Courting The Amish Nanny

“What’s this?” Sadie asked instead of opening the envelope Maria had fished from her tote bag and handed to her.

“It’s from Grace Bawell. You didn’t get to meet her Sunday because she was visiting relatives in Unity but I saw her yesterday evening and she asked me to deliver this to you. It’s a note inviting you to her hochzich. She wanted to invite you in person, but she’s so busy with the preparations she can’t make the trip over here.”

“An invitation to her hochzich?” Sadie repeated blankly. She felt as if her face were made of brick and she couldn’t have smiled if she wanted to.

“Jah, a week from today. I can’t wait. I love hochzichen!”

“Well, I don’t.” The words escaped her lips before Sadie could stop them and she scrambled for something to say that wouldn’t sound rude. She repeated, “Well, I don’t...want her to feel like she has to invite me just because I arrived at the wrong time—at the last minute, I mean.”

“That’s narrish. Open it. Read her note. She really wants you there.”

Sadie unsealed the envelope and scanned the card for details. On the bottom in tiny print, Grace had written, I truly hope you’ll come, Sadie! I can’t wait to meet you and introduce you to my husband (to-be). Until then, may the Lord bless you—Grace. Sadie’s groan was audible.

“What’s wrong? You’re acting as if you’ve been summoned to a funeral, not invited to a hochzich.”

Realizing how ill-mannered she appeared, Sadie said, “It’s lovely of Grace to invite me, but...but Levi might not give me the day off.”

“Lappich! Levi and the kinner will be attending, too. I don’t know how your district does things in Pennsylvania, but here in Serenity Ridge, we close our businesses and the teacher and scholars take the day off school for hochzichen, too. The entire church is expected to go—it would be unthinkable for anyone to stay home.”

Of course, that was exactly how things were done in Sadie’s district, but she’d been hoping it was different in Maine. She stammered, “I, uh, I guess I’ll be there, then.”

Maria clapped. “Gut! And don’t worry about being new here and not knowing anyone—Grace will pair you up with a friendly bachelor for supper.”

“Neh, she shouldn’t do that!” Sadie objected.

Amish weddings lasted all day. There was the three-hour church service and ceremony, which was followed by a big dinner. Guests socialized, sang and played games throughout the afternoon, and in the evening there was a second, informal meal. It was tradition for the bride and sometimes the groom to play matchmaker, seating young, unmarried people together for supper.

“Why not? Do you have a suitor back in Pennsylvania?”

“Back in Pennsylvania, I wouldn’t tell you if I did,” Sadie retorted, irritated by Maria’s persistence. “We consider courting to be a private matter.”

Maria blinked rapidly and the tips of her ears went red. “I didn’t mean to intrude. I’m sorry.”

Sadie felt terrible; her new friend was only trying to make her feel welcome. “You have no reason to apologize. I’m the one who’s being rude and I’m sorry. It’s just that I came to Maine to avoid going to hochzichen.”

In a hushed tone she described what had happened—what hadn’t happened—between her and Harrison. Abashed, Sadie concluded by telling Maria she’d decided to put all thoughts of romance out of her mind so she wouldn’t be so desperate to be in a courtship that she made a mistake like that again.

“I understand why you wouldn’t want to attend Harrison’s hochzich, but I’m not sure you can just make up your mind you’re finished with romance,” Maria countered. “It has a way of creeping up on you.”

Sadie giggled. “You make it sound like catching the flu. Which might actually be an accurate comparison, judging from my experience.”

Waving a bough at her, Maria said, “That’s because you haven’t met the right man yet.”

“I don’t want to. Not right now and certainly not here, since I’m going home in a month.” Sadie fiddled with a lopsided bow, pulling it straight before venturing to ask, “You said you love hochzichen, but be honest. Doesn’t it bother you to watch meed much younger than you getting married?”

“Are you asking if I feel like a bitter old maid? I’m only thirty-one, you know. That’s hardly ancient.”

“Neh, I didn’t mean it like that—”

“It’s okay,” Maria said with a laugh. “But neh, it doesn’t bother me, because I wouldn’t want to marry the men they’re marrying. Not that they’re not wunderbaar men, because they are. But their suitors wouldn’t have been the man for me. I’d rather wait however long it takes to marry the man Gott intends for me to marry than get married simply because I’ve reached a certain age.”

“Then you still think...” Sadie realized the question was rude, so she let her sentence dangle but Maria seemed to read her thought.

“Do I think there is a man out there the Lord has intended for me to marry?” Maria didn’t hesitate to answer. “Jah, I do. And I think there’s one out there for you, too. Like it or not!”

Sadie was about to say, “I won’t hold my breath,” but Maria looked so earnest Sadie changed her mind and forced a laugh in spite of herself.

