Page 7 of The Christmas House
Saturday morning, Liz groomed King, Dat’s gentle giant, before hitching him to the touring carriage and heading over to Onkel Joe’s hardware store. She would remind Matt that he didn’t have to groom the horse after the second tour this morning.
She arrived earlier than usual at the meeting area and went into the store to the back break room to look over her notebook. Wind gusts had awakened her in the night, making it hard to fall back to sleep, so she poured herself a second cup of coffee.
Onkel Joe appeared in the doorway and sat down with her at the small table. “Say, Lizzy, I’ve been a-thinkin’ ’bout where I ran into your new tour assistant.”
“Oh?”
A slow smile spread across his face. “It dawned on me when Logan Hyatt came in recently to purchase some extension cords. S’pose he’s gettin’ his house ready for another big Christmas show.”
Liz noticed her uncle’s quick frown.
“Last year, Matt came in here several times, hired by Logan to help do some jobs at the house after he and his family moved in.”
“So ... the mystery’s solved.”
Joe nodded. “Seems like a responsible young man.”
Dat thinks so , too , she mused, nodding.
Glancing at the wall clock, Liz realized it was time to take the last few sips of coffee and get back outside. She left a dollar bill on the table for the coffee.
Liz buttoned her black coat as she walked back out into the brisk morning.
She could see Matt Yoder exiting the nine-passenger van—what folks liked to call the Amish taxi—dressed in everyday clothes again, just as he was on Wednesday.
Matt waved, his lunch bag and that black grooming tote at his side once again.
When he met her in the covered waiting area, she told him, “Say, I groomed King this mornin’ at home ... didn’t want you to have to durin’ your lunch break.”
“Well, hullo to you, too.” Matt grinned as he put the tote in the back of the carriage.
She felt her face heat. “ Ach , hullo,” she said, flustered at having gotten ahead of herself.
Matt smiled. “I don’t mind groomin’ King, really. He’s a beauty.”
“But my Dat surely didn’t ask ya to, did he?”
Matt chuckled. “I’m just s’posed to do whatever ya need done.”
Now Liz had to smile.
“And to make sure you’re safe on the narrow roads round here.” He beamed back at her.
“Well,” Liz said, “I really think that’s just when the snowy roads can sometimes be a tight squeeze.”
“’Specially with all the folks comin’ to see the Christmas House.”
She explained that she took her tours past the Hyatts’ display well before the nightly parade of cars showed up.
“Last year, Ashley Hyatt noticed my tours and began to switch the lights on right around twilight, and it’s just beautiful.
Not the same as seein’ the display when it’s totally dark, but it’s fine. ”
“ Des schmaert . Don’t see how a big carriage like this one could manage that crowded road otherwise.”
She told Matt about Dat’s frightening accident last year, when he’d been knocked nearly off the road—sideswiped by a skidding car.
“Fortunately, the driver’s insurance covered the cost of repairs to the buggy.
But it was a miracle that Dat and our old horse, Charlie, escaped with only bumps and bruises. ”
“The hand of the Lord.”
“That’s what Dat said, too.”
Matt nodded. “Say, have ya heard from your brother ... or your Dat?”
“Well, not yet. Mamm’ll prob’ly hear soon. They’ll exchange letters a couple times a week.”
“Just curious if they know yet how long they’ll be gone.”
“Dat plans to be home for Christmas, but they might be able to get back sooner if things go well.”
Going over to the horse, Matt approached from the left side and rubbed King’s long, graceful neck and nose. Then he slowly held out his hand flat and offered two sugar cubes. “Well, I hope it’s for longer, so we can get better acquainted,” he told Liz, smiling.
Her heart did a little flip. Surely he doesn’t mean anything by that ....
Not sure what to say, she asked, “What did ya do yesterday?”
“Oh, besides workin’ with my Dat in the barn, I shelved donated canned goods at a food pantry for the poor. They need volunteers, so I’m happy to help.”
“ Wunnerbaar . Have you been doin’ this for a while?”
“Oh, a few months, jah. I prefer to keep busy, even when there’s a lull in my part-time work. So I put in nearly a day’s work there whenever I can. It’s a practical kind of ministry, which I like.”
