Jedidiah's Bride. Rebecca Kertz
enough for town?” she asked, examining each with a critical eye.
“Ja,” Timothy said as he jammed his hat back onto his head.
“Only our hands are a little dirty,” Thomas added, “but they don’t look it.”
“Nay, they are clean,” Timothy insisted. “We washed them in the pond.”
“Let me see.” The twins stuck out their palms for her inspection. “You’ve been playing with frogs again,” she guessed, and saw Timothy nod. “Go wash your hands with soap.” She kept her smile hidden as they scampered toward the house. “And comb your hair!”
The boys weren’t gone for long. “Bye, Mam!” they cried in unison as they raced by their mother and out of the house.
“In the buggy, boys!” Sarah instructed. “And don’t touch the baked goods.” She turned to lock gazes with her mother. “I’ll make them behave.”
Her mother managed a slight smile as she opened the screen door and stepped outside. “I know you will, daughter,” Ruth replied as she watched her youngest sons scurry into the buggy.
Sarah hesitated as she eyed her mother with concern. Mam wore a royal-blue dress. The dark color emphasized Ruth’s sickly pallor. The white kapp on her head hid the gray in her dark hair.
“She’ll be fine,” Iva assured her. Iva Troyer, Mam’s sister, was a large, strong woman with a big, booming voice.
Sarah nodded. As she hugged her overly thin mother, she gave up a silent prayer. Please, Lord, make Mam well again. She caught her aunt’s glance and relayed her silent gratitude. Iva gave her a slight smile as she steered her inside the house to rest.
“My mam will take gut care of yours,” Mary Alice said as she climbed into the Mast family buggy.
“I know she will.” Sarah joined her cousin in the front seat. Mary Alice was tall but thinner than Iva. She wore a green dress without an apron, and a white kapp over her sandy-brown hair. “I appreciate your help today.”
Mary Alice shrugged. “I like going to the Sale. I’m getting a barbecued-pork sandwich for lunch.”
Sarah smiled, grabbed hold of the leathers and then steered the horse toward Dover. “Sounds gut to me.”
* * *
Early morning at Spence’s Bazaar was a beehive of activity as vendors and folks set up tables with their items for sale and prepared for the crowd that the warm spring day would bring.
Jedidiah Lapp arranged brightly painted birdhouses, stained and varnished shelves and other well-crafted wooden items on his uncle’s rented table. He set some of the larger things, such as side tables, trash boxes and potato bins, on the ground where potential customers could readily see them. Finished, he turned to review his handiwork.
“Looks fine, Jed.” Arlin Stoltzfus joined him after a visit to the Farmers’ Market building across the lot. “Here.” The older, bearded man smiled as he handed his nephew a cup of coffee, and Jed nodded his thanks. “You finish unloading the wagon?”
“Ja,” Jedidiah said. “Almost everything you brought today is out and ready to be sold.” He reached into a cardboard box beneath the table to pull out two cloth nail bags. “Dat gave us these to hold the money.” He handed one to his uncle.
“Your vadder is a wise man,” Arlin said as he stuffed dollar bills and coins into the bag’s sewn compartments. “Where are all of your mudder’s plants? I don’t see many.”
Jedidiah shrugged before he adjusted his straw hat. “I put the rest under the table. I can put out more later after we sell these.”
“Nay,” Arlin said. “We’ll put more out now.” He shifted things about to make more room for his sister’s plants. “Your mam will be hurt if we don’t sell everything she gave us.”
Jed smiled. “We’ll sell them.” He helped his uncle rearrange the plants before he reached beneath the table to withdraw more of his mother’s plants. “The sage look healthy.”
“Ja, and the vegetable plants are thriving.” Arlin looked pleased by the new display.
“Mam’s kept busy in her greenhouse ever since Dat and Noah built it for her.”
Arlin grinned. “Ja.” He lifted a hand to rub his bearded chin. “She gave me ten tomato seedlings and four green-pepper plants,” he admitted. “And she says she’ll have more for our vegetable garden next week.”
“You’ve got a fine selection of wooden items.” Jed admired his uncle’s wares.
“Enough, I think.” The older man moved a trinket box to the front of the display.
Jed agreed. Arlin had crafted enough items to stock several shops back home in the Lancaster area, including Whittier’s and Yoder’s Stores. He’d spent weeks building birdhouses out of scrap lumber donated by the Fisher wood mill. Besides trinket boxes, he’d built hanging shelves that he’d carved and painted, vegetable bins, side tables and fancy jewelry boxes that would appeal to Englischers. Arlin had hospital bills to pay; his daughter Meg had suffered from some health issues. His Amish community in Ohio had held fund-raisers to help with Meg’s medical expenses. Once Meg was well, Arlin moved his family to Happiness, where his sister lived. While he was grateful for his new community’s help, Jed’s uncle felt it was his responsibility to pay off the remainder of his debt. Someone had told him that he’d sell a lot of his handiwork at Spence’s Bazaar Auction in Dover, Delaware.
Jed set down his coffee cup. “We’re all glad you decided to move back to Happiness, Arlin.” Their village of Happiness was in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Arlin’s stern face warmed with a smile. “I’m glad, too. Missy’s mudder and vadder can’t understand why their daughter converted to Old Order Amish. They are gut people, but they expected us to go against our beliefs and have electricity and a phone.” He looked sad as he shook his head. “They wanted to buy us a car. I couldn’t stay there any longer, and your aunt Missy understood. I prayed for the Lord’s guidance and decided to come home. Missy and the girls love Happiness, and Meg is thriving.”
“They are happy to live in a community who readily accepts them.” Jed thought of his cousins and grinned.
Arlin frowned. “Still, I worry about my girls. Who is going to keep a watchful eye on them while we’re away?”
“Your sister. You know Mam will be there to help Aunt Missy. She may not have teenage daughters, but she has enough experience with her sons to handle any boys who come looking to spend time with my cousins.”
A middle-aged woman came to their table, her arms laden with her purchases, and bought several of Mam’s herb and vegetable plants. Jed offered to carry them to her car. “Thank you,” she said with a smile. Jed followed her to her vehicle and set the bags carefully inside before closing the trunk.
A dog barked, followed by a horn blast. He heard someone scream with alarm and then the rumble of tires spinning against gravel. Jed turned in time to see two young boys bolt out into the parking lot after a dog, into the path of an oncoming car.
“Schtupp!” he cried as, reacting quickly, he snatched the two boys, one in each arm, out of harm’s way. Heart thundering in his chest, Jed set them down. He studied them carefully, noting the startled look on identical twin faces beneath their black-banded straw hats. “Are you all right?” he asked. They nodded, and Jed released a relieved breath. “Come with me.”
“Are they hurt?” Arlin asked with concern as Jed steered the boys closer to their table.
“Nay. Where’s your mam?” He searched the area for their mother. The youngsters appeared too frightened by their experience to answer. Suddenly, he saw her, rushing toward them.
The young mother had bright red-gold hair beneath her white prayer kapp. Her eyes were the vivid blue of