Chapter 35
WOULD IT BE OKAY IF I took a few days off from work?” Ivan asked his father Sunday morning as they were getting the horse and buggy ready to leave for church after breakfast.
Papa quirked an eyebrow. “How come?”
“I want to get away for a while, and I’d like to leave today, because I need time to be alone so I can think and pray about something important.”
“Is it about you and Maggie?”
“Jah.” Ivan hadn’t told either of his parents what he’d found out yesterday, or that he’d confronted Maggie about it. This mess was his problem, and he needed to deal with it somehow. Even though Ivan had come to that conclusion, he was torn up inside and had only slept a few hours last night.
Papa put his hand on Ivan’s shoulder. “Want to talk about it?”
Ivan gave a slow shake of his head. “I can’t right now. Something came up yesterday, and I haven’t fully decided what to do.”
“Sounds serious.” Papa lowered his hand and reached for the horse’s bridle. “Maybe I can help with whatever it is.”
“I appreciate the offer,” Ivan said, “but this is a problem I need to deal with myself.”
“All right, Son. I respect your wishes. Feel free to take Monday and Tuesday off, but I really do need you back in the harness shop by Wednesday.”
“Okay, thanks, Papa. Hopefully by then, I’ll have some sense of direction.”
Arcola
Ivan had attended church service with his family, but as soon as the noon meal was over, he’d gone to one of their neighbors and called for a driver, because he was on a mission.
Ivan could only hope that the person he wanted to talk to would listen.
If not, then he would have a second stop to make.
When Ivan’s driver, Sam, pulled up in front of the large two-story home, Ivan spotted Oba leading a horse into the barn.
“I’ll be back,” Ivan told Sam. “Hopefully, this won’t take long.” He opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle, then sprinted for the barn and popped in a few feet behind Oba.
“Hey, Oba, can I talk to you a few minutes?” Ivan called.
The young Amish man whirled around, squinting at Ivan. “You obviously know me, but I’m not sure I know you.”
“I’m Ivan Yoder. We both attended a party here in Arcola almost a year ago.”
Oba shrugged. “What of it? I’ve attended a lot of events in the last few years.”
“The one that was put on by my friend Toby Schrock.”
Oba reached under his black felt Sunday hat and scratched his head with his long fingers. “Jah, well—what about it?”
“You were there with Maggie Hertzler, right?”
Oba shrugged his broad shoulders. “Yeah, okay. So what?”
“She became pregnant that night—with your child.”
Oba’s face contorted as it turned a bright red color. “Did Maggie send you over here to plead her case? Is that what this visit is all about?”
“She has no idea I came to see you.” Ivan shook his head.
“Then what are you here for?”
“I came to hopefully convince you to do what’s right by Maggie and her baby boy. Have you even seen the child you fathered?”
Oba shook his head. “That’s ridiculous. And what proof do you have that it’s my child anyhow?”
“Maggie admitted it, and Toby said he’d seen you with Maggie the whole evening at his party. He also saw the two of you leave together.”
Oba said nothing in response as he walked toward the back of the barn, leading his horse.
Ivan followed, matching the young man’s strides to keep up. “You need to marry Maggie and make things right.”
Still no reply.
When Oba entered the stall with his horse, Ivan went in with him. “I understand that your daed is one of the ministers in this church district.”
“So what?”
“I have to wonder what he’d have to say if he knew you fathered a child and have refused to take responsibility for it.” Ivan couldn’t believe he was being so bold, but he was desperate to get through to this selfish, stubborn man.
Oba tapped his fingers along a bucket of feed. “My dad would make me marry the girl, that’s for sure.”
That’s what I was prepared to do, Ivan thought. Even though I had no recollection of having been with Maggie.
“What then? Are you plannin’ to tell my dad on me?
” Oba stood quietly for several minutes, and then he exclaimed, “All right! I’ll go over to Maggie’s house and admit that I’m the baby’s father.
Then I’ll ask her to marry me.” He looked right at Ivan and held up one hand. “Does that satisfy you now?”
“Yes, it does, but there’s something you should know.”
“What’s that?”
“Maggie doesn’t live with her parents anymore. They kicked her out soon after she had the baby.”
Oba’s eyes widened. “Would they accept her back if she was married?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“If I marry Maggie, we wouldn’t have a place to stay till I could afford to buy or rent a house. We’d have to move in with one of our parents for a while.”
