A Hope Springs Christmas

“Sarah was wise enough to choose you in the first place. She’ll be fine.”

“You know my Sarah well. I’d rest easier knowing she loved someone strong, from a good family, with a fine farm or business. Promise me you’ll watch over her until she meets him, Levi. Promise me this. It’s all I ask of you.”

Sarah set a glass of fresh milk on the table, jarring Levi’s mind out of the past. He picked up the glass and took a long drink. Her gaze remained focused on his arm.

He stopped drinking. “What?”

“I can mend that rip in your sleeve right quick if you’ll slip your shirt off.”

He turned his arm trying to see what she was talking about and splashed milk out of his glass in the process. Embarrassed, he looked for something to clean it up with. She was quicker, placing a kitchen towel over the puddle and trying hard not to laugh. Why was he so clumsy when she was around?

“Sorry,” he muttered.

“Don’t worry about it. Accidents happen. Shall I fix your sleeve?”

He didn’t care if his entire arm was hanging out of his clothes. He wasn’t about to take his shirt off in front of her. He muttered, “Grace will fix it later.”

“All right.” Sarah then carried a steaming black kettle to the table and placed it in front of him. She returned a few seconds later with a plate of freshly sliced home-baked bread and a tub of butter, setting them within his reach. She took her seat and bowed her head.

Levi did the same and silently said the prayers he dutifully prayed before every meal. When he was finished, he looked up and waited. Sarah kept her eyes closed, her hands clasped. He cleared his throat. She took it as the sign the prayer was finished. Looking up, she smiled at him and began ladling steaming pieces of chicken and vegetables into his bowl.

She was so pretty when she smiled. It did funny things to his insides.

She said, “I hope you like this. It was one of Jonas’s favorites. The recipe belonged to his mother.”

Levi suddenly found his appetite had fled. He laid his spoon down

Sarah’s eyes filled with concern. “Is something wrong?”

“This is Jonas’s place, his chair. I shouldn’t be here.”

“Levi,” Sarah said gently, “I miss him, too, but his place is with God in heaven. You are free to sit in any chair in this home. You were Jonas’s friend, and I hope you are my friend, too. He would welcome your company as I do. I know you were very fond of him.”

He had been more than fond of Jonas. He had loved Jonas like a brother. When Jonas gave him a job, Levi had no idea what a great friend and mentor Jonas would become. All these things ran through his mind, but he had no idea how to tell Sarah what Jonas meant to him.

She patted his arm. “It’s okay. He was fond of you, too. He would like it that you have come to eat at his table. He would be upset that I haven’t invited you sooner. Now eat, or your food will get cold.”

Levi nodded. He was here for a meal and nothing more. He wasn’t here to try and replace Jonas. He could never fill those shoes.

After eating in silence for a few minutes, he said, “You should give Grace this recipe. It’s a whole lot better than her chicken stew.”

Sarah laughed. Levi felt his face grow red. Had he said something stupid? Once again she touched his arm. It was as if touching came easily to her. It wasn’t that way with him. He felt the warmth of her hand even through the sleeve of his shirt. It spread to the center of his chest and pooled there.

She chuckled and said, “I have given this recipe to Grace. She has assured me that everyone in the family enjoyed it. Maybe what she needs is a few cooking lessons.”

She wasn’t laughing at him. Levi was able to smile, too. “She needs more than a few. Her biscuits are as heavy as stones.”

He fell silent again.

Sarah said, “I hope you’ve saved room for some peach pie. I made it last night.”

“Peach is my favorite.”

“Mine, too.” She smiled warmly at him.

They finished the rest of the meal in companionable silence. When he was done, Sarah rose and began gathering up the dishes. “I’ll bring the rest of the stew to your house this evening. I’m sure the twins will be even hungrier by supper time.”

He pushed back the chair and stood. “The meal was ser goot, but I must get back to work.”

“I will be over as soon as I finish these dishes. Is there anything special you need me to do?”

He shook his head, but then changed his mind. “If customers come in, I would appreciate your help finding out what they want so I don’t have to stop work each time.”

