The Amish Nurse's Suitor

“Arden,” Arden corrected the man. “That’s me, but that’s not the quantity I ordered.”

For as much difficulty as he had with reading and writing, Arden didn’t have any problem with math. Knight’s was a new lumberyard; maybe they’d made a mistake. Arden and Ivan had only been contracted with them for a couple of months, so perhaps the employees were confusing theirs with an Englisch business.

“Your paperwork shows you did. Check for yourself—it’s a photocopy of the order you placed. The note says you mailed it in.” Bob handed the clipboard to Arden.

Arden distinctly recalled the afternoon he’d tried to phone in the order—the Ordnung allowed cell phones and solar chargers for business use—as he’d done with the previous lumberyard he and Ivan patronized. The clerk insisted he’d have to place the order online, by fax or in person, because they required a customer signature. Arden explained he didn’t have a computer or fax machine and the lumberyard was too far away for his horse to get there in one day, which caused the woman to crack up. When she realized Arden was indeed Amish, she’d apologized profusely.

“You can make up an order sheet yourself. Just use the product codes from the catalog and indicate the amounts. You don’t even have to write the sizes down, because we can tell exactly what you want by the codes, but don’t forget to sign your name at the bottom.”

Studying the sheet now, Arden’s mouth went dry. It looked right to him, but then again, he misread things more often than not.

After a minute, Bob took the clipboard back. He pointed to the left of the page, “See here? This is the product code for cedar two-by-sixes. This is the amount you ordered. Here’s the product code for the shake shingles, and again, you wrote the amount right beside it.”

That explained it: Arden had been so concerned about accidentally transposing letters when he copied the product codes from the catalog that he’d proofread them three or four times. Unfortunately, he didn’t pay as careful attention to the quantities. He must have matched the quantity of two-by-sixes with the product code for the shake shingles and vice versa. Red-faced, he admitted his error to Bob.

“We only need half as much cedar, and we’ll need double the amount of shake shingles.”

“Doubling the shake shingles won’t be a problem since they haven’t shipped yet,” Bob said. “But if we return half of this load, you’re going to have to pay a handling fee plus the standard mileage rate for us to return it to the yard. Those are the terms of your contract.”

Arden didn’t know what to do. He and Ivan had budgeted down to the penny for inventory. They couldn’t afford to pay for a surplus like this right now. But it would be a complete waste of money to pay for the drivers to return the wood to the lumberyard.

“All right. We’ll keep it.”

When they finished unloading and stacking as much of the lumber as they could on the racks that weren’t already filled with pine, they piled the rest of it on the floor.

“Per your contract, there’s a 10 percent discount if you pay us now,” Bob told him.

Arden wished he would have read the contract or that Bob had reminded him of the discount while they were unloading—it would have given him more time to write the check. Arden wrote especially slowly if he felt as if someone was breathing down his neck. His pen hovered over the payee line.

“How do you spell Knight’s again?” he asked, and the taller guy snickered while Bob dictated the spelling.

As they sauntered away, Arden heard the wiry man remark to Bob, “I guess someone who graduated from a one-room schoolhouse isn’t going to win any spelling bees, huh?”

“Maybe not, but he sure does nice work,” Bob replied, gesturing toward the playhouse. “Wish I could afford something like that for my kid. It’s nicer than my own home.”

Arden’s face was still hot when his sister walked through the door some ten minutes later. “What’s wrong, Grace? Is Mamm okay?”

“Jah, she’s fine. Rebecca Miller is visiting her, so I came over with cheeseburger supp to put in Ivan’s freezer, along with kuche for his pantry. I know other women in the district will be bringing him meals when he’s discharged from the hospital, but I want him to have plenty to choose from while he’s recovering.”

“Oh. I, um, don’t know if that’s a gut idea.”

“Why not? Doesn’t he like cheeseburger supp?”

“Neh, that’s not it.” Arden knew Ivan hadn’t wanted anyone to find out about Rachel coming, lest Colin interfered and stopped her. Now that Rachel had arrived, Arden figured it was only a matter of time until Colin and his family learned of her presence—and even when they did, there was little they could do about it. Still, he was reluctant to be the one to spill the beans. “His, uh, schweschder is visiting. She’s staying in his haus.”

