Chapter 12 #2
By the time they got to the home hosting the singing, Emma was exhausted from answering so many questions. She had hoped for a chance to talk with Ivan and wondered if he felt the same way she did about his sisters talking so much during the entire ride.
Emma looked around at all the young people standing outside the home, apparently waiting for the signal to go inside.
There were lots of young men and women, and she didn’t know a single one of them.
Emma hoped for a few minutes to speak with Ivan, but Jane took it upon herself to take Emma around to meet some of the young women, who Jane clearly knew.
At the moment, Emma wished she hadn’t agreed to come to this event.
She felt like a fish out of water and wasn’t fond of meeting so many new people.
Even so, she was glad Ivan’s sisters were there, because at least she’d met them before and knew a little bit about them.
Emma was also relieved that Grandma hadn’t pressed her to wear the newly made dress, and she hadn’t felt the need to make some excuse not to wear it this evening.
When someone announced that it was time for them to go inside, Emma went along with the other young women.
The boys filed in first, followed by the girls.
Several older adults were seated in the building, and all the young people filed past and shook the adults’ hands.
The young men sat together at tables in one part of the building, and Emma, along with Ivan’s sisters, sat in another section with the other young women in attendance.
A light meal was served, and with the men on the opposite side of the room, Emma accepted the fact that there was no chance of her talking to Ivan now or during the singing portion of the evening that would no doubt follow soon.
After the meal and once everyone had been seated on benches or chairs, one member of the men’s group took the lead by singing the first few notes of the first song. Everyone joined in, and soon all their voices blended and seemed to rise clear to the ceiling.
After a while, one of the girls led off with some songs. They sang from one of the songbooks the first hour, and later switched to another that contained some faster tunes for the final hour of singing.
The heat of the gas lamps hanging overhead made the room quite warm, but Emma enjoyed singing so much the heat didn’t bother her. She felt more at ease. Maybe this evening wasn’t so bad after all. Perhaps on the way home, she and Ivan would have a chance to talk.
Shipshewana
It was getting to be time to wind down for the evening, so Dianna had prepared some herbal tea for herself.
To her astonishment, Philip wanted to have a cup of tea with her, so they stood side by side in the kitchen, mugs in hand.
It had been quite a while since they’d had such a moment’s peace together, and part of her wondered if this was a glimpse of what life would be like after their two daughters moved out of the house.
They would be able to spend more time together like this every night, encompassed by the comfort of each other’s companionship, after attending to their daily responsibilities.
The front door suddenly opened, yanking Dianna out of her fleeting thoughts. Her daughter barreled through the entrance, mumbling something as she slammed it shut.
“Rachel, you’re home early.” Dianna’s eyes followed her daughter as she proceeded hastily to slip off her shoes. “Rachel, what’s the matter? Did something happen at the singing to upset you?”
“We broke up!” Rachel stepped briskly into the kitchen, her words falling from her lips like stones tumbling down a hillside. “I was right about David. I caught him speaking with Alice again.”
Philip grunted as he set his mug on the counter. “You broke up because you weren’t happy that he was talking to your friend?”
With her face defined by the gas lamp’s glow, Rachel shook her head, her eyes puffy and red, and tears gleaming.
“I confronted him. David admitted that he’d planned to end things with me weeks ago.
He said that we had ‘drifted apart,’ but I was always there for him.
This isn’t fair. I don’t ever want to see David’s face again, or any other guy’s face, for that matter.
I’m done with dating, once and for all!” She stormed out of the kitchen and clomped up the stairs, no doubt headed for her bedroom.
Sighing, Dianna turned back to her husband and said, “Now I’m concerned about both of our girls. Where did we go wrong, Philip?”
“We should’ve had only boys. They’re much easier to handle,” came her husband’s response.
“You’re saying that as if I could’ve changed the sex of our youngest kinner, Philip.” She rubbed her upper right arm. “Besides, considering what David did to our daughter, I don’t think having more boys would’ve made much difference.”
His mouth twisting upward, Philip tilted his head slightly.
During all this, Dianna began to wonder if there was hope for her daughters to find any semblance of love in their lives.
All she could do for Rachel was speak with her after her frustration had subsided from the heat of the moment and ask God to give her the right words that would encourage Rachel not to give up hope in finding the man she was meant to marry someday.
Arthur
Emma sat beside Ivan as he brought her home without his sisters in the back of the buggy.
They had both been invited by two young fellows to take them home after the singing.
Emma didn’t mind much, especially since this wasn’t the first time she’d ridden alone with Ivan.
Though stillness hung in the air between them, Emma was certain the young man next to her was as exhausted from the singing as she was.
Emma’s eyes grew weary from the lulling of the coarse surface of the road, and she glanced over at Ivan, wishing she could rest her head comfortably on his shoulder.
I can’t believe I’m even thinking about this. Emma thought. I don’t know how Ivan feels about me, and besides, I doubt that he would ever ask to court someone like me. He probably sees me only as a friend.
“I was gonna mention this to you earlier, but remember when I brought up the idea of going fishing sometime soon?” Ivan’s question broke the silence, and Emma sat up straight.
“Jah, I remember.”
Ivan rubbed the back of his head. “I’m planning to do a little fishing this coming Saturday, and I was wondering if you’d like to go with me.”
“It would be nice to get out and do something just for fun, but I’ll have to check with my grandparents first to see if it’s okay.”
“All right, but would it be okay if I ask them for you when I walk you up to the house? Otherwise, since we don’t have a phone to call, I won’t have an answer right now.”
“That’s true,” she admitted. “Okay, if you want to do the asking, I’m fine with it, Ivan.”
When they got there, Emma climbed out of the carriage, and after he’d secured his horse, she accompanied Ivan up to the porch.
She paused a moment to enjoy the fireflies emerging from the grass and scattering throughout the lawn in small clusters. Right when Emma’s fingers curled around the cold metal surface of the doorknob, it opened, and there stood Grandpa.
“There you two are.” Grandpa raised his right eyebrow. “Hope you weren’t having too much fun.”
“N–no, Sir,” Ivan stammered. “I actually wanted to ask you for permission to take Emma fishing this Saturday.”
“I suppose I can allow that, but I’ll be going with you. I haven’t done much fishing myself these days, but I’m pretty good at it, so I could help reel in a few to make the trip worthwhile.”
“That’s perfectly reasonable. It would be great to have you join us on this trip,” Ivan stated.
“Good. Now, say your goodbyes, because it’s getting late. I’m sure you don’t want to keep your sisters waiting in the carriage.” Grandpa vanished into the living room before Emma or Ivan could explain about Norma and Jane accepting rides home from two young men who had been at the singing.
Maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t say anything, Emma reasoned. She stepped into the house and turned to face Ivan.
“I suppose I oughta head on back home and get some shut-eye,” Ivan said, leaving the porch with a wave. “Gut nacht, Emma.”
“Good night, Ivan. See you this Saturday, if not sooner.”
Emma observed from the porch as Ivan went to the hitching post and unfastened King. As she continued to watch as he drove his carriage off the property, an inkling of warmth sprang into her chest.