Winter Blessings Read online

  COPYRIGHT

  ZONDERVAN

  Winter Blessings

  Copyright © 2019 by Amy Clipston

  Requests for information should be addressed to:

  Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

  ISBN: 978-0-310-35436-9 (e-book)

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication

  CIP data is available upon request.

  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

  Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.

  Printed in the United States of America

  19 20 21 22 23 / LSC / 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  CONTENTS

  COPYRIGHT

  GLOSSARY

  FAMILY TREE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  With love and appreciation for Zac Weikal

  and the members of my Bakery Bunch

  GLOSSARY

  ach: oh

  aenti: aunt

  appeditlich: delicious

  bedauerlich: sad

  boppli: baby

  brot: bread

  bruder: brother

  bruders: brothers

  bruderskinner: nieces/nephews

  bu: boy

  buwe: boys

  daadi: grandfather

  danki: thank you

  dat: dad

  dochder: daughter

  dochdern: daughters

  Dummle!: Hurry!

  fraa: wife

  freind: friend

  freinden: friends

  froh: happy

  gegisch: silly

  gern gschehne: you’re welcome

  Gude mariye: Good morning

  gut: good

  Gut nacht: Good night

  haus: house

  Ich liebe dich: I love you

  kaffi: coffee

  kapp: prayer covering or cap

  kichli: cookie

  kichlin: cookies

  kinner: children

  krank: ill

  kuche: cake

  kuchen: cakes

  kumm: come

  liewe: love, a term of endearment

  maed: young women, girls

  maedel: young woman

  mamm: mom

  mammi: grandmother

  mei: my

  naerfich: nervous

  narrisch: crazy

  oncle: uncle

  schee: pretty

  schmaert: smart

  schtupp: family room

  schweschder: sister

  schweschdere: sisters

  sohn: son

  Was iss letz?: What’s wrong?

  Wie geht’s: How do you do? or Good day!

  wunderbaar: wonderful

  ya: yes

  FAMILY TREE

  Featuring The Christmas Cat novella characters from the collection An Amish Christmas Love.

  Thelma m. Alfred Bender

  Mandy

  Rhoda

  Leona m. Marlin Blank

  Darlene m. Uria Swarey

  Ephraim

  Katie Ann

  Emma m. Henry (deceased) Bontrager

  Hank the Cat

  Darlene m. Uria Swarey

  Savannah

  Rebekah

  Marietta m. Roman Hertzler

  Clara

  Gertrude m. Elvin King

  Wayne

  Feenie m. Jeptha Lantz

  Arlan

  Christian

  Saloma m. Floyd Petersheim

  Jerry

  Biena

  CHAPTER 1

  Sorry I’m late! But I brought a chicken and rice casserole.” Mandy Bender gave a little laugh as she rushed into Emma Bontrager’s kitchen carrying a Pyrex portable container.

  “Oh, Mandy! That casserole sounds appeditlich!” Emma clapped her hands. Although Emma was old enough to be Mandy’s grandmother, her dark-brown hair and nearly wrinkle-free skin made her look much younger than her late sixties.

  “Danki. I hope it tastes as gut as it sounds.” Mandy looked down at Emma’s large, fat, orange tabby cat as he rubbed her leg and blinked up at her. “Hi, Hank. Do you want to try some chicken casserole?”

  “He’d probably love that.” Emma held out her hand. “Give me your coat, and I’ll hang it in the mudroom.”

  Clara Hertzler walked over to the counter. “What’s in the container Ephraim’s carrying?”

  “A salad.” Mandy spun to face her fiancé, Ephraim Blank.

  “The casserole does sound wunderbaar.” Clara took the salad from Ephraim and set it on the counter. “We were just concluding our meeting.”

  “Oh no. I was afraid of that.” Mandy frowned as she set the casserole next to the stove. Unfortunately, her mother let someone borrow both their insulated carryalls, so she had to warm up the casserole.

  “You can tell us what we missed,” Ephraim said. “I can’t wait to have some of that casserole. My stomach growled all the way here just thinking about it.”

  Mandy smiled up at him. She loved how he towered over her by nearly one whole foot. Of course, since she was only five feet two, most of her friends were taller than she was. But it wasn’t just Ephraim’s height that had attracted her. With his light-brown hair that turned golden in the summer, his kind honey-brown eyes, his strong jaw, and his bright, inviting smile, he was the most handsome man she’d never known.

  “Are you going to turn on the oven?” He grinned at her.

  “Oh, right!” Mandy gave a little giggle as she flipped the dial to preheat, and then she looked toward the table where her group of friends all sat. She knew they’d been discussing the community garden they’d started on Emma’s property in memory of her late husband, Henry, just like they did every Sunday afternoon. Along with baked goods and, now, Emma’s orchard apples, they sold the fruits and vegetables they grew at a roadside stand in front of Emma’s house. Then they donated most of the profits to the Birdin-Hand Shelter for the homeless, Henry’s favorite charity. The rest they saved for any other needs.

