Authors: Marta Perry
By
late afternoon the next day, Naomi had begun to feel as if she’d been swept up by
a tornado and put down in a totally different world. She stood behind the counter
at the bakery, stacking fresh loaves of cinnamon bread in the wire basket, something
she had done a hundred times before, but still, it was completely different today.
She had spent the morning checking on various farms where she might be able to put
her hives. Several folks had offered her the space, apparently willing to risk her
daad’s disapproval, but none had been so good a situation as the one Nathan offered.
This afternoon she had moved a few of her belongings into the spare bedroom in the
apartment over the bakery, settling her buggy horse in the stable behind Katie and
Caleb Brand’s shops just down the street. It was an obvious outward sign of her new
life, and she’d half expected a clap of thunder to admonish her at her open flouting
of her father’s wishes.
Nothing had happened, and doing the familiar work was steadying. Still, she couldn’t
quite relax.
Her choices had narrowed when it came to the bees, and she’d promised Nathan an answer
today. She must get over her foolishness, it seemed, and say yes to his offer. He
was asking little enough from her. It certainly wasn’t his fault that he reminded
her of things better left in the past. Certainly Nathan would have long since forgotten
the incident that loomed in her mind as a symbol of all she’d given up in her life.
She must, as well.
As for Ada’s kinder—well, they needed her, far more than any of her nieces and nephews
did. And if it hurt her to grow to love them and then turn them over to someone else,
she would smile and do it. After all, as Hannah said, it was only for a few weeks.
“Naomi?” Hannah’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “The bus has just pulled out, and
I see Nathan and the children coming toward the shop. Could his mother-in-law have
left for her daughter’s already?”
Naomi turned, a loaf warm in her hands. Sure enough, Nathan walked right toward the
bakery, holding hands with Joshua and Sadie in that protective way he had. If Emma
had indeed left Pleasant Valley on the bus, Naomi had no time for wavering about her
decision.
Nathan approached the door, his face determined under the brim of his black hat. She
put the loaf in its proper place and smoothed down the white apron she wore in the
bakery. Something fluttered in her stomach, gentle as a butterfly’s wings. Time to
stop dithering and give Nathan his answer.
The bell above the door jingled. Joshua and Sadie let go of Nathan’s hands and came
toward the counter in a rush, jostling each other in their haste.
“Grossmammi had to leave already,” Joshua said, beating his small sister.
“She rode on a big, big bus,” Sadie said. “I want to do that, too.”
“I’m sure you will ride on a bus someday,” Naomi told her. She looked up into Nathan’s
face, the butterfly flapping its wings faster. “So soon?” she said quietly, trying
not to sound apprehensive in front of the kinder.
Nathan nodded, frowning a little. “There was a message on the answering machine in
the phone shanty.” He glanced at Joshua and Sadie, their faces pressed to the display
cabinet, obviously not wanting to say more in front of them.
“I have a treat for two such good children,” Hannah said, coming to the rescue. She
slid the cabinet door open. “What will it be? Whoopie pies? Molasses cookies? Or a
cupcake?”
The children looked up at her, eyes wide. “For us?” Joshua said.
“For you,” Hannah said, smiling, her hand poised over the tray. “What do you like?”
Deciding took a few minutes, but finally Hannah led the children off to one of the
round tables with a whoopie pie for Joshua and a chocolate cupcake for Sadie. Naomi
could then let the concern show in her face.
“Is there a problem?”
Nathan shrugged. “I do not know more than that, but for sure Emma wanted to go at
once.”
Naomi nodded. Naturally Emma would do what she must, just as Naomi would. She opened
her lips to say so, but Nathan spoke before she could.
“I have talked to my sister. She is ser busy with that big
family of hers, but she will be glad to have Joshua and Sadie on any days that you
need to be at the bakery. I hoped that would ease your mind a little.”
“That is wonderful kind of Sarah. I would not want to leave Paula and Hannah without
any help.”
“So, what do you say, Naomi? Shall we start moving your beehives?” Nathan smiled at
her…the smile that was so seldom seen on his face in recent years.
