A Change of Heart

Chapter Six

LEAH HAD BEEN IN PLENTY OF AUTOMOBILES OVER THE years, but she’d never experienced anything quite like riding with Auntie Ruth. The woman knew one speed—fast. As they peeled onto the highway, Leah double-checked her seat belt as Ruth sped over a well-known speed bump, causing Leah to bounce in her seat.

“Oops,” Ruth said, then chuckled. “Didn’t see that coming. So tell me, Leah. Are you sweet on my nephew, Aaron?”

Leah quickly turned toward her. “What? No. No, we’re just friends.” And barely even that.

“He sure seems sweet on you,” she said, batting her long lashes. “When I arrived this morning, I heard him mention your name several times. And later, in private, he told me you like to write.”

Leah was surprised Aaron had shared that news with his aunt. “Ya, I do. I love to write stories about people turning their lives to God.”

“What a glorious feeling it is to know that you are a child of the Lord.” Ruth zipped around the corner, even squealing the tires. “This car can take the curves,” she boasted. “I’ll have to take Kathleen for a ride sometime. She seemed awfully interested in my car.”

Leah rolled her eyes. “Ya. She loves cars, and none of us knows why.”

Ruth’s lips curled at the corners, but only a little. “Sometimes we just can’t understand what makes a person tick, now can we?” Ruth looked at Leah as if she was the keeper of more than just her own secret.

“I suppose not.” Leah stared straight ahead, very alert. “So, you said you don’t know how long you’ll be staying?” She couldn’t imagine what this charming, odd woman might be keeping as a secret.

“Till it’s time for me to go,” she repeated, then sighed.

They arrived at Lantz Furniture much too soon for Leah, and there really hadn’t been an opportunity to question Ruth about her secret. Ruth screeched to a halt in front of the store.

“Danki for bringing me,” Leah said.

“You’re welcome. It was very nice to meet you and your sisters. I’ll let you tell Aaron and his father about Edna. I’m going to head back to the house to let Sarah and the girls know she is going to be all right.”

“Very nice to meet you too. We will see you again, no?”

“I hope so.” Ruth smiled. “Take care, my child of God. Keep writing your stories. You never know who you might touch someday.”

Leah climbed out of the car, then hesitated before she shut the door. She wanted to tell Ruth how she felt this strange connection to her, how she wanted to get back in the car and spend the day with her, but she simply said, “Good-bye, Auntie Ruth.”

Aaron carried the wooden rocker to the back of the store, tucked it in the corner, and hung a Sold sign on it. Ms. Simpson said she’d be back this afternoon to pick it up. His father would be glad the rocker sold, along with three others this morning. Seemed to be a popular style with the Englisch. There was nothing fancy about the oak chair, but it was larger than most, and Abner had constructed the seat in such a way that a person’s fanny seemed to nestle right in.

Aaron wiped the sweat from his brow and raised the window in the back of the store to allow a cross breeze, wishing he’d done that earlier. Then he headed back up to the front in time to hear the bell on the door chime and see Leah walk in.

“How’s Edna? Abner’s at the hospital, but we haven’t heard anything.” Aaron stopped in front of Leah, thrilled that she was the one to deliver any news, but also concerned about Edna.

“She’s gonna be fine. She has asthma. Mamm and Daed will be bringing her home later this afternoon.” She smiled, but only a little, as if forcing herself.

“That must have been a real scare for your family.”

“Ya.” Leah’s expression confirmed that it was. She avoided his eyes, hung her head slightly. “She was an awful shade of blue, and— and she wasn’t breathing.”

Aaron stepped a little closer and leaned down a bit. “But she’s all right now, no?”

Leah took a deep breath. “Thank the Lord.”

“Ya.” Aaron glanced past her and out the glass window of the shop and noticed that the designated buggy area was vacant. “How’d you get here?”

Then a large smile swept across her face, and those tiny dimples came into view. Aaron smiled along with her. He couldn’t help it. She looked awful pretty in her green dress, and her face was aglow about something.

“Auntie Ruth brought me.”

