“Benjamin! Aaron!  Hurry now, or you’ll be late,” Anna called to her younger brothers.  Although school had started two weeks ago, they still had not adjusted to the new schedule.  They took too long with their morning chores, dawdled through their breakfast, and could never seem to get out the door in a timely manner.  Daed had threatened to give them a bletching  they wouldn’t soon forget if they brought home one more tardy slip, but the boys knew as well as she did that Daed would not carry through on his threat.  The arthritis was bothering him something fierce these days.  Anna could not remember the last time her daed had seen fit to discipline her, much less her little brothers.  The older boys resented that something awful, but it wasn’t Anna’s fault and there was nothing she could do about it.

“I don’t feel right,” little Aaron whined, stuffing another pancake in his mouth.

She tousled his straight blond hair, cut in the bowl-shaped style of their Order, as she clucked at him.  “Any little boy who can pack away as many pancakes as you do, can’t be all that sick.  And with no fever besides, I’d bet it’s just a good case of School-itus.  I could give you a shot…”

“I think I feel better,” he blurted, scampering out of her reach.

Benjamin laughed. “He’s just ferhoodled, because he has to sit next to a girl.”

“Imagine that!  A sweetheart already and you being only eight years old. What is this world coming too,” Annie teased.

Aaron’s face colored a cute shade of red.  “I ain’t – I ain’t got no girl!” he stammered.

Benjamin hooted. 

Anna gave them both a playful swat on the rump, then shoved their lunch boxes into their hands.  “Out mitt du,” she said firmly, mixing a little English with their native Pennsylvania Dutch. 

Her brothers grinned as they scooted out the backdoor, letting it slam shut behind them. 

She stood and rubbed her lower back, surprised that it should be aching already and the morning not yet begun.  She’d risen early to get the laundry washed and on the line before breakfast, which was a hefty meal of pancakes, sausages, fried potatoes, coffee, milk, syrup, and applesauce. She’d packed lunches for the younger boys, and kneaded up a batch of bread – soon to be shaped into six loaves after it rose a little more.  There were more apples to be picked, washed, quartered, cooked, and canned, and finally, she would need to scrub the entire house down from top to bottom in preparation for the gathering tonight.

Her birthday! Today she turned sixteen!  The time of her rumschpringe had finally arrived, and not a moment too soon.  This was a special time in the lives of Amish teens, when they were allowed to experience the world of the Englisch and parents would look the other way.  They believed that if they had taught their youngster right from wrong, the child would find his or her way back to the People, and be stronger for it.  Usually, it worked just fine. 

Not always, though.  Jacob Lapp had taken to drink, and not just a beer here and there, neither.  He’d drunk so much, then got into his fancy car he wasn’t supposed to own, and drove it into a tree.  He had survived, and thankfully, no one else had been injured, but he might never walk again – and how was an Amishman going to support a wife and family like that?  Then there was Sarah Yoder and Ezekiel Stolfutz.  They hadn’t gone fancy, but they’d spent a few too many nights together and got a little too cozy, if the rumors meant anything at all.  They were hurried through baptism classes and married right quick, and already had their first boppli and Sarah not hardly two years her senior! 

That wasn’t for Anna.  Oh, she loved children, and figured she’d have a houseful someday, as that was the Amish way.  Just not right now.  Her mamm had died birthing young Aaron, and Anna had practically raised him herself, with a little help from Daed.  Benjamin barely remembered their mamm at all, being only two when she’d passed. Anna had been eight years old, but sometimes even she could barely remember what mamm looked like. 

“Just take a quick peek in a mirror some day, and you’ll see what mamm looked like,” her older brother Levi liked to tell her.  “You look just like her.”

Fine thing for him to say.  He knew Daed didn’t allow looking glasses in the house, although they weren’t specifically forbidden by the bishop.  “Mirrors promote vanity and pridefulness,” her daed insisted. And heaven forbid she should show either of those sinful traits!  Why pridefulness was almost a bigger sin than making a boppli before being lawfully wed! Sarah and Ezekiel had made their kneeling confession, and were forgiven in the eyes of Gott and man.  No one would speak of their sin again, and little Zeke would never know of his parents’ transgression. 

