An Amish Blessing Read online

As soon as she walked out of the house, she hurried her steps to her car and jumped in. She started the car and began to creep out the driveway.

  Until she looked into her rearview mirror and saw her mother waving her arms.

  Don’t turn around. Just go. She was being paranoid, wasn’t she?

  But she wasn’t about to ignore her mother. If she did, Mom would surely think that something was up. Play it cool. She slowly backed up and rolled down her window.

  “Did you need something, Mom?” Her hands slightly shook, so she grasped the steering wheel tighter.

  Mom handed her a plastic bag. “You almost forgot the sandwich I made for you.”

  “Oh, silly me.” She tittered nervously. “Thanks, Mom. Love you.” She quickly placed it on the seat beside her.

  “Love you too, Ruthie. Bye.”

  Ruth rolled the window back up and blew out a breath. She then turned onto the road, ready to leave this place behind. Ready to face her unknown future. Ready to begin an adventure with the man she loved more than anything.

  She couldn’t hide the smile on her face if she tried.

  THIRTEEN

  Ruth took deep breaths as she and Mahlon drove toward the next town east of them. I can do this, she told herself.

  She spoke into her cell phone. “Hi, Uncle Bill. This is Ruthie. I won’t be able to come into work today.” She blew out a breath and glanced at Mahlon. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll see you next week, if that’s okay. Thank you. Goodbye.”

  “Was he okay with it?”

  She shrugged. “I hope so.”

  “You scared?” Mahlon reached over and grasped her hand.

  “A little nervous and excited, but not scared. How about you?” She glanced in her rearview mirror to be sure her father hadn’t been following them.

  “Jah, me too, but I think Der Herr has given us favor. I prayed yesterday that He would make a way for us to be together. I’m for sure this is His answer.” He smiled with confidence.

  “You did? You prayed for this?”

  He nodded.

  “Well, I guess that makes me a little less nervous.” She spotted a Walmart sign. “I think we might need rings. Let’s buy some at Walmart?”

  Mahlon frowned and she could read his disapproval. Amish don’t wear jewelry, she reminded herself.

  “You won’t have to wear yours all the time or anything. Just for the ceremony, okay?”

  “Jah, that’s fine, I guess.”

  Ruth released a sigh, thankful for his concession. If Mahlon was willing to bend on something like this, she had no doubt they could make this marriage work. The thought brought her great comfort, reassuring her they were making the right decision—amid her father’s voice of warning echoing in her head.

  ~

  Nearly an hour later, they stood before the Justice of the Peace. She in a simple white summer dress she’d spotted at Walmart, and he in his for gut Amish clothes. Ruth had taken a few moments to change, freshen up her makeup, pin her hair up into a French twist. Mahlon had changed into his Sunday church clothes—a blue shirt, black vest, black pants and matching suspenders, much like he’d worn on their dates.

  Ruth had given her cell phone to a stranger and asked if they would snap some pictures for her. Fortunately, Mahlon hadn’t objected to the photos, for which Ruth was thankful. He’d been quite agreeable in all of this, although these new concepts must be foreign to him. The more time she spent with Mahlon, the more she fell in love with him, and realized just how blessed she was to have this understanding young man as her soon-to-be husband.

  Ruth and Mahlon both kept glancing at the door during the ceremony, half expecting her father to burst through at any moment. Fortunately, he hadn’t.

  “I, Ruth Johnson, take you, Mahlon Stutzman, to be my lawfully wedded husband…” She completed her vows, staring into her beloved’s face while doing so. She couldn’t get over how handsome he looked. From this moment on, she’d forever be his.

  This was the man she’d be spending the rest of her life with. The man she’d bear children to. The man she’d share all her hopes and dreams with.

  After Mahlon repeated his vows, they exchanged the rings they’d purchased at Walmart. Were they actually doing this? Maybe she should pinch herself just to be sure she wasn’t dreaming.

  “You may now kiss the bride,” the Justice of the Peace announced.

