Authors: Mary Christner Borntrager

Tags: #Fiction, #Action & Adventure, #test

Ellie (19 page)

Page 161

rocker and listened to what David had to say. When he had finished speaking, she smiled.

"Well, I don't know as I could recommend it. But if you feel that's what you really want, and that it's the best for you, then I can't discourage you either. And, Ellie, it's your place to go with your husband and stand by him, even if you'd rather stay here in the settlement."

"Yes, Mama," was all Ellie said. She could have cried, she was so disappointed. It had never entered her mind that her mother would tell David to go if he felt it was best for them. She remembered how reluctant Lizzie had been when Papa brought up the subject of leaving the little village of Springdale and the settlement.

Ellie thought of how attached she had become to her friend Missy, and how Missy had changed. What if they had stayed at Hatfield until she and Missy were both grown? Would she have stayed Amish?

What about her own daughters, if they moved away? Ellie could already see much of her own strong-willed spirit and spunk in little Becky. The thought of exposing her children to worldliness such as she had seen at the English school frightened her. Then she heard her mother ask David why he wanted to move to Hatfield.

"I don't really want to, but my youngest brother wants to farm on shares with Dad. And I don't really have enough work for the boys summer and winter. I'd much rather stay in the settlement, but there just doesn't seem to be any place around here for sale or rent. I found out about a two-hundred-acre

Page 162

place near Hatfield with good buildings that I could get."

"Well, now," said Mama, "maybe the Lord is taking this way to answer my prayer."

What a strange thing to say,
Ellie was thinking.
Why would Mama pray that they move to Hatfield?

"What?" asked David, himself astonished.

"As you know, Jake, Jr., is going with a girl from Illinois. They plan to get married the last of February. But now, don't let the cat out of the bag. They don't want it made known yet," Lizzie said.

"That will leave Esther and me all alone," she continued, "and I'm getting to where I can't help chore too well anymore. We thought we would just have to rent the fields out for share-crop farming. But I just thought, if you need a place, what do you think of building a
Dawdy Haus
(grandparents' small house) for Esther and me, and moving your family here into the big house and farm? I'd sell you the place, or rent it, whatever you would like. That ought to give your boys all the work they can handle, and you could still do your shop work. There are enough outbuildings, so there is no lack of space."

David looked at his wife. "Well, what do you think now?" he asked. He saw by the sparkle in her eyes that Ellie approved.

"I'd like it," she answered, "but I don't believe I could go on with my store here and take care of the big house, the garden, and the yard. It's much bigger than where we are living now."

"Do you mind giving up the store?" Mama wanted to know.

Page 163

"Well, I may miss it at first, but I'd sure rather let it go and move over here than keep it and go clear off to Hatfield."

"If you plan on giving it up anyway, Esther would probably take over for you. She has often said she would like that kind of business. It would be right here at home, where she could be with me and help along."

Everything seemed to be working out so well, to the satisfaction of all of them. David's children were excited about moving onto the old homeplace, as they called it. Esther was thinking just where she would have her store and how she would fix it. Ellie could plan ahead who would have which bedroom upstairs, and even how she would arrange her furniture, because she remembered every room, wall, and window as if she had left there only yesterday.

Ellie's sisters said that when moving time came, they wanted to help. So did David's family. Ellie knew there would be plenty of willing workers to lighten the task. But first, of course, the
Dawdy Haus
must be built. It would consist of two bedrooms, a kitchen, and dining area combined with a rather large living room. It would connect to the large house through a closed-in hallway. Both bedrooms would have large walk-in closets. The kitchen included lots of storage space. And off to the side of the kitchen, a room would be built for the dry goods store. Construction of the
Dawdy Haus,
would begin as soon as possible to be finished sometime in February.

When word got around that Mrs. Maust wanted

Page 164

to put up a
Dawdy Haus,
her many friends planned a "frolic." The building began the middle of January, and then it was announced at church that on the following Thursday, weather permitting, there was to be a frolic to put up the
Dawdy Haus
for Mrs. Maust. When Thursday came, a big snowstorm came along with it. So the work had to be postponed, and a new date was set for the following Tuesday. But Tuesday still was cold, snowy, and windy. Then on Saturday the sun shone brightly, so neighbors came from miles around. The men were equipped with hammers, nails, and saws. The women came bringing pots and bowls of food, and cakes, pies, and puddings of all kinds to feed the hungry workers. One man was overseer and directed the work so things would run smoothly and be done right. The Amish are known for the quality of their work, and each one did his best.

