So these were Levi Zook’s children. Mam had urged her to learn more about her position before traveling all this distance, but staying another day in Bird-in-Hand was out of the question. How could she stay there after what Elam and Laurette had done?
“Boys, you know where to sit.” Levi’s deep voice broke through the noise. “Stop this arguing, now. Jesse, move over so David can sit in his own place.”
Levi slid the warming pan across the floor of the buggy and Ruthy tucked her feet up to it. The January air had a bite to it, even in the shelter of the buggy, and she craved the heat that seeped through the leather shoes to her toes.
“But Dat, I don’t want to sit by her.” The littlest boy still stood on the buggy step, his face glaring at Ruthy as she turned to smile at him.
“If you sit between your daed and me, you’ll be able to share the warming pan.”
Ruthy knew her words had struck gold when she heard the envious groan from one of the boys behind her. The young boy heard it, too, and his face lit up.
“Can I really?”
“Ja, for sure.” Ruthy tucked her skirt in close as he scrambled onto the seat next to her. She glanced up to see Levi Zook giving her a grateful look. It seemed her job was starting out well so far.
As the buggy jolted over the railroad tracks, Ruthy smiled at the boy next to her.
“You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”
“I’m Sam. I’m five years old, and I like cows.” The words burst out of him as if he had been holding them in all day. “And that’s James. He’s eleven and doesn’t like girls. David is nine and likes school. And that’s Jesse. He’s seven.” He nodded toward the backseat as he introduced his brothers. “And at home...”
“How was the train ride?” Levi Zook interrupted, his face red as he concentrated on driving the horse through the town traffic.
“It was long, but comfortable.” Ruthy glanced out the window. The roads were smooth with packed snow. “How far is your farm from here?”
“We’re about six miles from Shipshewana, down in Eden Township.”
“It’s the biggest farm around,” Sam said, and then his pink cheeks reddened even more and he ducked his head into the collar of his coat. “I mean, it’s plenty large for our family.”
Levi cleared his throat, drawing Ruthy’s attention away from Sam’s boasting words. “I hope the arrangements I mentioned in the letter are to your liking.”
“Ach, ja,” Ruthy said. “There’s a Dawdi Haus I’ll be living in?”
“Ja. It’s attached to the main house, and there’s a passageway in between. It’s handy to the kitchen and cellar.”
Ruthy shivered as the horse trotted swiftly down the snow-covered road. The farm fields were January bare, with flat expanses of snow between the fence rows. As the buggy grew colder, she drew her shawl closer to her neck. Even the boys in the back fell into silence in the frigid air.
By the time Levi turned onto a farm lane, the coals in the warming pan had lost all their heat. Sam pressed against his daed to keep warm, but Ruthy looked up the lane, anxious to get the first glimpse of her new home. The house was large, with additions made over the years like train cars, and the little Dawdi Haus a tacked-on caboose following behind. Smoke poured from a chimney at the end of the house closest to the Dawdi Haus, a sign someone was home. Levi pulled up to the back door.
“Sam, take Ruth in to the kitchen while the boys and I take care of the chores.” Levi looked over Sam’s head at her, with an apologetic look in his brown eyes. “We’ll be in for supper.”
Ruthy nodded, looking forward to getting into the warm kitchen. The look in her employer’s eyes mystified her, though. Why would he feel bad for leaving her alone with little Sam?
She climbed down from the buggy and took her suitcase from the back, then followed Sam to the door. The back porch was enclosed, with a wash bench along the outer wall, hooks for coats on the wall next to the kitchen door and planks to hold muddy boots off the floor below. Warmth seeped into the porch through the closed kitchen door and Ruthy unwrapped her winter shawl as Sam hung his coat on a hook.
The door opened to welcome them in, and a young girl smiled shyly at Ruthy.
“Nellie, close the door!”
Ruthy stepped into the kitchen quickly as the girl, about eight years old, obeyed the voice of an older girl who stood with her back to Ruthy as she removed a loaf of bread from the oven. It must be Waneta, the oldest. Four boys and two girls? So, Levi Zook had six children she was to care for? She should have asked more about the children in her letters.
“Hallo,” the older girl said as she closed the oven door. “You must be Ruth. I’m Waneta.”
“It’s good to meet you,” Ruthy said, smiling at her. The heat of the oven had given Waneta’s face a pretty flush.
“You’ve had a long journey, and I’m sure you want to get settled. Martha built a fire in the Dawdi Haus when she went to make up your bed, so it should be warm in there for you by now.”
“Martha? I must have heard wrong. I thought I heard you call your sister ‘Nellie.’”
Waneta laughed and hugged the little girl. “This is Nellie. Martha is the twelve-year-old sister.”
Seven children? Ruthy grasped her satchel closer, her lips pressed together. Seven children would be a challenge, but she could do it. She had always enjoyed large families. She followed Sam through the kitchen door leading to the chilly passageway between the two houses. Windows on both sides made it feel large and open, but sheltered from the weather.
She followed Sam into the house, where a girl sat in a chair, a book open in her lap. She looked up with startled eyes as Sam opened the door.
He looked up at Ruthy with disgust. “Martha’s always reading when she’s supposed to be working.”
Ruthy smiled at Sam and glanced at Martha. “I like to read, too. It’s hard to put a book down when there are chores to be done, isn’t it?”
“Ja, for sure.” Martha’s sweet smile warmed the room. “Dat said we should leave you be so you can settle in today.” The girl looked at Ruthy’s suitcase. “Or I could help you unpack...”
“I’d love your company, but don’t you think Waneta needs your help?”
Martha’s face told her she had guessed right, and Sam tugged at his sister’s hand. “Come on, Martha. ’Neta’s going to be mad if you don’t help her instead of mooning around.”
“I’ll see you later, all right?” Ruthy gave Martha a smile as the girl followed Sam back into the main house.
Ruthy closed the door behind them, looking around her new home. The front sitting room was cozy, with two chairs and a small side table. It would be a comfortable place to sit in the evenings while she worked on her sewing.
At this thought Ruthy sank into the rocking chair. Sewing for seven children? And their father? First thing tomorrow she would need to start in on taking inventory and planning for their summer clothes. Although Sam’s trousers seemed pretty short—she may need to make sure they had enough winter clothes first. Why hadn’t Levi Zook told her how many children he had in his letter?
And why hadn’t she followed Mam’s advice and asked before making this trip?
She knew why. Even if he had told her the size of the job, she would have come anyway. Any excuse to get away from Lancaster County and the gossip. If she had to suffer the sight of her Elam with Laurette Mast one more time...
Ruthy