“Ja.” Elizabeth nodded vigorously. “What should we tell our eldre?”
“The truth,” Ellen said, hoping her parents would approve.
Her friend agreed. “What will we do?”
“Shop? Eat? See a movie?” Ellen grinned. “Whatever we want to do.” Check out the Westmore Clinic for Special Children, she thought.
After talking with her friend, Ellen grew more excited about the trip and couldn’t wait to ask her mam and dat for permission. But she decided to wait until later to approach them.
* * *
“Dat, Mam,” Ellen said after they had returned from Jedidiah and Sarah’s house and everyone had settled in at home. “I’d like to go into Lancaster with Elizabeth next Saturday.”
Her father frowned as he faced her. “Why?”
Ellen felt her belly flutter with nerves. “We want to go on rumspringa. I’m old enough to experience the English world. We thought we’d get something to eat and wander about the outlet mall.”
“I don’t know if that’s a gut idea—” Dat began.
“I don’t see why you can’t go,” her mother said at the same time that her father spoke. Mam immediately grew silent. She wouldn’t go against her father’s wishes.
Ellen’s spirits plummeted. Her dat wasn’t going to allow her to go.
“She is old enough, William,” Mam said gently, much to Ellen’s shock.
Dat narrowed his gaze as he studied his daughter. “Nay, she can’t be.”
“I’m seventeen, Dat.”
Her father looked surprised. “You are?” He firmed his lips. “You’ve grown up too fast.”
Ellen noted his surprise with amusement. “You still have plenty of time with the boys. They are a long way from rumspringa age.”
“Why now, Dochter?” he asked seriously. “Do you plan to leave our community? Are you unhappy here?”
“Nay, Dat. I have no plans to leave, but I want to see the English world. Just because I want to see it doesn’t mean I don’t want a life here...a husband and family.”
“How will you get there?” Dat asked, looking relieved.
“May I take the pony cart? Or we can hire a driver to take us.”
Her mother leaned close to whisper something in Dat’s ear. Her father nodded and said, “You may go next Saturday, Ellen, but I will hire a driver for you.”
Ellen beamed at him. “Danki, Dat.”
“Just come home safe and sound with no ideas of wanting to leave us,” he warned. Ellen shifted uncomfortably as she thought of the clinic and her reason for visiting. Would her father and mother be upset after her return when she presented them with more information in an attempt to convince them to allow her to work there?
That night as she lay in bed, Ellen thought of the fun she’d enjoyed with her cousin Gideon and then her excitement as she and Elizabeth had discussed their Lancaster trip. She tried not to think of Isaac, with whom she’d spoken only briefly. It had been nice of him to inquire about her injuries. She’d been disturbingly aware of how he’d continually watched her.
Next Saturday, she thought with a smile, dismissing Isaac from her mind. She couldn’t wait for Saturday’s adventure with Elizabeth.
Monday and Tuesday went by quickly as Ellen did her regular chores, including washing clothes and hanging the laundry on the line to dry. Wednesday morning she and Mam headed to Katie’s house for their monthly quilting bee. It was a glorious day. The sun was bright in a clear azure sky and the spring blossoms looked pretty in the Amish and English yards they passed. Ellen wondered if she’d see Isaac today and decided that she wouldn’t let the prospect bother her. Odds were that he would be out working with Samuel in the fields or with Jedidiah for Matt Rhoades, who had recently started his own construction company. In any event, even if she did see Isaac this morning, it wouldn’t be for long. There was no reason for her to feel anxious or nervous. He had helped her last week, she had thanked him politely and she was fine. It wasn’t as if she were in danger of falling for him again. The only reason they’d spent time in each other’s company was that the circumstances of her accident had forced it upon them.
“How many do you think will come today?” she asked her mother.
“About ten, I suppose, as usual, with the exception of Martha.”
Ellen smiled as she thought of the baby quilt they would be working on today. It wasn’t large enough for a double bed. With the ten women working on it, the quilt would be completed in no time.
“Mam, don’t you think it’s going to be a bit crowded around the quilt rack if ten women show up?”
Her mother frowned as she maneuvered the buggy into a turn. “Hadn’t given it any thought.”
“If there are too many, I can do something else.”
“Nay. Katie would rather have you stay than some of the others.”
Driving past, Ellen waved to Annie Zook as she exited Whittier’s Store. The young woman’s face lit up as she acknowledged Ellen’s wave with her own. She had EJ, her son, and her baby daughter, Susanna, with her.
“Are you coming to quilting?” Ellen called as Mam slowed the buggy and steered toward the right to allow a number of cars to pass by safely.
“Ja, I’ll be there after I get these little ones home,” Annie answered. “Mam said she’d stay back to watch them today.”
“Why not bring them?” Ellen suggested. “Won’t Hannah be there?”
“Ja, and Daniel,” Annie said, referring to her brother-in-law. “I’ll talk with Mam.”
Once the roadway was clear, her mother drove back onto the road and continued on.
Ellen smiled as she glanced back to see Annie put her children into the buggy. “She looks happy,” she murmured.
Mam flashed a smile. “Ja, she is. Jacob has been gut for her, and I’m glad she finally understood that. He’s loved her since he was a young boy.”
Ellen raised her eyebrows. “He has?”
“Ja, and he nearly gave up. Annie fell for Jedidiah and Jacob thought that he didn’t have a chance with her. Later, after Jed found Sarah, Jake hoped for another chance.”
“How do you know all this?”
“Katie and Miriam, although Miriam wasn’t keen on it at first.”
Ellen reached up to straighten her kapp. “Why not?”
“That was right after Horseshoe Joe had his accident. She wanted someone who was financially able to take care of Annie. Someone like Ike King.”
Ellen shuddered. “He was too old for her.” She thought of Martha. “He was too old for Martha, too, but she married him anyway. She genuinely cared for him, didn’t she?” She studied her mother to gauge her reaction.
“I believe she did.” Mam’s lips firmed. “’Tis too bad he passed on, but it must have been God’s plan. I’ve never seen her as happy with Ike as she is now with Eli.”
Ellen had to agree. She’d never seen such joy in Martha’s brown eyes during the year she’d been married to Ike. Still, she was sorry that Ike had passed on. He’d been a nice man and Amos King’s younger brother. And he’d been wonderful to Martha. They had all taken comfort