“You’d better go talk to her then and make some decisions. Agreed?”
“Yeah, but if she’s not livin’ with her folks, where is she?”
“At my parents’ house.”
“What’s she doin’ there?” Oba questioned.
“It’s a long story, and I don’t have time to explain it all to you right now.
” Ivan pulled a stubby pencil and a small notepad from the pocket of his trousers.
“I’ll write down my parents’ address, and if I were you, I’d head over there right now, before your folks get home from church.
I assume that’s where you and your family have been. Am I right?”
“Jah, but I left as soon as the service was over. Mom and Dad will probably be back shortly, though.” He reached under his hat again and then lowered his hand.
“A soon as you write down the address, I’ll saddle my horse and ride over to your folks’ place.
I can get there faster that way.” In a surprising gesture, Oba held his hand out toward Ivan.
Ivan gave it a hearty shake. A mixture of relief and apprehension flooded through Ivan, as he hadn’t anticipated Oba’s cooperation. He was ever so glad that Stephen’s real father had listened to him and was ready to do the right thing.
Ivan wrote down his folks’ address, told Oba goodbye, and got back into his driver’s vehicle. “Sam, would you please take me one more place?”
Sam nodded. “That is what you hired me for, right?”
“Yes. I just wasn’t sure things would work out the way I’d hoped here today.”
Ivan felt the throb of his heartbeat. He sent up a quick prayer, hoping Oba would follow through and everything would work out for Maggie and her son. Now that things were settled with Oba, Ivan had one more important thing to do.
Shipshewana
It was getting close to bedtime, and Nathan had recently brought Emma home from a singing.
This was the second time Emma had seen him socially, and she knew now that he wanted more than a casual relationship.
He’d openly admitted to her this evening on the ride home that he was seriously thinking about moving to Shipshewana if he were to find a suitable wife. He’d even hinted that it might be her.
“Talk about a bold statement to make to a woman he barely knows,” Emma murmured as she hung her outer garments on a wall peg near the front entrance. “That wife he’s looking for won’t be me,” she determined. “Nathan would be better off going back to Pennsylvania and seeking someone there.”
Emma could tell from the dimly lit house that her parents had already gone to bed. Sure hope I didn’t wake them. When I see Rachel later this week, I can’t wait to tell her about the interesting date I had tonight. I bet she’ll agree with me about Nathan being too bold.
Emma was on the verge of turning out the gas lamp in the living room when she heard a car pull into the yard. I wonder who that could be at this hour. She rushed over to the window and peered out, but the moon wasn’t bright enough to allow her a full view of the vehicle.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the front door. What should I do? Do I wake Mom and Dad?
When the knocking persisted, Emma cautiously opened the front door, just a crack.
“Emma, it’s me. I know it’s late, but I need to talk to you right away, and it can’t wait till tomorrow.”
“Ivan?” Emma thought she must be hearing things. Surely Ivan would not be on her front porch at this hour. For that matter, she couldn’t imagine why he’d be here at all.
“Please, Emma. Will you allow me to come inside?”
“It’s late, and my parents are sleeping.” Emma parted the door a little more. Oh, she wished it was still light outside so she could see his face more clearly. It didn’t seem possible that he was even here right now, and she didn’t understand the reason for it.
It was a chilly night, so Emma grabbed a jacket, slipped it on, and went out on the porch. Under the light of the moon, and standing closer to him now, she could see Ivan’s face better, and her heart skipped a beat. “What are you doing here, Ivan?”
“I came to see you. There’s something important I need to say.” Ivan stood so close to Emma, she could feel his breath on her face.
“What could you possibly have to say that brought you all this way, and so late at night?” Emma’s voice sounded strained, even to her own ears. “Does your wife know you’re here? Surely you must have married Maggie by now.”
Ivan clasped Emma’s trembling hands. “Maggie and I are not married, Emma, and we’re not planning to be.”
Emma pulled away. “Why would you not marry the mother of your child? What kind of man are you, Ivan?”
“Emma, please listen. I’m not Stephen’s father. When I questioned Maggie about it, she broke down and admitted that she was with some other fellow, not me, the night of my friend’s party.”
In disbelief, Emma backed away from Ivan, whirled around, and clasped the porch railing. “But you told me before that …”