after being sick last night,” Katura protested, showing a rare concern for Lucy’s health.

“It’s not a bother and, as I told you, I wasn’t ill,” she insisted as Betty ambled into the room.

“Guder mariye,” she greeted the three young women. “What a treat to have pannekuche and wascht. What’s the special occasion? Did something happen last night you want to tell us about?”

Lucy was taken aback by how blatantly Betty hinted she wanted to know more about why Nick had brought her home. Despite the fact most Willow Creek Amish youth kept their courtships to themselves, it was clear to Lucy this was one more way in which her stepsisters and stepmother abided by a different set of customs than Lucy did. She could never figure out if the difference was a matter of their personalities or if it was because they were from the Elmsville district, which was governed by a slightly more lenient Ordnung.

“Jah, something did happen last night!” Mildred blurted out. “Nick Burkholder left the singing early to give Lucy a ride home. And we think we know why.”

Even though Betty was already aware Nick had brought Lucy home, she raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why?”

“He wants to court either Mildred or me. Probably me,” Katura said. Then she demanded, “Out with it, Lucy. Did he give you a message to give one of us?”

It was one thing for Katura and Mildred to whisper about their theories when they thought she was asleep, but Lucy was dumbfounded they’d suggest right to her face Nick had brought her home only to inquire about them. No wonder they’d been so solicitous about her making breakfast—they were trying to flatter her. Maybe they were each hoping she’d put in a good word for them with Nick.

“Neh, he didn’t mention either of you at all,” she said, sounding as complacent as she felt. She slid the final pancakes onto a platter. After placing the dish on the table, she sat down and asked, “Shall I say grace?”

No sooner had she finished thanking the Lord for their food and asking Him to bless their day than Mildred coaxed, “You probably don’t want to make one of us feel bad, but we can’t stand not knowing who Nick’s interested in. Please tell us, Lucy.”

Betty cleared her throat. “They’re right, Lucy. It isn’t fair of you to keep the girls on tenterhooks like this.”

That was the last straw. “Okay, if you must know,” Lucy began, and Mildred leaned forward while Katura froze with her fork midair. “It’s me he’s interested in spending time with. In fact, he’s picking me up at six o’clock on Tuesday evening.”

Katura lowered her utensil and Mildred slouched back against her chair again. Lucy almost felt sorry she’d crushed their hopes until Mildred waved her hand dismissively and said, “Okay then, don’t tell us the truth. We’ll find out eventually.”

“But she has to tell us which one of us he wants to court,” Katura contradicted. “What if she convinces him I’m not interested? Or that you’re not interested? I don’t want her speaking on my behalf, do you?”

“Lucy, you can’t—” Mildred began to whine.

To Lucy’s surprise, Betty broke in. “If Lucy says Nick is interested in her, I think that’s nice, so stop pestering her. You two girls will have plenty of opportunities to socialize with all the Grischtdaag parties and events coming up anyway.” She reached over and patted Lucy’s hand and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll tell your daed about your new suitor. As long as you finish your household chores each day, I’m sure he won’t mind if you walk out with Nick at night.”

Lucy wanted to retort that she always finished her chores and half of her stepsisters’ chores, too, but she was so grateful Betty had put an end to Mildred and Katura’s needling she let the remark slide.

At least that part of the plan is accomplished, she thought. She couldn’t help but wonder if Nick was having as much difficulty convincing his family they were courting as she’d had convincing hers.

It was easier for Nick to get out of working late on Tuesday than he expected. Apparently, his mother had told his father he was courting Lucy, and there were no objections when he asked if there was any way he could leave work at his usual time that week.

“No problem. Kevin and I can manage things here,” his father said, clapping Nick on the shoulder. Apparently, he thought as highly of Lucy as Nick’s mother did.

As Nick was leaving, Kevin smirked and whispered, “Have a gut time. And remember, this is temporary. Don’t break Lucy’s delicate little heart.” Then he puckered his mouth and smacked his lips in an exaggerated kissing gesture.

“Don’t start anything on fire,” Nick retorted as he set his hat on his head and exited through the back door.

When he turned down the lane to Lucy’s house, he spotted her standing on the porch, clutching a cloak around her chest. It wasn’t that cold outside, but she was behaving as if it were ten degrees below zero. He hoped she wasn’t going to complain about riding in an open-seat buggy in this weather.

He hopped down from the carriage while she crossed the yard in the light streaming from the house windows. “Hi, Lucy,” he said, and reached to support her as she climbed into the buggy, but she kept her arms snug around her chest. She acts as if we’re still kinner in school and I have the cooties, he thought.

“Hello, Nick,” she said in a hushed tone. “Don’t look toward the window because I think we have an audience. I’m hiding my embroidery materials beneath my cloak. I don’t want Betty and my stepsisters to see, because they might realize we’re not actually walking out together.”

Nick chuckled. So she wasn’t as standoffish as he’d thought. “It’s already too dark for them to see this far. They’ll never know. But here, let me help.”

He cupped Lucy’s elbow to propel her upward, but she was so light he nearly tossed her into the buggy and she flung her arms out for balance, upending her tote bag.

“My linen!” she wailed as she retrieved a rectangle of fabric white enough to see in the twilight. “I hope it didn’t get dirty.”

“Sorry about that,” he apologized, feeling like a bull in a china shop. Usually his confidence wasn’t so easily rattled.

They didn’t say another word until they were nearly at the library and Nick asked, “What are you going to say if someone sees you in the library?”

“I’ll probably say hello.”

Nick looked at her sideways, but he couldn’t discern from her profile if she was joking or if she was just too obtuse to know what he meant. “Neh, I mean what excuse are you going to give them for being there alone?”

“Why do I need an excuse to be at the library alone? It’s not as if anyone other than our families know we’re supposedly going out together tonight, right? Your family will be busy at the store and mine wouldn’t dream of coming to the library. So if I meet anyone else from our district, I’ll simply greet them as usual.”

Nick was dubious. He knew how quickly rumors spread in Willow Creek, especially when meed like Katura and Mildred were involved. If they told their peers Nick and Lucy were walking out that night and then someone saw Lucy alone, it wouldn’t take long before their farce would be discovered.