His mouth dropped open. “My Auntie Ruth?” Oh no. Auntie Ruth was as fine a woman as had ever lived, but she was a tad—off. Aaron wondered what sort of conversation Leah had with his greataunt.

Leah grinned. “I liked her very much. She wanted me to let you and your daed know that Edna would be all right.”

Aaron was confused. Why would his aunt bring Leah here and drop her off, instead of just coming to tell him and his father herself? He opened his mouth but was unsure how to phrase the question.

“I asked her to give me a ride to come see you, so she dropped me off and asked me to tell you about Edna.”

Aaron looped his thumbs in his suspenders and tipped his straw hat a bit. “Really? And why did you want to come see me?” Perhaps he’d made a fair impression last night after all.

“I—I just wanted . . . I wanted to make sure that you understood that we wouldn’t be courting if we went to the Grabers’ Sunday singing together.” She shrugged. “You know, it’d be more like—like going as friends.”

Aaron mentally pulled her foot from his gut. “Of course it’s only as friends. I reckon it’s a mite silly for you to think otherwise.” He folded his arms across his chest and stood taller.

“No. I didn’t think otherwise,” she quickly said. “I just didn’t want you to think it was anything more than a friendly ride together. You know how sometimes people tend to assume that a boy and girl are dating when they attend a singing together.”

“If you’re so worried about it, why did you ask to go with me?” He realized right away that his voice revealed more anger than he would have liked.

“Well, I—I thought we would talk about my story.” She batted her eyes at him and smiled. “Have you read any of it?” Then her face grew still. No smile, only questioning eyes. She bit her lip and waited.

“Maybe.”

“You did, didn’t you?” She actually bounced in her black leather shoes, and the dimples were back.

He couldn’t help but grin. “Ya, I did.” He recalled the romance between Rose and Jesse. “Jesse just told Rose that he loves her.” Aaron hated it when he blushed. That was something women did, yet he could feel his cheeks taking on an embarrassing shade of pink. But he felt a tad better when he saw Leah’s cheeks matching his in color. She looked toward the ground.

“That’s one of my favorite parts.” Then she looked up and smiled. “What else? Do you like it? Am I a good storyteller? Are there any parts you didn’t like? And what about—”

“Ach!” He pointed a finger in her direction. “We are supposed to talk about this when I’m done.” Plus, if I tell you now, you might back out of our Sunday date, which isn’t a date.

She twisted her mouth to one side. “Aaron?”

“Ya?”

“You won’t let anything happen to my story, will you? It’s the only copy I have, and I’ve worked hard on it.”

He spoke with tenderness. “No, Leah. I won’t let anything happen to it.”

“And you like it so far?” Her eyes begged him to say yes.

“Ya. I do.” And I will finish it by Sunday so I can spend time with you.

“Ach, gut!” She gave a little bounce again. “Then I will see you on Sunday.”

Aaron nodded as she turned to leave. He was just about to get back to work when Leah spun around and faced him.

“Aaron?”

“Ya?” She walked back toward him, folded her hands across her chest, and pressed her lips together. “Did you know your Auntie Ruth has a secret?”

Aaron laughed out loud. “I reckon Auntie Ruth must have lots of secrets.” He paused. “Why?”

Leah shrugged. “I don’t know. She told my sisters and me that she has a secret. And that she’d be staying until things were handled. I just wondered what that meant.”

Aaron scratched his forehead. “You can probably tell that Auntie Ruth is—is different. There ain’t no tellin’ what she might be talking about.”

“She’s very special. I can tell. I hope I get to see her again.”

“She’s special, all right.” Aaron recalled the time Auntie Ruth told him where babies came from. At twelve, he was probably old enough to know, but it was the way she’d told him. “Now, honey, here’s how it works . . .” Aaron cringed at the recollection. He was sure his parents would have doubled devotion time that entire year if they’d ever found out. But Auntie Ruth never meant any harm. She just had a funny way of doing things.

“How are you going to get home? It’s a far piece if you plan to walk. But the weather is better, I reckon.”

“Ach, I’m going to hold my thumb up and hitch a ride from the Englisch.”