Anna shook herself, mentally scolding herself for woolgathering when there was so much work to do.  She scraped the breakfast plates and filled the sink with water heated on the gas stove.  Hopefully, the sunny weather would hold at least until the laundry dried.  Otherwise her birthday dinner would be held beneath a maze of twine and dripping broadfalls and sopping cape dresses.  Nothing smelled quite the same as when it was allowed to dry in God’s sunshine!  She hummed a favorite hymn from the Ausbund as she set about completing the day’s tasks.

 

 

“Such a fierce scowl, and the day has barely begun,” Naomi said, refilling her husband’s coffee cup.  “Today is a day to celebrate, no?  Your younger sister is turning sixteen!”

“Young being the operative word,” David grumbled, tugging thoughtfully on his beard.  “Anna is so immature.  She should wait a few more years before going through rumschpringe.”

“Ach! You can’t mean that, David,” she scolded.

He swallowed coffee to avoid giving her an answer.  Yes, he did mean it!  Just because he had been appointed deacon in the church didn’t mean that he had to like it.  Part of his duties included gathering alms for those in the community who might be suffering financially, usually  from medical bills.  Just last night he’d been to Samuel Lapp’s house.  Such a shame.  Young Jacob had always been such a gut boy. Being the youngest son, he stood to inherit Samuel’s farm one day. But for a moment’s foolishness, and all their lives were forever changed.  Jacob had spent weeks in the hospital, and now although he was home, he was confined to a hospital bed his parents had been allowed to rent.  They talked about time and rehabilitation, but their eyes told the truth.  Jacob would never walk again.

“Daed has not been strict enough with her.  She is benzel – a silly child.”

“And you are grumpy.  Just because your daed gave you more bletschings than your little sister, you think he has gone soft.  Maybe you were just naughtier.”

David chuckled at his wife’s teasing.  He pulled her onto his lap and smacked a noisy kiss on her cheek. “And you should show your deacon more respect.  Maybe you need another bletsching?”

“Ach, no!  David, please!” she squealed, trying to squirm out of his grasp.  All her efforts had the opposite effect.  He tugged her over and landed several firm swats to her posterior that stung despite the heavy fabric of her dress. 

She laughed even though she gasped at the discomfort.  “I’m sorry, my deacon husband!  I shall be far more respectful in the future, I promise!  Oh, ow!  And I won’t tease you about your running around years, ow!  Stop, please!”

David let her up, then pulled her to sit on his lap.  He held her tenderly, bringing her hand up to lay a kiss on her palm.  “I do not regret our marriage, Naomi.  Never!  But I do wish that I could present myself to Gott free from our sin.”

“So we kissed before we married.  And, and I let down my hair… we never let it go any further than that.  Surely that is not such a great sin?”

“Nee, all sin is sin.  It does not matter if you sin big or small in the eyes of Gott.  He is punishing me.  That is why I was chosen deacon.  Because I was nixnutzich, now I must discipline others.  Every time I must discipline someone, I am humbled by my own unworthiness.”

“You are too serious, Davey,” Naomi insisted.  “You were not so naughty that Gott will not forgive you.  We are all sinners!  And fall short of the glory of Gott.  Does it not say so in die Biwwel?”

He nodded, acknowledging her words.  Amish did not memorize the scriptures by chapter and verse like some Mennonites or Englisch Christians, but he did know right where that powerful verse was found.  It was Amish to believe that once a kneeling confession was made, the repentant was completely forgiven, the sin erased from the book of sins.  It was as if it had never been made, in theory, at least.  Still, he felt like a hypocrite when he had to chastise his brethren for sins he had once committed. 

“Speak with your sister, then.  Tell her the burden of your heart.  Let her know how much you care about her.  Don’t go over there like a thundercloud, like you usually do, and start telling her what she can and can’t do.  You’ll just get her dander up, and she’ll be likely to go and do it just for spite.”

David rose, helping his gentle wife to her feet.  He kissed her forehead, then stepped back.  “You are wise, Naomi.  How am I so lucky to have you for my wife?”

“My Daed always said that opposites attract.  It was certainly true in their marriage.  My Daed was quiet and humble, but no one crossed Mamm in my family.  She gave most of the bletschings, at least until we were nearly grown.  And then Daed got out of it by saying that we were just in our rumschpringe and it was right to look the other way.”