  Ruth smiled, but she was unsure if Mahlon knew what he was supposed to do. She had no idea how Amish weddings were usually conducted and wasn’t sure whether they included a kiss or not. She smiled, leaned forward, and wrapped her hands behind his neck.

  Mahlon kissed her appropriately, but it was nothing like their times in the barn. She suspected that he was probably uncomfortable with other people watching them.

  They were now married! Husband and wife! Exhilaration filled Ruth as they walked back out to the car, hand-in-hand.

  She turned to Mahlon, hardly able to contain her excitement. “We did it!”

  Mahlon grinned and pulled her close to him. His lips found hers. “Jah, we did, didn’t we?” His forehead rested on hers. “Ruthie, my fraa.”

  FOURTEEN

  A million thoughts flew through Mahlon’s mind as he and Ruthie drove toward their honeymoon destination. He ignored the most worrisome thoughts and determined that he would not address those until he had no choice. Right now, he just wanted to enjoy his time alone with his new wife. Ach, he could hardly believe that she belonged to him!

  He’d married an Englisch girl.

  He stared down at the ring on his finger, enjoying the way it felt and the significance it held. Of all the possible outcomes of his life, he never dreamed he’d do something this drastic. No, he thought he’d always toe the line, be the good son, the ever-faithful Amish man. One never knew what the future held, of this thought he was now certain.

  He and Ruthie stopped at a restaurant somewhere in West Virginia and ate lunch. While there, she pulled out her cell phone and they determined exactly where they would spend their honeymoon. He was quickly learning how much modern conveniences could come in handy.

  “Okay, so we’ll find a beach.” She smiled and he squeezed her hand across the table.

  “Jah, that sounds gut.”

  “It says here that there’s a boardwalk at Carolina Beach.”

  “Where’s that?”

  “It’s in North Carolina.”

  “What’s a boardwalk?”

  “It’s a place where people walk along the beach, usually made of boards. They used to have them lining the main streets in old towns, like the sidewalks we have now. They typically have shops and things for people to do. This one looks like it has an amusement park.”

  “Really? That sounds like fun. Do they have roller coasters?”

  She smiled. “I don’t know. Do you like roller coasters?”

  “Jah. Leon and I went to Hershey Park one time when we were younger. It was a lot of fun.”

  “Well, I don’t know if this will be as exciting as Hershey Park, but it sounds nice.”

  “It will be exciting if I am with you.”

  “I most definitely agree. I don’t even need an amusement park. We could stay in the motel the whole time, for all I care.” She winked and it sent a thrill of excitement through his whole body.

  “You don’t want to see the ocean?”

  “Yes, but with you. I want to enjoy every second we have together.”

  “Me too, lieb.” He took her hand to his lips and kissed it, not caring who was watching.

  ~

  Mahlon leaned over the seat and nuzzled his wife’s neck. “Mm… When are we stopping at our hotel?”

  Ruthie laughed. “You’re trying to distract me, aren’t you? I have to watch the road, honey.”

  He moved back over to his own seat and picked up Ruthie’s cell phone. “Okay, we still have several more hours to go, according to this thing. Are you sure you want to drive all the way through?”

  “
Well, I haven’t made any reservations yet, so we can probably stay just about anywhere. But I’d like to drive as long as possible.”

  “Okay.” He blew out a breath.

  Ruthie chuckled. “Are you bored?”

  “I’m used to moving—doing things.”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll be stopping to eat dinner in just a little bit.”

  “Gut. I can always eat.” He smiled.

  She reached into the center console and pulled out a small book and pen. “Here. You can do some Sudoku puzzles.”

  He stared at the book in confusion. “What do I do with it?”

  “Okay, see the nine smaller boxes inside the one big box?”

  He nodded.

  “Each of those nine boxes has nine squares inside. You need to figure out which number goes into each square. It will be a number from one to nine.”

  “What are these random numbers for that are already written on here?”

