Free An Amish Family Christmas by Murray Pura

Inside and out.
    She walked across the road to where a small wooden hut held a telephone and called the doctor’s office to explain what had occurred and make an appointment. After that she drove the buggy to the bishop’s house to tell him Luke was up and around but still silent. He praised God and prayed with her and said he and theministers would come over the next afternoon. Returning to the house, she found Luke still napping and began to help Rebecca make supper. At five o’clock she wiped her hands on a cloth and smiled at her friend.
    “Three at the table and one in the parlor. I’ll wake Luke and fetch Micah if he doesn’t come in from the barn on his own.”
    Micah was walking in the door and thumping the snow off his boots when Luke trailed his sister down the staircase. Micah smiled at them and served himself a bowl of cabbage soup along with a plateful of scalloped potatoes and corned beef and peas. Rebecca followed after him into the parlor with coffee and a roll.
    “Thank you, Father, for food and shelter this night,” prayed Naomi at the kitchen table. “Thank you for the family you’ve given us here. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
    Luke began to eat and then stopped. Naomi saw his eyes travel to the parlor door and back to her.
    “He must eat alone,” Naomi reminded Luke. “We’re not to speak with him. That is the Ordnung. Micah has agreed to abide by it.”
    His eyes locked onto hers and seemed to catch fire. He took his bowl and plate and stood up, crossing to the parlor and going in. Rebecca and Naomi looked at one another. Naomi took Luke’s coffee to him. When she entered the parlor, the two men were eating side by side. Micah looked up and smiled at her. Luke kept his head down and spooned the soup into his mouth.
    “What are they doing?” Rebecca asked once Naomi had returned to the table.
    “Abiding by the Ordnung ,” Naomi replied, cutting her corned beef with a fork and knife. “Both are eating in silence.”

Nine

    A day later Luke marched into the house ahead of his sister and headed up the staircase to his room, still wearing his coat and boots. Rebecca looked from him to Naomi, who was unwinding her black scarf.
    “What did the doctors say?” asked Rebecca.
    Naomi shrugged, her face tight. “They’re happy with Luke’s progress. To a point. They felt the BZD regimen should have loosened his tongue by now. So they’re talking about stronger medication that can have severe side effects. Or shock treatment. I said no to both. And so they tell me I have doomed my brother to a lifetime of silence.”
    “Did they speak with Luke himself?”
    “ Ja . As well as they could.”
    “Did he respond at all?”
    “ Ja , sure. When they talked about stronger pills he got up and left the room.”
    “Ah. So then you’re doing what he wants.”
    “And what I want. But not what the doctors want.”
    “How bad can the side effects be?”
    Naomi’s face grew more rigid. “Bad.”
    “Then you’ve done the right thing. We have prayer. And love. And faith. Let’s see how far those will take us.”
    “I hope they’ll take us a lot further than we are right now.”
    Naomi spotted Micah in the parlor doorway, winter jacket buttoned to his neck, flecks of hay on the arms and collar, coffee in his hand, listening to her. Their eyes met and remained on one another. A warmth suddenly spread through her entire body fromhead to foot. He drained his cup and came and put it by the sink. Stepping past her, he opened the door and headed outside. A final look from him caused a flush to sprout from her neck up over her face.
    Rebecca smiled. “Even in silence our men can tell us things.”
    Naomi put a hand to her cheek, embarrassed by the heat she could feel there. “So it would seem.”
    “There may be a bann against you two eating together or speaking together, but no Ordnung can ban my brother from being your husband or from loving you. I see by the way he looks at you