David’s face darkened.  So opposites attract, do they?  If his wife was wise, then did that make him foolish?  He swallowed the bad taste in his mouth.  Only time spent in prayer and fasting would help him to mend his ways.  As for his sister… well, she wasn’t too old yet for a gut bletsching!

 

Anna dumped the last of the wash water out the back door onto some wilting flowers.  She grumbled as she rubbed a kink in her lower back.  Rumor had it that the Englisch celebrated birthdays very differently!  For one thing, the birthday girl was not expected to clean and scrub and prepare for her own party.  She couldn’t wait to find out all she could about them!  They were just so fascinating – with their fast cars and skimpy clothes and cellphones and all the other little gadgets they just couldn’t seem to live without.  Of course, she did not envy them… not much, anyway.  While they had many things, they did not have the close family ties that the Amish took for granted.  At least, that was what she had always been told.  It was the reason the Amish restricted technology, allowing only the few tools that would help them to remain in farming but would not take away from the family.  Still, it would be nice to have at least one day of the year off from choring!

An Amish buggy appeared around the bend in the road.  Anna watched it until it turned onto her farm, then she hurried to greet the visitor.  It was Levi’s Rachel with four of their five kinner in tow.  The oldest boy would still be helping Levi with his chores.  “Ach, Rachel!  It’s so gut for you to come!”

Her sister-in-law brushed the air with her pudgy hand.  “Nee, think nothing of it.  I’m only sorry I didn’t get here sooner to help you mitt de clean-up.  I waited for the kinner to get home from school, unt then Little Isaac took a longer nap than usual.  I hope he’s not coming down with something.  But you know how kinner can be.  Here, Jacob- help her mitt de pies, ja?”

Anna’s nephew Jacob jumped down from the buggy, then reached for one of the pies his mamm offered. Anna took two more, grinning as she sniffed the fragrant spicy aroma of a pumpkin pie.  Her bruders preferred schnitz or shoofly pie, but give her a good pumpkin served warm from the oven with a dollop of whipped cream, and she’d be in heaven!

“Just put that on the counter, ja,” she told young Jacob.  “Then you can go find Aaron.  I’d guess he’s with the kittens in the barn.”

Jacob gave her a gap-toothed smile before scurrying off to find his uncle who was closest to him in age.  By then Rachel had reached the door as well, puffing from the exertion.  She was a large woman, and had nearly been passed by for marrying because of it.  She had a lovely nature, which Levi had discovered in time.  They’d been married twelve years now, with five kinner, and, Anna suspected, another on the way. 

Anna gestured to the table.  “Why don’t we just sit a spell and share a cup of tea?  I could use the break,” she suggested.

“Ja, that sounds mighty gut,” Rachel agreed, plopping down on the bench.  No one would sit in Daed’s chair even when he wasn’t there. 

Anna filled the teapot with fresh water and set it on the stove.  Striking a match, she lit the gas flame and adjusted it.  Come winter they would use the woodstove more, as it served to heat the house as well as their food, but the fall weather was unseasonably warm yet.  Before long Anna set two cups of chamomile tea on the table with a small plate of sugar cookies.  Rachel dunked her cookie in the tea before nibbling it. 

“So, Anna.  Tell me.  Have you made plans already?”  Rachel’s eyes sparkled with mischief.

Anna blushed, not quite meeting her eyes.  Rumschpringe was a private thing, not shared with others even if they were family. 

“Ach, don’t be so bashful, dear one.  I’m only funning you.  I thought I’d be the first one to do it, knowing your bruders don’t have a single sense of humor between them. Gut buwe, they are, but so little laughter.  In my family it was quite different, I tell you.  My daed was a gut one for teasing.  We laughed at every meal, which is why I think I got so big.  I just loved dinner time, and never wanted it to end.  Of course, being a gut cook doesn’t help me, either.  I’m always cooking for someone.  I brought a pumpkin pie over to Jacob Lapp this morning, poor boy.  Have you been to visit him?”

Anna shook her head, unable to get a word in while her sister-in-law warmed up to her subject. 

“He is just a few years older than you, Anna.   I always thought he’d make a gut match for you, ja.  He was always so thoughtful, and kind.  Such a shame it is, ja.  I don’t suppose he will be able to make boppli, if his back doesn’t heal.”

