complaining and feeling sorry for herself. In fact, I couldn’t remember her ever voicing one word of self-pity. She was a remarkable woman, and when I compared myself to her, I definitely came up short.
“Here we go,” she said, as she came back with two glasses in her hands. “I had a lemonade earlier, but I have decided to splurge and help myself to a second one.” She shook her head. “Sometimes I think the honey stimulates me too much, but today I will not be concerned about that.” She handed me my glass and sat down again. After taking a sip, she placed her drink on the table next to her. “Now where was I? Oh yes. Abigail. After her husband ‘went off the deep end,’ as she put it, she left him and traveled, trying to
find herself
, whatever that means.” Ida’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “I have no idea why a person would need to find herself. We are with ourselves all the time, ja?”
I grinned. “Ja.”
“Anyway, after running around the country for many years and becoming ill, she was taken in by a Mennonite couple who cared for her. Although they were not Old Order, their mother was. Abigail latched on to her like a puppy following its mama, I guess, although I am certain Abigail would express it differently. She told me the mother was her
mentor
. So, she adopted the Old Order ways.” She held her hands up in a gesture of surrender. “That is the whole story. To be honest with you, I feel she became Mennonite not because she believed in our ways but because our lifestyle reminded her of the parents she left behind. And perhaps she was also looking for a place to hide.” Ida frowned. “I do not want to escape from the world. I choose to keep my life free from distractions that may separate me from my precious Savior. However, I fear Abigail has a completely different reason for her choices.”
“But how did she end up in Harmony?” I suddenly realized I was no longer feeling hot. Hopefully it was because of Ida’s interesting story and not the first stage of heatstroke.
“Actually, the family she lived with brought her here during a visit to a relative who owned the house where Abigail now resides. When the family member died, Abigail bought the house and moved to Harmony with her son. Until then, the boy had been living with his father, but he died, leaving the child without a home. So Abigail brought him here, and he lived with her until he left for college. He moved away not long after your parents left Harmony. Abigail has stayed alone in that house ever since.” She rubbed her hands together like she was cold. “In truth, I was glad to see her son leave. He was such an unhappy boy. Abigail brought him up very harshly, with many rules and restrictions. Several people tried to help, to tell her she was hurting him. He became extremely withdrawn and would act out sometimes in town with the other boys. Unfortunately, after Abigail became frustrated with his behavior, she eventually kept him home almost all the time.” She rubbed her chin. “I remember that he had a girlfriend once. He was very much in love with her. A beautiful girl as I remember with hair the color of wheat and startling blue eyes. What was her name?” Ida stared into space for a moment. “Melanie, I think. Melanie Pemberton. But Abigail’s interference broke them up. The girl’s family moved away not long after that, and I never saw C.J. smile again. It was so sad. I was glad to hear he was going to college.” She sighed. “Higher education was discouraged back then in our group, but I believed C.J. needed to get away before Abigail broke his spirit.”
“Did Abigail know my uncle Benjamin?”
Ida nodded. “Oh yes. In fact, I believe Abigail had some interest in him as a husband. Benjamin did not return her feelings, but he was close to the boy until he left Harmony.” She smoothed out her skirt with her age-spotted hands. “Your grandfather did not like the boy, though. When they were young, he
“Here we go,” she said, as she came back with two glasses in her hands. “I had a lemonade earlier, but I have decided to splurge and help myself to a second one.” She shook her head. “Sometimes I think the honey stimulates me too much, but today I will not be concerned about that.” She handed me my glass and sat down again. After taking a sip, she placed her drink on the table next to her. “Now where was I? Oh yes. Abigail. After her husband ‘went off the deep end,’ as she put it, she left him and traveled, trying to
find herself
, whatever that means.” Ida’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “I have no idea why a person would need to find herself. We are with ourselves all the time, ja?”
I grinned. “Ja.”
“Anyway, after running around the country for many years and becoming ill, she was taken in by a Mennonite couple who cared for her. Although they were not Old Order, their mother was. Abigail latched on to her like a puppy following its mama, I guess, although I am certain Abigail would express it differently. She told me the mother was her
mentor
. So, she adopted the Old Order ways.” She held her hands up in a gesture of surrender. “That is the whole story. To be honest with you, I feel she became Mennonite not because she believed in our ways but because our lifestyle reminded her of the parents she left behind. And perhaps she was also looking for a place to hide.” Ida frowned. “I do not want to escape from the world. I choose to keep my life free from distractions that may separate me from my precious Savior. However, I fear Abigail has a completely different reason for her choices.”
“But how did she end up in Harmony?” I suddenly realized I was no longer feeling hot. Hopefully it was because of Ida’s interesting story and not the first stage of heatstroke.
“Actually, the family she lived with brought her here during a visit to a relative who owned the house where Abigail now resides. When the family member died, Abigail bought the house and moved to Harmony with her son. Until then, the boy had been living with his father, but he died, leaving the child without a home. So Abigail brought him here, and he lived with her until he left for college. He moved away not long after your parents left Harmony. Abigail has stayed alone in that house ever since.” She rubbed her hands together like she was cold. “In truth, I was glad to see her son leave. He was such an unhappy boy. Abigail brought him up very harshly, with many rules and restrictions. Several people tried to help, to tell her she was hurting him. He became extremely withdrawn and would act out sometimes in town with the other boys. Unfortunately, after Abigail became frustrated with his behavior, she eventually kept him home almost all the time.” She rubbed her chin. “I remember that he had a girlfriend once. He was very much in love with her. A beautiful girl as I remember with hair the color of wheat and startling blue eyes. What was her name?” Ida stared into space for a moment. “Melanie, I think. Melanie Pemberton. But Abigail’s interference broke them up. The girl’s family moved away not long after that, and I never saw C.J. smile again. It was so sad. I was glad to hear he was going to college.” She sighed. “Higher education was discouraged back then in our group, but I believed C.J. needed to get away before Abigail broke his spirit.”
“Did Abigail know my uncle Benjamin?”
Ida nodded. “Oh yes. In fact, I believe Abigail had some interest in him as a husband. Benjamin did not return her feelings, but he was close to the boy until he left Harmony.” She smoothed out her skirt with her age-spotted hands. “Your grandfather did not like the boy, though. When they were young, he
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