“His sister? The schmaert one who became an Englisch nurse?”

Arden bristled at the mention of Rachel’s intelligence. “Ivan only has one sister. And jah, Rachel’s a nurse.”

“She’s kumme to take care of him?”

While Arden would have preferred it if other people believed Rachel had come specifically to take care of Ivan rather than to help Arden with business matters, that wouldn’t explain why she’d arrived when Ivan was still in the hospital. “Jah, and to, uh, help with some of the administrative tasks at the shop—since I’ll be too busy making sheds to do the paperwork.”

“That’s wunderbaar. Since she’s a nurse, maybe she’ll take a look at the skin on Mamm’s fingers. Is Rachel at the haus now? I could go introduce—”

“Neh!” It was going to be challenging enough to work with Rachel every day; Arden didn’t want her flaunting her smarts in his home, too. Nor did he want his mother trying to pair them up; she’d been nagging him for nearly two years to go to a matchmaker in a neighboring district in Unity. She claimed she couldn’t go home to heaven in good conscience until both of her children found spouses. Arden invariably replied if that was the case, he had a responsibility to remain single indefinitely. It had become a running joke between them, but Arden sensed his mother was more serious than she let on. Knowing her, it wouldn’t matter that Rachel was no longer Amish—she’d insist Rachel could be wooed back into the fold. Arden, however, was not in a wooing state of mind.

“Rachel’s not home. If Mamm needs medical care, we’ll take her to the dokder. I don’t want you to ask Rachel for help. For all intents and purposes, she’s an Englischer. We can work with her, and of course we’ll be kind to her, but that doesn’t mean she’s invited to our haus to socialize. Besides, she probably prefers her privacy. In any case, Ivan asked me to keep the news of her arrival to myself, so I trust you’ll do the same.”

His sister narrowed her eyes, but she didn’t argue. “Okay, but I’m going to go put the supp in Ivan’s fridge so Rachel can enjoy something gut to eat when she comes home, just like you do every evening, Arden. Except she’ll have to eat hers alone.”

Her point made, Grace tugged the door shut behind her. The force caused the mail to slide from Ivan’s desk for the umpteenth time, as if to emphasize just how much Arden needed Rachel’s help.

Rachel spoke with a nurse before entering Ivan’s room, confirming what she already imagined; for a few days, Ivan’s health had been hanging in the balance. He’d had a severe case of bacterial pneumonia and then suffered a reaction to the antibiotics, rendering it difficult for the doctors to determine the most effective course of treatment. He was still on oxygen and needed to remain in the hospital for several more days, but yesterday there had been indications his condition was finally improving.

After not seeing him for ten years, the sight of her brother would have moved Rachel deeply even if he hadn’t been lying in a hospital bed, but his pale, manly face and thin, limp body overwhelmed her, despite her professional training. She spent the better part of the afternoon sitting beside him, stroking his dark wispy hair or resting her hand on his arm, praying. Whenever a nurse entered, she’d inquire about Ivan’s medication and symptoms. Although plenty of patients in various stages of pneumonia visited the clinic, she’d never actively cared for them in an ongoing capacity, and she wanted to know what to watch for once Ivan returned home.

Some time around five o’clock, she must have dozed off, because she was awoken by a slight fluttering beneath her hand. Ivan was reaching to remove his oxygen mask.

“Neh,” she said, slipping into Deitsch. “Don’t try to talk, Ivan. Just let me look at you.”

Now that he’d opened his big brown eyes, Rachel spotted a trace of the fourteen-year-old boy—her little brother—he’d been the last time she saw him, and she smiled as she bent forward to give him a hug. “I’m sorry you’ve been so sick. I came as soon as I heard.”

She felt him nodding against her cheek, and she held him a moment longer before letting go. She pulled her chair closer and peered into his eyes. “I don’t want you to worry about anything at the shop. I’ll stay as long as you need. You just focus on resting and getting better.”

