Amish Girls Series - Book 3
Chloe's Revelation
J.E.B. Spredemann
Chapter 1 - Anticipation
“A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance...” Proverbs 15:13a
Ada Esh gingerly picked up her birthing supply bag, waved a quick farewell to her husband Daniel, and then headed from the dawdi haus to the larger dwelling next door. Her granddaughter Chloe would possibly be observing her first birth today and Ada hoped she would eventually take over her midwifery duties in Paradise. Since Ada had passed her sixty-fifth birthday, she figured it was due time to train someone from the younger generation and pass on the art of “catching bopplin”.
“Hullo, Mary!” Ada greeted her daughter-in-law. “Is Chloe ready?”
Mary dried her hands on a dish towel and offered Ada a hug. “Jah, she is thrilled. That boppli is all she's been talking about lately. She should be down in a bit.”
Chloe quickly descended the stairs. “Grossmudder!” She gave her grandmother a quick embrace. “This is going to be so exciting!”
“Well, the two of us better get going before that boppli arrives without us. You know if that happens, Isaac Fisher will be beside himself not knowing what to do. We don't want the new dat to worry,” Ada warned.
“The buggy is all hitched up and ready to go!” Peter Esh hollered from the back door.
“Denki, Sohn,” Ada said as she and Chloe tromped down the back steps of the porch.
***
Chloe grasped the sides of her apron with sweaty hands, emotions swirling in her mind. This was the most exciting time in her life. Today she would be assisting Mammi with her first birth, school was finally over and done with, she would be staying home and helping Mamm with the house and the kinner, and she would be attending her first Singing soon. Her transition from childhood into adulthood had finally begun and her expectations couldn't be higher.
She quietly smiled to herself as she and Ada rode along in their buggy. Cayenne, her beautiful auburn-colored quarter horse, seemingly took forever to arrive at the Fisher residence, not at all how he usually performed when Chloe raced him with Joanna Fisher's Arabian stallion, Blueberry.
Upon their arrival, Chloe hopped down from the buggy. As her brother-in-law Isaac took Cayenne out to the pasture, she and Ada hurried into the house to see Rachel. Chloe was surprised when she noticed her sister Rachel preparing a casserole for the evening meal. Rachel smiled at the two ladies as they entered her home.
“Wilkom!” Rachel's cheeks glowed with joy.
“How's Mamm and the boppli doing?” Ada asked, eyeing her granddaughter curiously.
“Ach, I thought he was ready to make his appearance, but it seems he or she has settled down now. I haven't had one contraction since Isaac called you.” Rachel sighed disappointedly.
“Appears to be false labor. Happens all the time, so don't feel bad. The boppli will come when he's good and ready.” Ada chuckled.
“Since you're here anyway, how about a cup of peppermint tea and we can visit awhile?” Rachel suggested.
Ada and Chloe glanced at one another and both agreed. “Might as well.”
***
“Dat, what's Mother's Day?” Jonathan Fisher asked his father Gideon as they walked toward Beiler's Hardware store.
Gideon rubbed his beard, confusion adorning his face. “Mother's Day?
Why do you ask?”
“Well, I just saw a sign in the window of that store over there. It read 'Mother's Day is this Sunday',” the ten-year-old explained bright-eyed.
“I reckon Mother's Day is a day the Englischers celebrate their mamms,” Gideon stated, hoping his simple answer would suffice his son's curiosity.
“How come we don't celebrate Mother's Day, Dat?” he wondered.
“Like I said, Mother's Day is a holiday for the Englisch. We don't need fancy days to show how much our loved ones mean to us. We show them everyday by our actions.”
While Jonathan thought that Mother's Day sounded like a good holiday to celebrate, he didn't argue with his father. Instead, he tried hard to think of something special he could give his mother to show her that he loved her. A smiled slowly crept across his face when he came up with an idea.
***
“Jonathan, are you sure you know what you're doing?” Matthew Riehl asked nervously as the two boys entered the cemetery.
“Come on, Matthew. Don't ya wanna get somethin' nice for your mamm?” Jonathan smiled thinking of the look of delight on his mother's face when he would deliver his special gift.
“Jah, I guess so. But are ya sure this is okay?” He looked to his friend with a worried expression.
“Jah, of course. Matthew, do ya think I'd do something to get you in trouble?”
Matthew thought of the time when Jonathan talked him into helping him rope off the outhouse at school. Unbeknownst to Matthew, their friend Joshua Hostettler, also the bishop's son, was inside. Matthew had to stay after school a whole hour everyday for the next week and write an essay about the 'Golden Rule'.
“Well – ” He hesitated.
“Of course, not,” Jonathan assured him. “The people here are all dead. They won't care if we take the flowers. Besides, the men that work here just throw the flowers away anyhow.” Jonathan spotted a large bouquet of brightly-colored artificial flowers and his eyes lit up. He quickly knelt down and took the flowers from the plastic vase.
“But, isn't that stealing?” Matthew gulped, eyes bugging out.
“Like I said, Matthew. The people are dead, they don't care about the flowers. Besides, isn't it better to give flowers to people that are living?”
“Well – ”
“Just think of how happy your mamm will be when she sees the flowers. Unless, you'd rather give her one of those big candles with a picture of Jesus on it." Jonathan turned and eyed a headstone two rows behind them. "Na...that would probably be a graven image. Here's some nice flowers and they're purple too. Didn't you say purple was your mamm's favorite color?” Jonathan held out a small bouquet of lilacs to Matthew.
“Uh...okay. Do you think we should go now?” Matthew furtively glanced around.
“Jah, I can't wait till tomorrow!” Jonathan smiled as he and his friend walked out the cemetery gate.
***
(Chloe's Revelation available Spring 2013 via Amazon Kindle - Click below)
© 2012 by J.E.B. Spredemann