A Perfect Square

Chapter 25




SAMUEL ACCEPTED THE LUNCH from Katie’s mother. “Danki.”

She nodded once and turned back to helping the younger children. He hadn’t seen her cry since two days ago, since the afternoon they’d returned from church to find him sitting on the front porch. He’d told the story exactly like he’d rehearsed. How he’d gone after Katie, begged her to come back with him, but she’d refused.

Timothy had said nothing. He’d listened then walked off toward the barn.

Rachel, his wife, had sat down on the porch and wept. That moment had been the hardest. He’d wanted to confess then and there, wanted to tell how she had looked as she’d died. But if he’d done that, what would they have been left with? No hope.

No help in the fields. Nothing.

So instead, he’d told the story exactly like he’d rehearsed.

Since Sunday they’d all gone through the same routines they’d gone through any of the days before he’d left, before he’d convinced Katie to trust him, before she’d become his wife.

There was a difference though.

He worked harder now. Didn’t stop for breaks when Rachel brought out something to drink. Didn’t stop until it was too dark to see. And mornings he was up and working before Timothy was out of bed.

It wasn’t much. He knew it wasn’t enough, but he’d do what he could to atone for his sins.

He’d do it until he dropped from the weight of his guilt.

Now, pushing away from the lunch he hadn’t eaten, he returned to the stack of wood that needed splitting. Raising the axe, he brought it down in one smooth motion, feeling some satisfaction as the blade met the log, as his muscles ached from the work he’d done since before sunrise.

He tried to focus on the task at hand, but the last week of her life continued to play, like an Englisch picture show caught in a loop, never ceasing, even in his sleep …

“Why didn’t we stop in town?” Katie asked as Samuel waved his thanks to the man who had given them a ride from LaGrange.

“Could have, but it would have just meant extra walking. I believe we can stay here. “

“You know these people?” Katie peered down the lane, past the pond to the old farmhouse. “Fields look tended, but the house appears deserted.”

“That’s because the two cousins who live here stay in the barn. “

“Are you playing with me, Samuel?”

“I’m not. They like the barn, say it’s simpler, and it’s fixed up real nice. “

Katie’s worried expression began to ease as they walked down the lane. With the October sun shining on them, the idea that they might have a place to stay was obviously easing her anxiety. He sometimes forgot how hard this must be on her, leaving not just her family but her things behind.

All they brought from home, they carried.

He had the backpack slung over his shoulder, and she had the small duffel bag of her things.

“So no one lives in the house?”

“No. Looked at it pretty close last time I was here. Reuben, the older cousin, offered to help me out if I ever wanted to go into the woodworking business. He showed me some of the cabinetry done in the house, and it’s practically art. His grossdaddi did it all himself.”

“How did you meet him? Reuben, I mean.”

“My mamm knew him. A long time ago. When I told her I was moving here, she gave me his name. One week I was in Shipshe delivering an order for your dat, so I looked him up.”

Samuel thought of his own dat and how he’d died in the prime of his life. Thought of the man his mother had recently married, how cold and distant he was. Then he thought of Reuben.

Samuel didn’t need anyone telling him what to do, but he could use a place to stay for a day or two. “I came out and shared a meal with them. Seems Reuben knew my mamm and grossdaddi very well. He’s a big fellow, but kind.”

Katie stopped, staring toward the small pond.

“What is it?”

“The flowers, Samuel. Look at them.”

“I see them.” He laughed when she continued to stare at them. “Women and flowers. How is it that you’re taken with such things?”

“The black-eyed Susans are nearly three feet tall. It looks as if they’re stirring the goldenrods.” Katie smiled up at him, the blue of the sky reflected in her eyes, causing his heart to beat a double rhythm. Would he ever grow used to the touch of her hand in his, the way she had of making him feel like he was capable of accomplishing anything, the adoration in her eyes?

“Want to take a closer peek?”

“Shouldn’t we go and see your freind first?”

“He won’t mind. Look, there’s a path that leads around the edge. I’ll bet they use it for fishing.” He tugged her hand and pulled her toward the small pond, and it seemed in that moment, as October slipped toward November, that the world belonged to them.

They laughed and played beside the pond, almost as if they were children — even daring to dip their feet into its cold waters.

He didn’t notice until they were drying off that the small phone he’d bought in Goshen had rung. The symbol indicating he had a message flashed red.

“Who was it?” Katie asked anxiously as he listened to the message.

“Don’t worry so. It’s a gut thing. The job in the factory is open. I’ll call him back in a minute. First let’s go and see Reuben.”

Samuel had leaned forward and kissed her then, the sun shining on them as they sat among the flowers surrounding the edge of the pond.

Everything was turning out exactly like he’d hoped.