  “Those are to help you figure out the other numbers. Inside the big box, each row and each column will also have the numbers one through nine.” She pointed to a square. “See, the top row for each of these boxes won’t have a two, because there is already a two in the third box in this row.”

  “So, the twos for these two boxes will either be in the second or third row?”

  “Right. Exactly. Now look at all the twos on the page. See if you can figure out where the other twos go.”

  He studied the page. “Ah ha! Here.” He placed a two in one of the squares. “And here!”

  She briefly moved her eyes to his puzzle book. “That looks right. Now see if you can figure out the rest of the twos, then go on to another number.”

  “Hey, I like this. This is pretty cool.”

  “Well, hopefully, it will keep you occupied until we eat.”

  ~

  Ruth yawned. “I’m getting kind of tired. I think we should stop somewhere.”

  “Jah, you’ve been driving a long time. I wish I could drive some.”

  “I wouldn’t mind, if you had a license.”

  He reached for her phone. “Let’s see. It looks like there’s a town coming up. We can probably stop there.”

  “Which town?”

  “Uh, Lexington?”

  “Lexington? As in Lexington, Virginia?”

  He shrugged. “I guess so.”

  “Ah, man, too bad it’s too late to see anything.”

  “What did you want to see?”

  “I think Stonewall Jackson’s house is there.”

  His brow’s shot up. “Who’s that?”

  She shook a teasing finger at him. “You weren’t paying attention in history class, were you?”

  “I didn’t have a history class.”

  “You’re kidding. The Amish don’t teach history?”

  “Nope. Well, not like you’re thinking. We learned more about Anabaptist history.”

  “Oh.” She shrugged. “Well, Stonewall Jackson was a significant figure in the War Between the States in American history, also known as the Civil War. He served as a Confederate general and commander. He was well-respected and considered one of the best.”

  “The Amish don’t believe in war.”

  “Well, I guess that’s why they wouldn’t teach about it then.” She pulled the car into the motel’s parking lot. “We’re here.”

  Mahlon reached over and caressed her cheek. “Yes, we are.”

  ~

  After checking in, they took the elevator up to the second floor where their room was located. Ruth slid the key into the slot and waited briefly for the green light to appear.

  “I enjoy staying in motels. How about you?” She asked over her shoulder as they entered the room.

  “Jah, especially with my fraa.” He quickly deposited their bags on one of the chairs. A silly grin accented his handsome face.

  Ruth turned back and made sure the locks were in place. “There.”

  She smiled, allowing her eyes to carefully roam over her husband’s face. She took in his height, at least six inches taller than her five-foot-six, then studied his broad shoulders and strong arms—arms she longed to be in.

  “Come, Schatzi.” Mahlon stared for a moment, his gaze examining her as well, then he reached for her hand and brought her near.

  She closed her eyes as his lips hungrily met hers, then traveled where they willed. His gentle touch caused her to yield to his every desire, her every desire. The way it should be between a husband and wife.

  Who would have thought she’d become a married woman at eighteen? Certainly not her. But, oh, what a wonderful circumstance it was!

  FIFTEEN

  Ruth glanced out her window as they traveled along the shores of the Outer Banks. “Wow! Look at those houses! They’re amazing. Are they built right on the sand?”

  “Looks like it. I wouldn’t want to live there. It was the foolish man that built his house upon the sand.” Mahlon frowned.

  “They’re so close to the ocean. I think I’d be scared to live in one of them.” She could only imagine the destruction if a hurricane ever visited the area.

  “Jah, I’ll keep my farm in Indiana. It is really nice here, though. The fresh ocean air feels wunderbaar.”

  “It does. The Outer Banks are a great place to visit, I think.”

  “For sure, but I’m looking forward to the rides at Carolina Beach.”

  “I think you’ll enjoy Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. We’ll be able to go all the way up to the top.”

  “Jah, I’ll like that, for sure.”

