Amish Days

By Monica Marks

Mary Bontrager doesn't want to spend her life in the family business, but spends her days minding the bakery while her aunt recovers from an illness. Can she balance running a business and finding time to visit with Samuel, who still struggles to decide between Mary and her younger sister?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trellis Publishing
• Release date: Jul 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201441241

Book preview

AMISH DAYS

MONICA MARKS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AMISH DAYS

TEARS OF AN AMISH WIDOW

WHEN AMISH LOVE FINDS A WAY

AMISH DECISIONS

THE AMISH ARRANGEMENT

ROSEMARY & SAWDUST

A MENDING AMISH HEART

NO PLACE LIKE AN AMISH HOME

REBECCA’S RUMSPRINGA

Saturday

Mary sighed and wiped her hands on the already filthy apron for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

As her eyes darted toward the wood clock above the door, she permitted herself a small smile, realizing that it was almost closing time.

It had been the longest two weeks of her life, minding the bakery while her aunt recovered from a recent hip surgery.

While Mary had tended to the bakery dozens of times over the years, never for such a long period and the days had been long and excruciating.

She longed to be home working the gardens, not cooped up inside the stifling store while her peers basked in the summer sunshine, absorbing the beauty of the days.

Last day here, she thought happily, slipping the once-white apron over her neck.

It had become yellow and crusted with the day’s yeast and sugar.

I feel like I just took off a hundred pounds, she thought moving toward the back where she deposited the garment in the laundry pile to bring home that night for wash.

Instantly, her good mood vanished.

I still must do laundry tonight, she remembered, gritting her teeth to contain her frustration.

All day she had been planning to leave the bakery and find Samuel, hoping to recover some of the lost time.

Between the pre-dawn mornings of making bread, watching the bakery and finishing the nights with ensuring fresh linens, she had only seen him once and that had been at worship.

Gloria can do it, Mary thought, trying not to let bitterness sweep through her. She has managed to avoid helping here ever since Miriam went in for surgery.

Mary took a deep breath to still her taut nerves.

It is done. Miriam is coming back to the shop on Monday. You have done your due and now you can get back to life as it was before.

Still, Mary could not dismiss the anger she was feeling toward her sister as if her aunt’s misfortune was somehow her younger sibling’s fault.

It is not Miriam’s hip which is Gloria’s fault, Mary thought grimly. It is her refusal to give up on Samuel. Everyone in the district knows he is going to pick me. I do not know why she insists on competing. It is embarrassing.

The bell to the store chimed and Mary shoved Gloria from her mind, poking her head out over the swinging doors.

A young English man stood, staring at his cellular phone as she pushed her way out.

We are just closing, she explained to him. There is not much remaining on the racks.

His eyes darted up and Mary was taken aback by the stunning cobalt staring back at her.

They seemed to lighten with interest as he studied her but almost instantly, a cloud colored them, somehow diminishing the light

Oh, he replied, grunting slightly as his hand reached up to stroke his auburn goatee. Do you have any Kaisers? Like six?

Mary moved around the counter to stand next to him and peer at the display wrack.

I have four and two long buns, she offered, inadvertently peering at the clock again.

The bakery had technically been closed for five minutes but she wasn’t about to throw a paying customer into the street, no matter how much impatience she was feeling.

He stood there, twirling the hairs of his face with his fingers as if he was making a life altering decision.

My mom really needed Kaisers, he explained and Mary choked back a sigh.

I see, she replied. We will have fresh ones on Monday.

His eyes bugged slightly and his mouth gaped.

Monday? he choked. What about tomorrow? We’re having a barbecue and I need buns.

His face suddenly flushed crimson, eyes darting downward as if he was overcome by humiliation.

I – I didn’t mean buns like that, he muttered.

Mary cocked her head slightly to the side and stared at him uncomprehendingly.

I don’t understand, she replied and he exhaled visibly.

Never mind, he replied quickly, turning away for the door.

Wait! she cried. You don’t want to take these buns?

He made a noise that was a cross between a grunt and a snort, turning back around.

Uh, actually, yeah. I better take something home or my mom will kill me.

Mary bobbed her head, reaching for a pair of tongs to put the bread in a paper bag. She could feel the man staring at her as she worked.

You’re not the lady who’s usually here, he finally commented after a moment of awkward silence.

Mary shook her head.

That is my aunt, Miriam. She’ll be back on Monday.

She closed up the package and handed it to him.

How much is it? he asked.

On a whim, she offered him a short smile.

No charge, she replied. They were going to go in the garbage if not sold today.

He blinked.