Matt’s comments resonated with her, and she was glad she’d stuck her neck out to ask.
The day was cloudy and cooler than recent days had been, but when her customers showed up, they were excited for every tour. And full of questions.
Surprisingly, today Matt shared a few anecdotes of his own—including what it was like to live without electricity or cars—“what Englishers might call ‘living off the grid.’” Liz wondered if he was just naturally wanting to share with the customers, or if he was trying to show her that he could help with commentary, too.
During their lunch break before the two afternoon Amish Farm Tours, Liz encouraged him to “feel free to interject here and there like ya did earlier . ”
“I should’ve discussed it with ya first.”
She shook her head. “I’ll look forward to any interesting things you’d like to add.”
“Okay, then,” he said. “We’re a team.”
His face lit up with another of his disarming grins, and she took another bite of her sandwich, trying not to smile too much.
By now the temperature had dropped since the morning tours, and she was glad she’d worn a sweater beneath her short black coat. It was nearly mid-November, and she could almost feel the coming of more wintry weather.
One customer asked if there were additional times for the Christmas House Buggy Tour beyond those listed on the website or the flyer they’d picked up in the Lancaster County tourism bureau.
“ Denki for askin’. But that particular tour is only at three-thirty on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, like last year. Due to safety, I don’t give rides after dark. I’m sure you understand.”
“Have you ever thought of adding more carriages?” another passenger asked, a woman wearing a white cup-shaped prayer Kapp who sat with an Englisher man. “If so, I’d be happy to help with drivin’. I was raised Amish, so I have years of experience.”
Liz hardly knew how to respond. She’d never personally known anyone in Hickory Hollow who’d left the Amish and had only heard of one—Katie Lapp Fisher—but that was decades ago. “I’ll have to think on that,” she said, hoping to dismiss the question.
“Might we talk after the tour?” the woman pressed, glancing at her guy friend.
“Sure,” Liz agreed, wondering what more the woman might have to say.
She returned to her planned narration and shared about the upcoming dairy farm, where they’d be riding along the field lanes and eventually seeing the inside of the two-story barn. “We won’t see the actual milking, since that takes place early morning and late afternoon.”
Later, after that tour was finished and she was alone with the Plain woman while Matt tended to King, Liz explained to her that working at home and around her parents’ farm was her first priority.
“I really don’t have any plans to expand my business, at least for now.
The rides are just a hobby, really. And an outreach, too. ”
“An outreach?” the woman asked. “In what way?”
“It might sound grand, but it’s my prayer that these tours point folks to the beauty and wonder of nature ... and most of all, to our great Creator.”
The woman nodded her head thoughtfully, then went on to share that she’d recently left her Ohio Amish community.
“It’s been difficult to adjust,” she said softly.
“Not easy to take the Plain life out of a person raised that way. But I won’t go back.
” She glanced over at the man Liz supposed was her boyfriend, who was patiently waiting for her.
“We all must choose how to live,” Liz replied, touching the woman’s arm. “I’ll be sure to remember you in prayer.” Then she asked, “Have ya ever heard of Hickory Hollow’s Wise Woman, Ella Mae Zook?”
“I think so. Someone’s written a book about her, I believe.”
Liz gave her Ella Mae’s address and encouraged her to go see her. “Just drop by. She’s usually available to talk ... and to pray.”
The woman nodded, her tears brimming. “I see compassion in your eyes. Noticed it right away. Keep doing what you’re doing, Liz. Today’s been a real blessing.” She hugged her before heading toward her friend and the parked car.
Matt walked over to Liz, his taxi late in coming. “Everything okay?”
Liz nodded. “She just needed to talk.”
“Couldn’t help but notice she was payin’ close attention to whatever you were saying,” Matt replied, eyes serious. “It impressed me, the way ya took time for her like that.”
Not used to such directness from a young man she didn’t really know, Liz replied, “It’s the reason I’m doin’ this. To encourage and uplift hearts wherever I can.”
“Best way to live,” he agreed.
The passenger van pulled up to the curb, and Matt headed toward the back of the carriage to pick up his black grooming tote and empty lunch bag. “See ya next Tuesday, Liz.”
“You too,” she said, watching him walk away. At the van, Matt turned and waved at her and she waved back. We’re a team , he said....