  “So. What did we miss?” Ephraim asked.

  “Let’s see.” Katie Ann, his younger sister, tapped her lip as she looked down at a notebook. “We were just discussing closing the stand for the winter. Since it’s getting colder and our only offerings now are winter squash from the garden and Emma’s apples, we should probably do it no later than the weekend before Thanksgiving. We have some vegetables left, but Emma, Tena, and Mandy plan to can them this week for Emma and Tena to use all winter.”

  “I agree,” Christian Lantz said with a nod. He’d been Ka
tie Ann’s boyfriend for a while now, and Mandy was thrilled for her best friend.

  “I do too,” Jerry Petersheim chimed in. He’d recently returned to the church, and he and Clara had the chance to rekindle their attraction for each other because of Henry’s garden. They planned to date as soon as he was baptized.

  Oh, how this project was bringing couples together!

  “What do you think?” Katie Ann met Mandy’s gaze.

  “Ya, of course.” Mandy shrugged. “Whatever you all decide is fine with me.” She watched Ephraim cross the floor to the kitchen table and sink into a chair between Wayne King and Chris.

  “We were talking about Alex too,” Clara said, referring to Alex McCormack, a homeless veteran who’d helped them manage the garden during the fall. She pulled a stack of paper plates from Emma’s cabinet. “I gave everyone some news about him.”

  “Oh?” Mandy took the stack of plates and delivered them to the table. “What news?”

  “Mei onkel interviewed Alex for a job at his nursery and hired him. Also, he offered Alex the suite in the back of his office until he finds an apartment. It has a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchenette, and he’s going to move out of Emma’s barn tomorrow.”

  “Really?” Mandy smiled. “That’s great news. It has to be getting cold at night in your barn, Emma.”

  “Ya, it is,” she said. “This comes just in time!”

  “Are we still going to help him with his security deposit and a couple months’ rent?” Ephraim asked.

  “Ya.” Clara nodded. “But mei onkel says there’s no hurry.”

  “That’s fantastic,” Mandy said.

  “I’m glad we were able to help him,” Wayne added.

  “I agree.” Tena Speicher, Emma’s great-niece, smiled at him. They were dating now too.

  Another “garden variety” pair.

  She put the casserole in the oven to warm.

  “So when do we eat?” Ephraim said as Clara carried the container of salad to the table.

  “Patience,” Mandy said. She followed Clara with disposable bowls, and Tena brought utensils. “Emma, I assumed you’d have some of your fantastic homemade salad dressing. I hope I wasn’t wrong.”

  Emma moved to the refrigerator. “You know I always have some made up. I’ll get it.”

  “I’ll get the glasses and a pitcher of water.” Katie Ann hopped up and made a couple of trips before she and everyone else sat down.

  After a silent prayer, they all filled their bowls with salad and conversation broke out around the table. Mandy smiled as Katie Ann shared a funny story about a customer who’d stopped by the stand yesterday, but although she did her best to seem cheerful and interested, she couldn’t stop thinking about everything she had to do for her December wedding. She had only a little more than a month to finish making the dresses, and she also had to plan the menu and make the table decorations.

  How was she going to get everything done in only six weeks? It wasn’t that she’d waited too long to get started. Ephraim had proposed only two weeks ago!

  She had to stop worrying, though. She and Ephraim had so much to look forward to! She’d get it all done somehow.

  When everyone had finished eating their salad, Mandy gathered the bowls and tossed them.

  “The casserole should be ready now.” She flipped off the oven and grabbed two pot holders. “It just needed to be warmed up a bit.” She opened the oven, and a wall of warmth hit her face. She hefted the dish onto the counter.

  “All right.” Mandy smiled at her friends as she carried the casserole to the table. “This is mei mammi’s recipe. I hope you like it.”

  “It looks amazing.” Tena rubbed her hands together.

  “Danki.” Mandy grinned as she set the platter in the center of the table. Then she sat down beside Ephraim. He gave her a nod, and then scooped some casserole onto his plate.

  Mandy sat back in her chair as her friends all filled their plates. The room fell silent as they dug in. When Mandy felt something touch her thigh, she found Hank standing on his back legs with his paws on her lap.

  “So you do wish you could have some of this food too?” Mandy touched his nose.

  “Oh, Mandy!” Tena gushed. “This is fantastic.”

  “It’s great.” Ephraim leaned close to her, his voice low in her ear, sending a flutter low in her belly. “Wunderbaar.”

  “Danki.” Mandy’s chest swelled with warmth as the rest of her friends joined in with praise. “I’m so glad you like it. I made this meal special for us.”

  Mandy smiled. Sunday nights were her favorite times with her best friends.

  Ephraim folded his arms over his heavy coat as he sat on a rocking chair on Emma’s back porch and looked toward the garden he and his friends had planted in the spring. His life had changed so much since he’d asked Mandy to be his girlfriend eleven months ago. It was as if their relationship had grown and blossomed like the fruits and vegetables they’d sold at the roadside stand all season long.