“Rachel!” Anna burst, shocked at the turn her gossiping had taken.  One just did not talk about babies until they came to be.  Certain words, like “pregnant” or “expecting” were not meant for polite conversation.  If someone wanted it to be known that she was in a family way, there were ways to do it that did not involve words at all, like knitting tiny socks fit for a baby and patting the belly.  Then everyone would cheer and hug and weep joyfully, but they would not talk about it.

Rachel just waved her hand in the air, brushing away Anna’s objection.  “I may be the only one saying it, but you can be sure and for certain that everyone else is thinking it!”

“Then it’s a gut thing I never pictured myself with Jacob Lapp,” Anna said huffily.  “He was too stuffy for me.  Always wanting to do the right thing, and when we were younger he was a bit of a retschbeddi – a tattletale.”

“Poor boy.  Let him be a lesson to you, Anna Dear.  Remember the decisions you make during Rumschpringe may last you a lifetime.”

Anna rolled her eyes.  It wasn’t the first time, and certainly wouldn’t be the last time she heard those words of caution.   “I think it is time to redd up the kitchen.”

“I’ll help,” Rachel said, pushing to her feet. 

Next to come were bruders David and his wife, and Joseph and his wife and their two kinner.  Rachel’s Levi, then Matthew was the last to arrive, just barely in time for dinner.  He was still single, not having joined the church yet, but he’d started baptism classes recently.  Anna figured he had a girl he was sweet on marrying come next fall.  She could hardly wait to find out who her next sister-in-law would be!  She’d been lucky so far, finding David’s Naomi and Joseph’s Elizabeth easy to like.  She’d heard from one of her girlfriends that was not always the case. 

When Daed came in, washed up and took his place at the table, then all bowed for the silent prayer.  It was quite crowded around their table, even with a smaller table set up for the younger kinner.  Anna beamed, imagining how much fun it would have been to be part of a large family.  Oh, ja, there were six boys in her family, but most were so much older than she was.  Levi and Joseph were already married when Mamm died, and David not long after.  Matthew was gone more than he was present, so it was often just her, Daed, and the little boys.  Of course, her bruders and their families came here nearly every Sunday for dinner, which was a mixed blessing.  Lots of family and fellowship meant many extra chores.  Thankfully, Elizabeth and Naomi were better helpers than Rachel. 

The dinner was her favorite meal – sauerbraten and spaetzel.  Served with it were steamed zucchini, cabbage slaw, applesauce, fresh bread and butter, and canned peaches.  The kinner had big glasses of fresh, raw milk, and the rest drank coffee or water.  There were pies for dessert, and then Anna received her presents.  Crocheted doilies from Naomi to put in her hope chest.  A lovely teapot and teacups from Elizabeth, also for her hope chest.  Daed gave her a new coat, warm and practical and exactly like the one she had worn out.  David gave her an English translation of the Bible, wordlessly urging her to read it.  The most surprising gift was the one Matthew gave her.  A library card!  They were not forbidden to use the Englischer library, but it was frowned upon.  Parents kept their kinner so busy, they seldom had time to read anyway, but Anna yearned to learn more about everything.  Perhaps Matthew knew that about her because he felt the same way?  She hugged him tight, thanking him for the precious gift. 

David glowered at both of them.

Let him!  As soon as she could, she was going to go and check out an armful of perfectly sinful romances!  Maybe she’d even leave them lying around, to show him just what she thought of his less-than-subtle criticism.  Ever since he’d been elected deacon, he’d become insufferable.  She missed the happy, carefree bruder he used to be.

After dinner, the little kinner played checkers or marbles on the floor while their parents visited.  Matt snuck out, probably to visit his secret sweetheart.  Rachel claimed the rocking chair.  She wasn’t knitting baby socks, but she was patting her belly in that maternal way that let everyone know what Anna had suspected.  Levi would be adding another boppli to his burgeoning family soon.

Naomi’s eyes looked a little damp, the happiness of her smile not quite reaching them.  Was she worried about not giving David any boppli yet?  Goodness, they had not been married that long!  It had been two years, but David was kept mighty busy between deaconing and farming.  Surely the couple just needed time. 

Later Daed read aloud from the Bible.  Then everyone gathered up their dishes, their kinner, and their coats as they climbed into their buggies amid hugs and good-byes, despite the fact they would all see one another again on Sunday, whether it was a Church Sunday or Between Sunday.  Anna stuck her hand into her apron pocket and felt her new library card.  Even Englisch libraries were closed on Sunday.  She’d have to find a way to get there before then.