Unfortunately, the smile increased her nervousness, and his mention of the beehives
reminded her of something she should say to him…something that might change his mind
about the whole thing.
“About the hives…I have been thinking that I might want to expand my operation and
sell my honey.” She watched his face closely, alert for any sign of disapproval. “That
would mean more hives, more honey, more packaging.”
He didn’t look disapproving, only a bit puzzled. “That seems like a fine business
for you, Naomi. You ought to have something to rely on.”
Since she had no prospects of having a husband and kinder of her own. She finished
what he was undoubtedly thinking, her heart wincing. But she would not let that hurt
show on her face.
“That would not bother you? I would not want you to think that I am taking advantage
of your offer.”
He looked at her in what seemed honest surprise. “I could never think such a thing
of you, Naomi. You were Ada’s dearest friend, my friend, too, I hope. Have as many
hives as you want. Now, do you have an answer for me?”
Still she hesitated, feeling as if the next step she took could
change her life in ways she couldn’t imagine. But she didn’t really have a choice
any longer. God had led her to this point. She would just have to trust that He controlled
the future.
She sucked in a breath and looked at Nathan. “Ja, denke, Nathan. I accept your offer.”
B
y
the next day, Nathan felt there was no time to waste. The sooner he got Naomi’s precious
beehives moved, the sooner he could stop worrying about who was watching the children.
At the moment, that someone was Libby Esch, Isaiah’s wife, but she had her own work
to do, and he didn’t like to impose on her. So he’d picked up Naomi the first thing
this morning with the spring wagon, and they were already nearing the lane to the
Esch farm.
Naomi seemed to grow more tense the closer they got. He could sense her on the seat
next to him, her body as tight as a coiled spring.
Was she regretting her decision already? Maybe he’d been wrong in pushing her into
this agreement. There were other women he could have approached about taking care
of Joshua and Sadie while Emma was away, but none who were as uniquely suited to the
job as Naomi was. Her close relationship
with Ada, though it gave rise to grieving memories for him, was the very thing that
endeared her to his children.
By the time he turned into the lane, he couldn’t take the tension any longer. “Was
ist letz, Naomi? Are you changing your mind about our agreement already?”
She turned a startled face to him. “No, of course I’m not regretting it.”
“Then why are you clutching the seat so hard your fingers are like to break?”
“I…I’m not.” She let go of the seat, rubbing her palms together. “I’m just concerned
about moving the hives, that’s all.”
“We will be ser careful,” he said. “And the mare is as steady as can be. She won’t
do anything unexpected.”
“Ach, I know. I just…” Naomi let that trail off, as if unable to think of anything
convincing to say.
“Komm.” He tried to hold on to his patience. Was it possible Naomi wasn’t as steady
and serene as he’d always assumed? “Tell me what is really bothering you.”
Naomi pressed her lips together for a moment. Then she shrugged. “I am worried about
my daad. I would not want him to make a fuss about my decision in front of you.” Her
lips trembled a bit on the words.
His annoyance vanished. He should be ashamed of himself. Everyone knew how difficult
Sam Esch could be, and everyone knew, as well, that he was displeased with his daughter’s
decision. Small wonder Naomi was feeling upset.
“Ach, I wouldn’t worry about your daad.” He tried to sound confident. “Most likely
he won’t even notice we’re here.”
That was hardly likely, but he couldn’t think what else to say. He wasn’t eager to
have hard feelings directed toward him
by a brother in the church. He could only hope Sam felt the same way.
Once the spring wagon had moved past the farmhouse without incident, Naomi seemed
to relax a little. She pointed to the field beyond the barn. “The hives are there.
I would think it best to turn around first, before we load them.”
Naomi was pulling on long gloves as she spoke, and he felt a faint twinge of apprehension.
He knew the dairy business inside out, but bee-keeping was a mystery to him. He could
only trust to Naomi’s experience.
“The bees are fairly dormant now, even though they don’t actually hibernate.” Naomi
seemed to catch his thoughts as if he’d spoken. “Unless we jostle the hives and make
them think we are a threat, they should stay quiet right through the move to their
new home.”
