Stephen smiled. Lizzie wrapped her arms tightly around herself and took a deep breath, straightening her shoulders as she did so. The sun was setting behind the distant mountain, casting the green hillside in a soft orange glow. Birds twittered in the brush, and a car passed slowly on the road below, the driver honking his horn softly as he waved to someone in the lawn.
How perfect! How absolutely unbelievable! Mam and Dat lived just down over the hill and would always be there for them if they needed them. There were English neighbors to the right of their acre, and their house would be on a hill overlooking a sweeping little woods and fields.
What kind of house would Stephen build? Would they agree on the size, the color, the layout? Well, of course, they would. She was so happy to have a brand-new house of her own, she would let Stephen do exactly as he pleased. Yes, she would. Surely good intentions, coupled with a sense of pure happiness, would be sufficient for her to be a quiet, submissive wife. Lizzie’s thoughts swirled around in her head, and she vowed to be everything she should be for Stephen, very much the same as counting a flock of chickens before they are hatched.
Chapter 6
L IZZIE PULLED ON THE reins, pressing her lips together to make a buzzing sound.
“Come on, Bess, hurry up,” she said aloud as she sat alone in the buggy on her way to John and Mandy’s farm.
She didn’t want to push good, old, faithful Bess too hard, as the morning was already warm, and she still had about half the distance to cover.
She could hardly wait to see dear Mandy again, so the drive down to their farm seemed twice as long as usual.
Route 842 wound across the rolling countryside and past large dairy farms and chicken houses. Some of them were homes where Amish people lived, and when she saw someone at the wash lines hanging out laundry, she smiled and waved.
The cornfields looked richly green with young tender stalks standing about as high as a person. She wondered if there would be sufficient rainfall, since Cameron County land with its deep shale deposits tended to lose its moisture faster than some areas. She hoped sincerely, for John and Mandy’s sake especially, that God let lots of rain fall on the cornfields, and the alfalfa fields as well, so their dairy farm could prosper and give them a good start financially.
She was grateful all over again that Stephen was not a farmer. She was afraid she couldn’t stand the suspense of not knowing if it would rain enough to grow a decent crop to feed the cows so they could make their farm payment. Wouldn’t it just be sickening to stand outside hanging up clothes week after week, while the corn curled its leaves and changed in color from a brilliant, healthy green to an olive-colored dryness, and you knew that was your profit?
She was afraid her nerves would not be able to hold up under such a strain, so it was very good she was marrying Stephen and that Mandy was married to John. Probably she’d snap, almost like losing her mind but not quite, and do a rain dance in the front yard, which would look awfully suspicious. She grinned to herself. She wondered what Mandy would say when she told her about Stephen asking her to marry him and about the new house.
“Come on , Bess,” she hollered, slapping both reins down hard on the poor, unsuspecting horse’s rump. Startled, Bess took a few fast steps, then settled down to her usual slow, steady trot. Lizzie sighed. She didn’t know why Dat didn’t let her drive Red, his fiery sorrel gelding. They had a horse named Red when she was a small child, and now Dat owned a horse almost like him and had named him Red. Lizzie begged Dat to let her drive him to Mandy and John’s house, but the answer was always the same. Her arms weren’t strong enough. No. So here she sat, watching the cornfields and thinking of rain to while away the time, as Bess hung her head straight out like a cow and took her good old time getting
How perfect! How absolutely unbelievable! Mam and Dat lived just down over the hill and would always be there for them if they needed them. There were English neighbors to the right of their acre, and their house would be on a hill overlooking a sweeping little woods and fields.
What kind of house would Stephen build? Would they agree on the size, the color, the layout? Well, of course, they would. She was so happy to have a brand-new house of her own, she would let Stephen do exactly as he pleased. Yes, she would. Surely good intentions, coupled with a sense of pure happiness, would be sufficient for her to be a quiet, submissive wife. Lizzie’s thoughts swirled around in her head, and she vowed to be everything she should be for Stephen, very much the same as counting a flock of chickens before they are hatched.
Chapter 6
L IZZIE PULLED ON THE reins, pressing her lips together to make a buzzing sound.
“Come on, Bess, hurry up,” she said aloud as she sat alone in the buggy on her way to John and Mandy’s farm.
She didn’t want to push good, old, faithful Bess too hard, as the morning was already warm, and she still had about half the distance to cover.
She could hardly wait to see dear Mandy again, so the drive down to their farm seemed twice as long as usual.
Route 842 wound across the rolling countryside and past large dairy farms and chicken houses. Some of them were homes where Amish people lived, and when she saw someone at the wash lines hanging out laundry, she smiled and waved.
The cornfields looked richly green with young tender stalks standing about as high as a person. She wondered if there would be sufficient rainfall, since Cameron County land with its deep shale deposits tended to lose its moisture faster than some areas. She hoped sincerely, for John and Mandy’s sake especially, that God let lots of rain fall on the cornfields, and the alfalfa fields as well, so their dairy farm could prosper and give them a good start financially.
She was grateful all over again that Stephen was not a farmer. She was afraid she couldn’t stand the suspense of not knowing if it would rain enough to grow a decent crop to feed the cows so they could make their farm payment. Wouldn’t it just be sickening to stand outside hanging up clothes week after week, while the corn curled its leaves and changed in color from a brilliant, healthy green to an olive-colored dryness, and you knew that was your profit?
She was afraid her nerves would not be able to hold up under such a strain, so it was very good she was marrying Stephen and that Mandy was married to John. Probably she’d snap, almost like losing her mind but not quite, and do a rain dance in the front yard, which would look awfully suspicious. She grinned to herself. She wondered what Mandy would say when she told her about Stephen asking her to marry him and about the new house.
“Come on , Bess,” she hollered, slapping both reins down hard on the poor, unsuspecting horse’s rump. Startled, Bess took a few fast steps, then settled down to her usual slow, steady trot. Lizzie sighed. She didn’t know why Dat didn’t let her drive Red, his fiery sorrel gelding. They had a horse named Red when she was a small child, and now Dat owned a horse almost like him and had named him Red. Lizzie begged Dat to let her drive him to Mandy and John’s house, but the answer was always the same. Her arms weren’t strong enough. No. So here she sat, watching the cornfields and thinking of rain to while away the time, as Bess hung her head straight out like a cow and took her good old time getting
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