 

She didn’t have to wait long after all.  Matthew came by the next day, offering to give her ride.  He’d walked up their road, which meant he hadn’t sold his car yet.  Daed scowled, but said nothing.  Although cars were forbidden, many teens drove them during rumschpringe, but to own one still while taking baptism classes was just wrong.  Matthew had the grace to look embarrassed, but he said nothing to Daed.

“It’s for sale,” he told Anna later, while she fumbled with the seat belt.  “But no one has bought it yet.”

“Maybe you’re asking too much,” she suggested, grinning at him.  “Surely you can find a nice Amish boy to sell it to?”

“Guess even they are getting too worldly to be suckered like I was,” Matthew mumbled.  “This car spent more time not working than the horses.”

“Going to miss it?  Being able to go where you want, when you want?”

He shook his head.  “Being free is a figment of the imagination. Owning a car is a bit like buying another daed.  It takes all your time and all your money, and never listens to you. In the end, it’s going to leave you stranded.  Guess it’s just easier to walk.”

“What do you mean,” Anna asked, concern puckering her forehead.  “Did Daed do something to upset you?”

He shrugged, then brushed it off.  “Enough about me.  Today is for you, Anna.  I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.  The library, then out for lunch at McDonald’s, and if you want to go to a movie, I’ll even take you there.  Most kids have already made Englisch friends by their sixteenth birthday, but you’ve been kept so busy at home, I didn’t figure you’d had a chance.  I just thought I’d make your introduction to the Englisch world go a little more smoothly.  What say you?”

“I love you, Matt!” Anna smacked a noisy kiss on his cheek.  His ears turned six shades of red, but he didn’t wipe off the kiss.  Anna wondered if she’d misunderstood her nearest bruder.  They had not been close, but grew up antagonizing one another.  Most of the bletschings she’d ever received, she’d earned because of Matt, and he could probably make the same statement.  Being older was nice.  Now maybe she and Matt could become good friends.

She found an armful of romance novels right away, the pictures on the covers naughty enough to make her blush.  She’d have to keep them hidden away, or Daed just might whip her anyway, in spite of his arthritis.  Matt treated her to the Englischer meal of burger, fries and a soda.  The music in the fast food restaurant was too loud and unpleasant-sounding, but Anna tried to ignore it.  Then, they didn’t go to the theater because none of the movies sounded interesting, but Matt did take her roller-skating.  Finally, when it was almost time to head home so she could get dinner on the table, Matt parked in front of a large, fancy house.  The big collie in the yard lapped his hand affectionately, and Anna guessed that Matt was not a stranger here.  A pretty, young woman with hair the color of the setting sun, ran outside and wrapped her bruder in a too-friendly embrace. 

“Oh, Matt! It’s so good to see you,” the girl exclaimed.

Matt disentangled himself from her arms with the same red blush he’d shown Anna earlier.  “Lexie, this is my sister Anna.  Anna, this is a good friend,” he replied, emphasizing the last word. 

Anna noticed that the girl’s expression darkened momentarily, but she quickly concealed it with a welcoming smile.  “Anna, I just know we’re going to be best friends.  Can you stay for dinner?”

“No, I should be going home,” Anna said awkwardly, glancing up at her bruder.  Was this the girl he planned to marry?  An Englischer?  Why was he taking baptism classes then?  Surely this wealthy, attractive woman wasn’t thinking on jumping the fence in the other direction!

“Ja, we can’t stay,” Matt stammered.  “But I wanted her to meet you, and get your phone number, in case… if she should need…”

“I know, you explained it all to me before.  In case she gets in a bind, and needs some help,” Lexie quickly filled in.  “So I’m going to have a little party at my house on Saturday night.  Think you two can come?”

“Anna will be there,” Matt said.

Lexie’s hopeful expression dropped a notch, and Anna was reassured that their relationship was all one-sided.  Matt must have a good Amish girlfriend somewhere. 

“I’m so glad to meet you, Anna,” Lexie said then.  “Here’s my phone number, and if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to call!”

Anna tucked the card into her apron pocket right beside her library card.  She gave the pretty girl a shy smile.  “Until Saturday, then.”