Naomi's Story: Part 1 Romance in Amish Country
Chapter One
N
aomi Miller sat on a high bank behind the big barn overlooking the wide expanse of spring wheat nearly ripe for harvest. She watched the mid-morning breeze creating ripples in the field of wheat, and she glanced down at the basket full of eggs beside her. Naomi realized that most people she knew would admire the beauty of God’s creation in the wheat and in the perfectly formed eggs. Naomi saw more, though. She always had. When Naomi looked at the wheat and the eggs, she saw business potential. Naomi sighed – long and resigned – as she realized that she needed to return to the house soon. Her Aunt Ruth was busy preparing the midday dinner, a special one today, and Naomi knew that it was wrong to leave Ruth working alone for any longer. Thinking about the occasion for today’s dinner made the young woman’s stomach drop at the thought of the guests and the reason for their visit. Naomi wished with all her heart she could simply pretend to be ill and skip it altogether, or better yet, escape to her refuge from the pressures of being a young, unmarried woman.
Chapter Two
D
inner was going about as she’d expected, Naomi decided, as they passed the food around the table. While Joseph Hostetler’s expression looked hopeful as he dished out a most generous helping of the pot pie, Hannah looked daggers at Naomi, saying little. Though they had once been in school together, they had never socialized, then or since. Hannah and her sister, Sarah, did most of the housekeeping for their father, and although Naomi’s little shop catered to tourists, she also did a significant portion of her business with other Amish families, women who had discovered that her organically grown fruits and vegetables were both delicious and a good value. Naomi had realized about a year ago that neither of the Hostetler girls had set foot in her shop, and she’d also heard rumors that Hannah had made disparaging comments about the quality of the baked goods that Naomi proudly sold. Naomi had long ago decided that it would be neither productive nor friendly to publicly accuse Hannah of having said nasty things, and she’d chosen just to steer clear of the Hostetler girl. It was a little harder to be civil with Hannah in her dining room, though. Naomi simply smiled sweetly at Hannah until the girl could no longer hold her gaze without making a scene. Relishing her little victory, Naomi served herself some salad and passed the bowl to Joseph.
Chapter Three
T
he next morning, Naomi walked into the Amish market in Paradise with a spring in her step. She was relieved that since the dinner with the Hostetlers, her father had clearly backed off from his goal of finding his youngest daughter a husband. It was as though, having chosen so poorly the first time, he had decided that marriage was a thing best left in the hands of the women. As Naomi carefully set her eggs out for sale and arranged the applesauce cakes and rolls, she decided that God had given her a gift – the chance to choose for herself. Yes, she wanted to marry and start a family, but not a one of the young men who came to mind seemed a good fit. She supposed that she would have to be content to wait, certain God would find her the perfect match when the time came.
Chapter Four
T
he hum of voices remained low and steady as Naomi wandered through the Fishers’ home. Shem and Rachel had raised their seven sons in the home and still found room for Shem’s parents, but tonight, the big house felt cramped, full of people from all over the valley who had come to pay their respects to Jacob and offer their comfort to his family. Shem or one of his sons would great each new arrival at the door and ask them if they would like to see the body. Visitors who wished to see Jacob one last time were shown to the back bedroom where the coffin had been laid. One end of the lid was open, and the family member would pull back the white cloth so each visitor could look at Jacob’s face. Jacob looked peaceful to Naomi, and she prayed that had been a comfort to Miriam. Naomi realized that Jacob didn’t look much like himself, as his peaceful face lacked the easy smile that Jacob always wore in life.
Chapter Five
“I
saw you come back in with young Seth Fisher last night,” Ruth said casually the next morning.
Chapter Six
A
fter a hug and a promise to Miriam to return soon, Naomi allowed Seth to hand her up unto the gray buggy. They started down the drive at a leisurely pace, and Naomi hoped they would have enough time to talk on the way home, for even by road, their homes were less than a mile apart. Naomi wondered if they would encounter anyone they knew on the short drive, and she knew that if they did, then everyone in their congregation would know about it in short order. Noble talk of avoiding idle gossip meant nothing when there was news of a possible new relationship to share. Naomi reminded herself that the only reason she was in Seth’s buggy at all was to deflect his family’s attention away from Miriam. Naomi found it hard to remember that, though, when Seth kept looking at her the way he did.
Chapter Seven
S
upper was nearly ready when Ezra returned to the house.
Miriam's Story
Miriam Fisher is still grieving for her husband, Jacob, killed just weeks before in an accident. She goes through the motions of caring for her three young children, and she tries to rejoice for her sister, Naomi’s, happiness at her upcoming wedding. Miriam is heartbroken, though, and she fears that she will never feel like herself again. As if her own sorrow weren’t enough, she worries for Ezra, her son, trying bravely to hide his sorrow over the loss of his father.
AMISH NEWSLETTER
Sign up for email alerts to get an automatic email when new Amish books are released click here or go to http://eepurl.com/AY3J9. Your email address willl never be shared and you can unsubscribe at anytime.
More
Word-of-mouth is crucial for any author to succeed. Only 1 in 500 ebook downloads leads to a review being left on average. That is only 0.2%! If you enjoyed the book,please consider leaving a review at Amazon, even if it is only a line or two; it would make all the difference and would be very much appreciated.
Also By Melanie Schmidt