He nodded and reached for the mask once more. Pulling it up, he asked in a whisper, “Have you seen…” That was all he could manage, so she had to guess what he meant.

“The workshop? It looks great. So large and professional. You’ve clearly done well.”

But he shook his head so she guessed again.

“I’ve met Arden, jah.” But Ivan closed his eyes to indicate that wasn’t his question, either. “Have I seen Colin and his family?”

Ivan nodded, wincing. It occurred to Rachel he was worried. But was he worried for her or for Colin and his family? Probably both. Ivan had been put in a difficult position when she left Serenity Ridge; he was so fond of Rachel and yet he was still under Colin and Hadassah’s thumbs. By the time he was an adult and Colin and Hadassah had moved into their own house, Ivan had probably had enough of a challenge convincing his brothers he could start a business without creating more trouble by inviting Rachel home or traveling to visit her.

“I haven’t seen them yet, neh. But don’t worry, I’ll do my best not to say anything to upset them. I won’t let anything they say upset me, either.” It’s not as if they can upset me more than they have by refusing to have any contact with me for the past ten years. “We all just want you to get better.”

Ivan nodded, his eyelids drooping. Now that she’d seen him, Rachel was reluctant to let her brother out of her sight again, but he’d rest more soundly without her there. She gave him another hug. “I’m going to go, but I’ll visit again tomorrow afternoon. I’ll call the nursing station and check in on you in the morning, and they can call me any time you want them to, as well.”

She thought he’d already fallen asleep, but as Rachel turned to leave, Ivan’s fingertips brushed her sleeve. She paused as he lifted his mask a third time. “Denki, Ray-Ray,” he said. It was what he’d called her when he was learning to talk, and the nickname made Rachel smile and tear up at the same time.

I haven’t cried so much in one day since…since the day I left Serenity Ridge, she thought.

On the way home, she stopped at a superstore to purchase a cell phone charger and some groceries. She was so weary she grabbed a couple of microwave entrees and didn’t realize her mistake until she was driving out of the parking lot, but she was too tired to turn around. Maybe she could pry the frozen food out of its plastic containers and heat it in the gas oven.

Arden’s been caring for the animals. I wonder what he’s done with the eggs he’s collected… Rachel didn’t realize how fortunate she’d been to grow up with an endless supply of fresh eggs until she moved to Boston. On Saturdays she’d drive fifteen miles to the farmer’s market to buy them, although they were outrageously expensive. As far as she was concerned, she’d be happy to eat fresh eggs morning, noon and night for the duration of her stay in Serenity Ridge.

Then she wondered if Arden would still be working. No, it was close to seven o’clock, and he would have gone home for supper by now. Ivan never wrote about Arden’s family, but since Arden didn’t have a beard, Rachel deduced he wasn’t married, which didn’t exactly surprise her. While Arden was undeniably handsome, the Amish valued good character over good looks, and Rachel didn’t know quite what to make of his personality. Not only was he uncommunicative, but he seemed humorless, too. Still, he’d appeared sincerely apologetic about having given her such a scare, and Ivan thought highly of him, so he had to have redeeming qualities, even if Rachel didn’t know what they were yet.

There was no buggy or horse in the yard when she arrived home, although she hadn’t remembered seeing one the first time she’d arrived, either. Maybe Arden lived close enough to walk? Suddenly Rachel felt uneasy staying alone in the big house, without any neighbors within shouting distance. She had to remind herself she wasn’t in the city anymore. She was safer here, but she intended to lock the door anyway.

When she set down the groceries, she discovered a note on the kitchen table.

Welcome, Rachel—

I thought you’d enjoy soup—it’s in the fridge, and I’ve filled the cookie jar with snickerdoodles.

I hope to meet you soon.

Grace Esh (Arden’s sister)

Why such a sweet note and an even sweeter act of kindness should reduce Rachel to tears—again—she didn’t know, but they did. And few things made Rachel as ravenous as crying, so after a day of bawling her eyes out, she tossed the frozen dinners into the freezer of the gas-powered refrigerator and heated the soup instead. When she finished eating a large bowl of it, she still felt hungry, so she had a second bowl, followed by two cookies.

