An Amish Reunion. Jo Brown Ann

front of his teacher.

      “I’m Ella Lambright,” she said, “but you can call me Grossmammi Ella. Who are you?”

      “Daniel Stoltzfus.”

      She eyed him up and down. “You have the look of Paul Stoltzfus about you.”

      “He was my daed.”

      “No wonder you look like him then. Why are you here? Are you courting our Hannah?”

      Before he could reply, he heard a quick intake of breath beyond the old woman. Glancing toward the kitchen, he saw Hannah wiping her hands on a dish towel. Shelby was sitting in a high chair and eating what looked like toast covered with honey. The toddler would need another bath as soon as she was finished, because honey was smeared all over her face.

      Hannah flipped the dish towel over the shoulder of her dark purple dress as her gaze locked with his. She didn’t move or look away. He found he couldn’t either when he saw the deep wells of sorrow in her emotive eyes. Had she believed he’d return with her daed this morning? No, she hadn’t believed that, but she’d hoped. How could he fault her for her faith that all would turn out well in the end? Now wasn’t the time to tell her he’d learned that, though God was a loving Father, He didn’t have time to take care of details. Daniel had decided years ago to handle those on his own.

      “Gute mariye,” he said into the strained silence. Pulling out the shampoo bottle from among the packages of diapers, he added, “My sister-in-law uses this on her boppli because it’s gentle on little ones’ hair and doesn’t sting their eyes.”

      “Danki.” Her hand trembled as she took the bag without letting her fingers brush his. Setting it on the counter by the sink, she said nothing when he came into the kitchen.

      Shelby stretched out sticky fingers toward him. She began to chatter in nonsense sounds. She bounced on the hard high chair, excited to see him again. Honey dripped off her chin, and bits of bread were glued to her face and her hands.

      He kissed the top of her head. “How are you doing, Shelby?”

      Giggling, she offered him a tiny piece of toast. He ate it, pretending he was going to eat her fingers, as well. That made her laugh louder. He was astonished how deep and rich the sound was.

      The toddler’s high spirits vanished when Hannah approached her with a washcloth to clean her hands and face. Shelby screwed up her face and opened her mouth to cry.

      Daniel yanked the wet cloth from Hannah’s hand. When she protested, he said, “Let me do it. There’s no reason to upset her again.”

      “All right.” Resignation filled Hannah’s voice.

      As he cleaned honey and bread crumbs off the little girl’s hands, he stole a glance toward her older sister. He almost gasped aloud at the pain and despair on Hannah’s face. Every instinct told him to toss aside the cloth and pull Hannah into his arms and console her. When they were walking out together, he wouldn’t have hesitated, but everything was different since the night he decided he had to be single-minded in the pursuit of his dream of running a construction company.

      “While you’re getting the stickiness off her, I’ll get my beekeeping equipment.” Her voice was muffled, and he guessed she was struggling to hold back the tears he’d seen in her eyes when she wasn’t aware he was looking in her direction.

      Again he’d had the chance to say something comforting, but he couldn’t think of anything that wouldn’t upset her. What a disaster he’d made of what had been a gut friendship! To be honest, he was surprised she even talked to him after he’d avoided her during the past three years.

      The back door closed behind her, and Daniel focused his attention on Shelby who slapped the high chair tray, getting her fingers sticky again. Picking her up, he sat her on the edge of the table. He succeeded in getting most the honey off her, but some stuck in her hair.

      “She’s a gut girl,” said Grossmammi Ella from her chair by the window.

      “Ja, she is.” He grinned at Shelby. “And she’s washed.”

      “Not that one! Our Hannah is a gut girl.”

      Daniel wasn’t sure what the elderly woman was trying to convey to him. Did she want him to leave her great-granddaughter alone so he didn’t have a chance to hurt her again, or was Grossmammi Ella hoping he’d court Hannah? He thought about assuring her that he had no plans to do either. Nothing had changed for him. He was working toward his goal, and it required every bit of his attention.

      The door opening allowed him to avoid answering the old woman. In astonishment, he saw Hannah was dressed as she’d been when she’d left. Didn’t beekeepers wear protective suits to keep from getting stung? She held a small metal container with a spout like an inverted funnel on one side and small bellows on the other. The odor of something burning came from it.

      “Is that all you’re bringing?” he asked.

      “The smoker is all I need.”

      “What does it do?”

      She looked at the container and squirted some smoke into the air between them. “It baffles the bees. The smoke masks the chemical signals bees use to communicate with each other. They can’t warn each other I’m near. Otherwise, they’d believe the hive is in danger, and they’d attack. It’s an easy way to get close to a hive without getting stung.”

      “A gut idea. I’m not fond of bees.”

      “They’ll leave you alone if you leave them alone.”

      “But we aren’t going to leave them alone.” He reached to take Shelby’s tiny jacket off a nearby peg. It was bright red, and the front closed with a zipper and was decorated with yellow ducklings, something no plain kind would wear.

      “What are you doing?” Hannah asked.

      “Getting Shelby’s coat on her. I’ll let you help your great-grandmother.”

      “What? I’m not taking a toddler or Grossmammi Ella near the bees.”

      “They could stay by the road and—”

      “Don’t be silly.” She pushed past him and strode toward the front door. “You stay here with them, and I’ll go to the bridge.” Turning, she smiled, and something pleasant—something he remembered from when they spent time together—rippled through him. “I don’t need you to point out where the bees are. I can find them.” She left.

      Daniel went out onto the porch with Shelby in his arms, her coat half on. Behind him, he heard Grossmammi Ella asking where everyone was going. He saw her struggling to get to her feet. He didn’t hesitate as he rushed back into the house, not wanting the old woman to fall.

      Making sure Hannah’s great-grandmother was seated again and the door closed, he stared out the window as Hannah stepped over the stone wall beside the guardrail. She hurried down the steep hill toward the creek.

      He wasn’t worried about her falling in. The current was sluggish because the water behind the dam upstream beside the remnants of the old mill was still partially frozen. Daniel wanted to get as much work as possible done before the water rose when the ice melted. Once the failing joists were replaced, he could complete the interior work even if it rained. Discovering the hive had threatened to destroy his timetable.

      He had to make this job a success. The bridge was one of the few in the area not washed away by Hurricane Agnes in 1972. The wear and tear on the bridge couldn’t be ignored any longer. The original arched supports and the floor joists needed to be strengthened. Most of the deck boards would have to be replaced. The walls were rotted. Work he knew how to do, and he’d been pleased when the highway supervisor, Jake Botti, asked him to take over the project. It was the first step toward his long-held dream of becoming a general contractor.

      Suddenly Shelby began chattering in his ear and wiggling. He set her on the floor. Once he took off her coat, she waddled to a chair and began to try to pull