A Time to Heal(28)

Both types of quilts hung on display in the shop. Hannah thought about what type of quilt she would sew. Chris seemed to be enjoying his time here and acted appreciative and respectful of this way of life. He'd said this place reminded him of his childhood home. Apparently life there had been one of hard work and simple things too.

She decided it would be a quilt like those she designed and quilted for Matthew and Jenny and Phoebe and her friends.She thought about what pattern she wanted to use—should it be a diamond quilt based on an old Amish hymn? Quietly, she hummed the words: This is the light of the heights/This is my Jesus Christ,/The rock, on whom I stand/Who is the diamond.

A Cross Within a Cross Quilt . . . or the Friendship Quilt.The Rules of a Godly Life said that, "Finally, be friendly to all and a burden to no one. Live holy before God . . . your forgiveness willing, your promises true, your speech wise, and share gladly the bounties you receive."

Or, perhaps the Sunshine and Shadow design. The Amish A Devoted Christian's Prayer Book contained the prayer, "We pray, O Holy Father, that we might leave behind the night of sin and guilt and ever walk in the shining light of Thy wondrous grace, and cast off the works of darkness, put on the armor of light, and walk honestly as in the day."

That's it, she thought. He seemed to be so caught up in some inner struggle, to be carrying some sort of burden. Yet when he stayed in the present, like when he laughed over her letting him buy a tourist souvenir like the Amish doll made in China, his face lit up, his eyes sparkled, and he looked so happy and fun-loving. This was the quilt design she wanted for Chris.

This quilt was more pieced than the traditional ones used in Amish homes. Maybe that's why she judged it as a good choice for him—a sort of cross between her world and his.But she'd have to work quickly to have it done before he left.Perhaps she should ask her quilting circle to help her.

A student brought over her quilt block, complaining that she didn't like her stitching. Together, they pulled out the offending section of thread and Hannah showed her how to make it more even . . . all the while she reassured the woman that she should relax and enjoy herself. Perfection wasn't the goal, after all.





7





Hannah stood at the kitchen sink washing dishes as she looked out the window at the men working in the field.

Well, if she were honest, she watched one man—Chris.

Her eyes found him easily in the midst of the men in the field since he wore Englisch clothes. Although it was obvious that he didn't have the experience with this kind of farming that the other men did, she'd seen him working hard, taking a break only when the other men did.

Matthew had spoken of what being injured, being exposed to so much horror in war zones had done to Jenny. Hannah watched Chris stretch and bend to work again and wondered about the scars on his back, what had caused them. How he'd felt when he'd been hurt. If he suffered any long-term effects from his injuries as Jenny had.

He was a handsome man, this Englischer who seemed to come at just the right time when Matthew needed him. Helping Matthew had cut short his vacation, but he'd said he was taking some time for himself and he hadn't seemed in any hurry to leave.

And Paradise wasn't going anywhere. It had been here for a long time and would be here long after them. Some of the tourists said it seemed like a place out of time, like Brigadoon.Hannah didn't know what that meant. She'd never heard of the town.

She loved it here. Though she knew some of her friends had felt the need for a rumschpringe, she hadn't wanted a full-blown rumschpringe. She'd done some of the things they had—gone to a movie in town, experimented with Englisch clothes and makeup, but she felt as happy and content here as her brother did.

The only thing that ever gave her pause was a vague discontent with not having married yet or having kinner of her own.It had surfaced again this autumn at her nephew's birthday celebration at schul, a recent night when she was invited to supper at Matthew and Jenny's house, and at the thought of the weddings planned for after the harvest.

Determined to shove the troublesome thought aside, she wrung out the dishcloth with more force than necessary and vigorously swept it around the sink.

"Ach, that's quite a polish you're putting on the sink," Phoebe observed at her side.

Hannah stopped and stared at the sink. It was spotless. She rinsed the cloth, wrung it out again, and hung it to dry. "You know what they say about idle hands."

"Yours haven't been idle since you got out of the crib."

Laughing, Hannah turned and watched Phoebe set a basket of vegetables on the table. "Shall I make squash casserole tonight?" she asked, gesturing at the vegetables.

But Phoebe had walked over to look out the window over the sink. She turned back to Hannah and raised her brows.