“I can do that. I’ll keep watch out the window while I finish up here. If I see anyone I’ll come right over.”

Levi nodded his thanks and walked out the door.

* * *

Sarah watched him go with a strange sense of loss. There hadn’t been a man at the head of her table since Jonas’s passing. While it felt odd, it also seemed right that Jonas’s best friend should have been the one sitting in his place. He’d been like a little brother to her husband. Levi grieved for Jonas as strongly as she did.

Since Jonas’s passing, she often felt that Levi was avoiding her. Maybe it wasn’t because he disapproved of her. Maybe it was simply that she reminded him too much of his loss.

Sarah shook off the sadness that threatened to bring tears to her eyes and instead concentrated on a plan to see which one of her single friends might be right for Levi, and most important, how to get them together.

It wasn’t like Levi was going to attend the singings or gathering that were held on Saturday and Sunday evenings so the young people of the community could mingle and met potential mates. He was past that age and so were the women she had in mind for him.

Levi rarely left his work place, so if Levi wouldn’t come out, she needed to find a way to get the women to come in.

The meal today gave her an idea. She would invite her friends, one at a time of course, to join her for a meal when Levi was present. She would have to include the twins and Grace, too, when she returned, but that couldn’t be helped. It would look odd if she only asked Levi to come to dinner. People would say that she was running after him herself. That wouldn’t do.

Perhaps having him and his family over to eat wasn’t such a good idea. Who knew how many times she’d have to invite them before he found someone he liked? The twins could put away a lot of food.

Maybe she could ask her friends to help with inventory. That would be logical excuse to have them spend the day where Levi was working. She might even convince some of them to come in and look over the used buggies that Levi had for sale or buy a new one. If she remembered right, Leah Belier’s buggy was old and worn. Sarah could drop a few hints about a good price and then leave Levi to show the teacher what was available. That might work.

Satisfied that she had a few plausible reasons to get Levi to spend time with some eligible women, Sarah closed the door and began to clean up the kitchen. While she might be new at matchmaking, she had been around her aunt Emma enough to know how it was done. If all went well, Levi would find a woman to take care of him and Grace would be free to marry.

Sarah placed the glass Levi had used in the soapy water. His shirtsleeves were threadbare, and his shoes had holes in them. He did need someone to look after him.

So why did the idea of Levi getting married suddenly cause an ache in her heart?

* * *

The twins were seated inside Levi’s office when he returned to the shop. “Was it a fine meal?” Moses asked.

“Fine enough.”

“Better than our church spread sandwiches, I reckon,” Atlee grumped.

Levi loved the peanut butter and marshmallow crème spread served for Sunday lunches after the prayer service. “About that good, I guess. Did you finish the wheel we’re fixing for Gideon Troyer?”

“Not yet, but we got the fire going good outside,” Atlee said in a rush.

“And we finished the upholstery on the front seat for the Hershberger buggy,” Moses added. The boys exchanged a lively glance. It was rare that they did work Levi hadn’t asked them to do. Perhaps Sarah’s scolding had paid off.

“Danki. We’d best finish the wheel, though. Gideon will be by to pick it up this afternoon.”

“I don’t get him.” Atlee shook his head.

“Me neither,” Moses added.

Levi looked at his little brothers. “What do you mean?”

Atlee said, “He traded in flying airplanes to go back to driving a horse and buggy. Why?”

Levi understood their confusion. Very few of the young men who left the Amish came back and were content to do so after being out in the English world for as long as Gideon had.

From the doorway, a man said, “The outside world held many things that drew me away, but I discovered God’s will for me was to return to my Amish roots.”

Levi turned to see Gideon walking toward him. He liked the man that had married their cousin Rebecca and not only because he’d helped her regain her sight after years of blindness. He was a likeable fellow in his own right.

Atlee said, “You came back because of a woman.”

Gideon gave a sharp bark of laughter. “God’s ways are wondrous to behold, as I’m sure you will discover when you are older. Your cousin Rebecca’s love was the prize I won for following God’s will rather than my own.”

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