"How many crooked nails did you drive today?" Ralph Zook asked Sam Maust.

"They were all straight when I started. And by the time I finished, the wood covered all but their heads, so I really can't tell you," Sam answered.

The weather was still cold, but the fellowship was warm and friendly. How Ellie enjoyed these times with her people. For a brief moment, she thought of Missy. She must remember to pray for her. Ellie felt almost selfish for growing up in an Amish home and community. God had been good to her. Her father had certainly been right when he said, "As the twig is bent, so grows the tree."

By evening, the small house was built and under

Page 165

roof. Everyone left with a good feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction.

The following week Esther and her mother began to varnish the woodwork and paint the walls. They left the door to the hallway and large house open for ventilation. After the painting was finished, they began the clean-up work. Ellie and her girls came often to help. David and the boys put up shelves in the new store. They built extra counter and storage space because Ellie mentioned that she hardly had enough places to put things when her business grew.

"Women never have enough room for all their stuff," said Jake, Jr. "Give them a silo and they would fill it to the top and want more room."

"Oh, Jake, you are just like your brother-in-law," said Ellie, "always teasing."

"Well, we have to do something to keep you women in hand and liven things up a bit, don't we, David?"

"I've learned to go a little bit easy on the teasing part," David replied in mock fear. They all laughed, and another fun-filled day soon ended.

Mrs. Maust held a small sale to dispose of the many items she would no longer need. The
Dawdy Haus
would not hold as much furniture as the large one she was living in did. Many items were purchased by her own children, who needed them for their growing families. Things sold well. After David bought the homeplace, Lizzie and Esther moved into the new house, where they lived very comfortably.

Ellie was glad when her own moving day was

Page 166

done. Her mind went back to that other time when their
Maut,
Mattie, tried to tell her what she could or couldn't do. This time, moving was a joy. Ellie gave her oldest daughter, Laura, the room which held so many memories for herself. Maybe someday Ellie would share some of the stories with her, but for now she would just enjoy being a mother and homemaker on the old homestead.

Tired as they were that first night in their new home, Ellie and her family gathered around the kitchen table and sang for a little while before going to bed. Grandma Maust and Esther joined in. What a happy time they had, and somehow Ellie knew it was only the first of many more to come.

Ellie looked around the table at her husband and her own four children, then at her mother and youngest sister. She looked out the window facing the pondhere is where she had grown to womanhood, and here she would live out her days.

Tears of joy welled up in Ellie's eyes. She was thankful, and she was content. The Lord had truly blessed her.

Page 167

The Author

Mary (Christner) Borntrager was the seventh of ten children born to Amish parents in a rural setting near Plain City, Ohio, in 1921.

Initially, her education ended after eight years in the public school. Later she attended teacher training institute at Eastern Mennonite College, Harrisonburg, Virginia. Then she taught at a Christian day school for seven years.

She married John Borntrager at the age of nineteen. Their children are Jay, Kathryn (Keim), John T., and Geneva (Massie). After her children were grown, she earned a certificate in Childcare and Youth Social Work from the University of Wisconsin. She then worked with emotionally disturbed children and youth for twelve years.

Mary has written short stories and poems over the years. Her husband, John, encouraged her to write about ''Ellie" and was thrilled when word came that

Other books

Stay With Me by Kelly Elliott

Logan's Bride by Elizabeth August

Fallen + Marli & Lalo (Fallen Invasion, #3) by Mia Mitns

Sapphire: New Horizons by Heather Brooks

Tamed by Rebecca Zanetti

Sabotage (Powerless Nation Book 3) by Ellisa Barr

Silence by Preston, Natasha

Chasing The Dawn (Luke Temple - Book 2) (Luke Temple Series) by James Flynn

Four Fires by Bryce Courtenay

J.A. Jance's Ali Reynolds Mysteries 3-Book Boxed Set, Volume 1: Web of Evil, Hand of Evil, Cruel Intent by Jance, J.A.