“Believe me, the last thing I want to do is disturb them.” He drew up next to the
hives.
She smiled at his comment, as he’d intended. “Don’t worry, then.” She slid down before
he could move to help her. “You’ll turn the wagon while I check the hives to be sure
all is well, ja?”
He nodded, hands tightening on the lines. He was used to being in charge on his own
farm, but in this situation, he was just the helper.
When the wagon was properly positioned to allow them to move straight down the lane
once they were loaded, he ground-tied the horse and went between the hives toward
Naomi, careful not to startle her.
She was bending over one of the white, three-tiered hives, her face calm, her gaze
intent. He waited, schooling himself to
patience. Clearly he was going to need that quality when it came to Naomi and her
bees.
Finally she looked up and nodded. “We will start with this one,” she said.
He didn’t question the decision. “What do you want me to do?”
“Luckily each hive is set on a board that can be lifted. That was Isaiah’s idea.”
There was a trace of pleasure in her voice at her younger brother’s cleverness. “At
the time, I didn’t think it would be needed, but now I’m glad of it.”
She would never have anticipated moving them or leaving this place, in other words.
But life had a way of taking sudden turns, as Nathan well knew. All you could do was
try to hold on and accept the changes as God’s will. That was easy to say but not
so easy to do.
“You should put your gloves on now,” Naomi prompted.
He nodded, pulling on the work gloves she’d told him to bring. “What now?”
“Grasp the board by the corners,” she said. “Don’t lift until I say.”
A little amused at Naomi’s bossiness, he obeyed. Holding the edges of the board, he
waited for her signal, and they lifted the entire hive smoothly.
It was heavier than he’d expected. Was Naomi really going to be able to handle this?
Maybe he should have brought Isaiah along to help.
But she didn’t seem to strain at the weight. “I had best count our steps so that we
move together,” she said. “The ground is a bit rough. “Ready?”
“Ja.” He held his breath, taking each step as she called it,
matching the length of his strides to hers. Almost before he could speculate on what
would happen if one of them tripped and dropped the hive, they’d reached the wagon.
“Let it rest on the tailgate until I climb in,” he said. “Then we can slide it into
place.”
“Ja.” Naomi smiled up at him once he stood above her on the wagon. “You are gut with
the bees, Nathan. They need someone who is quiet and steady. I’m glad you are helping
me.”
He ducked his head, the characteristic humble response to praise, surprised by how
pleased he was at Naomi’s good opinion. “What would you do if you ever had to move
a hive by yourself?”
“It happens sometimes,” she said. “The hives are in three pieces, so I would just
lift off one at a time. But this is a better way of doing it, I think. It’s less likely
to upset the bees.”
Over the next half hour they worked together smoothly, transferring one hive after
another to the wagon without incident. Naomi’s cheeks grew rosy from the cold air.
She must be tired, lifting the heavy hives and carrying them, but her serenity never
faltered. Maybe that patience and caring served her equally well whether she was dealing
with children or bees. The idea intrigued him.
“Bees are like kinder, ja?” He took his position at the side of one of the few remaining
hives.
Naomi’s smooth forehead wrinkled with puzzlement for a moment, but then she nodded,
catching his meaning. “Ja, I guess they are. Both of them need a lot of loving attention
in order to do their best.”
That wasn’t quite what he’d been thinking, but it was typical of Naomi’s humility.
Following her lead, he lifted the hive
and began walking backward to the wagon. They were nearly there when Naomi’s attention
faltered, she missed a step, and the hive tilted.
Nathan reacted instantly, taking the full weight of the hive, leveling it. A dangerous
buzzing issued from the hive, and he held his breath, imagining a swarm of angry bees
coming after them.
“I’m sorry.” Naomi’s voice was soft. “That was my fault, for sure. I will keep talking,
because they know my voice and it may calm them. Some people would say that I am foolish
to think they know me, but I am sure. Just as the dairy cows know you, ja? So the
bees know me and trust me and understand that I will not let anything bad happen.”
Her voice had grown slower and softer as she talked, and he realized that the hive
was silent now, save for a low, even hum.