Really? I mean, don’t you take them home or –

It is fine, she insisted. Have a good night.

Slowly, he nodded gratefully.

Hey, thanks a lot! he said, his face exploding into a smile which made her lie worthwhile.

The truth was, Mary was happy for an excuse not to bring more back to the district with her. She already had the laundry and several trays of sweets to load into the cart. She could do without the excess weight.

We have enough bread to last us the next two weeks. We won’t suffer without six buns.

She waited expectantly for him to leave but he stood there for a moment, smiling at her and Mary became slightly uncomfortable.

Is there anything else? she asked, raising a dark blonde eyebrow.

Uh, no, he replied, backing away. I’m Matt, by the way. Matt Sheppard.

She nodded.

Mary Bontrager.

He reached the door, one hand paused over the glass.

I guess I won’t see you again unless I see you around town, huh?

Mary’s brow knit in confusion.

Is he showing interest in me? She wondered, blinking her green eyes in surprise. He’s English!

She could only gape at him until his face flushed crimson.

I should have charged him for the bread, she realized. He took the gesture inappropriately.

But it was too late to do anything about it.

Miriam will be back in the store on Monday, she answered flatly, hoping that he understood she had no interest in him.

Again, Matt bobbed his head and spun away to leave.

Thanks again, he muttered, pushing his way out of the bakery, leaving Mary to stare after him in disbelief.

That was strange, she thought, shaking her head as she hurried forward to lock the door in his departure. What a bizarre young man.

Yet as Mary began her closing duties, she wondered why she could not shake the image of Matt Sheppard’s blue eyes from her mind.

Stop it! She scolded herself. Even if he was Amish, you could not be interested in him. You have Samuel.

As always, when she thought of Samuel, a twinge of uncertainty fluttered through her heart.

Do I have Samuel or does Gloria? She asked herself.

The sun had just disappeared over the horizon when Mary pulled the cart up toward the Bontrager farm, a deep relief flooding her bones.

I did it! She congratulated herself. I have successfully completed my duties for Miriam and now I am free to pursue -

She did not have a chance to finish her own thought, her mother. Barbara hurrying toward her even before Mary had a chance to disembark the bench.

What is the matter? Mary asked, her eyes instinctively reading the worry on her mother’s face. What happened?

It is Miriam, her mother sighed. She fell.

Mary’s heart began to pound.

Is she all right, Mamm? Where is she?

"She is back in the hospital. Your Daddi is with her, liebling but niemand was with her when it happened. She was on the floor of her kucke for hours before Gloria found her."

Mary’s head grew dizzy.

"Mein Gotte! Will she be all right, Mammi?"

The idea of her aunt laying helpless and alone in the kitchen of the neighboring house, hurt and immobile broke Mary’s heart.

"Ja, Barbara assured her. But it set her recovery back. She will need rest, I’m sure."

Mary nodded, swallowing the consternation in her throat.

The underlying implication was clear; she would be back at the store on Monday.

Shame on you for feeling resentful, Mary chided herself. Miriam’s health is much more important than anything else right now.

She stopped herself from asking how much longer Miriam would be on bedrest.

I have the laundry, she offered weakly, unsure of what else to say. I will do it and bring it back to the bakery on Monday.

Barbara touched her daughter’s fair cheek and smiled wanly.

"You are a good girl, liebchen. Miriam is lucky to have you."

She does a great deal for us, Mary said quickly, darting her eyes away so her mother could not read the shadow crossing over her eyes.  Where is Gloria? Perhaps she can do the laundry for once.

Barbara did not immediately answer and Mary turned to glance at her over the material of her work dress as she pulled the wicker basket from the cart.

"Mammi?"

She is off with Samuel, her mother sighed and Mary could tell it pained her greatly to speak the words aloud.

There was no secret that the sisters had been vying for Samuel Wagler’s affections since they were children.

Mary and Gloria were only a year and one week apart.

As children, they had been as inseparable as twins, dressing alike, wearing their hair the same and skipping hand-in-hand through the community as if they were one person.

Physically, they had nothing in common but their blazing green eyes, Mary the blonde, fairer of the two while Gloria boasted jet black tresses and an olive tone.

Still, their differences were not noticed in those early days and while Mary could vaguely recall the closeness, it seemed that it belonged to another set of siblings.

The way she remembered it, Samuel Wagler had caught her attention at age eight when he began walking the sisters home from school.

Mary loved the way he chuckled, a solemn, wry sound which seemed to emanate from his belly.

She went out of her way to make him smile, desperate to catch a glimpse of his bright white teeth, no matter how fleeting.