  ~

  “It’s too bad they didn’t have any roller coasters here. By looking at the photos online, I assumed they did. I didn’t know it would just be carnival rides. Sorry I got your hopes up.” Ruth frowned.

  “It’s all right. We still had fun, ain’t so?” He came close and nuzzled her neck.

  “Oh, yes. We’ve had lots of fun. I did like the carousel.”

  “Me too.” He grinned.

  “I’m kind of sad this is our last day together here. It’s gone by so fast.” Ruth reclined on the beach chair and let the sand sift through her fingers.

  “Kind of? Are you looking forward to going back home?”

  “Yes and no. I’m excited to get settled and begin our new life together. They say there’s no place like home.”

  “Except that you will have a new home.” He leaned over and kissed her lips. “With me.”

  “I’m happy about that, for sure, but I dread facing our parents. I can only imagine what my dad is going to say.”

  “Jah. I ’spect my folks will not be happy either.”

  “Oh, well. They’re just going to have to get used to us being married. I know that I’m happy. I don’t regret marrying you for one moment and nothing they can say will make me change my mind.”

  “I’m glad too. So glad. I love you more than anything, Ruthie.”

  “Anything?”

  “Well, except Gott.”

  “Hey, look, Mahlon!” She whispered and pointed. “It’s a turtle!”

  He looked at her and shook his head. “We have turtles in Indiana too.”

  “Those are the snapping ones. We don’t have these. These are sea turtles.”

  “They live in the ocean?”

  “Yes. They emerge from the ocean to lay their eggs in the sand, then she returns to the water. Then when the babies hatch, they go out to sea too and get carried away by the current. They are nourished and relatively safe within the underwater seaweed forests.”

  “How do you know so much about them?”

  She laughed. “We studied them in school, in my AP science class. We had a small section in our textbook on marine biology. I’ve always been fascinated by turtles so the teacher captured my attention when he began the lesson on sea turtle migration.”

  “I never studied science. We didn’t have that class in Amish school.”

  “Really? No science? Wow, that’s crazy.” She frowned. “But you know a lot about
horses.”

  “Jah, for sure.”

  “So you did learn some science. Yours was just more of a hands-on experience.”

  “I reckon.”

  She turned back to watch the turtle. “Maybe she’s got a nest somewhere around here.” Where would the creature stop? “Look, she’s building her nest. Did you know that the largest species can get up to two thousand pounds? And they usually have around a hundred babies at a time?”

  “A hundred?”

  She nodded.

  “I think ten would be gut.”

  “Ten turtles?”

  “Nee, ten bopplin. Babies.”

  She lifted a brow to see if he was joking, but he seemed completely serious. “Really? You’d want to have ten children?”

  “As many as Gott wills, jah. I think ten is a nice number.”

  “You’d really want ten children?”

  Mahlon nodded.

  She couldn’t see herself having that many. Or keeping that many under control, for that matter. In fact, the most children any of her friends’ parents had was four. And she’d thought that was a large number. It would be something they’d need to discuss in the future.

  How many things had they not considered before marrying? It didn’t matter anyway, she was certain they’d be able to get through whatever challenges life threw at them. She was sure their love would stand the test of time.

  SIXTEEN

  Mahlon blew out a long breath as Ruthie slowly pulled the car into the driveway of his folks’ place. It was time to face the music. What would his parents say? For better or worse, they were about to find out.

  “Where should I park the car?”

  Mahlon’s lips twisted. “How about next to the barn?”

  “Okay.” She continued up the driveway until the car finally came to the place he’d suggested. She killed the engine and met his gaze. “Are you ready to do this?”

  He heard the nervous tone in her voice. It matched his erratic heartbeat. “No, but we’ll get through it and it’ll be over soon enough, ain’t so? Der Herr will help us.”

  She nodded.

  He should have been prepared for this. He already knew Dat would be upset when they returned from their honeymoon. But could he ever prepare himself for the disappointment that was certain to accompany his father’s gaze? He didn’t think so.