Free Miriam's Story: Part 2 Romance in Amish Country by Melanie Schmidt

Chapter One

    M iriam splashed water on her face and looked up into the small round mirror hanging over her dresser. Even though the bedroom window’s curtains filtered the morning sun, Miriam’s eyes were red and swollen, and it was obvious that she’d been crying. Thankful that,her mother-in-law, Rachel, had taken the girls to the frolic, where they would be practicing their stitching and quilting, Miriam had begged off because she had genuinely felt sick that morning. Since Shem, Miriam’s father-in-law, had been called away for an emergency, Miriam was alone in the house with her seven-year-old son, Ezra, sure to be too busy taking care of his beloved animals to notice that his mother was under the weather.
    Putting a hand out to steady herself against the dresser when a small wave of vertigo hit, Miriam closed her eyes and waited for it to pass. What is wrong with me? she wondered, perplexed Well, of course! Jacob is dead!
    She took a deep breath in an attempt to forestall another bout of tears. My husband is dead, and I do not know quite how to go on…
    Other women lose their husbands , she reminded herself sternly. Four weeks had passed since her beloved Jacob had fallen from the roof of his brother’s barn as he attempted to climb down a ladder. It has only been one month , she argued, but she knew, for her family’s sake, she needed to stop feeling sorry for herself and move on. Her children needed her. Jacob’s parents needed her. Her sister, Naomi, needed her. Somehow, Miriam had to find a way to pick herself up and get on with her life.
    Miriam squared her shoulders, stood up straighter, lifted her head and determined to try to feel better, even if by a little bit each day. Perhaps if she pushed herself just in tiny increments, she would one day realize that she had gotten to a better place. She knew that she had a long way to go, but Miriam knew that if she tried and prayed for the Lord’s help that she would begin to heal the hurt of Jacob’s loss.
    She decided to give herself one more day to wallow in her sadness, and she thought about how she felt, that today, she even felt physically ill. Looking at her tired, drawn face in the mirror, she spoke to her reflection. “I have not felt this fragile since…”
    Miriam froze, and opened her eyes wider to stare at herself in the mirror. In another moment she hastily backed towards the bed and sat down—hard.
    “Dear God…”
    When did I last have my courses? she wondered frantically, counting back the days and weeks. Jacob died exactly four weeks ago today. Two nights before that day, he had finally conceded it was time to try for another child. She had finished her bleeding more than a week before that and had welcomed him into her arms that night with joy. It had been a long, wonderful night, and she clearly remembered praying that it would bear fruit.
    Miriam laid a trembling hand on her belly. Almost six weeks , she realized. It had been six weeks since her last courses.
    She felt tears threaten once more, but this time the sorrow was tempered by joy.
    “I will bear Jacob another child,” she whispered, awed by the mere thought of it. “Jacob gave me one more child to love…”

Chapter Two

    A half hour later, Miriam descended the stairs to the kitchen. She had washed her face once more, rebraided her hair, and changed her blouse in an attempt to make herself look more presentable. She still had two hours before Rachel would return, and since Shem was helping one of Jacob’s brothers with the calving of a troublesome milk cow, he would not likely be home until long after the girls returned. With Seth visiting her own family’s farm to work with her father on the stable they would build before Naomi and Seth’s wedding this fall, Miriam only had to plan for a meal for two. Though she didn’t really feel like eating, she knew Ezra would be hungry. As she thought about it, she realized that she had more than just her own needs to think about