Finally, too full and exhausted to think another thought, Rachel collapsed into bed.

On Saturday morning, Arden was relieved to find the cow had been milked and the eggs collected at Ivan’s place. He’d been caring for the animals and bringing the surplus dairy products home so the deacon’s wife could share them with those in need. Ivan was glad to relinquish the responsibility, but it surprised him a city girl had gotten up so early on a Saturday.

When he came out of the barn, he was further surprised to see Rachel crossing the lawn carrying two cups of coffee. Tinted red by the morning sun, her hair was an eye-catching contrast with her creamy complexion. For an Englischer, she didn’t seem to wear much makeup. Not that she needs any, but I wonder if she’s going without it so she’ll fit in with the Amish women in Serenity Ridge? Arden quickly dismissed the curious thought. “Guder mariye.”

“Guder mariye.”

It wasn’t until Rachel replied in kind that Arden realized he’d greeted her in Deitsch. She didn’t seem to bat an eye, but he wondered if he ought to address her solely in Englisch instead. She extended a mug to him. He’d already had coffee before leaving his house, but he never refused another cup. He accepted it and held the workshop door open for her.

“Ivan must have told you we usually work from seven or eight o’clock until noon on Saturday. But I didn’t think you’d be up and at ’em at this hour.”

Rachel’s response was peppered with even more Deitsch words. “I get up earlier than this to commute to work. Besides, I couldn’t wait to have fresh oier for breakfast. They were appenditlich. So were the kuche and supp your schweschder made.”

“My schweschder?” Ivan wondered how Rachel knew it was his sister who’d left the goodies in her kitchen.

“Jah. That’s how she identified herself in her note. Grace Esh. She is your schweschder, isn’t she?” Rachel tittered, and Arden gritted his teeth. By saying such stupid things in front of her, he kept opening himself up to her teasing. Or was it mockery?

He motioned toward the desk, ignoring her question. “You might want to get started on the paperwork by going through that stack of mail. Our calendar is somewhere beneath all those papers, and it’ll show you what we’ve got scheduled when. The checkbook’s in the bottom drawer. We had a delivery from Knight’s yesterday and got a 10 percent discount. I wrote out a check, but I didn’t record the amount in the ledger yet. Also, Mrs. McGregor wants the playhouse completed a week early, so please call our delivery guy and arrange for that.”

“Whoa! Wait a second,” Rachel protested, setting her mug on a large manila envelope. “How do you expect me to remember all of that? Let me grab a pen… Where is a pen?”

Before Arden could answer, the door swung open, and Colin Blank walked in. Rachel was crouched behind the desk, searching the drawer for a writing utensil, and she didn’t immediately see him, so Arden announced loudly, “Guder mariye, Colin,” which caused Rachel to jump up.

“Guder mariye, Arden.” Then, catching sight of his sister, he said stiffly in Englisch, “Hello, Rachel.”

“Guder mariye, Colin. It’s—it’s gut to see you,” Rachel replied. Arden noticed her hands were trembling as she lifted her arms, presumably to embrace her brother, who remained motionless. Rachel quickly dropped her arms, knocking her hand against the desk and jostling her cup, which sloshed coffee onto the mail.

As Rachel used a blank sheet of paper to blot the spill, Arden took advantage of the pause to edge away, saying, “I’ll, uh, let the two of you talk in private.”

“Neh, don’t leave. What I’ve kumme to say concerns you both.” Colin announced, “Last evening Hadassah and I visited Ivan in the hospital. Imagine our surprise when the nurse told us Rachel had been there to see him, too. And that she’ll be helping care for him after he’s discharged.”

Uh-oh. Arden had known this moment of familial reckoning would come, but he hadn’t expected to be in the middle of it. Neither he nor Rachel spoke—Colin had a commanding presence.

“Even more perplexing was that Ivan indicated Rachel will be helping with the paperwork here,” Colin said. Arden noticed he avoided addressing his sister directly; instead, he referred to her in the third person, as if she weren’t standing a few feet away. “Since he couldn’t elaborate, we figured we must have misunderstood him. Would you care to explain?”