I am going to marry Samuel, she confided in Gloria when she was fourteen and her sister had laughed.

You cannot, she replied.

Why not?

Because Samuel wants to marry me.

The words had been a physical blow to Mary and she remembered the feeling that the wind had been sucked out of her body as if someone had reached into her chest and captured it with a clenched fist.

He told you that? Mary gasped and Gloria shrugged her shoulders easily.

He didn’t have to tell me, she replied. I can tell by the way he looks at me. He walks me home from school still.

Mary had been out of school for a year and while she had noticed Samuel and Gloria return to the farm together, it had never occurred to her that the boy might like her sister more than he liked her.

But – but you know how I feel about him! she choked and Gloria’s jade eyes narrowed.

It is you who should know how I feel about him, her sister retorted. In the end, it does not matter, Mary. Samuel will make his choice. And I feel he will choose me.

For years, Samuel continued to bond with the sisters but no longer did they do things together.

Independently, he would pick up Gloria and take her to Aquilla Lake or he would bring Mary into Chadron for a coffee at the Pink Lady Diner.

When Mary was seventeen, she finally built the courage to ask him what his intentions were for the future, her face red with humiliation that she needed to broach such a topic.

Samuel, we will be baptized soon, she told him gently as they hiked through Aquilla Lake Wildlife Area. What will you do then?

He cast her a sidelong look as they continued along the banks of the reservoir.

I will continue my father’s carpentry business, he replied slowly, his brown eyes narrowing as he tried to make sense of her question. With my brother, of course.

Sam, that’s not what I mean.

He sighed loudly and Mary instantly regretted asking.

Forget I said anything, she offered quickly. I should not –

No, listen to me, Mary, Samuel interjected. I know you must be wondering about our future together and we should discuss it.

Mary stopped walking to stare at him, her heart sinking into the belly of her homespun dress.

You are going to marry Gloria once we are baptized, aren’t you? she whispered.

Sam covered the space between them, grasping her hands in his.

He stared deeply into her eyes and she felt her heart shatter, anticipating his next words.

I haven’t decided. I care about you both very deeply, he confessed.

Mary gulped back the disappointment she was feeling and forced a smile.

I see.

Mary, you mustn’t be sad. When I am with you, I am certain you are the one I want to begin a family with but...

He trailed off and she knew what he was thinking.

But when he is with Gloria, he feels exactly the same way about her.

There was little Mary could do but accept his words and pray that he would eventually see that she, not Gloria, was the right choice.

How can he possibly be leaning toward marrying me when I haven’t seen him in two weeks? Each day I do not see him, Gloria is that much closer to winning Samuel.

Mary?

Her mother’s voice snapped her head upward and she realized she had been lost in thought for a long while.

I see, she said curtly. I don’t suppose they will be back any time soon.

Barbara sighed.

I cannot say, she replied. But why don’t you leave the wash and I will tend to it.

Mary was instantly contrite.

"No, Mammi. You have worked all day long. I can easily tend to the laundry. Have you had supper?"

I was waiting for you to return home, Barbara replied. "I imagine it will only be you and me tonight with your Daddi at the hospital and Gloria – "

She didn’t finish her sentence, her plump face flushing as if she knew each word she spoke drove a nail deeper into Mary’s already wounded heart.

Mary put on a brave face and gave her mother a broad smile.

I could not ask for better company, she replied. I am famished. Let us eat.

Monday

She flipped the wooden sign in the window to display the bakery was open but Mary was dreading the upcoming day.

Sleep had not come easily to her after what had happened at worship the previous afternoon and she was feeling bedraggled as she unlocked the front door.

Samuel had barely said hello to her after service before Gloria swept in and pulled him aside, seating herself beside him at the table.

"Mammi, why can’t Gloria work at the bakery for a few days?" she whispered to her mother, watching her sister through her peripheral vision.

"Liebling, Gloria is not as adept at baking as you are. We have discussed this already. If I felt that she could handle it, I would send her in your place."

Surely one day –

Mary, you will survive this, Barbara snapped, annoyed at what she perceived to be her daughter whining. Think of how Miriam would feel knowing that we ran her business without doing our best. You know that you are much more gifted at baking than your sister. Embrace your Gotte given abilities and be grateful you are so talented when others fail.

Mary was taken aback by the words.

Does Mammi think I am better than Gloria? She thought. Immediately she was shamed by the question.

Her mother did not favor one daughter over the other. It was not her way.

She was merely paying me a compliment. I wish that Samuel could see that I am better than Gloria at some things.

As the afternoon progressed, Mary was growing increasingly