Amish Circle Letters by Sarah Price Page B

too short for such trivial things as letters. Silly idea, she told herself as she stood up and hurried over to the kitchen to start preparing for the noon meal. Jonah would be hungry, that was for sure and certain. He had been cleaning the barn all morning, even after tending to the cows.
    Leah sighed and looked out the window over the kitchen sink. Truth was that Jonah had been spending a lot more time in the barn, period. Ever since Jacob had been born , she thought wryly. It didn’t take much for her to realize that Jonah was none to pleased with his special needs baby, a son at that. He rarely helped the baby, never spoke to him, and just didn’t seem to acknowledge that the baby excited.
    Prayer hadn’t helped, that was for certain. Leah prayed constantly for the strength to cope with this challenge. Yes, Jacob had that Down Syndrome. Yes, it was one of the more extreme cases that the doctors had seen. But God was good and never gave more than people could handle. Leah believed that with her entire heart.
    There were footsteps on the porch and Leah looked up as Mary Ruth hurried into the mudroom from outside. “Headed over to Yoder’s then, are you?” she called out.
    “Ja,” Mary Ruth replied, her voice flat and emotionless.
    “You take that shoofly pie now, you hear?” After all, Leah thought, I only got up extra early to make it for the Yoder family. Leave it to Mary Ruth to forget it.
    “Ja,” Mary Ruth said, this time with a tone to her voice.
    “I’ll send the kinner when they are done with their meal,” Leah added, ignoring Mary Ruth’s testiness and spiteful glare. There was nothing for her younger sister to be upset about, she told herself. Helping others was God’s calling. That’s what community did…helped each other during time of crisis. Leah only wished there were far fewer crisis in the community these days.
     
     
    Reluctantly, Mary Ruth walked along the road that headed to Menno Yoder’s farm. It was more direct and much quicker to cut through the field, that was true, but she wasn’t looking for either direct or quick. Not today. Each footstep felt heavy and burdensome, as though she was carrying a great weight down the road, not just a freshly baked shoofly pie.
    She wasn’t certain how she had been nominated for this job. Sister Rachel was the one that volunteered her to help the Yoder family. But no one had consulted with her directly. Mary Ruth was annoyed about that. First, she had been sent to Leah’s to help with the kinner . Now, she was being sent next door to help with Menno’s kinner . All she wanted was to return home to her regular routine, not help with all of these children.
    It had been two weeks since Martha Yoder’s funeral. The last place that Mary Ruth wanted to be was at the Yoder’s house. It had been depressing before, even with all of those people there for the funeral. Not even busying herself in helping with the kitchen work or cleanup could erase the feeling of despair that hung in the air. Despite two weeks having passed, Mary Ruth couldn’t imagine what awaited her at the house today.
    While it only took fifteen minutes to walk there, it felt like an eternity. Yet, she wished it had taken even longer. Her heart pounded and her hands felt sweaty. Walking up the driveway, she noticed that the yard was overgrown and in great need of a mowing. The cows were still in the barn. No one had set them out to graze. Mary Ruth frowned. She sure hoped they had been milked. As she passed the barn, she glanced inside and noticed the milk pales by the door. They were in need of being washed but there was fresh milk on the sides. That’s gut , she thought, as she headed toward the house.
    “Hello?” she called out as she opened the door.
    To her surprise, the house seemed relatively clean. Leah had told her that the church district had rotated women to help with the house and kinner until it was decided that Mary Ruth would step in, being next door and without