After lunch Levi pushed aside his plate, unfolded a small map and laid it flat it on the table. “The printer delivered these this morning, so I brought you one,” he told Sadie, who pinched her lips together. Was she irritated or amused? “I had them made for the customers so they’d know how to navigate back to the exit once they’ve chosen their trees, but I thought you could use one, as well. Not that you’ll get lost, but I wanted us to have a common reference point. This way, if I tell you what part of the farm I’m working on and later you need to find me, you can just look at this. All the sections and rows are labeled.”

“That was a gut idea. Denki.” Sadie smiled, relaxing at his explanation and coming around to his side of the table. As she leaned to examine the map, her sleeve brushed against his. She traced a marking with her slender finger. “What does this symbol indicate?”

“That’s the pond.” Acutely aware he hadn’t been in such close proximity to a woman in ages, Levi was suddenly nervous. He didn’t want to intrude on Sadie’s personal space, so he sat as motionless as David had been when he demonstrated how to play Freeze Tag.

“Is this thing in the middle of the pond a duck?”

Levi chuckled. “That’s a caution flag, so the customers know to keep their kinner from wandering off to the other side of the barn. The printer duplicated my original sketch. I guess I should have asked David or Elizabeth to help with the drawing.”

Sadie giggled and stood straight again. Collecting the dirty plates from the table, she asked, “Now that I have the map, does that mean you’re not giving me a personal tour?”

Is she relieved...or disappointed? Levi couldn’t tell from the levity of her tone. Before he could say it was her choice, David spoke up.

“Aw, Daed, you promised we could show Sadie our farm and help you point out hazards she might not have in Pennsylvania.”

“David!” Elizabeth admonished. “You were supposed to be secret about that so Sadie doesn’t think Daed is too bossy.”

Levi cringed, but Sadie calmly replied, “That’s okay, Elizabeth, I won’t think your daed is being too bossy. I’ll think he just wants us to be safe.”

“We can’t be safe if we don’t help point out the hazards,” David reasoned.

Levi caught Sadie’s eye and shrugged. “It’s up to you.”

“Then jah, let’s take a tour of the hazards,” Sadie replied with a wink that caused Levi to grin from ear to ear. “You three go put on your coats while I finish rinsing the dishes.”

When Levi and the children had donned their outerwear and Sadie still didn’t come to the mudroom, Levi brought her jacket to her in the kitchen. Holding it up so she could slip her arms into it, he asked, “Are you going to be cold? This coat seems kind of thin.”

“I’ll be fine. Tomboys are tough,” she said as Elizabeth came into the room.

“Daed, you tied my scarf too tight. My neck is choking,” she complained, so Sadie loosened it for her before they finally set out on their trek.

Sadie was so inquisitive about the farm and so appreciative of the beauty of the landscape it seemed time stood still as the foursome made their way around the property. Since Levi’s break was already half-over, they didn’t get to cover the entire farm, but he showed Sadie a sizable section of the acreage—including the “hazardous” pond, “treacherous” rocks and the “precarious” run-down shack on his neighbor’s property—before she began to shiver. I knew that coat wasn’t warm enough for her. It’s too bad I donated my mamm’s clothing or I could have given Sadie her wool coat.

“Does anyone want a mug of hot chocolate?” she asked when they returned. The children said yes, so she directed them into the living room to warm up by the woodstove while she heated the milk. “Would you like some, too, Levi?”

He’d already taken twice as long as he usually took for a lunch break, but the afternoon had been so pleasant he wanted to draw it out. “Jah, please. While you’re making it, I’ll bring in more wood. I can hear your teeth chattering from here. I’ll get the fire roaring and then we can drink our cocoa in the living room.”

When he returned, there were two mugs and two plates holding thin slices of shoofly pie on the kitchen table. Sadie raised a finger to her lips and pointed to the living room with her other hand. “The twins couldn’t hold out until nap time. I’ll stoke the fire later. I don’t want to wake them—I brought the leftover pie from church and there’s really enough for two people. I was going to give it to the kinner, but...”

“Their loss is our gain,” Levi jested. When he pulled his chair away from the table, it loudly scraped against the floor. He and Sadie simultaneously stopped moving and cocked their ears toward the living room, but they didn’t hear the children stirring, so they took their seats.

With his fork suspended above the plate, Levi whispered, “I feel like we’re doing something we shouldn’t be doing.”

“Jah, this reminds me of when my brieder and I used to sneak cookies from the cookie jar when my mother’s back was turned.”

“I hope the kinner don’t catch us—we’ll get sent to our rooms without any dinner.”

“I could be the lookout while you eat your piece and then we can trade places,” Sadie joked and her muted laugh tickled her throat, which made her face go red and her eyes water.

“You okay?” Levi asked nervously. “Are you choking? Do you need water?”

“I’m fine,” she croaked, waving her hand. It took another moment for her to catch her breath, and when she did, she said, “Oh, neh. Look, my sleeve is all wet. I must have spilled hot chocolate. I hope my manners are better at Grace’s hochzich.”

“Ah, the hochzich

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