Arden swallowed, unsure if Colin was speaking to him or to Rachel. “I-I-I’ll be too b-busy constructing the sheds to take care of our orders and accounting.”

“I understand what it’s like to be short-staffed,” Colin said. “What I’m confused about is why you didn’t ask me or Hadassah or someone from our district for assistance.”

Arden tried to think of a diplomatic yet truthful explanation. He couldn’t well say, You’re so reproachful Ivan was worried you’d find fault with our business and try to convince us to close shop. Nor could Arden admit he didn’t want others in their district to discover the extent of his reading and writing difficulty. Fortunately, Rachel piped up.

“From what I understand, many in the community are preparing for planting season, and spring is an extremely busy time for you at work, too, especially with Albert being in Canada. And Hadassah’s pregnancy is wearing her out, so Ivan didn’t want to burden the two of you.”

Colin’s face visibly reddened, and Arden didn’t know if it was because the Amish in their district avoided using the word pregnancy, especially in mixed company, or if he was angry because Rachel had answered instead of Arden, but there was no mistaking his insinuation when he said, “Ivan, Hadassah and I are familye, and familye help carry each other’s burdens.”

Rachel lifted her chin, clearly unfazed. “Jah, which is exactly why I’m here—to help my bruder Ivan, as well as my bruder in Christ, Arden.”

Upon being reminded of their shared Christian faith, Colin appeared to momentarily back down. His posture softened. “It was kind of you to kumme, Rachel, but I’ll help Arden with the accounting and orders, and Hadassah and the other women in our district will care for Ivan when he comes home from the hospital. I’m sorry for the inconvenience of traveling all this way, but there’s no need for you to stay any longer.”

“Denki for your concern about me, Colin.” Rachel’s response was equally tempered. “But it’s a privilege, not an inconvenience, for me to be here. I gave Ivan my word I’d stay and help, and I intend to honor my promise.”

Colin acted as if she hadn’t spoken. Directing his gaze toward Arden, he said, “Ivan is ill, so I understand his lapse in judgment, but I would have thought you’d know better. You should have asked me for help.”

Arden resented Colin scolding him as if he were a child, but not as much as he resented it when Rachel called attention to Colin scolding him as if he were a child. “Arden’s not a bu and you’re not his daed. You wouldn’t appreciate it if someone came into your shop and took over your business,” she pointed out.

Now the brother and sister were speaking as if Arden weren’t there, and it riled him to no end, but even if he had known what to say, they didn’t give him an opportunity to say it.

“Your opinion is not wilkom, so I’d thank you not to interfere,” Colin authoritatively declared. “This matter is between Arden and me.”

“Neh, this matter is between Ivan and Arden. You’re the one who’s interfering.”

Colin must have been surprised by the fire in Rachel’s voice, or else he recognized he was overstepping, because he faltered. “All—all right, then. Arden, do you want Rachel or me to help you with the administration of the shop?”

Some decisions were easier than others. “Rachel,” Arden stated definitely.

Both Rachel’s and Colin’s mouths dropped open. Colin recovered first, saying, “If that is your decision, I’ll respect it.” He clapped Arden on the back. “But if you change your mind or if there’s anything else I can do to support you, let me know.”

Once the door closed behind Colin, Rachel clasped her hands beneath her chin and gushed, “Denki for standing up for me like that. It means a lot to me.”

Considering how poorly Colin had treated Rachel, Arden could understand why she’d feel like Arden had stood up for her, but he didn’t want her getting the wrong idea. “I wasn’t standing up for you. I was abiding by an agreement I made with my business partner,” he told her. “If Ivan had suggested we ask Colin for help, I would have agreed to honor that request, too.”

“Jah, I know. I just meant…never mind.” Pressing her lips together, Rachel turned her back toward him and began tearing open an envelope.

If her presence is going to cause me this much stress every day, I might need to convince Ivan to take Colin up on his offer to help, Arden thought to himself as he strode to the opposite end of the workshop, where he could labor in peace.

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