Aaron’s eyes grew to the size of golf balls. “Leah! You can’t do that. That’s not safe for you—”

She doubled over, laughing, then looked back up at Aaron, dimples and all. “It was just a tease, Aaron. You’re so serious. Mei Englisch friend Donna works at the bakery. She gets off work in about twenty minutes. I will hitch a ride with her.’Bye now.”

Leah waved and turned again to leave. Aaron shook his head. It was no wonder Leah took to Auntie Ruth so well. He suspected there was a tiny bit of Auntie Ruth in Leah.

Donna pulled into the driveway and put the car in park. “Are you sure you don’t want to meet me and Clare at the movies later? We can pick you up near the road, like we did last time.”

“No. Danki, though.” Leah looked at the large family buggy pulled up next to the spring buggies. “My parents are home from the hospital with my sister, and tonight would not be a gut night to get caught sneaking out.”

“I’m glad everything is okay with Edna. And you’ll be in your rumschpringe until you’re married, so I feel sure we have plenty of time to go out another night.”

Leah giggled at her friend’s use of Pennsylvania Deitsch—and at her implication that Leah wouldn’t be married for a long time. “You’re still not saying it right,” she teased. She opened the car door. “Danki again for the ride.”

As she strolled up to the door, she looked into the sky at the sun set squarely between the house and the silo, amid skies that were still a bluish gray, and positioned in such a way that Leah knew she was late for supper. She bit her bottom lip and picked up the pace, not realizing so much time had gone by. But Donna had wanted to stop for a root beer before heading home, and then they’d talked for a while, and now she was late . . . again.

She cautiously opened the screen door that led into the kitchen, expecting to find everyone seated for supper. The smell of Kathleen’s beef stew filled the kitchen, but no one was in sight. Leah tiptoed to the stove, lifted the lid, and dipped the spoon into the dark brown sauce, making sure to pick up a chunk of beef. She blew on it, then opened her mouth.

“Leah!” Her father’s abrupt tone caused her to drop the spoon. She scurried to pick it up, scooping the lost load into her trembling hand.

“Ya, Daed. How’s Edna? Is everyone upstairs? I’m sorry I’m late. I had to catch a ride in town.”

Daed’s face was as red as Auntie Ruth’s lipstick. He walked toward her, his hand raised in such a way that she actually thought he might strike her. He pointed his finger in her face.

“Your sister spent the day in the hospital. You were not even here to welcome her home, to make sure she’s all right.” He stood rigid, his eyes ablaze. “It is bad enough that you continue to test my will by being late to the meals and do not partake in your share of the chores around this haus.” He pulled off his straw hat, raked a hand through his hair, and sighed. “There will be no more story writing. No more sneaking out for movies and fun times with your Englisch friends.”

Leah’s eyes widened. Who had told him?

“Your mamm and me are not dumm. Do you not think we know that you are sneaking out some nights? We have always looked the other way during our daughters’ rumschpringes. But no more.” He stomped his foot. “Edna will have to stay in bed for a while, and then she will be on a light chore schedule. You will do her sewing and mending. You will help Mary Carol with the garden. You will learn to cook from Kathleen. These things you will do to become a proper Amish woman.”

“Ya, Daed.” Leah hung her head, and a tear ran down her cheek. She hated being such a disappointment to him, but she wasn’t good at all these things he spoke of. And no more writing?

Her father drew in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Mei maedel, you are eighteen years old. A grown woman of marrying age. Do you want to live with your mamm and me forever?” He shook his head, then looked at Leah’s tearstained face. “You are punished to the haus until I say otherwise.”

“But for how long?” She stared into his cold eyes.

“Until I see fit.” He pointed to the stairs. “Best go check on your sister. And dry your tears. Edna has had a hard day today.”

Leah didn’t say anything as she brushed past him. Then she turned slowly around. “Daed?”

He widened his eyes but didn’t say anything.

“What about the Sunday singing that Aaron Lantz invited me to this weekend?”

“I will get word to Aaron that you will not be able to attend.”

“But—”

“Leah!”

She turned and ran up the stairs, and despite her father’s instructions, the tears fell full force.