  He smiled to himself as he imagined her beautiful face, her bright-blue eyes, and her sweet laugh. He’d always considered Mandy to be just another young girl who came over to bake and giggle with his sister. But then one day he saw her in a new light. It was as if she had grown up overnight. Before long she was also his friend, and he wanted to know her better.

  Along with Katie Ann, Mandy, and Wayne, he’d visited Emma last Christmas Eve, and his world seemed to shift just as sure as they’d been snowed in. That night he realized he wanted to be more than Mandy’s friend. A few days later, he asked her to be his girlfriend, and then two weeks ago he worked up the courage to ask her father’s permission to propose. Mandy had said yes, and neither of them wanted to wait for marriage any longer than necessary.

  In six weeks, Mandy would be his wife, and they would start a new journey together. His heart thumped as he pictured their bright future. He was blessed to have Mandy in his life, and he would cherish her and take care of her to the best of his ability.

  “So you’re going to be a married man in less than two months.” Wayne, his best friend, patted his shoulder from the rocking chair beside him. “How does that feel?”

  “Amazing.” Ephraim grinned and glanced at Wayne. “I’m ready.”

  “You know, you’re making the rest of us look bad,” Chris teased.

  “How so?”

  “Now the other maed will want us to propose,” Chris said, turning his palms up. “Now they’ll all want to get married—soon.”

  “Not Clara.” Jerry smirked. “I can’t propose until after I’m baptized next fall, so I’m off the hook for now.” He pointed his index fingers at Wayne and Chris. “But you two, well, that’s a different story.”

  Chris groaned. “I don’t think I’m ready yet.”

  “I admit I’m not either,” Wayne said. “Tena and I are just getting to know each other better.” Then he smiled. “But I’m froh for you.” He gave Ephraim a nudge. “You and Mandy will have a wunderbaar life together.”

  “Danki.” Ephraim smiled. He couldn’t wait to see what God had in store for him with the woman he loved.

  “The casserole was appeditlich.” Emma gave Mandy a warm smile as she held up her clean Pyrex dish.

  “Danki.” Mandy buttoned her coat and then took the dish. “I’m so glad you liked it.”

  “Are you ready?” Ephraim asked as he lifted the salad container from the counter.

  “Ya.” Mandy said good-bye to her friends, and then she followed Ephraim to his waiting horse and buggy. She shivered as she looked up at the clear sky, taking in the bright stars twinkling above her. “It’s such a schee night for early November.”

  “Ya.” Ephraim opened the buggy door for her and took the Pyrex dish out of her hands. “It is.”

  As she climbed into the buggy, she smiled. She’d known Ephraim nearly all her life. Mandy and Katie Ann had declared each other best friends on their first day of school when they were seven years old. Mandy still reca
lled seeing Ephraim on the playground that first day. He was two years older than she was, and he caught her eye the moment he smiled at her. She’d always had a crush on him, and she never imagined he’d ever see her as more than his little sister’s friend.

  But everything changed last fall. He seemed to linger and talk to her more often when she visited Katie Ann at their farm. Then he seemed to seek her out at church and at youth group events. He finally asked her to date him shortly after Christmas last year, and her father had readily agreed.

  Two weeks ago, he’d proposed, surprising her, and she couldn’t contain her happiness! She couldn’t wait to take his name and move in with his family until his father built them a house on his dairy farm.

  “Can you believe we’ll be married in six weeks?” Mandy heard her voice lift with excitement as he handed her the dish and container to hold on her lap. “It’s coming so quickly!”

  “It is.” He closed the door and jogged around to the driver’s side.

  “But I have so much to do. I still have to finish making my dress. Then I have to make the dress for mei schweschder. She has enough to do helping Mamm with her sewing business.” She angled her body toward his. “And I have to plan the menu with mei mamm and schweschder.”

  “It will all come together.” He gave a slight nod as he kept his eyes trained on the windshield while guiding the horse toward the road.

  “What do you think about having lasagna and garlic bread for our wedding supper?” she asked. “Mamm thought it might be a gut idea since we can prepare the lasagna pans ahead of time.”

  He gave a shrug. “Anything will be great.”

  She tilted her head as she studied his profile. “It’s just so much. I’m overwhelmed.”

  “Don’t worry. It will all get done.”

  But how? she wanted to ask him. Not only did she still have responsibilities to her family at home, but she hadn’t realized planning and executing a wedding took so much work. That was probably because she was the first to marry among her friends. Maybe her mother had some idea, but Mandy knew she would never want to be anything but optimistic about their plans.

  She turned toward Ephraim, who still stared straight ahead without another word. The buggy was filled with the sound of wheels scraping on the road, the clip-clop of the horse’s hooves, and the roar of passing traffic. Still, it was too quiet for her, allowing the list of wedding tasks to once again roll inside her head.